“... Wow.”
This was the first time that Ethan had seen a library as big as the library in the Academy. But, he wasn’t actually amazed at the size of the library, but the books inside the library.
The books were actually flying, and acting like birds. The students that were in the library, would just raise their wands high in the air, and the books that they wanted would fly to them automatically.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet, Ethan.” Nicole smirked as she raised her own wand and waved it in the air.
A moment later, dozens of books flew in her direction and merged together forming a projection similar to a 98 inch Flat Screen T.V.
The projection showed the Eastshire Region and all the landmarks, and popular attractions in it.
The beautiful lady with long pink hair then pointed at Brynhildr Academy, zooming in on its location.
“Tadah!” Nicole made a gesture as she presented the complete map of Brynhildr Academy, with all the landmarks available. “Isn’t it great?”
The pink-haired lady then tapped the location of the Great Eagle Forest, which was the forest on the outskirts of the Academy grounds that many wild beasts call their home.
Several of the creatures that lived inside the forest appeared in the projection, making Ethan and Chloe look at it with wonder.
“Lovely,” Chloe commented. “But, why is there no sound?
She had noticed that although the pictures were showing animals as they moved in the wild, she wasn’t able to hear their roars, growls, shrieks, and chirping.
“That’s because, this is the library,” Nicole said as she pressed a finger over her lip. “All the books are in silent mode. If you want to hear the sounds, you can just turn it on using magic. But, do it inside your room, and not in the library, okay?”
Nicole winked at Ethan, which made the young man sigh internally.
‘Unfortunately, I can’t use this method because I can’t use magic,’ Ethan thought. ‘But, it’s good to know that I don’t need to spend a lot of time looking for books. I can just ask the librarian to call them for me.’
Several minutes later, the three teenagers continued their exploration.
After going to the library, they went to the gardens of the Academy where the flowers were in full bloom all year round. Several little Fairies, that had butterfly wings, were taking care of the flowers, which made Chloe’s eye sparkle.
These fairies were only a hand tall, and their beautiful appearances could easily captivate those who saw them.
“Fairies! This is the first time I’ve seen Fairies,” Chloe said in awe as she approached one of the Fairies that was sitting on top of a red rose. “You’re so pretty…”
“And you look ugly,” the Fairy replied. “Stupid B*tch!”
“... Excuse me?” Chloe blinked because she thought that she had just had a hallucination after talking to the Fairy.
“Wow! You’re so pretty!” the Fairy said with a smile. “Do you have candies?”
“Sorry, I don’t have candies with me.”
“Then what are you doing here? Scram, Ugly!”
The Fairy then blew something on the palm of her hand, creating a pollen cloud that hit Chloe’s face making her sneeze repeatedly.
“Hahaha! Serves you right!” The naughty Fairy laughed as she flew around Chloe hurling insults at her. “When you want to talk to Fairies, you must give us something sweet! Otherwise, you are in for a nasty treat!”
Chloe was very tempted to shoot a Fire Bolt at the Fairy for playing a prank on her, but before she could do that, Ethan made his move and called out to the naughty, red-haired Fairy who was about to cast another sneezing spell on Chloe.
“I have candies with me,” Ethan said as he presented several candies wrapped in colorful wrappers on his hand. “Take as many as you like.”
“Wow! Thank you!” The Fairy immediately took one of the candies, which was nearly half her size. “I like you! What’s your name, Handsome?”
“Ethan.”
“Nice to meet you, Ethan! My name is Ruby. Can I share the rest of the candies to my friends?”
Ethan nodded with a smile. “Of course.”
Ruby gave the handsome teenager a very sweet smile before facing the garden.
“Girls! We have some candies here!” Ruby shouted. “Come and get it before it's gone!”
Dozens of Fairies stopped what they were doing and immediately flew towards the blue-haired boy like a swarm of bees.
“You have candies?”
“Got any chocolates?”
“I don’t like sour candies. I only eat sweet ones!”
“Can I have two?”
The candies in Ethan’s hands immediately disappeared, so he had no choice but to take out more candies from his storage ring. The storage ring that he received as a prize didn’t require any magic to activate.
According to the Headmaster, Professor Rinehart, the gem embedded on its center was made from the highest-grade Beast Core that was taken from the heart of a Blue Dragon.
