The commotion died down when Cæ stopped Kelton from going too far. Even though, morally, he did think the Delilah girl probably did deserve to get a smacking or two, hitting her would have only made him suffer all the consequences.
CLACK
Cæ closed the door behind with a soft sigh as he thought back to what had just happened.
"She was smarter than that Silian kid was."
Perhaps she had learned from his foolish mistakes, but she understood that she couldn't be the aggressor. Instead, she provoked Kelton to get him to be the aggressor first, after which she would largely be justified in lashing back with magic since she was a girl against a rather large boy.
"The scheming type." He huffed, shaking his head. "Except she is insecure and self-conscious about her appearance and is generally emotionally immature."
It wasn't even surprising,g considering she was an adolescent going through puberty. It was just unfortunate that she had such an absurd degree of contempt for the commoner class and even more so for people from the slums, almost as if she didn't even think of herself as the same species as those beneath herself.
It was a level of contempt that far exceeded anything he had experienced from those living outside the slums. While he received distrust and contempt, he had never been gazed at with such revolted disgust as he had when Delilah laid her eyes on him.
He simply shook his head, putting the matter aside as he returned to his preparations for the next day.
Of the many classes commencing the next day, he was most interested in Introduction of Eidos Theory and Introduction to Mana Mechanics. These courses were the most important, and he had already done plenty of the necessary reading.
"I should think of a few points for the speech before I head to sleep. I've done everything else I need to for the day."
By the time he went to bed, he was truly exhausted, falling asleep almost immediately.
And just like that, the next day arrived.
From the very moment he woke the next morning, he could feel the tingle of anticipation in the air. Almost all students, regardless of their class or background, experienced an electric nervousness and a jittery excitement as they prepared themselves for the very first day.
Not even Cæ was immune to the infectious atmosphere that grasped hold of all his freshmen peers.
He donned the uniform assigned to apprentice students.
An extravagant long, gray overcoat enveloping a crisp black vest atop a clean white shirt comprised a formal three-piece upper garment, while his lower garments were comprised of neatly ironed gray pants and even formal black leather shoes.
Cæ felt like a different man in such ostentatious attire.
What surprised him was that the clothes fit him absolutely perfectly, clearly custom-tailored to his body. This was despite the fact that the magicademy had never put him through a fitting process.
He had just found the three sets of his uniform in his assigned room.
"…Divination," he realized. "Seriously? They use magic even for something as trivial as this?"
It was stunning to see how the most extravagant means of getting information was used for the most insignificant matters. It was these subtle flexes that truly struck home that the Elendir Institute of Magic was simply built differently.
"Not to mention this overcoat…" Cæ's eyes narrowed as his hands slowly brushed past the fabric. "It's an enchanted item."
He could sense the mana infused into the item.
Although he didn't know what the enchantment was simply from his faint senses of it, he knew from his research that it was supposed to be a protection enchantment to keep their students safe.
"I see, I suppose it's reasonable," Cæ muttered as he put on his shoes. "It's probably impossible to prevent all misuse of magic ahead of time, so it's better to have a passive system of protection."
He put aside his fascination with the uniform before slumping his bag on one shoulder and departing from his room.
"…after all, it's the first day!"
"Ahhh, I'm so nervous I can't stand still!"
"Quick, we'll be late!"
The jittery tingle of anticipation only magnified the moment he left his dorm room as the boys and girls were palpably electric in their body language and demeanor. So much so that even the tension between the classes of students was overshadowed by a collective excitement for the first day of the apprentice program.
CLACK
The loud sound of the locking of his door drew attention his way while his identity and appearance retained it.
STEP
STEP
STEP
The spacious halls quietened down as he passed through minding his own business while they whispered about him.
"…yesterday he…"
"…Delilah locked herself in her room…"
"…Scaryy~"
People made way for him regardless of their class. Although the affluent students tried not to let it show, he intimidated them a lot with the severity of his demeanor and his scary visage.
The commoner students, on the other hand, were more open to him, perceiving him as an ally after his run-ins with Silian first and Delilah the previous day.
Although among them, only three openly approached him.
"Mr. Cæ!" Kelton grinned energetically, waving his hand as he jogged up to him. "It's good to see you!"
"Good morning, Mr. Cæ," Natana smiled sweetly.
"I hope you're ready for the first day," Sorenon offered.
Cæ regarded the three adolescents with with a soft nod. "Good morning."
Kelton immediately stepped forward with a hesitant expression. "…Also, thank you for stopping me yesterday. After calming my head down and looking back at it, I realized how bad things could have gotten. Without your intervention, I would have surely suffered a suspension or a credit penalty."
"As long as you understand that and ensure it doesn't happen again, it's fine," Cæ replied with a stoic tone. "Likewise, thank you for standing up for me."
