Maximus began to recall memories from his past trying to link them to the message but he did not understand much, but he made sure of a few things:
- - First, the end is much closer than before.
- - Second, his actions control the speed of the end and that is a big problem.
- - Third, when the message said two servants here, it probably meant in the other world, but we faced and defeated one final enemy, does it count as one of the servants?
- - Fourth, what does the Book of Knowledge have to do with what is happening now? Who wrote it in the first place?
The last question lingered through his head and did not receive a satisfactory answer. He realized that thinking too long now is a waste of precious time on a question that he may soon find an answer for it.
'Thank you for your help, follow me now and we will reward you generously and return you to your homes. If similar visions occur, come back as quickly as possible and ask for my presence if it is really urgent.'
'No thanks for a duty; we will not forget your request.'
They left the room successively and a guard drove them to collect their rewards and then go home. Maximus rested after finally dropping another burden and decided to celebrate and invite his old comrades, remembering someone else who was not here at the academy. A fellow knight who left the academy after it ended and returned only a few times in the meetings.
'I wonder where she is now. Let's send a telepathic message to her so I instantly know where she is.'
He raised his right palm to the level of his waist and began to form a magic circle, a green ring doubled with runic letters and inside it many symbols and geometric shapes in an orange color, he installed all its elements and minified it to the size of two fingers and then put his fingers on his forehead and began to talk. The 'unconditional telepathy' spell was of the seventh grade and allowed communication with the person wherever he was as long as these three conditions were met: the person is alive, not in an isolated space, possessing mana even a small amount.
'Anastasia, do you hear me? If the answer is yes, respond please.'
Somewhere in the southwest of the continent, a woman in her thirties with fiery red hair and knight clothes sitting on the balcony of a villa contemplating the sea until she was interrupted by whispers in her ear, this spell was rarely used because it lacks usefulness, its importance lies in wars to provide instructions and transmit information in real time.
"It's been a long time since the last telepathic message I heard. Who is this person? His voice sounds a bit familiar."
'Yes, I can hear you. Who's with me?'
'It's me, Maximus, I know my voice has changed a lot from the last time but there's no trick in hand.'
'Did something happen? Need help?'
It is her first time in at least two years since she heard his voice but it is different from what she remembered. There weren't so many special things going on in her life and by chance Maximus called to break this boring routine.
'I wanted to invite you to meet us this evening at the Academy, a meeting of old colleagues if it is possible.'
'My current location is very far away, I cannot come, time is not sufficient for me.'
Maximus smiled at her words and then replied to her, specifying her approximate location via the secondary spell he attached to this spell. The accuracy of the spell was not high because it covered the entire continent and the distance is very far, at least thousands of miles.
'Just tell me and I'll come pick you up. It won't take minutes.'
Anastasia sighed at his words, thinking it was a clumsy joke from him. Long-distance teleportation is a difficult task to apply and use and she knows that.
"Did he hit his head recently? Doesn't he know the difficulty of immediate long-term transmission?"
She decided to try her luck and told him where she was to see if he was really serious.
'At the Gulf of World Gate, head twenty miles north with the coast and you will find a villa. That's where I live.'
'So, five minutes and I'll come. Prepare yourself until I arrive.'
'I'm ready anyway. I'm waiting for you.'
Anastasia forgot that he was using telepathy without knowing its location, a seventh-grade spell just like long-distance teleportation. She hit her head for not noticing earlier. She told the servants to take care of the villa in her absence and kept waiting for the guest to come.
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Two minutes no more, a knock on the main door. A man in a gray robe that covers his entire body making his facial features not visible. The guard opened the door and asked him for his identity without lowering his caution.
'Tell the owner that an old friend is waiting for her, she will understand the rest on her own.'
'You don't have to tell me, I'm here. I felt a strong presence and decided to welcome it myself.'
'Oh, you're already here, so let's go. I don't want us to be late.'
