Nora slowly regained consciousness from her cultivation. The sudden surge of demonic energy and the changes which occurred afterwards had caused her to lose track of time. Worried that she had either missed class or been late, she quickly opened her eyes.
Only to see Great Mage Mirlie sitting in front of her. A look of both anger and relief strewn across her face. "Thank goodness you awoke!" she embraced Nora, finally relaxing, "When you missed your first class I worried the worst had occurred and came looking for you. Only to find a masterclass illusion array."
"Actually," Nora responded, "It's a grandmaster class array..." she had put a lot of effort into the array and felt rather proud of it herself. She didn't want it to be so easily diminished to simply masterclass.
"Nora, what happened to your eyes!" finally noticing the golden, vertical pupils within Nora's eyes. "Are you alright? How did this happen!?!"
"I was just cultivating, Great Mage Mirlie, no need to worry!" in an attempt to calm down Great Mage Mirlie, Nora tried to curtail the gravitas of the physical transformation.
"Nora, I've been waiting for you to exit your trance for three classes. I had to ask another teacher to take over my class while I made sure no one discovered your odd cultivation... We can't just let this happen all willy nilly. I already asked many favours just to keep quiet."
"Something odd happened last night, I can't really explain it but it shouldn't..."
"I didn't want to do this but I guess it's the only way to ensure your safety. Especially with the level of enigma you are." Great Mage Mirlie paused momentarily as she contemplated her next few words, "I guess I'll have to name you my inheritor..."
The importance of these words did not fall short on Nora. In her world of cultivation, someone's inheritor was closer than one's own kin. They were the lifeline of the legacy a person left behind. The direct succession of all one learned and experienced. Although she didn't quite know the specifics of what an inheritor consisted of in this world, it was still very clear to her that it wasn't something to take lightly.
"What does that mean?" Nora wanting to find answers questioned.
"It means I'll personally teach you everything I know. Due to some old rules of the Allosian Academy, it also means I get temporary leave for a few years, in order to train an inheritor. It also means that you'll get pulled from your classes in order for me to personally teach you all your classes, one on one..."
Nora liked the sound of what Great Mage Mirlie had described to her. Although she did enjoy the academy, she quickly felt the mental drain of having to learn at such a slow speed. She by far preferred to wholeheartedly obsess over study in large chunks, rather than the current slow chapter by chapter progress.
"That all sounds great, Great Mage Mirlie but I really enjoy Sev's classes..." the look on Great Mage Mirlie's face instantly darkened. Nora immediately regretted her words.
"Nora do you not understand the opportunity I'm offering you? Why would you even want to be taught by him, you have an Affinity for Fire and Air, why would you care for a black magician like him?" in the heat of the moment, Great Mage Mirlie responded with harsher words than she truly meant.
"Well, Mirlie... I happen to share something in common with him." Nora couldn't stand Great Mage Mirlie talking down to someone who had protected her from Headmaster Thurmond. Although she too had protected her, it was clear that only Sev truly stayed the Headmasters hand.
Not wanting to have his name sullied, she created five constructs, five perfect spheres of Mana. Before infusing them with her five elemental affinities. One turned into a raging flame, the next an abyss of darkness, followed by a blinding light, a torrential tempest, and a storming blizzard.
"Wait here, Nora... You just complicated everything." spoke Great Mage Mirlie before walking out of the dorm.
-
A few minutes later, Great Mage Mirlie walked in with Sev in tow. Sev's appearance was very dishevelled, the signs of him just woken up clearly displayed for all to see. "Nora, show him what you just showed me..." Replicating the same display she did not a few minutes prior, she created the five elemental orbs.
Before Great Mage Mirlie could say anything, Sev interrupted, "It seems I may finally have an inheritor..."
"Too late Sev, I already offered her to be my inheritor. This is what you get for sleeping in all morning!" wanting to secretly protect the future legacy she tried to dissuade Sev.
"Every few years a prospective Fire Mage appears, finding a prospective black mage is far rarer, let alone in the Allosian Empire! I think it's only fair she becomes my inheritor!" the 'teacherly discussion' quickly escalating
Seeing the opportunity in front of her, Nora chipped in, "Why can't I inherit both of your legacies?"
The completely foreign proposition immediately halted the 'teacherly discussion' as the two Great Mages thought it over.
Great Mage Mirlie couldn't help but reply, "Nora you truly are quite greedy..."