Chapter 69

After leaving the restaurant, they agreed to take a walk around the Academy. Surprisingly, no one had yet had the chance to fully examine its architecture, as everyone was busy studying. Walking through the corridors, Dylan recalled his first impression of the Academy, especially how he was greeted by 5 [Special] class holders. He initially thought that this place was more like an impregnable fortress built over 1000 years and developed by Archmages of each era.

Just looking around the vast spaces and intricate corridors, he marveled at the complexity of creating something so large and strong. From what he could see, the academy had at least 4 square kilometers of beautifully detailed architecture, and that was only the part he could walk through. Who knew how deep it actually went.

Coming out of the last corridor they saw a magnificent garden, looking around Dylan thought this place was familiar. Digging into his memories, he remembered that he passed through this place when he first arrived at the academy.

"Do you think the Academy is really the most protected place in the kingdom, or can the Church and the Royal Fortress compete with it?" Dylan asked, while the others admired the beautiful garden and the neat fountain, which even had small fish swimming in it.

"Who knows? The Church of Light's Grand Cathedral looks incredibly impressive, but it doesn't look like a real fortress. I haven't seen the Royal Fortress, so I can't compare it to anything." Liam responded as he took control of some water and created flying swans out of it. His control over them became with each passing second until they were almost perfectly formed.

Linella also got carried away by his magic and with the help of small illusions gave them a more lifelike appearance. The swans looked like real ones, but really tiny. Watching them, Dylan expanded his aura and involuntarily realized that it was the construct's mana. It happened by accident, but Dylan was glad that he could understand who was alive and who was only through aura.

Liam made the swans fly near the fountain, swim in it and even drink water from it, bringing his imitation of life almost to perfection. But the swans still did not make any sounds, to fix this, Linella created several spells that accurately reproduced the sound at the right moments.

Dylan looked around to see that they had gathered several dozen people who were looking at them with great surprise and also enjoying the masterful performance.

Their mental control is truly monstrous, for new mages. Or is it the mastery of magic itself. How do Linella's spells even work, that she can maintain two spells while looking so relaxed. As for Liam, everything is clear, his stats and mastery are beyond doubt, he does not need additional skills to put on a show. Training would lose all meaning.

Dylan came out of his thoughts and noticed small hints of fatigue in Lynelle and Liam. It hadn't been easy for them after all. The amount of mental effort must really be taxing on the brain. Thinking about it, Dylan realized he wasn't using spells that relied on constant control and precision, there was simply no need for them yet.

After a few minutes, Liam decided to stop the impromptu theater. When the swans flew towards the fountain and were supposed to crash into the water, they seemed to disappear, without creating a single splash or ripple on the water. This earned them applause from several people. Liam smiled lightly, accepting them, and Lynella showed her great pride in front of everyone, holding her head high, enjoying the attention.

"It was really amazing, but was it worth showing off your abilities in front of so many people?" Dylan asked as he walked up to them.

"Oh, Dylan, have fun. So what if they saw it? In case you don't remember, we have level indicators and class names hanging above our heads, anyone can find out anything they want." Lynella replied, waving at the crowd.

Dylan wanted to answer by telling about the [Status Change] skill, but in front of such a large crowd, he wisely held his tongue.

Mmm, Linella should know that there is a shroud in the form of a skill or artifact. For her, revealing abilities is nothing, because she can easily change her appearance and status. Playing to the crowd?

Dylan thought as he watched several people approach Linella and Liam to talk. Looking at them, he didn't see anything special, most of them were [Uncommon] classes, not very high levels, only one person was [Rare] class, but only level 10.

Everyone came up and was nicely interested in their magic and specific spells and skills for it. Overall the conversation was always nice without any problems, everyone was polite and courteous, behaving really nicely.

Dylan turned away from them to hide a wild smile. This situation was the very definition of deception in his eyes. If they didn't have [Rare] classes and weren't part of recognizable families like Liam, Dylan had no doubt that things would be different.

Or am I just overthinking it again? Maybe not everywhere is deceitful and the Academy really doesn't encourage bullying from higher-ranking nobles. Although the Academy hierarchy itself is currently on our side. But I definitely need to find some trouble. Oh, I can already imagine the nobles bullying me and then finding out who I am. Isn't that a dream?!

"Mmm, that feels good." Dylan said under her breath, imagining the situation.

While he was distracted, there were fewer and fewer people around them. Looking around, he noticed a tall blond man with great charisma and how he seemed to be trying to hold back a wide smile. He was standing near some particularly gorgeous pink roses, wearing an atypical uniform, with small gold inserts, where you could see woven gold fabric and other insignia. Which he still couldn't understand.

