Brighthall academy, the largest and tallest edifice of Exalta standing proud at its very center. Its high towers dwarfed even the nearby Imperial palace. The magical array barrier surrounding it was probably strong enough to withstand even Erredis’ attacks, the cost of its upkeep likely to be in the tens of millions of mana.
A single beastman ‘guard’ was stationed at the entrance, a large castle-like gate, which was likely to be the only opening in the barrier. Unarmed, the armored dog-eared man was reading a book while sitting behind a small lectern.
[Hero - Lv. 438]
The ears of the beastman rose from his book as Sofia and Leverle approached. Closing the book, he called out, “You must be the new teacher! Sonia, was it? Nice to see you again, Doc.”
“It’s Sofia. Nice to meet you, Sir… guard?”
“Caleb,” Leverle informed Sofia.
“It is I, indeed, Caleb the Guard dog. Anyway, do you have your ID? Can’t let you in without one. Even if you have an appointment.”
Sofia came closer to show her new ID card. Caleb quickly looked it over, looking impressed and nodding exaggeratedly. “Does seem you’re the right person, the Headmaster will meet you soon. Will you go inside with her, Doc?”
“No need,” he answered. “You may come find me at the church if an issue crops up. It is also a good shelter, though lesser than the academy itself. I will check-in periodically to make sure everything is alright, and someone will be following you whenever you leave the academy.”
That’s a bit much… But I guess this is what Erredis paid for. If she believes I will need that protection then I might as well take it.“Sounds fine, thank you for the help until now, Leverle.”
“Say nothing of it. Since I was paid to do it, you need not be thankful.”
Bidding farewell to Sofia and Caleb, Leverle simply walked away in the darkness of a nearby alleyway.
“There goes the Doc. Well. Do you need my help to get in?” Caleb asked.
“Do I? Does the gate not open? Is phasing through it allowed?”
“Phasing? The usual method is teleportation, but do try that,” Caleb said with a wide smile.
“Is there no security magic or anything? This looks like a major weak point. Why even have the barrier…”
“There is but I get to decide who triggers it and who doesn’t. I’m a shieldmage. This whole barrier is my thing. Well, the design, at least.”
“Alright then, I’m going through.”
Sofia advanced closer to the massive gate. Her graveyard skeletons managed to appear inside the gate, sticking their arms out to grab her in. No issues so far.
Damn this gate is like ten meters thick.
Hard to call it a gate at this point, it’s just a block of enchanted steel.
The graveyard skeleton gently let Sofia out on the other side. Caleb was right there, waiting for her, squatting and slowly wagging his tail.
“Interesting. You might still want to learn short range teleportation during your time here, but that’s a neat trick.”
“Learn short range teleportation, like one would learn [Identify]?”
“Somewhat? It’s old magic, not really basic by the system stuff like identifying, though some students do choose to get it as a classless when it makes sense in their kit. For most, the wildcast version we teach is more than enough.”
“Interesting. I’ll be looking forward to learning that, I could definitely use the extra battle movement.”
“Might wanna free up a classless slot then, miss Saintess. The basic version is a bit slow, meant for young students after all.”
“I’ll think about it. Might be time to get rid of [Identify] then. Unless that’s a bad idea?”
Caleb tilted his head. “How much d’you trust your scribe, miss Sonia?”
It’s Sofia…
“A lot.”
“Then if you’re already able to wildcast it at level 2, just throw that shit to the dogs. Figuratively. The higher levels are really only useful to historians and aristans. If it’s still level one tho, might wanna keep it a bit longer.”
“Level 2 already. Is level 3 that underwhelming?”
“Eh, it just doubles down on the effects of tier 2. You get to have an easier time analyzing stuff what people are wearing and using, slightly longer range, and more info on stuff’s properties like their estimated age or passive upkeep cost. Not bad but not great either.”
“Alright, thanks for the advice, sir Caneb. Should I go find the Headmaster now?”
“No need. He be coming, for sure. No way he didn’t see you enter. I’ll get back to my job, you can wait for the mans here. Have a good one, Sonia.”
The man barked once and disappeared.
Weird.
