The difference was notorious, between the turbulent and suffocating life of the Lower Town, the complete emptiness of the marble plaza surrounding the enclosure and the interior of the University, there was a world.

The small group had just entered what appeared to be a large plaza, in the center was a relatively imposing fountain projecting jets of water from multiple angles, forming rather exotic geometric shapes.

Statues of unknow people were carved out of the stone, making the whole thing much more solemn.

Much further, on the other side of a white building, was a huge tower easily reaching a kilometer in height which immediately caught Isaac's attention. What is more, he had not seen it from the outside, which is completely impossible given the imposing height of the building.

Was there an enchantment that made it invisible from the outside? To confirm this, Isaac decided to investigate.

As soon as his mana vision was activated, he observed the tower detailing its characteristics and analyzed the currents and movements of the mana as well as the elemental particles around it.

In the same way that the skyscrapers of his world were structured, the tower seemed to be partly made of metal pillars placed punctually on the outside. However, unlike its modern counterpart, the supports of the tower were reinforced by an enchantment looking at the magical inscriptions visible on their surface.

What's more, on top of that, a barrier seemed to have been erected around to strengthen it. The barrier was so dense that it appeared almost to the naked eye as a thin white layer covering the tower and giving it a pale color.

At its top was a strange golden sphere that intrigued Isaac not with its complex and quite exotic shape, but with the mana that surrounded it.

This is because the gold structure seemed to attract and absorb ambient mana, which Isaac concluded to be a mana absorbing device like his runes. He had probably found the source through which the runes of the walls and the tower found their mana. From this strange device, surely.

He would only be sure if he asked the staff or read some more from the Academy books. For now, he decided to take a closer look at his immediate surroundings.

Around the square, establishments of all kinds had been arranged and in the manner of the Upper Town, the buildings were quite spaced out and terraces had been placed occasionally on which were many people whose clothes were alike for some.

Isaac was able to recognize the clothes so characteristic of apprentice mages and even saw those of a novice mage having tea on a balcony with a man whose build howled that he was a soldier. That and the sword he wore on his belt.

Judging by his appearance, he was probably an instructor. As he watched the locals go about their daily grind, Isaac began to see their gazes turning to him one by one.

Thanks to his overdeveloped hearing, Isaac immediately sensed a change in the residents' discussions. They would start whispering oddly and glance timidly in their direction.

Sensing the change of atmosphere, Isaac turned to Betina, waiting for what to do. The latter seemed to understand and looked up at the sun, as if measuring something.

- "We are expecting a few people… they should be arriving soon" she declared before noticing a small group of three people approaching them. "Ah well, speaking of the wolf."

She tilted her head slightly to the side, puzzled, before arching an eyebrow slightly. A few seconds passed before they finally arrived in front of them.

The three individuals, a woman and two men, looked totally different from each other. The woman was clearly an official mage, the second person wore the same swordsman uniform that Isaac had noticed earlier but in a different color, and the last had rather rudimentary clothes, a simple black robe without decoration or any fanciness to it.

- "Excellency, I present to you Mistress Treya of the Academy, Master Vasperis of the School of Weapons and Master Pomerol of the Faculty of Magistracy" announced Betina in turn to present each of the characters in front of him.

- "Nice to meet you" answered Isaac. "My name is Isaac."

The three figures smiled slightly as they looked at him and tilted their heads slightly forward in greeting.

- "It is an honor for us to be able to serve as guide to your Excellency" announced Treya after his short reverence.

- "Don't start trying to charm him, it might come and bite you later, Treya" Pomerol suddenly retorted. "Until he has passed his test, he is only the guest of the Magus, no more and no less so it's just 'Mister' or 'Colleague'."

Treya rolled her eyes and sighed.

- "Jealous ?" she teased.

- "Enough, please, this is neither the time nor the place" suddenly interrupted Vasperis, sighing for a long time.

His two colleagues immediately fell silent and came to give him a silly smile. Vasperis decided to brush this moment under the carpet with a light clearing of the throat.

- "We are still preparing the test room, in the meantime we can start with a little visit, but first I wanted to talk about a subject with you."

