The next day couldn't have come sooner and I have mixed feelings about it. It's still winter break, which means more [Isekai]! The bad news: Hayate is helping out Mom for her journalist job. I mean, he could try relaxing in the game for a while. But since it's his last year of high school, he said he needs a way to earn money while finding the right college and major for him. And I get what he's trying to do. Ever since the [Sign Creation Ceremony], he’s been more pumped up about life after graduation than ever before. Sure, he hasn't figured out what kind of career he wants yet. But he’s trying and he won't give up until he finds his calling. Unfortunately, our original plans of setting up our shop in will have to wait. I can't set it up without his help and who knows what could happen if a mage without a [Woodcrafting Mastery] tried constructing a stand all alone?

But before he and Mom leave for work, I quickly take this chance to catch Hayate in the living room with a phone in my hand. "Hang on! Don't leave yet!"

"Come on, Kazuki. Haven't I told you this is an adult's job?" Hayate asked. "Besides, I'm only doing this job as a favor from Mom. I thought you said you're okay with being alone at home for today."

"I know. But I just want to let you know about my plans for today. Since I'm allowed to log in alone and we're now in a brand new city in [Isekai], I was hoping I might take this time to go around and do some [Quests] for my first excursion as a solo player..." I sheepishly grin, knowing what will Hayate say next.

"Geez... For someone who wants to hang out with me all of the time, you can be a bit selfish to want to escape from my watch sometimes."

I gulp. Of course, he figured it out. He is not wrong about the last part though.

"But like you said, you're already old enough to log into [Isekai] at any time. As long as you take breaks back in the real world, I will let you play it as long as you like."

My sheepish grin turns ecstatic once I hear his answer. "Don't worry! I won't overwork myself both online and offline!"

Hayate chuckles. "Yeah. Besides, I’ve already done a lot in the game. I think it's time you take the reigns solo for a while. Unless you want me to take those [Hidden Quests] like in the and Dahlia again?"

I flinch. Oh, man... Why does he have to say it like that? It's not like I'm jealous of his achievements or anything! Nope, nothing like that at all!

"Hayate! Are you ready? The equipment is now packed up!"

Phew... Saved by Mom... I quickly push Hayate to the door with the biggest grin on my face. "You heard her, Hayate. You should get going now!"

"Okay, okay! I’ve already packed most of the lunch for Dad when he gets back. Also, your lunch is in the fridge. You just have to put it in the microwave and type "0-3-0", not "1-0-0". I'll call you when I get back."

"See you later, Hayate!"

Hayate waves at me before he walks out of the door. With him gone for a day and Dad busy with his work in his half-day, I have the whole house to myself! I would try going out for ice cream, but neither of them trusted me to leave the house unattended even though I’d turned 13. Besides, I’ve got my emergency stash of chocolate back under my bed and other things to worry about. So I freshen up and prepare my [VeilCon] for another [Dive In] into the world of .

----------------------------------------

[Login Credentials confirmed]

[Password confirmed]

[Diving into the game, [Isekai Online].]

[Logging in as .]

----------------------------------------

Phew... I'm finally back in the inn! But this time, I'm all alone. I look at the bed where Wind was sleeping and noticed there were no signs of him. When I touch the bed itself, I can see a ghost-like image of him sleeping. I'm guessing lore-wise, it looks like he's taking a day off from adventuring. If I recall from Arthur and Razul, unlike other games, players can come up with several scenarios behind their absence from the NPC's eyes to ensure full immersion into the virtual world's setting and worldbuilding. He must have set it before bed yesterday when he got offered a small favor by Mom. Either way, I'm all alone right now and I doubt I’ll run into his friends here so easily. Which begs the question...

I wonder if Yur1 is available. The icon beside his name on the [Friend List] is currently green, which means he's online right now.

[

Hey, it's Kaz! Are you free today? I'm going to take some [Quests] at the guild and do some [Familiar Training].]

