Lucius pushed the thoughts of Gilly's situation at the back of his mind, and instead, he focused on recalling the directions Elrond gave him through telepathy shortly after their PCM class yesterday. He was a tad irritated that the elf was getting too comfortable with sending out his thoughts unannounced, but he pushed on anyway, curious as to why the Outworlder wanted to meet with him.

"I'll tell him what for," Lucius grumbled before turning a corner in one of the many halls of the main castle—guided only by his memory and growing distaste for Elrond's inclination to communicating by telepathy.

While on his way, Lucius realized just how much of the castle he hadn't seen yet. The castle's layout seemed almost like a giant, complex maze with corridors leading to one hall after another—each either converging or branching to several other paths. Simply comparing how big the castle looked from outside to how big it actually was on the inside, there was no doubt that the castle was built with space-enhancing magic, but the extent that it was utilized was on a whole another level compared to what Lucius thought was possible three hundred years ago.

The walls have been lined with Inscriptions, no doubt. They use Inscriptions for everything these days.

Lucius let his gaze roam for a while. There were maps plastered to every other hallway which he already looked over and memorized on his first day. The unfortunate thing was that even though he knew every nook and cranny of the academy already, he gave very little thought to exploring it despite the tiny, subtle voice of desire in his head telling him to do so.

"Someday," Lucius whispered as he took in every room, every flight of stairs, every building that he passed after getting out of the main hall walking through the gardens. There was always a mystery to be uncovered, and he had a feeling that the same rang very true when it comes to three-hundred-year-old castles built by Outworlders. For now, though, he was stuck to either torturing his body through exercise or his eyes through reading, and soon, doing what he could only describe as menial work for other students. He had a very busy schedule, much to his disappointment.

A few more twists and turns and trudging through, empty, narrow, grass-covered pathways later, Lucius finally arrived at the spot Elrond designated as their meeting place—a breathtaking, pure green clearing just a bit beyond the academy gardens.

Lucius looked around and saw Elrond—hovering in the air in a seated position while reading what seemed to be a picture book. It was the same one that the head librarian, Wesker, tried to sneak off of his desk before Marj caught him days ago.

Lucius took a deep breath before approaching warily, a bit unnerved that he was now alone with one of the strongest mortals in Elyssia. A person that could snuff him out of existence as if he were a mere gnat, but then again, with his current strength, who can't?

"Ah, there you are," Elrond said, but not before reading a few seconds more until he finally closed the book with a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry for inviting you out here so early in the morning. Judging by the week you had, I assume you're a bit worn out?"

"It's quite alright. At least if I leave early, no one can see me leave the dorm," Lucius answered, shrugging off the early morning cold. "So? Why did you want to meet?"

"To talk, mostly."

"And?"

"To see how you're doing for the past few weeks. So, what do you think about my academy? Do you think you'll stay after all?"

Lucius narrowed his eyes. "What made you think I wouldn't stay?"

"I don't need to use mind spells to know what you were thinking when you left my office, Lucius," Elrond said with a short, wistful sigh. "And to be fair, your hesitance to stay is warranted considering what happened between you and me three hundred years ago, so I wouldn't blame you if you want to leave."

Although his face revealed nothing, Lucius was a tad annoyed since Elrond got it right indeed. Despite all his excitement and glee after experiencing new things, leaving the academy did cross his mind multiple times. He cursed inwardly. Was he that easy to read?

"How do I know you didn't peek at my thoughts again before I left?"

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"A prompt would've warned you beforehand. Just like when I cast Lull on you and the memory reading spell that I cast after that, although I doubt you saw the prompt for the second one."

"Yes. Something like that did appear," Lucius grimaced as he remembered the sickening feeling of helplessness that surfaced from him back then. It was an unpleasant thing to recall, to say the least. "How nice of you to bring that up again."

"Then let's move on. Now, what do you think about Antebellum Academy? Do you plan or staying or no?"

Lucius went silent for a while as he mused, agonizing over whether to tell Elrond what he wanted or not. Although he had to admit that there was still a part of him that wanted to leave just because he was still mostly uncertain of Elrond's intentions, the greater part of him wanted to stay after everything that happened these past few weeks.

