Planet Areana. Empire of Largoth. Capital Parn.
Academy of Magic of the Largoth Empire
The next morning"
Well, here it is, this famous academy," I thought.
But unfortunately, I wasn't looking at the majestic academy building itself and its other outbuildings—the academic buildings for the various departments, the housing and training complexes, and other such things—because the fence and buildings didn't really allow much visibility, only the eaves of the roofs. Instead, I was looking at the crowd at the entrance. I hadn't expected such a crush. I thought I'd arrive early and have time to get a spot somewhere near the front. Oh, right. It seemed I wasn't the only one so smart. It felt like they'd never left. Although, when I'd seen Leila off here yesterday, there weren't many people here.
"But now?! Where did so many of them come from?"
I wanted to get closer and see what was going on in the reception area. But I can't get through. I'm not sure I'll even be able to get to the main entrance to the academy, let alone onto its grounds. So what should I do?
I look around.
Hmm. Interesting.
I noticed a small group of mages, apparently students, who were skirting the huge crowd, heading along the fence toward the Inner City. Which makes perfect sense. It's impossible for such a large educational institution as the academy to have only one front entrance. There are service entrances, back entrances, and entrances that no one knows about.
"So there's one I can use too," I chuckled.
Turning around, I followed that group.
As I understand now, I should have arranged with Leila in advance to take me to the academy. But who knew things would be so bad here?
Although it was my fault, I saw the crowd of visitors myself, and they wouldn't have closed admission to all the other institutions in the capital if they hadn't been afraid of such a large influx of guests and students during this period. And sooner or later, they were all bound to end up here.
"I wonder," I looked back at the crowd behind me, "will vampires and elves also be kept here on a general basis, or, as usual, will their own corridor always be open to them?"
While I was thinking and sneaking behind the mages, I saw them approach a completely unremarkable section of the academy wall. Well, it was only unremarkable in appearance. But if, as Kasis said, you looked at it with a magical gaze, you could clearly see a brown energy contour in the shape of a small door or gate, slightly taller than a normal person.
Hm. That's something.
It was unclear what the mages had done; their bodies blocked my view, but the outline had brightened slightly. I expected that secret door to open, but nothing of the sort happened. The wall remained as solid as it had looked.
"And what?" I was surprised.
But the next moment, all my questions vanished. One by one, each young mage passed straight through the wall. And when the last of them entered the academy grounds, the energy circuit flickered again and returned to its original form.
"Holy shit!" I was surprised and walked up to the place where the magic door was visible.
The wall is monolithic to the touch and in all other respects.
After pressing this way and that on various stones that seemed most interesting to me, searching for what might be the lever, I realized that this system operated not through a banal hidden button, but on some other, clearly magical principles. After all, this is the world of magic, and before me stood an ordinary, unremarkable magic academy.
Just as I was about to begin experimenting with this magical passage, I noticed another similar door about two hundred meters away. And now, the elves I knew were being led to it.
"I knew they wouldn't go through the front entrance," I chuckled, and then mentally added: "Basically, just like me."
Having crept as close as possible and hidden in small bushes, I began to observe what was happening there.
The elves were accompanied by a young mage. Approaching the magical door, he stopped, closed his eyes, and, judging by the movement of his lips, began to whisper something.
"So what?" I thought. "If it's some kind of unlocking spell, I'm not going to hear anything unless someone starts shouting it out loud."
But he didn't stop keeping an eye on the magician.
"Oops, what's that?" I noticed some strange energy structure that appeared on the door.
It appeared even before the mage stopped casting his spell. This symbol resembled either a Chinese character or some rather complex rune. Since this is the world of magic, and they're all mages here, even runesmiths, I'll consider it a rune. Although who knows what it should actually look like, but for me it will be a rune.
It only took me a few moments to carefully examine and memorize this very rune. I've never had problems with learning or my own memory, especially when the information was visual or semantic. I never forgot anything I could comprehend and understand. So I remembered this strange rune-like symbol, too.
And he noticed something else. A small energy channel extended from the rune that had appeared to the mage, as soon as he stopped moving his lips. After that, he stepped aside and, indicating the approximate dimensions of the door with his hand, invited the elves to pass through.
They calmly, one by one, as if it were meant to be, following one another, dissolved into the wall's surface. The mage was the last to follow them. And after a while, I noticed the energy channel break. And almost immediately, the symbol I had seen dissolved into the wall's surface. After that, the outline itself changed color slightly, becoming darker.
"Interesting," I thought.
I had nothing but the rune I'd spied. I hadn't heard the spell or how it worked, and I didn't know how. So, due to my lack of information, I decided to try working with what I knew and had seen with my own eyes.
Looking around, I approached the magic door.
So what do we have here?
There's a rune. There's a magical circuit. What else do I know?
