Eluard Kai scrutinized the person in front of him.
Dressed like a butler from a prestigious family of modern times, the old man's grayish hair slithered to his face as he bowed deeply with grace to Eluard.
"I have been waiting for your arrival, Academy Master."
'A-academy Master?', Eluard was shocked.
When did he become an academy master?
He was just some nobody on Earth, not until some truck driver thought it was entertaining to drive over him on an alleyway.
It was the most ridiculous accident that happened in history. The truck seemed hellbent on Eluard to be dead as it chased him from the highway to the lower streets.
The old man continued speaking, dragging him out of his imagination.
"I have been tasked to safeguard this place until the Academy Master arrives. Now that you are here, my time is over."
Eluard panicked.
This guy was spouting nonsense out of nowhere. As such, he tried to block the man's path when it vanished to nothingness.
'He- he vanished like that?!'
Hell no! He didn't want to take responsibility for something he was unclear about.
That was similar to a pregnant woman charging through his apartment, declaring that he was the man of the child she bore.
"Hey, damn old man. Stop playing tricks with me! Come out!"
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
Despite his incessant cursing, he had no choice but to go inside the academy for now. There was nowhere else to go.
The road behind felt dangerous, while the academy could be used as a shelter until he knew what was going on here.
Moreover, the old man said he was the academy master now. Maybe it wasn't a lie?
Regardless, it was worth the trouble.
Eluard walked closer. When he looked at the large school in front of him, it was pretty much deserted.
Closed windows, closed doors. The song of loneliness rang in his ears.
'Damn, how come a large academy like this is deserted?'
The scale was comparable to universities like Harvard back on Earth.
He arrived in front of a large wooden door. It was the only entrance that led to the academy.
Atop the walls were inscribed, "Heavenly Magic Academy".
'How domineering.'
Amidst his daze, the large doors opened by themselves. Then, something he has been longing for ringing in his ears.
[ Welcome to the Heavenly Magic Academy. ]
[ I am your system and I will be assisting you in your endeavors, dear host. ]
"Yessss!!!", Eluard knelt with tears of joy flowing in his eyes.
He thought he was a goner, not until the system arrived.
'System, tell me something I don't know!'
[ You are currently in a magical world, dear host. Gifting System Opening Rewards. ]
'A gift?'
[ System Opening Rewards: Special Skill: Magical Deterrence, Magical Analysis. Items: Mask of the Magus, Robe of the Magus. ]
[ Magical Deterrence: No being, even a god, can measure out your might. ]
[ Eye of Fidelity: The eye of a supreme archmage cannot be deceived by anyone. ]
[ Mask of the Magus: The long-lost mask of a renowned wizard. ]
[ Robe of the Magus: The long-lost robe of a renowned wizard. ]
Eluard was rather confused about the particular effects of the two special skills. Moreover, the items he received were confusing too.
`Can't it be more descriptive than that?!`, he was frustrated. The system might as well not tell him anything.
However, the system coldly interrupted his annoyance before he could complain.
[ Administering Tasks. ]
'Tasks? Already?'
[ Main Task: Recruit 5 mage students in the Heavenly Magic Academy. ]
[ The Heavenly Magic Academy was once titled as the most supreme academy of magic. Its glorious name has been forgotten for long. Now, it is time for it to rise back again. ]
[ Specific Requirements: Students must have the following attributes. ]
[ Magic Root: At least profound magic root. ]
[ Magic Aptitude: 7 or higher. ]
[ Magic Affinity: None. ]
[ Reward: Magic Root (Mythical-Trait or Higher). Magic Aptitude (10 or higher). Magic Affinity (Universal) ]
Eluard gaped his mouth at how bountiful the rewards were just for a rookie task.
"System, aren't they a bit too bountiful?"
[ As the Academy Master, you are expected to be the top existence in magical cultivation in Heavenly Magic Academy. ], the system corrected.
Eluard concluded that it was logical. There was no way a student would enroll in an academy with a trash master.
Moreover, he had to reign supreme over the rest. If a student could overpower him, what was the point of being the academy master in the first place?
Of course, he had to understand how powerful they were for a reference.
"System, what are these words in my panel?"
[ Magic Root: The base of a wizard in controlling the mana and casting spells. Rare magic roots include effects varying from increased magic cultivation speed, affinity to other elements, etc. ]
[ Divided into categories: Ordinary, Elite, Profound, Legendary, Mythical, Divine ]
[ Magic Aptitude: Magical comprehension measured in numbers. The higher the number, the faster a person will learn magic, particularly the more advanced and complex magic. ]
[ Magic Affinity: Affinity of a wizard to magic elements. ]
"I see. Since the magic root reward is at least mythical, I wonder what its special effects would be."
"Also, it said that my magic affinity would then be universal. Does this mean that I would be able to harness all sorts of elements after this?"
