Chapter 225 · Volume 1

The Origin of the Golden Era

After leaving the blacksmith shop, the four of them strolled through the academy's tree-lined corridors. Since it was just the start of the enrollment season, there were very few people on the road—only a few staff members walking in a hurry and some returning seniors.
It was then that Starlight showed them the storage space he had just finished constructing.
Although the space element itself was colorless, a faint outline was still clearly visible under the infusion of the caster's mana.
Starlight held the fist-sized spherical space in his hands and held it out to them.
At this moment, the entrance of the space glowed with a faint blue light due to Starlight's mana, looking like a constantly rotating blue glass ball—it was quite beautiful.
Po Kong and Xia Duo couldn't help but be drawn to the pretty sphere, while Moen, after taking a look, also revealed her own storage space in her palm, intending to compare it with his.
The space in her hand emitted a tender green hue, like a newly sprouted branch. It was clearly a size smaller than Starlight's, and the outer trajectory wasn't nearly as smooth or perfect.
As the two spaces drew closer, Moen was surprised to find that the sphere in her hand was drifting slightly toward Starlight's. This left her feeling quite astonished.
She understood that this phenomenon was similar to two physical objects; the one with less mass would always be attracted to the one with more. But could the mass of a storage space really be large enough to affect someone else's?
“Starlight, just how large is your storage space?” Moen asked curiously, her mind filled with questions.
Starlight was about to answer when he suddenly heard Noah cough heavily in his mind.
He immediately remembered Mowei's warning and quickly changed his words:
“It's probably about as big as that blacksmith shop just now. We won't have to worry about our luggage anymore.”
Even though he had already downplayed the actual size by over a hundred times, the three of them still wore expressions of shock.
Po Kong and Xia Duo didn't quite understand the implications and were merely marveling at it, but Moen was truly stunned.
One had to know that Moen's own storage space was about the size of three wardrobes, which was already considered quite rare. At the very least, she had never heard of anyone having a storage space as large as a house.
After storing her and Xia Duo's luggage and supplies, her own space was actually nearly full, which was why she hadn't helped Starlight and the others carry their things.
“I say, Little Star! In the future, it's not just luggage—you have to carry all sorts of good food and drink for me too! Haha! With a space the size of a house, wouldn't it be a waste not to use it properly? I feel like our future adventures are looking very bright!”
Po Kong slung an arm around Starlight's shoulder and laughed, already starting to fantasize about stuffing the space with all sorts of items.
Xia Duo cast a disdainful look at him before also asking:
“That's all you're good for, Po Kong! Anyway, Starlight, are you officially enrolled now? The Principal didn't mention it while we were there!”
Starlight couldn't help but open his mouth slightly at her question. Amidst the flurry of events, he had completely forgotten about this—which was, after all, their original goal in coming to the academy.
“Um... he didn't say, but I did get the key to a room. Looking at it that way... it should be a tacit approval? Right...?”
“I think it's roughly as I imagined. Since the old man gave you that key, it means he acknowledges you. However, don't think about attending classes with the other students; with your strength, that's no longer suitable.”
Seeing that no one was around, Noah finally spoke up to answer the question for the four of them. At the same time, he reminded Starlight that it would be best to ask Eventador's opinion later, as he was the current Principal.
“Hmm? Noah, who is the ‘old man’ you just mentioned? Aren't you and the Principal from the same generation?” Moen keenly caught the discrepancy in Noah's words and leaned down to look at him as she asked.
Thus, after an explanation from Starlight, the girls learned that there had actually been another person in the room—and he was a legendary Time Archmage, something they had never even heard of before.
“Hmm... a Time Archmage, huh? Although I've heard the old principal of the Spiritual Arts Academy was powerful... I wonder who's stronger between him and the old man back home? Hey! Look, what's that ahead?”
As Po Kong was muttering to himself, he was suddenly drawn to the scenery not far away and pointed forward while shouting.
The other three looked in the direction he was pointing. In the center of a plaza stood a massive statue fountain.
It was no wonder he was so surprised; the color of that statue was simply too striking—it could even be described as eye-searing.
Only as they drew closer did they see clearly that the golden statue, polished enough to be reflective, was a composition of three young men.
One of them was the Eventador they had seen before; except for his hair being shorter, there was basically no change.
Another bore at least a seventy percent resemblance to Starlight—it was his father, Arthur.
As for the last one, there was no need to ask; it was surely Carlos in his youth.
The three of them stood facing each other in an equilateral triangle. Clear springs gushed from their intersecting staves, falling onto floating decorative objects around them to create a spectacular fountain display.
“So this is what you looked like, Senior Noah? You were quite handsome! You had at least seventy percent of my charm! Hahahaha!”
Po Kong laughed loudly as he spoke to Noah. He had always wanted to know what Carlos looked like, and today he finally saw this gleaming golden statue.
“...Sigh! Why hasn't this tacky thing been torn down yet? Evan is already the Principal... can't he have a little bit of his own aesthetic taste? I was planning to lead you guys around this place, but I guess it was discovered after all!”
Noah let out a heavy sigh. It wasn't hard to tell from his words that he was exceptionally dissatisfied with the existence of this statue.
“Back then, the academy's architects wanted to emphasize the word 'gold,' so they specifically enchanted this statue with a spell. The original intention was to make it self-cleaning, but it seems they overdid it, and the result is that it's terrifyingly bright!”
“I agree with that! This gold is a bit too much, isn't it? That ‘Golden Era’ we heard about earlier... it couldn't have been named because of this, could it?!”
Xia Duo chimed in as she looked up at the statue, indicating that she couldn't accept this aesthetic either.
Starlight, meanwhile, stared silently at the statue of his father, his heart filled with deep emotion. As a son, he had ultimately followed the path they once trod.
Moen seemed to sense the fluctuations in his heart. She walked gracefully to his side and gently patted his back.
Feeling this warmth from behind, Starlight returned to his senses and gave her a slight smile, the gloom in his eyes instantly dissipating.
In truth, the location Noah wanted to take them to was just a short distance behind this ostentatious statue. He had originally planned to take the long way around to avoid it, but now that everyone had seen it, there was no longer any need to go out of his way to evade it.

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