The forest arena was a smoldering graveyard, its ancient trees charred and splintered, their branches drooping like mourners under the moon's pale gaze. The air reeked of scorched earth, melted metal, and the faint tang of blood, the ground scarred by a three-meter crater where Saban Chavez, the Northern Empire's mad knight, had met his fiery end. Edwyn stood at the edge, his lean frame battered but unbowed, his red hair matted with sweat and ash, his sharp blue eyes glinting with a mix of exhaustion and triumph. Blood seeped from a gash on his chest, his tunic torn.
"Man, that was a close one," he panted, wiping sweat from his forehead with a theatrical flourish. "That lunatic nearly turned me into a pincushion. Without this boom stick, I'd be toast." He patted the Lesser Fireball staff, its crystal dim but warm, a silent partner in his survival. Ten of me wouldn't have outlasted that furry freak without you.
He scoured the clearing, his Feather Foot spell lightening his steps as he searched for Saban's gear. The knight's greatsword lay half-buried in ash, its blade pristine despite the fireball's wrath, a masterpiece of steel, but no mana pulsed within it.
"Just a fancy meat chopper, huh?" Edwyn muttered, slinging it over his shoulder. "Still, might fetch a pretty coin." Saban's bracers, though, were a different story. Strapping them on, he felt a cool surge of mana flood his arms, racing through his body like a mountain spring. His wounds, chest gash, shoulder cuts, clotted visibly, scabbing over in seconds, the pain dulling to a faint throb.
"Well, damn!" Edwyn whistled, his grin widening. "Self-recharging Arcane Artifacts? No wonder you tanked a fireball, you crazy bastard." He flexed his arms, the bracers' weight reassuring, their surface etched with faint runes that glowed softly. A closer look revealed something odd, text carved inside, hidden against the skin. Peeling one off, he squinted in the moonlight, reading a rhythmic passage describing a breathing technique. It felt familiar, like a half-remembered dream of the Black Forest's Baron, his swordplay laced with a strange cadence.
"What's this, a knight's yoga manual?" Edwyn chuckled. "Guess I'll crack it open when I'm sipping tea at the academy. Got bigger fish to fry now." He tried feeding the bracers to the Infinite Forge, hoping to extract their crafting method, but the furnace stayed silent, as it had with the Ice Spike ring and Fireball staff.
"What's your deal, Forge? You ate the Baron's sword and that beast core like candy, but these toys are too good for you?" Shrugging, he shelved the mystery, reequipped the bracers, and set off toward the pillar of light, its beam a beacon of survival in the forest's gloom.
On the fourth day, Edwyn emerged from the forest, his boots sinking into the soft earth of the gathering point, a wide clearing bathed in the pillar's dazzling light. Dozens of Apprentices milled about, their tunics tattered, their faces etched with exhaustion and blood. Some clutched looted gear, staves, swords, pouches bulging with orbs, while others sat in stunned silence, their survival a fragile victory.
An Arch-Mage in black robes hovered above, his gaze cold, a crystal orb at his side pulsing with mana as he recorded arrivals.
Edwyn's grin widened as he spotted a familiar figure staggering from the trees, Kevan Medici, the noble heir who'd tried to recruit him on the airship. Kevan was a mess: his fine cloak torn, his dark hair matted with dirt, his eyes hollow from four days of fighting and fleeing.
"Griffith, we made it," Kevan rasped, glancing back at a tall, blonde man trailing him, a greatsword strapped to his back, his stride steady despite the blood on his armor.
Edwyn sauntered over, his Fireball staff in one hand, Saban's greatsword slung over his shoulder.
"Yo, Kevan! Lookin' like you wrestled a bear and lost," he called, helping the noble to his feet with a mock bow. "Still owe me that Mana Stone, by the way. Don't think I forgot."
Kevan's laugh was bitter, his voice hoarse. "Edwyn? Damn, you look… way too chill for this hellhole." He eyed Edwyn's gear, his bracers glowing faintly, his spirit unbroken despite the forest's toll. "Guess I was right to try recruiting you. Too bad that Arch-Mage squashed my alliance like a bug."
Edwyn shrugged, his grin sly. "Surviving's the name of the game, pal. All that alliance crap? Water under the bridge. Go register with the Arch-Mage, teleportation circle's ready once we hit a hundred. Thanks to your buddy, looks like we're close." He squinted at Griffith, the blonde giant staring at him with unnerving intensity, his blue eyes sharp as a blade.
"Yo, big guy, what's with the stare-down? Got a crush or something?"
Griffith bowed slightly, his voice calm but heavy. "You're the one who killed Saban Chavez." It wasn't a question. He glanced at the greatsword on Edwyn's back, recognition flickering in his eyes.
Edwyn's grin didn't falter, but his hand tightened on the staff. "You knew that furry psycho?" He sensed mana circulating in Griffith, a knight, maybe a dual-class warrior, his aura steady but lethal.
Kevan stepped in, sensing the tension.
"Easy, both of you. This is Griffith, my teammate. He's a knight from… somewhere overseas. Saved me from a beast out there." He turned to Griffith. "Edwyn's good people. Let's not start a brawl in the safe zone."
Griffith sighed, his gaze softening. "Saban was a rival in the Northern Empire. Always tried to kill me, said it'd prove he was the best. He was talented… but mad. A shame he fell here."
Edwyn relaxed, his grin returning. "No grudge, then? Cool. Guy was a nutcase, but he fought like a demon. Let's leave it at that." He clapped Kevan's shoulder. "Go sign in, rich boy. We're outta this jungle soon."
