Chapter 23: The Escolae Magia Acedemica.
Chapter 23
Allisa wanted to make sure that we were well dressed in adventurer’s clothing before getting within a mile from the Academy.
So she took us across Cantril, in search of garments and accessories. From merchant to merchant we bartered.
Through our little walk across the city, I learned that Cantril was not the biggest city nor the capital of the Human Realm. And that Allisa loved to spend crazy money on footwear.
We stopped at a Magical Attire shop, and she went into a shopping frenzy. Female adventurers, especially those whose party was composed of one guy and a harem of women, threw jealous glances at Allisa.
Allisa did not care.
While she tried different accessories, to kill time, Allisa decided to tell me more about Cantril. It seems the city was just a border city of medium size and that the Academia was in Cantril out of a pure coincidence.
Apparently, the Academia existed before the Human realm itself.
At the magical shop, Allisa bought a blue and pointy witch hat to cover her now braided blond hair.
The elf also sported a rather simple white blouse, which she hid beneath an extremely luxurious blue robe with golden borders that went all the way down to her knees. The crazy elf almost gave the merchant a full silver ingot for the accessory. Elven women sure were willing to spend insane amounts of money just for the sake of matching looks.
Despite how much she spent on the robe, the rest of her attire was practical: a folded white skirt and black leggings. But unless she opened her robe to pull magical items from her pockets, no one would see them. What they could see, though, were her pointy blue velvet shoes.
‘Blue, blue, blue,’ I thought. ‘Blue Bitch.’
Allisa’s ears turned red. Which prompted me to look away.
Joanne also got a makeover. But unlike Allisa. Joanne wanted to dress like a potato sack. So, after imploring her to get something more modern… we reached a middle ground and she bought a black dress that covered her almost to an inch of her heels. However, the dress revealed her shoulders, which made Joanne feel embarrassed, so she also bought a black veil that looked almost like a partial hoodie and covered the back of her hair. However, Joanne did not stop there. She bought a pair of white gloves that came with a black armband that covered most of her arm. But she still felt sinful…. So she bought a white cloth collar that covered her neck and the upper part of her shoulders.
At the end… Only a very tiny portion of her upper arms remained exposed.
“I have eradication sin!” Joanne said. She was very proud of her achievement. She was now only half a potato.
Somehow, despite now looking like a fully kitted nun, her looks and innocence sparked sinful thoughts in my head.
“Berry, why are you looking at me like that?” Joanne said, her voice cracking. As her face turned red, she covered her eyes.
*Maaaaaah*
Joanne refused to get boots and stayed with her rustic sandals. She said she would rather donate the money to a charity than to spend money on vanity accessories.
I, for my own part, abandoned my boots for a set of light footwear. And traded my belongings for loose garments that resembled modern pajamas and a modern sweater. But in truth the material was just light and flexible, not baggy nor hot. It was excellent for a dexterity based fighting style.
Just to pronounce my Qi based fighting style, I wore a green belt, from which small red knots hanged.
‘Hehehe, I look like a fighting monk.’
Allisa did not approve of my new style.
When we arrived at the Academy, we stood in front of the ancient walls of what seemed a cathedral. But without a doubt, this was not a church.
Instead of knocking, she used magic, and the door moved on its own.
Upon entering, a noise that I could not hear before, got very loudly. The Academy was filled with gossiping spell-casters. Moving on about their business with books at hand. It was a very big open space.
As we moved deeper into the building, we were halted by a middle-aged man and two young students, one of them a slender guy with a spotty black beard and the other a petite blue-haired girl with a resting bitch face that could give Allisa a good run for her money.
The three of them were wearing the same uniform and black robes, with a yellow armband on their arms. Enforces of some kind. I grew tense, but I allowed Allise to handle everything as planned. I could not reveal that I was a demi-human that spoke.
“You. Your mana. I do not recognize any of you,” said the slender student.
“Intruders. All three of them,” the petite girl said.
“State your business at once! Trespassing these grounds if forbidden by law,” the middle-aged man continued. Without a doubt, he was an instructor.
“We come to see The Grand Meister Felenhar,” Allisa said.
“The Grand Meister!?” The instructor chuckled. “So first you Trespass into the first circle of the Academy. And now you demand we let you intrude further, not only to the 2nd circle but all the way to the 9th? Your disrespect has no bounds.”
“So now, a mere 3rd circle magician wishes to decide on behalf of The Grand Meister!?” Allisa said.
Allisa pointed towards the petite girl. “You, worm. Go tell The Grand Meister that this is an urgent matter regarding Belfar.”
“And why would I do that!?” the girl responded.
“You think you are hot shit, because you are wearing the custodian’s armband? Well, I could very well blast the three of you to death with my elven magic. But imagine how angry The Great Meister will be when he learns that I had to blast my way to the 5th circle to obtain an audience with him. He will spit in your graves and condemn your name to the Lista Inmorta.” Allisa said. Her words were tense. Even she did not know if half of the things she said were true.
“Belfar this, Belfar that. Who the hell does he think he is? He does not run, the Academia,” The Instructor said, as he ranted to himself. “Go, get the bloody Consul.”
“But sir…”
“Go get the FUCKING Consul,” the instructor said.
Allisa smiled. “We will meet the Consul on the 5th circle,”
The instructor began biting his own finger, lightly. Then gave a nasty look at the slender boy.
“Ribald, escort them to the 5th circle. But make sure they do not touch anything, please. This fuckery is out of my hands. Let the consul sort it out,” the instructor said.
Allisa was truly a demon.
We walked through the 2nd circle, then 3rd circle, and so on. Every time we reached the end of each of the circles, or more like floors, we were met by an ever bigger door with a different rune inscribed to it. The students and instructors on each of the floors were color coded according to the circle. But the enforcers always wore black robes and yellow armbands.
Ribald did his best to escort us. But Allisa power-walked very fast. The only one who made eye contact with the poor guy was Joanne, who gave him a sincere smile. The young wizard blushed.
Joanne, despite being almost a nun, had her charms.
When we reached the 5th circle. The hallway was barricaded with wooden desks and improper fortifications. The consul awaited for us, standing right on top of the barricade. She looked extremely outraged. Next to her stood the petite blue-haired enforcer that we had met at the entrance. Somehow, she had taken a shortcut and arrived before we did.
She was not the only student present.
Rumor of an upcoming fight had spread very fast through the Academy, and a dozen of low-level enforcers and students made their way to the 5th circle and formed a crowd behind us. For they wished to be close enough to watch the fight but far enough that any magic attack would not hit them directly.
“You!” the consul said.
It was kinda funny. But the consul was just another student. She was barely an inch taller than Allisa. Unlike the regular enforcers, the consul had three yellow armbands that decorated her left arm.
Her black robes had a golden star right above her heart that matched her dyed bright yellow hair.
She pulled a magic wand with a star symbol at the front and aimed at Allisa.
“I do not care who this Belfar guy is. Nor do I know why The Great Archmage wishes to know more about this. But I swear on my name and title that you, this barricade, shall not pass!”
Allisa immediately thew a deadly ice stalagmite at the monologuing bitch.