บท 60: Chapter 60
Kaliweir's rivalry with him became quickly annoying.
While Jayden preferred to stay by himself and didn't bother Harry, Kaliweir somehow had the focus on both Acolytes with a grade 5 talent.
Still, Harry managed to keep his distance from that guy and ignored him.
While the Acolytes formed small groups, Harry kept to himself and Bessita but would from time to time chat with the less talented Acolytes, giving them a bit of encouragement.
Beirut was also quite approachable; even though he didn't have much importance in the story, it never hurt to be on good terms.
He knew that Kaliweir didn't matter much in the long term, and even Jayden, while playing a minor role in the original story, was unimportant to Harry since he already had the information the boy would obtain in the future.
All he had to do was endure them during the journey. Rather, he spent his time collecting as much information and data as he could. If he wanted to return home as soon as possible, he needed all the information he could get.
Harry had the ideal tool for that: Legilimency. While he didn't dare to read the minds of any of the Magus, not sure if they would be able to notice his intrusion, the same couldn't be said about the Acolytes.
Especially since they weren't trained yet.
While the information they had was not very important or meaningful in the bigger picture, It was a nice addition to his database, since almost all of them had a noble or wealthy background and had enjoyed at least a decent education.
Additionally, many of them had their own knight training, or even great knight training technique. Before they left for the journey, Harry had visited George, stole his Great Knight Training technique, and did the same with as many others that weren't heading in the same direction as him.
Chernobyl Isles, the place he was currently on, was only a smaller continent close to the South Coast, a much bigger continent. And even then, he already knew the South Coast was an isolated and poor part of the Magus World.
But it was still so big that they had journeys spanning multiple days in front of them. The South Coast was also split into two parts, the Light Side and the Dark Side, banded together and occupying their own regions.
George would travel to the light side while Harry and Bessita would travel to the dark side.
Harry managed to collect quite a collection of different knight training techniques and other information that would serve him in the long term.
Things like small secrets were passed down through families. Like the location of some old ruins that could contain different treasures. Or the potential location of advanced meditation techniques or spells, and so on. Every bit helped.
To get to the South Coast, they were using flying ships, which Harry was determined to get the blueprints for in the future.
His military having access to flying ships would be a powerful tool. While he knew that his individual power was important, he also knew that a strong military or knowledge were other forms of power. He would take whatever he could get.
In order to get to the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy, they were using the same ship as Sage Gotham's Hut. Basically, he would focus on his information collection during the journey.
Jayden and a Grade 5 talent from Sage Gotham's Hut were actually the most interesting troves of information.
Both of them started their lessons early since the professors responsible for collecting students from the Chernobyl Isles got the first pick for the job.
And Harry was enjoying these lessons too. Still, he didn't dare to practice the Basic Meditation Technique he had stolen from Jayden's and the Sage Gotham's Hut Student's minds since it would be noticeable if he did.
He could conceal his own magic since it was an unfamiliar concept to these Rank 1 magus, but an Rank 1 acolyte would be noticeable. And that would raise a lot of uncomfortable questions.
Instead, he could already use this time to use the AI chip to improve that meditation technique to its limit.
Dorotte didn't approach Harry since he had already recruited Jayden, so Harry hadn't talked to the man a lot. He was focusing his attention on his student.
Harry was still enjoying the introductory lessons the professor gave his students, fully profiting from the advantage of having a good professor even without actually having one.
The journey itself passed without much trouble, at least in Harry's eyes.
There was a bit of conflict between Jayden and Kaliweir, who had focused his attention on Jayden since he already had a professor. There were some encounters with powerful beasts that the magus on the ship had to face, but in the end, they arrived safely at their goal.
———
"We have arrived at the Abyssal Bone Moor! Attention to all acolytes of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy! Please bring your belongings and leave the ship in an orderly fashion." A voice rang through the cabins.
"Finally, it became annoying having to avoid Kaliweir on that small ship." Bessita complained as she stood up from her seat beside Harry in his cabin. She would often hide in there, since this was the only place where Kaliweir didn't dare to annoy her.
Since Kaliweir and Jayden had clashed on the ship, which Jayden won thanks to a magic artifact he had received from Dorotte, Kaliweir had returned his attention to Harry, which meant trying to seduce Bessita.
Direct apperentices just had too much advantage in comparison to regular acolytes, so Kaliweir had become scared of Jayden.
A dozen or so people walked out of the ship.
"Looks dark…" Bessita murmured as they stood at the edge of a swamp, a sign in front of them saying, 'The land of shadows and death—Bone Abyssal Moor'
"At least we will have more advantage studying here. Can't you feel it? It feels comfortable." Harry replied that the feeling around them had changed in comparison to on the ship or somewhere else.
"Follow me! But be careful! While our Acolytes are regularly cleaning out the region, there are still some wild creatures and other dangers in the area. If you want to wander, we will be able to visit your grave soon after." Doroote warned them with a chuckle while leading them into the swamp with his bones creaking.
