Clei blinked, the cold, guarded mask he had worn for a decade slipping just a fraction. A faint, sheepish smile touched his lips, softening his sharp features. "You too," he replied softly.
From the doorway, Garrick watched the exchange. His sharp eyes missed nothing. That look, the Village Head thought, his jaw tightening slightly as a heavy suspicion settled in his gut. I need to investigate what really happened to that boy back then.
After a few more exchanged pleasantries, the group finally gathered their gear and headed for the door.
But as they stepped out into the crisp morning air, they stopped dead in their tracks.
The village square was packed. Captain Ludwig, his arm in a sling, stood at the front alongside the surviving guards. Behind them were dozens of villagers—bakers, blacksmiths, farmers, and children.
"Three cheers for the heroes!" Ludwig roared, his voice thick with emotion.
The crowd erupted. Cheers and applause echoed off the timber houses. The villagers had only learned the terrifying details late last night. To prevent widespread panic, the Deacon had officially downplayed the incident to the public as a severe Aetherborn rampage led by a rare Alpha. But even with the truth of the Umbral Blight hidden, the sheer scale of the destruction was enough to cement the group's status. To them, the people standing before them weren't just a teacher and some students; they were the saviors of Althea.
Toshi beamed, puffing his chest out. Teresa maintained a dignified, slight smile, nodding graciously to the crowd. Beside her, Verdehile's cold facade cracked, a deep blush creeping up her neck as she shyly accepted the praise.
Clei, however, felt a painful throbbing in his chest.
He looked past the cheering crowd and saw familiar faces. Some were children he had once played with, now grown into blacksmiths and bakers. Others were the very neighbors who had thrown stones and called him cursed. The memories echoed in his mind, sharp and suffocating.
He forced a faint, polite smile for the crowd, but his breath hitched. Quickly, he dropped his gaze and stepped slightly behind Teresa's tall frame, using her as a shield against the villagers' adoring eyes.
Garrick cleared his throat, raising a hand to quiet the crowd. "You see, the village is deeply grateful. They wanted to hold a massive feast for you, but I told them you have urgent business back in Anatolia."
He turned to his daughter, his gruff voice softening into something painfully paternal. "This is your first time away from home, Elycia. Take care of yourself. And send me letters through the messenger pigeons as soon as you settle in."
Elycia's cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "Dad, I'm not a child anymore. I will. Take care."
She turned back to the crowd, waving brightly. But as she looked at the faces of her people, she secretly swore an oath in her heart. I will return stronger. Next time, I will be the one protecting you.
With a final wave, the group boarded the reinforced carriage. The wheels crunched against the dirt road, and the long journey southwest began.
—
Two days passed, and the road remained uneventful.
Most of the time was spent sitting inside the spacious carriage. Teresa sat near the window, her eyes constantly scanning the tree line, her mana subtly extended to assess any potential dangers.
Clei, meanwhile, had retreated into his own world. Before departing, he had pulled a few worn, leather-bound books from his spatial ring. He spent the entire journey reading Silas's dense notes on elemental theory, keeping to himself and offering only perfunctory replies when spoken to.
Toshi, as usual, was the noisiest. He had spent the last two days relentlessly bothering Clei, asking how he had gotten so strong.
"Just training," Clei would reply flatly, not looking up from his book. "If you want to get stronger, keep up."
On the other side of the carriage, Elycia and Verdehile had surprisingly hit it off. The usually cold, stoic ice mage found herself opening up as Elycia chatted animatedly about life in the Great Forest. In return, Verdehile provided a fascinating, insider's look at the political landscape of Anatolia and the noble houses.
But despite the lively chatter, Elycia kept stealing glances at the boy reading in the corner. They had a few brief conversations, but they were always awkward, filled with unspoken words, and quickly cut short.
Verdehile's imagination was running wild. She could feel the thick, unspoken tension between the two. Even Toshi, as dense as he was, had stopped interrupting them when they were in the same sentence, sensing a strange barrier between them.
One night, while making camp in a clearing, Clei and Toshi went to the nearby stream to fetch water.
Verdehile waited until their footsteps faded before she couldn't hold it in any longer. She looked at Elycia, her icy blue eyes filled with curiosity. "Is there something between you and Clei? Do you two know each other?"
A few yards away, hidden in the shadows of a large oak tree, Teresa paused her meditation. Her ears perked up slightly.
Elycia's face suddenly turned bright red, but the color quickly drained, replaced by a profound, gloomy sadness. A mix of emotions warred in her chest, and she let out a long, shaky sigh.
"No... it's not like that," Elycia whispered, staring into the dying embers of the campfire. "Clei just reminds me of a childhood friend. I... I wasn't a good friend to him. I couldn't even protect him when he was being... bullied."
