Chapter 51: Prelude to a Calamity

When the trio went through the door they had once more appeared in the school. They recognized the hallways again and couldn't help but wonder what is going on. They all saw the odd expressions of the teachers just a bit earlier and even though they had gotten a massive number of rewards, the trio all felt worried.

"Where do you two get your magic array classes?" Rein asked seriously.

They all put a lot of importance on professor Crumb's final words, Kayley and Villin told him the classroom number before everybody headed to their own rooms. They had all already decided to spend the next day in that classroom.

There was one thing Villin did find quite off though. When he got closer to the dormitories he saw a bunch of Class A students discussing certain matters. Going further there were even some putting enchantments on the walls and floors. And even though he wanted to ask what was going on, when they got close the class A students suddenly turned completely silent. Villin could clearly see some of them had fearful expressions. Looking at the class B dormitories things were normal though, not different compared to normal.

As he looked at class A with a worried expression, he saw a few teachers coming out of the class A dormitories. They all seemed quite worried but remained silent upon seeing Villin's confused expression. And so, Villin just kept going toward his room.

When Villin arrived back in his dormitory he decided to check out his rewards properly. First, he took out all of the spell books and checked them all out.

'Healium Paulatim' was a relatively basic healing spell… which meant it was still quite rare. When you used this spell the wounds of whomever you were casting it on would gradually disappear. It was also one of the spells people got when they became a teacher or reached the top three in the regular tournament.

Even though Villin didn't know this, when he was wounded and nearly killed by the arrogant Roland, Amelia had run up to him and used this spell. She had the spell since she was second place in the tournament the previous year. The spell had eleven nodes and was quite hard to cast.

Next, he took out an iron book. This was a book with unlimited 'uses' and it was his property. This made it a very valuable asset. If he wanted he could let other people learn it for a price netting him a large number of magic crystals.

The book's cover showed the spell name 'Vinea Tenura'. The spell had ten nodes but had quite a powerful ability. It would make magical vines come out the ground, this would hold their enemies and sap their magical powers. The spell seemed to be one focused on apprehending and controlling, something he truly lacked right now.

He then grabbed the second iron book, this one had the name 'Sheldium' and consisted of seven nodes. This was actually a spell you were supposed to cast on yourself as it would cause a thin shield to form. Villin recalled seeing a faint barrier on Siver when they fought and suspected it might've been this spell or a derivatory version of it.

Finally, there was one wooden book left, the one he had been given for getting ninety points in the combat trial.

There was a small strip hiding the spell's name but he took it off now, the spell was called 'Lanuae Magicae'. Villin frowned as he had no idea what that was supposed to mean before he turned the book around and took away the strip hiding the description. Surprisingly the description was only three words long. It just said 'short-range teleportation'.

As soon as he read this Villin's eyes went wide. He quickly opened the book and memorized every node and line within it. Of the thirteen nodes, eleven were red, signifying they could not be changed without heavily risking death, moreover, the spell actually seemed to be a derivatory spell with three nodes changed. The original nodes were marked with the dark red meaning they could not be used.

Villin memorized the entire spell blueprint and as soon as he did the book went up in flames. It would take a good while before he would be able to cast the spell but he was already looking forward to it. Even though he had seen teachers disappear after casting a spell but that should be a spell limited to the school and it shouldn't be a part of their actual abilities. He even suspected that they were transported into the 'arena' using a similar spell exclusive to the school grounds.

Villin then grabbed his interspacial bag and reached in with his magical energy to grab what he noticed was already in there.

It seemed to be a vial with a liquid inside, on it was a small white strip with some text on it. 'A reward for your efforts from the club that looks for solutions.'

This caused Villin to feel surprised again, he thought the teachers didn't know what rewards they would get yet professor Messen still seemed to have been able to put this gene solution in.

With little hesitation, Villin opened the flask and drank it all in one go. Even after a dozen minutes, he didn't feel anything special, so he decided to just start learning more spells. If it was possible he would try to work through the night. Then, in the early morning, he would head toward the magic array classroom.

The gene solution didn't seem to induce any tiredness as Villin successfully worked through the night. Even though he felt a little tired when it became early morning he knew that tiredness would be gone again in a few hours, as long as he didn't skip two nights in a row things would be quite alright.

Villin made the interspacial bag shrink to its smallest size, causing it to turn into a coin pouch, and put it inside of his pants for safekeeping. Then he grabbed his regular schoolbag that was now only keeping some common pill-making materials and grabbed it. When he did, he immediately felt surprised, it was as if the bag was weightless, he checked his school bag again but when he picked it up, he barely felt any weight in his hand.

Villin quickly understood as he thought of the gene solution he had taken the previous night. It would seem it was a solution that enhanced strength it would look like. They were pretty tough to make so Villin was glad to have the opportunity to make one.

That being said the professor probably didn't know he would be getting an interspacial bag, since this bag barely weighed anything even when filled, the usefulness of increased strength was immediately decreased a fair bit. Still, Villin was happy with it as increased strength could help with a lot of things.

Now that the basic things were dealt with, Villin first headed toward Amelia's room. When he arrived he knocked on the door loudly three times. He waited for a bit and after about twenty seconds Amelia opened the door. Her hair was clearly a mess and she was wearing her glasses crookedly.

"Hmm? Villin? Whattcha need?" She said groggily as she looked at him.

"Hey Amelia, there's somewhere we need to be soon. Should I come back in thirty minutes?"

Amelia shook her head and opened the door a bit wider to let him in. Her room was somewhat messy but neither of them really cared. Amelia didn't ask anything either as she simply combed her hair and brushed her teeth. Then she suddenly reached for her pajamas causing Villin to instantly turn around with a bit of a red face.

Even though he wasn't shy around girls or anything it was a little awkward to see one randomly undressing before you. Amelia simply let out a chuckle as she changed into her regular school robes.

"Alright, I'm ready, where are we going?"

"I'll explain on the way, I'm just taking a precaution really."

Villin simply said after which they both headed out of the dormitories. They only saw two other students in total since it was only eight in the morning and nobody had classes today for some reason.

They walked through the halls for a bit and he was just about to start speaking about his experiences the previous day when the duo heard something. There seemed to be a rumbling sound far away from them, it sounded like thunder. They kept walking as they tried to place the sound but they couldn't. Then a crackling sound appeared from above them and the stones along the walls started to dim. They both came to a stop, something was about to happen.