Hillhold Academy lived up to its name. The forest faded away into fertile, flat fields as they approached the stronghold, and their gazes were forced upwards. Buildings started at the bottom of the hill- wooden structures similar in construct to the ones in Talonia, interspersed with gray stone towers that craned over the town. There were a few more towers on the otherwise empty hillside, leading up to a walled stronghold at the top of the hill.

The walls at the top were fashioned from the same material as the towers, and were short but sturdy. They lined right at the edge of where the hill’s incline started to level out, negating whatever downsides their diminutive side could’ve had.

Past the walls, Kai could faintly make out a cluster of both stone and wooden buildings, but his view of most of the academy was still blocked by the hill and walls.

[Not exactly what I expected from a magic academy. I didn’t think it would be surrounded by… this.]

Kai looked around as he walked, but he couldn’t see anything out of place.

[The fields. I guess it makes sense that they need something to eat, but I always imagined a forlorn castle, hidden in the woods.]

What exactly would compel her to think something like that? Even back home, most sects relied on the surrounding mortal settlements for food. Where does she think all of the veggies she ate back home came from?

Compared to the forlorn castle in Halia’s mind, the place in front of them was bustling with life. A few farmer’s children ran around aimlessly on the dirt road ahead, not wanting to prick their feet on the corn straw littering the fields on one side of the road.

When they saw the incoming group, they stopped playing around and moved to the side of the road, excited expressions on their faces.

“Mage Entil! Did you kill any scary beasts while you were out in the forest?”

One of the kids looked up at the lackey who’d defended Soren previously, and Entil took a few steps forward.

“There were a few, but they were no match for a group of strong mages like us!”

Kai watched as the kids gathered around the tier 2 mages. His first impressions of his new companions had been a bit off the mark.

Over the past two days of traveling, Kai had gotten to learn a bit more about Soren’s group. Both Entil and Lonn weren’t the children of original academy members, but they’d still ended up as members of the Heritage faction.

Entil was the more talkative of the two, and ended up carrying the conversation every time the group spoke. He was a few years older than Kai, and had just turned twenty. Three years prior, he’d been scouted from a settlement west of the academy.

That’s the same direction we’re coming from. His hometown, Ledville, is southwest of here. I haven’t seen a map of the area yet, but there’s a good chance that it’s the closest settlement to the recently-destroyed Talonia.

Kai looked back down at where Entil was now holding a toad the kids had captured.

He certainly seems to be familiar with these kids. I’d bet that this guy has traveled through here before, at least a few times.

Kai’s gaze traveled over to Lonn. Similar to Entil, he had been recruited from a nearby settlement, and was now a 3rd year student at Hillhold. He was also a member of the Heritage faction, but seemed considerably more distant to both Entil and Soren. Kai couldn’t tell if he just had a quieter personality, or if there was some other reason.

All three of the other ‘rescue squad’ members were also part of the Heritage faction, making Sydney the only member of the opposition group present. Owl was an assistant professor whose advancement had slowed to a crawl after reaching tier 3, and Lucas, the knight trainee, was already a 4th year student. Despite being younger than two of the other members, Soren still seemed to be the leader of their group, and was also the most talented.

[This dude seems pretty proud of reaching Level 25. If you’d stayed out in the wilderness and continued hunting tier 2 beasts, you probably would have reached that level in under a month.]

That wouldn’t have been a good idea, though. I was always able to defeat enemies at the same cultivation level as me back home, because I trained my actual skills instead of just cultivation. If I can use the academy’s resources to adapt my old Qi techniques for use with mana, my strength will skyrocket even quicker than if I kept hunting beasts.

Kai couldn’t neglect the networking opportunities that lay in Hillhold, either. If he wanted to rekindle the Crescent Moon Sect, he would need to find some allies first.

“Entil, who is that scary-looking guy?”

One of the farmer kids pointed over at Kai, and one of the other children smacked the kid’s hand down.

“Scary? He looks really cool!”

[Fufufu…]

Halia let out an inexplicable chuckle as Kai leaned down to greet the kids.

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“I’m the first disci- ahem. I’m Kai. You there, the one with the blonde hair. You will grow up to be a great warrior.”

After praising the kid who’d called him cool, Kai straightened up again, his hands subtly brushing his robes as he took a more suitable pose.

“R- really?! I want to be as cool as you some day!”

Stars shone in the kid’s eyes as he stared up at Kai.

[Huh. I’m surprised.]

Kai raised his hand to rake his hair back, hiding his mouth long enough to mutter out a question for Halia.

“What do you mean?”

[When Enla told me you recruited new members for our sect, I always assumed that you kidnapped them. Maybe I was wrong.]

Why the hell would she think that? Sure, that is what a lot of other sects around us did, but I wouldn’t stoop that low. A sect can’t grow without people who are truly loyal to it!

