P.O.V. ???
The soft Light of the magic bookcase created an atmosphere of mystery in one of the many rooms of the academy; I had been locked up in there for a few hours, intent on correcting some of my spupiles' writings.
It was an apparently normal day, when all of a sudden, my magic globe of connection* began to ring, distracting me from my work; I used to receive calls at the most inopportune times, and so I ignored the first call; but then, the damn sphere rang two, three, four times, and at that point, albeit reluctant, I decided to answer: maybe, it was a matter of urgency...
I touched the sphere twice, and at that point, the hologram of the one who was disturbing me appeared in front of me: I thought it was some of my student who had some difficulties, or some colleague who asked me for a hand; for this, I was quite surprised when I saw Ludwig's smiling face in front of me.
"Leo, old friend!" Ludwig exclaimed in a tone of excitement that brought with it a good dose of nostalgia;
"Ludwig! How long has it been!" I exclaimed joyfully, forgetting about my duties at that moment; - "How are you? We haven't heard from each other in a lifetime!"
"Well you know, since I became an administrator, I don't have that much time left..." justified Ludwig, who slightly embarrassed, scratched his head, as he used to do when he felt a little uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, my old man! I too, since I became a professor here at the Academy of the Thousand Magic Arts, I don't have much time to relax. Anyway, what do I owe your call to?" ; I knew my friend well, and judging by his almost suffering expression, I knew he had something to ask me: for this, without going around too much, I cut off the bull's head.
"Well, you see... I don't like to ask you a favor after so long.. But you see, I really need your influence." said Ludwig, with eyes looking for my gaze in unsearing unsaled stories.
"Influence?" I replied, raising an eyebrow – "I don't think the magic can extend that far." i concluded, in a slightly sarcastic tone.
"Don't joke, man.." Ludwig said, snorting slightly – "I really need your help, but you promise me you'll keep it secret..." Ludwig said in a low voice, as if the mere act of pronouncing the word could unleash an invisible wave of intrigue.
"I have a certain friend who has trained two kids with incredible magical potential, and would like to have them admitted to your academy. The latter, however, for reasons I cannot reveal, cannot reveal his identity."
My expression remained the same, but a storm of questions unleashed inside me: Ludwig and I had known each other for some time now, and I knew that he was not used to asking for favors of this kind: what had prompted him this time to ask me for such a special favor?
"Segrecy? Why all this mystery?"
"I can't tell you, Leonard. But trust me when I tell you that I've never seen such talents!" Ludwig insisted, with almost imploring eyes; at the same time, however, judging by his behavior and his slightly flickering voice, I realized that he was not sure of what he was saying either, since on several occasions, he avoided eye contact with me.
"Trusting people is good, but not trusting is better..." I replied, looking at the inkwell on the desk, almost as if the answers I was looking for could emerge from those endless pages of ink – "If you want to keep your friend's identity hidden that's fine, but in addition to the fact that I can't admit two guys without even having seen them, at the moment we are in the middle of the first semester, and you know well that we don't accept new students once the courses start, it goes against the rules, I'm sorry."
It was the rule of our academy, and as such, I would have done everything to respect it, it didn't matter if Ludwig was a long-time friend of mine, the rules exist to be respected and so I would have done.
Ludwig sighed, aware of the challenge he had ahead of him; if I considered myself stoic, Ludwig was more so than I was, and moreover, he was the most skilled of manipulators.
"Leonard, I understand, but their magic is unique. The academy would have a lot to gain from such talent."
"If I had to believe every person who said this sentence to me, to date Mykotos would be teeming with monsters..." - I said in a sarcastic tone, giving a long sigh – "My answer remains no."
My answer was a firm rejection, but Ludwig insited again;
"Leo , you have to understand that these young people are destined for great things! The academy should be their springboard!" Ludwig exclaimed, with a tone of voice worthy of the best street vendor in circulation, with a convinced expression mixed with a hint of despair.
All this bothered me slightly, but at the same time, a certain note of curiosity about the talent of the two boys began to arise inside me: If there was one thing I loved, it was to see young talents grow and prosper, and the fact that Ludwig insisted on their talent, made me begin to fantasize about their talent: I knew that there was something wrong with this whole thing, but at the same time, I really wanted to see if what Ludwig said was true;
"Leonard, do you remember when the Principal took you under his protective wing?" Ludwig suddenly said, thus changing the subject.
