Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst

At the same time that Eleonora nodded in satisfaction at Liliana's response, Sigrún took out an elegant white outfit from her storage ring, adorned with the emblem of Arcane University embroidered on the left side—a set very similar to the one she was wearing. With a smile on her beautiful face, she explained.

"Well, Erik, this will be your uniform from now on. All the paperwork is done, and the entry points have been credited to your account."

This time, Sigrún took from her storage ring a crystal card with several miniature runes engraved all over its surface, which she extended to Erik as she explained.

"This will be your student card, and with it, you can use your points. Liliana will explain how to use it."

Erik took the uniform and the card, then stored them in his storage ring while commenting in a somewhat resigned voice.

"Alright, master. When do I start?"

"Today," Eleonora replied in an animated voice, looking at Erik with playful eyes, who couldn’t help but exclaim loudly.

"Today?!!!"

"Hehe, yes, today. After all, it's best to strike while the iron is hot. Change quickly and go out with Liliana so she can explain how the university works. In the meantime, we have a meeting with the director, so we'll be back tonight."

At Sigrún's cheerful comment, Erik could only let out a tired sigh before speaking in a defeated tone.

"Alright, masters, I'll go change. I hope to see you tonight."

"Fufufu" Eleonora laughed cheerfully, then gave Erik a kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight, Erik."

"I'll see you tonight as well, Erik."

With a smile similar to Eleonora's, Sigrún kissed Erik on the other cheek before saying goodbye. Then, they quickly moved away as a large number of runes formed around them.

"I hope to see you tonight in uniform, Erik"

Eleonora said as a beautiful and intricate geometric magic circle slowly rotated beneath her feet. Moments later, the two stunningly beautiful women disappeared in a flash of light.

"Young master Erik, would you like me to help you put on your uniform?"

The moment Sigrún and Eleonora vanished, Seraphina approached Erik, dressed in an elegant Victorian maid's outfit. She asked with a small smile on her face, as the diligent maid she was.

"Seraphina, I’ve already told you that 'young master' sounds awful. Just call me Erik, and I can change by myself."

Erik replied, followed by a small sigh at the awful title. Seraphina, however, added with an elegant smile on her delicate face, though the playful glint in her eyes revealed her true intentions.

"There is no need to be so shy, young master Erik. It’s my duty as the young lady's head maid to help you with 'anything' you might need."

Opting to ignore Seraphina's suggestive tone, as it seemed she greatly enjoyed teasing him, Erik turned to Liliana and commented with a cordial smile.

"Disciple companion Liliana, I won’t take long. I’ll be right back."

"…"

In response to Erik's words, Liliana simply nodded slightly, not bothering to speak as she sipped her tea, something the star-haired boy paid no mind to. He simply headed upstairs to his room, though Seraphina couldn't help but narrow her beautiful eyes at the young woman's disrespectful behavior towards her young master.

A couple of minutes later, Erik, fully ready and accompanied by his two wolves, stood before Liliana once again. She simply nodded, then walked out of the mansion without saying a word, followed closely by the star-haired boy, all under the watchful and dangerous gaze of Seraphina, who observed the scene intently.

As he followed Liliana, Erik began to look around somewhat curiously, but not long after, she stopped abruptly and turned to him with an amused smile on her lips.

"Sorry, Erik, I just remembered I have something very important to do. I have to go."

Without another word, Liliana quickly went in another direction, leaving the annoyed, star-haired boy standing in the middle of the street, staring after her with an expressionless face.

(Hehe, just as I imagined, he's a complete country bumpkin. He can't stop looking around with that stupid look of surprise on his face, and bringing along those two mutts... I can't wait to see how he'll manage to do anything at the university. Hehe, though I suppose for now I’d better think of a good excuse for my master...)

Meanwhile, Erik continued watching in Liliana's direction until she disappeared from view. He then simply smiled ironically, shaking his head, before continuing to walk with his wolves by his side.

"She really hates me... but what a childish 'revenge' she came up with. And she's supposed to be 40 already? How immature, hahaha."

