At eight forty, the Castaigne family's carriage raced through the nearly empty academy grounds. Most teachers and students had yet to arrive. The only class scheduled at eight was an opera appreciation course, where a teacher and two students were engrossed in watching a classic performance from the height of the Sylvanian Empire through a recording crystal. The vampires, now lacking the resources and energy to produce such art, were completely absorbed in the spectacle, oblivious to the carriage's reckless arrival.
The carriage came to a halt at the main building's entrance. "Sister, you're going to cause trouble for Headmaster Asta and the others," Valred complained as he stepped out.
"What does it matter? There's hardly anyone around," Isabella replied nonchalantly, following him out.
Valred knew arguing with his headstrong sister was futile. Yesterday's visit to the academy had been brief, only to Professor Tracy's home, leaving little time to explore. The rapid ride had prevented him from taking in the surroundings, though he noticed the significant shifts in the magical winds, reminiscent of large-scale defensive arrays described in books.
Now that Isabella had calmed down, Valred took the opportunity to observe the academy. The most striking feature was the towering white structure before him, where he would likely spend the next few years. The tower, over a hundred meters tall, was constructed from black stone adorned with gold-leafed murals depicting a historic battle.
The murals portrayed a lich commander on a skeletal dragon, clad in heavy armor and wielding a bat-shaped staff and a tome, facing off against a bare-chested barbarian wielding a warhammer. The lich's undead army initially dominated, but the barbarian's forces, bolstered by allies—elves in shining armor and stout dwarves—eventually triumphed, defeating the lich and dismembering him.
"This seems to depict an ancient battle," Valred mused, but Isabella interrupted, "Enough of this. Let's go inside."
Inside the tower, Isabella explained, "Most of the classrooms are here. You'll spend most of your time in this building. There are magic-powered elevators to take you to any floor, though you could also use flight or teleportation spells."
"Elevators? Are they alchemical devices?" Valred asked.
"Yes, very convenient for tall buildings, though there aren't many of those in the old world," Isabella replied. "Want to try one?"
"No, let's keep going," Valred declined, having seen such devices in his previous life.
They ascended the spiral staircase to the second floor. Isabella continued, "The first floor houses the most popular subjects, mainly black magic. The third and fourth floors are for other magical disciplines, martial arts, and strategy. The fifth floor is for alchemy, potion-making, and runic magic. Higher up, you'll find politics, history, literature, and geography. The top floor is for the least important subjects like dance, music, and art."
Valred nodded, then asked, "So, Headmaster Asta is usually on the third floor? No private office?"
"Yes, he teaches strategy and tactics there. Why?" Isabella countered.
"Nothing," Valred realized that vampires didn't adhere to strict hierarchical structures. "Let's visit him. He said he'd teach me once I arrived."
But Isabella hesitated, reluctant to end their time alone. "He teaches many. One more or less doesn't matter," she said, pulling Valred back downstairs.
"Aren't we going to see more?" Valred asked.
"There's not much to see. You'll be here for years; you'll get tired of it," Isabella replied, quickening her pace. "The south side has an excellent alchemy equipment storeroom and some experimental new undead. Let's check that out."
"But isn't class about to start?" Valred asked, puzzled.
"Who cares? Missing a class or two won't hurt," Isabella said, breaking into a run.
"Wait, what?" Valrealized his sister had no intention of helping him acclimate to the academy or attend classes. She just wanted to have fun.
"But this isn't good for my studies, sister!"
"Relax! With your grades, you could skip every class and still graduate. We have six years!" Isabella said, dragging Valred back to the carriage and heading south.
The carriage sped off, nearly hitting a few students, but Isabella didn't care. They soon arrived at the alchemy storeroom, more of a large warehouse filled with spare, outdated, or unused equipment. The door was unlocked, allowing them easy access.
"Secluded, dimly lit, and rarely visited. A good place for mischief," Valred remarked. The alchemy equipment was nothing new to him, but the "new undead" Isabella mentioned piqued his interest.
Necromancy had been practiced for millennia, with most undead types standardized. From skeleton soldiers to tomb guards, black knights, bone cavalry, necromancers, stone ghouls, gargoyles, bone wolves, and even the pinnacle, skeletal dragons—each had been refined over centuries. Despite ongoing research, no new undead had been officially added to the Sylvanian army in the last thousand years, indicating the difficulty of such advancements.
But this also meant that any new undead successfully integrated into the army would bring immense honor to its creator.
Curious, Valred entered the storeroom labeled "Important New Undead."