"Of course I remember... It was the best day of my life!" I said in a slightly high tone of voice and letting myself go to the chair, pleasantly remembering the day when the academy's Principal guaranteed my enrollment in the latter.
"So, do you also remember who the credit is if you are there today, right?" said Ludwig, with a mischievous little smile;
"What is it, are you blackmailing me now?" I replied by frowning, instilling a little fear in my friend who, in a hurry, tried to explain himself.
"Hey hey, it's not what you think! What I wanted to say... was that I, more than anyone and even yourself, had believed in your talent by challenging everyone. If I hadn't spurred you, maybe you wouldn't be there today, don't you think? Since you were about to abandon your dream to work at the circus---"
"... WHAT you want to insinuate?" I cut short slightly embarrassed, almost with contempt remembering the madness I was about to do in the midst of my youth, throwing my talent to the nettles;
"That you owe me a favor! I've definitely saved your future, don't you think?" Ludwig replied in a cheerful tone, who could barely hold back the laughter, making me slightly angry.
Even if I hated to admit it, if there hadn't been Ludwig then, maybe at this moment I would be regretting the fact that I didn't get involved with magic... In fact, many years had passed since that event, and even today, I hadn't thanked Ludwig properly for being my first supporter: maybe, the time had come to reward his gesture, although I felt that Ludwig was hiding something else from me...
"... Ok, I'll try to help these two guys: even though the semester has started, some professors, including myself, can bring in some new recruits..." I replied, finally giving in to his requests.
"Thank you!---"
"But!" - I interrupted Ludwig, who at the time believed he had gone away with it – "There will obviously be conditions: the boys will have to face an entrance test!"
"Well, we had already considered it..." Ludwig replied almost sociously, showing me that everything he said was practically premeditated, making me almost reconsider my decision...
"... Also! If when I see them I don't think they are up to the standard of the guys we have at the academy, I won't hesitate for a moment to send them back."
"H-Hey, but you said..."
"Either so, or nothing. If they are really talented, they will have my utmost support."
Certainly, Ludwig did not expect this condition, and judging by his expression, it was clear that he did not know whether to accept this condition or whether to refuse; in the end, however, he sighed a little, perhaps of disappointment, but then gave a small smile.
"Okay, deal." replied Ludwig, but at that moment he felt defeated because of our small negotiation.
"When will the two boys arrive?"
"Well, they just left for Hakvill, so they're going to get there in three days using the Quantum Vortex of Alferth*, in the 12th district."
"Wait... have you already made him leave Without waiting for my answer first?!" I asked in a surprised way, not comprehing how could Ludwig be so unconsious; Many say that over time you become wise, but this did not seem to apply to Ludwig, as he seemed to have become even more reckless...
"Well... It's not really up to me, but I knew you wouldn't turn your back on your friend!"
In fact, Ludwig had always been like this, There was nothing to be surprised at...
"Ahh... Forget it... Well, it may seem like a coincidence, but there is another young guy "sponsored" by me who comes from that district: he too will have to take part in an entrance test. So, I could meet them there, if I'm lucky..."
"Huh? Well, if you made a move for this guy, it means that he's really talented, right?" asked my old friend, intrigued by what I said.
"Yeah; he has a really rare talent and intelligence for a boy of his age... Also, his sword skill is stellar... The problem is his character..."
"His character?"
"Yeah, let's say it's a bit of a hothead... well, I'll tell you about it one day..." I snorted, thinking about that useless trip I should have taken because of that little boy..
"Anyway I really have to go now; I have to finish correcting all this mountain of homework before the next lesson..." I said stretching a little, then showing my friend some of the sheets scattered on my table.
"Ok, i understand. I have to go back to my work too. You know, being an administrator is not easy... Anyway, thank you for the help, really." Ludwig said, giving me a warm smile.
"Huh, It's the least i can do for you... I hope for you that you didn't fool me, or i will beat you to a pulp! Oh, I almost forgot! What are the names of the two boys? So that we can organize the test.."
"Oh, true... actually, The boy's name is Erwin Eda, while the girl's name is Lucy Blazestorm..."
"Erwin and Lucy, huh? Okay, I look forward to seeing these two "geniuses".... See you soon!"
*****
Three days later...