The mage, apparently, summoned this rune with a spell and then used it to establish a connection to it to control the door. It makes perfect sense. So, the first step is the rune's appearance. But I don't know the spell. How can I bypass it?
I saw Kasis draw similar runes with any object and on any surface, but then he somehow channeled energy into them. How he did it, I never understood. I didn't see any connection. It seemed to me that the channels were forming themselves.
But with this magician, I could say for sure that the rune had appeared earlier, and the channel had been built separately from it, and he had not, in principle, tried to depict it externally in any way.
"Although why didn't he depict it, but cast a spell?" I reminded myself.
After all, no one is saying that a rune needs to be visualized or drawn. I understand that it carries some kind of semantic load. This means that this meaning can be embedded in some kind of sound, phonetic, visual, written, or other representation of information. For example, in those same dances with tambourines. Or runes. Then...
"It can't be that simple!" I thought, looking at the wall. "Or maybe I've made a big mistake somewhere."
But why not try?
And in my mind's eye, I clearly pictured the rune I'd just seen, and then mentally placed it on the door's energy frame. As soon as I did, a thin channel extended from me to the magical passage, seemingly draining magical energy from me to hold the created rune.
"It works," I was taken aback by the result.
Outwardly, everything looked exactly as it had at the moment when the magician accompanying the elves opened the door.
Cautiously, expecting to feel the rough, sun-warmed surface of the stone beneath my palm, I touched the wall. Or rather, tried to touch it. But there was nothing there. My hand slipped freely beyond the edge where the wall should have begun.
Pulling my hand back, I looked at it curiously. Nothing had changed. So, calmly enough—magicians wouldn't kill themselves, after all—I took one long step forward. And I found myself on a stone path leading away from the wall and into the small park on the academy grounds.
Mentally erasing the rune, I saw its image dissolve on the energy frame of the magical passage, and its glow returned to its original form. This also severed the channel that had formed between me and the rune in the door.
After this experiment of mine, I was tormented by the question: "Why didn't the magician use this method for opening the door?" After all, it's faster and easier this way.
The conclusion was clear: he couldn't have done it. And judging by the way Kasis worked, many others couldn't.
"That's odd," I realized. "I need to figure this out." Looking around, I chuckled. "It's hard to imagine a better place for this than this academy."
After all, only here can you understand what I just did and how it is even possible, as well as why others don't use something like this.
But first I need to figure out what I should do now.
"Okay. So, I got here, now what?"
Although there is nothing to think about.
"There go the elves," I saw their auras behind the trees, "I'll follow them."
However, I had only taken a few steps in the direction they had gone when I noticed another magical door leading out into this park. And it was now acting very strangely.
I became curious.
I've roughly mapped the direction the elves were heading, and I'll be able to find the right building if needed. So I decided to see what was going on with that magical door.
As I approached her, I was surprised to see her blinking irregularly. But even stranger, various runes were flashing across her at an incredible speed.
"I don't get it," I said, looking at what was happening. "Is this some kind of overkill? Are they trying to break down the magic door?"
This thought made me wary. But why not? If I could get in here, and it was the same banal hack, then why couldn't someone else do it? True, he operates in a slightly different way. I was able to detect and see the rune, and then use only it, but he uses an entirely different hacking method. This unknown person is trying all the runes from some list of his own. And this process happens very quickly.
"This can't be an ordinary person," I thought, looking at the flickering runes.
I couldn't even get a good look at them, let alone remember them. And there were so many of them.
That's odd. It seems to me the runic alphabet shouldn't be that extensive. Are there significantly more sets of runes here, or is this not an alphabet, but an entire language? It's unclear.
But what then can process such a huge amount of data so quickly? If I were in our world, I'd say unequivocally: a computer. But here? Only a few words came to mind. It's some kind of magical artifact.
Realizing this, I moved away a bit and hid behind a small gazebo overgrown with something like our ivy. And just in time.
At that very moment, the selection stopped, and the same rune that I had seen appeared on the surface of the energy circuit.
"We found it," I mentally stated.
Literally a moment later, two unidentifiable figures entered the magical door. The first quickly retreated and hid behind one of the nearby trees, maintaining control of the surrounding area. A second, shorter figure appeared behind him. He held a small object in his hands, a magical artifact, from which a channel was extended to a rune in the wall.
The guy opened his hand and whispered something, and a small rune entered the artifact's energy field. I memorized it, just in case. After that, the communication channel was cut off and the door closed.
Both strangers were armed and dressed like the ordinary petty gentry or mercenaries I'd encountered. They had hoods pulled over their heads. Judging by the aura I saw, they were both mages. The one with the artifact was more powerful, the other slightly weaker. Furthermore, I sensed they were far more dangerous than the men who had been in Leila's house that night. However, they worked just as professionally and harmoniously, barely communicating with each other. They moved silently, drawing no attention to themselves.
