Chapter 48: Enrolling in the University
After discussing my plans with Paul, I went out to the market and bought some magic stones using most of the money I had left. Afterward, I walked to the new home I had bought and spent several hours crafting a magic implement that I had made good use of in my previous life, a lithograph stone.
I used earth magic to create the material to be used in making the lithograph stone. I also used it to carve the complex magic circles on the back side of the tablet and inserted one of the magic stones I just purchased to act as the power source.
After creating two of them, linking them together, and testing to make sure they worked, I conjured a hard casing to fit around the back side of the tablet. The casing had a magic circle of its own on the inside which would activate when it was broken open. The activation would cause the lithograph stone to self-destruct. I did this to make sure that nobody who bought one of these could try to study the magic circles and reverse engineer the product.
Once I finished, I sealed the casing onto the back of the tablet shaped lithograph stone and the product was finished. The stone had a prescribed area to write a message and a single button beside it.
Anything written in the prescribed area would be sent to any paired stones when the button was pressed. When you received a message, it would remain until you pressed the button to remove it. These stones effectively allowed long range communication similar to sending a text message in my old world.
After finishing the first two stones, I made my way to the Magic University. The guards at the gate recognized me from my previous visits and I told them I was here to enroll as a student for the upcoming schoolyear. They let me pass and one of them guided me to the enrollment building.
The enrollment office had a waiting area adjacent to the main door and a desk in the middle of the room. Behind the desk was the door to Vice Principal Jenius' office. There was nobody else in the waiting area.
A kind looking receptionist sat behind the desk and greeted me when I walked in.
"Good afternoon, how may I help you?"
"I was hoping to enroll in the academy for the upcoming schoolyear."
The receptionist reached under her desk and pulled out a couple sheets of paper.
"Please fill out these forms."
The top form she handed me asked for my name and address and also had a section detailing each school of magic and had blanks for me to write my current capability in each. The bottom form seemed to be more of a legal document detailing tuition costs and payment plans.
I reached out to hand her back the billing form.
"I was hoping to enroll as a special student."
"I'm sorry, but one cannot apply for the position of a special student. That role is reserved only for a select few who have received a special invitation from the Vice Principal himself."
"I see. In that case, could I please schedule a meeting with him?"
"Vice Principal Jenius is a very busy man. I'm afraid he does not have the time to take appointments with just anybody."
The receptionist was giving me a look that said she had seen this before. Some young magician who considered himself a prodigy because he could cast a couple advanced rank spells and had gotten a big head. It seemed that I would need to prove otherwise to earn myself a meeting with Jenius.
I raised up my hand and pointed it at the door to Jenius' office. I conjured a stone cannon in the shape of a fist and used it to knock at the door.
"What are you doing!?" The receptionist stood up in a panic.
The stone fist dissipated into dust as we heard footsteps approaching the door from the other side. The doorknob turned and the door opened as Jenius stepped out.
"Is something the matter, Meghan? Do you need something?", Jenius asked.
"I-I'm sorry Vice Principal. This boy wanted to meet with you and knocked at your door without permission!"
"What? From all the way over there?", Jenius looked at me confused.
"Yes! He used some sort of magic I've never seen before!"
"Magic that knocks at a door from afar? How amusing. Tell me boy, what is your name?"
"Rudeus Greyrat, sir", I said with a short bow.
"Rudeus... I feel like I've heard that name before... Oh yes! Do you perhaps know a young girl about your age named Sylphiette?"
"Of course. She is a very good friend of mine. I've known her since we were very young."
"I see. She did tell me that someone named 'Rudy' had taught her magic. Was she really referring to you? I expected someone older."
"Ah, yes. I did teach her magic when we were young. I was happy to see she has kept up with her practice."
"I see, I see! Please. Follow me and take a seat."
Jenius led me past the annoyed receptionist and offered me a seat in his office.
"Now then, can I assume you are able to cast spells without incantations like Sylphiette?
"Yes, that is the case."
"Very good! Are you able to do so in all schools of magic like her as well?"
"Uh... no, actually. For some reason I seem to struggle with healing and detoxification magic. I can't seem to cast spells from those schools without an incantation."
Jenius looked a little sullen for a moment. "I understand. It was unfair to expect so much of you. It is already an incredibly impressive feat to be capable of silent casting to begin with."