With a relaxed pace, Erik kept walking down the street, looking around with some interest, as the place was indeed curious, appearing to be a mix of modern cities from his past life, with magical and old-fashioned aspects.

The place had imposing highways that seemed to be made of cement, covered with different types of runes along their surface. On both sides of the road, imposing buildings with various designs could be seen, ranging from simple and minimalist to intricate and detailed in a Victorian style. There were even buildings with Asian, Arabic, and Mesoamerican styles—something quite curious indeed.

But one thing all the buildings had in common was that, without fail, they all had runes in different parts of them. Which seemed to give them various functions, like dimming or brightening windows, opening and closing doors, and things like that. Making everything look more 'technological' than magical in some way.

As he walked through the area, Erik soon saw a man on a corner who appeared to be around 30 years old and seemed to be waiting for something, dressed in the university uniform. So, Erik quickly approached him and spoke.

"Hello, would it be too much trouble to ask you a few questions?"

"Yes, I'm very busy."

The man only glanced at Erik and replied in a curt and annoyed voice, which didn't bother Erik in the slightest. Instead, he pulled out a dazzling piece of pure beauty and latent energy with iridescent tones swirling within—a mana crystal.

With a small smile on his face, Erik began to play with the beautiful intermediate mana crystal while looking at the man, whom he soon asked cheerfully.

"No need to be like that; why not answer a couple of questions?"

"Mmmm, I suppose I could. What do you want to know?"

Seeing the desire in the man's eyes, Erik carelessly tossed the crystal, which the man quickly caught and tucked into his robes. This surprised Erik a bit, but without wasting time, the star-haired boy quickly pulled out a similar crystal and started playing with it while asking.

"I'd like to know where I can find information about the university. I just enrolled and don't know anything."

"Just go straight down this street, and you'll reach a large building with a sign that says 'Admissions and Registry Tower'" the man said, pointing to a street while keeping his eyes on the crystal.

"That was very helpful, thanks."

Right after thanking him, Erik put back in his storage ring the magic crystal he was playing with and continued walking. Leaving the man behind, who seemed to want to say something but remained silent after seeing the wolves accompanying Erik, he continued waiting.

After a while, Erik found the enormous building, over 100 stories high, adorned with beautiful runes all over its facade, which softly glowed. At the front, there was a beautiful sign that read 'Admissions and Registry Tower' in Galactic language.

After ordering the wolves to wait at the door, who began to 'whine' pitifully before lying down near the entrance, Erik passed through the automatic doors and arrived at the reception area. It was a spacious, light-filled lobby with high ceilings and polished columns that seemed to stretch up to the sky.

A magically illuminated glass desk extended along the center of the hall, flanked by elegantly dressed assistants ready to help newcomers, while enormous holographic screens displayed dynamic information and maps of the building, guiding students to their destinations. Modern-style chairs and sofas were scattered throughout the space, providing a comfortable waiting area.

Unhurriedly, Erik approached the beautiful glass desk, where a lovely young woman with blonde hair and soft violet eyes greeted him politely, a small smile gracing her delicate pink lips.

"Good afternoon, young student. How may I assist you today?"

"Hello, good afternoon. I'd like to get some information about how things work here. I just arrived, and I don't know anything."

The beautiful receptionist looked at the handsome young man with some doubt. He possessed an almost otherworldly beauty, with sharp, symmetrical features and black hair that resembled a piece of the universe, adorned with stars and galaxies. This contrasted wonderfully with his emerald green eyes and the elegant white clothes adorned with golden and silver threads.

The receptionist's doubts were reasonable, after all. The university intake had occurred some time ago—two years, to be exact. Arcane University only accepted students every ten years, and these were always the best of the best in the galaxy, coming from various places and factions, gathered not just to learn but also to enhance their status and reputation.

But due to her years of experience and training, the receptionist, instead of dismissing the young man, thought of something that might explain the curious situation, inevitably arriving at a single possibility. This led her to lean forward slightly over the desk and ask in a low voice, though her tone was a bit more respectful.

"Is the young student, by any chance, a direct disciple of a distinguished Master?"

"Oh yes, my master is Sigrún Eldurdóttir."