The magician put the artifact in his belt pouch and pulled out another one.
"In that direction," he said briefly, glancing at the new magical device.
It seemed he hadn't done anything to it, hadn't whispered any spells, hadn't transmitted any runes into it, and there was no active channel. So, it was already activated and operating autonomously. However, I didn't understand what that meant to me.
"Okay, what do we have there?" I looked in the direction these two were heading.
And there we have the building to which the elves went.
I stealthily followed the strangers. They walked calmly and confidently, unafraid of the security guards. They weren't brazen either, moving only where no one would notice them, completely concealing their presence.
They approached the building and hid a little to the side of the entrance.
"Not all targets are in place," the magician said, looking again at the readings on the magical device, and both mercenaries froze in anticipation.
I had to do the same.
I really didn't like the word "target." That's not how you describe someone you're protecting. On the contrary, the target is the victim. They need to figure out who they're after.
After an hour and a half of waiting and observing the artifact, the following phrase was heard:
– Only the rector remains. Let's wait for him and begin.
Right now they're tense, ready for battle and combat, and so it's impossible to get to them unnoticed. But when they start acting, I, too, will stop pretending to be an inconspicuous bush.
Another two hours. Almost no one has entered the building.
Finally, I see a large delegation of mages coming from the direction of the academy. They entered the building. This brought the mercenaries to life.
"The magic suppression field will last for three minutes, the artifact and I can't withstand it any longer," says the second one, "there are too many powerful mages there."
The first one nods:
- That's enough for me.
The chief silently pulls out another artifact from the same bag.
"That's a good bag, definitely bigger than mine, but it has the same properties," I said, assessing his gear. He must have had a lot of things stored there that I couldn't find.
"We'll proceed according to plan," the short mage said, handing the first one the magical item he'd just retrieved and taking out another for himself. "As soon as the field is activated, set up the Destroyer near the building and activate it. Then we'll have no more than twenty seconds to escape the academy grounds."
The accomplice nodded.
"There's Deya, Kasis, the elves. Even though they're not really my friends..." I suddenly realize that they won't just call the artifact "Destroyer" for no reason.
The plan of attack had long been prepared. All that remained was to act.
The opponents aren't positioned very well relative to each other, but I can exploit that. None of them have a defensive field. But I can't get within throwing distance of them from my position. So, I need to take a different approach, attacking from the alley leading to the building. That distance is enough for one long jump, though I'll have to try.
I remove my weapons, leaving only my sword and one dagger. I won't need any more for this fight. They're professionals. And so it will be a one-hit wonder. Otherwise, I won't be able to handle the task.
First, I destroy the mage with the most dangerous artifact. He's the primary target. He's the "first." I knock him out or distract him with a dagger, and finish him off with a sword if I miss with a thrown weapon.
The next one will be small. All that'll be left for him is the sword. But that's exactly why I'm taking him. He needs more range to deliver the finishing blow.
Okay, it's time. Otherwise they're already getting ready to leave.
I slip out onto the alley a little behind them and calmly walk forward, whistling a tune.
A pair of highly skilled assassins spotted me and froze in place. The appearance of another future corpse meant nothing to them and didn't change the situation.
They wait. And I wait. One step. Another. Now I'm level with the first one.
A leap. And a knife thrown straight through the bushes. I aimed it at his throat, but the assassin managed to react. However, the knife wasn't the mercenary's main danger. A slanting blow from my sword—and a bloody streak appears on his throat.
Almost at the break of the distance, a second blow. If the petty mage had reacted sooner and taken even a small step back, my sword would not have reached him. But he didn't take that final step. And so now he falls with his throat slit.
Strange. What is this?
The mercenaries' bodies are enveloped in a dark green field, symbolizing life. And I see their wounds begin to heal right before my eyes.
A punch to one, a kick to the side of the head. A quick step to the second body and a second punch. Another head flew three meters away.
That's it. Now the field has disintegrated. It's unclear. They didn't seem to be wearing any amulets or anything else that would emit magic. But this is clearly the result of magical activity. But there's no time to figure it out. Security will be here soon. There was a strong magical surge when the bodies were trying to regenerate. So the locals should have detected it; I'm sure they know how to do that.
So I quickly bend down, gather my weapons, remove the mages' baldrics with their swords and daggers, and then take their belt pouches. I need at least the artifact they used to break down the magical door, not for its abilities, but for its database of various runes. I'll deal with the rest of what's there later.
Looking around the battlefield, I don't see anything else interesting.
I return to my backpack. I dump everything in it. Then I quickly approach the bushes at the edge of the park. I look around. I slip quietly onto the path leading to the building entrance, waiting for a moment when it's empty. Although no one has been there for a long time anyway.
