The lady walked towards Elias with a steady pace, the clicking of her heels sounding like soft platters of raindrops around the dimly lit archive-styled office. A bright set of eyes were calmly observing him behind the rims of a rounded pair of glasses, scanning him intently as if to properly take the image into view.

The intent behind her eyes gave her an air of mature confidence, capable of stirring the hearts of even the most the calmest of men and making them flinch under her gaze.

Elias stood rooted to a spot, maintaining his composure and even taking the initiative to meet her gaze. He tried his best to make himself seem as nonchalant as possible, while inwardly lamenting about his present situation.

He didn't understand why she was looking at him with so much intensity. Elias couldn't think of anything that could have earned him her annoyance, aside from the fact that he had opened the door to her office without receiving prior permission. He thought to himself and decided that this couldn't be the case, as she appeared to be engrossed in her reading and couldn't have realized that he was at the door before he came in.

This just made the present situation all the more perplexing, as Elias genuinely couldn't think about why she'd be looking at him the way she was.

'Could she be mad at the fact that I took so long to return her identification card? It honestly wasn't my fault, I was too busy for nature's sake. Today is my first day!'

While Elias was lampooning about the present scenario, Lars materialized weakly beside him while scanning the environment around him with intrigue.

His gaze finally landed on the figure of a mature youthful lady moving towards them, causing him to flinch in shock before turning his head towards Elias in confusion, as if to ask what he had done to warrant being watched by a hawk.

Elias subtly returned his brother's confused gaze, communicating his own disbelief at the present scenario.

Stunned, Lars turned back to once again look at the lady, before turning his gaze right back to Elias, issuing him a sarcastic gesture of encouragement before swiftly dematerializing back into his mind. It seemed like he didn't want to be involved in whatever was currently happening.

Elias's eyes twitched slightly, shocked at how fast he had been abandoned by his own twin brother. Where was the feeling of camaraderie amongst family?

Before Elias had the opportunity to think over the betrayal and abandonment of his brother, he noticed that the female professor had come to a stop just a step away from him.

Their short distance apart enabled Elias to get a much clearer picture of this peculiar professor, as he felt like she didn't look all that different from the day before apart from her change of clothes.

Her bright burgundy colored eyes scanned him from up to down consistently, making Elias start to feel quite uncomfortable under her gaze.

As he was about to say something to break the awkward situation, Elias suddenly noticed her eyes slowly move away from him, as she walked past him to retrieve a book from an ornately designed shelf behind him.

After retrieving the book her gaze slowly returned to Elias, before moving back towards her desk while speaking with a soft but clear voice, "The academy uniform seems to suit you quite well. It almost seems like I'm looking at an entirely different person. I guess clothes really do make a man huh..."

After elegantly settling back into her seat, the lady silently dove back into her research, her eyelids fluttering with interest at every turn of a page she made.

Elias stood there in silence, not knowing how to react to his professor basically ignoring him. He thought about saying something when a muffled laugh suddenly echoed in his mind, causing his eyes to twitch in annoyance.

He had a feeling that Lars wouldn't miss such an opportunity to jest on his behalf!

Elias outwardly pretended to not notice his brother's escaped laugh, before calmly walking to the table and regarding the busy woman before him.

"Good evening Lady Rochelle, sorry I'm late in returning this." As he spoke, he respectfully placed the identification card on top of the Elmwood table, an action which caused Professor Doherty to drop her quill and finally raise her head.

Her gaze alternated from Elias to the card on the table for a few seconds, before chuckling in amusement while softly sliding her glasses onto her nose bridge. "I definitely didn't expect you to return it to me this early. I thought you would be too busy getting yourself acclimated to the academy."

Elias looked at this carefree female Professor with a peculiar expression, before clearing his throat in preparation to speak. "I thought you might need it as soon as possible. I didn't want to cause you any inconvenience."

Professor Doherty smiled lightly in response, before adjusting the position of the shawl over her arms. "That is quite kind of you Elias, but you didn't need to trouble yourself so early. That is just one of the many identification cards I have."

'Why do you even have multiple identification cards to begin with? Aren't staff only issued one or two?’ Elias's gaze had unknowingly gotten more and more peculiar, as he felt like this History Department Dean was quite a strange person.

Why did it feel like she was used to giving her identification card away?

He took a moment to regain composure, before once again speaking up with a tone of respect, "If you don't mind me asking ma'am, why did you even give me your identification card? I'm sure you must have had a goal in mind. What if I didn't end up passing the Apostolic Assessment or ended up being an unruly student who used this card as a pass to do bad things? It could easily have ended up in the wrong hands."

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Professor Doherty maintained her smile while Elias spoke, before crossing her right leg over the left in graceful fashion. "Such a sharp mind. As expected of the student that was capable of achieving a perfect score in an exam set by me. I was already 95% certain that you would pass the assessment process without a hitch. As for how I came to know that, call it a teacher's hunch."

She winked at Elias, before reaching for a tray of tea and snacks placed at her side. "I had already anticipated this meeting, just not this early. As for you possibly being unruly, I trust my gut more than anything else, and my gut told me that you weren't that type of person. Additionally, the way you stood up for me in the coach all but confirmed my guess, so I had no reason to be worried about something like that. I knew that you would take the initiative to seek me out. Melon cakes?"

She offered Elias the tray of snacks, to which the young man respectfully declined, stating that he didn't want to dull his appetite before dinner.

Professor Doherty accepted his excuse, before elegantly biting into a small piece of shortbread from the pile of snacks.