This meant that it had enough magical power to light up the entire academy for fifty years, and would still have power to spare.
When all the Fairies had a candy each, they all said their thanks and returned to their duty of maintaining the garden. However, before they left, all of them said that Ethan could come and visit them anytime, on the condition that he would bring them something sweet to eat.
“I’ll never look at Fairies the same way again,” Chloe muttered. “They’re nasty little buggers.”
Nicole giggled after hearing Chloe’s words.
“Fairies are natural pranksters,” Nicole commented. “It is very rare for them to get along with other races. They also have a peculiar ability to know which people are good or bad. They especially hate those who are mean to little children, and will not hesitate to use their own magic to punish them if need be.
“They also like to hold grudges, and will often call for backup to get revenge on those who wronged them. There is even a saying in the Magical World. You are better off offending a Dwarf, than offending a Fairy.”
Nicole then glanced at the young man who was walking by her side with a smile.
“The Fairies wouldn’t have approached you if you were a bad person, Ethan,” Nicole stated. “It seems that you got the Fairy’s Stamp of Approval.”
Chloe pouted. “Does that mean that I’m a bad person because the Fairy attacked me?”
“Of course not,” Nicole giggled. “If you were really a bad person, that Fairy would not have used a sneezing spell on you. They would have immediately unleashed wind blades that can easily cut a bamboo tree in half. Unlike us, they don’t need to use wands to cast magic. They can do it just by thinking or waving their hands.”
After leaving the Gardens, the three continued to explore the Academy until they arrived at the training grounds where Wizards and Witches practiced their offensive magic on test dummies.
There was also an arena on the far right side of the training ground, which Nicole explained to be the place where magical duels took place.
Currently, there was a crowd gathering at the arena, which meant that a magical duel was taking place.
“It seems that Langston is up to his old tricks again,” Nicole frowned after seeing the handsome wizard with short blonde hair and blue eyes standing in the arena. “Now, just who is his opponent this time?”
Nicole shifted her gaze to a lady with long red hair, who had a scowl on her face.
“He’s facing off against Garnet?” the corner of Nicole’s lips rose up to a smile because she recognized who the red-haired lady was. “Looks like we’re about to see something fun. Look closely, Ethan, Chloe, this is a fight that you should pay close attention to.”
Nicole had heard stories of the Second Year student from the Eques Manor, who specialized in Fire Magic.
Her control over her unique ability was so good, that she was given the moniker, Scarlet Witch, by everyone in the Academy due to how reactive her magic, and her temper were.
Ethan had never seen a magical duel before, so she listened to Nicole’s advice and paid attention to the two combatants that were about to hurl spells at each other.
Unknown to the students, two Professors were paying attention to the duel that was about to happen.
One of them was the beautiful professor that gave Ethan the Moulding Ball that he used during the Initiation Ceremony. If it wasn't for her, Ethan wouldn't have stood a chance in the ceremony that was held every year to welcome the First Years.
The other was a professor wearing knightley clothes, who oversaw everything that was happening in the Training Grounds.
“Who do you think will win?” the beautiful professor asked.
“I have no clue,” the Knightly Professor replied. “All I know is that this is the first duel that has happened inside the Academy since the new school term began. This year’s First Years are a rowdy lot.”
The beautiful professor laughed because she agreed with her acquaintance’s reply. She had indeed seen some promising First Years, and one of them was paying close attention to the match that was about to start.
“I’ve heard that the Scarlet Witch was one of the Pillars of last year’s First Years,” Nicole said as he gave Ethan a side-long glance. “She must be good to have been personally chosen by a Professor of the Academy.”
The young man pretended that he didn’t hear Nicole’s statement, and simply focused his attention on the two duelists in the center of the arena.
“Isn’t that First Year one of the pillars? I believe his name is Langston Kerr.”
“Isn’t that the noble family that holds great influence over the other nobles in Eastshire?”
“Indeed. It seems that he challenged one of the Pillars last year in order to redeem himself from failing the Initiation Ceremony.”
“What a feisty kid. Just because he is handsome, and his family is of noble standing, he thinks he can do anything he wants here in the Academy.”
“Is that jealousy I hear? I’m sure that if you had his qualifications, you’d probably do the same.”
