The skulls shouted, their air pressure attacks battering the students who failed to dodge. They were only targeting those above level 200, Sofia didn’t see anyone of a lower level as a danger. As for the projectiles still aimed at her, be it fireballs or magic blasts, the scepter gluttonously absorbed the weaker ones while she dispelled the dangerous ones with [Heat Death]. With how high her mana regeneration was on a sunny day like this one, this barely made a dent. She could tell some of the strongest students were also holding back, probably afraid of either hitting her too hard or hurting the weaker bystander students. They were still within the academy.
Right, I can’t bolt them but everyone is pretty much forbidden from using big attacks.
Sofia stopped flying up, instead diving back down. The closer she was to ‘civilians’ the more students had to restrain themselves from using powerful attacks. Landing on the academy’s rooftops, she activated her armor and stood her ground.
Most students were still flying above, hesitating to attack.
“Just come down, want a fight? I’ll give you a fight.”
Three ‘warrior’ students landed on the roof, the others circled them from above, some already channeling longer spells.
Not a very talkative bunch.
As the warrior students charged, Pareth appeared to intercept them. In the meantime, a book appeared in Sofia’s hand, she ripped three pages out of it, and soon the surroundings were covered in a thick fog.
Before they understood what was happening to them, the warriors on the roof were getting pulled into the ground by tens of ghostly skeletons, while the students still flying above were suddenly swarmed by shining skeletal birds carrying skeletal rats.
Casually dispelling the magic coming her way, Sofia watched as the flying students struggled to deal with the immortal skeletons.
How do you like my swarm of immortal flying rats?
Letting her graveyard skeletons carry her inside of the roof as well, Sofia gave the struggling students a last piece of her infinite wisdom.
“Never said it would be a fair fight.”
Sofia thought she was relatively out of trouble with her tricks as the graveyard skeletons dropped her inside the academy. But two of the flying students had somehow evaded the rats and got there before her. The warrior standing before the mage channeling a spell.
[Warrior - Lv. 237] [Mage - Lv. 206]
Just like me and Pareth.
Sofia ignored them, activating [Runeforged Overlord] at the second level, she flew away in the other direction, bursting through the halls of the academy. The spell of the Mage student caught up to her, trapping her in a cube shaped mana barrier.
Some of the students she had left above the roof were entering through the windows, some with rats and birds still latched onto them, gnawing at their flesh.
Sofia punched at the mana barrier, the scale armor protected her arm so she felt nothing, but the barrier barely shook from the hit. She activated the third tier of [Runeforged Overlord], doubling her strength, and punched again. The barrier broke, and she was showered by magical projectiles. Negating most of them with [Heat Death], she barely took any damage, and started flying away again. One of the warriors managed to sneak by and swing his halberd at her, only to be intercepted by a teleporting Pareth.
Sofia recalled her birds to her side, leaving the rats on whoever they were attacking. As the skeletal crows and turvins caught up with her, she passed by Astelia as she sped through the Academy’s corridors. The moon Oracle was fighting a group of students about as big as the one Sofia had had to deal with at the start, and which were still running after her for the most part, somewhat held back by Pareth.
In passing, she grabbed a crow and gave Astelia a hand with a madness throw, which ended up being an ice burst in the crowd of students.
I’ll do a loop.
Sofia had Pareth teleport next to her as she flew, and gave him the key to her room. Go open the barrier.
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While Pareth rushed off to open Sofia’s room, she kept speeding around inside the academy, whizzing past quite a few ongoing fights and keeping track of her own pursuer thanks to the remaining rats. Some of them were more persistent than others, and one mage in particular was fast enough to keep up despite her massive speed boost, but never managed to land a hit. He missed with every wind blade he threw at her, at best cutting off a wing once, to no avail, as she was currently benefiting from the free flight of [Runeforged Overlord].
Thanks to the massively improved mana regeneration Sofia had in the sunlight, and the many windows of the academy letting the light in, she could keep [Runeforged Overlord]’s third tier active for a bit longer than usual, enough time to let Pareth reach and start opening Sofia’s room.
