Luna and Blair carefully walked out of the diner. Then both of them sighed in relief after seeing that no one made some suspicious move when others saw them. It looked like the senior was too busy thus they walked up in peace.
But it's not that peaceful because Luna was still the subject of gossips by some students.
'Really? Haven't recovered enough?' Luna said.
Well, it seemed hopeless as Akiro, the Honorary Master Mage was famous not only in the Academy but throughout Magus Nation, rivaling the Magus Emperor when it comes to popularity.
"I wonder if the Elder's mage hall is just near the castle," Luna said.
The Magic Academy was a huge vicinity that there were magic horse carriages to ride on some places that were too far away from the entrance of the school.
"Let's try asking some people," Blair said.
Though Luna frowned. They had to choose the right person as some senior students were arrogant and doubt they would answer their questions.
"If we do not find an Advanced Mage, maybe we can ask some lower students," Luna said.
Blair nodded and tried to find some people to ask.
"Blair," Luna uttered.
He just agreed but Luna almost slapped her face. It's because she saw him walked in front of an ominous-looking middle-aged man with his deeply frowned face and dangerous dark red aura.
'The man is in a bad mood! Are you seeking death, Blair?' Luna thought.
She forcefully pulled the back of his shirt but it was futile as Blair was already in front of the glaring man with his scary aura and his left hand that rested on his shoulder with an ax-like weapon.
The tall bulky man looked down upon Blair who suddenly looked shorter in front of him. The height difference wasn't that large but his large body made Blair tiny and small like an ant looking at a four-legged animal.
"What do you want?" he said. His voice was deep and seemed to carry an irritated tone.
However, Blair didn't seem to notice it and began asking innocently at the tall man.
"Can I trouble you, sir? We are new students that do not know where is the Elder Mage's Hall. Is it near here?" Blair asked.
"New students, really?" the man said.
He seemed to only notice that Luna was here all this time.
Then his eyes wandered towards the badges in front of their clothes that were both golden-tier. It was definitely rare for a new student to have that kind of badge and it only meant one thing. They're the cream of the crop among the new students or even in some older ones.
"Hahahahhhahah!" the man laughed.
His loud laugh didn't fail to catch the attention of the passer-by's but ignored it as he deemed him to be crazy. Even Luna seriously questioned his entire existence. The foul mood he had earlier seemed to disappear into nothingness.
"You were one of the few people brave enough to walk up to me in my scary-looking appearance! Brave, brave! Let me lead you the way!" he said.
Blair looked at Luna happily as if he did what they planned. Luna didn't know whether to be glad or be angry. Who knew what trouble he would bring her next time. After all, not all people were as weird as that tall man.
"I guess you will be there to claim points from one of the battles arranged for the newbies. Too bad I wasn't there yesterday. I have many things to do, you know," he said.
Blair nodded earnestly. "It's okay, okay," he said.
While Luna stayed silent and just let them talk with each other until they reached the Elder Mage's hall. It was big enough to be easily seen compared to the other buildings. Although, they would just waste time if they tried to find it by themselves.
The two-way door was opened as many people were going in and out of the entrance. They walked inside and a wide space with a staircase on both sides welcomed them.
'So where do we get points?' Luna thought.
Then she went to the left corner that has some wooden counters and a woman that was inside. It looked like an information area so Luna walked up to her and Blair silently followed. She took the initiative as she didn't know what would happen if Blair was the one who asked who.
"Excuse me, we're told that this place is where we can receive our points. Can you tell us where is it specifically?" Luna asked.
The woman smiled and nodded. "Go upstairs, a man in blue robes will assist you to the place," she said.
"Thank you," Luna uttered.
They walked upstairs as soon as they heard that. There were also familiar new students along the way and were told to form two lines by the man in a blue robe that just showed up.
"This way," he said.
He opened a two-way door and let them entered quietly. The place was spacious with only a few ornaments around the place and a podium-like structure was at the center of the room. A big pale blue diamond-shaped crystal was floating above it.
"Prepare your badges. Remember that points can't be sullied. Your badges will be your only evidence to prove how many you have earned. Don't worry about others stealing. We have our own precautionary measures and will not let anyone mess with student's records. And remember that stealing a badge is akin to standing up against Elder and Advanced Mages!" he said.
Luna agreed. 'It seems like they do not tolerate stealing badges despite their pettiness in other areas,' she thought.
"Move back about the points. Each round in single battle will have one point at the first round. The second round has two points which we are not sure if the instructions given to you were the latest. Don't be shocked if the instructions only said one point. Then the students that made it to the final round of the single battle will have 5 points but the winner will have 15 points and the second has 8," he said.
Luna didn't even get shocked that there was a possibility that the guide given to them were outdated. Meanwhile, she thought that the student's points would greatly vary as some of the students who passed the first round didn't win ten times. They only need to win 5 times to reach the second battle though they would earn low points. And some who failed the first round would likely have points ranging from 1-4.
"Let's begin with this man in the first line," he said.
The student was led in front of the diamond-shaped crystal with his badge taken. The man in blue robes placed his badge near the crystal and the cyan aura seemed to went inside the badge. The small gem at the center seemed to have a glint of color at one side.
"You gained 5 points," the man said.
It continued until Blair was next. Luna was originally first to him but she could not ignore his twinkling eyes upon seeing the big diamond-shaped crystal.
'He is surely a son of a merchant,' Luna thought.
Blair walked in front of it with a delighted expression radiating inside the room. But others seemed to step away from him after remembering how he slashed his enemies like a flash of light.
"Wonderful! You have a total of 24 points and have a golden tier badge. You are the second placer, are you? First placers minimum scores are 26 pts. You must be exhausted by perfecting the first round that's why you have to be careful of minimizing the use of stamina and magic during a battle," he said.
It was good advice but the man seemed to live under the rock as he did not hear any news about this year's single battle. He gave back his badge, turned to the next person, and didn't let Blair speak a single word.
"Next," he said.
Luna walked forward and gave her golden-tier badge. The badge was uncommon but it was very familiar to the man's eyes.
"A-a golden-tier healer? You joined the single battle and earned some points? Very well, it's a good start," he said.
Although his eyes widened more after seeing her score. It's a staggering total of 31 points. It just meant that she perfected every round.
'A healer beating a swordsman. Have I stayed indoors for too long that some big changes have already happened outside?' he thought.
"C-congratulations, It is very obvious that you are the winner. You gained 31 points. Keep up your good work. The healer class students will be proud of you," he said.
Luna smiled and nodded. She wasn't mad because he didn't look at her with contempt for knowing that she was a healer that joined the single battle.
The Elder Mages were surprisingly well mannered. They were encouraging to new students and even more nice to new students that got high scores despite their classes.
'This place isn't that bad,' Luna thought.
--To be continued--