The breeze was refreshing and carried with it the sounds of birds singing. Distantly, Cal could hear a low hum of activity.

It was a nice coincidence that this world operated on a five-day on, two-day off weekly schedule. They used weird names for them but he mentally replaced them with what he knew.

Today would normally be the day he would take his Senior year courses, the second and fourth days of the week. Given that they weren't set up to start until next week, he had the day off.

The dormitory he resided in lay close to the clock tower and on the eastern side of the main campus walkway. With their accommodations on the southern part of the building, the balcony gave Cal a decent view of the central portions of the Academy.

With the morning sun, he could see that damned registration building much clearer.

Wards should not be able to kill him, not like that. Even accounting for the strongest ones he'd ever encountered, he should have gotten the barest of heads up and been able to resist for a moment. Instead, they flicked the switch and he dropped dead. It was like they went through a back door, his defenses bypassed. Which, to his chagrin, was how covenants worked.

After the initial revelation, he had the good sense to not storm over there and demand answers. That would be the actions of old Cal, new Cal was a professional who would collect critical information and then craft a number of potential options before choosing the best path. If the best path happened to be beating whatever that thing was to a pulp? Well, then that would just be good luck.

"Shouldn't you be on your way?" Alice's voice came from the living space where she sat at her laptop working on something. "It would be a waste of our efforts if your delay causes one of your selected classes to fill up"

"Quick question, if you pushed a fourth year down from here would they be alright?"

"I'd imagine so-" She responded absentmindedly before snapping up at him. "I feel I shouldn't need to say this. Out of an abundance of caution, do NOT push students from balconies."

"Nothing like that" He put some strength in his arm and vaulted over the railing. Propelling himself past the walkway below and towards a small park area adjacent to it. The wind buffeting him did wonders in drowning out the reprimand Alice had undoubtedly begun.

Lily had the right idea on that. Their room was on the fifth floor and navigating the halls and staircases wasn't worth the hassle when it had a convenient door leading directly outside.

A slight bit of his own wind cushioned his landing and he started walking towards where the faculty buildings lay. He'd needed to consult his map briefly but eventually located the right building.

He didn't bear it much thought and climbed the small number of stone steps before entering and locating a directory. His eyes searched the board until he found his homeroom teacher. Said teacher's door was closed but there was a mailbox by it so he just slipped his selection in it and called it a job well done.

After his delivery, Cal had a quiet breakfast which was a welcome reprieve. Sadly, that was soon to end. Or it was supposed to have.

He sat on a bench and tapped his foot impatiently, the other party was meant to be here already. As if waiting for that cue, he spotted a disheveled Ryan dashing down the path.

"Sorry" Ryan said between breaths after coming to a stop in front of Cal. "Over slept and all" He plopped down beside him. "Speaking of sleep. I bet you didn't get much either last night"

Cal tensed. There was no way he should know that.

"Got it in one didn't I?" Ryan gloated. "You know you really should be more careful about getting caught"

What was he talking about? Cal hadn't even begun to do anything suspicious, aside from dying a couple of times. If he did know something…

"Man, you got a scary look on your face." Ryan was remarkably calm for someone so close to death. "But seriously, nice job. Not sure how you did it but that's some quick work"

"What the hells are you talking about?" he asked, a silly grin forming on Ryan's face.

It grew as Ryan fished out his phone and displayed its screen to him. "You know there are better spots on campus for that sort of thing, if you ever need some tips just give me a shout and I'll give you a few. I'll have to keep the best for myself, you understand."

On the screen someone had captured the image of a boy and girl stopped in the middle of a path. Their bodies inches apart, the girl staring intensely up into the boy's eyes. The blue sky and flowers in the background framed the picture. Credit to the photographer, even knowing that she was threatening him there it looked like a romantic postcard.

Cal gave a low groan. "That's not what it looks like, where did you even get that?"

On the bright side, he didn't have to figure out how to silence the kid. He was joking about hurting him but threatening or disappearing him for a while were on the table.

Ryan gave a laugh "Sure buddy, whatever you say and the forums of course. Where else?" Getting up, he stretched a bit. "Anyways let's get a move on. I promised a tour and there's lots to see."

"You got that right" Cal agreed. "Why don't we start with the server rooms."

No one would complain if he yanked a bunch of cables out, would they?

"The what rooms?" Ryan asked with a tilt of his head.

"Never mind then" Cal brushed it off, forgetting how new this all was to them "Let's just get a move on"

What followed was surprisingly informative. Ryan knew the campus well, which should be a given as he'd essentially lived on it for several years. They hadn't had the chance to see everything but a good portion had been covered. The stables were of particular interest but students were barred from the area unless they rented a stall or were enrolled in a corresponding course.

