Fascinated, William watched as Cale again used his magic and made a creature appear out of thin air for the 5th time.
"This one is a so-called Bukahrens. They live in symbiosis with the Warensens I just introduced. If the Warensens are the ones who take care of the younglings and the stock, then the Bukahrens are the part of the community that takes care of the defense of the group", Cale explained in a loud voice, using his mana to make the realistic representation of the creatures walk around him.
William, like the majority of the residents, had gathered in the arena and had been anxiously following the 12th seat's presentation of the supposedly more familiar specimens to them for a good hour. Yet the lesson was anything but boring. Instead of dryly telling people about the books, Cale used his magic to teach them about the looks, sounds and smells of the creatures. It was almost like watching him actually fight one of the creatures from the plains.
This type of teaching was well received. Cale had the mix of entertainment and learning aspect well balanced, which is why the residents clapped enthusiastically at the end of each performance. The initial nervousness William had seen from the magician was completely gone by now.
"If he wants to, Caleb is a pretty good teacher", a female voice announced, causing William to turn to the side. Aaron and Miguel, who was sitting next to him, did the same, recognizing her immediately.
"Sefra."
"Shht, don't shout like that", the tall woman dressed in the uniform of the High-Magicians replied as she took her seat next to the High-Magician.
"What are you doing here?", Aaron gave quieter to word as the mage bent forward to take a closer look at the company. High-Magician Aaron Thopas, swordmaster Miguel Heriog, Prince William of Sylve, Aletta Merensen, Philippa, Theorik and Benjamin of Freigoud sat spread across two rows in the arena, all listening to Cale's words.
"I'm also curious to see how our newest addition is doing", she declared with amusement, elegantly crossing her long legs as she gave Miguel a smile. "What do you think of his classes?"
"Amazingly entertaining", Miguel interjected. In his hand, he held Zurakekama tightly, as if he feared someone would steal his precious weapon.
"He's a pretty good teacher. If I'd known that, I would have ordered him to teach at the Magistrat much sooner", Aaron countered with surprising feeling before returning his attention to the center of the action.
"I doubt Cale would have gone along with that. He had mentioned to me that he lacked the patience to become a teacher", Philippa gave voice, causing Aaron to turn his gaze to the archer sitting directly in front of him.
"Really?", Ben whispered to the brown-haired archer.
"Wasn't he your teacher too?", Miguel inquired instantly, causing both Ben and Philippa to turn backwards.
"Yes, but only for a few weeks", Ben explained.
"How strong is Caleb Leuen?", Theorik suddenly interjected into the conversation. He had been present at Miguel's lesson for the first time today, so William could get a rough idea of his abilities. For his age, the spearman was definitely above average, even the teacher himself confirmed that. He possessed a completely different fighting style that even Miguel was not used to and initially had difficulty holding his own against Theorik without the help of Mana.
"I doubt anyone can seriously harm him. His focus is on the defense, but you still shouldn't underestimate how strong the kid is if he were to fight seriously", Aaron clarified, almost a little proudly.
"Have you ever seen him fight, High-Magician Thopas?", Aletta inquired cautiously.
"The one or the other time, yes. Sefra, you have seen him probably a lot more often, right?"
"Not really. I didn't notice it so much earlier, but he keeps a pretty low profile with his powers. Even when we were in the creature plains together back then, he barely revealed any of his strength, aside from what we already knew", Sefra discussed matter-of-factly. Immediately, William understood what exactly the High-Magician meant by that. Whenever he fought Cale, it was more than clear that he was deliberately putting himself in a disadvantaged position and not revealing his true strength. Why should he, after all, he had never needed to. Neither William, nor Ben, nor even Philippa have ever been a real challenge for him. From the beginning, he was only playing with them, something the prince had become painfully aware of overtime.
"If you don't mind me asking, is Caleb Leuen the strongest of you High-Magicians then?", Theorik cautiously gave the floor, which is why Aaron and Sefra wordlessly exchanged a few glances.
"I don't know, would you say that Caleb is more powerful than the Eldest, Aaron?", Sefra asked skeptically.
"Yes", the latter replied without hesitation, causing Sefra to shrug in surprise. She seemed to doubt the statement, but kept her opinion to herself.
"Maaaan, now I really feel like dueling with him for once", Theorik interjected delightedly, which is why Miguel lightly struck the young spearman in front with his sword of his feet on the head.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
"Not a chance. He would kill you in a few seconds", Miguel gave coldly, which is why Theorik looked up at his teacher, almost offended.
"You say that as if you wouldn't love to fight him yourself, Miguel", Aletta brought to light challengingly, causing the swordsman to almost sheepishly call out her name. Ben and Philippa, however, chuckled briefly before returning their attention to the lesson. Only William understood what the healer meant by this statement. Two swordmasters fighting with the legendary weapons of Linus Kama... that would definitely be a spectacle he would love to watch.
"What's your impression of the new mage students?", Aaron whispered softly to his colleague.
"Today was the first day, so I can't really say much yet. We have quite a few new students and also some very young ones among them. But surprisingly, they are a lot calmer and more mature than the candidates in previous years."