Maximus took off his headscarf and his features appeared, a man in his fifties who looked like an older Maximus, his voice resembled him. Anastasia's mind could not handle the inconsistencies her eyes had just seen.
'You really are!! But, what happened to you?'
'I'll explain it later to you and everyone else as well. Let's move first.'
It was about half past six and the bright blue of the sky became reddish as the minutes passed. It is still early, but there is no point in delaying any longer, and Maximus set the teleportation circle within seconds and the two were already in the academy's lobby.
'This place is still as attractive as ever, where are we going now?'
'Let's go call others now.'
'Haven't you invited them yet? You're kidding, right?'
'No, I'm not kidding. I started with you first because I'm sure the others will accept the invitation as they are all here anyway.'
She found no response to Maximus' answer, which he looked at with a sideways look.
'You have a point of view.'
From inside, she was boiling like a cauldron full of coal. She was embarrassed from the start, with her mood getting sour quite easily.
"That, I didn't even find a proper response. This is embarrassing..."
'You don't need to find a response to every word. Sometimes silence is an answer.'
He whispered in her ear after understanding what she was thinking from her facial expressions and then continued walking until they reached the headmaster’s office. Maximus knocked on the door and entered after he had permission. Albus got surprised from the guest who came with Maximus and welcomed the two.
'Oooooooo It's been a long time since I last saw you. Please have a seat.'
'It has been two years, headmaster. You look a little tired.'
Albus sighed and turned towards Maximus in a sarcastic tone.
'It's because of someone; they cause problems and blame me. I'd kill him if you wanted to help me.'
'What happened between the two of you? Hold on a second.... It's really the same voice.'
Anastasia's sensations fluctuated several times in seconds like a rollercoaster, not understanding at first what had happened but starting to tie the strings together. Maximus was in charge of the Universal Declaration that took place nearly two weeks ago.
'What's really happening? I feel like a fool between the two of you.'
'I don't disagree much, he's the one who does everything and throws the burdens on me.'
'The other three are remaining, then I'll tell you all together what happened before and what's going to happen. I will explain the reasons for my actions.'
Albus finally felt comfortable for the first time in a while. His curiosity will be told today finally.
'Finally... You will answer every question for me. I will not accept rejection or “later”.'
'No problem, I'll bring the rest here and then we'll go to a great restaurant I know.'
Maximus got up and went out somewhere to bring the rest in his own ways.
............
'Finally the ticking bomb left. How have you been lately, Anastasia? I heard you reached the seventh star promotion test two years ago.'
'Oh, about this, this was days after I visited you and I never had the opportunity to visit again. Recently I reached the peak of the seventh star; I couldn't find a way to breakthrough to the eighth star.'
'Your method might be probably wrong. To rise to the last rank in any field, it is not just about talent or training. It may require special circumstances for its success.'
She was surprised that she had never heard such words before, or rather no one had told her, which could be called the secret of the profession.
'I've never heard of such thing before. Is this possible?'
'Yes, I have conducted research and studies concerning the conditions of most of those who have reached the level of the great master. Each of them had circumstances that pushed them to exceed their limits. I also had circumstances that contributed to my breakthrough.'
The conversation continued for a few minutes until the rest attended and Maximus interrupted their interesting dialogue.
'You're right about this, but what you don't know is that there's an artificial way to do it.'
'Here you do it again, I am sure you will not tell me about it even though you promised me earlier.'
'It wasn't part of our deal so there's no reason for me to tell you about it. You will find out for yourself at the auction pool. I promise.'
It is nice to see Albus fall victim to Maximus again. (Do not try this at home!)
'Good evening everyone. There is a guest here. Time has passed since the last meeting.'
Ederson greeted her first, followed by Mark and finally Emily and the conversation lasted for a few minutes.
'Can we stop here? Let us go eat and continue our conversation there. The guest of honor is our former teacher and current director of the Academy, Mr. Albus the Wizard of Dusk.'
Former colleagues were excited to reunite after a long time and most importantly, to find out the truth about what happened to their friend during his absence...