✨ please, Take your time to read. ✨
A corridor 30 meters long and 5 meters wide, made of concrete, lined with meticulously trimmed shrubs and free of any litter, but the most striking feature is the sign.
"Library"
Where the corridor ends, a shopping mall-like building begins, you know of large doors and windows made of clear glass with finished in wood, oak to be more precise..
After pushing open the clear glass door and taking a few steps inside, the atmosphere changes completely, becoming cooler. (Wow, the building has air conditioning.) Hades thought, but he didn't stop. The building's lobby has several groups of three jade-green sofas and a marble table with mahogany details.
The place has many shelves, and each section is clearly defined and organized.
A few meters ahead, at a display counter, three uniformed girls, neat and tidy, attend to visitors, like cashiers in a supermarket. In this lobby, each employee has her own section with a personal computer and all the furniture also made of wood.
—"Hi, how can I help you?" —The girl at the counter asks with a big smile, as Hades approaches. —"Hello, good morning."— Hades replies, adding, —"Do you have any books about specializations.?"—
The girl looks around (this is a library; there are plenty of books), she thinks, rolling her eyes, but she nods with a smile and immediately starts typing as she asks. —"Specializations in general, or any specific ones.?"—
—"What do you mean.?"— Hades asks.
—"You know, something more specific?"— The girl replies..
—"Oh, something that explains battle warlocks."— Hades says.
The girl's face contorts, and her hands stop typing for several seconds. —"What's wrong.?"— the boy asks when he sees her stop. But she shakes her head. —"No, it's nothing. You just have to wait a moment." — With that, the girl presses a button under the counter several times.
Seconds later, a man of about forty, wearing a gray robe, appears and walks leisurely toward the counter. (His mere presence is enough to silence all the students around, who watch the unfolding spectacle with great interest.)
—"Now who's the fool looking for trouble.?"— A young man asks his friend.
After a few seconds, the boy shakes his head. —"I don't think he's one of those exchange students, nor is he a student from another school. Those kids got a lesson two days ago. Just look at his athletic wear; I think he's new."—
—"New...? Wait, wait, mayor Alastor is here."— the first boy replied, his voice filled with excitement.
As he approached the counter, Alastor assessed the situation from a distance. Seeing a boy wearing athletic wear unfamiliar to the Academy, he snorted and his expression hardened. (Now what a fool has arrived.) the quartermaster thought, but a strange reflection on the boy's left wrist caught his attention. Upon closer inspection of the stern demeanor of Alastor, he completely relaxed.
Instead, quartermaster Alastor offered a friendly smile, and as he approached the counter, he asked in a soft voice, his smile continuing, "What do we have here.?"
The girl immediately responded and pointed toward Hades. —"It's him, he's looking for information."— Alastor nods, rubbing his beard as he asks, looking closely at the boy. —"What information are you looking for?"—
—"It's about a specialization."— Hades replies, while the girl curiously observes the quartermaster friendly demeanor.
The quartermaster Alastor nods. —"Okay, kid, there are more than 14 branches, from which 240 specializations are derived, not counting their thousands of variations. You need to be more specific, but before that, I need to be sure you're a student at this institution.."— With that, Superintendent Alastor turns to the girl and extends his hand.
The girl nods and hands over a device that looks very similar to a barcode scanner. "Show me your Holo-watcher." Hades displays the wristband on his hand, and Alastor points the scanner at the screen.
After a beep, a green light illuminates, and a series of data appears on both the scanner and the computer screen. "Perfect...Hades," Alastor remarked upon seeing the reader, and the girl at the counter nodded. —"What specialty are you looking for.?"—
—"Battle Warlock."— Hades's reply brought a hush to Alastor's face, and then several murmurs gradually arose around them, growing into bold comments.
—"Come on, kid, let's go somewhere more private so I can explain some important things related to your specialty."— Alastor said before turning and pointing toward some rooms to the side of the counter.
Suddenly, the custodian stopped and said to the girl, —"You can call Samantha's .."— The girl's face twitched in annoyance at the name, but remembering her position within the library, she was surprised.
It's one thing to have unrivaled knowledge and quite another to implement her one's crazy theories, so she looked back at the new boy with a certain amount of pity.
In short, Hades didn't know the storm that was brewing.
Custodian Alastor didn't walk far from the counter to the section of private rooms, and when they arrived, they went inside immediately.
—"You should sit down; this will take some time."— Alastor gestures to the armchair across from Hades and adds. —"Judging by your clothes, I gather you're a new student and need to learn attack or defense skills." — The boy nods in response.