As I watched the elves directing me and the two mercenaries, it became clear we'd ventured very far into the academy grounds. Apparently, this low, two-story building was located almost in the very center of the academic complex. But I only noticed this now.
As I noticed while I was watching the assassins, some of those who had come through the main gates had also entered this building. And now that made me a little uneasy. Why weren't all of them sent here?
There was no answer.
"Well, since I've come this far, and it's better for me not to show up on the outside for now, then, so to speak, I'll provide myself with an alibi, which means I'm going there," I decided and entered this detached building.
The room isn't exactly huge, but it's big enough. And there are significantly fewer people there than at the entrance to the academy.
"Oh, Kasis," I remarked to the old man on the stage at the opposite end of the hall, "that means Deya is somewhere around here too. It wasn't for nothing that I started all this."
There were about twenty other mages sitting there, one of whom the assassins were waiting for. The mages arrived last. Among them was the rector. And if we assume that Deia's grandfather is the head of one of the departments, then the others must hold roughly the same positions.
I got the impression that this building is much larger from the inside than it looks from the outside.
Walking among a large crowd of future mages, I quietly approached the podium where Kasis and the other senior mages sat at tables. Some powerful artifact stood there, blocking out virtually all visible radiation in the room.
"Now it's clear why they are so calm and didn't notice anything happening outside," I guessed.
While I was examining the artifact, I felt someone's gaze on my back.
"More killers? Have they spotted me?" I began to prepare for a new fight.
Turned around.
And then a small whirlwind hit me. I barely managed to stop the hand holding the dagger that was practically piercing the girl and discreetly tuck the blade into the sleeve of my jacket.
"You can't scare people like that!" I thought, looking at her.
Only a couple of days have passed, but it seems like it's been a long time since I've seen this charming and carefree creature.
"You got through!" the little girl squealed, hugging me around the waist. Yes, it was Deya. "You know how happy I am! I waited and checked every day. There was one last day left until the end of the wizards' assignment, and still no sign of you. I didn't even think you'd get in with us. The rector and the deans," she nodded at the wizards sitting on the high stage, "are supposed to start the assignment any minute. And then I see you. You're wandering around, but you don't see me." And she looked reproachfully into my face.
"It's good when such a creature worries about you," I thought with some tenderness for some reason.
Now it became clear to me who might have paid attention to me.
And I also realized that I made it at the very last moment.
It turns out, according to the girl, they weren't recruiting magicians all the time, but only for the first few days, and then they were accepting students into other magical-related faculties.
Meanwhile, Deya continued to tell her story:
"Your grandfather and I thought and talked about you. He didn't really believe you'd make it through the selection process. I never gave up hope. You're smart, and I'm happy to be with you."
I didn't understand how this was connected. But for Deya, it was directly connected.
"And we'll be able to see each other more often," she continued. "Although..." the girl paused for a moment, "perhaps if you were in a different department, we could see each other. Oh well. The main thing is, you're here. Which means there won't be any problems with that now. Now all that's left is the assignment. Another five minutes, and the last ones will be here."
I started to worry. I hadn't been selected for anything, and it would be a real shame to get into trouble for that reason if it came out now. So I slowly made my way toward the exit. I was almost there when Deya grabbed my hand.
"Where are you going?" she asked sternly, looking me in the eye. "They're going to lock the doors now, and you won't be able to pass the placement exam this year." And she pulled me back.
I had to go back, especially since the building was already closed. That meant I'd have to come up with something on the spot.
We had just reached the place where we had been standing before when a quiet ringing sound was heard, but everyone standing in the hall heard it.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, our future students," said a man.
"No, he looks more like an elf, but I've seen that kind of aura on vampires," I looked closer, and then it dawned on me. "I know who it is."
The rector of the Academy of Magic just spoke to us.
"We're glad you chose our educational institution. I won't say much. There are many of you, and the placement process is lengthy. So, I welcome you, and may you find your way to the place that best suits your talents and your heart."
He walked up to the dark piece of granite, which I identified as a very powerful artifact, and placed his hand on it.
"I need to get closer if I want to see what's going to happen," I realized.
"What are you doing, stop!" Deya tugged at my arm. "First, the Academy's honored guests are sorted, then the royal family, then various aristocrats, and only then everyone else."
And, having barely finished speaking, she rushed forward. I barely managed to intercept her.
"What's wrong?" I was now looking at her in surprise.
"So, aren't you interested in elves?" She waved her hand toward the center of the room.
"No," he shrugged his shoulders relatively indifferently.
"What are you talking about?" Deya looked at me, amazed. "They're so, so..." The girl rolled her eyes in admiration. "I don't even know what kind..."
And she again rushed towards the formed passage along which the elves were walking.
I stopped her again.