Eluard was excited. However, the next task baffled him.
[ Special Task 1: Adaptation ]
[ You have recently transmigrated in a world you are ignorant of. Go to the library and read some history books ]
[ Reward: Academy Invitation x10. Item: Randomly invite 1 student to the academy. The attributes of the invited student are random. Single-use ]
Eluard felt like the system was mocking him.
"All right, all right. I'll go read some books now, okay?!"
On the way to the library, with the help of the system's map navigation, Eluard found that there were other sections of the system panel as well.
General, Tasks, Host Profile, Students, Staff, Items, Store, Pets.
Out of them all, only the General, Tasks, Host Profile, Students, and Items were open.
'I guess it's the conventional way, system?'
He didn't get a response. When he looked at his profile, he was utterly humiliated.
[ Host Name: Eluard Kai ]
[ Age: 22 Years Old ]
[ Magic Power: N/A. ]
[ Magic Rank: N/A. ]
[ Magic Root: None. ]
[ Magic Aptitude: None. ]
[ Magic Affinity: None. ]
[ Magic Spells: None. ]
[ Special Skill: Magical Deterrence, Magical Analysis (Eye of Fidelity) ]
[ Achievements: None. ]
[ Remarks: Disappointing host. ]
It was just a long line of none, none, and another none.
The remark section felt like he was being mocked by the system again.
'Damn it, just you wait system! I'll prove to you how good of a host I am!'
...
1 week later.
Eluard slumped on a wooden table as he finished reading the book he was holding.
He wore a grandiose mage robe gifted to him by the system. Its back collar went as high as his head, curving smoothly to the sides.
Its outside was colored navy blue, while the inner was white.
His aura was befitting of an academy master now.
'Damn it, I feel bored reading them.'
The world he was in now was called Aludia. Its inhabitants practice what would one say in Earth as fictitious stuff.
Existence of gods, demi-humans, demons, magic.
Eluard felt like he was dreaming. Based on the scale of the map Eluard saw, Aludia might be 4-5 times bigger than Earth. Maybe even more than that.
There were 9 continents in total, with many more islands and archipelagos littering around the world map.
There were thirteen forces that superseded the rest of Aludia's inhabitants, but the most prominent ones were the Creed of the Morning Star, Vahalla's Dominion, League of Wizardry, and Knights of Aludia.
The first one was a religious cult founded under the star rotating over Aludia which many termed as the Morning Star.
They had a deep faith that the Morning Star blesses Aludia and its citizens. It was a deity that preceded the other gods. Those who speak of otherwise were treated as renegades.
They have reached multiple cities and continents, and no empire nor kingdom dared to stop their missionaries in spreading their faith.
Vahalla's Dominion was a demonic tribe that resided in the southern continent, the Wastes. They were extremely violent and hostile.
Their demonic lord, named Vahalla, once ruled the land though defeated by Aludia's valiant heroes which soon founded the League of Wizardry and the Knights of Aludia.
Although other occupations existed in the land, knights and wizards were the primary options considered by most people.
Becoming a knight was easier than its counterpart. Forming a knight's chivalric core was all needed, which could be artificially induced or naturally formed.
Meanwhile, wizards required an innate magic root. Once a person was born without any of that, there was no way they would become a wizard for all their life.
Though there were rumors sparking that a legendary wizard of ages ago once found a mythical spell that allowed him to remodify one's magic roots, even create it from scratch.
Of course, rumors were just rumors and Eluard left it at that.
`Now this should be sufficient, right?`, he wondered, and his prayers were answered.
[ Special Task 1: Adaptation Completed. ]
[ Rewards: Academy Invitation x10. ]
[ Please use them wisely, dear host. ]
"Academy Invitation? It said that I can use this to invite students to this academy."
As if reading what was the next thoughts in his mind, the system proactively informed Eluard of its information.
[ Item: Academy Invitation ]
[ Invite a student to the Heavenly Magic Academy. Distance is irrelevant. Invited students will receive an envelope, inscribed with teleportation magic should they imbue their mana into it. ]
[ Teleportation target is the entrance of the Heavenly Magic Academy. ]
'Oh, that convenient?'
In this case, he wouldn't have to wait for months for an invited student that resides on the other side of the world.
Eluard felt that he couldn't wait that long. Who knows? Maybe the transportation system in this world was comparable or better than Earth, or maybe worse.
He also factored that the students may not know where the Heavenly Magic Academy resided. He was just transmigrated here out of place.
The books didn't even mention the Heavenly Magic Academy in the list of prosperous academies in Aludia.
"Alright, enough about all this contemplation. Let's use one of them and see how it goes! System, use one academy invitation, please."
[ Acknowledged. ]
[ Processing request. ]
[ Invitation successfully sent out. ]