"Stop! Remove your hand from the crystal!" yelled lady Kyrra as she moved towards the crystal.
Eskaria hurriedly removed her hand, causing the light to dim, and the color of the white substance to revert back to white.
"Eh? What just happened?" asked Reeve.
Soren shrugged his shoulders in response. Lady Kyrra sighed, as she decided that she had had enough of these tests. They had so far cost the school one crystal, and now another was in cracks!
"We're done with the tests, let's go back to the principal", spoke lady Kyrra.
"B-but I've--"
"It doesn't matter. I'm sure your talent surpasses the required rank", she interrupted Reeve, who was about to complain about being left out.
'What the f--'
"Moving on, you've passed the tests, which means that you can enroll in Artemine Elemental College. However, since the second semester in about to end, it's not possible for you to start right now. After registering, you'll be told when to start", Lady Kyrra derailed Reeve's train of thought, which was about to take curse words as passengers.
"Second semester?" asked Soren.
"Yes, second semester. The year is divided into two semesters, each four months long. Currently, we're in the second semester, and this semester is at its end. Once it does, the students will have to go on a vacation. After the exams, those who would have reached the A-rank will graduate and join a guild. Those who would have failed will be expelled", lady Kyrra explained as they walked.
They ran into a female student who was wearing a red robe. She had short blonde hair, and the robe she was wearing had a small badge. The badge was bright yellow and had a black symbol of two intertwined snakes.
"Umm … professor Kyrra, about that assignment you gave last time--"
"Not now, Madalyn! Come to my office later. Anyway, why are you wearing that badge?" asked lady Kyrra.
"I just joined the temple of Malum. As one of the temple representatives, I have to wear it", replied Madalyn.
Lady Kyrra frowned, before saying, "Very well then. Come to my office later, we'll talk more about this!"
"Yes, professor", with that, Madalyn left.
The journey to the principal's office continued with no drama. Along the way, professor Kyrra kept explaining some of the rules that the college had set. She also explained about the ranking process. People who could use magic were called mages. Of course, this was in towns and cities, not in backwater villages. In backwater villages, they were called shamans, and they were not as powerful.
"What if I don't want to join a guild when I graduate?" asked Reeve.
"That's okay too. You are not limited to joining guilds, or even to those in Vyren. For example, some students come to study at Artemine from other countries, and when they graduate, they return to their countries.
There are even citizens of Vyren who migrate to other countries to join the guilds there. Currently, the country of Tob is the most powerful country, and it's not part of the Alliance. Therefore, a lot of students migrate to Tob to join the guilds there", she paused.
Reeve's head was spinning from all the information he was getting. Despite having been bright once, he couldn't store and process all this information fast enough. He wished he had his smartphone. With a phone, he could record the conversation and replay it later on when it was necessary. If only the funny deity had allowed him to resurrect with his devices.
Upon seeing Reeve's sigh, professor Kyrra asked, "For what purpose do you want to learn magic?"
"Well, I just want to be able to protect a small town very far from here", Reeve responded.
"Is that so? You can protect that town, even if you fail to graduate. As long as you have knowledge of magic spells, then that would be enough. However, the world is a dangerous place. Even if you run from trouble, it will always find you."
Of course, Reeve couldn't tell her that he wanted to look for foundation stones. Karim had warned him about telling people, and he didn't want a catastrophe to fall upon Bernice. It had so much potential to grow. However, this same Karim had once told him that for some gold coins, he could enroll at Artemine and learn magic. It wasn't much of a lie, but it was a statement spoken by someone with limited knowledge. Well, that could also be called a lie.
They arrived at the principal's office, and after opening the door, professor Kyrra went in first.
"Were the tests successful?" asked Rokkai.
"They were too successful! Anyway, you could say they passed the test with flying colors", as professor Kyrra replied, color drained from her beautiful face.
"Eh?" Rokkai was puzzled.
"Don't worry about it. I'll give you a more detailed update later on", professor Kyrra replied.
"I see. Anyway, the tuition is four gold coins apiece. For the four of you that wi--"
"Umm, it's only three people who are going to be enrolling. So, the total amount should be twelve gold coins, correct?" asked Reeve.
"Yes, of course. May I ask why only three are enrolling? Could it be that there's someone without mana?"
"No, that's not the case. My friend here doesn't want to learn magic", replied Reeve.
"Is that so? Okay then. You can go and pay the gold coins at the registration hall."
"Don't we have some forms to fill in or something?" asked Reeve.
"All documentation will be done at the registration hall", replied Rokkai.
"Where do we find the registration hall?"
Rokkai called in a student as they went outside his office, and he told the student to take Reeve and crew to the registration hall. After they left, only he and professor Kyrra were left behind.
"So, what happened?" he asked.
"Let's talk in your office", she replied. She continued, "I'm tired of standing."
"Oh, that's …"
They returned to the principal's office, and after Kyrra sat down, she sighed. She went on to explain everything that had happened, including the broken crystals.
"Hmm… the mark of death, eh? And he's not even a seed!" Rokkai said, with a frown.