"Well, I do make up for my lack of talent in healing in my elemental magic", I said. Jenius' disappointment had me feeling like I needed to defend myself for some reason.
"May I ask what you wanted to meet with me about? Were you perhaps hoping to enroll in our academy?" Jenius had an excited look on his face. He was always eager to recruit talented individuals to his beloved university.
"Yes, I was. Your university boasts a wide variety of resources that I would find very helpful. I would greatly appreciate it if you would be willing to accept me as a special student."
"I see. To be honest, it is very unusual for someone to come here requesting that privilege. However, I see no harm in it. I would love to have you here at Ranoa University. There is one small matter I would like to take care of first, though."
"You want to test my abilities first, correct?"
"Haha! It seems you can read minds too."
"Not quite", I answered back with a small laugh of my own. "But I expected as much. It's only natural you would want to ensure someone has the capabilities when they make claims like these."
"Would you mind demonstrating your abilities through a mock battle with Sylphiette? She's made a name for herself here at the academy. In fact, most of our professors agree that she's our top student!"
"Hmm... I don't really mind, but..."
"Oh, don't worry, our sparring facilities are equipped with state of the art barriers that automatically heal any injuries taken during sparring matches. They are as effective as Saint-Tier healing magic!"
"No, it's not that."
"What's the problem, then?", Jenius asked with a skeptic look on his face.
"It's more that I don't want to embarrass her. You said yourself that she's made a name for herself here. Well, I'm not trying to put her down, but I'm quite certain that she will stand no chance against me when it comes to combat."
"Hahaha! I like your confidence! I've heard from Sylphiette that you've been gone for some time now. She told me that your family had gone looking for you after the displacement incident. You may not have known, but over the course of this schoolyear, Sylphiette has been sparring in combat training matches on a daily basis. She's practiced with senior students, and even teachers. Since her enrollment at the school nearly a year ago, I'll have you know she's not lost a single match. Not even against the professors!"
I couldn't help but smile at Jenius' praise. It was an honest smile that a proud master has when he hears someone else praising his student.
"Very well. It seems that it might do Sylphy some good to have someone stronger to spar against. You need to have a goal to aspire for in order to grow stronger, after all."
"Oh? Now you have me even more excited to witness this match."
"I will accept, under one condition. My match with Sylphy is to be kept private. I don't want to ruin her perfect record, after all."
"I can understand your concern, but we will need to have SOMEONE witness your match. The whole purpose was for you to prove yourself after all. Would it be alright if Principal Georg, Professor Tenzin, and myself were to act as witnesses to your match?"
"Yes, that's fine. Just so long as we reserve the training hall so that other students will not be there. Also... out of curiosity, who is Professor Tenzin? I don't believe we've met."
"He's one of our more accomplished professors. He's a King Tier wind magician who is capable of silent casting, like yourself."
"Is that so? I would love to meet him then."
After filling out my registration paperwork, Jenius guided me to their training hall. Once inside, he called out to the head professor in charge of combat training classes.
"Professor Gueta, come here for a moment."
"Do you need something, Vice Principal?", the professor asked after running up to us.
"Unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you to cancel the rest of today's classes and clear out the training hall. Also, do you happen to know where Sylphiette is at the moment?"
"Yes sir, that won't be a problem. Sylphiette is here now. Her combat training class is the last of the day. I'll send her over to you before clearing everyone else out from the hall."
Professor Gueta then ran back towards the large crowd of students and got Sylphy's attention before yelling out for everyone else to leave the building for today.
"Rudy! Vice Principal! What are you doing here? Did you decide to enroll now after all?"
"Yes, Rudeus has applied to enroll as a special student much like yourself."
Sylphiette's face brightened hearing the good news.
"I was hoping you'd be willing to assist us in the matter. I have asked your friend here to demonstrate his magic in a mock battle with you. You don't mind having a quick sparring match with him, do you?"
"A S-sparring match? Against Rudy!?", Sylphy took a step back in surprise before steeling herself in determination. "Yes! Of course, I don't mind helping! I can't wait to show you how far I've come, Rudy!"
"I'm excited as well, Sylphy. Make sure you don't hold back. Show me what you can do!"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
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