Chapter 162: Visiting The Elven Magic Academy (Part-1)

Chapter 162: Visiting The Elven Magic Academy (Part-1)

Looking at my bewildered face, Leena chuckles.

“No need to look so confused, Jacob. The academy is just magically concealed behind a barrier. Ilyrana vanished because she passed through it,” she informs me.

“Oh...”

At this point, I should just stop getting surprised at all the abnormal things I see, and just accept that magic is at work everywhere.

With Leena and Zakira entering the barrier next, the rest of us follow them nervously. Though well, our nervousness blows away the moment we pass through.

“What the...!?”

The grandeur of the Elven magical academy is such that I momentarily forget to breathe. Unlike what I expected, the structure is not built inside a giant tree as every other structure in the Elven Kingdom, but instead, it is a castle— given, a castle unlike any other I’ve ever seen.

Made purely out of white marbles, it seems to faintly glow against the sun. The fortified walls surrounding it are high, so is the open archway in front of us (with a couple of guards are standing on each side). The open grounds around the castle are also vast, and looking closely, I can see several Elves playing around or simply relaxing there. e to our magical academy, everyone,” Ilyrana, who was waiting for all of us to enter, addresses us again. “As you can see, a guest badge has been attached to the front of your clothes. Please remember not to take it off under any circumstances, or you won’t be able to stay inside the barrier surrounding the academy.”

Looking down, I find that there’s indeed a round and shiny badge pinned to my shirt with the word ‘Guest’ written on it. Everyone else has similar badges like mine— well, all except Ilyrana herself.

Although she’s wearing a badge, it’s quite different from the rest of us (understandably, as she isn’t a guest but a regular student). While ours look like they’re simply made out of iron, her badge is made out of pure gold— with the number “1” boldly engraved on it.

“Other than that, just remember not to leave the group, and you will have a great time. Let’s go inside, then, shall we?”

We move through the archway, stepping inside the castle and entering a giant hall.

“This is the assembly hall. We gather here whenever there are some major announcements to be made —”

...

Wait...

As my eyes wander down to check out her bountiful assets (yes, they’re top-notch), I notice a golden badge pinned above her breasts— the second one I’ve seen today— with the number ‘2’ engraved on it.

“You already know what I want, Ilyrana,” the woman says loudly, folding her arms while looking up at us.

“Not now, Saria. I am giving a tour to our human guests,” Ilyrana replies coldly.

“I am sure they won’t mind. And anyway, you know the rules. You cannot refuse,” Saria says with a smirk.

“...”

“Are we really doing this, now? Have you forgotten what happened last time?” Ilyrana asks, raising her eyebrows.

“That was a long time ago and I’ve leveled up a lot since then. And anyway, if a human can defeat you, I certainly can. You don’t deserve that badge, Ilyrana,” Saria answers with a ruthless look on her face.

...

“... so be it,” Ilyrana says quietly. I can sense a cold fury in her voice.

Then, with a sigh, she turns around to look at us.

“I am sorry, but that girl over there is challenging me for a duel. And unfortunately, according to the rules of our academy, I cannot decline it while being on the training grounds— especially when the challenger wears the same badge as mine,” she informs us.

“But don’t worry, it will be over in a few minutes. I will make sure of that.”

*gulp*

I gulp down the saliva in my mouth. The eerily calm face of Ilyrana is giving me a strange sense of foreboding. I have this feeling that this woman, Saira, has just made the biggest mistake of her life; she has given Ilyrana a way to vent out her pent-up anger.