She then took a small sip of lavender tea, making sure to wipe off her hands before turning her attention back to Elias. "As for my goal in giving you the card, I guess you can say it is my way of asking for a favor, as well as offering you my help. The History Department contains all the relevant extended information pertaining to the academy. Unlike the public library which only houses curriculum material, this grand archive holds knowledge of all forms.

"Modern science, archaic history, language study, mysticism and divination, forgotten fighting choreography and religious documents. Everything you could think of related to information and knowledge is stored within this secluded archive. So to make sure that everything is properly chronologically detailed, I need to hire helpers to aid me in watching over the place. This is a vast archive after all."

Elias's gaze wandered around the office, confused as to why the Professor was constantly eluding to its grand size. Even if it was much bigger than regular office spaces, Elias still did not understand how the space he was looking at could house that amount of information.

Noticing his skeptical gaze, Professor Doherty scoffed slightly, as if used to the present situation when it came to hiring new employees. She rose from her seat, moved to an ordinary-looking wooden shelf and proceeded to switch the positions of two inconspicuously looking books which instigated the start of a hidden mechanism.

Creak...

A shelf behind her was instantly disjointed from the previously singular row, forming the shape of a door that was perfectly hidden between the massive pile of books.

Professor Doherty turned to look at the shocked look on Elias's face, before turning around in satisfaction while beckoning for him to follow.

The instant they passed through the door, a burst of white light exploded into Elias's view, as a new world was instantly reflected into his eyes.

Elias was welcomed into a vastly open space, its size alone comparable to more than three times the size of their lecture hall, completely full to the brim with books.

An impossible number of shelves stretched into the horizon, making this hidden archive seem like a house to all of the world's truths and knowledge.

Elias was stunned speechless, with even Lars materializing by his side with an open mouth.

Professor Doherty turned towards him, relishing the bewildered expression on his face as she continued to speak. "As you can see, this is quite a lot for one person to go through and maintain every week, that is why I always make sure to have at least two helpers in order to not get burnt out. We currently have an open spot as one of my previous helpers recently graduated. This will allow you to earn a side allowance while studying, as I understand how difficult finances must be for you. Besides..."

Her gaze wandered to the rented books in Elias's hands. "I'm sure you spent quite a bit to rent those from the library right? Well, you can go ahead and return them tomorrow if you take up the job. You can just study from the materials here while you work, which would be an efficient use of your time. This would be free of charge of course, as it is what I like to call an employee bonus. So..."

She stepped aside to allow Elias to once again take in the view of the vast archive, before speaking in a tempting voice,

"Would you like a job?"

...

After stepping out of a long and much-needed shower, Elias slowly dried his hair while moving toward his comfy bed. He had finally gotten the chance to rest and rewind after a hectic and eventful first day of school, one he wouldn't forget for a long, long time.

He lazily jumped into bed, before gazing out of his window while running over all the details of the day.

After finally fighting off his initial astonishment, Elias rushed to hastily accept the job, offering Professor Doherty his sincerest gratitude while promising not to let me down.

The strange woman had a peculiar smile on her face as a result, causing Elias to shift uncomfortably for some odd reason. He didn't know why, but he had a nagging feeling that he had been tricked by her.

Professor Doherty then gave him the job schedule and details, before sending him back so he wouldn't miss dinner time.

Elias had then met up with Damien for a much-needed meal, before returning to his dorm after having his fill. Damien had wanted to sleep over at Elias's dorm but the latter refused, stating that he needed his personal time for rest.

'Sigh... Why do I feel like I got scammed by that cheeky professor? Well never mind, this is a golden opportunity. Having access to such an archive of information would be vastly important to my investigations.'

Elias slowly rose from his bed, before moving his gaze towards the reading table. The dim light from a gas lamp reflected the scene of Lars reading a book, his gaze locked in firm concentration as if the outside world didn't matter to him at the moment.

Elias looked at his brother for a brief moment, before shaking his head as he got up to move towards him. He looked across his brother's illusory shoulder, playfully peaking at the book opened on the table.

"What are you reading?"

Elias's voice instantly startled Lars, causing him to abruptly jerk back while falling over. The scene looked quite comical, as it was essentially the scene of a falling ghost.

Lars slowly recollected himself, before glaring at Elias for startling him. He eventually sighed before pointing to the page he was reading, beckoning Elias to see for himself.

Elias leaned closer to the page and saw that it was the follow-up topic to the introductory class he had earlier in the day, particularly one describing how the students could sense the Wisp of Blessing buried within their souls.

It went on to say that initial interaction with the wisp would lead to a small change within the body of the user, granting them certain basic superhuman abilities common to Disciples.

Elias thought about it and decided to try it out, as he didn't have anything better to do at the moment.

As he followed the instructions, Elias once again experienced the sensation of falling into a vast body of water, before regaining some senses within an illusory sea.

In the middle of that sea lay a gentle swirling mist of blackened light, one which stood in contrast to its surroundings.

SNAP!

Immediately Elias focused his senses on the swirling ball of dark light, he heard an abrupt snapping sound, causing the ethereal colorless sea to ripple and quack with intensity, while a flurry of information instantly burrowed its way into the very essence of his mind and soul,

Wisp of Blessing—UNSEALED!

'Life and death are the start and end to one's fateful journey... but what would happen when the spirit yearns for both, yet can give up on none?'.

The path to eccentricity is but laid bare onto a few, congratulations child on unlocking the first seal on the road to divine independence!