Because it was morning, the academy was extremely quiet.
In the vast academy, only Henny was running around everywhere with Safiroth.
"This place is the academy's laboratory."
Henny led Safiroth to stand in front of a classroom.
Safiroth slowly raised her head, looking at the enormous magic classroom.
It seemed that magical light was faintly flowing around them, and a thin veil-like barrier covered the main door.
After pushing the door open and entering, a spacious scene appeared before the two of them.
Several glowing rings flickered on the walls.
After sensing someone enter, a three-dimensional outline actually appeared out of thin air inside the spacious magic classroom, with several strands of magic gradually gathering within it.
Very soon, a table covered with all kinds of rune-carved items appeared before the two of them.
"This is where students of the Royal Magic Academy learn how to make magic tools."
Henny picked up a slightly uneven stone and, relying on memory, began carving magic onto it.
In just a few seconds, the stone in her hand was carved with two different runes, faintly glowing red.
"Throwing Rune Stone."
By using two runes in a simple alternation, it achieves the effect of automatically accelerating after being thrown.
When tossed out, it has considerable power and very high speed.
It's very good as an emergency item during combat.
Henny turned her head, looked at the upright training dummy placed in front of her, weighed the rune stone in her hand, and threw it out.
The moment the rune stone was thrown, the red runes instantly flashed with light, bursting forward fiercely through the air and striking the dummy's body.
It dealt quite a bit of damage to the dummy.
"This is what magic tools are, things that make it easier for mages to deal with emergencies."
Safiroth seemed to grow interested as well and picked up a stone.
Henny slowly spoke from the side, "Ah, that one, that one hasn't been carved with runes yet, it's just an ordinary sto..."
In an instant, Henny felt a head-on gale of wind. Her hair was swept straight back, and her loose robe clung tightly to her body.
In a blur, the stone tore through the air at a speed completely impossible to see with the naked eye and smashed toward the dummy.
Bang!
The next second, the dummy completely shattered, cloth scraps and wood chips exploding everywhere.
Henny turned around and looked at Safiroth, who was still in the throwing pose, blinking in utter confusion.
"Ah… this…"
Because it was used for magic teaching, the dummy's material was very sturdy.
It could withstand ordinary third-tier magic.
But Safiroth had thrown an uncarved stone with her bare hand and blown it apart?
Henny really couldn't understand.
'Just what did she eat growing up to have such terrifying strength?'
Using pure physical power to smash a dummy, this level of strength was at least on par with a third-tier warrior.
"Safiroth, you…"
Safiroth turned around and tilted her head as she looked at Henny.
"No… forget it, forget it."
Henny didn't want to pry too much into other people's secrets.
At the very least, the girl in front of her looked a bit silly and very much in need of help, Henny was certain of that.
"Next, let's go look somewhere else."
Henny pulled Safiroth by the hand and left the laboratory.
Under Henny's guidance, Safiroth arrived in front of a tall tower.
The tower's main door seemed to be blocked by a blue magic formation.
"This is the Mage Tower."
Henny explained to Safiroth, "Mages with authorization can freely enter the Mage Tower and teleport from here to any location within the academy."
Henny patted her chest. The prominent curves hidden beneath her robe bounced slightly as she confidently walked up to the Mage Tower.
[Identity verification successful. Associate Professor Henny, welcome back to the Mage Tower]
A cold, emotionless mechanical voice sounded, and the blue formation in front of the tower door vanished.
The two slowly walked into the Mage Tower, and their surroundings seemed to turn into an endless starry sky.
Purple-blue nebulae began spinning rapidly beneath their feet, and the brilliant starfield flowed along with them.
Very soon, that fantastical scenery seemed to be peeled away, rapidly disappearing behind them.
Their vision gradually cleared, but the surroundings had already changed completely.
This was a very cozy office. A redwood desk sat in the corner, with a leather chair placed behind it.
Several small flower pots on the desk bloomed toward the sunlight, and the surrounding shelves were filled with thick, heavy books.
Safiroth looked around, then turned her head toward Henny.
"You… seem very happy."
She didn't understand why Henny was so happy.
But that emotion felt like she was deliberately showing something off.
Henny lightly coughed twice and continued, "Next, we're going to the Arcane Hall."
"I'll assess your magical talent there."
This was also Henny's purpose for this trip.
If Safiroth had magical talent, even if it wasn't high, Henny could still apply to enroll her using her associate professor privileges.
As for why she wanted Safiroth to enroll, it was because Henny had always believed in the importance of education.
Although Safiroth looked very capable, she also looked like someone who couldn't even recognize all the letters and spoke awkwardly, which really worried Henny.
Because Henny herself had once been saved by Professor Viktor, she always wanted to offer others whatever help she could.
