'I'll start first, sir.'

'Tell me every word, don't twist even a letter.'

'I found a bloody gate in a cave of white roots, I felt as if it was calling me, as I approached it the following words appeared: The past will not repeat itself and your enemy is not who you thought, the next is worse than the past.'

He examined his memories quickly as he had tried with Hearts before and it was done very quickly the opposite of what had gone before and was exactly the same as his words. The difference was that it happened the day after his return and here was the surprise.

"Were they not on the same day? This is something new. Let's check this woman next."

He stared at the woman and pointed to her to tell him as well. She stuttered at the first words but continued normally later.

'M-My turn? Y-Yes. Just as he said, but the message was quite different: the Book of Knowledge is looking for you, it is waiting for you eagerly. Don't be late on it.'

Maximus' expressions were completely frozen for seconds when he remembered his worst memory of the otherworld, the Book of Knowledge. He lost control of himself, his aura overflowed, and it pressed the two witnesses until tears flowed from their eyes and they felt their chests tearing. Within seconds, he realized that he had lost control of himself, restraining himself in an instant and removing the pressure from the two who were writhing on the ground from the intensity of the pain. It is a rage that is difficult to conceal, but it was not a sufficient justification to harm innocent people.

'I sincerely apologize; I lost my rationality for a while. I will reward you both well for this information. Rest a little and we'll move on.'

He helped them stand up and then sat for a while until their restless breath subsided and the three moved. Maximus took them to the director's office and then walked towards his friend.

'It worked out yesterday; the two witnesses were really honest. Here they are behind me. Ask someone to reward each of them with five gold coins and return them safely to their homes.'

'Thank you for your generosity, sir.'

The two bowed and thanked Maximus for his generosity with them. Then they stepped aside and stood in the side of the room waiting for a response from the heavenly magician. The headmaster called on a servant working in this building to guide the three to give them their reward and drive them to their residence. After several turns, the four of them arrived at the Academy's finance office. Five gold coins were not small at all; you could buy a modest house in a rural area, open a shop or get your kids into a prestigious school.

'We have arrived, sir, let me talk to the official to explain the situation.'

The butler knocked on the door, then went into the office and spoke to the finance officer.

'What do you have to say? Hurry up; I'm busy with work right now.'

'The director asked me to reward these two people with five gold coins each and two guards to drive them home.'

She got up and opened the magic safe that was placed behind her, took out ten gold coins, wrapped each five coins in a piece of paper, presented them to the servant, and hurriedly returned to her seat.

'If you have nothing else leave. Go down to the guard post and ask two guards to do it. Tell them it is an order from the manager and they will do it.'

'Thanks for the service. See you later.'

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The servant then went out, gave the two rewards to the two witnesses, and then turned to Maximus.

'I can take them myself to the guard post. Don't bother yourself, sir.'

'Thank you for your help, and so are you. If there is anything new, let me know. And you, ask the guards to register their names and let them in right away next time.'

Maximus turned towards the young man and lady first and then to the servant. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned and headed towards one of the corridors.

'Then follow me.'

'Let's go.'

The three moved in the opposite direction heading for the guard post.

Maximus returned to Albus's office overwhelmed by what he had just heard and seen, he did not expect to hear such things here.

‘What is wrong with you now, colleague?'

'I wandered in my thoughts after remembering something I didn't want to remember. An idea came to my mind and I want your opinion on it as a colleague and friend.'

'Ask as you please.'

'Do you remember the mana storage technique I showed to you earlier? I suggest teaching it to all the expert masters and above. I also have a second announcement that will change the world.'

'No, no, not again. It has not even been two days and you plan to get me into more trouble.'

'It is not. It will be an announcement at the auction when the continent’s VIPs meet on and that's why I asked you to tell them that the meeting is at the auction house.'

'And are you going to tell me about that now?'

Albus, lying on the back of his chair, leaned forward eagerly waiting for an answer that would please him.

'Let it stay as a surprise, it's better.'

'You wicked one, is that how you do to your friend? I wish you had not told me then. Hurry out before I shoot you with a spell or two.'

Maximus moved instantaneously home, away from his angry friend (because of him) to let him calm down after rekindling his curiosity. He laughed at the situation and sat in his desk chair inspecting his plan and adjusting it according to developments and circumstances.

'The Book of Knowledge... Huh. Who would have imagined I would hear of it so early.'

Several thoughts began to weigh on his head.

"To what extent does the portal or the person responsible for its creation know about my return? Were there people who had these visions before returning? Does the future change based on my actions and the end getting closer the sooner I prepare for it? ....."

However, the question arose for Maximus, who wrote this book? No matter how much he thinks of an answer or even a possibility, he finds it unrealistic or illogical. The only answer was lying in that place where he found the book and identified it as his first destination when entering the other world later.

'Where is this world really going? It's like it wants to destroy itself.'

Maximus stared at the reddish-orange sky as sunset approached, misfortunes come from where you do not know and this is what displeased Maximus, who suffered a severe blow today.

---------------------------

Dante broke up with the group after eating, heading to the forest behind the dormitory to try what he learned today so he could get used to that feeling. As soon as he reached the forest, he turned himself into a shadow and merged with the shade of the trees. He started trying to give it the shape of a body and succeeded in doing so, but the feeling remained unusual, as if a paralyzed man had regained the ability to walk or as if his body was a water balloon. He began to change his shape repeatedly to harmonize with this state more and more, but the duration remained limited, so he could not get past the minute mark until now.

'Think Dante, this will not work, it takes a lot of time to practice. What can I try now?'

He would walk and wrap in a loop thinking about his next option and among the ideas was to check the potential of the shadow body.

'Wait a moment! If I merge with shadows, it allows me to move freely in the shadows and at a speed that is supposedly greater than my current speed. I'll try that.'

He searched for minutes for an empty spot of trees to try running a certain distance on his feet and in the shadow body. The sun was almost set, the shade of the trees was connected, and it would not have been an obstacle to the experiment. When finding the right spot, select the two trees by which he will measure his speed. The distance was about sixty meters, the ground was flat, and devoid of obstacles that could spoil the results. It is well suited for testing the limits of his new ability.

'I'm going to start now, going back and then touching that tree and then coming back and touching the tree I'm going to start from.'

He got ready to set off, bolstering his legs with magic, rushed very quickly, touched the tree, and then returned to the first tree with a pocket watch in his hand to calculate the time.

'Five seconds, good result. Let's complete the second test and watch for improvement.'

He repeated the same preparations, turned into a shadow, set off and came back at tremendous speed.

'Three seconds! The result is amazing, a target can be assassinated and get away in a jiffy. How amazing to have that much improvement! Let's try again tomorrow.'

Then he went back to eat with the others and then they went back to the dormitory...