Ethan listened to the chatter in his surroundings and understood a bit of what was happening. It seemed that Langson had taken the initiative to offend the Scarlet Witch, Garnet, forcing her to challenge Langston in a duel.
“Are duels here very common?” Ethan asked Nicole who seemed to be very knowledgeable about the rules of the Academy.
“Yes,” Nicole replied in a heartbeat. “Since using Magic to attack someone in the Academy is against the rules, they needed to find a proper avenue to settle disputes. Of course, the victor isn’t always the one who was in the right. Having duels in the Arena gives people the chance to duke it out with each other, without fearing punishment from the Academy.”
“What happens to the loser of the duel?” Chloe inquired.
Nicole didn’t answer right away. Instead she narrowed her eyes to look at the two combatants in the Arena.
“It really depends on the contract they made before starting this duel,” Nicole replied. “Usually, a Professor mediates, and acts as the referee of the match. Since the one that was offended is Garnet, she'll probably ask Langston for some kind of compensation if he loses.”
“And, what if she is the one that loses?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t know,” Nicole replied. “But, in cases like this, it is the offender that will be the one compensating, instead of the offended.”
Ethan rubbed his chin as he pondered Langston’s motive for offending the Second Year Witch, who was known to have a quick temper.
‘Is it really just because he wants to get some fame?’ Ethan thought. ‘Being able to defeat a Second Year, who was also a pillar, would definitely show everyone that he is an exceptional Wizard. But, does it really have to be this way?’
What Ethan, and the others didn’t know was that Garnet was the daughter of a Baron.
Langston belonged to the Kerr Family, a Ducal Family, and Garnet’s family, the Estreas, was a member of an opposing faction.
Naturally, Langston wanted to humiliate the Second Year Witch, as well as send a message to the children of the nobility in the Academy that if they didn’t align themselves with his faction, they were his enemies.
This was very common in the Magical World because nobles prided themselves in being exceptional Wizards and Witches, which often led to conflicts with other nobles.
Suddenly, a middle-aged woman riding on a flying broom descended into the center of the Arena.
She was none other than Professor Ophelia.
“I will be the referee of this duel,” she declared. “The match will end if someone surrenders, loses consciousness, or is unable to continue the match. The safety mechanism of the Arena is now activated.
“As long as it is active, neither of you will die. Anyone who is about to receive a deadly blow will be automatically kicked out of the arena. Are both of you ready?”
Langston nodded before looking at his opponent with a mocking smile.
“I’ve always wanted to see how strong the previous Pillars of the First Years were,” Langston said as he pointed his wand at the red-headed lady in front of him. “Scarlet Witch, is it? After this match, you’ll just be called Scarlet B*tch.”
“Mr. Kerr, inappropriate words are not allowed here in the Academy,” Professor Ophelia stated. “Watch your words, or I will be forced to take disciplinary actions.”
“Understood, Professor,” Langston replied with a cheeky smile.
Garnet, whose patience had reached her limit, had also taken out her wand, and pointed it at the ground in front of her.
Seeing that both duelists were ready to fight, Professor Ophelia declared the start of the match.
“Start the Duel!” Professor Ophelia declared.
As soon as she gave the signal to attack, Langston immediately cast his magic with the intention to end the match as soon as possible.
“Tenebris Famma Anguis!”
Dark flames surged out in front of him, creating a fiery snake that lunged at Garnet with its jaws wide open.
The Scarlet Witch wasn’t fazed by Langston’s first attack, and simply slashed her wand sideways, using it like a sword.
Immediately, a blade made of flames, sliced the black snake in half, dispersing it completely.
“Chantless,” Nicole arched an eyebrow. “It seems that being a pillar of the previous year wasn’t just for show.”
Langston, whose spell had failed, raised his wand above his head, and unleashed his second offensive spell.
“Flamma Verberare!”
Several dark fireballs materialized in the air and shot towards the Scarlet Witch like cannonballs, making the spectators gasp in shock.
“He certainly has high magic power. I’ll give him that.”
“Although his control needs some work, this kind of output is enough to destroy a car.”
“The Scarlet Witch is in trouble now!”
However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Garnet slashed the fireballs with her wand, cutting them in half while they were still in mid-air, dispersing them completely.
“Are you done?” Garnet asked as her red eyes glowed faintly. “As expected of a Kerr. All talk and no bite.”