The last time I heard from him, he was busy getting his [Familiar] in a light area near . I wonder how he's doing with his mini-quest

[

Not now. I just arrived at my destination and it might take me a day to find the right spot to use my soulstone. If you have time for tomorrow in-game, we can team up for the latter if this summoning succeeds. I'll let you know when I'm done.]

Looks like a no from Yur1. Oh, well... He did say we can try in-game tomorrow, so that means the rest of the day is all to myself. But what am I supposed to do alone? Star and Annie might be still back in and doing all guild [Quests] might be a bit boring if I focus mostly on them.

Hmmm...

I quickly pull up my [Quest] log to see what I can do today. Most of them have no expiration date, but they were supposed to be the ones Wind and I were supposed to do if it wasn't for the delay...

[Quest: To the Magic Academy **]

Oh, right... I got this [Quest] when I was being promoted at the guild. The magic school... The vice guild leader, Annota recommended me to go there if I want to learn more than just the basics. If that's true, then it's too good to pass up. And with Wind being busy in real life, I might have all the time to myself to check out the school!

"Change my [Quest] navigation to this one, please!"

PING!

> [You have pinned the [Quest], [To the Magic Academy] as your prioritized [Quest].]

>

> This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

>

> [Due to the hint you got from the NPC, , the hint to the directions will be noted in your mini-map.]

Great! Now I don't need to ask any random NPC for the academy's location thanks to the vice guild leader! Still, it's too vague for me to pinpoint where it is considering I haven't explored much of yesterday. "Turn right from the castle and follow the "blandest" [Mana]..." That's not much to go on, but it's a good start.

I better stock up on my potions and have a bit of in-game breakfast Wind left me. And get more of those muffins I promised to Saphi...

Yeah... We really need that shop set up by tomorrow or my [Lapi] wallet will hurt from all of these expenses...

----------------------------------------

After a bit of my improvised morning routine, I start wandering through the central district of the city. Since she said I had to "turn right" from the castle, I have to go here since the castle is located in this very district. It was a good start so far. But...

> [NOTICE]

>

> [You sensed no signs of strange [Mana] nearby.]

So far, nothing is coming up in my [Minor Mana Sense] and [Minor Mana Detection]. I try everything to find the blandest [Mana] in these streets. But all I'm getting is the same pop-up right in front of me. Just what did I miss from Annota's hint? I know [Minor Mana Sense] can only detect any monsters with [Mana] while [Minor Mana Detection] magical-based attacks coming right at me with a 60-second cooldown, and even with [Aura Sight], I can only use it to detect any magic-related items, locations, and monsters nearby. Did I miss something from her advice or did I use my skills wrong?

[Rawr?]

I can sense the worries from my dragon despite the fact that he's currently hiding in my inventory. Looks like I can't hide my true emotions around him. Even so, I can't let him be exposed just to find the magic academy, or else, his frost-breathing mother will have my neck...

Wait... Frost...

I've been thinking about how I’ve used my skills the way [Isekai] intended. But I never thought about how it works in the world's lore itself! So if I can use lore logic instead of gameplay...

Okay, Kazu. You can do this. I have to recall how the magic in this world works. Out of 9 elements of [Mana] and magic, [Arcana] is the most unique since it's not exactly an element. By itself, it's only a pure form of [Mana], I think. So if I rule out all of the elements, I might be able to find the magic academy hiding in the city!

Let's try it one more time. I close my eyes as I mentally activate my [Minor Mana Sense]. With this, I can only sense the mana in the air with not many players and NPCs noticing them. I haven't used this passive more often, but I can tell from the colors of the mana which element is which.

Red is for [Fire]. Blue is for [Water]. Yellow is for [Thunder]. Green is for [Wind]... Or was it [Life]?

Whatever... Regardless if I'm right on the elemental colors or not, I don't need to remember which is which. I'm looking for the "blandest" mana that will lead me to my destination. So maybe, I should find the one that doesn't have any color at all!