It's all clear with her, walking idols in the flesh. How can you not admire them? So we need to debunk this myth immediately, because, as I understand it, her mother used to look at elves with the same eyes.
"Oh, come on," I said to her, "what 'like'? Besides the pretty faces of their girls, I haven't seen anything interesting yet."
And as soon as I said this, a thunderous cackle rang out behind me. There's no other way to describe it.
"Cute little faces." And someone patted me on the back with a huge hand. "You got that right, kid."
I turned my head in surprise. And standing behind me was clearly a relative of the gun shop owner where I'd sold the trophy swords. Just as massive, large, and heavy.
"Who are they, I wonder?" I thought. After all, I never found out.
"Only northerners like you and trolls like us understand that," the ugly creature boomed. She patted me on the shoulder again.
"A troll, then," I looked him over. "Well, that's quite possible."
Our conversation, or rather, the troll's thunderous remarks, attracted attention. The elves, who were walking toward the pedestal where the artifact was installed, glanced in our direction.
"It's about to start…" I thought, and it was as if I had seen the light of day.
Two figures separated from the group of elves and headed toward us. The crowd parted for them. We were about a meter or two away.
And here they are standing right in front of us.
"I wonder who I expected to see?"
I look into familiar and still beautiful eyes, in which cold rage splashes.
"Did you like the ring?" I ask quietly.
A silent scene. I only see the elf blinking her eyes in surprise. And suddenly her face turns to stone.
"Please accept my apologies," she says slowly and bows her head.
And then he takes the chain off his neck and hands it to me:
- I must return this thing to you.
On the chain is my ring, which I threw at her feet in the forest as a joke.
The second elf, a young guy (their leader wasn't here today), looks from me to the girl with interest.
She doesn't look me in the face. But the entire room is staring at us. Sure enough, something strange and interesting is happening. And it has to do with elves, too. And then Deya's ringing voice adds fuel to the fire:
"Brother, why is that elf giving you back your engagement ring? Did you propose to her?"
After these words, the elf's face darkens. She presses her lips together. But still doesn't raise her head.
Hmm. The situation. And all because of some joke. Looks like I have one more mortal enemy in this world.
But the second elf, judging by his mocking look, is very amused by this situation.
And now the next voice:
"It really is a pretty face, I understand," and the huge paw slaps me on the back again.
So what to do?
What can you do? You're in trouble, so you need to swim out.
"It's yours. Consider us even. If you want, throw it away. After all, it's yours now." I bowed my head in response. Then I turned to step back a little, but the devil made me say it. Sometimes my brain just switches off. That seems to be me. "But as far as I know, a ring is worn on a finger, not on a chain."
What was so funny about my last sentence, but the entire room just lay there. The troll standing next to me was especially giggling. I even turned around, surprised by such a reaction.
The elf, with darkened eyes in which steel froze, looked at me, turned sharply and walked away to the squad waiting for our conversation to end.
"You're both brave and foolish," the second elf smiled, "if you could drive my sister to the brink of madness. Just remember, she's destined to become a master of darkness and death magic. And over the course of five years of training, she'll have to fight a lot of duels..." He winked at me, then nodded to Deya and the troll, and slowly walked back.
There were a few moments of silence. And then I heard:
"He's right about that, you're in trouble, kid," the troll confirmed the elf's words. "Even I don't envy you. Getting involved with a dark mage is a bad idea. Especially in such a toxic combination." He chuckled.
"A mage of darkness and death?" Deya asked him curiously, as if she didn't care about anything else.
"No," he shook his head, and then, chuckling again, added, "A mage and an angry girl, especially an elf." Looking at me, he said without mockery, "So hold on." And then, thinking about something, he introduced himself, "By the way, I'm Grom."
- Stepan. And this chatty creature is my sister Deya.
Meanwhile, the elves approached the pedestal.
"It's begun," Deya pulled me forward.
I waved at the troll and followed her. I needed to understand what this distribution was all about.
At that moment, a small, inconspicuous human, a mage, approached the rector and whispered something in his ear. He glanced at him in surprise, quickly rose, said something to the others, and left the stage.
No one saw him again until the end of the ceremony.
Seleya was furious. This human had disgraced her again! It was as if this human had proposed to her, and she hadn't just refused, which would have been perfectly normal and wouldn't have damaged anyone's honor, but had even apologized for it! And that, at the very least, suggests that this refusal was not due to her own desires, but to the decision of the clan council.
Few know their customs. But her older brother, not Ekos, but the one now sitting in the presidium and looking at this whole scene in amazement, certainly knows them. And many mages do too.
For example, the dean of the Faculty of Aretological Studies, judging by his badge, was watching everything that was happening with surprise.
"I'll kill him," the girl swore mentally. "I'll kill this savage at the first opportunity."
Okay, last time no one but her own people saw it. But this time, there were a lot of people here. And she'd have to spend five years with them, if not more.
