Extra Of The Magus Academy-Chapter 56: Allure Of The Top

[The Orion Sage Academy Lodging]

"They made my lodging exactly according to specifications… how considerate."

An old man, having a bald head and a slightly long white beard—an appearance akin to that of a monk—said calmly as he looked around the vast plain room where he would be spending the night.

Other than a sleeping mat at the corner of his room, the place was virtually empty. Of course, he had brought a few things with him, but everything was inside a small box, and it was also placed beside his sleeping mat.

As a minimalist, he was more than satisfied with the state of his room.

"What about all of you?" The Supervisor Monk sat on his mat and cast his gaze on the seated twenty-five students that sat opposite him. "Were your rooms according to specifications?"

They all had serene expressions on their faces as they nodded with prestige and elegance.

"That’s good. How generous…"

This was the Orion Sage Academy, ranked 4th among all 4 Academies in the Empire.

Unlike the Akashic Academy, which explored all applications of Spirit Arts as well as Spells, or the Asura Spirit Academy, whose entire ethos was founded on the principle of power, the Orion Sage Academy embodied self control and oneness with nature.

They stripped themselves of superficial things and pursued the path of a Mage to better understand their Souls and deepen their connection and understanding of nature.

As such, they were at the forefront when it came to the theoretical breakthroughs in the Mage Society as well as new discoveries regarding Spirits. However, due to their policies, the further advancements and applications of their discoveries were often utilized by other Academies, making them score extremely low in the rankings.

Still, for those who desired more scholarly roles as Mages, or for Professional Mages who wanted to deepen their bond with their Familiars and their overall understanding of the power they possessed, it is preferable to spend time in the Orion Sage Academy.

"Now, I know you all have to rest, but I desire to give all of you some words of admonition before you rest up." The Monk started calmly. "Do not be overwhelmed by your surroundings. I noticed how a lot of you, particularly the Apprentices, gawked at the extravagant environments that you saw upon arriving here."

A lot of faces turned red in embarrassment.

"There’s no need to feel ashamed, however it’s also important to know that these are all superficial things. Our true goal is to deepen our understanding of ourselves and connect even more with the Familiars we host in our Souls."

The seniors nodded, but some Apprentices appeared uncomfortable with this logic.

"It seems you have conflicting ideas." The monk noticed the discomfort of the students and smiled softly. "Please… let your thoughts be heard."

At that instant, a student raised his hand and declared very brazenly.

"Is this not the right opportunity to rise from our low rank? The Akashic Academy is facing some issues, so this would be the perfect—"

"And why would we need to do that?"

Another student raised her hand and spoke. "A lot of people look down on us because we are Rank 4! If we rank a lot higher, we can prove that we aren’t weaklings at all! We can also bring in new people to the Academy."

The wise monk shook his head, broadening his serene smile.

"There is no need to worry about the thoughts of others. Merely let their gazes wash over you as water would a fortified stone." He said. "And we already have more than enough students. If more come, we will embrace them, but if more do not… then we will simply be content with what we have."

Unlike other Academies that teemed with many capable students, the combat-oriented students of the Orion Sage Academy were very few. In fact, among the 25 students who were present, many of them weren’t combat-oriented and simply came along to fill a head count.

This was due to the public perception of the Academy as merely a scholarly ground and nothing more. The seniors and even the Supervisor seemed perfectly content with this, but the Apprentices were obviously bothered.

Perhaps it was due to their impulsive age or lack of experience, but they craved something more.

They wanted to win!

"We have Finn and Fey this time!" One of the students excitedly pointed to two identical twins—a boy and a girl. "Plus, the Akashic Academy is unstable right now. It’s the perfect time to rise."

The other Apprentices nodded and smiled.

Some of the seniors even felt moved by the considerations of their juniors and nodded in support.

As for the identical siblings, both of whom had white hair and flower petal-like eyes, they had distinct reactions to express their determination. The boy clenched his fist and hardened his face in full support of his comrades’ rhetoric.

However, the girl’s face was perfectly still.

She was pale as ice, with calm violet eyes that remained still even after hearing the cheers of her comrades.

With a small nod, she showed her alignment with them.

Everyone was in high spirits, as they were fully confident in the genius twins, known as the hidden gems of the Orion Sage Academy.

