บท 81: Chapter 81
The message from the academy had been a genuine one; it even used the personal seal of Principal Siley to confirm its legitimacy.
Every Acolyte outside of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy had to imediatly return.
As soon as Harry had received the message, he had packed his valuables into his inventory and prepared one of the carriages.
He had still to keep up the pretense of being limited in his travel speed and use such a mundane method of travel. After all, officially, he was still an acolyte.
Still by traveling day and night, he had soon reached the outskirts of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy and had only a few days distance to cross.
According to his intelligence, like in the original story, a third party had interfered and created a ceasefire between the academy, Sage Gotham's hut, and Whitewoods Castle.
Even though the academy was in a tight spot and clearly the weaker faction, against two factions just as strong, it was too early. These events should only happen a full year later.
Harry had no idea what had caused this change in timeline. Well, of course it was something he had done, but he was unsure of what exactly he had changed to cause this.
In the original story, one of the most powerful factions in the South Coast interfered a full year later, the Lighthouse of the Night.
This faction was backed by a Rank 3 magus, one of the Rulers of the Dark Magi Alliance.
But this time around it was still the Lighthouse of the Night that had interfered, but a full year early.
Which was strange. He had kept his distance from the academy; the closest he had come to it was by passing it on his way to Dylan's Garden.
Even then, he had remained several kilometers away.
This change in the timeline has been a big mystery until he felt like he should hit himself on the head.
Wasn't it obvious? What had triggered it?
Dragon's Gate.
Even an organization with no intelligence leak or traitor thanks to the foolproofness of the contracts would be noticed once it reached a certain size.
Their operation had spanned all over the Dark Magi part of the continent and even began to spread into the Light Magi area. It wasn't like all they did was trade.
Dragon's Gate and its members mostly originate from the Dark Magi area and follow its general philosophy. There have been multiple regular raids on different Magi, markets, and outposts.
This kind of movement must have been noticed.
Most likely they didn't know who was behind it but still felt like they were under attack. Ending this war is probably an attempt to gather more manpower to investigate this new invisible foe.
Did Harry feel threatened?
Not really. Even if they capture one of his Magi, there is no easy way to get information out of them.
Since he had made it a point to introduce a hierarchy into the organization from the start, 99% of the members don't even know he exists or who really leads them.
———
Harry whitdrew a pink-colored potion out of his inventory. Once he had removed the plug, he used it to draw a specific set of runes onto the ground.
This was a form of communication his teacher Kroft had prepared for him. It had a limited range, but he was close enough to the academy to use it.
It would look strange if he didn't take precaution on whether the recall message was a trap.
Sssii
Pink smoke rose into the air and formed into the shape of a large pink ear.
"Who is this? That presence?" Kroft's voice came out accompanied by static noises but clear enough to understand.
"It's me, Professor Kroft!" Harry replied.
"I know that voice! And this energy! Harry, you already are a Rank 3 acolyte, as expected!" Chuckled Kroft, it was no surprise with Harry's level of talent that he should have reached the peak of the rank already.
"You are barely 20 this year; still a good age to be a level 3 acolyte. A bit unfortunate that such a talent only entered the world of magic at the later part of his sixteenth year." Kroft sighed.
He was clearly hinting towards the existence of Grine Water and its price, which Harry technically shouldn't know off yet.
The younger one was to use Grine Water; the higher was the chance of becoming a Magus and surviving the burned-up life.
Not that Harry had any interest in that method. If he wanted to use Grine Water, he could do it himself.
Dragon's Gate long since had gained samples of the potion and reverseengineered the formula while studying it's effects.
"Professor, is the return call from the academy legit?" Harry asked directly, shifting the conversation to the core of the matter since he was already aware of the truth in becoming a Magi.
He had completely different goals by returning to the academy.
"…" Kroft remained silent on the other side, clearly considering something: "The recall was decided by the Chariman and the board of directors (aka the three families backing the Academy). It's legitimate, I can assure you, but wait. Are Bicky, Bessita, and that other girl not with you?"
