Another few months passed in the blink of an eye…
During this period, Vicente finally regained some of his freedom and even received some more opportunities to enjoy his time by having fun with his friends after the academy.
But this was just one of the notable events that had transpired in this period. After years of studying at the Academy of Stars, Vice, Rory, and Ian finally reached the day when they had to bid their farewell to this school!
...
"Vice, Rory, what will you do from now on? My parents are trying to get me into the Royal Academy in Saltstar City," Ian inquired before informing his friends, his smile clearly indicating that he was hardly able to wait for his 10th birthday and travel to that city.
Vice and Rory were walking alongside Ian, each of them soldering their backpacks.
The three had grown significantly and were gradually entering adolescence, a stage of bodily maturation that takes place between the ages of 10 and 14 in the humans of this world.
At 14, they would not only be able to awaken more of their magical abilities, but they were also coming to the age where they were considered adults according to the local standards.
So, at almost 10, they were already standing at around 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall and weighed between 35 to 45 kilograms.
Hair was already growing here and there on their bodies, and their voices were slowly becoming deeper.
Each of them excelled in their own unique ways. Vicente, in particular, was the one with the most noticeable change in his voice.
Hearing his friend's question, he replied, "I hope to see you there as well. While I don't intend to join the Saltstar City Royal Academy, my father has some business to do there, which will need my family to stay in the city for a few months.
We will be leaving in a week, so I will be away from Martell Village for a while as well."
Rory heard this but wasn't disheartened by the thought that his friends would be away from this village for a while.
"I will be waiting for you guys. I don't have any plans for the moment. I will just wait for Vice and then join his family." Rory declared with confidence, trusting what his best friend had told him.
Vicente had already shared his dream with Ian and Rory about starting a family and living his life on his own terms.
Ian had no interest in joining this family, as he aspired to enter the Seidel Magic College one day and secure a place in the kingdom, perhaps even within a prominent noble family or even acquiring the title of nobility.
Rory, on the other hand, thought differently. After being rescued from the clutches of Darek and his group, Rory learned many things from Vicente, and without having any ambitions, he decided to join this thing that Vicente called the Mafia.
He understood that they would have to live outside the law, but the idea of following their own rules and living in the shadow of society intrigued him.
Being the son of a prostitute, he had no interest in becoming a public figure, much less becoming a lackey for some nobleman.
"Hmm, I should be back in no more than six months at the very most," Vice once again reassured Rory, planning to set the foundation for his family to get along the mafia lines upon his return.
For now, he intended not to expose this plan to his relatives and would only have Rory as his confidant. Until he became an adult and gained more freedom, he intended to continue with this.
However, once he took over some part of his father's business and left his family alone, he had grand plans in mind!
Rory was more aware of this than Ian and nodded in agreement to Vice, showing he was looking forward to it.
"I hope you guys succeed in that," Ian wished them. "Either way, I'll miss you."
The three had been close friends for years and rarely had many days gone by when they would not be seeing each other in recent years. But now, each would embark on their separate journeys...
"How about this? Your family will still be in the village in the future, right? I heard that the Saltstar City Royal Academy has two vacations each year. So let's make a pact to meet back here on at least one of those annual vacations," Vicente suggested, "We can go out hunting, or rather just enjoy some good drinks..."
None of the three had ever consumed alcohol, but as silly children who observed their slightly older family members and acquaintances indulging in it, a part of them was slightly intrigued by the idea.
The three of them grinned as they thought about it, agreeing that they could give it a try in a few months.
After they reached the side of the academy's entrance gate, the trio exchanged glances and bid farewells with their group's special handclasp.
"See you in a few months!"
"See you in a few months!"
With these words, they dashed off toward their homes, while the rest of the class 5 students also gradually left the academy in small groups.
Since their numbers were limited, there wasn't a large crowd to cause a ruckus or for anyone to get lost among the departing youngsters.
Spotting Vicente running towards his house, Professor Julian adeptly moved among the young people who were celebrating their graduation, approaching this boy about to become an alumnus.
"Vicente, wait a moment," he called out, moving swiftly like wind and quickly catching up with his target.
Vicente glanced back and stopped as he watched his teacher use his magical abilities once again.
However, what Julian and many others did almost instinctively with the mana in their bodies were not techniques or spells.
Most of the time, magicians use their abilities for mundane tasks, such as moving around, learning something new with more ease, enhancing the properties of their bodies, etc.
There were endless ways to harness mana, and magicians took advantage of this feature to make their lives easier all the time.
"What is it, professor?"
"You don't need to call me that anymore. You ceased to be my student when you passed through the academy gates," Julian mentioned before patting one of Vicente's shoulders and crouching down.
"Anyway, I didn't get your attention because of this.
Here, take this. It's a gift from me to you," he said, opening one of his hands and showing it to Vicente.
Upon hearing this, Vice frowned and stared at what was in Professor Julian's hand.
The thing in the professor's palm was a silver necklace with a black half-moon symbol.
"Professor?"
"Take it. I want you to have it," Julian said with a serious tone. "I found this thing during my travels around the province during my youth.
I always felt that it had value, but I never sold it or took the time to discover what might be its significance. In the end, I was too weak to try to find out." He let out a sigh as he said that, recognizing his inability to find what this necklace was.
Vice looked at him thoughtfully, aware that this man was one of the strongest magicians in the village, who should not be far from the 5th Triangle.
"However, you were the best student I ever had, so I want you to keep it. If it helps you somehow one day and you uncover what it is or its purpose, don't worry about giving me anything in return. I just want to learn what I've carried around for so many decades."
While Julian looked young, he was already 69 years old.
Magicians could prolong their youth. Hence, it was common to find people even older than this man with the appearance of their peak times preserved.
Vicente heard this and felt interested to have the gift.
He immediately felt a sense of déjà vu when he picked up that necklace from Julian's hand.
He clenched his fists and accepted it.
"Thank you, professor. If one day I can discover its secrets, I will make sure to share them with you."
After that, Vice bid farewell to his teacher before finally heading back to his home in order to prepare for his impending departure.
In a week, he and his family would leave their village for the largest city in the province!