Shame none of those were available, he'd tried his hand at taming before and was met with poor results.

Throughout the tour, he began to see a pattern in the quality of the buildings his classes had been in. There was a wide range of different styles and sizes but his were undoubtedly on the poor side. He'd tried subtly asking about that and the response was simple. Better classes in better buildings.

Duh.

Which meant he'd inadvertently set up his schedule in some of the most likely places for a ritual to occur. Did Millie's genius finally rub off on him? If so it was about time.

As they passed the registration building he took the opportunity to ask the question he'd been holding onto all morning.

"What do you know about that place." he pointed to the ominous structure of black stone.

"Registration?" Ryan shook his head a little. "Not much, just that it's one of the oldest buildings on campus."

"What about the guy that works there?" Cal pressed further.

"Guy?" Ryan turned to him with his brow slightly furrowed. "What do you mean by that? Lots of people work there."

"You sure about that?" It was Cal's turn to be confused. "There was only one creepy guy working when I went before."

"It's been a few years since I was in there. Aside from setting up the covenant, there's no reason to go there." Ryan responded distractedly while checking his phone "But from what I remember there were a bunch of staff members handing it. They might have scaled down since then. Or since you were the only transitional year student they banked on none of the new Seniors coming in early and that guy happened to get the short straw?"

"That's probably it then" Cal nodded on the surface. "You said we were meeting the others for lunch?"

"Yep, just finished texting them." Ryan seemed shaken when Cal had admitted to only having eaten at the central dining hall. "They'll meet us there so let's not make them wait"

Cal wasn't thrilled about meeting all of them again but it would be nice to have a couple more options for eating.

—

Lunch was marginally better than the central dining hall. It was also on the other side of campus compared to his dorm. Since it was located near two of his classes, he predicted he'd visit again. The conversations with the group, which consisted of the addition of Jessica and Anne were light.

Gregor was notably absent. No one commented on it.

He had to put up with a bit of teasing about that picture and Jessica had to stop Anne who wanted far more details than existed, aside from that it was pleasant enough.

They split up afterward. He hadn't asked the girls about the registration building, but that didn't mean he was stopping his hunt. Quite the opposite, his steps carried him into one of the largest repertoires of knowledge on the continent.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

So the Empire claims.

Standing in the center of the building, Cal felt they might not be full of hot air on this. It was suitably massive and in the shape of a pentagon. The shape was popular for ritual magic in general so it wasn't too alarming, he made a note to check the basement anyway.

The floor was dominated by all sorts of tables and a large round desk staffed in the center. He approached the desk, looking up as he did. Open space stretched up, straight to the roof. He spotted several students milling about in the above balconies. There must have been twenty floors at least.

Reaching the desk, he waited patiently for the attendant to acknowledge him. A quick conversation later and he was directed towards floor seven, section three. The home of books dedicated to the history of the Academy.

After ascending the floors, he stood in front of the section with crossed arms. That was a lot of books. Too many. Without a registry, he'd have to sort through it somehow.

Haphazardly, he started scanning the shelf close to him. Pulling out anything of interest and skimming through the pages.

In its simplest form, mental Augmentation lets you react to things on instinct. Taken to the next level, more possibilities were opened. It didn't make him any smarter and the improvement to his long-term memory was negligible.

If it had done either he wouldn't have failed the test so badly.

The real advantage was being able to fully process something in a fraction of the time.

Not learn, process.

He wouldn't become an expert in biology by flipping through some textbooks but as long as the text didn't contain any new concepts or difficult terminology he could summarize most things. For a time at least, the knowledge tended to slip away unless he continuously repeated the process.

Very useful for cramming and searching keywords.

His own off-brand version of Ctrl F.

Time passed as he went through volume after volume. Occasionally, he would slow down as he came across a promising lead but they ended in disappointment.

There were no definite answers and what answers they did give often conflicted with their peers. He hadn't kept track of what number book he was on when a voice interrupted him.

"Explain." A young woman spoke in a disapproving tone while staring at a book of her own. She was seated at a table near him that he'd failed to notice.

He did a quick scan on himself, finding nothing amiss. He must have been more out of it than originally thought.

Seeing her attention still off him he pointed at himself cautiously. "You talking to me?"

"Yes" came her single-word reply.