Despite some minor hiccups and the relatively short time that he spent in the academy, Lucius had already achieved more than what he could ever accomplish if he was still locked away inside Askanar Castle, helpless and dead inside.

In Antebellum, he was starting to develop not only as a person but also through training, and there was no denying that he relished that feeling of improvement. The exhilarating feeling that he'd always get whenever his Virtus rose was irreplaceable, and it was also here that he first discovered the importance of diligence in obtaining strength.

The most important thing, however, was that he, for the first time in his life, had someone his age, or anyone at all, to finally connect with.

Considering all this, Lucius eventually decided to take it slow just to see where the conversation will take him. He'd already made up his mind on staying, but he wanted to know more from Elrond.

"I have nowhere to go even if I do leave, so I think we both know what the answer to your question is," Lucius said with a frown.

Elrond held his chin and nodded. "Point taken. Although, if you ever feel uncomfortable staying here because of my presence, just tell me. I could give you more than enough gold and various other resources if you want to live your own life, away from the academy and myself if you'd like. I at least owe you a way out of here if you want it that much."

Lucius frowned, not at all surprised by Elrond's display of repentance but a bit confused by the more subtle meaning of his words.

"You seem eager to get rid of me. Why is that?"

"Not exactly," Elrond said, his expression serious and grave as he continued, "I just have to know whether or not you fully realize what you're getting yourself into."

"You already picked apart my mind and saw my ultimate goal, didn't you? As much as it is unreasonable to stay at a place owned by a former Player, I now see how it would help me achieve what I want in the long run," Lucius said, laying out his reasons for staying carefully. "So far, your academy has produced thirteen heroes with unique Epithets since its inception, am I correct? That's impressive, considering you're not even ranked in the top ten academies in Elyssia."

"You've done some research, I see. Good for you." Elrond walked over and applauded at Lucius's face with a small, mocking smile. "And what, you think you have a chance to pursue a hero's Epithet just because some people succeeded before you? Let me tell you, young padawan. You're not even close."

"Then why call me here? Just to insult me? I already am well aware that I am far, far behind my peers. No need to rub salt on that wound. I've done plenty of that myself," Lucius said through his gritted teeth. The Grandmaster could also be an ass if he tried, apparently.

"Again, you're mistaken. I called you here because as much as I would like to abide by my code of non-interference, I do owe you enough to make an exception. But just this once, and only until you've caught up with the other Primus students."

"Yes. I have heard of this 'code' of yours. Not too many students like it, I'm afraid." Lucius lifted a brow as his past conversations with Tissette and the others ran through his head. "But what does this have to do with me?"

Elrond stared at Lucius for a while, his gaze narrowed and calculating. "As I said, I'll be trying to help you the best I can until you achieve your goal, or at the very least, until you have the foundation that's necessary to begin reaching for it."

Lucius did not speak for a while as he tried to glean something Elrond's blank expression, but alas, it revealed nothing. Elrond was serious, and if the strong, yet subtle glow on the elf's charcoal black eyes wasn't a clear enough indication of it, he didn't know what else was.

"That is an interesting proposition, Grandmaster El, but how are you planning on doing that?" Lucius said with more trepidation in his voice than he would've liked. Elrond made him uneasy enough when he was acting all apologetic. What he wasn't prepared for at all, however, was a serious one.

Elrond, for some reason, let the silence hang around the air for a little while before patting Lucius's back and smiling in an awkward, yet bizarrely disarming way.

"Sorry about that. I just get riled up whenever I have to...nevermind." Elrond trailed, his gaze faltering for a brief moment before he continued on a more serious note, "Before I answer your question, answer this first; Are you going to stay in Antebellum, or would you like to leave and find another way to become a hero?"

Surprisingly, Elrond's hand was lighter and more gentle than Lucius expected—even more so than Tissette who seemed to want to dislocate his shoulder half of the time whenever she was doing the same thing.

What loomed in Lucius's mind, however, wasn't Elrond's efforts to ease the tense atmosphere. Rather, it was answering the elf's question the best he can, as he had a feeling that he was now at a crossroads where his decision would have a direct impact on his future. For better, or for worse.