And now there's no way to prove that she doesn't feel anything for him. For this poor, ragged man who recently crawled out of a cave and descended from his northern mountains.
"No, I do," the girl suddenly thought, dreamily closing her eyes as she imagined killing this northerner a thousand times, then resurrecting him and killing him again. "Just meet me at the training ground!" she vindictively recalled Ekos's words, briefly overheard. And only then did it dawn on her where the ragamuffin was. "Someone probably agreed to pay for his training," Seleya thought. "Where did he get the money? And how could he have ended up here? With his abilities! How did the selection process go through, I don't know. He wasn't following us, after all," she thought with a smirk, and looked out at the audience from the podium where all the elves were now standing.
And that idiot, as if nothing had happened, completely ignoring her furious look (who dared not pay attention to her!!!), stood and chatted about something with his troll friend.
"That creepy crawly! She's standing here, seething, and he doesn't even bat an eye!" It was this last thought that made the girl stop. "And why should I be the one worrying about this? He should be shaking in fear and running for his life. Which of us is the death mage?" This thought calmed her somewhat.
However, glancing back into the audience, she realized: only this strange northerner wasn't afraid, but rather watched with curiosity what was happening on the stage near the artifact. Moreover, Seleya occasionally caught his thoughtful, calm gaze.
"He even dared to look at me!" she muttered under her breath. "I'll kill him at the first opportunity. I'll kill him. I'll kill him. I'll kill him."
"Calm down," her brother, who was standing next to her and heard her words, took her hand, and then, smiling, added: "Besides, I also agree with the troll and that northerner of yours: your face really is the cutest here."
"He's not mine!" Seleya hissed angrily.
And as soon as she said this, she realized: "Events are just gaining momentum. And once again, that stupid northerner is at the center of them."
"Look," said Brother Selee, pointing his gaze at the hall, also noticing the events taking place below.
When the elves ascended to a small platform in front of the podium where the artifact was located, I shifted slightly to the left to more easily observe the distribution process.
Deya followed me, as did the troll, though with his height, he could have seen everything going on in the hall even from the back rows. Even then, it was unlikely anyone would have blocked his view, except perhaps another troll like him. But there were no other trolls in the hall.
And somehow, I found myself in the front row. Apparently, Grom's bulk, moving slightly behind me, didn't exactly encourage me to voice any complaints. Given his appearance, it wasn't surprising. A stone mountain of muscle.
"And he's going to become a magician?" – Once again I looked in amazement at this miracle of nature.
Moreover, it seemed to me that behind this savagery and barbarism of his there lurked a remarkable intelligence. It was also a kind of disguise.
Same with me. Although it didn't bother me at all. So I stood exactly where I needed to be; besides, even without Grom's silent support, I would have still tried to get here. From this angle, I could clearly see what was happening with the artifact and what it was doing while it was operating. Moreover, the activated artifact looked much different than when it was inactive.
Now, after activation, it was a large energy structure, and it no longer resembled a typical amorphous or otherwise incomplete field, but rather an ordered system displaying some kind of three-dimensional virtual model. Admittedly, a model with a very complex and multidimensional structure.
I began to look through it, trying to understand what depended on what. Identifying connections, sequences, and key points. Looking for patterns and their interactions. But even my abilities weren't enough to fully understand it; it was so multidimensional, contradictory, and complex.
Moreover, I had a distinct feeling that this structure was not coherent. It was somehow unfinished. It was definitely missing something. And it was precisely this "something" that prevented me from understanding the operating principles of the artifact as a whole. I saw separate pieces, completely unconnected and not interacting with each other in any way.
And as soon as this thought flashed through my mind, I realized what had been eluding me, what was missing from this three-dimensional virtual model to make it coherent. And it's no wonder I hadn't noticed it. These elements simply weren't there in the structure at all. Essentially, this energy model needed connections and connecting elements between its individual modules, or whatever, I don't know.
I was operating within the parameters of the equipment I was familiar with from my previous life, and I didn't yet know any other definitions. So I began to relate it all to a modular design system. And it was very clearly visible in the energetic structure of this artifact, especially now that I knew where to look and what to pay attention to.
But I didn't yet understand what this gave me. And I also hadn't figured out how this artifact was supposed to work. Experiments were needed, or at least a visual demonstration. And as I understood it, such an opportunity would soon present itself.
The elves take turns approaching the pedestal where the artifact is located and touching its surface. Afterward, it begins to glow a certain color. In their case, it's various shades of green.
It all seemed simple. But upon closer inspection, I realized it was quite the opposite. The mechanism was too complex, confusing, and difficult to implement or duplicate. But most importantly, I completely misunderstood the principles of its operation.
This is what I saw.