After a full circle inside the academy, Sofia found Astelia again, flying by, she said nothing and simply extended a hand.
Astelia looked uninjured but exhausted. She saw Sofia coming from afar and grabbed her hand without hesitation. The two teachers flew through the academy corridors in erratic patterns, now followed by twice the amount of students.
They made it to the teachers’ tower and rushed up the stairs, almost throwing themselves inside Sofia's room, Pareth preventing the students from following them. After scaring them away with a final swing of his oversized sword of light, he also entered while closing the door behind him, sealing the barrier.
Funnily enough, a student had managed to teleport inside as Pareth closed the door, Sofia recognized the same wind mage who had been closely following her from the start.
“Ahah. It seems like I messed up,” he said awkwardly.
He was an Exidian man who looked to be around twenty, wearing a standardized student uniform and holding a small crooked staff with no catalyst.
[Mage - Lv. 248]
“Well, now you’re stuck here with us,” Sofia answered with a shrug as she dispelled her armor.
“Right, thanks for helping out Sofia, this was getting tiresome,” Astelia said, sighing and sitting in thin air.
“Can I not leave?” the student asked.
“Are you daft?” Sofia answered, “Want me to open and let even more people in? You’ll leave when they’re gone, if they don’t go away then you’ll be stuck here until it’s class time tomorrow and they’re forced to get the fuck out.”
“Right… Sorry for the intrusion then, it seemed like a good idea to teleport in at the time, but that was shortsighted. Can I sit anywhere?”
“You burst into a lady’s home, at least introduce yourself,” Astelia berated the student.
“Ah, sorry for my lack of manners. I am Mystral, level 248 [Galeforce], or speed oriented wind mage, one could say. This is my third year as a temporary enrollment student. I also work as a Soguva Herder in my free time.”
“You can have a seat in one of the bone chairs. How’d you rank in the Spire, Mystral?” Sofia asked as she served herself a glass of water from the other side of the room.
“Not great, I reached floor thirty…”
“That’s still something. And what made you go after me in particular?”
“You were the largest teacher in my level range and my spells aren’t exactly very precise, so that made you the best target,” the man explained as he cautiously sat down on a Skeleton chair of Sofia’s living room, “Are you a new necromancy teacher? Etrenam was at the ceremony too…”
“Eh, we should introduce ourselves too, I’m Sofia, but I guess teacher Vakaria works too, I’m teaching Summon fighting strategy. Meanwhile Astelia…”
“It will be teacher Glacier for him,” she interjected, sounding serious but with a smile on her face, “I am the new space magic teacher.”
“A Saint and an Oracle… You ladies are both pretty powerful for your level, it is no surprise you were accepted as teachers at Brighthall. I knew snatching a token pouch from the established teachers wouldn’t be easy but it seems the newcomers are just as qualified. Congratulations on the job, and miss Glacier, I look forward to taking your classes.”
“Then it will be my pleasure to teach you.”
“Ah, I’m thinking of taking them too,” Sofia chimed in.
“Really? You could have asked me to teach you during our free time like last time…”
“Why? I want to see how you fare as a teacher. I’m sure your classes will be incredible.”
Sofia happily stared at Astelia, it’s too easy to make her blush.
Astelia and Sofia started chatting as if the man did not exist, Sofia sculpting bone figurines on her bed and Astelia walking around on the ceiling. Taking advantage of a moment of prolonged silence, Mystral asked a question.
“Hum, it might be a bit presumptuous, but since it looks like I am to be locked in here until tomorrow, would you accept giving me a private lesson? I can pay…”
Astelia answered from the ceiling, “What do you want to learn?”
“I was impressed by Lady Vakaria’s flying prowess, I would greatly appreciate it if she had advice to give on that front…”
“Hmm, I might be able to help a bit. But inside the room is a bit restrictive for a flying lesson. You were not half bad yourself honestly. Let’s see. You give me and Astelia a class on how other teachers manage their classes, what they teach and how they do it, how they do tests, those kinds of details, and I give you flying advice I learned from copying an Avian friend. Deal?”
“That would be my honor, teacher Vakaria,” Mystral answered with a curt bow from his chair.
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