"Understandable, considering the times we live in", the 3rd seat acknowledged, nodding, before his eyes caught sight of a small figure walking among the people. Curious, William followed the direction and spotted Cale's black baby cat sprinting elegantly towards the High-Magician.
"Fengari!", Aaron announced softly, lifting the cat onto his lap as it reached him. "You follow your master literally everywhere, don't you?"
In response, he received a short meow from the little cat, almost as if it were answering him.
"Since when do you like cats?", Sefra interjected puzzled.
"I never said I don't like cats", Aaron countered, petting the small figure on his feet, who was clearly enjoying the attention.
"Oh, don't act like that now. I'm remembering completely different events."
A soft hiss was perceptible from Aaron, but he did not defend himself further. The High-Magician also reached out and stroked the cat's small head before a smile appeared on her face.
"Admittedly, she is quite cute. And quiet, a lot more different from the other beasts", Aaron explained. Silently, he watched Fengari lean and drop her head against Sefra's hand as she enjoyed the petting. For a few minutes, the cat was the center of attention before she sat up in surprise and looked toward the hallway. Sefra, Aaron, and William followed her gaze and spotted a child staring at the group.
"High-Magician Risztus!", the red-haired girl finally announced happily, taking a few steps towards the group before bowing to them.
"You're one of the new students, right?", Sefra gave a distinguished word.
"Katarina Ursus", Aaron interjected dryly, causing Sefra to turn back in surprise.
"Do you know her?"
"Yes. She's one of that group of three, Sefra", the 3rd seat indicated, causing both William and Sefra to look at him in confusion.
"That group of three... ah!", she cried out, quickly turning back to the girl. Embarrassed, the girl rubbed her head as if she knew exactly what Aaron was talking about. Only William and the rest did not understand at all who exactly Katarina Ursus was supposed to be.
"Are you here alone?", Sefra finally added, sliding a bit to make room for a few more inches on the already narrow bench.
"Yes, Ava and my brother will be joining us later, but I didn't want to miss too much", the young girl explained with surprising composure, gratefully taking a seat next to her new teacher. What William unmistakably realized about the child was that she possessed a lot of mana. It was almost frightening that such a delicate being already had such a high amount of pure mana masses.
William became curious. Who was she and where did she come from? If she was a new student, how did Aaron know her name? And what was the deal with this group?
"Aaron?", he called out in a whisper to the High-Magician, who quickly turned to William. The prince bent forward a bit, as Miguel was sitting between them, so the 3rd seat did the same.
"Who is this girl?", he added quietly. Aaron hesitated for a moment before leaning forward again quite a bit. The two were now face to face.
"She is one of the three mages who had encountered the dragon rider", he explained in a hushed voice, causing William to sit up in surprise.
Aaron also straightened up and gestured to William to keep the secret to himself. For a moment, he stared at the High-Magician, stunned. He had not expected the rumors to be true. Why were the dragons suddenly beginning to reveal themselves? They had hardly been seen for decades, which was why there were these rumors about the mountains of Sylve.
Reflexively, he looked at Cale. The reason Cale was in the mountains couldn't have anything to do with the dragons, could it...?
William froze when he saw Cale's dark eyes. The High-Magician, who was taming a new creature, was staring directly at him. No, not him. William noticed his cold gaze linger on Aaron. He couldn't possibly have heard what the High-Magician had just said, but then why was Cale looking at them so seriously?
A loud scream rang out, causing all the spectators to abruptly cover their ears, including William. His gaze lingered on the creature from which these shrill sounds came. A small figure that had attached itself to Cale's leg and was trying with all its might to destroy its eardrums. Cale, on the other hand, didn't waste much time, kicking the creature aside with his free leg and then crushing it with his feet.
Silence returned abruptly and wordlessly, the spectators stared at the dead figure, from which a black mass emerged. A few moments later, Cale moved his hands and regenerated the creature's exterior before speaking up.
"That was the scream of a Gardell. The young Gardells are actually a lot more dangerous than the full-grown ones, because they don't yet know how loud to make their screams to take out an opponent. Covering your ears and making short process of the young ones is the easiest solution to the problem, but with a herd you should watch where you're going", Cale explained bluntly, making another 10 Gardells appear. Almost simultaneously, these jumped at his legs, visibly startling the High-Magician's movements. But before they could start screaming again, Cale set their bodies on fire with the help of fire, which is why only muffled, desperate sounds could be heard before they fell motionless to the ground. "They only possess the screams as an attack and defense, which makes them comparatively weak against a mage. Fire is a good way to get rid of them, because they can't concentrate using their mana to scream while being burned alive."
The spectators could watch as the small bodies were burned to ashes and dissolved into nothing. William thought the Gardells bore an unusual resemblance to the Calyfarens, though their manner of attack was fundamentally different.
"Pretty brutal", one of the onlookers near William's spoke up in print before another spoke up.
"It's a necessary evil. High-Magician Leuen hasn't even addressed the dangerous creatures yet, how enjoyable do you think that's going to be?"