10 years have passed since Erwin found himself outside the 21st district; he was very small then, and his memories were confused about the memories he had of the other districts; for this reason, the moment when the carriage began to pass through the various districts, Erwin was extremely shocked by the beauty of the cities he was seeing; the streets were not rough like the ones he had seen and seen in Hakvill and in the 21st district in general, the buildings were in a good condition and the people, although they were mostly terrestrial, had a look "different" from what he was used to: their clothes were different and elegant looking, their way of walking and looking around was decidedly different.
Erwin was fascinated by it all, but at the same time, he saw something in those people's eyes that, in the meanders of his mind, had a certain sense of concern: he didn't understand why, and he didn't understand much about it at the time, but he felt that, from now on, he would have to be careful about what he said or did.
He wanted to talk to Elaine, so that he could think of something else, but even just speaking to her terrified him, given the cold and furious looks that the girl used to make every time she interacted with Erwin, and since Elaine at that moment had a lot of thoughts in her head;
So, since the journey would still be long, he decided to read "Focus", the book given to him by Ron; just touching it, Erwin realized how old that little book was; this made him hesitate about the usefulness of what he would read, but as soon as he remembered that the book had been given to him by Ron, any doubt or perplexity disappeared: he blindly trusted his teacher, and he knew very well that without Ron, he would probably not be here today.
Thus, he opened the book without any hesitation, ready to carefully read all the content within the book.
"First chapter... hearing and vision...mmmh"
Erwin began to read the book from the first chapter, curious about what was written in it: but after less than 3 minutes, Erwin began to get nervous, closing and reopening the book.
[D... Damn it! But what are these cryptic phrases?! What does "Seeing through the ears" and "Feeling through the eyes" mean?! It doesn't make sense!] yelled at the boy, who despite his efforts, had a hard time understanding how much it was explained in the book.
Erwin began to leaf through the book, and realized that the words used in the following chapters were similar to those used in the chapter he had just read;
"Elaine... could you help me?!" asked Erwin frustratedly, who in other conditions, would never ask the elf for help; but in that case, he knew that it was vitally important that he could understand what was written in that book;
"For you and everyone else I'm Lucy from now on..." - said the Elf angry, who was trying to empathize with her new identity – "And no, I'm not going to help you."
"Come on, Elaine!" Erwin replied in turn, who certainly expected more than magnanimity from his new travel companion.
The girl zapped him with a glance, calming Erwin's hot spirits in an instant, who only remembered at that moment that he had to call her Lucy.
"Listen to me carefully... I don't know how you lived, but don't you think you should get away with it yourself?"
"Hey, I'm just asking you to give me a hand! What's the problem?" replied annoyed the boy, who little by little, began to hate the girl, looking forward to separating from her.
"... I didn't think you were soft." countered the girl, starting to look at Erwin with an air slightly disappointed by the behavior she was seeing.
"Who the hell are you calling soft?!" said Erwin, who was about to completely lose his temper;
"I'm talking about you, stupid" – the girl replied, in a provocative tone; – "If the book was really that complicated, Ron probably would have given you some advice, don't you think?"
"... T-That's not the point!" - stuttered Erwin, who, hearing that sentence, had a small gasp.
"It does. Again, I don't know how you lived before, but forget about finding people to help you without an ulterior motive, especially in the academy. Probably, the reason Ron didn't tell you anything is so that you can get used to solving problems on your own, without anyone's help. Most people you will meet from now on will be competitive and ruthless, and if you don't find a solution on your own to improve and move forward ... you will be left behind" the girl said in a cold tone of voice to Erwin, who received those words as a series of slaps in the face.
His head told him not to believe those words, since either Elaine had never been to Veras, but his heart perceived Elaine's words as if they were true, and in the end, despite the doubts, he became convinced that perhaps those words were not so far from the truth.
"... So how should I do that?"
Elaine looked at Erwin, who had a frustrated and dejected look on his face; she felt a little guilty for responding to him in an unpleasant and cold manner; she knew that his tone and temper stemmed from the fact that she was forced to travel with the boy, but at the same time she knew that there was no need to be so nervous, especially with a person who days before had saved her from a disastrous future.
"I don't want to help you, but... I think that if Ron didn't tell you anything, it means that the answer must lie in the training you did with him; besides, you should analyze word for word what is written in the book: usually the answer is in front of our eyes..."
