253 Knows About What?
The deeper they went into the Land of the Damned, the more skeletons showed up to attack them. Just like before, the students did not talk with each other, and did not engage in any battle.
Everything was dealt by the two Official Mages, which made Arthur’s life easier, as he could walk and focus his attention on the thing that had followed them for a long time.
Arthur did not know if that thing was preparing to attack them, or was just watching. It was not a good feeling to have, and that the two Official Mages had noticed nothing strange meant the shadowy creature was strong, or at least good at stealth.
As no one there was talking with each other, Arthur did not have the chance to share his discoveries with Elena, so even she who was traveling with him did not know something was following them.
When night came, and all of them set up camp to rest, the mysterious creature finally attacked! When all of them were sleeping in tents, the creature approached the camp and took one student.
It happened so quietly only Arthur noticed the attack. When morning came and all of them were ready to continue their journey, the two Official Mages and the rest of the students realized someone was missing, which sent a shiver down their spines.
How did someone vanish with no one realizing it? It could happen to any of them. The students thought about the possibility, making them even more fidgeted.
“This is good.” Arthur thought.
Different from them, he had noticed the attack, and for him it was a good thing! The feeling of someone following them vanished, which meant that the creature picked up its dinner and was ready to leave.
But what if more of those creatures appeared? Or perhaps something worse?
After the incident, the two Official Mages hastened up their steps, diminishing the time they needed to traverse the Land of the Damned.
There was no rest, no camping, for an entire week! Those two Official Mages gave the students some potions which took away the tirednesses, allowing them to keep moving forward without the need to sleep.
Of course, they would have a backlash after finally arriving at the school, sleeping for an entire week or, but it was still better than dying.
They got out of the Land of the Damned without other casualties, which was rather good. Arthur was also happy that no other strange creatures appeared to kill them, but even if he left the area without facing problems, the problems were still in front of him.
“Did you really think we would not realize you are a spy? Who are you?” One of the Official Mages said, looking at Arthur and Elena, who were far from the rest of the students.
“What do you mean, sir? I don’t know what you are talking about.” Arthur said.
“There is no way these two mages saw through my disguise, right? They still think I am just a first circle mage, but one that should not be here.” Arthur thought.
“Don’t worry, kiddo. We will kill you in an instant so you will not feel any pain.”
Only one of the Official Mages prepared a spell, as they thought there was no need for the two of them to act.
A simple spell should be enough to end Arthur’s life. Well, that was what he made them think!
Arthur faked to be in fear, with a trembling body and tears in his eyes, making the students and the teachers look at him with pity.
“Don’t cry brat. Just die.”
The spell the mage chose was a dark flame, an elementary spell of the dark element. It flew toward Arthur and Elena, but when it was almost hitting him, he opened up his mouth and ate the spell.
“Huh?”
They could not understand what had happened, and Arthur would not let them react in time, anyway. He quickly cast his teleport, appearing in front of the mage, who still could not believe what was happening.
Then, he pierced his claws through the man’s chest, opening a big hole in it!
“Fuck!”
The mage cast a spell that locked Arthur in place with shadows and stepped back to recover from the wound. He could not fight anymore, as it was a deep wound that almost killed him.
“Fuck, he survived, and now I am at a disadvantage against these two.”
After realizing the fight would be a troublesome one, considering he would have to protect Elena as well, Arthur opted to use his teleport to free from the shadows, grabbing Elena and fleeing at top speed.
Everything happened so fast the students could not see a single thing, but the teachers saw something. A small token that was hanging on Arthur’s waist.
“Someone from the One Hundred Thunder Academy? Leader is thinking of plotting against them for a while now. This might be the fuel we needed!”
~~~~
Arthur did not stop for a single second, and after getting enough distance from those mages, he took out the Griffin, hopping on it and flying away, going in the direction where the school was.
“What did just happen?” Elena said.
She could barely see the fight between them, and then Arthur grabbed her out of nowhere, flying with her at an extraordinary speed! For a moment, Elena felt what it looked like to be an extraordinary mage, which ignited a flame inside of her.
“They uncovered our identities, but not my power, giving us the advantage. If the first mage died with my attack, then we could attack the others, but it did not go as planned.” Arthur said.
Even though he was strong, he was also someone who acted with care, not allowing to risk his life or Elena’s life.
A one versus two situations was not favorable. He did not even know the spells those mages had, which made everything harder! Fleeing was not what he liked to do, but sometimes it was necessary.
“How far are we from the school?”
“Hum, let me see on the map… We still need five days, I think.”
Five days to reach the city of Luinard, which was close to the One Hundred Thunder Academy, and it was one of the biggest cities on the central continent!
Luinard was ranked among the ten most prosperous cities. A place where most mages of the central continent dreamed of knowing, and Arthur got the chance to do just that!
After five days of straight flying with only a few stops to rest, Arthur and Elena reached Luinard!
The city was immense! When Arthur looked at it, Slyvian was the first thing that came to mind! It was comparable to the capital of the elves. These humans should be proud of such a thing.
Flying mounts were prohibited in the city, and only Official Mages could use a flying spell. Arthur already had the idea of giving the Griffin to Elena as a gift, as his flying speed was higher than that of the Griffin. He could teleport and already had Sully as his mount.
When he did that, Elena could not believe it, screaming in joy in front of the city’s gate, catching the attention of the nearby people.
“This is real?”
“Of course. You can use it to reach the academy more safely.”
“Thank you, Arthur! You are the best! Also, will you be my teacher there? I would love such a thing.”
“Maybe. If I have the time. Anyway, shall we go inside to explore the city?”
“Absolutely!”
Arthur then cast a flying spell to both him and Elena! She could not fly freely, as Arthur was the one who controlled the direction she would go, but that allowed her to fly side-by-side with him as they entered the city.
The moment he did that, a few guards used their own flying spells to meet up with him in the sky, making everyone inside Luinard look up.
“Stop right there. Only Official Mages may fly. You two will be sent to jail!” the guard said.
In their minds, it was almost impossible for someone as young as Arthur to be an Official Mage, but the moment they said those words and walked toward them, Arthur released his mana, shocking everyone in the city!
It was so dense the guards could barely breathe. Some weaker mages down there on the streets who were just watching the scene passed out with their noses bleeding.
“I am sorry, sir! I did not mean to offend you. It is just that you are so young and- “
“Young, talented, and handsome? I know. Please, don’t bother me or my student here anymore.”
“Of course. No problem, sir. Have a pleasant stay and enjoy everything we offer!”
The guards all flew back down with fearful faces, sweating like pigs.
“We almost died right there. Captain will be pissed!” One guard said.
“Only if he knows about it!”
“Knows about what?”
When the guards turned around, their captain was staring at them, making the remaining strength of those guards to vanish!