Chapter 15: Decision

For some, strange reason, nobody stopped them. Fen and his two protectors simply waltzed out of the cathedral, with only one question raging in their minds.

How could they not notice?

Only as the three of them were about to leave the direct proximity of the cathedral, Fen recalled one thing. This single bit that he couldn't connect with anything. Didn't Draconis mention something about creating a rival?

What if this commotion really wasn't about him? What if Draconis influenced someone else in order to draw away the attention from Fen?

"We need to get to the academy, as quickly as possible."

Right as the thought of the entire thing being orchestrated overwhelmed Fen's head, Hekarion spoke up. With the direct line of sight between them and the cathedral now broken, this old man hastened his steps.

"As long as you will become one of the students, they won't be able to place their filthy hands on you."

Noticing Fen's immense need for the explanation, Mark spoke up. Suddenly turning his head to the side, this saviour of the young man looked at his former master.

"Master, does that mean…?"

Leaving the question unfinished, this middle-aged arcanist simply stared at his former teacher.

"Yes, I will accept him into my tutelage."

Releasing an exhausted sigh, the old sage nodded his head. But rather than looking at those fine details of the short exchanges between the two men, Fen's attention lied somewhere completely else.

For the first time ever since all those events turned his life around when walking on the streets of the city, Fen did not cover in fear. Rather than that, he could finally gaze at the wonderful architecture, multistorey brick buildings, and see their beauty, instead of a constant menace.

His view, from dim and shadowy, changed into what it really was. A beautiful, sunny day. Sunrays cascading down the skies. Bright light reflected on the windows mounted in the tight embrace of the bricks.

"Okay then, master. If I'm not wrong, the new semester started today. I will go to the Sala Magna and make sure he will be able to join."

Turning to a reporting mode, Mark came up with a proposition. From the grandeur of the name and what was initially the topic, Fen could deduce what was the meaning of those foreign words.

'Am I about to go to school?'

Seeing how his saviour instantly moved to one of the side alleys, Fen was too late to change anything. It seemed as if his enrolment was decided even before he could really grasp what was truly happening!

"Listen up, as sadly we don't have much time. You will learn most of the basic information from the teacher or someone he will appoint to help you. But before that, I need to have a short talk with you, somewhere… private."

Just from the rush that the two of them were in, in their attempt to reach for the safety of the academy grounds, Fen could understand that something big happened. As obvious as it was from his interaction with Draconis, if his guess wasn't wrong, then he had to enrol to the academy to prevent the Church actually forcing him to become one of the priests!

The city was big. Because of the time when Fen first had a glance at how vast it was, this young man had problems believing that everything was all right. After all, how could that be possible for the two of them to reach the academy grounds in just a few moments after leaving the cathedral? Sure, they had to pass through a big bridge and venture deeper into the area on the other bank of the river, yet the entire dash lasted for at most eight minutes!

If the distance between those two places was so short, how the heck was the academy supposed to be a place safe from the church?

As much as Fen wanted to get a moment to think through everything he learned so far, he wasn't given any chance to catch his breath. The moment he and Hekarion appeared before a massive, brick building, the old sage instantly pulled him inside. Only after traversing through several staircases and corridors did they reach their destination.

"Come in."

Contrary to Fen's expectation, this room he entered turned out to be way simpler than what he assumed it would be. With how Hekarion flaunted his authority to the left and right, it should only be expected for him to live a luxurious life himself, wasn't it?

"Okay then, the situation is as follows."

Instead of sitting himself in the chair, the old man only rested his bottom against the edge of a huge desk before turning his face to the young Fen.

"Right now, the cathedral somehow missed the fact that you are the apostle. But you can be fully sure that as soon as they learn about this matter, they won't let you out of their claws."

Confirming the guesses that Fen already had for a while, Hekarion smiled seeing how his words managed to bring some reaction to the young man's face.

"That's what I thought. If the prospect of joining the sacral life is not appealing to you, then your best and honestly, your only choice is to join the academy. Not only they will teach you all the basics that you need to know before making use of your insane talent, but the status of the academy student will also protect you from the Church. With that said, can I take it that you want to enrol?"

With how everything happened outside of Fen's control, despite his change of character, the decision that he had to take now wasn't as fun as he thought taking his own life in his hand would be. Because in fact, he didn't really have any choice at all!

Outside of all the positive aspects of enrolling in the academy, there was a simple reason why the church was a no. With how they were focused on the Draconis cult, it would take only a moment for someone to discover that he was actually a heretic! While it was doubtful that the academy would be free from the influence of the Cathedral, at least he wouldn't be under the direct scrutiny of the people belonging to the same group as the inquisitor that killed him, his master and all those villagers back then!

"Obviously, I want to join the academy. But I would still like to know a bit more about all this apostle thing before that."