"You're quite late if you came to get the first batch of books now" Madam Bellwry announced, pushing her round glasses up her nose as she waddled further into the bookstore. "All the other students got theirs already. The rush started three months ago and the last two months? Absolute madness. Runebrick Market was like a zoo and that too cheap ticket one."
Max just blinked, processing the wave of words.
"Let me see if I can find any leftover batch of books in here," she said lightly before disappearing into a narrow passage of hovering books and levitating shelves.
"Wait here," she said as her voice echoing like she was speaking through a tunnel.
Five minutes later, she returned, huffing and dragging what looked like a massive suitcase sized bag made of heavy brown leather. With a final grunt, she dropped it on floor with a THUD voice that made the wooden floor shake a little.
Max shook a little at that.
"You're very lucky, young wizard," she said with a triumphant smile. "This was the last batch I had."
Max gulped, staring at the bag like it might sprout teeth and eat him alive. Could he even read this much? Never mind reading who was going to carry it anyways... not him for sure?
Just looking at the thing made his forehead covered in sweat.
Professor Lysira giggled behind him, clearly enjoying every second of his emotions.
"Alright, let's go. We don't have much time Mr...Uhh stormhart," she said, and with a snap of her fingers and ofcourse an impish wink the bag vanished into thin air.
Max's jaw dropped slightly. Surprise, relief, and a touch of loss flashed across his face all at once. He won't lie he was curious to look at books.
"Where did that…?" he started to ask, then thought better of it and shut his mouth.
"You'll find it out eventually," Lysira said with a trust me smile.
"Madam Bellwry I'll be taking my leave then" she added politely, turning to the eccentric shopkeeper.
"Of course, of course! Have a nice day, Professor Lysira," Madam Bellwry waved her off with a dramatic flourish as even books behind her flew out fluttering there pages.
Lysira grabbed Max by the arm and guided him out. As they stepped onto the threshold, Max hesitated at the sight of the sentient carpet. But to his relief, it stayed silent and flat. Lysira had stepped on it first clearly, even cursed decor respected her.
"I think we haven't paid her," Max finally said, whispering like it was a crime to bring it up.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Lysira smirked. "She'll just deduct the cost from the payment she owes me."
"Owes you?" Max echoed, confused.
"I write school books," she said nonchalantly, brushing invisible dust from her shoulder. "Some of the ones you just bought? Yup, those are written by me. and Of course I sell them."
Max blinked.
Lysira smiled like a fox in silk.
"Don't look down on me Mr stormhart. I might be a teacher but I'm rich. Filthy rich actually. Sometimes I wonder, if I ever lost my magic of emotion... maybe money could be my superpower."
She didn't hold back bragging about her, and what more, she even looks passionate about it as doing so.
With a casual hand gesture, she throwed her hair over her shoulder, sauntering forward as if the entire street existed solely to witness her grandeur.
She looks magnificent.
Max followed, speechless.
Rich. Powerful. Possibly insane.
Max just followed behind her. Maybe he hadn't noticed it before, or maybe he simply hadn't wanted to, but now
Now he could clearly feel it. The subtle shift in the air. The not so very subtle looks. As they walked, people turned their heads. Some tried to hide it, others didn't bother. Their eyes lingered too long, their gazes heavy with judgment. Disgust twisted a few faces. Others recoiled, subtly shifting their paths to avoid brushing shoulders with him.
Max felt it.
He didn't flinch or put his Head down. Just sighed. Slowly, he lifted a hand and pressed his palm against his left cheek, fingertips grazing the edge of his mismatched eye the one not like the other. The one that always brought the stares.
"You don't seem surprised," Lysira said suddenly. Her tone was flat, sharp. No teasing, no playfulness just observation. Her eyes were fixed on the path ahead, unreadable.
"Well, I've lived with these eyes from birth," Max replied quietly, a subtle shrug in his shoulders. "Why would I be surprised? I think... I've learned that we should never forget what we are. Because the rest of the world definitely won't."
His gaze wandered, taking in the strangers around him. People who didn't know him yet hated something about him all the same.
"I'd rather wear it like armor. Once you accept it, it can't hurt you anymore." He smirked faintly, walking with a touch more confidence. Not arrogance. Just resilience.
