Wiping sweat from his brow, Silus looked over his small territory. He had just finished clearing away the last of the trees that grew within the fortification. Using his own natural strength along with a few golems he had summoned, he was able to complete the work within two days.
Golems were one of the simplest summons a mage could call upon. They were simple automatons, capable of understanding and executing simple commands. Their stamina was only limited to the amount of mana the mage allowed them to siphon off. This was one of Silus's strong suits, his mana capacity had increased greatly ever since that fateful night.
As a prodigy in magic, he had always had a vast mana supply. He was also always top of his class when it came to mana control and application. Since becoming a progenitor vampire his strengths had only been strengthened further, as could be seen by the golems working nonstop for two days straight.
There was a very sizable stack of logs sitting in the far corner of the courtyard. The golems had debranched them all and laid them out ready to be used. Unfortunately for Silus, he did not have the tools necessary in order to process them appropriately. He would have to find a town and have them made if he could find one.
He had no clue as to where he was at the moment. When he escaped from Lenova he had picked a random direction and followed it until arriving here. Now that the vegetation had been all cleared away, it was time to start building structures. The stone walls and foundation were still there so it really wasn't too much of a task. The sun had just begun to set, the sky was a purple pinkish color. Silus decided to head out once more, this time to look for a small town or village to supply him with some materials.
…..
"Have you found anything?" Duke Hutchens asked a hooded figure that was standing with his arms crossed and his back against the door frame.
Uncrossing his arms, the hooded figure stepped further into Duke Hutchens' study. He was wearing skintight leather armor. It was thinner than regular armor, allowing for ease of movement. The leather had been treated in such a way that no light reflected off of it. This aspect of his armor made it unparrelled in stealth at night, but in the daytime, it would be unbearably hot.
Not seeming to be bothered by being cooked in his armor, the hooded figure spoke. "Nothing yet. He only goes out of his room to teach his class. I'm starting to doubt he even eats."
Duke Hutchens was surprised by the hooded figure's voice, it was feminine. When he had hired a crew to keep an eye on Professor Kal, he had assumed them to all be men. He didn't mind it; it was just not what he was expecting.
"There has to be something about him. I've been hearing rumors lately that the Crown has taken an interest in him, having the 'King's Shadows' surveilling him." Duke Hutchens said straining his eyes, trying to peer under her hood.
As with any kingdom or country, there was a need for covert operations. The King's Shadows were the Amine Kingdom's forces that they used for anything they didn't want others to know about. They were all highly skilled in the art of stealth and espionage. They have never actually been seen by anyone, but rumors of their actions were still making the rounds.
"I know, I've seen them snooping around. That's why I'm asking for more funds. With them around there is more risk on my side, it's only natural I ask for more to cover myself and my men." The hooded woman said, placing a parchment down on the table.
The parchment contained a revised contract. During her surveillance of Professor Kal, she had noticed the movements of the King's Shadows. There was no way that they had not noticed her as well, increasing the danger of the mission. Of course, with an increase of danger, more money would be involved.
Duke Hutchens quickly scanned over the contract the mysterious woman had brought with her. He took out a quill and ink and made some changes to the draft. Duke Hutchens was no stranger to paperwork. Being a Duke meant his territory was vast and with it came an equal amount of paperwork. This went back and forth for several minutes, he would make changes then she would go over them and make changes of her own; finally, they both agreed on a set of terms.
"I'll expect some results with the amount I'm paying you." Duke Hutchens said, rolling up the parchment and putting his copy away in his storage ring.
Shrugging her shoulders, the hooded figure walked towards the door before stopping and saying. "You'll get what you get, they're no guarantees in life."
Before he could retort, the hooded woman had vanished. He closed his mouth and snorted out of his nose. He didn't care much for her attitude but couldn't complain about her skill. Her group were supposed to be the best that money could buy when it came to anything 'below board' that needed to be done. He had used them plenty of times before and has always been satisfied with their performance.