It was a recognizable action and he felt silly for not realizing earlier that this was the same girl who'd led him to the written test. Well, he was bad with faces and hers especially looked forgettable. With her oval face and matching brown hair and eyes, she wasn't unattractive, rather it seemed she lacked the flair or presence other students tended to have.

He placed his recently finished book back where he found it before grabbing another.

"Research" He responded in a similar manner.

"Stop." she said while methodically turning a page.

"Don't think I will" He said flippantly. Skimming the newly held book and finding nothing of interest. He placed it back and walked a couple of steps down before finding another to check.

"You're being disrespectful" her voice rose the slightest bit. It was also the most amount of words he'd heard her string together so he must have been properly getting on her nerves.

He remembered his conversation with Lily. This girl's uniform looked as standard as his. Two things stood out, the silver hair clip holding part of her short hair and a small dull round pin on her collar. So no, she didn't look important.

"Not sure what your issue is. I'm being pretty quiet about it." He pointed out to the balcony where he could see students laughing on the other side. "Not like those clowns"

"Writers" He was about to ask for a follow-up when her mouth opened again. He noticed her clutch her chest for a second. "It's their work you're treating carelessly."

So that's what she's on about.

"They're all long dead from what I see, but don't worry I'll apologize when I see them." The hold on her current page tightened but he continued before she could retort "Besides, none of them have what I'm looking for."

"Elaborate."

He considered her request. Advertising his interest wasn't his intent but he'd take the risk if it meant finding what he was looking for. "I'm looking for records on the registration building."

"Several of the books you discarded hold related information." She said slowly as if holding something back. "A Modest Record by Gustavo Cevlar was in your hands not ten minutes ago."

"Modest?" He wasn't reserved with his feedback. "It was an autobiography in anything but name and only makes a passing reference to the building to say its construction materials match those of the walls. Which anyone with eyes could tell but the man makes out to be a major discovery. Total braggart."

For the first time, she looked up from the book at him. The hint of irritation on her face slowly faded, replaced by something he couldn't place.

"Anthology of the Founders." she spoke as a teacher proctoring an oral exam.

"Snippets of pretentious assholes. One of them talks about the Academy being the greatest love letter which, references the belief it was founded by the god Amir to court the goddess Inis." he placed the book he still held back on the shelf "but that's contradicted in the same book by saying the fifth emperor founded it in an effort to strengthen the Empire's bonds."

"Why the focus on this?"

"Curiosity." He walked over, leaning over one of the chairs opposite her. "I registered earlier this week and the whole thing creeped me out"

She placed a ribbon in her book and closed it, keeping her gaze on him. He took the silent cue to continue.

"You can't tell me it's not a little bit weird. Big old room with a single desk and blind-looking man staffing it"

She hummed a little. The edges of her lips upturned. He felt like there was a joke he wasn't in on.

"The books you read. Have you read their references?" He shook his head in response to her question. "That is where your folly lies. If you had, you'd notice a pattern of historians accrediting the same primary source. A living source."

He went through a range of books. The newest were from the previous century while the oldest were not of this millennia.

He made a jump in logic.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" His eyes widened at her nod. "I thought there might be some hidden around the world. To think a Spirit would be here."

Spirits were relics of the Age of Gods. Forces of nature who were supposed to be wiped out during the Fall.

"Curious, that you assume so readily its identity."

"We're talking about something that could live for millennia. There are only three things that come immediately to mind. It acted too freely to be an automaton and didn't-" He was about to admit it hadn't felt like a demon. "The Academy wouldn't allow a demon in its walls"

He recalled an appropriate quote. "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

"Wise words" She closed her eyes with a content look "It is a Spirit. A mischievous one at that. Most who go through registration spot no irregularities but occasionally it decides to show its true form to a student. Similarly, it has given different accounts of its origins and that of the Academy. Some speculated it may be senile given its age but we don't have any others of its kind to compare against."

"Well that's not at all worrying." he said dryly. The concept of a highly powerful and forgetful being in charge of the wards that could determine the life and death of everyone on campus was unsettling.

"It pulled the same trick on me." That made him feel better, so he hadn't been singled out "I thought myself mad for a little before discovering the truth of the matter. I've been able to speak to it since then and it has been lucid."

"Good to hear. I think. In any case, that's what was bothering me so thanks…" He let it hang a second before realizing he couldn't recall her name.

Embarrassing since he was pretty sure he heard it a couple of days ago. He gave the chair he leaned against a tap before leaving, pretending that's how he meant to end the conversation.

A Spirit huh? That narrowed his options. He gravitated towards one he was very good at.

He faintly heard "Mia" muttered before he reached the staircase.