Cullen Golden Crow. If you look at it like that now he looks a little crazy, but at the same time like the most successful merchant. That's his charisma, or I don't wrong and he has too much happiness. The main question is, how should I treat him if he managed to use mind magic on me last time?

"It's hard, it's hard." Dylan said, placing his hand on his chin.

Cullen caught his eye and nodded slightly. Dylan greeted him back, which brought a happier smile to Cullen's face.

Why such joy? Maybe he wants to sell me something I don't need at all. It's hard to come up with a more truthful answer.

Dylan thought as he watched Cullen walk towards him.

"Greetings Dylan Ghostblade, it's a pleasure to see you. Have you finally started taking breaks from training?" Cullen said, extending his hand for a handshake.

His casual speech made Dylan turn on [Accelerated Perception] and try to understand him better. His address by his last name caused several very surprised and scared looks from the people around him. This of course easily spoke about his reputation and easily destroyed the friendly atmosphere between Liam, Linella and the people around him.

The second question seemed to be about the large number of books he had foolishly taken from the library. But from the expression on his face and the little hints from Cullen. Dylan knew he was more likely talking about the fact that he hadn't he really left the room except a few times.

And finally, his outstretched hand meant little in this world. Perhaps it was a greeting between truly close people, but most people never let anyone get close enough to strike.

Classers after all, it's clear why this didn't catch on... So, so, so, Reincarnator?

Dylan's smile widened and he shook Callen's hand without thinking, but with much more force than was necessary. Callen smiled a little wider and added more force to his grip, but only as much as Dylan had applied. Dylan pressed even harder, causing Callen to chuckle a little. Dylan waited for him to respond, but Callen relaxed his hand and broke the handshake.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Dylan, there's no need to use so much force. I'm just a merchant after all." Cullen said with a small smile, pretending that his arm hurt. Dylan nodded in response and of course, he never believed him.

"Of course, I got carried away, but I was sure that it wouldn't be a problem for you."

"It's okay." Cullen replied and turned his gaze to Linella and Liam who had approached them.

Lynella was acting more charming than usual, letting Dylan know that she was also wary of Cullen. When she was close enough to them, she extended her hand to Cullen and spoke sweetly.

"Dylan didn't know you had friends besides us at the academy, would you like to introduce us?"

Dylan wanted to answer, but before he could, Cullen bowed slightly and spoke.

"Oh my lady, I am Cullen Golden Crow, a student in a special class two years above you." He said, taking her hand and kissing it, as was the custom among the nobility. "But I regret to say that Dylan and I are not close enough to confidently call ourselves friends. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lynella May." Cullen turned his gaze to Liam and extended his hand for a handshake. "It is also a pleasure to meet you, Liam Changeable Water, I have heard much about the impressive magic of your house, and I can now say that it was not an exaggeration."

Liam shook his hand lightly, nodding in acknowledgment as Dylan tried to figure out how Cullen could carry on the entire conversation around Lynella, and he hadn't even mentioned her beauty.

"It's nice to meet you Cullen, I've heard of your impressive trading conglomerate. I understand you're following in your father's footsteps, but you've decided to ensure your own safety." Lynella said with a slight smile. It was meant to sound like a jab, but Cullen just nodded enthusiastically, as if she understood him completely.

"Of course, in our time one cannot count on the best possible outcome, and with the rumors that the church is now spreading and the new laws of the kingdom, it is foolish to rely on luck alone."

Dylan was slightly impressed by how he ignored Linella's outburst and gave them more information. It made him think about Cullen, he didn't seem bad, but Dylan still wasn't sure if he was a Reincarnator. While he was thinking about it, Liam spoke up.

"Kullen, if I may ask, your class is [Warrior-Mage of Mirata] [Rare]. What can you tell me about it, it's rare to hear about a successful merger." Liam asked, to which Cullen nodded enthusiastically and began to tell his story with great enthusiasm.

"Of course, this is a very rare and specialized class. It has strict skill requirements, you need to have [Weapon Mastery] [Uncommon], [Mana Manipulation] [Uncommon], [Stamina Manipulation] [Uncommon], a percentage skill of strengthening due to stamina or mana [Uncommon], [Aura] [Uncommon], but most importantly, you need to undergo personal training from one of the owners of this class."

"What skills can you take into your class and get a bonus for them, I don't believe you can do this with any spell or technique." Liam continued asking while everyone listened. Dylan looked around to see if anyone was nearby, but all he saw was that everyone quickly left as soon as they started talking.

"Oh, that's absolutely true. I can't have the skills of the Magic Schools in it, and I also can't have specialized techniques like [Phantom Blade Art], but the class allows me to have the skills that the creator of the class, Mirata, had. It's mainly arcane Magic that specializes in destruction and barriers, but over time, other magic schools like Space, Gravity, Healing should be available to me, but those will also only be specialized Spells. As for techniques, I can have most of the basic techniques and Mirata Art techniques that mainly consume stamina." Kallen said and paused for a moment to think about it.