The custodian Alastor, also nods and, after sitting down across from the boy, says, —"Okay, okay, you've come to the perfect place."— After saying this, he begins to take several items out of his storage ring, including a white sphere the size of a bowling ball and several books, which he hands to Hades.
—"First, you must read these two books to learn about the seven elements in nature and their variations, such as ice, gravity, healing, and summoning. But regardless of whether your talent is good or bad, you'll always have one. First, tell me what your talent type is."—
—"Divine [SSS]"— Hades replies, as if a stranger had asked him for the time.
—"Divine [SSS] Of course, of course,"— Alastor said, even nodding a couple of times at the boy's answer. When his brain finally kicked in, the superintendent remained silent for several seconds until he couldn't take it anymore and asked, —"What?"—
The boy repeated.— "Divine [SSS]."— This time, Alastor was more prepared, so upon hearing the answer again, the superintendent closed his eyes and even let out a long sigh.
Though you doubt it, this explains a lot about Hades: why he walks around the Academy without a uniform, why he wears a black Holo-Watcher, why he enters the library alone, but above all, why he was summoned.
—"I thought you were a troublemaker."— Alastor whispered, slowly opening his eyes and nodding again. —"Okay, fine, what do you know about the elements.?"— This simple question caught Hades' attention, but the boy lowered his head in embarrassment.
Having no parents and living in a foster home, the question answers itself.
Intendant Alastor didn't seem to care much. —"Perfect, perfect,"— He said, his excitement evident in his posture and expression. —"Now I'll explain each element, its nature, and how it can be countered."— Hades nodded, settling more comfortably in the armchair to pay closer attention.
Intendant Alastor's explanation was the easiest to understand, for example, with the Fire element: its main uses in attack, defense, and summoning, and how to counter it.
The next element was Water, followed by Earth, then Wind, Wood, Lightning, Darkness, and finally, Light, with its use in healing.
With that said, Alastor paused before explaining summoning and, lastly, the use of the Battle Aura.
Before the quartermaster could finish his explanation of how knights use their battle aura, the door to the room opened and a woman called out, —"Alastor, you senile old fool, why did you summon me.?" — With that, a woman of about 36 or 37 years old, hands on her hips and a furrowed brow, entered the room. She wore a gray tunic with a rope belt that accentuated her slender waist, and over it, a toga that concealed her beautiful figure. She wore light makeup and thick-lensed glasses that hid her light blue eyes.
Alastor deliberately ignored the woman's comment. —"Samantha, it's good you're here."— After the brief greeting, the quartermaster stood and invited the woman to sit in his place, but she didn't move and instead let out a snort.
Without losing his smile, Alastor points at Hades. —"A blank canvas."— Upon hearing this, Samantha's frown softens, and she even lowers her hands, but she huffs and doesn't move.
Alastor remains unfazed by Samantha's hostile attitude and instead takes a step back. —"Specialty: Battle Warlock."— After hearing this, Samantha's face completely softens, and as she's about to take another step forward, Intendant Alastor drops the bombshell. —"Talent: Divine [SSS]..."—
Samantha jumps, landing beside the armchair, and immediately sits down to observe the boy more closely. —"Boy, what's your name? How old are you.?"— Samantha fires off another series of questions.
Alastor makes a couple of signals for her to answer each question, but Hades still doesn't speak when Samantha comments with a wide smile on her face. —"We'll start with something simple like Elemental projectiles: Fireball, Water Sphere, Earth Ball, Wind Blade, and Electric Ball.
For the defensive spell, we'll use Sphere, Earth Wall, and Battle Aura to maximize the use of physical attacks, with some basic water and light healing for support." — The woman paused; she needed to breathe.
Alastor seized the opportunity to complain and asked the most basic question. —"How long do you think it will take the boy to learn all that? Remember, he's a blank canvas. Besides magic, he also needs to learn Battle Aura."—
—"Alastor, the boy has the ability to wield seven elements, and I'm leaving out summons."— Samantha pouted and added. —"I'll ask my sister to teach him the basics, you know, summoning undead like skeletons, zombies, or weak beasts..."—
As the woman continued to ramble, Intendant Alostor's mouth and eyes widened in disbelief, his forehead sweating at the thought. (How long will it take him to learn and practice all that?) Then the Intendant remembered that it takes the average person two to three years to perfectly master a single spell, let alone all of those, not to mention mastering the Battle Aura.
◈—◈—◈
To be continue...
Remember, if you like this story, consider adding it to your library, that helps me to know that you are liking the story and I will give it more priority. ¥ $ ₤ ₯ € ₨ ₩..