A week in the future.
Meredith and Luke were now sleeping together, and every night, the two half-beasts practiced love. The half-wolf got up in the morning, trying not to wake Meredith, Luke left the room and went outside the dorm to do his morning workout, performing several push-ups. The half-wolf was already feeling much more energized and capable.
His strength was at its best and his fighting power had already returned to normal. After finishing his training, Luke went to the dormitory, took a shower, and realized that there was a letter.
It was a warning that Ezra had already finished the production of his weapon, so the young man decided to return to Melki's forge, to check how the production of his weapons was progressing.
Luke opened his inventory inside the room and removed the greatsword, he then left the dormitory and flew to the forge.
With a long white beard and a shiny bald head, Mr. Zhanid looked at his wrist, which had four identical pointer watches.
"Hohohoho! So, you are the young men who caught Hazor's eye." Mr. Zhanid said.
Meredith was showing her typical surprised face, but in Luke's case, he already imagined that the professor could be someone eccentric. The half-wolf knew that every strong person carries at least a trace of strangeness. In the end, he was indeed right.
Professor Zhanid had the typical characteristics of an old wizard. On his back he carried a wooden staff with a bell at the top. His clothes were a classic suit and tie, and on top of it, a long cloak covered him. In the belt of his pants was a leather book with gold trim. On his left arm there were also four watches, and on his right arm four compasses.
All these features just showed how extravagant a man Zhanid was, something that already at first glance made Meredith worried.
"My name is Luke Lange, and this is my companion Meredith."
Zhanid nodded to them, turned his back, and as he walked out of the room they were in, he began to chatter:
"This here is the Melki Academy of Magic's Teleportation Area. This place isn't used much, but it's really something quite useful, isn't it? Do you guys know why this magic circle is more special than the others?"
Luke and Meredith just denied with their heads.
"Well... The magic circle present in this magic circuit is different from those you might be used to seeing. This one has an activator and a microcontroller that can destroy it in case of a mana destabilization. If you think about it, this kind of technology is something crucial when we think about a hypothetical war scenario.
Zhanid continued talking non-stop for a few minutes. His voice echoed through the stone room the three of them were in.
[What he said is correct. The use of an amulet is the best way to correct the side effects of a curse, and to forge something so delicate will require the talent that only a blacksmith has. Creating an active and constant magic, this can only be achieved with the support of more than one experienced person. A good blacksmith and a talented mage will be paramount].
Luke then scratched his head, apprehensive. "Mr Zhanid, can this woman help us?"
The old man then began to laugh. "Hohohoho! Megan is not a woman yet my boy, she is just a girl. Though surely her strength is much greater than mine."
That news made Luke less worried, if she was just a girl, that meant she was probably someone with no ties to the Melki Empire, because if the case was the opposite, it would probably be harder to add her to the group.
Now the only thing missing would be a blacksmith, however, Luke could look for that later. First, he needed to focus on recruiting this Megan woman.
Zhanid continued chattering endlessly about the trip, while the old man finished packing some books. Soon he placed them in a cloth baggage, which began to levitate behind him, and after that the three of them left that long stone building. They walked out of the outer courtyards around the tower into an empty wood.
When Luke looked back, longing to see how large the tower was from the outside, the gigantic stone construction stood out in the forest, which never seemed to have been touched by human hands.
Then Zhanid guided the two of them to a village in the center of the forest.
When the group arrived there, all the villagers began to applaud and thank the old wizard as soon as they saw him.
This reaction left Meredith with an expression of confusion on her face, but she didn't dare to speak, already wondering how he would talk on and on.
Little by little things began to make sense, Zhanid used his magic to help that village, both for harvesting in times when there was not much rain, and even with healing magic when someone became extremely ill, in the end, the lord was a necessary support for the village. After a few more minutes the group was facing a carriage.
Two black and seemingly strong horses were waiting stopped, beside it were two men in simple farmer's attire.
"It is a pleasure to drive you again" Said one of the men, who was muscular, perhaps from working in the fields.
"I was already missing your stories" Said the second man, who was less muscular and thin.
Something that surprised Luke was how no one in that village cared about his race, he felt like he was covered. This made him wonder if it was because of being on Zhanid's side, or if simply that humble village didn't have that kind of prejudice. Luke borrowed one of the books from Zhanid's backpack, and Meredith began to try to sleep.
The thin driver also went back to the back of the wagon and started to sleep, while the stronger one stayed in the front talking to the old wizard. The stories of that gentleman were impressive to Luke, something that completely changed the boy's view of how Magic could be used. Even though Zhanid was a battle magic teacher at the academy.