The two boys promptly returned to school, whisked their sand and ice forms into the hostel and changed back into their human forms and left the boys' bathroom. The classroom was full of students poring over their textbooks, preparing for the next day's exam. While the rest in the hostel were either resting or having casual conversations. At the same time, in the boys' hostel, some were sleeping or chatting in small circles, while a few were playing cards. A group of girls were singing and playing games, and others were discussing their favorite movies and TV shows.
"So tell me, what element did you awaken?" Robert inquired of Oliver as they made their way to his corner.
"Light, and you?"
"Lightning."
"Cool," Oliver said as he plopped onto his bed. "We were told to bring our magic beasts to school next week."
"Same here. I think Bening Institute of Wizardry and Heiss Magic School have similar curricula," Robert said as he sat beside Oliver on the bed.
"No, actually, all magic schools follow the same basic curriculum," Oliver corrected him. "So, how are we gonna go about it?"
"Hey, I have an idea," Robert said, "'Bring Your Magic Beast to School' day is coming up next Thursday, and we're going on mid-semester break this Friday. How about we plan to go hunt for magic beasts on Monday?!" Robert suggested loudly.
"Keep it down, Robert! Someone might hear us," Oliver whispered urgently. "If ordinary people find out that we attend magic schools, they'll all start leaving normal schools to enroll in those instead!"
"And why would they do that?" Robert asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"It's shocking how little you know about the magical side of the world," Oliver said, a look of disgust on his face. "In order to attend a magic school, you need a standard high school certificate. The magic council uses regular high schools to regulate the age of students entering magic schools. Since a high school certificate is required for enrollment in magic schools, students are typically at least 16 years old upon completion of high school. The magic council established the compulsory attendance at high school before admission to a magic school to maintain this age limit. However, if the students from influential families discover that we have not completed high school and are already attending a magic school, they could report us to the magic council. This could lead to complications, as Manhawk, with his influence as a chiarman in the magic council, put us in the school 'illegally.' Reporting us could implicate Manhawk as well. Do you understand?" Oliver explained.
"Yeah, we'll keep our voices down from now on," Robert whispered. "But we still need to plan the details of our trip to hunt our magic beasts."
"I agree with your previous plan, but we need to decide on a meeting place," Oliver said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Perhaps we should meet in front of the school gate, as it will be deserted by then," Robert suggested.
"Exactly! The school gate it is," Oliver said.
__
"Hey, Vanessa!" Dora called out as Vanessa was walking back to the dorms.
"Hey, Dora. Is everything okay?" Vanessa asked with a friendly smile. The tension between the two had faded in the time since Dora last saw her with Robert.
"Yeah, Robert and Oliver are acting kind of strange, you know?" Dora said, her voice tinged with suspicion.
"Especially Oliver," Vanessa said to herself before realizing Dora was waiting for a response. "Oh! Sorry, what makes you say that?" she asked.
"Well, they've been missing lately. I haven't seen Robert since school ended, and when I asked Oliver about him, he said he was going to look for him, but now I can't find Oliver either," Dora said as they reached the boys' dorm.
"Are you saying you've been searching for those two?" Vanessa asked, pointing to Oliver's corner, where he and Robert appeared to be engrossed in a discussion about an action movie...
"I believe the Yellow Flaming Fox has superior abilities! Did you see that fireball?" Robert asserted.
"But have you ever seen a Hunched Frost Ape?" Oliver argued, "I'm telling you, a level-matched frost ape would easily take down a yellow flaming fox. Shh, look - your girlfriend is headed our way!" he whispered when he noticed Vanessa approaching with Dora.
"You're in for it now, buddy!" Poison said, stifling a laugh.
Dora marched up to them, a furious look on her face. "You went missing, and I had to ask Oliver for help finding you! Then he vanished too!" she scolded, her hands balled into fists as she tried to hold herself back from hitting them.
"Keep it down, would you?" someone said in a hushed but irritated tone.
"Oh, Dora, I was just behind the lab. I lost my watch, you see," Robert said, glancing down at his gold watch. "I mean, my other watch," he said, wincing at his own transparent lie.
"Would you mind if we stepped outside for a minute?" Dora said, dragging Robert by the arm into the corridor. "Now, you'd better tell me where you were, or else...!" Her voice trailed off threateningly.
Now alone, Vanessa and Oliver exchanged a look, and as Vanessa looked into Oliver's pallid, ice-cold face she couldn't help but shudder with fright. She usually felt awkward and uncomfortable whenever he looked at her. Every second she set her eyes on him, it felt like he would suddenly pull out a knife and kill her. She wished she knew what was wrong with her.
"You should probably go check on them," Oliver said after a moment of silence, an indifferent expression on his face.
Vanessa was already like Robert's best friend.
"You're right," she said, scurrying off quickly, hoping to get as far away from him as possible.
Oliver let out a heavy sigh and flopped back onto his bed.
"I really need that girl. She's the only descendant of Martha I know of," Solomon said in his head, his voice deep and serious, filled with care and worry.
"I understand, but without the staff of the Ancient emperor, she's basically useless. Mr. Williams currently has it, and we've attempted to forcibly take it from him, but he refuses to reveal its location even after we tortured him. Killing him won't help either, as it would mean losing the staff forever. We need to come up with a new plan. I'm exhausted from enduring so much pain from hosting another soul in my body," Oliver said as he slowly lay down and drifted off to sleep.
