Academy Life (7)

In theory, as long as a mage possesses sufficient mana, they can use Instant Movement to reach any location in the world. However, as the jumping distance increases, so too does the inherent danger.

Some mages set up magic formations in specific locations to serve as "anchors" for teleportation, allowing them to quickly grasp their position and surroundings. Even with the aid of these formations, the caster is still susceptible to external influences. They must not only account for their own state but also perform regular maintenance on every anchor, which is why very few people actually choose to do this.

Even the peerless Space Archmage, Eventador, would not lightly attempt ultra-long-distance teleportation. He preferred a more stable approach, breaking the journey into multiple shorter jumps.

Naturally, what Starlight was to learn today was not that kind of long-range travel, but rather rapid movement over short distances.

Eventador used his own spatial elements to envelop all the objects in the room, making the entire office a perfect training space.

In doing so, external interference for Starlight was reduced to a minimum; the rest depended on his own comprehension.

Starlight’s performance did not disappoint. Under these near-perfect conditions, it took him fewer than ten attempts to successfully integrate himself into space and reappear at the other end of the desk.

One should not underestimate the distance of these few steps. For someone who had only encountered space magic a few days ago, this was an incredibly formidable pace.

Starlight leaned against a corner of the desk, panting slightly, his heart racing with the thrill of successfully moving through space.

Moving on his own via Instant Movement felt completely different from being carried along by Eventador.

This time, there was no subtle sense of vertigo. Instead, it was replaced by the rush of speed. Though he had only moved a short distance, Starlight felt as though he had just leapt off a high-speed carriage—a lingering sense of instability.

He understood that this was simply his body being unaccustomed to this method of movement. He would need constant practice and refinement to overcome it.

But as long as he had that first success, he believed he would soon master the knack of it.

For the remainder of the time, Starlight continued to adjust his Instant Movement, and his timing and positioning upon landing became increasingly precise. Meanwhile, Moen remained focused on controlling the green ball in her hands, and the duration she could keep it stable had noticeably lengthened.

At this point, Eventador, the teacher, had become the most idle person in the room. He placed Noah on the desk and leisurely picked up his teacup. Sipping his black tea, he watched Starlight and Moen as they practiced with rapt attention and spoke softly.

“I say, Carlos, I have to admit you’ve found yourself quite the disciple... If only the other students in the academy were as easy to teach as these two.”

“Then I can only say you’re dreaming. Setting aside Little Star’s special constitution, even Moen... I don’t think there are many among the current students who can surpass her. Also, my name is Noah now. The Carlos you knew is no longer here.”

Noah unfolded his pages, revealing the face made of paper. Although there was no fluctuation in his tone, Eventador felt an indescribable sense of strangeness.

“Are you hiding something else from us?”

To avoid disturbing the two practitioners, Eventador lowered his voice as he asked.

But Noah merely gave a faint sway, showing no intention of answering. This caused a surge of irritation in Eventador, which only served to confirm his suspicions.

Just as Eventador was about to press further, there was an untimely knock on the office door. After receiving his permission, a smartly dressed female teacher hurried inside.

The teacher clearly hadn't expected others to be in the office, let alone students being personally tutored by the principal.

She looked at the two focused students in surprise before nodding to Eventador and speaking.

“Principal... today is the opening day of the term. You haven't forgotten that you have to give a speech to the freshmen, have you?”

“Of course I haven't! Wait... what!? Doesn't school start tomorrow? It’s today!? No way!!”

Seeing the expression of utter speechlessness on the teacher's face, Eventador bolted upright from his seat and shouted.

The exclamation caused Starlight and Moen to stop their practice and look at him in unison.

“I figured you’d forgotten the time again... Good thing I had the foresight to come look for you, otherwise we would have been humiliated.”

“How much time do I have to prepare?”

Eventador rushed frantically to a nearby coat rack, grabbed a mage robe, and asked as he struggled to pull it on.

“Let me see... about two minutes?”

The teacher watched the flustered Eventador and glanced at the wall clock, speaking calmly as if she were long accustomed to this situation.

A minute later, Eventador finally finished tidying his appearance and spoke to the still-dazed Starlight and Moen.

“Little Star, as you can see, a bit of a situation has come up! Let’s call it a day! I’ll be going now!”

With that, Eventador grabbed the female teacher's shoulder. With a faint ripple of space, the two vanished instantly from the room, leaving Starlight and Moen staring at each other in the sudden silence.

“Since Uncle Evan is gone... should we head out too?”

Looking at the quiet room, Starlight scratched his head helplessly and whispered the suggestion to Moen.

Moen could only nod silently. After carefully placing the green ball back in its original spot, she left the principal's office with Starlight.

Now that they knew the library had the function to dilate time, they weren't in a rush to get there. After all, spending all day in that space was quite mentally taxing.

Perhaps because of the opening ceremony, they didn't encounter a third person until they walked out of the castle.

Finding themselves momentarily idle, the two walked leisurely through the academy, choosing a path they hadn't taken before toward the library.

In this tranquil late summer, the large trees lining the path were in full bloom with clusters of pale blue flowers, resembling a flowing blue waterfall that refreshed the soul.

A gentle breeze blew by, carrying a faint fragrance. The leaves and petals swayed softly, making a delicate rustling sound.

The two didn't speak much as they walked, wordlessly enjoying this rare moment of peace and warmth.

By the time they arrived at the library doors again, Starlight suddenly snapped out of his reverie, realizing they had walked quite a long distance.

For some reason, a strange premonition gripped him—a feeling that a life as calm and peaceful as this was slowly slipping away from him.

“If only it could stay like this forever...”

Starlight sighed with emotion as he glanced back at the path they had come from, then followed Moen's lead and stepped through the library doors.

...