The raw sadness in her tone made the air feel heavy. Verdehile, who had been expecting a juicy romantic confession, was completely stifled. Her mouth opened, but no words came out.
After a long, awkward silence, Verdehile gently patted Elycia's shoulder and quickly changed the subject, not wanting the night to grow any colder.
—
The next afternoon, the carriage suddenly lurched to a halt.
Instantly, a massive, suffocating pressure descended upon the road. The earth beneath the carriage groaned, and the air grew incredibly dense.
Clei and Elycia were immediately alarmed. Their mana flared in instinctive defense against the overwhelming, crushing aura. Clei's hand darted toward his sword, his heart hammering against his ribs. Because of his unique physiology and years of surviving in the deep forest, he was extremely sensitive to strong mana. This wasn't just a strong guest; this presence was vastly superior to Teresa's. It evoked a primal sense of dread, making the air feel too thick to breathe.
But then, he glanced at his companions. Teresa, Toshi, and Verdehile were completely relaxed, their postures loose as they recognized the approaching mana signature.
A man stepped out from the dense tree line, blocking the path. He was in his late fifties, completely bald, with bulging, corded muscles that stretched the limits of his leather armor. At first glance, his massive physique screamed Aura Knight, but the dense, gravitational pull of his mana betrayed his true nature. He was a B-rank Earth Mage.
Seeing it was an ally, Clei and Elycia slowly released their breath, reining in their mana.
Teresa stepped down from the carriage and bowed respectfully. "Magister Roderick. Thank you for coming to meet us."
Roderick let out a gruff snort, crossing his massive arms. "You're late, Teresa. I expected to intercept you yesterday. You have no idea how much the old man pestered me to meet you here."
"My apologies, Magister," Teresa explained calmly. "We encountered a coordinated Aetherborn horde led by a Rank 4 Alpha near Althea. We had to delay our departure to secure the village and allow the students to recover from the battle."
Roderick's eyebrows rose slightly. "A Rank 4? Good. Means you kids are seeing the real world before you even reach the gates."
Teresa offered a bitter, humorless smile. "No, Magister. It wasn't just an Aetherborn. It was a Hollowed."
She then provided a concise but thorough report of the battle, detailing the beast's metallic hide, the black veins of corruption, and the Deacon's purification.
Roderick's gruff demeanor vanished, replaced by a cautious, alarmed expression. The earth beneath his boots subtly shifted as his mana flared. "A Hollowed... This changes things. We need to report this to the Dean immediately."
Teresa didn't flinch. "I've already sent a missive to the Dean, Magister. He should be aware by now."
He shook his head, clearing the grim thoughts, and turned his attention to the students peering out of the carriage. "Look at you two. It's only been a month, but I can already sense you've both gotten stronger," he grunted to Toshi and Verdehile. "Grown a bit, too. I'll be testing your progress on the road. Don't think you can slack off just because we're traveling."
Toshi and Verdehile grimaced, exchanging a look of shared dread.
Then, Roderick's sharp gaze shifted to Clei and Elycia. He frowned, his thick brows knitting together. "The Dean told me you were bringing one new student back. Why are there two?"
Teresa stepped forward. "This is Clei Vane, a D-rank Fire Mage. He is the one the Dean mentioned." She gestured to the girl beside him. "And this is Elycia, an E-rank Wind Aura Knight. She is the Village Head's daughter from Althea. She was already qualified to join the academy a year ago—reaching E-rank at fifteen is a rare feat—but her duties to the village kept her tied there until now."
Roderick looked Clei up and down, his eyes narrowing as he sensed the boy's dense, compressed mana. "D-rank at sixteen? The Dean wasn't exaggerating." He then looked at Elycia. "And a Wind Knight. Good."
He rolled his shoulders, a series of loud pops echoing from his joints. "Actually, this old man's bones have been getting rusty from traveling day and night. Might as well get some exercise."
Teresa facepalmed, a bitter smile touching her lips. "Please keep it away from the carriage, Magister. Don't cause unnecessary damage, and please, don't scare the horses."
She wasn't exaggerating. The carriage master, a seasoned D-rank guard, stood near the reins looking pale and deeply unsettled. The transport was pulled by a pair of massive Rank 2 Aetherborn draft horses—beasts that could normally trample a pack of wolves without blinking. But right now, they were trembling violently, their eyes wide with sheer, primal terror. The oppressive, gravitational weight of Roderick's B-rank aura was suffocating them.
Ignoring the terrified beasts, a dangerous glint appeared in the old man's eye. The earth beneath his boots rumbled, and a faint, golden-brown aura began to leak from his skin.
Roderick grinned, cracking his massive knuckles. "Ignis Academy's entrance standards have been slipping lately. Let's see if you can back up your ranks. So all four of you, come at me. Show me everything you've got."