Class was cancelled the day following the monster horde incident. Instructions were given to the students to remain in their respective dormitories via the dorm intercom systems.

Tara called Celine over to her room to discuss the item that she had found the day before. Tara handed Celine the broken pocket watch in hopes that she could figure out what it was. "This looks like it was used to activate some kind of spell. What did you use it for?" Celine asked. "I didn't use it for anything. I found this yesterday, near that monster portal." Tara replied.

"I have some tools in my room that might help in figuring out what spell this was used to activate. I'll be right back!" Celine told Tara. Celine hurriedly left the room. She returned moments later with a long suitcase. She took the heavy suitcase into the living room and opened it. A complicated series of machines sat inside of it. Tara had never seen anything like it. It had a series of knobs and buttons on the left side of it's face. A pale crystal was embedded into the right side. The middle had a small indentation that Tara assumed you placed items into.

Celine placed the pocket watch into the indentation and began interacting with the machine. After a few button presses, the machine came to life. The crystal produced a 3 dimensional image of the pocket watch. Celine infused mana into her fingertips and interacted with the floating display. She enhanced the inside of the watch and took a closer look at the mana stone inside. She touched the stone and a small window popped up, full of information. A long list of complicated formula filled the screen.

Celine was fully engrossed in the information window. 10 minutes passed before she tore her gaze away. She looked at Tara. She opened her mouth and said, "According to the machine, this watch was responsible for the portal, but that's not even the half of it." She took a deep breath before speaking again. "There is actually another spell that has yet to be activated still inside of it. That second spell is incredibly complex. I don't even fully know what its for to be honest, but I do have an idea." She enhanced the information window and scrolled up. She pointed her finger to a specific line and asked Tara if she had seen it before.

Tara leaned over and took a look. Complicated formula had never been her expertise. Regardless, she had recognized the line of formula in front of her. It looked a lot like the formula professor Scilla had shown the class the day before.

"If I'm right," Celine began, "this watch is intended for time magic." An excited expression showed on her face. "Not just any time magic, but the exact spell that professor Scilla had talked about the day before. Its a formula for time reversal magic!" She started speaking frantically. She went into detail about how there should be many more items like it that would be used to complete the spell. She talked about how the spell placed inside was actually on a timer, although she couldn't figure out how long the timer was for.

Tara felt uneasy. Although she had told Celine where she had found the watch, she never told her about the 2 hooded figures she had seen.

She stopped a moment to think. She thought about something professor Scilla had spoken about the day before. She remembered him talking about the infinite energy production that could be achieved with time reversal magic. More specifically, she remembered when he spoke about the mass amount of destruction necessary for it to work properly. She finally understood why the watch had both the portal spell as well as the time reversal spell.

"Celine, I need you to listen to me," Tara started, "we need to keep quiet about this watch." Celine cocked her head to the side. "But why?" she asked. "Shouldn't we share this kind of exciting news?"

Tara had to think of an excuse. She didn't want to tell Celine about the mysterious hooded duo just yet. "It might not be the best idea since it was also used to make that portal. Let's just keep it under wraps until the teachers figure out what happened."

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Celine was a little upset, but she agreed.

A voice sounded out over the intercom system. "All students, the lockdown has been lifted. We ask that all students head to the auditorium for an assembly. I repeat, please head to the auditorium for an assembly. Thank you," the voice said.

Celine took the pocket watch out of the machine. She handed it to Tara and closed the suitcase. She gave her farewells to Tara. Celine left for her room to drop off the device before heading to the assembly.

Tara looked over the pocket watch. She felt that it was dangerous to keep around. She decided to hide it away in her room. She lifted her mattress and placed it under her bed. Feeling a little more at ease, she made her way toward the auditorium.

She arrived at the auditorium early enough to find a seat. The large room was quickly filling with students from every grade. Many of the students from higher noble families had special seating. The remaining students either sat in the back or stood.

A group of teachers walked onto the stage. At the forefront of the group was professor Rampion. He centered himself near the front of the stage and spoke.

"Students, we have gathered you all today to talk about the incident from yesterday. We know many of you have some concerns about the safety of the academy after what transpired. I would like to inform you that all of the monsters have been dealt with. We also managed to close the portal with the help of some of the teaching staff here who are proficient in travel magic. For the time being, we will be conducting an investigation into both the portal as well as the creatures that came out of it."

He turned his head to the teachers behind him and whispered something to them. They nodded their heads in unison. He turned back to the crowd and asked, "Now, do any of you have any questions you would like to ask?"

Alastair, who was sitting in front, raised his hand. Professor Rampion called on him and allowed him to speak. "Has the staff been able to identify what kind of monsters came out of the portal yet?" Alastair asked.

Rampion pondered for a moment and said, "We don't have a full understanding of what they are as of yet. What we do know is that they are a type of man made creature, a chimera if you will. They are the product of transfiguration magic. Although transfiguration magic has recently been considered a non theoretical type of magic, we do not have complete knowledge of the process."

A few more students asked questions after Alastair. Student after student asked questions about the safety of the campus. They were reassured again and again that something like this would not happen again. Rampion went on to tell the students that the academy had placed a new monitoring system to keep watch of the campus. An hour passed before the questions came to an end. Rampion and the teaching staff with him ended the assembly. They left the stage in their small group, leaving through a separate exit near the back of the stage.

The remaining students left the auditorium as well. Tara stepped outside and looked around. She noticed that the majority of students were heading back to the dorms. She decided to go to the training center instead of following the crowd. On her way there, she caught sight of Celine and Alastair. She walked up to the pair. As she walked up to them, she overheard them talking about what to do with the free time they had. "Why don't we all go to the training center?" Tara interjected.

Alastair pouted at the sight of Tara. He was clearly unhappy about Tara's arrival. Tara ignored him. Celine on the other hand seemed happy about her arrival. "I don't really feel like training after everything that happened. How about we go into town instead?" she proposed. Alastair nodded, the expression on his face changed as soon as she spoke. "I would love to miss Celine," he replied. Celine looked to Tara, her eyes almost begging her as she did. Tara sighed, "Alright, let's go," she said.

"I heard about this new bakery in town! Its supposed to be delicious." Celine told them. The other 2 agreed, so the 3 of them headed for the bakery that Celine recommended.

The entire time they travelled there, Tara felt uneasy. She felt like someone or something was watching her. She even used an enhanced perception spell to scout the area, but found nothing. She thought that she probably just be felt paranoid after what happened yesterday. With that in mind, she decided to just stop thinking about it.

They arrived at the bakery. It was a small bakery in the middle of the noble district. Although small, it was beautifully decorated with paintings of bread and cakes all over the front windows. It had a small seating area in front of the building where people could eat. Finally, the smell that wafted out of the building was intoxicating. Tara had fully forgotten about the feelings she had just moments before.

The trio walked in the front door. A bell jingled above them. At the counter, they were met with a familiar face...