Dion introduced Vega to Lian, his senior disciple who saved him from getting killed. Different from his master and Dion, Lian sat lazily on the pillow, slurping the tea, disturbing the quietness in the room. The way he sat uncaring about anything around him made Vega thought of himself before he influenced by his mentor and Dion. Now, he could pass as a noble if he had worn something more expensive instead of the academy's robe.
"Hi there! Nice robe you got there." Lian scanned what Vega wore. "I bet that must've felt warm."
Vega changed his robe in the morning when his master informed him they were leaving. Fitting the robe was simpler than using the complicated robe the sect used. No weird inner robe, no waist band, no intricate design. Just a simple black robe covering his shoulders until his legs. Nodding, he replied, "I think we need to switch our clothing; yours is better for the hot weather that we have all year long, right?" He looked at Dion.
"Sure, sure. But I thought you didn't like the robe?" Dion lifted his eyebrow. He was referring to the first time they met, and Dion changed first while Vega had been wearing his tattered clothes.
"Oh, sush! You know what happened back then? I didn't know how to unlock the door!" Vega pouted and then looked at Lian. "Senior Lian, thank you for saving Dion. I'll ask you boldly to keep him safe, okay?"
"Of course, what do you take me for? Ah here, for you. Don't forget to visit us often; I think Dion trains better when you're here. He misses you, you know." Lian squinted one of his eyes while looking at his junior.
Vega held his laugh, looking at Dion, who blushed. For the first time since he knew him, Dion stopped talking and stayed quiet. He toyed with the gift and asked hesitantly, "Can I ask you one question?"
Lian and Dion looked at him and tilted their heads, listening.
"Uhm, how can I contact you again when we are in different places?" I know I can use my medal, but since you have different methods, can we still talk to each other?" Vega talked really fast, looking down on the floor.
Dion took something from his pouch and said, "Here, touch the medal together. Senior, you too!"
Vega received both of the medals that were half his size and touched them together, saying, "That's it?"
Dion and Lian nodded. Even though the academies and the sects were not exactly friendly, but their weird connection still enabling them to connect their medals. After living in the sect for three days, Vega got used to the environment here and he liked the mountain breeze that felt colder to his skin. He slept better and even Dion looked better living here and looked like a noble compared to the nobles in the academy. In fact, all of the sect members have the same features that could make the whole academy die with envy with their features.
"What is this symbol on your medal?" Vega traced the engraving on the sect's medal and felt curious.
"Oh, that's just a character called Li." It means 'inside'. To give people the idea that we are inner disciples. It's a little stuck-up, but did a really good job deterring people from disturbing us now and then."
"Senior, he doesn't understand that." Dion looked at Vega. "It's similar with the academy's medals. Ours have different color, but here inner disciple had the character symbolized someone who has masters. The other members of the sect were only considered outer members. Which means we have more privileges here."
Vega nodded and said, "Ah, okay. I understand. Thank you both. It's nice to see these things here. I wish I could stay here longer, but my mentor asked me to leave. I will miss the buildings and the environment here."
"No problem. Only the buildings and the environment? You don't miss me?" Dion looked at Vega angrily.
"Of course, you too! It's just… just--" Vega was lost for words.
"Of course, I understand. I was just joking. It's different from the academy, I know. But appreciate the academy; even though their environment was really bad, at least you're going to learn a lot of things there. I miss going to the library and reading books without paying. Here everything is too expensive."
After bidding his last goodbye and the awkward moment when Vega was deciding to either bow or hug his friend, Dion hugged him first and whispered, "Hey, you know that you're chosen, right? So stop feeling sorry for yourself. No one cares that you're a commoner. You deserve Elder Addilyn's attention."
Vega didn't know that his friend saw through him and hugged Dion tighter.
####
Vega was quiet the whole day. His mentor was the one who did all the work. Even though it was just yesterday, he missed being surrounded by the weird language and the environment of the sect. Honestly, he also missed Dion a lot. But he knew that without enough power, they couldn't leave in peace with all the growing hatred between the two factions. Even his mentor or even second-level adepts didn't have enough power to control the population if they ever realized their elders were as powerless.
On the way, Vega was thinking about all the things he could do to change the situation he was in. His mentor didn't look like it, but she wore a cold expression after being separated from her brother. Vega enjoyed how his mentor smiled when he followed the instructions well. How Professor Addilyn joked around and smiled around her brother. How she seemed relaxed while they were in the sect together. But right now, she's turned back into her usual self. The ice dragon, they called her.
Vega inhaled all of the air, feeling the saltiness and the heat in the academy. It felt a thousand times better than the cold in the mountains; that's enough positive for his first day. He missed the academy because it had been his home, but now it just felt different. After his mentor told him the secret of the world he was in, he didn't know what to do. Yes, meeting Dion was a nice surprise, but what then? What was his goal in life? Vega didn't like people in general; he didn't strive to make a family; he just wanted to enjoy his life. But what can he enjoy? The magical power that was strong enough to kill scarlings? Or the sound element that he could use to kidnap people and kill everyone? Or there was growing tension between two factions, and the second-level adepts were too powerless to do anything about it.
The restaurant felt lifeless without all the loud chatter from people in the mountains. Here, Vega realized people talk quieter and not as loud. Not comfortable with the whole thing, he finished quicker than he used to. The meal tasted bland, even worse than the moldy bread he got from the trash when he was living on the streets.
Vega slammed the door behind him and went to the library. He still needs more knowledge of spells. Water seems interesting because, like his air, he had his pouch to produce water indefinitely. The basic spells helped him control some waters to attack and defend himself. But now, the successful casting didn't give him any satisfaction after knowing that he would be stuck as a second-level adept that was still too powerless to end the war. He didn't want Dion to get involved in the war, but the academies hated the sects and vice versa.
"This is not working!" Vega threw the book against the wall, attracting attention from everyone.
"The library is free, but we don't accept any disturbance, especially to our books!" The master teleported next to Vega and waved his hand, moving all of the books scattered on the table back to their proper places. "Out! You're banned from the library for a whole year!"
Vega stood up abruptly, putting all of his items inside his pouch while grumbling. He slammed the door behind him and left the library altogether.
Vega paced around the room, biting his nails. The world he knew seemed bad. Worse than before. At least before, he didn't have anyone to think about. Being selfish was really nice; now he needed to think about politics, and he hated it. He was only an apprentice, without the knowledge to do anything.
The tome had all the knowledge he had, but nothing could help him gain more power. Flipping the page aggressively, he shouted, "What can I do?!" Help me, you useless piece of paper!" He threw the book away and cried.
He cried because he was clueless; he had no idea what he was doing. Even in the new place filled with magic, he didn't know what to expect. The people here tried to do their best to improve, but for what? They could only grow so much without anything to aim for. Vega sat there for hours, crying. What seemed to be the best place was actually worse than he had imagined. Yes, he went through a lot while he was in the sect, but in the academy, he went back to being useless. Nothing he could do here because the academy forbid apprentices bellow high-level to venture outside by themselves. He could try try going to outside of the academy, as long as he stay in the island, but his potions can already earn him more money than the missions the academy can offer him.
Vega tried peeking outside of his windows, looking at all the apprentices walking along in a hurry, catching all the classes they had to catch. Some of them brought several books with them, trying to not be late for class. Some were laughing without caring that the world itself was nothing. Even some blasted fire here and there as they tried to do some little competition with their friends, who in turn summoned their own elements to put out the fire. Nothing changed in the academy; everything just felt too normal.