Lysira tilted her head, her eyes finally meeting his. "Big words for someone so young, I must say, Mr. Stormhart."
Then she added, almost like she couldn't help herself, "Though I am curious don't you hate those eyes of yours? I mean, if you'd never had them, maybe... maybe you could've had a normal childhood. I presume you didn't."
Her voice was softer now. Less professor, more person. Genuinely curious. Trying to understand the boy walking beside her, not just the future student.
Max didn't answer right away.
"My eyes?" he echoed, thoughtful. "Why should I hate them? Was it my fault I was born like this?"
He looked ahead, past the crowd. "They don't even know who I am So What gives them the right to hate me?"
His words sharpened, solidifying.
"It was never my mistake. So why should I hate being what I am? That'd be running away. And I don't want to run."
He paused, then added, voice colder:
"If people can judge and hate me just because of my eye color... I don't think they deserve anything from me. No respect, understanding or Anything. People like that just... disgust me."
Lysira stopped.
Max nearly walked into her.
She turned to him fully, one brow arched high. A grin slowly curled onto her lips not the soft, amused one he'd seen before, but a wild one. Feral. Unapologetic. Almost dangerous.
She looked... impressed.
"Oh my!" she exclaimed, her voice booming across the cobbled street. "Great thoughts you got there, Mr. Maximus Stormhart. It'll be an pleasure to teach you."
She said it loud. Purposefully loud. As if daring the crowd to listen.
People around them turned. Stared. Whispers rippled like smoke. Max could feel the eyes again. But now, they weren't just looking at him they were looking at them.
Max stood still for a beat, his thoughts slightly scrambled. It wasn't the name that caught him off guard. Not really. It was the way she said it. The weight in her voice. The certainty.
Maximus Stormhart.
He'd heard that name plenty of times from morning to now. But this... this was the first time it sounded like a title. Like something dangerous. Something meant to shake the world.
He didn't say anything.
Lysira didn't wait. She walked again, striding forward like a storm that didn't care what she gonna trample on.
Max followed.
This time, with a strange new fire under his steps.
"So what magic are you good at, Mr. Stormhart? Anything that you are particularly interested in?"
The question struck Maximus like a spell to the chest. He opened his mouth, a hopeful sound half-formed but it died quickly inside like a candle caught in a storm. He didn't know what to say. What could he even say? That he had never once used magic in his life?
His cheeks started to warm, betraying the panic bubbling beneath his skin.
"Uh… magic, well… that, umm…"
Instead of answering, he pivoted awkwardly. "Are there types of magic, Professor?"
Lysira raised an eyebrow, clearly amused, but also curious. "Huh? You don't know that much? Well, now that I think about it... your mana feels weird. Like emotionless. I can't feel emotions from it yet it's almost like it's just raw untouched mana."
She turned her head toward him, rubbing her chin thoughtfully as they both walked. "You've never used magic before right? Elderado how rare. A mana virgin at sixteen?"
Max almost stumbled. "A virgin what?"
Lysira chuckled the corner of her mouth twitching with mischief. "Not something to be ashamed of honestly. Though I'm surprised you even got admitted to Soladors like this. Headmaster Fledrock must've seen something specially in you to give you special treatment. I'll have to discuss this with him later."
She wasn't mocking her tone carried that same unpredictable mix of amusement and fascination like a researcher discovering a new species that shouldn't exist.
"So, you're telling me you don't even know about the basic structure of magic?" she continued her eyes flashing time to time. "Oh dear. This is going to be rough for you. Soladors isn't a warm little school for slow learners. It's a place where students breathe mana and definitely competetive. Most of them have studied magic from childhood."
Max gulped. Ohh Great. No pressure.
"But don't worry," she said, smirking now, clearly enjoying herself. "This is going to be thrilling. Painful, maybe i don't know. Humiliating? Most definitely. But thrilling? Absolutely."
Max wasn't sure if she was comforting him or preparing him for execution.
"Anyway, let's get your robes next," she added. "But since we're walking, I may as well teach you the basics. You asked about types of magic right?"
Max nodded his eyes narrowing slightly as genuinely intrigued.
"Well then, listen closely, Mr. Stormhart. Consider this your first unofficial class."