So far it had been a bust. It didn't seem like Professor Kal did anything other than teach, visit the library, or stay in his room. There had to be something with him though to attract so much attention from the Crown, they didn't move just for anyone. The strangest part of it was the lack of information, there weren't even any rumors being spread about. He just knew that there was something going on behind closed doors, and he was determined to find out what it was.
…..
It was the end of the week and was time for another one of Professor Kal's auxiliary classes. The six students were waiting patiently for Professor Kal to arrive, still talking about the knights that had ransacked their rooms searching for someone. It had come to light what had happened the night before and they were all surprised to hear it. They were all higher-class citizens, so they were not used to being the targets of such crimes.
Ben, Ryan, and Laura were happily chatting away as Richard sat quietly beside them. Ever since the foray into the forest, the group of four had become much closer. The twins kept to themselves, having their own conversation.
Like clockwork, the hour hand hit the eight and a Warp Gate opened up before them. Out walked Professor Kal with Professor Treffle in tow. Closing the gate behind them, he quickly scanned the class, taking attendance. Seeing that everyone was present and nodding his head, he spoke. "I hope everyone has been practicing their mana control. There won't be a test or anything of the sort, but should you be slacking you'll only fall further and further behind, and I will not help you catch up."
He let his words sink in. He didn't expect anyone to be slacking in their practice, it spoke volumes to their work ethic to just be willing to participate in extra classes. Everyone nodded their heads, showing that they understood, then he continued. "Good. Now before we begin, I have an announcement to make. During the fall recess I will be traveling, to where you may ask yourselves? Well, I wish to visit certain dungeons and the different regions that they occupy. They reason I am sharing this with all of you is because I will be taking you all along with me."
He finished his statement as if it were all but written in stone. Everyone present opened their eyes wide and started to gape like fish out of water, especially Professor Treffle that was off to his side.
"Sir." Laura started, always raising her hand when speaking.
"We can't just take off and go exploring dungeons, our parents would never allow such a thing." She finished, the other students all nodding in agreement.
Professor Kal turned towards her and smiled. "Just lie to them. Say it's an extra credit course or that you are going to shadow a mage during your break and will not be able to return home. I suppose both of those are not complete lies, but you get the idea. I don't care what you tell them, but I expect all of you with me when I leave."
Professor Treffle couldn't hold back any longer. "I don't think this is a wise decision, to tell students to lie to their parents. I don't think Dean Petticoat would approve of this whole idea."
Professor Kal turned just his eyes towards her. "He only needs to know parts of it, he'll get on board easily enough, especially since you'll be coming along as well to keep an eye on everything."
"But I…" She started to say before he interrupted her.
"I'm afraid that you don't have much of a choice, not if you wish to learn more about mana control from me. I only teach those that I find agreeable."
With her words caught in her throat, Professor Treffle snapped her mouth shut and crossed her arms in a huff. She had a limit on what she would do to increase her own power but chaperoning a few young adults and one man-child shouldn't be completely out of her wheelhouse. Seeing that she seemed to be onboard, Professor Kal nodded towards a student with his hand raised.
"Is it mandatory?" Riley asked, concern on his face.
"You can say that. Although you won't be punished should you not go, but you will no longer be welcome in this class. I only want those that are serious about learning the true secrets of magic and are willing to do anything to do so." He explained with a deep and serious voice.
Turning his serious expression into a laxer one, he changed the subject to what they would be going over in today's class. Ryan, Ben, Laura, and even Richard exchanged glances with each other as Professor Kal droned on and on. Ryan already knew that he couldn't get out of going along with him, he was curious as to what decision the other three would make. He didn't dare talk when Professor Kal was talking, so he would have to wait until the end of the class.
Clapping his hands together, Professor Kal finished his lecture. "So, everyone pair off. One at a time cast your defensive magic in the way that I have explained, and the other will attack, trying to break it. And don't worry about getting hurt, I have plenty of potions to go around."
With his words the students groaned in complaint and Professor Treffle turned white at the mere thought of students flinging spells at each other.