[In the training i did with him....] thought Erwin, who began to think about everything Ron had taught him since he was little and unable to manipulate mana.
"Thank You... Lucy" said Erwin, who at that moment had finally calmed down; thinking about Elaine's "crude" words, he realized that in fact, He was completely dependent on Ron: from training in the mountain, to everything he had taught him, Ron was the only reason Erwin had managed to progress; now he was alone, and he finally realized that he had to learn to get by on his own. If he wanted to be as independent as he wanted to be, he had to start finding the answers to his problems by using more his head...
"Anyway... Have you been to an magic academy before...?" Erwin asked the elf, trying to lower the tension that was between the two at that time;
The elf understood the boy's intention, and although she didn't really want to talk at the time, she still decided to interact, since anyway, unwilling or willing, she would spend a lot of time with Erwin...
"Yes. In my kingdom, of course..." replied the girl, as she watched the landscape flow before his eyes;
"And... how is it? Is it similar to a normal school?"
Elaine thought about it, after which she replied;
"Absolutely not" – said the elf dryly and directly – "A school teaches you how to behave and things that can help you for the future, while the academy trains you like a future soldier."
Erwin was slightly displaced, certainly not expecting such an answer;
"What do you mean by that?"
"... Just what I said. Do you know why magical academies were born? They were born because, following the numerous bloody conflicts between the various kingdoms, there was a need to instruct young wizards with enormous potential, so that they could use them as weapons..."
"Using wizards.. as weapons?"
"That's right... but this happened several centuries ago, when there was no balance between the various kingdoms; today things might seem different, but if they really were so, then why do academies still exist? Obviously, today everyone is free to do what they want once they have become an official wizard, but what will happen the day another violent and bloody war breaks out? Do you really believe that the wizards in this territory have a choice?"
"In addition, academies promote rivalries and results: if you are not strong, both mentally and physically, you risk being marginalized, and believe me if I tell you that it's not good at all..."
It was a question that Erwin, at that moment, absolutely could not answer; after Ron Hubbard had told him about the academy, he saw that place as a place where he could learn more and more about the world, but listening to Elaine's words, he began to think that that place was not as great as he believed.
"...Anyway, I don't know what the magical academies are like here in Mykotos" – said the girl, noticing in Erwin's face as if he was almost saddened by what he had just heard – "I think the academies here may be different from the ones in Lorien..."
Elaine, while speaking, realized how "ignorant" Erwin was; she realized that, living in the 21st district, she knew little or nothing about the other districts and the way of behaving of the people of "Veras", extremely different from what Erwin was surely used to until now. For this reason, a little out of gratitude, and a little so as not to hear stupid questions, he decided, in that time frame they had at their disposal, to fill in some cognitive gaps that Erwin could have.
"... Do you have any other doubts?"
Erwin was surprised by that question; he expected that Elaine would not speak again until the end, but the fact that she asked him if there was still something unclear stunned him for a few seconds.
But then he thought about it; he looked at the beautiful and well-kept landscape outside his calesse, and thinking of Hakvill, the most sensible question he could ask came to his mind;
"...Why is there so much difference between the various districts?"
"Well... I don't know exactly how or why there are so many differences, but I think it's due to the size of Mykotos."
"To the size of Mykotos?"
"Yeah. Probably, given that the Kingdom of Mykotos is exaggeratedly large, the King preferred to spend most of the resources in the regions closer to the capital where the King dwells. This means that between one district and another there are differences in technology, which increase when you arrive in the nearest districts. Unfortunately, however, this leads to the creation of poor Districts, fuelling the anger of those who live there, and makes people rich not caring for others, despising everything that seems dirty and useless to them ... like the poor, for example. This makes them less "human" than they actually are..."
"... Wow, this world... it's not what I expected..." said Erwin who, disappointed with what he was learning at the time, he remembered Ron's words; finally, he realized that not everything was roses and flowers as he thought, and he began to worry slightly, since he didn't know what was waiting for him.
*****
After several hours inside the carriage, the boys finally arrived at the designated half;
They arrived in a small town in the 12th district, Alferth, which in size was very similar to Hakvill, but as he could see, this district seemed completely coming out from the future, when compared to Hakvill; After getting off the carriage, Erwin paid the coachman who, once he received the money, immediately went away; the two, had to go to a place called "Quantum Vortex": from what Ron had explained, it was a kind of portal, which connected the 12th district to District 0, or Veras.