"Pure white... Pure white... Don't get distracted by the colors and focus on one..."

I keep repeating those words in my head as I continue looking through the wave of mana crashing and waving like water. And then, a ping and a voice echo in my head.

> [Your understanding of [Minor Mana Sense] has increased. The [Mastery EXP] gained for the next 5 minutes will be doubled and you can now filter out specific [Mana] signatures when searching through your [Minor Mana Sense], [Aura Sight], or [Minor Mana Detection].]

Before I can react to this notice, the [Mana] with colors disappear from my senses and all I can see is a straight line made from a white aura. Without opening my eyes, I slowly follow the white path while avoiding the faint colors that might be the passing NPCs and players. It takes me about two minutes to follow it (with a few issues since the filtering didn't let me see the other players as a downside) and when I open my eyes, I find myself in an empty part of the street covered in fog. Is this it? I'm worried that I might have made a wrong turn, but the pure [Mana] guide me here...

[Halt! Who goes there?!]

I flinch and gasp. Yep, looks like I'm in the right place.

"I-I'm Kazu! I'm a Topaz-ranked adventurer! I'm here on the vice guild leader's recommendation!" I call out while trying to keep my cool. They sound like a guy with a deep voice like Dad. Is he like a guard of the academy?

[Hmmm... A young [Insignis] mage coming to study under Annota's recommendation... She's not the type to recommend any random kid in the guild.]

Crud... He doesn't believe me, does he? Maybe I need to convince him and I think I know what item I need to do so. "I-I have proof! I quickly take out the business card from the inventory and show it to the disembodied voice. "Here! Miss Annota gave this card to me! Is it enough to convince you?"

I await his answer as I keep my hand holding the card up a bit longer. If he doesn't say yes, then I’ve probably wasted my time coming here with my eyes closed.

[So it is. I guess the rumors behind an [Insignis] child defeating the [Tempest Frigate] and creating a dual-elemental [Sign] might be true... No... I may need more proof than that.] I hear him sighing. [But I can't deny the recommendation from Miss Annota.]

The fog began to clear up as a building that hadn’t been in front of me suddenly appeared. I dropped my jaw to see a five-story building made of concrete bricks and vines standing in front of me with two towers on each side. Above the large door was a blue banner depicting a symbol of a lion and a dragon facing each other along with two banners depicting them separately along with an element of fire with the dragon and ice for the lion. Just looking at the banners makes me excited at the thought of entering this mythical academy!

However, I hear the doors creak open. I back away and watch a ginger-haired man in a robe coming out wearing a black and brown robe similar to mine, except it's a bit more professional and scary.

[I apologize for my threatening greeting, young [Insignis]. As you already guessed, the academy's location must be discreetly hidden away from outsiders to ensure the security of the students and secrets.] He bows at me. [I'm , one of the guards and professors of the . Let me be the first to welcome you into our academic establishment.]

... So that's the name of famous magic academy. I have a lot of questions, but I don't want to be rude by asking them after meeting Erel immediately. Instead, I bow to him in return and say, "Thank you for your kind welcome, professor. I'm just glad I arrived here without any issues."

[About that... I may need to have a long talk with Annota the next time I see her. But enough with my personal frustrations...] He steps away and gestures towards the door. [I informed the dean about your arrival. If you follow me, I will escort you to his office.]

I nod. "Sure! Lead the way!"

With that, I step inside the for the first time with Erel guiding me. I don't know what I can expect inside, but I have a feeling I might learn more about magic in this virtual fantasy world.

----------------------------------------

Kazu's Masteries

[Arcana] Level 23

[Thunder] Level 21

[Wind] Level 20

[Alchemy] Level 19

[Magecrafting] Level 19

[Magical Affinity] Level 21

[Scribe] Level 24

[Earth] Level 12

[Sign Creation] Level 3