Kai’s expression fell as he recalled the phoenix’s last dive toward their sect. Enla, and all of the sect’s minor disciples had all perished in its flames. Some had come searching for strength, and others had been recruited by Kai.

“Alright, we need to be getting back to the academy to make our report. Make sure to tell your folks that I say hello!”

Entil gave one of the kids a pat on the head, and the group started moving toward the academy again. The fields started to fade away as they approached, replaced by a small town comparable to Talonia. People in plain clothes milled about on the streets, and a few people called out to Kai’s group.

They also saw a few people wearing similar uniforms as the mages, though most of them wore robes of the same color as Brewan. They spotted a couple second-year students, and as they walked, Halia called out various people’s mana levels.

Almost everyone they spotted, even including the farmer kids, had at least some mana. Their tiny mana pools weren’t even enough to reach level 1. The first year students all had strengths roughly in the same ballpark as Brewan before their week stranded in the wilderness. Their average level was 6.

[Brewan- Level 11]

A week of cycling battle and research sessions with Halia had rapidly driven Brewan’s level up, until he completely outmatched everyone else in his grade that they ran into. He was nearly as strong as the second year students.

It was still a long way from Entil, Lonn, and Lucas, all of whom were Level 21.

I wonder if I can take them in a fight. I’d lose out to Lucas in physical strength, but I doubt he’d be able to block my attacks if I use my technique. The mages are probably a bit tougher without having a movement ability.

Kai’s gaze wandered over toward Soren.

I’d definitely lose. His lightning bolt practically fried that boar, and it’s way too fast to dodge.

After cutting through the center of the town, the group started to ascent the main path of the hill. Without the wooden buildings from the town crowding the streets, Kai was able to get a better view of the odd stone towers scattered around both the hillside and the town.

“Formation anchors.”

Entil noticed Kai looking up at the structures and started to explain.

“Ours are much stronger than the ones in settlements. A single one of these towers can stall a tier 3 beast long enough for a professor to come and destroy it.”

Kai looked skeptically up at the stone construct. It didn’t look bad per say, but…

Is mana a lot worse than Qi for formations, or are these just not that good? Even without seeing these ones in action, I can tell that the ones Edwin made back at the sect were much better. Now that I think about it, his original formation technique was also left behind by the sect’s founder, too...

Kai glanced over at the tower a few more times as they climbed the hillside, then refocused on the structure in front of them. A wide gate, large enough for two carriages to fit through side by side, was already open at the top of the hill. A few figures stood around just inside the wall’s confines, and they looked over as Kai’s group entered.

“Soren, it didn’t take you long to return! Weren’t you traveling to Talonia?”

Another third-year mage was the speaker, and his eyes stretched open a bit wider as he saw Sydney standing in the back of Soren’s group. No one even noticed Kai’s regal figure in the middle of the group.

Hm, this is probably good. If I can stay here long enough to figure out techniques without getting into whatever political conflicts there are under the surface here, I’ll be happy. I’ll help Sydney out if I have the opportunity, but I’m not getting tangled up in this academy’s inner workings.

“Are there any professors available right now? We need to make a report.”

Multiple of the surrounding students grimaced.

“Most of them are out stopping a beast tide that sprung up north of the sect… so there’s only one left here right now.”

It wasn’t uncommon for assistant professors like Owl to teach the majority of a course- especially considering that the top professors were also the strongest mages the academy had- so most of them being gone normally wouldn’t be an issue.

“... it’s Golal, isn’t it?”

Kai heard a tone of defeat in Soren’s voice for the first time as the surrounding students all nodded. One of them looked up, then scurried away from Soren. The other nearby students quickly followed the first’s lead.

“Why hello there!”

A raspy voice echoed through the air. It sounded similar to some of the ancient monsters Kai had seen in passing before- the ones who looked so old that one couldn’t be sure if they were actually still alive. The tone didn’t fit, though. It was the voice of a raspy, dying old man with the tone of a cocky teenager. Physically, though, the man now hovering in the air over the group looked middle-aged.

[Speak of the Golal, and he shall appear. Heh.]

[Golal- Level 44]

“I noticed that you’ve found our lost student, Little Soren”

[Huh, this guy even sounds like the devil. Or a chain smoker. You should ask him if he accidentally inhaled a fire spell.]

“We need to make a report. Do you know when the other professors will retu-”

Soren was cut off as a gust of wind swept over the group. Above them, Golal flew a bit higher in the air before speaking again. His raspy voice was barely audible at a distance.

“Do not worry, Little Soren. Follow me to my office, I will assist you there.”

With that, Golal soared through the air again, disappearing further into the academy campus.

How exactly are we supposed to follow him…?

In front of him, Soren let out a long sigh, then looked back at Kai.

“Welcome to Hillhold Academy, where most of the professors are sane.”