The group gradually traversed across the Abyssal Bone Moor while Harry was busy collecting more data. With his current strength, he felt confident that he could handle the creatures that were close by, even without magic.
But it was obvious that this place was more dangerous than the Great Planes of Death.
Soon they entered a black forest.
[ Warning! A low-threat creature is approaching your current Position! ]
That was actually the highest warning, beyond a Magus he had received. The AI chip identified a Rank 1 magus, like Dorotte, also only as a medium threat. Which gave Harry a good idea of his current strength.
And the difference between an acolyte and an official magus was enormous. Acolytes were just the preparatory ranks of a magus, split into three stages. They could use a bit of magic, but in comparison to a magus, it was nothing.
As far as Harry knew, Dorotte was one of the stronger magus in the academy. Like in anything, there were different methods of doing something, like becoming a magus.
The Cannon Fodder advances forcefully with chemicals and will be only a bit stronger than a regular Rank 3 acolyte, most likely stuck on that level for the rest of their lives.
But an elite will use an advanced meditation technique and gain the chance to progress further than any of that fodder. From what Harry could tell, Dorotte had used an advanced meditation technique.
Even then, this creature must be at most on the level of an acolyte.
Suddenly, a black Raven with red eyes swooped down at Harry's position, who just calmly dodged. The Raven continued its sharp claws, heading towards the face of one of the other acolytes.
A greenish ball of liquid struck the Raven as it felt a gust of white smoke onto the wet ground. It took only seconds until it had corroded completely away and nothing of it remained.
"It seems as if the population of these pests has increased again. Time to publish some more missions." Dorotte commented in a bored tone, as if this were nothing more than an annoying chore, which it actually was. "What are you looking at? Let's go!"
They had to walk for another hour until they finally reached the center of the Abyssal Bone Forest, at a location that looked like a large graveyard.
It's massive; the grave stones were made out of black and white marbles and overgrown with weeds. Even some of the very same red-eyed roosters were resting atop some of the graves.
"Welcome to your home of shadow and death, Abyssal Bone Forest!" Dorotte snickered, like Harry had already guessed, taking pleasure in seeing the scared faces of the other Acolytes.
He could already feel the advantage of this place; there is a heightened concentration of dark and death elemental particles around him.
Harry also realized why he had always felt so comfortable on Skagos.
The feeling had been very similar; just the cold also felt good.
Dorotte led them towards the center of the graveyard, where a huge castle-like structure made of black marble tombstones had been constructed.
In its center was a marbled door, flanked by two statues.
"Password!" one of them said, a two-headed dog with spikes growing on its body.
On the other side was the statue of an earthworm with a razor-sharp fange, looking particularly cruel.
They were very lifelike; their black eyes seemed to watch them.
Dorotte stopped in front of the statues and said, "Enough Jumal! Don't you recognize me?" He asked with an annoyed voice.
Both of the statues guaffed, "Dortotte! Although we know each other, rules are rules!"
The dog licked its paws and let out a female voice: "Or, would you like to play with us?"
Now the earthworm also made a humanlike, threatening gesture: "Then come! I feel itchy!"
"Alright, alright! Let me think." Dorotte rolled his eyes within their bony sockets and grumbled, "I really should shove this defensive spell formation up the ass of the person who designed it."
"Hurry up and say the password!" The huge dog growled.
"The password is... I hate smelly bones!" Dorotte said softly.
Harry's mouth twisted a bit, but he didn't laugh about that childish joke. He also warned Bessita not to laugh or she would regret it. While Magus was on a power trip with their superiority complexes, they were also petty.
It could be seen when one of the Acolytes let out a chuckle while the two statues were making fun of Dorotte.
"Hng!" Green flames suddenly ignited within Dorotte's eye sockets. "It seems we must teach the new acolytes how to respect their professors!"
Pa! Dorotte snapped his fingers.
And suddenly the Acolyte, who had dared to laugh, began to scream as he saw something that wasn't there: "AHHH! What is this? Don't come over! Leave me alone!"
It was a nightmare hex. An illusion, but for a regular acolyte, it is impossible to remove until it has naturally worn down, which could take months.
Such a punishment was still light. This was the kind of world in which the strong ruled and the weak had to obey. Nobody would have said anything if Dorotte had killed the Acolyte.
That Acolyte couldn't move anymore and had actually been carried into the academy by two slaves working in it. Both of them were Grand Knights, the peak of power on the
Chernobyl Isles since there were barely any Magi, even on the Acolyte level.
The internal parts of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy were underground and had a similar style to a medieval castle like Hogwarts. It was massive.
Overall, the academy had been split into several different areas, consisting of dormitories, classrooms, laboratories, gardens, trading and mission posts, and more. The exact location they would learn later.
Each magus has their own grave, which acts as their personal entrance to the academy.
Acolytes had to use one of the common ones, or their teachers, with their permission.