A particle of energy from each elf undergoing the distribution ritual enters the first module; it is transformed according to some algorithms completely unknown to me, and after this, a small rune appears at the output, which passes on to the next module, and is then duplicated in several sections, forming a connection between this second module and a whole chain of autonomous micromodels.
"I need to remember the rune. It could be important," I thought, "as could the system of modules it connects to."
And as a result of all this activity, we can observe certain external effects. Depending on the connected energy structures, the artifact begins to glow a certain color, and some inscriptions appear to light up or appear on its surface, as they are carefully copied and then the completed parchment is handed over to the recipient.
"What do they write there, I wonder?" I asked Deya.
But the troll answered me:
"The selection process simply determined your power level—whether you could become a mage, ranger, seeker, sorcerer, and so on. Now, it's your individual ability to manipulate a particular type of magical energy that's being determined."
I was right about the troll. His judgments were too coherent and precise for a simple country bumpkin.
And Grom, after a short silence, continued:
"It's not very noticeable on the elves; they're practically all life mages. But judging by your acquaintance," he chuckled, "you might see something else. I've heard that powerful dark mages appear among them, albeit very rarely. Nonsense. Beings of light, however, work with darkness and death. Something like that. So we'll see if you're lucky or not. Although life can be used for combat purposes, the elves even have battle druids, but how they attracted them, few know; it's their secret."
"I see," I nodded.
And I thought he wasn't quite right. Even the similar type of energy the elves could manipulate gave me a lot of insight while observing them.
I found out the following.
The more energy modules are connected in a given chain, the brighter the glow of the artifact and the more symbols from its surface are copied onto parchment, which is then given to the magicians.
And then, really, there wasn't anything particularly interesting about the elves. They took turns undergoing a kind of testing. The only thing I needed to remember was the energy module systems activated by their rune.
"Oh, your girlfriend," the troll pointed to the stage.
Yes, I have seen her and have been watching her for a long time.
After her, there was supposed to be a guy who called himself her brother.
The girl approached the artifact. And it lit up with two colors, almost equal in power: dark, or even black, and gray. And energetically, I discovered two runes at once, and a huge number of chains connected to them.
My head was working at full speed, trying to take it all in. Time was running short, so I had to work hard.
"And she's a very powerful magician," Grom said thoughtfully.
"Yes, I know," I answered as I went along, trying to remember the last elements.
"That's it, I made it," I thought happily, looking after the girl who had received her certificate of completion of the assignment.
"And you talk about this so calmly?" he asked.
"Well, as my ancestors said," I waved it off, "seven deaths are inevitable, but one cannot be avoided."
"That's true," he chuckled, "but you've forgotten that she's a death mage. So she can arrange more than one death for you, or even two. If that's what she wants."
"I didn't know about that," I admitted honestly, waving my hand. "I'll figure it out. She won't kill me right away. Maybe she'll change her mind."
"Not now, I doubt it," he narrowed his eyes. "Look at the way she's glaring at you." The troll nodded toward the elf. "Personally, I'd be wary of living under the same roof with a girl who looks at me like that. Especially if she's a mage. The stone will hit you in the head, you'll be completely dead. And then it'll happen ten or twenty times in her case. So, I sympathize." And he patted my shoulder again.
"Yes, I'll survive," I chuckled and looked back at the girl on the podium. Our acquaintance had gotten off to a bad start. "I need to live up to my name."
"That's right," the troll laughed loudly, startling the people standing next to us.
We laughed together, even though nothing particularly funny was said, and my spirits somehow lifted after this conversation. I looked at Grom and asked:
"And what about you? What brings you here? What results are you expecting? Do you already know anything, or is this just a guess?" After a brief silence, he added, "We have Deya over there," I pointed to the girl still standing next to me, "a powerful water and air mage."
"Not bad, dangerous opponents, especially air adepts, I know from personal experience." He glanced approvingly at my adopted sister, then continued, "I've also decided to break into the mages. I heard they lowered the entry threshold for power control in one of the departments this year. But a candidate must be a generalist. And I am that. I can work with the energies of earth, fire, and mind magic. True, my threshold is second-level, third-level weaving. Previously, with such results, I would have only been accepted as a ranger, but now, look, maybe I'll become a mage. But I understand you already know that. Among your kind, there are no powerful mages, but many are generalists. What are you working with?" he asked me.
"And with what? What should I answer?"
"He's a life mage," Deya interrupted our conversation, apparently about to add something else, but she froze mid-sentence, glancing behind me where the next delegation was just then approaching. Then she suddenly rushed forward. "Renia!" she shouted across the hall.
And why am I not surprised to see vampires here too? After all, they, too, were heading to the academy. Or, more accurately, to Kasis's faculty. And if only Deya had jumped out, she, for company, forgot to let go of my hand and thrust me, too, before the bright eyes of all the vampires.
