65 Chapter 65

"Do we know each other?" Maya didn't recognize Gabriel, but the way he was looking at her, why would a stranger look at her like that? It was as if she had offended him somehow.

"I don't think we do," Gabriel responded. He controlled his conflicted feelings, remembering what he was here for. There were more important things than Maya.

"Then why were you looking at me like that?" Maya frowned.

"I wasn't looking at you. I was looking behind you... I apologize if I gave you the wrong impression." Gabriel made a story before turning his back on Maya.

Maya couldn't believe that story. She was sure she would've realized it if Gabriel was looking past her.

Unfortunately, before she could ask more questions, Riya came back, realizing that Gabriel hadn't been following her.

"What happened? You know we can't afford to stop." She grabbed Gabriel's hands and took her with him. "I don't have all the time in the world to show you around. We need to finish today."

Riya left with Gabriel, leaving a confused Maya behind.

"A new student? Was he really looking at the tower? Did I really overthink things?" Maya watched Gabriel leave, trying to make sense of the situation. She didn't know why, but she could still feel that something about Gabriel wasn't right.

*****

"That is the Battle Arena..." Riya pointed in the distance toward a colosseum-type structure.

"As I told you before, you aren't allowed to use your spells without the presence of a teacher as a first-year student. But the second-year students and older also have some restrictions on our spells, even though not as much as the first years."

"We are allowed to use the spells we learn, even in the absence of the teacher. The only spells we can't use are the offensive spells that can hurt anyone. We also aren't allowed to battle one another in the Academy Grounds. That is where the Battle Arena comes into play."

"If you want to fight another student without getting into trouble, you can use the Battle Arena. There, you can use as many spells as you want. You can go all out. The best part? You don't need to hold back at all. As long as you don't kill the opponent, everything is allowed. That's also a good place to train with the Mages of other Elements."

"That's why there are hundreds of battles in the Arena daily. Moreover, there's one more advantage of fighting there. You can place your Credits on the line. If you win, you can win the credits of the other person that they placed on the line. However, if you lose the battle, you lose your Credits as well."

Riya gave details about the Battle Arena, as much as she believed was worth knowing. "Even you, as a first-year student, can enter the arena to fight someone. However, I would advise you against it. You'll be like a fish on the chopping block inside. You'll lose whatever Credits you get."

"Credits?"

"Oh right, I didn't even tell you about the Credits yet." Riya slapped her forehead, realizing that she had forgotten to tell him the most essential thing.

"Credits are like the currency of the Academy. In each class you attend, you get some credit based on your performance. They are given by the teachers. On top of that, you get some credits every week, default. Other than that, you can win them by challenging someone and betting with Credits on the line. In essence, there are quite a lot of ways to get Credits."

"Just know that credits are very important. As they are a currency here, you can use them for anything. Most of us use the credits to buy Spirit Crystals to increase our soul strength. Just know that you'll need lots of credits for one Soul Crystal. Those things are expensive."

"You can also use the Credits to buy treasures from the Treasure Pavilion or access some special zones of the Academy where you can't go otherwise."

Riya kept explaining more about the Credits while walking with Gabriel. She only stopped talking about how useful credits were when she reached another Tower.

"And that place... It's also a really special place in the Academy." She pointed at the Tower, which appeared to be quite different from the last tower. Unlike the previous tower, which was dark, this tower appeared to be made using White Marble.

"This is the Library of Spells. There, you can find the Books of Spells, from the most basic Spell Books to the most Complex Ones.  There are many books here which have been written by the Strongest Mages of the past."

"However, the more special a book is, the more expensive it will be. You'll need to save credits for months to be able to afford a decent mid-tier spell book, and that's if you don't spend anything on the Soul Crystals."

Right beside the white Towers, there was a pavilion that only had two floors. However, it covered more area than the Tower.

"And that on the right is the Treasure Pavilion. There, you can buy Artificial Treasures, created by our greatest artificers. However, once again, you can only use Credits to buy them. You can't use money or anything else here. It is so that all students have a fair chance of getting treasures, based on their performance."

"As for how much credit is needed for a basic Artefact, it's better if you don't ask. These things are too expensive. Even I can't afford to buy them, and I'm in my second year."

Riya's eyes were filled with longing as she gazed at the Treasure Pavilion. Observing her expressions, one thing Gabriel was sure of. It was that Riya wasn't from a rich family. If she was, she could've easily bought treasures from the city. It wasn't as if they were Numens.

"Shall we move on to the next place?" Gabriel asked, bringing Riya back to her senses.

"Ah, right. Two more places left to see."

Riya brought Gabriel to another place. It was a small building, only having four floors. There was a sign outside the building which read, "Mission Pavillion."

"I told you there were more ways to get Credits? One of those ways is the Mission Hall. Many missions are posted in the hall for the students to complete. Some of the missions are posted by other students, while some are posted by teachers. If you complete a mission, you get points."

"First Floor is for the most basic missions that even first-year students can take. The second floor can only be accessed by the Second Year and above. The third floor can only be accessed by Third Year Students."

"And the last floor, I'm sure you can guess. The higher you go in the Mission Hall, the harder the missions get. However, the Credits for the missions also increase."

"What kind of missions are on the Fourth Floor?" Gabriel inquired. If the academy was giving these missions, he was really curious about what they could be.

"The first-floor missions are contained to the Academy, like helping other students or doing some task of a teacher, becoming their helpers, and more. But the Fourth Floor, those missions need you to go out of the Academy."

"I haven't actually seen the top missions, but I did hear some rumors."