While it was most certainly unnecessary and even wasted his time, potentially getting him into an antagonistic relationship with a powerful person, he still appreciated the sentiment. Although the kids were far too childish in their mannerisms for him to feel interested in pursuing a friendship with them, he appreciated that they stood up for him at potentially their own personal expense.
"No need to thank me for that," Kelton grinned. "After all, we're friends, aren't we?"
Cæ simply raised an eyebrow at his presumptuous naivete.
Yet, he couldn't bring himself to say that he didn't think of them as friends.
"…I suppose we are," A small smile briefly cracked at the edge of his mouth. "Let's go. We don't want to be late on the first day."
The three of them eagerly followed with excited gaits as while he simply heaved a sigh at their energetic attitude. Even the reserved Sorenon appeared to be pumped with excitement.
They swiftly made their way to the opening ceremony held in the massive general auditorium in the central section of the campus. A gigantic and ostentatious building stretching an enormous distance towered over the stream of students that entered it.
The shining white marble and the hand-carved glistening architecture of themes surrounding magic were clearly distinct even from a great distance away. The glow that its smooth lustrous surface reflected from the Sun's light gave the entire structure an ethereal charm.
It added to the momentous anticipation that had built up, looming above them like an impending storm.
STEP
They arrived at the entrance to the massive gates, peering inside to behold the vast auditorium within.
"This…" Cæ's eyes lit up as he beheld the most magnificent auditorium with fine luxury seats that stretched in a semi-circle around the podium at the other end of the auditorium, with an enormous space and infrastructure to pull off any sort of show or presentation under the Sun.
A different set of seats was prepared for the staff at the very front of the event.
Senior mages were planted in and around the entire event in high alert, ready not only to protect the students from any external threats, but also from each other.
The event included not only the freshmen of the apprentice program but also students of older years in the same programs, marked on the emblem of the academy on their overcoat.
"I will take the edge seat," he remarked when he took his seat. "I don't want to stumble past legs when they call me."
"Then, I'll take the seat next to you."
"Ehhh, I wanted to sit next to big brother Cæ!"
"No, I will!"
Cæ's eyebrows twitched when they called him Big Brother.
That was surely the fastest transition from friend to brother that the world had seen. So much so that its speed left him reeling with the inertia. Eventually, they set aside their juvenile tantrums and took their seats while their other peers also eventually settled down.
STEP
Chills crawled across their skin as a heavy, gravitic presence arrived upon the podium. He walked with a firm gait towards the speaker's stand at the very center of the spacious podium with unyielding confidence.
His crisp salt-pepper beard and hair were immaculately groomed. His attire was comprised of multi-layered cloaks and garbs infused with powerful magic. An extravagant and ostentatious wand hung at his belt, as did several other magical artifacts of the highest order.
Everything about his appearance screamed 'wizard.'
And yet, they didn't need to guess that little detail from his attire.
Not a single person failed to recognize the man who had arrived before them.
"…Archmage Castor Kingsworth," a stunned whisper escaped Cæ.
Archmage Castor was one of only nineteen archmages of the entire nation. Regarded as a tactical-level magical asset, he possessed tremendous influence within Elendir, having an extraordinarily high position in the Mage Association, an honorary mageneral in the Elendir Magical Corps, and even held the position of Grand Chancellor of the Elendir Institute of Magic.
Everything, from the way he carried himself, his body language, and his appearance, was oppressively powerful.
He directed a sweeping gaze with his powerful eyes across the students, a gesture that created a wave of nervous breakouts even if students were simply grazed by the general line of his vision.
"…Children of Magic," his powerful voice boomed with magic, adding an ethereal luster to his voice. "Today, I stand here before you, the chosen."
His heavy voice stunned them silent.
"I stand here before you, the chosen children of magic, with a missive." He narrowed his eyes. "A Memorandum of Magic."
His heavy gaze grew fierce.
"Hear me and carve these words unto your soul."
The students gulped nervously as his grandstanding words bore heavy on them.
Not as heavy as the words that came after.
"Magic is an abyss."
His tone was chilling.
"An abyss with no end to it."
His voice was perilous.
"An abyss that draws you in."
His sharp, piercing gaze swept over the frozen students once more.
"When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you," he continued with an ominous tone. "And yet…"
His eyes flared with determination. "Gaze into the abyss, you must!"
His sonorous voice boomed across the entire auditorium.
"For it is in the depths of this abyss that you will find the power of gods," his voice grew encouraging. "It is in the depths of this abyss that you will find the power to make the impossible possible."
His eyes lit up with drive. "The power to achieve all your dreams!"
Cæ's eyes ignited with a furious ambition that had staked itself in his heart and soul.
The ambition to destroy the world and build a better one.
A smile emerged on the archmage's face.
"That is what awaits you at the end of the path that you have chosen to tread," his tone grew more gentle. "That, children of magic, is what you will gain should you overcome the tribulations that the abyss of magic throws at you."