Alone on the other side of the gate, Sofia now had some time to observe her environment. The entrance to Brighthall was an open air rectangular courtyard with a fountain in the middle, decorated by the statue of a young Exidian in long robes holding up a blazing torch.
There were also wooden benches on the sides, the stone paved floor was old and covered in muddy footprints, which was odd considering there had been no rain the entire time that Sofia had been in the capital. This is probably used as a gathering place of some sort.
Next Sofia’s gaze was attracted by the high towers above. Just the buildings around her, creating that small courtyard, were already several floors tall. And on top sat more extensions and towers, sprouting like mushrooms in a thicket. This reminded Sofia of the Church’s cloistered garden.
I wonder if they ever found the ritual circle I used for the Rat-Pareth. Not that it would matter. The entire Church had probably been wiped by Scripture’s mind parasites by now… Is Einsen doomed? Skyreach as a whole?
I hope Izuka is alright. Maybe she grabbed her Princess friend and escaped. I hope she did, she was nice.
Saria and everyone are already inside, right? I wonder where the dorms are. Astelia did say I would have a private room as a Teacher.
“What do you think? Awe inspiring, isn’t it?”
The voice came from a bearded old Exidian whose presence and arrival Sofia hadn’t noticed at all.
The headmaster. Beligenus the great Sage. A Dragon on Erredis’ level.
No matter what, this power sent a small chill down Sofia’s spine. But his presence wasn’t hostile.
“Quite, yes. Was the layout inspired by the Moonlit Castle?”
“You have a good eye. The young Vampire noticed it too, although that would have been an obvious outcome in her case.”
“Why this style in particular? It’s not quite the same as the rest of the city’s architecture. Even if mostly similar.”
“Have you seen it with your own eyes?” the old Exidian asked.
“The Moonlit Castle? Yes. I also saw the small one on the moon.”
“No wonder the guardian and Death’s Son both showed up, then. I had thought your backer to be only Vlakirr’s young. But nevermind that. Tell me, Human, what did you feel when you first laid your eyes upon the gargantuan Moonlit Castle the Vampires occupy?”
“Wonder? Awe? Disbelief maybe? I just remember being astonished that such a place could even exist,” Sofia answered, trying her best to recall the time she spent with Astelia atop the gigantic structure that spanned further than the horizon.
“Right? As a Dragon, I have a different sense of scale. Yet, when I first saw it, my reaction was the same. Who could have been mad enough to build this? For what purpose? But no matter what, impressive it was. Something one can always remember as greater than; defying all common sense.”
“And the goal for the academy’s design was to replicate that feeling?” Sofia asked, looking up at the highest tower.
“Yes. I wanted it to be a pillar of the magic world. A place standing tall and mighty, so that its students know not to give up when they face hardship. That it stands as a testament of the greatness sufficient hard work and understanding can bring.”
Hmm…
Sofia paused and thought for a few seconds. Pondering her next words carefully. “Then… Is that message not a bit lost, considering you founded this place, and you, as a Dragon, were born naturally smart and strong. Wielder of powerful magic by birth?”
The headmaster nodded silently. For the first time he looked at Sofia. “But I did not build this place. It was entirely built by my first batch of students. Ones who started weak and lost. You’ve already met one of them.”
“Caleb is one of the original students of the academy?”
“Indeed,” he confirmed, before going right back to staring at the high towers of the academy above. “He was still a young teenager when he was summoned, in the early days of the system. Everyone was still barely figuring out the entire Saint situation. I took him under my wings, like many others.”
“So Brighthall academy is about three thousand years old?”
“Three thousand on the dot this year,” Beligenus confirmed, a hint of pride in his otherwise calm voice.
“Congratulations.”
That’s actually impressive, even for a Dragon, isn’t it? He’s been teaching for three thousand years straight. Now that’s dedication to one’s craft. I can respect that.
“Thank you. Hmm. That does it for the oral part of the test. Are you ready for the written and practical exams? Not just anyone is allowed to be a teacher under my supervision, no matter how exceptional your backers may be.”
That was a test already? I might be getting a little too comfortable with speaking casually to just about anyone.
“I’m always ready.”
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