A really strong class, you can have several spells and different techniques. As far as I can understand, this is one of the strongest fusion classes. But of course, he will never be effective with mana due to the lack of skill in magic schools, and his small repertoire of spells does not allow him to quickly adapt to different enemies. These disadvantages need to be covered with various artifacts. Which of course is not a problem for him.

"Thank you very much for your honest answers, it was very fascinating." Linella said and continued. "But as much as we enjoyed your company, we must leave."

Linella's polite farewell didn't bother Cullen at all, it seemed to be of no importance to him.

"Of course, but allow me to take another minute of your time." He replied and activated the spatial ring. Liam and Dylan's faces became momentarily focused, waiting to see what Cullen would get. Lynella, however, kept her polite smile, taking no visible action.

Cullen noticed their peculiar behavior and commented on it. "Don't worry, I'll just get an artifact that will keep everything said secret." He said and stuck his hand into the portal, a moment later taking out a steel, shiny cube, inscribed with many runes.

Twisting it slightly in his hand, he pressed a particularly large rune located in the middle of the cube on one of the sides. The runes on the cube began to glow as mana slowly flowed out of it, forming a similar cube around them inscribed with runes and noticeable even without the sense of mana. While the barrier was forming, three mages poked at it with aura with a little anxiety, trying to figure out what exactly it was intended for. When the barrier formed, any effects noticeable to the naked eye disappeared, but everyone still felt the strong Mana in it.

"Well, I would like to do it in a more secluded place, but it doesn't matter anyway." Kallen said, no longer talking to them as nobles. "The academy is such an annoying thing. Oh, I'm sure you already know... Esteemed Reincarnators, you may welcome one of yourselves!" He said with more joy and bowed.

Linela, Dylan and Liam's faces did not become happy as expected. Quite the opposite. Dylan placed his hand on [Phantom Blade] [Special+] and prepared to use the technique, while the others expanded their auras and began to draw Mana from oneself .

Dylan took a step forward towards Kalenn and half-unsheathed his sword. He opened his aura and began pouring mana and a huge amount of will into it.

"Oh shit, I've been waiting for some crazy guy to show up and say he's a Reincarnator for a long time! This is the most anticipated move from the Academy, the Kingdom, the Church, or anyone else! You do realize you're going to have to prove it, right?" Dylan said, stopping and noticing how Lynella and Liam had already prepared several spells.

Raising his hands in front of him, Cullen smiled widely, still not revealing his aura or making any attempt to defend himself. "Oh, thank you for not ripping me off and not believing me right away. Honestly, I doubted you for a second. If only you knew how often I've been in this situation. But well, you can ask me something that only a Reincarnator would know." Dylan nodded in response and continued.

"Let's start with something simple, what year did you die?"

"In 2024 in winter."

"Who is the President of the United States?"

"It's too easy, Trump became it."

"How good is it?"

"I won't get into politics."

Dylan nodded, pleased with his answer. He didn't know how good it was either, and who knew anyway? Who cared.

"Okay, how old were you when you died?"

"31. I don't know what he died of."

"Fair enough. Okay, how do you feel about Jews?" Dylan said, making a stone face.

"With great respect, actually. To be so greedy as to deserve so many stupid jokes is truly admirable, for me as a merchant of course." Cullen replied with a smile.

"Okay, okay. We'll assume you're the Reincarnator, but how do we know you're not compromised?" Dylan said, putting the sword back in its sheath.

Cullen spread his hands. "Oh, we haven't found a way yet. When I say we, I mean me and the other Reincarnators, with your class there will be 13 of us. A significant number, don't you think?"

Dylan nodded, thinking of some way to prove that someone had been compromised, but couldn't think of anything. Lynella and Liam walked up to him, dispelling the spells and beginning to gather the Mana back into the cores.

"So what's your offer, Cullen?" Lynella asked, speaking in her usual non-flirtatious manner.

"Go meet our gang, if you don't mind, of course."

Dylan, Lynella, and Liam looked at each other, mentally communicating. A smile slowly formed on Dylan's face before he spoke.

"Oh, of course, damn it! This will be my first secret society! I can't wait to have my own special name! That's a dream!"

"I hasten to disappoint you, but we do not have such names. And now please follow me." Kallen answered and pressed another rune of the cube. The barrier dissipated and all the mana quickly flew into the cube, forming bright blue streams.

After waiting for all the mana to gather, Cullen went to one of the corridors without further ado. Dylan followed him with complete confidence, thinking that there would definitely be secret names.

Secret names, I'll do it! It'll be twice as fun! Oh, how awesome!