Ron's student, once down from the carriage, could not help but look at the landscape in front of him with incredibly beached eyes; it was all so beautiful, well cared for and above all, everything was so majestic; despite the fact that for him it was like the future, he still could not conceive of the fact that there could be many other cities and towns like this and even better than this.
However, when he was on the verge of reaching the point called Quantum Vortex, he felt of the looks, many looks, turned towards him: They were curious looks of those people who lived there, and who in seeing Erwin, were blown away in seeing how he was "different" from them: his complexion was slightly darker, his hair was poorly cared for, the clothes were absolutely not fashionable, and they saw in the boy a strange aura, different from theirs.
Erwin felt the pressure of those eyes, and for a moment, he felt paralyzed by what was happening: he no longer felt admiration for that place that almost looked like heaven, but at that moment, he felt a strange feeling of fear and annoyance.
"Hey, don't stand there like a plant..." said Elaine, who careless of the looks of others, stood in front of the boy with firm steps, without worrying too much about what was going on around her.
Erwin, somehow, felt almost reborn after seeing the girl's arrogance, and after taking courage, he began to walk, ready to continue his adventure, albeit with the necessary reservations.
As he walked, Erwin managed to ignore those looks: now that he was getting used to those looks, he realized that, contrary to what he thought, they were not looks of hatred, but rather 'curious' looks, if so could be said;
"It seems that you calmed down..."
"Yes, kinda..." said the boy, who now could enjoy the city a little more and focus less on the looks of passers-by;
They walked for a few minutes, and finally, after following the signs written on some signs placed at the corners of the street, they arrived at the famous Quantum Vortex; they found themselves in front of a huge crowd, all in a row, waiting to cross what looked like a huge door made with thick gray bricks, which were engraved with strange symbols on it; the peculiarity of that immense door, was the fact that from the latter, it was possible to see a strange blue barrier, which gave off a strange energy, similar to mana, but at the same time, very different;
Erwin looked intrigued from the door, noticing how the people who crossed that strange barrier, disappeared altogether; the whole was then controlled by the guards, who checked the documents of those who crossed that entrance; on their chest moreover, there was the golden wing coat of arms, which was the royal symbol of Mykotos, meaning that the guards present worked directly for the kingdom.
"What is that?"
"It's the Quantum Vortex. Thanks to that portal, we will get to Veras... come on, let's go" replied Elaine directly, who without wasting further time, lined up; she, most of all, wanted to get to Veras, being able to finally feel safe; at that moment, the rush and the desire to disappear were making her nervous, to the point that she could barely control her emotions.
Erwin, who didn't know what the Quantum Vortex was until then, expected everything from a ship to some new invention that were unsuspect to him; but he never expected that it was enough to simply go through that huge door to get to his destination.
"Wow... this place is more interesting than I thought!" exclaimed the boy, who following what Elaine did, lined up.
Several minutes passed, almost an hour, because even as they arrived, the line was very long, and also because the guards meticulously checked each person who had to go through the portal before giving them the all-clear;
Seeing the guards, Elaine suddenly stiffened, since she was using another person's identity; of course, Elaine and Lucy were like two drops of water, but Elaine couldn't know if anything could go wrong, and that put her in a strange stressful situation.
Finally her turn came, but she was anything but calm and relaxed, immediately attracting the attention of the guards;
"Your name?"
"Name... Oh! M-My name is Lucy Blazestorm..." said the girl, who for a few moments, was completely lost in her thoughts;
Her interlocutor looked at her carefully, stranged by that answer, making the girl even more nervous, who at that moment was trying in every way to stay calm, but having little results. Elaine, who had remained cold and lucid during her escape from a certain death, was now in total panic when it was close to her salvation.
".... Passport."
The girl, with an agitated way, rummaged through her bag, pulling out her passport, but she slipped out of her hands clumsily, only to pick it up quickly.
"..."
It was at that moment that one of the guards, suspicious of the girl's behavior, approached Elaine, and without warning, she began to rummage through her belongings; Then, he controlled the girl's body with decidedly abrupt ways, giving a lot of discomfort to Elaine, who, however, knew that at that moment she could not create any other problems.
After a careful check, the guard who took care of the checks made a small nod with his head to the guard who in the meantime was observing the passport and the girl, not noticing any anomaly.
