"The Seven Magic Academies? What are you talking about…?" Shu responded.
"Yes. Judging by this crest, it is safe to assume that you got invitation to enroll into one of them".
The Seven Magic Academies. These were 7 institutes created for the reason of helping and teaching people how to use and perfect their magic. Originally, there was only going to be one built, but it was officially decided to build more than 1.
"This might sound a bit strange, but…what are these "Seven Magic Academies" that you are speaking of?"
"Wait…do you actually not know what the Magic Academies are? Every mage knows about them. And with your studying, I would assume that either you would know or that someone told you."
"Well, remember that my mother abandoned me, and im going to assume that my father never cared about telling me. Could you please explain them to me so I can know?"
"Well, alright then. Here comes the explanation."
And so, his grandfather started explaining everything Shu didn't know about.
"The Seven Magic Academies are 7 schools that teach teenage mages how to use and perfect their magic abilities. They all have different named and whichever you enroll into depends solely on your Mana Level, not by how strong or weak you are."
Mana Level, sometimes also called "Mana Rank", is the overall potency of someone's Mana. Depending on how high or low your Mana is, you have a chance of getting stronger or staying the same. Its rare for people to check their Mana Level, since the only way to do so is by going to one of the Academies. There are 7 Levels, which aren't really "levels". They behave more like ranks. 7 is the weakest level whilst 1 is the strongest.
"The Academies' names and order from strongest to weakest are as follows: Crimson Rose, Mystic Lotus, Runic Sunflower, Graceful Carnation, Enchanting Lily, Sleight Gardenia, and Luminous Bluebell. They're all usually just called by their flower's name, so "Rose", "Lotus", and so on and so forth.
"That's interesting. How come my father never told me…?" Shu responded with an "interested" face.
"Well, it kinda does make sense, since they're on the other side of the world". His grandfather responded.
"That's…wait, what?" said Shu with a surprised face.
"You know the other side of the world? The one that we aren't allowed to cross?"
"Wh-what are you talking about…
"There's actually another side to this world. This is what is secretly called the "Magic Side of the World".
"What are you talking about? You're just making things up" Shu said, almost letting out a laugh that he was somehow able to swallow.
"Come with me, Shu. Let me show you something." His grandfather responded as he got up his desk's chair. "I cant believe your father never told you about this…"
Shu followed his grandfather through the many hallways of his mansion. They walked for what seemed like forever (even though it was actually only around 40 seconds), and eventually reached a specific room in the mansion. It was a very big door that seemed like the entrance to some sort of giant room. And frankly, that was exactly what it was.
"Ill let you do the honors, Shu" his grandfather said.
Shu pushed the doors, and he was amazed by what he saw.
On the other side, he saw an amazingly large room. It was a wooden room so big that an entire party could be held in. There were many tables and bookcases near the room's walls, along with a whole second floor filled to the brim with books.
"This is amazing! How come you've never shown me this before?!" Shu said with a very enthusiastic tone.
"I didn't want to bring you here unless I had to. And this situation perfectly calls for it."
"So, why am I in this room?"
"Just look around while I get this ready, alright?"
"Alright then. Im gonna check out the books, then." Shu said.
And so, Shu went to the second floor of the room to look at the many books. While he was doing so, he saw his grandfather grab a very strange looking knife from the table. It was a blueish purple knife that looked very sharp.
And so, Shu saw that sight. A sight he rarely saw anymore. His grandfather placed his left hand around the knife's blade and cut it. Blood started to pour out from it. This was Shu's grandfather's magic, and the Makahoushi family's signature magic: Ceremonial Blood Magic, usually called "Crimson Magic". A type of magic that utilizes the user's blood for a big variety of spells. This type of magic is so rare that in recent years, the only known users of it are the Makahoushi family.
Shu kept reading some of the books he saw in the bookshelves until his grandfather finally called him.
"Come over here, Shu".
"Understood".
Shu went to where the circle was drawn, and stood near its middle.
"Im going to cast a spell now, so don't leave the circle."
"Understood, grandfather"
And then, he started casting the spell.
"All mighty magic that runs through my veins, allow him to see the truth that has been concealed for years, and let him gain the ability to acknowledge what's hidden in the shadows."
And so, he said the last words.
"Eye of Truth!"
That moment, everything went dark.
The entire room was pitch black, and nothing was visible. Until he looked down…
Shu saw something very familiar: the planet. The planet that they called "Earth". That very planet that apparently had 2 different sides to separate the regular humans and the mages. But that wasn't all he saw. The planet was perfectly cut in half by what seemed like a bright white line.
"What the…?" Shu said in shock.
"This is how the Earth is truly divided. After a horrific event that happened many years ago, the regular humans and magicians agreed and decided to live in different sides of the world. Once they reached this agreement, a very powerful spell was casted by some of the strongest magicians at the time. A spell that perfectly divided the world in half with a magic barrier. If any human attempted to g through this barrier, they would simply get teleported to the other side of their half of the world, where the other side of the barrier was." His grandfather told him.
"Event…? What sort of event?" he responded.
"As of today, no one knows. For some reason, most, if not all, records of said event have been erased from history. I don't know of a single person that knows about the event, but I am certain that someone in one of the Academies might know."
Shu was very flabbergasted at his grandfather's explanation. But, he had some questions.
"Why are you telling me this?" he responded.
"I am telling you this for 2 reasons. First, because as a mage, you should know the true nature of this world. And second, since I assume that you're gonna enroll into one of the Academies and these are located on the other side of the world, you should know about it."
"Understood. So, what now?"
"Well, you DO want to enroll into one of the schools, correct?"
"I suppose so. In that case, we should probably go tell Kaede and let her know"
"Excellent. In that case, let's go to her room and tell her right now."
"Alright then. Let's go"
Shu started to walk out of the room they were currently in.
"Wait, where are you going? We don't need to go to the room that you teleported from."
"Oh…right…"
Since his grandfather was very skilled at Crimson Magic, he was able to use it in many different ways.
"Great. Then let's go"
Shu started to walk out of the room they were currently in.
"Wait, where are you going? We don't need to go to that room"
"Oh…right…"
Shu's grandfather bit his finger and let a small droplet of blood fall to the ground. A red magic circle appeared under the both of them. This was one of the many aspects of Crimson Magic.
Normally, for most ritual spells, you would need to chant some sort of incantation in order to cast them. But due to his skill at using said magic, for the simpler spells, he didn't need any incantations of any sort.
Once the circle was in place, a bright blood red light surrounded the both of them.
After a few seconds, they were teleported to the backyard of Shu and Kaede's house.