Langston gritted his teeth as gathered all of his magical power at the tip of his wand and unleashed his strongest attack.
“Try to slice this!” Langston roared. “Magna Fragor!”
A giant fireball that was nearly two meters big materialized in front of the blonde boy, who believed that his superior magic could overcome every hurdle in his path.
Since the magic of the Arena was activated, preventing anyone from dying, he decided to go all out and use his strongest skill to devastate his opponent.
For the first time since the match started, Garnet pointed her wand towards Langston and unleashed her own spell.
“Ignis Eversor,” Garnet chanted.
Immediately, a crimson fireball erupted from the tip of her wand and shot towards the giant black fireball that was headed in her direction.
Compared to the two-meter tall fireball that Langston had cast, the crimson fireball that Garnet had unleashed was only the size of a basketball ball.
Those who were watching had already deemed that the one who would win the battle was Langston, but as soon as the two fireballs collided, all of their assumptions were proven wrong.
For a brief moment, the giant black fireball absorbed the basketball-sized crimson fireball in its body. However, two seconds later, the giant fireball exploded, shocking everyone.
But, it didn’t end there. The crimson fireball remained intact and continued its trajectory towards the arrogant blonde boy who thought that he already had this duel in the bag.
A scream of disbelief and anger escaped Langston’s lips before he was ejected from the arena, preventing the crimson fireball from burning him to a crisp.
“Winner, Garnet Estrea!” Professor Ophelia declared before shifting her gaze towards the blonde teenager who was glaring hatefully at the red-headed Witch who stood in the arena. “Mr. Kerr, I hope that you will follow the agreement written on the contract. Failure to do so will result in your immediate expulsion from the Academy. Do I make myself clear?”
Langston gritted his teeth, but he had no choice but to nod his head. He was the one that provoked Garnet first, so the Academy wouldn’t sit idly if he didn’t honor the details of the duel’s contract.
Although the Kerr Family was an influential Ducal Family in the Magical World, they didn’t dare offend the backers of Brynhildr Academy, who could easily make them regret ever sending their son to study there.
‘Amazing…’ Ethan thought as he gazed at the Scarlet Witch, who had easily defeated Langston, whom many believed would be the winner of the match. ‘She’s so strong.’
As if sensing his gaze, Garnet glanced in Ethan’s direction and gave the handsome teenager a curt nod before leaving the arena.
Chloe, who noticed that Ethan was staring hard at the departing Scarlet Witch, pinched his waist, making the latter cry out in pain and shock.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” Ethan asked as he rubbed his poor waist, which had suffered an injustice.
“You had a stupid look on your face, so I thought that someone cast a befuddle spell on you,” Chloe replied with a smile. “It seems that it was a false alarm.”
Ethan wanted to flick Chloe’s forehead so badly as a way to return her favor. However, after remembering that the pretty lady with light-brown hair was like a honey badger when provoked, he decided that it wasn’t worth it getting beaten up for something so stupid.
Besides, Chloe could cast Fire Bolts, while he couldn’t cast anything. Right now, he was at a great disadvantage, so he decided to be the bigger man and set aside his grudge for the time being.
“One day, I’ll get back at you, and it won’t end with just pinching your waist,” Ethan said, disgruntled.
“Oh, then what else are you planning to pinch?” Nicole asked in a teasing tone. “You’re not planning to pinch ‘those’ kinds of places, right?”
Ethan and Chloe blinked at the same time because they didn’t know what Nicole was talking about.
Seeing that her joke wasn’t understood by the two teenagers, Nicole simply shook her head and smiled.
‘It seems that these two are either ignorant or innocent,’ Nicole thought. ‘I guess I’ll hold back on teasing them for now.’
The pink-haired beauty then shifted her attention on the handsome blonde boy who had stormed off in the distance because of the embarrassment of losing in front of so many people.
‘Truly a pity,’ Nicole mused. ‘The higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment.’
A sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head helplessly.
As one of the Pillars of the First Years of the current school year, Nicole thought that she wouldn’t feel bored with people in the same age group as her. She came to the academy to look for talented Wizards that held great promise.
But after seeing Langston’s lackluster performance, she hoped that there was someone among the First Years, who could give her a duel that she would never forget.
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