Every acolyte would be studying under a professor, and while that doesn't mean they were the personal acquaintance of that professor, they were still responsible for all matters between the acolyte and the academy.
This selection was important.
In the Magus World, everything had a price. A professor would teach an acolyte, but under specific conditions. And these conditions could be very dangerous; even death in one of your professor's experiments was a possibility.
Dorotte had brought them to the area where they would be registered at the academy and select their professor.
The first one he registered was his own Apperentice Jayden.
"Fifth Grade Talent! Not too bad!" The old man responsible for the registration said it was Jayden's information.
"Absolutely! Melda, that ass, pushed such a troublesome task onto me. Now I want to see his regret." Laughed Dorotte before his gaze landed on Harry, "Albeit there is a chance he will get his own. This year was profitable, and we got another one. Come here, Harry."
"Hello Sir!" Harry greeted the old man politely.
"Welcome, young one. It seems our academy was really lucky this year." The old man nodded as he read through Harry's information, "But first. Jayden, are you willing to become Dorotte's personal assistant?"
That whole thing was only a formality. Jayden wouldn't be so stupid to get a magical artifact from Dorotte and early lessons to just choose another professor here, and he obviously accepted the deal.
Once they were finished, Dorotte and Jayden were the first ones to leave the room, leaving the rest of the acolytes behind.
Now that he was done with them, the Old Man turned towards the remaining acolyte and said, "Since you already paid your fees and fulfilled your contract criteria, you are already acolytes of our academy. All that is left is to choose your professor."
"Overall, there are two methods you can use to choose your professor. The first one is by using this crystal ball free of charge and getting assigned one randomly. The old man explained as he pointed at a ball standing on his desk, "Or you can pay a magic crystal, and you get a bit of time to choose one from this list."
"It doesn't matter which method you use; once you have chosen your professor, you can't change it." Explained the old man before turning towards Harry, "As a Grade 5 talent, the academy gives you some advantages to nurture you. You can use the second method free of charge."
This pissed Kaliweir off, but the boy was smart enough to not say anything. He knew he would just end up like the Acolyte who had laughed about Dorotte.
"Thank you, sir. Can two acolytes choose the same professor?" Harry was interested.
"Only if the professor has offered two or more spots, it will be written in his offer. Is there someone you want to take with you?" The old man was not bothered by Harry's question.
"Yes, preferably." Harry said, pointing at Bessita, who had signed a contract with him.
She would only be useful for him in the near future if she joined him as the same professor.
"Then, if you find a professor who has two spots, I will register her too. But remember, while you get a bit of preferential treatment in the academy, don't overdo it. We don't want you to get lazy. If you fall behind, you will lose your benefits faster than you got them." The old man warned him, "Should I register you for a large dormitory? You can share after all."
"Ehm," Harry said, but got interrupted by Bessita.
"Yes!" She said.
"Okay, then make your selection."
It was good that Harry could choose Bessita too; the time limit for paying was short, and the amount of information was a lot. Without something like an AI chip, you would need multiple readings to find a good professor.
Many of the professors had unacceptable conditions in their offers. There were complete traps, like:
'Professor Estelle from the Department of Curses specializes in curses, human anatomy dissection, and soul studies. She offers information on five topics free of charge, allowing acolytes to choose the categories and receive guidance in their studies at any time.
Requirements: Participate in just one experiment—only one!'
That was basically luring someone in with very good benefits compared to others, but one would most likely not survive the first month in the academy.
Some required money, others participated in experiments, and others just worked.
But it didn't matter. Harry already knew which professor he wanted to go to.
The nice one who had helped the main character and gave him some cheats that he could only realize with an AI chip and a way to gather resources:
'Professor Kroft of the Department of Potioneering specializes in medicine, herbalism, and energy neutralization. He offers free information on one topic.
Requirements: Acolytes must assist with cleaning the experimental lab, preparing and handling various herbs, and helping the Magus with herbal concoctions (ensuring no harm to the acolytes).'
Sure, Harry Potter hated pointeering. But that was because of Snape.
In fact, this had been one of the lessons that the original Harry had been most eager to learn before he met Snape.
And he was no longer just Harry Potter. The current one knew what kind of cheat this could be, and with an AI chip, it was an easy cheat and money hack.
Now the question was, if Kroft had two spots?
Yes.
"We will take Kroft!" Harry said this while Bessita waited for his decision.
"Are you sure? Alchemy and potioneering require quite a few resources before they turn profitable." The old man warned them kindly, "On the other hand, Kroft is very supportive of his students."
"Yes, Kroft is the right choice." Harry nodded. Between himself and Bessita, they had more than 200 magic crystals, which was enough for a starting capital.
All they had to do was not be too fast or seem strange.
"Then so be it." After saying that, the old man scribbled something on a parcel before handing a sack to Bessita and Harry each. "Here are your belongings. Follow the Shadow Slave; it will guide you to Kroft."
They left through the big door, behind a floating and spinning black ball, guiding them deeper into the academy.
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