__
"I'll pretend you're telling the truth for now. Now, for the reason I sought you out," Dora said as she took his hand. "Miss Greene came looking for you, and since you're my boyfriend—and yes, you absolutely are," she added with a sly smile, "she came to me for help finding you. She said it was urgent and you should meet her at her lodge immediately."
"Okay... I guess I'll just head over to Miss Greene's lodge now," Robert said hesitantly, noticing the strange look on Dora's face.
"Despite the fact that she's 'very attractive' as the boys claim, don't let her charm suck you in because if you do, I'll haunt you," Dora said, flipping her vermillion-coloured hair back and hitting Robert in the face with it. She then sashayed away, her hips swaying as she walked. Robert rolled his eyes and laughed. "Love you too," he called after her, before heading to the teacher's lodge.
"I think your girlfriend likes you a lot, and she definitely doesn't want you getting distracted by someone else. And the way she was swaying her hips, I think you're going to have your first lucky night soon, my boy," Poison teased.
"No, I'm saving myself for the woman I'll eventually marry," Robert said, blushing slightly.
"And who might that be?" Poison asked with a tone of mischief.
"Uhh... I'll find out in the future," Robert stammered.
He stood at Miss Greene's apartment door and knocked gently.
"Who's there?" a familiar feminine voice called from inside.
"It's Robert," he replied.
"Come in, please," Miss Greene said.
Robert slowly pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Where have you been?" she asked, her voice casual as she sat on a blue couch, spreading honey on a piece of flatbread. The walls of the sitting room were painted a deep, gloomy blue, and the lights were dimmed, giving the room an overall gloomy and depressing air.
Miss Greene was wearing a pink T-shirt and sheer leggings, which would have been revealing if not for the mini skirt she was wearing.
"Um, Miss Greene, shouldn't you be wearing something less revealing?" Robert asked, feeling uncomfortable. "I'm not a girl, you know."
Miss Greene raised an eyebrow and asked, "Should you really be telling me that?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm a guy and I can do 'funny things' ma'am," He said, trying hard to avoid looking at those cute legs.
"Like seriously after what happened on Sunday you're still telling me that?" Miss Greene queried.
Robert's eyes widened in alarm. He hadn't expected her to bring that up.
"Busted!" Poison said in his head, emphasizing the word with a dramatic flare.
"So, how's Heiss Magic School?" Miss Greene asked casually, taking a bite of her sandwich.
Robert's eyes bulged so wide it looked like they might pop out of his head!
"H-h-how did you know?" he asked, his voice shaking with surprise.
Miss Greene stood up from the couch and walked towards him.
"Hi, I'm Miss Xena Greene. Wizard protector and literature teacher for Bright Future Models School," she said, extending her hand.
"But... but... but how?" Robert stammered, trying to wrap his mind around the idea that Miss Greene had somehow seen him, even though he'd been invisible. He mentally replayed the events of that fateful day in her apartment, but this time he imagined she could see him the entire time!
He felt her aura and was amazed to discover that she was a powerful mystic wizard.
"But, why didn't you say anything when you saw me standing there?" He asked, "you even took off..." he tried to say but the words caught in his throat. Miss Greene gave him an alluring smile and walked back to the couch.
"That's a story for another time, but there's an emergency. Do you remember Mr. Charles, the one who came with Manhawk? He wasn't the real Mr. Charles; he was a blood wizard who tricked Manhawk with a blood shape-shifting spell. Manhawk just messaged me, saying that the suspect must be from the Black Fraggers, and I'm the one who will be taking you to school from today onwards," she informed him with a serious tone.
"How about Oliver?" Robert asked.
"Charles, or rather the blood wizard didn't accompany Manhawk when he spoke to Oliver, so we believe he's in a safe situation," Miss Greene explained.
"Despite being a legendary wizard, how could Manhawk make such an oversight? Every spell cast emits a magical wave, so it's puzzling how Manhawk missed detecting it," Robert inquired, his expression reflecting curiosity.
"Robert, he used a medium-grade magic wave concealing potion that obscured 90 percent of the magic wave," Miss Greene elaborated, pausing to take a bite of her sandwich. "Manhawk mistook the leaked ten percent as the standard magic wave or aura emitted by wizards, which is typically used to gauge a wizard's level."
"Hmm, that's clever. Right, about the wizard protector stuff, can you explain it to me please?" Robert asked.
"Okay, you might not be aware, but there have been recent incidents of magic beasts attacking safe zones, Axille to be precise. To ensure people's safety, the Magic Council initiated a program where wizards are placed undercover in different ordinary institutions such as schools, churches, and orphanages to act as protectors. I was sent here last year, undercover, to ensure no magic beasts pose a threat to anyone in this school. Every ordinary school like this one has a wizard protector." Miss Greene explained.
"Alright, I'll be sure to let you know whenever I leave for Heiss Magic School... is it alright if I go now?" Robert asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable. He couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, knowing that Miss Greene knew he'd seen her without her clothes on.
"Of course, you're free to go," she said, giving him a playful wink.
"Bye!" Robert said hurriedly, then opened the door and sprinted out.
Miss Greene sighed and shook her head. "Teenagers..."