"No, Professor, they decided to return to their families. I already know it will be deadly, if you fear that. Neela got quite a bit of information through her family head. They weren't as confident." Harry lied, "But I decided I still want to try my luck."
Obviously it was much harder to conceal the fact one was a Rank 1 magus for regular ones than with Harry's unique and unusual biology and not formal cultivation.
He could conceal his true strength easily because it doesn't follow the natural systematic pattern. Rather, it was a pure second core of raw power that had naturally formed inside his body through his wizarding heritage.
In exchange, his Wizarding Core lacked the advantages of a magus, like the innate spells and special abilities, and higher control.
"Hmm, so you knew. This may be the smart choice for them. I never felt like Bicky had the drive to succeed as a Magus, and while Bessita has it, she would need a lot of luck to survive. She has become a Rank 2 acolyte while still in the academy. But that is too low to have a real chance." Kroft answered with his honest opinion.
Harry really wanted to mention that both have become Official Magi by using an Advanced Meditation Technique and were easily more powerful than Kroft at this moment. He smartly kept silent.
"You are far too talented for me to not let you return." Sighed Kroft, "Tell me. Do you want to become an official magus?"
Internally, Harry chuckled but replied with conviction, "Of course. A rank 1 magus is the real starting point for any magus that pursues truth."
"Then come back. You already know what you should expect. If you don't put your life on the line, you are a failure of an Magus." Kroft said as the pink smoke ear shuddered and exploded and dissipated in a huge cloud of smoke in the air.
Krofts voice still remained, leaving last words behind: "Listen to me. This opportunity is extremely rare and deadly. But if you really want to walk down the path of a magus, this is your best chance. Hurry up!"
The moment he no longer could feel Kroft's presence, Harry had to laugh while he began to pack his things up. He still had a bit of Journey in front of him.
Kroft was an extremely good professor, with true compassion for his own students. If he had the chance, Harry would repay the man.
Especially if he wanted to join Dragon's Gate, he was without a doubt an extremely knowledgeable potionering genius.
He kind of felt bad that he had to lie to the man. But he was contractually bound through a contract. Contracts powered by the Trial's Eye were after all binding like his own, even if they didn't have the functionality to trade everything.
And Kroft was bound to the academy and had to act accordingly.
Right now Harry couldn't tell the man, even if he respected him, that he had no need for Grine Water or a Rank 1 spell model. He had a multitude of advanced meditation techniques that he could use.
The monopoly on advanced meditation techniques in the South Coast didn't affect him. After all, there were so many unprotected minds all around him. And by now he is a Master of Legillimency.
Most importantly, the first level of his own personalized advanced meditation technique is already ready.
———
Three days later, he had reached the actual outer vicinity of the Abyssal Bone Forest Academy.
It was fascinating to see the result of a war between Magi. Over half of the forest had been destroyed.
The ground was littered with holes and rifts, and many charred spots were spread all over the area. And the dirt has been covered by rubble and ashes.
It seemed like the war had been really intense; it's fascinating to see the result of many Rank 1 beings fighting each other. Wars of such size were quite rare now that he thinks about it.
Many worlds had wars in the past that would be mentioned over the story, but actual wars between superhuman beings mostly happen around the conclusion of a story, and the reader or viewer only gets a limited insight into it.
Following the path towards the academy, he reached the formerly familiar graveyard above the academy.
The majority of the tombstones that mostly acted as personal entrances for the professors had been destroyed, their rubble litering the graveyard.
As he headed towards the main entrance, he felt a presence: "Halt! Outsider! If you are unable to show any items of proof that you belong to the academy, you will pay the price in blood!"
It belonged to a large black figure, at least two heads taller than a normal human, with extremely long arms extending towards the ground.
The figure was an ape creature. A Granite Ape, to be precise, a Rank 1 creature.
"I can feel the energy signature belonging to the academy. Take it out!"
Harry pulled the metal card that everyone taking a mission receives and showed it towards the Granite Ape.
"Ah, you are an acolyte belonging to the academy that has been out on a long-term mission. You may pass, brat."
Without hesitation, he entered through the main entrance into the depths of the academy.
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