Isaac raised an eyebrow slightly and just waited for the rest of the professor's speech.

- "The Magus of the Court informed the Board that you and your apprentices wanted to become a student at the University. Is that correct?" Pomerol announced as if nothing had happened.

Isaac just nodded in response, which was enough for the magistrate to grab some documents from his satchel before handing them to Isaac.

- "These are the information and registration documents for each component. In normal times, we do not take registration during the year, but we are far from normal times" continued Pomerol before closing its satchel. "I prefer to get the paperwork done first, it is often the most boring part and therefore the part to be cleared as soon as possible."

Isaac couldn't help but agree, the faster this kind of formality was done, the better off everyone would be.

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So, he grabbed the papers and quickly read them diagonally. In short, everything seemed to be in order and there was no hidden trick or surprise apart from a last document on the last page which surprised him slightly.

It was a document titled "Special Independence Authorization Appendix." Intrigued, he decided to read the content before understanding.

It was a document which ensured that despite him not being a citizen of Kilguana, Isaac had received a special rank allowing him to access the same rights as those of a citizen thus giving him access to the University. This allowed him to escape the duties of a citizen, namely: to pledge allegiance to the kingdom.

The only counterpart that was listed was the famous non-aggression pact that Isaac had agreed to last night.

With this, therefore, he could become a full student of the kingdom and enjoy some freedom. It was perfect for him. Without delay, he therefore decided to complete the documents and sign them for himself and his apprentices.

In front of the surprised looks of the professors, black writings burnt on the paper appeared on each document, filling in the fields to be filled out before crosses in lieu of signatures appeared.

Within seconds the paperwork was completed, and Isaac handed the documents to the professor who immediately grabbed them.

The latter hastened to check that everything was in order before putting them back in his bag with a slight sigh.

- "Good! We will inform you once your registration is complete. While waiting for Master Kol and the test chamber, we can show you around the Academy to familiarize you with the premises?" Treya asked with a broad smile on her face.

- "And why not start with the School of Arms instead?" Vasperis retorted.

- "The Faculty would be much more suitable to have the rest of the paperwork done, don't you think?" resumed Pomerol immediately.

Isaac stood there, motionless. He didn't really know what to do, he had to visit the Academy, right? Why were they talking about visiting the Ecole des Armes.

Seeing the confusion on his face, Betina walked over to him.

- "Basically, you were supposed to have a guided tour of all the institutions. That's why there is a representative from each component, but Master Kol insisted that you only be shown the Academy today,' she said before turning to the three professors. "Is it not?"

Vasperis and Pomerol then sighed as they watched their colleague lift her chin, looking proud and mocking before rolling their eyes.

Everyone wanted to know an Archmage, regardless of race. To develop your network of influence, there are few opportunities that allow you to get closer to the High Nobility and influential and powerful people.

Isaac, an Elven Archmage, sanctioned by Royalty and invited by the Magus of the Court himself. It was a golden opportunity, whether for the Nobility, the Aristocracy or the Church.

Isaac, on the other hand, had little to no interest with that sort of thing. To tell the truth, he hadn't really realized it, all he wanted was to learn more about the domes, the University barrier and this famous dimension of training. So he looked at them, his face blank as if he was not at all interested in the conversation.

Seeing Isaac's disinterest, the three professors decided to leave the subject hanging and it was Treya who continued.

- "We will start with the Academy in this case, you will have all the time necessary once you become a student to visit the rest of the campus" she said before indicating a direction.

The small group therefore set off, punctuated by the explanations and presentations of each of the professors.

Whether it is the name of the street, a small restaurant, a facade or a neighborhood, the professors and Betina did not miss an opportunity to show how the University had all the necessary premises. to live there, as if they were trying to convince him to stay there.

Isaac sensed what they were trying to do although on the surface he didn't let anything show, the campus was peaceful, serene and all the infrastructure necessary for a quiet life was present.

He had even noticed a tavern at the end of an alley although the teachers did not find it relevant to present it, the hints of alcohol were present in the air.