"Where are you headed, miss?" asked the guard, starting to lower his attention;
"I'm headed towars Veras city..." replied Elaine, also more relaxed now, as the worst had just passed.
"Okay. In order to pass, you must pay 5 gold coins..."
Elaine rummaged through the small purse placed on the belt, and without too many frills, she pulled out the 5 gold coins; while the girl pulled out the coins, the guard saw the bag full of money going pale; he made a quick reasoning, and realized that inside that purse there must have been more than 100 gold coins; too much, for a little girl of that age, wondering how such a young girl could own all that money.
At first, he thought it must be the daughter of some rich aristocrat, it was not an impossible thing; but after looking closely at her she radically changed his mind, as the girl was wearing really poor clothes.
"Girl... where did you get that money?" said the man in a threatening tone of voice, who got up from the chair, then put a hand on the sword;
Elaine noticed the danger, and tried to back down, however, another guard behind her blocked her way only with her physique.
[Shit!] The girl thought, who felt totally naive for showing all that money in front of them, thus compromising the new plan.
For a moment she thought of fighting, but judging the level of the guards, she realized that there were too many for her to face them alone; she could ask Erwin for a hand, but at that point it would degenerate more.
No longer knowing what to do, she tried to escape using all her strength, but was immediately tackled by another guard, blocking her with no chance of free herself by strengthening his arms and locking her in a non-lethal, but impregnable vice for a young girl.
"Leave me!" the girl screamed, starting to stingle in the vain attempt to free herself, without succeeding. I try to boost her body with mana as well, but as her strength increased, the grip of the guard who kept her still increased.
"You're under arrest for theft, little girl!" The guard exclaimed, almost satisfied with the work done, while the people, intrigued, began to gather around them;
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!" exclaimed Erwin, who surprised, and at first bewavered by what was happening, did not hesitate a single moment to go to Elaine's rescue.
"Stop, you idiot!" The Elf exclaimed, attempting to stop Erwin before he could risk getting hurt because of him;
"... An accomplice? Well...Since you're a guy, I'll go a little heavy with you!"
The guard, without waiting a single moment, made a quick leap in Erwin's direction, drawing his sword in one swift forward motion so that he could catch Erwin unprepared and go all in on the surprise factor.
Erwin was surprised by that quick maneuver, remaining dissarred for about half a second; the blade of the sword was directed towards his arm, with the aim of mutilating his arm;
However, thanks to his reflexes, Erwin was able to change the motion of his body enough to avoid serious injuries; nevertheless, however, the blade of the sword hit him at the level of his shoulder, causing him a strong pain that forced him to get on his knees to better manage the pain.
[How did he avoid the blow? ....] said the guard in amazement, who had attacked Erwin in a safe way... or at least, that's what he believed.
[D-Damn it! What the hell is going on?!] instead thought in pain Erwin, who certainly did not expect everything that was happening now at that moment.
"What the hell did Ela do--- I meant, Lucy?!"
"Your friend stole some money!" exclaimed the guard, while with a dry blow to the air, he removed the traces of blood that had remained attached to the sword. The guard then watched Erwin, noticing on the boy's belt the same purse as Elaine, infuriating him.
"So you're really his accomplice...You're under arrest, you dirty thief!"
"But what the hell is he talking about?!" - exclaimed Erwin, who, he was no longer understanding anything about it, categorically rejecting the accusations of the guard, who was becoming more and more threatening - "This money was given by my grandfather!"
"Do you think I can drink such a babe? It's not possible that people like you can own all that amount!"
"People like us?"
Erwin couldn't understand what that sentence meant, but it was enough to look at his gaze to understand that for some strange reason, the guard in front of him seemed to hate him with all his heart.
"Stop!"
Suddenly, a male voice branched out in the middle of all that crowd, capturing the attention of everyone and the guards, who petrified themselves in persenting that tone of voice so decisive, but also so damn familiar.
