Day 80

The Dark Guild never stopped. Their pursuit to get rid of me had progressed into eliminating Silvia and Ruby, not just me alone. Fortunately, my comrades were not spineless prey. Silvia, with her swordsmanship, had sharpened herself through a thousand sparring duels with me, and Ruby, from his tumultuous upbringing, was turning into a force to be reckoned with.

The assassins that tried to eliminate them escaped, battered or were killed. The Dark Guild must have learned by now people like us aren't pushovers; we are hardly the type to underestimate. Each failure was simply proof that they were further out of options than ever. On the other hand, things were going great for us at the Adventurer's Guild.

Days of non-stop quests and hard-fought battles finally paid off, and I was officially promoted to B Rank. It felt good standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Silvia, who had already earned her place at that rank. That, however, wasn't the only celebration for us. We registered Ruby as an adventurer just three days ago.

Though still a beginner, the Guild welcomed him straight away after witnessing his great potential in magic. Ruby was thrilled to get some experience for himself, and if truth be told, registration does come with a lot of great perks, such as lower-priced gear and lodging. It was a proud moment when Ruby stepped up to take his first quest. He was growing fast-not just in strength but also in his perception of the world.

Day 84

It was finally the day of the entrance exam at Kreel Academy. The academy buzzed with all sorts of examinees coming in from every walk of life to prove their worth. Silvia, Ruby, and I were part of this crowd. The first challenge was the written exam designed to test the basics: middle school-level mathematics, language comprehension, and elemental magic theories (for mages only).

Thankfully, I had taught Silvia and Ruby on those subjects for days. It was child's play for someone like me, an ex-Earthling, but, for them, a crash course on subjects that they'd never even had exposure to. The practical tests were started right after the written exams were completed. The examiners rated each of them based on their chosen profession.

In Silvia's case, who applied to be a Swordsman, she would have a duel one-on-one against an A-Rank Adventurer Swordsman. In the case of Ruby and me, we had chosen Mage, and the magic practical test was on order. Ruby and I dealt with the magic practical in style. The objective was simple: to cast a spell that would destroy the targets.

Ruby, inexperienced though he was, left the examiners slack-jawed with the raw power and accuracy that he brought to casting Fire Magic so potent that it cleaned the walls behind the targets. My turn had come. With one spell, I broke all the targets in a fiery blaze, leaving no doubt that we had aced the test. Meanwhile, Silvia was a crowd-pleaser during her duel.

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Her opponent was an experienced A-Rank Adventurer who underestimated her at first. But as the duel progressed, Silvia proved why she was a B-Rank Adventurer, holding her own with sheer skill and tenacity. She didn't win—she wasn't expected to—but going toe-to-toe with such a formidable opponent was impressive enough to earn the examiners' respect.

By the end of the day, we left the grounds of the academy feeling triumphant. Silvia was a ball of energy and couldn't stop beaming with pride from her duel; Ruby was just content in a quiet sort of way.

Day 89

On the day of the results, tension was in the air. The crowds at the announcement board for ranking were huge. We pushed our way through with Silvia, Ruby, and ourselves until we could finally see the list. And then, there it was, three of our names shining out brightly on that top 10 list.

Not only had we passed, but we'd secured scholarships, meaning no tuition fees to suck out our funds. Ruby almost leaped for joy, his excitement infectious as he clapped his hands and wagged his imaginary tail like an overgrown puppy. Silvia smiled with satisfaction, though I knew she was just as pleased.

As we left the board, drunk in victory, a voice boomed out into the academy's courtyard: "Classes will begin in two days!" Two years of education and training and—coming clean now—I imagine more than a bit of lunacy before graduation. "Two years," I said aloud to no one in particular. "Damn…" Silvia nudged me gently with her elbow, "What's wrong? Going to cry about a little old schoolwork?"

I laughed. "Nah... I'm just trying to wrap my head around staying in one place for that long." Ruby tilted his head and clearly still didn't grasp the weight of the commitment. But his enthusiasm was enough to wash out any remaining unease.

Day 98

One week had elapsed since the first day of Kreel Academy. Days looked quite mundane on the surface, yet somehow, our group found ourselves immersed in a series of interesting lectures. Among the very exciting subjects was a magic technique called Element Combination, which was pretty intriguing.

It was simple yet extraordinary: merging two or three elemental magics allowed for entirely new kinds of magic. For example, combining Earth and Fire Magic yields Lava Magic, and combining Wind and Water Magic yields Ice Magic. It was no speculation but an idea to make something that could revolutionize the world's understanding of magic.

This invention belonged to Renford Castillon, the son of Earl Castillon and the first ruler of the newly born Castillon Kingdom. The guy who is known for putting an end to a coup attempt over the Yelarien Kingdom. They said he was 10 years old when he discovered Element Combination. Apparently, Renford wasn't only a genius but also had Merlin Syndrome.

This rare condition granted him a mana pool far bigger than that of an average aristocrat and even comparable to that of mythical beasts. The professors spoke of him with reverence, calling him one of the most talented magicians in history. I couldn't help but be amazed at what the guy had achieved. To reshape the world of magic and politics at this age. It was both inspiring and intimidating at the same time.