Chapter 1385: Opening Acts
The students had entered through the front gates of the Central Academy, following a wide tunnel that led them to an expansive open area. Just as they had seen from above, the place truly did feel like a giant magical theme park.
The first thing to greet them was an impressive magical display, a grand illusion of the school’s principal, Grand Magus Ibarin. Animated by power stones, the image floated above the entrance, swirling gracefully as if casting two spells from his hands.
I wonder what kind of chaos would unfold if I took out the power source for that thing, Raze mused to himself.
He didn’t care for flashy performances or legacy symbolism like many of the other mages did. Still, a strange thought passed through his mind, What if I had been selected as the Principal instead of Ibarin?
Would I be the one handling the shady dealings of the Grand Magus from the inside?
As the students gathered near the front with their teachers, the whole thing began to feel like an educational field trip. Especially with so many other academies arriving in groups and doing the same.
“All right!” Panla called out, addressing everyone. “Remember what Isobel said, stick to the rules. If something or someone is really bothering you, come find one of us. We’ll meet back here at 2 p.m., and then we’ll head together to the coliseum for the first event.”
She clapped her hands, reinforcing her next point. “Don’t overdo it! Rest if you need to. No point in wearing yourself out on day one!”
The students were buzzing with excitement, exchanging looks as they tried to figure out where to go first.
“Do you guys want to travel together as a group?” Yolden asked.
“We’ve got a few things to take care of,” Raze replied. “So I think it’s better if we split up for now. But don’t worry, we’ll be there for the event. We won’t let you down.”
With that, Raze and his team began heading off, though they quickly noticed someone following behind them, Londo, walking in the same direction but keeping his distance.
That left only four of the ranked students standing together.
“I think it’s best if we stick together,” Piba said, glancing around. “This place is huge, and I have a feeling the other academies might try to take advantage of students who are on their own. The fact that Isobel specifically mentioned no fighting, it worries me. It’s like they’ve had problems before.”
“Right,” Chiba nodded. “In a lot of magical assessments, the key is bending the rules just enough. I bet some of these students are thinking the same thing. But with so many people around, maybe nothing will actually happen.”
Although it was still early in the morning and the event hadn’t officially opened to the public, the academy grounds were already filled with people. Regular students from the Central Academy were moving freely around the area.
More importantly, the place was crawling with invited guests, important figures from all corners of the magical world. Military officials, researchers, inventors, even high-ranking government representatives with no magical ability were present. All of them were keenly observing the shows, booths, and demonstrations scattered throughout the campus.
“Should we tail some of the other academies?” Moze suggested. “They’re our competition, right? Some events need magic just to participate. Maybe we’ll get a read on who we’re up against, and help Chiba get ready.”
“You think I need help?” Chiba scoffed. “We can’t just stand around doing nothing. They’re probably watching us too.”
As they continued exploring, the group came across advanced lectures hosted by senior teachers. They demonstrated new techniques for drawing magical circles and manipulating the flow of mana into more complex geometrical patterns, beyond the standard circles most mages were taught.
Then, there were other thing’s such as shows and the activity booths.
One in particular caught their attention: a target practice station. The challenge was to hit a floating ball powered by a small embedded power stone. The ball didn’t just hover or follow a pre-set path like they’d seen in Wilton.
This one reacted to magic.
The moment a spell was fired at it, the ball dodged, changed directions, and zipped through the air in unpredictable patterns. It was designed to avoid incoming attacks in real time.
Several military personnel were watching the demonstration, taking notes. The potential of the device wasn’t lost on them. With a few tweaks, something like this could be used in battle, either to train soldiers or to assist mages in real combat situations.
While observing the crowd, one of the students from a neighboring academy stepped forward to try his hand at the challenge. He gathered his mana, focused, and began his attempt.
“Hey,” Moze whispered, leaning toward his group, “how about after this guy’s done, I jump in with some lightning magic and take it down even faster?”
The others looked at him, a little skeptical. If Raze had said it, maybe they would’ve believed it.
The person they were all silently thinking of, Raze himself, was elsewhere. He’d wandered off, casually making his way through the academy grounds, checking out the booths and attractions like any other student.
But unlike the others, Raze wasn’t sightseeing.
“What’s Raze even doing?” one of the students murmured.
Before the question could hang in the air too long, Safa answered without turning her head. “He’s gathering information, keeping track of where everyone is, which areas are busiest, which ones are left alone. He won’t make a move today. Today is for learning how the place works.”
She was right, of course. That was exactly what Raze was doing, scanning, noting, planning.
Deep in thought, he approached one of the more obscure stalls when a voice called out from behind.
“Raze…”
He turned his head toward the sound, and there stood Kelly, from the Central Academy.
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