The guards of the portal turned around, and saw two people emerge from all that crazy who, judging by their gaze, were really angry at that moment;
"What the hell are you doing to these people!?" said angrily the man who had screamed shortly before, casting glances of fire at the guards, who sadly backed down a few meters;
*The man in question was of tall stature, his skin was pale white and well-groomed, he wore a beautiful beige coat that covered the entire clothing he wore, but showed black pants, accompanied by beautiful leather boots of the same color; his face was dry and had some wrinkles, he had a slightly eagle-like nose, with his eyes that had a strange dark green color, which made his presence fearful; his gray hair, were slightly long and tied backwards with a small elastic band, thus showing his large forehead; He wore a goat of the same hair color*
*The person next to the older man was a boy of similar age to Erwin's; he wore an elegant suit, with a solid flesh color; his hair was short but well-groomed, with a very natural bright blonde color; his face was that of a child, with the eyes of light blue, which seemed to shine with its own light; on his belt, he wore a sword, whose lining was completely white, with the gold details scattered along the lining that were in the shape of a cloud. *
One of the guards took courage, deciding to stand in front of the man, who could hardly hold his calm.
"M-Mr. Moonshade! You see, these guys stole some money! We were just arresting them but they resisted!"
The man, apparently calm, looked at the two boys, who at that moment were shaken by what was happening; he looked at them carefully, almost as if he were watching their soul, and after a few seconds of silence, he finally sighed slightly.
"Leave these guys alone, they're with me."
As soon as they heard the phrase that came out of the mouth of the man in front of them, it was as if the guards died the next instant, whitening suddenly; at that point, in a hurry and fury, they helped the boys get up, even helping them to fix all their stuff.
"S-Sorry! I didn't think you were guests of Mr. Moonshade!" the three guards said cowardly in unison, that in order not to be taken up further, they suddenly moved away, hastily returning to their task.
"What manners..." said the man, snorting at what he saw. Elaine and Erwin were blown away by what happened, not understanding why the man had helped them.
"Who the hell are you, sir?" replied Elaine, who at that moment was anything but happy with what had happened to him, slightly sore from the grip of that damn guard.
Observing the situation around her, she realized that the only one who could stop those three idiots from their shady intentions, had to be a very important man, of very high prestige;
[Maybe, is he their boss?] Elaine thought, who, however, observing the man in front of her, realized that he looked too 'clean' to be a guard.
"Uhm, you must be Lucy, I'm right?" said the man, scrutinizing the girl with careful eyes – "Gosh, your mana is so pure for still being a little girl! I guess you specialize in medium-to-long distance spells, right?"
Elaine was blown away by such claims; she could not understand how, with a simple glance, that man had been able to understand what kind of magic the girl was most akin to.
It was something she had tried to keep hidden and did not want to use, since her mid-range magic was similar to her mother's, and it brought back unpleasant memories.
She wanted to have answers, since there was a risk that she had been discovered and since that man, at the time, was extremely suspicious, but he didn't have the time given the elderly gentleman quickly focused on Erwin;
"You are Erwin, am I right? Well... your mana is not as refined as your friend's, but it is closer to that of the boy next to me..." said the man, who with a smile, pointed with his thumb at the boy next to him, with the latter looking with curious eyes at Erwin, who felt slightly embarrassed;
"Contrary, you have an abnormal instinct for your age...Are you some kind of Humanoid Beast?" he asked the elderly gentleman sarcastically, but remembering how impressed he was by the fact that Erwin dodged a blow that, in a normal situation, would certainly cut his arm off.
"Sorry... but how do you know our names?" he asked slightly embarrassed by the compliments Erwin, but he could not let his guard down, not after what had just happened, feeding suspicions before the man in front of him, even though the latter had just saved him.
"Well, i wasn't sure about your identity, but i heard the girl's name from there, and I thought that maybe you must be the girl I was looking for!" Leonard said, pointing to an area several meters away from them, maybe even a kilometer from where the guards had attempted to attack them.
"Is it really possible to hear from that distance?". cautiously asked Elaine to the old man in front of her, starting to look with even more suspicious eyes at Leonard, who did not understand the reason for that reaction, since he was the one who had rescued her and Erwin; however, he decided not to pay much attention to it, since he believed that the girl acted like that only because she was shaken by what had happened.
"... Well once you reach my level, you will know the answer.... And by the way, I also recognized you because of Ludwig, who described both of you to me in exact detail."
"Uh? Do you know Uncle Ludwig?" asked Erwin, surprised to hear from that old man such a familiar name.
"Uncle Ludwig? Hahaha, of course, he's the one who called me to pick you up!" Said the man with a smile on his lips, patting Erwin's shoulder hard – "My name is Leonard Moonshade, and I am the professor of the Academy of a Thousand Magic Arts."