Soon after, two strands of blue light lit up at Henny's fingertips, gently swaying in the air.
A blue formation gradually spread through the office, slowly enveloping the two of them.
———
Two strands of blue light descended from the sky and appeared inside the Arcane Hall.
The enormous Arcane Hall was also extremely empty at this moment. Aside from the two of them, there wasn't a single other person.
Henny led Safiroth into a room inside the Arcane Hall.
Inside the room, a transparent crystal pillar stood quietly at the center.
[Origin of Magic]
Looking at it, Henny couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.
This was a magic tool personally created by Dean Rashel, a councilor, used to determine a person's specific magical talent.
Back then, Henny herself had been judged here as having no magical talent.
If not for Professor Viktor, she wouldn't have been able to become a proper mage.
Henny shook her head, stopping herself from dwelling on the past, and urged Safiroth on.
"Put your hand on it."
Safiroth obediently followed Henny's instructions and slowly placed her hand on it.
Several strands of glowing light, like flowing droplets of water, began merging with each other inside the crystal.
Very soon, after merging, the droplet-like magic began to spread outward, drawing three bright beams of light on the surface of the crystal.
Henny stared at the crystal, frozen in place.
"Magic Power, Third Tier!"
Generally speaking, 'Origin of Magic' divides a person's talent into ten tiers.
Different levels of magic power result in completely different numbers of light pillars displayed by the crystal.
Safiroth's talent was average, perhaps even a bit low.
But very quickly, Origin of Magic became unstable. The three light pillars merged again, then spread outward once more.
This time, there were five light pillars.
But this didn't last long either, as they reorganized once again.
Suddenly, eight light pillars appeared on the crystal's surface.
Seeing this scene, Henny sucked in a sharp breath.
Before she could marvel at it, the eight light pillars recombined, and finally the flowing light gradually dispersed, leaving the entire crystal dim and lifeless.
Now Henny really couldn't make sense of it.
So… does she have talent, or not?
After that, Origin of Magic fell completely silent.
Henny placed her own hand on it, and there wasn't even the slightest reaction.
"Mal… malfunctioned?"
It was the first time Henny had ever encountered such a situation. She stood there completely stunned.
She scratched her head, feeling a bit awkward.
Worried that Safiroth might be upset, Henny took the initiative to comfort her.
"Actually, magical talent doesn't really mean everything. I was even judged as having no magical talent."
"And yet I still became a mage, didn't I?"
But seeing that Safiroth was still expressionless, Henny hurriedly added, "Um, if you can't enroll, then I'll apply to the dean and let you become my teaching assistant!"
That way, at least Safiroth would have a job in the royal capital.
She wouldn't end up illiterate and clueless, getting tricked into becoming some people's little lamb.
Safiroth slowly turned her head and looked at Henny.
"Teaching assistant… what is that?"
"Um… it just means staying by my side and helping with some miscellaneous tasks. Of course, I won't let you get too tired."
Henny smiled as she explained to Safiroth, then thought of her terrifying destructive power and quickly joked, "Who knows, I might even need you to protect me."
Hearing this, Safiroth's body trembled slightly.
[Command keywords detected, 'follow', 'protect']
[Detecting target...]
Safiroth's green snake-like pupils kept contracting, as if confirming something.
[Whitelist target: Henny]
[Command: Execute]
She stared blankly at Henny and nodded.
"I understand."
"Oh? That sentence sounded really smooth. Not bad, not bad."
Henny smiled warmly and patted her on the shoulder, continuing, "Next, let's go take a look around some other places."
She led Safiroth out of the Arcane Hall, with Safiroth following closely behind her.
The two wandered around and eventually arrived before a massive crater surrounded by the academy.
This commemorative crater had remained here ever since the Demon War.
After several months, the crater had nearly been filled with rainwater, becoming a natural lake.
Standing there, memories flashed through Henny's eyes.
Every time she came here, she felt deeply moved.
'Professor Viktor...'
It was here that he saved her from the hands of demons.
Soon, Henny refocused her gaze and smiled as she explained to Safiroth behind her.
"This is where the academy's chief professor, Viktor Clavenna, defeated a demon. It has great commemorative significance."
Safiroth gazed at the crater, her snake-like pupils continuously examining the lake.
[Preliminary assessment: Fourth-tier War Magic]
[User: Viktor Clavenna]
"Record complete."
"Hm? What are you talking about?"
Just as Henny began to ask, a voice suddenly sounded beside her, "A sacred place… where demons were defeated."
She turned around to see a silver-haired man dressed in noble attire walking toward her.
Owiser Sol narrowed his eyes as he met Henny's gaze.
"I'm also very interested in demons, miss."
"Could you tell me about it?"
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