The Arch-Mage's voice cut through the chatter, cold and commanding.
"Prepare for transport. Apprentices prone to dizziness, close your eyes. Three, two, one, teleport!"
A flash of light engulfed the clearing, Edwyn's vision dissolving into a chaotic swirl of colors, nausea twisting his gut like the airship's jump. Here we go again.
When his sight cleared, his breath caught, his grin fading to awe.
Before him loomed the Central Black Tower, a colossus of obsidian that pierced the heavens, its spire lost in clouds, as if bridging earth and divinity. Intricate reliefs, dragons, mages, planar beasts, covered its surface, so lifelike they seemed to writhe, their eyes glinting with trapped souls. Gargoyles perched at its corners, their grotesque faces frozen in snarls, their claws poised to strike, mana pulsing faintly in their stone. The air hummed with power, the ground vibrating with runes that glowed like veins, a living monument to magic's might.
"Holy crap," Edwyn whispered. "Now that's a crib. Makes Black Forest's barns look like outhouses."
A voice piped up beside him, high and chirpy.
"Impressive, isn't it? This is the Central Black Tower, the Chancellor's personal mage tower, once his private sanctum. After founding the academy, he opened the first fifty floors for teaching."
Edwyn turned to see a cat-sized owl, twice the size of any bird, its feathers shimmering like a starry night, perched on a floating rune stone, clutching a sack of pouches in its talons. Its golden eyes locked onto the Apprentices, its beak clacking as it spoke fluent human.
"Little ones, I'm the Academy Overseer, your guide and rule-enforcer. Break the rules, and I'll peck your eyes out. Now grab your gear and follow me for the tour."
Edwyn snorted, grabbing a pouch from the sack, fresh clothes, a map, a vial of Academy Coins.
"Bossy bird, huh? Lead on, featherface. Let's see what this place is about."
The owl's tour was a marathon, spanning a day through the Academy's sprawling zones. The Central Tower was a labyrinth of lecture halls, arcane labs, and libraries, its lower floors humming with spells and Arch-Mages.
The Laboratory Zone was vast, a maze of sealed domes where Arch-Mages and Apprentices tested alchemical brews and explosive runes, the air thick with ozone and danger.
The Commercial Zone was a chaotic bazaar, stalls run by faculty, Mage Consortiums, and High Apprentices, hawking spell scrolls, Mana Stones, and artifacts like Edwyn's bracers.
Academy Coins, gleaming silver etched with the Tower's sigil, were the currency, one Mana Stone equaling 100 coins, a fortune in Edwyn's farmer mind.
The Residential Zone was a cluster of black towers, each a sleek spire with rune-lit windows, offering free rooms to new Apprentices.
"Pick a tower, claim a room," the owl chirped, flapping ahead. "Rent-free for three years, then you're on your own. Don't dawdle, good spots go fast."
As the tour ended, Edwyn spotted a familiar figure among a new batch of arrivals, her golden hair singed, a burn mark on her forehead, her tunic torn but her blue eyes bright with relief.
"Hey! Edwyn! I knew you'd pass!" Elia called, waving as she jogged over, her satchel clinking with vials.
Edwyn's grin widened. "Well, well, Goldilocks! Lookin' like you tangoed with a dragon and lived," he teased, leaning on his staff. "Got lucky, rolled in a bit early. You holdin' up after that forest meat grinder?"
Elia laughed, brushing ash from her hair. "Barely. Got ambushed by some noble jerk, but I fried him with a Magic Missile. You… you look way too smug for someone who fought a knight, you know."
Edwyn puffed out his chest, mock-offended. "Smug? Nah, this is just my face's natural charm. Forest wasn't kind, but I'm still the main event." He glanced at her burns, his grin softening. "Seriously, good to see you, Elia. This place is nuts, stick with me, and I'll show you the ropes."
As night fell, dandelion-like plants sprouted along the academy's paths, their soft glow casting the grounds in a dreamlike haze.
"Luminweed," Edwyn said, nodding at them as he led Elia toward the Residential Zone. "Spoils from the Chancellor's planetary conquests. Pretty, right? But don't poke 'em, they shoot seeds like mini fireballs."
Elia's eyes sparkled, her awe clashing with the academy's grim reputation.
"It's… beautiful," she whispered, gazing at the glowing paths. "I thought this place would be all skulls and demons, not… this."
Edwyn chuckled, his grin sly.
"Yeah, it's a mind-trip. One minute you're killing to survive, the next you're dodging exploding plants. Welcome to Mage life." He pointed at a sleek black tower, its windows glowing faintly. "That's the Residential Zone. Newbies get free rooms, pick one before the latecomers snatch the good ones."
Elia hesitated, then tugged his sleeve, her face half-hidden by her hair. "Uh… w-why don't we be neighbors?" Her voice was shy, her cheeks pink despite the ash.
Edwyn raised an eyebrow, his grin teasing. "Neighbors, huh? Tryna keep tabs on me, Goldilocks?" He shrugged, unfazed. "Sure, why not? Academy doesn't care about boys or girls, plenty of rooms to go around. Let's grab some prime real estate."
"Really?!" Elia beamed, her eyes lighting up. "That's awesome! I mean, um, thanks!"
Edwyn laughed, leading her toward the tower. "C'mon, let's snag a spot with a view before this place turns into a mage mosh pit."