Elaine and Erwin exchanged a quick look of astonishment: both, they did not expect to meet a professor here in a district so relatively far from Veras; Elaine came to the conclusion that perhaps, this phantom man named Ludwig, had called Leonard to make sure they could enter the academy without any problems.
Erwin also came to that conclusion, thanking several times Ludwig, who at that moment there had literally saved his life, since in all probability, those guards would have killed him without any hesitation and without anyone that could stop those guards;
Both boys, at that moment were still shaken by what had happened, and despite the worst being over, they no longer felt safe in that place.
"N-Nice to meet you, professor!" - said Erwin with a slight bow that tried to mask his fear thinking of something else, followed closely by Elaine, who still remained silent – "... And you are?" Erwin said in a slightly curious tone, looking at the boy next to Leonard, who had been silent all that time.
"... I'm Brenin." said the boy, who with an almost careless expression, raised his left hand for a few seconds, and then lowered it. Erwin looked at the boy, and he got the impression that the boy in front of him was much stronger than he looked, despite the fact that at the moment he seemed so disinterested about everything.
Looking at the two boys, Leonard had come to two conclusions: the first, was that Ludwig was right to call them special, since there were not many boys with talents similar to theirs, believing them suitable at least to face the test; the second, was that he realized that both of them were still shaken by what had happened a few moments before, and that they were trying hard not to give it away, succeeding even to some extent. Moreover, around them, the air had become strange, with many people who, despite everything having been resolved, were only looking at Elaine and Erwin suspiciously. He concluded, therefore, that perhaps it was better to get out of here.
"Well guys, now that we've all introduced ourselves: how about we get out of here?"
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*P.O.V by Erwin.*
After the big initial scare, finally, also thanks to Leonard, we could use the portal to get to Veras;
After what had happened a few minutes earlier, I realized how different this place was, how strange the people were. At the same time, I observed those people as if they were some kind of monster who had just landed from unknown lands.
Ron's words were rumbling more and more in my head, and I could finally understand the words that him and then Elaine said to me. Perhaps, it was also for this reason that Ron didn't want me to leave Hakvill...
Even though at that moment I was 'disseptuted' with what happened, at the same time, however, a certain curiosity arose in me: were they really all so stupid? Did they all judge people by appearance?
So many other questions immersed my mind, feeding the flame of the curiosity more and more inside me; I don't know if it was a normal thing, but I was excited at the idea of discovering the world in its entirety: I had been stupid to think that the world was all roses and flowers, and this little "reality check" had made me understand more things, so it wasn't that bad.
After Leonard kindly offered to pay for us the trip, we entered that portal, no longer looking back; Leonard, Elaine and Brenin entered first, passing by without any problem.
I hesitated for a moment, afraid of that strange energy that the portal generated; I sighed to try to loosen the tension, throwing myself into the portal with my eyes closed.
As I crossed the portal, my body was as if pervaded by a strange icy air and at the same time, it was like my body was hit by a wave of hot energy; it was a strange feeling, to the point that I had to open my eyes to understand what was going on: but when I did, the incredible happened: I was no longer in the 12th district, but I had ended up in a world that defining magical is reductive; I found myself in the middle of gigentesque towers that defied the sky, perfectly linear roads and various works of art of rare beauty; I then saw many wizards and person walking in the middle of the road, not caring about all that beauty around them, as if all this were normal.
Disoriented, I kept looking around, and I saw something that left me disoriented: I noticed what looked like carriages, but instead of having horses, there were beings made of metal, which in some ways resembled a horse, but who had something restlessly frightening.
Even more surprised, was the fact that on the roads, I saw some strange vehicles, whose shape resembled that of a box with strange wheels with heavy air; they made an almost annoying noise, and from behind they emitted dark fumes, which smelled so much of burnt.
"Took you a long time to get here, boy!" exclaimed Leonard, followed by Brenin and Elaine, who, like Erwin, had been blown away by that place that for them, was almost science fiction.
"But... what is this place?!" I exclaimed, completely overwhelmed by all those novelties;
"This is everyone's reaction when they come here for the first time!" - replied the old professor, with a certain note of pride in his ways of doing things.
"Wait! Then this is...!!"
"That's right! Welcome to Veras, kid!"
END OF CHAPTER 10 – WELCOME TO VERAS.