It was relatively surprising to see a tavern in a university city, but after a moment of thinking, in a medieval context it was not entirely out of the ordinary.

After all, despite being a university campus, there weren't just students on the premises. Whether professors or non-teaching staff, some probably needed to relax from time to time.

A drink around a table surrounded by friends in a tavern or bar was a good way to let go.

Besides the tavern, another establishment had also caught Isaac's attention. A bakery whose glass front displayed delicious, sweet dishes: cakes, cookies and other succulent sweet recipes were elegantly arranged.

So, he decided to save the place in memory for later.

The alleys of the shopping area all looked the same: white, mottled, and wide enough to accommodate a coach.

Benches installed next to green areas and flower beds intermittently arranged alongside the streets allowed everyone to lie down and enjoy the fresh air.

And most did not deprive themselves of it and many people were sitting or lying there. Difficult to say if they were students or not, some did not have uniforms and were in their normal clothes.

From time to time, people of different ages and sizes were visible in the streets. Many stopped on their way to greet the three teachers who guided Isaac and his apprentices.

"They seem to be appreciated," Isaac thought, looking at the instructors.

From experience, during his studies, Isaac had discerned that a student facing one of his teachers outside of class could have different reactions. Each reaction often indicated the temperament as well as the personality of a teacher.

A friendly teacher with whom to strike up a conversation was both appreciated and awaited is easily approachable. This kind of teacher very easily receives greetings from their students outside of class and even converse with them if they can.

This was the case with Treya. In front of her was a group of three students, probably the same age as Rebecca. They had just invited her to a tea party but the teacher seemed to decline.

- "I'm sorry, I have things to do with the Director tomorrow. But we can plan that this weekend!" she replied before waving them to leave.

The students looked sad for a moment before a long smile lit up their faces. They bowed one last time in greeting before setting off in the direction of the bakery that Isaac had seen.

Isaac could still hear their conversation punctuated by silly little laughs. With his overdeveloped senses, it was difficult not to listen to the conversations of others. It wasn't very annoying, most of the time he had pretty good control over what he was hearing.

He only had to ignore a conversation for it to disappear in the background, as if by magic. Nevertheless, the conversation of these young girls caught his attention when one of them mentioned his name.

- "So is it him, Isaac? Elves are so beautiful" declared one of them, turning discreetly to look at Isaac again. "I understand the rumors from the palace maids now."

- "He is not that beautiful; the soldiers of the School of Arms are much better built" retorted another.

- "That's because you prefer raw musculature to slender elegance, Magalie" answered another, laughing lightly. "By the way, speaking of him, did you hear that Master Kyle wanted to challenge him in a duel?"

Isaac frowned upon hearing this. Kyle? A challenge ? He didn't know what it meant, but it didn't mean anything to him but if someone was going to duel him, that would certainly be a pain and annoying. Isaac's expression did not go unnoticed, and it was Rebecca who stepped forward.

- "Something is wrong?" she asked worriedly.

It was rare to see Isaac frown like this. The few times he made a face like that was after a failed experiment or something intrigued him. And let's say that most of the time, "failed experiments" were rather… explosive to say the least.

- "No nothing, let's go" answered Isaac immediately, smiling.

It was just a rumor from students, there was nothing to fear. People love to spread rumors as soon as something new happens. It keeps everyday life exciting.

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For about an hour, the small group roamed the streets of the University before visiting the premises of the Magic Academy. Treya did not miss the opportunity to praise the merits of the place and how the Academy was much better than the Faculty or the School of Arms.

Truth be told, at this point, the way they were boasting about their respective institutions was more of a game between them than anything else.

The visit went relatively peacefully and without hassle. This, until a thunderous voice echoed in the hallway where Isaac was now.

- "I challenge you to a duel!" a young man said aloud, pointing his finger at Isaac.

"Sorry what?" Isaac thought.

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Isaac found himself in a large arena, surrounded by an audience far too numerous to his liking, with his three apprentices by his side, facing four opponents.

- "Let the battle begin!" Zachary announced while floating in the sky above, his voice echoing throughout the arena, increased tenfold by a stone he held in his hand.

"Oh God…"