"And here we are, waiting for assignments," she chattered. "And I was wondering when you'd come? Grandfather said you'd be here today. But I was hoping to see you sooner. However, you haven't left your building in days. Look," she pointed at me, "and Stepan is here. Did you miss him? I really did. He'll be studying at the academy too. But I don't know where. And it's unlikely he'll end up with us. He doesn't look like a generalist or a runologist."
Deya would have continued speaking, but then a polite cough was heard from the stage.
"Let's go, otherwise we'll hold them up," I pulled the girl by the hand.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she nodded, "Grandfather asked me not to bother anyone." She looked at Renya. "Are you coming to visit us, or can I come to you?" Deya asked quickly. "I've never seen how vampires live..." True, here she fell silent and, after a moment's thought, said: "Although I haven't seen how others live either."
I realized that Deya wouldn't just leave here, so I grabbed her by the elbows, turned around with her and stepped aside, letting the vampires walk towards the stage through.
But this restless girl even now managed to turn her head and shout:
– It was nice to see you! Good luck!
"Well, at least this time there were no big scenes," I thought, and apparently that was what jinxed everything, because Deya broke free from my arms and ran up to the vampire:
"I almost forgot! Can you imagine, Stepan, it turns out, gave that elf," she points at the girl standing on the stage, her eyes wide and her voice in a conspiratorial whisper audible to everyone, "an engagement ring, and she wanted to return it, but he didn't take it." And completely sincerely, without any ulterior motive, she asked Renea, "Would you have taken it or returned it too? I saw it was an expensive ring. My mother had a similar one. And he suggested throwing it away. He's not stupid, is he?" Then she added, "Just think, he's a nice guy, just a little weird." And, considering her task accomplished, she turned around and walked back.
I was met with a cold, and I'd like to say indifferent, gaze, but that wasn't the case: although it was cold, there was still a hint of interest in it. Only it was the interest of a predator in its future victim.
"Well, who pulled this little miracle's tongue?" I thought, looking first at one girl, then at the other.
"What have you done, little procuress?" I asked Deya.
"What's wrong?" she looked at me in surprise. "She's my friend. You're my brother. Someone has to take care of your future, right?"
"Do you think they can't cope without you?" the troll's curious voice was heard.
"This one definitely isn't," the girl answered confidently, pointing at me, "he'd only like to scurry around the woods."
"Not the safest thing to do," Grom nodded.
"Yeah," I agreed, "but thanks to the efforts of that sweet little one," I nodded at Deya, "it's started to look like a cakewalk compared to my future stay here." And after a pause and looking at the stage, I finished: "Before, only one of them wanted to kill me, but now I feel like the other one has the same desire."
And then I watched the distribution of vampires.
Everything worked according to the standard scheme. All that remained was to learn the necessary rune and memorize the connection diagram for the energy modules.
After the third vampire, I calculated the necessary sequences for connecting energy modules and identified their connection with the sequences found for life mages.
And then my observations only reinforced this theory. I could already tell with a 90% certainty which energy modules would be present in the connected chain, based on the modules initially connected. So even the magic, or rather this artifact, operated according to its own specific pattern and system.
I spent the rest of my time analyzing and obtaining new runes.
To my great joy, Deya didn't do anything else for the rest of the sorting ceremony and stood silently next to me.
Next up was a delegation of dwarves, who also found their way to Kasis's Faculty of Artifact Science, though in my opinion, those bearded fellows certainly had no business being there. From what I saw, they were all already fully formed, powerful mages. But they, too, passed the ceremony without question.
Then there were the werewolves, or, as Deya said, the Cornols. Now it's clear what race Leila belonged to, the one who sheltered me for these days. She was a Cornol. Albeit a little different from those who arrived here.
I have enriched myself with several new runes and connection diagrams.
And then everyone else came. Ogres. Humans. Goblins. Everyone who came here of their own free will, not by invitation or as part of a group.
I observed and memorized everything. And I identified almost all the runes the artifact used to determine the parameters of local mages. I isolated and located most of the chains. Among them, I found the minimal ones that generated a light and some kind of visual signal.
Now it's our turn.
The troll was the first to pass. As Grom had said, he turned out to be an adept in three branches of magic.
Next up is Deya. There were no surprises here either.
I'm the one left.
Placing my hand on the artifact, I concentrated and visualized the necessary runes and the chains of connected energy modules. I chose the minimum strength of influence—why would I need to glow?—but just in case, I also outlined five equally important areas of development. Life magic—I'd already outlined that to my acquaintances—air, fire, mind, and blood. And why not? Now, at least, I was definitely considered a "generalist" and presumably qualified for the theoretical department, headed by the old man.
The only thing I didn't take into account was the small fact that, it turns out, the program will be significantly changed this year and I'll have to meet both girls at the training ground quite soon.