"Ever heard the name Lizzy Luska?"
Gray had barely asked that the ever-so-calm Teacher Eagle-Eye trembled, sighing profoundly.
"That child, eh? She's… peculiar. She should swing by later; you can draw your own conclusions then. For now, how about I show you around?"
"That'd be amazing! Lead the way, Teacher Eagle!"
The man waved his hand, and suddenly, a bluish-purple portal appeared right where the entrance should have been. Seeing his confused expression, the former explained.
"The Astral Tower has 99 Floors in total. Let's skip the bottom ones reserved for the students and head directly for the top ones. There, we can be at ease."
— BZZZ! WHOOSH! —
As Gray entered, he felt his insides twist.
But that was instantly overshadowed by the scene that appeared before him. Regal, fantastic, magical even! The interior? It was a huge circular dome!
Stars, stars everywhere!
Stars on the walls, stars on the ceiling, stars in the very air: it was breathtaking!
Except it wasn't that simple, either. The stars glowed, swayed, and all seemed to be interconnected.
"D-Don't tell me... an interactive Astral Chart?! It maps out the sky in real-time?!"
"Hehe, how is it? Impressed? Feel free to have a go at it."
Gray instantly took his host up on the invitation.
He ran his fingers on the walls, tracing the lines between the star clusters with an intoxicated gaze. Did he understand any of it? Nope! Still, even he could appreciate their beauty.
This was a cosmic painting like no other! All flowed in harmony and— Wait! There was something slightly off about one of the stars. It seemed to pulsate at a different rhythm?
"This one, it's different?"
"Hehe, you noticed. That's the Magister Star!"
Eagle gently caressed it as if an old lover, all the while murmuring…
"The Magister star, the one that governs Teachers. Ironically, it is one of the hardest to perceive and actually use. How about it? Try sensing it."
Sensing it? To him, those things could have been fancy LED lights! Still, he closed his eyes, focused on the Magister star, and felt his throat quiver.
"How is it? Tell me what you feel…"
"Hmmm…. Thirsty."
T-That was it?! Nothing else? Nope, nothing. No matter how much Gray focused it was all useless. Even removing his disguise to touch the Astral Map directly didn't help.
"Oh well, that's a shame…. Anyway, how about a drink?"
Eagle suddenly pressed a button on a wall.
— Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap! —
Barely 10 seconds later, a student came over, carrying a tray of enchanting silver cups adorned with star-like amethysts. It all looked so gorgeous… well, except the student.
Gray even saw a flash of animosity in the youngster's eyes, the man recognizing him.
"Relax, Teacher Gale. Latian's my Personal Disciple and won't cause us any trouble. How about a toast? I dedicate this Stardew Liquor to your wonderful lessons!"
"And a Toast to the Astral Tower!"
They, who had merely met recently, were now drinking like old buddies.
As for the Stardew Liquor? It was amazing! It was as if one had distilled the essence of the stars, turned it into liquid form, added alcohol as well as a little lime. It was AMAZING!
Soon, Gray found himself chugging more and more of the silver liquid, as if an alcoholic having found a keg in a dry state! It felt like angels danced on in his mouth, throat, and belly.
And the more they drank, the more they talked…
"Teacher Gale, you might not know this, but you've helped me quite a bit with your lessons…"
"Oh? How so?"
"I plan on going into seclusion starting tomorrow, which means a break from teaching. Now, I could have asked my Disciples to replace me, but what if something went wrong?"
"I see. With my classes, that's literally impossible. Even if they cultivate their minds all day long, the worst that will happen is a headache or feeling sleepy."
"Which means that my seclusion…"
"…Will be 100% worry-free!"
As Gray finished the man's sentence, the two couldn't help but share a look as they started laughing. This old guy sure was crafty! Then again, the younger one was even worse.
"Hmm… but why the secluded cultivation?"
"Hehe, the Magister Star will blossom!"
Blossom? Since when could stars blossom? Seeing Gray's utterly lost expression, the man explained. Basically, about every thousand years, stars would have a day of intense activity.
A thousand times the Mana emitted, a hundred times the ease of sensing, and about 10 times the chances to unearth a newfound power.
"So even now there's still a lot of mysteries to Astral Magic?"
"Of course! Otherwise, Astral Mages would have long taken over the world!"
"The same Astral Mages that almost exclusively stick to their Tower? The same Astral Mages that all seem to have the study bug? The same—"
"P-Please stop already, Teacher Gale. You've made your point!"
The poor man was already rubbing his face in embarrassment. Those sure were solid arguments! But just as they were happily discussing, the door suddenly opened.
That's when a golem… made of books suddenly entered?! Books, books, and literally nothing else! How peculiar!
"Ah? Lizzy, you're back. Perfect, just in time!"
Wait what?! Lizzy wasn't human?!
At this moment, Gray couldn't help but feel his world topple over. At this rate, couldn't he get 100 Ravenous Bunnies or even Rampaging Bears as Personal Disciples and call it a day?!
He could already picture himself crushing everything the Academy would throw at him: challenges, missions, tournaments, and even pillow fights!
But just as his imagination was going wild, the book golem suddenly crumbled. From the crumbling "golem", a tiny girl suddenly appeared. W-What was up with her?
Slender frame, pink hair, cute bangs almost completely covering eyes full of life. How had she even carried that many books with her?!
She turned a suspicious gaze his way…
"Teacher Gale…?"
"Ah! So you're Lizzy? I heard about you from a friend. I'm here today to recruit you! How about it, want to become my Personal Disciple?"
She didn't even bother replying, simply turning toward Teacher Eagle-Eye.
"Teacher, I think you should bring your guest to the infirmary. He seems to be sick in the brain."
What made it worse was the concern in her voice! She truly believed that there was an issue with him! But more importantly, why hadn't Eagle said anything if she was already his disciple?
"Say, Teacher Eagle, you said I helped you with my less—"
"Nope! I'm not as heartless as to abandon a Disciple!"
"Sigh. Does that mean Disciple Steal again?"
"No need for that. I won't interfere."
Ah?! So that's how it was! As long as he convinced her to follow him, everything would be fine! The only issue was that not much was known about her.
1. She hailed from a Great Magic Clan
2. She was considered a Failure because of her Affinity.
That was it… there wasn't anything else! His gut told him that she had potential. There were no trash Affinities in this world, only trash Teachers / Students!
"Lizzy, I can assure you there's nothing wrong with me. I expressly came to—" But just as he was about to make his sales pitch, she politely bowed and hit him with a 'Uno reverse card'!
"Don't worry, Teacher Gale. I know about you!" He thought it would end there. Nope! She was merely getting started! That's when she happily listed...
"Ridiculously Shameless."
"Astral Mages' Nemesis."
"Legendary Scammer."
"Lowest Test Score."
"School Terrorist."
"Disciple Killer."
"No thanks!"