Sure, they were still blossoming flowers, but they had exceeded most of their seniors when it came to pure ability. This showed just how immense their talent was, and the limitless potential hidden within them.

"We won’t let you all down! The hopes you have placed in us will be rewarded!" Finn bowed his head as he made this declaration. "Right, sis?"

The pale beauty nodded, keeping her emotionless demeanor on.

That meant she was excited.

"Yeaahhh!!! Let’s do it!" Everyone yelled in excitement, filling the room with cheerful noise—the kind that a family would have.

Their Supervisor watched this and simply smiled softly.

’I won’t try to stop you. Being of free spirit and choosing your own path is also the road to self discovery and deep enlightenment.’

Closing his eyes, he remembered the simple but peaceful compound of their humble Academy.

The Orion Sage Academy was slowly diminishing as a result of their philosophies causing their overall military strength to diminish. This made them less valuable to the Empire, which desired results above all else.

If they continued down this path, it could perhaps lead to obscurity.

’Who are we to fight against fate, though?’ The Monk thought. ’If these young ones are to succeed, perhaps a wind of change will visit our lands once more and we shall experience a new dawn.’

However, he did not want to burden them with expectations. Even if they failed, they could learn from their failings and improve as individuals.

’I only hope you all see it that way…’

***********

[The Nirvana Gate Academy Lodging]

It was a mess.

After cleaning up, the students all went for dinner, all of them chugging down as much water and juice as they stuffed their mouths with as much food as possible. As they ate their meals mannerlessly and noisily, the students engaged in conversations

"Hehe! I can’t wait to knock these Akashic Academy guys off their high horse."

"Right? Did you see how that stupid elder was looking at us? Like we were dirt of some kind… tch!"

"They can all eat shit!"

"I can’t wait to see that old man’s face when we came out as Number 1!"

"Yeah, we need to get back at him for looking down on us. Since our dear Supervisor won’t stand up for us, we have to do it ourselves!"

All eyes fell on the youthful Supervisor who was drinking tea in a corner, almost as if he was exiled from sitting amongst members of his own Academy. Upon hearing them reference him, he shuddered slightly and groaned.

"I-I already t-told y-y-you guys… it’s not that s-simple!" He adjusted his glasses as he spoke, frustration etched on his face.

"Yeah, yeah… whatever you say."

"B-but—!" He grew even more frustrated. "T-that wa-was an Elder from the A-Academy B-B-Boar—"

"S-shut up!" The students mimicked his stutter and laughed at him.

Everyone joined in on the laughter, showing him pure contempt, and for obvious reasons.

They didn’t respect him.

"Did you see the Supervisors of the other Academies? They looked strong and capable… but look who we’re stuck with!"

"Yeah! A freaking noob… no wonder they looked down on us!"

"Why did our normal Supervisor have to die and leave us with his incompetent assistant? Tch!"

The Supervisor opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something in his defense, or perhaps chastise the young ones for treating their superior in such a way, but he figured saying anything would only make matters worse.

As a result, he kept his mouth open like an idiot.

Of course, someone pointed that out and even more laughter echoed within the room. If not for the fact that the wall was reinforced with Spells, their noisy laughter would have leaked outside.

"Well, whatever!" The young man who appeared to be their ringleader grinned.

He was an Expert Stage Student, and his dark brown hair and his dark amber eyes depicted immense malice buried deep within him.

"What matters now is getting first place this time around… no matter what we have to do to get it!" The way he said it made it sound like even underhanded means were acceptable.

Since the Nirvana Gate Academy was in Rank 3, they had two hurdles to cross.

Perhaps underhanded means were necessary.

"The Akashic Magus Academy has been going through some issues, so the main enemies will most likely be those muscleheads from the Asura Spirit Academy, and they are going down as well."

Everyone cheered in response to his words.

The Supervisor wanted to say something, but he sighed, adjusting his glasses as he watched all of them revel in their determination to win.

"Of course, I plan to win first place in the Expert Rounds, and my younger brother is definitely taking the victory for the Apprentice Rounds." For a brief moment, everyone looked at his brother.

They shared a clear resemblance, but the younger boy had a more immature look and donned a shorter haircut.

"Everyone in Intermediate just needs to try their best! Even if you don’t win… as long as we can score two victories out of three, we will be regarded as the victors."

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"YEAAHHHH!!!"

Everyone was excited, ready to crush their obvious competition.

However, somewhere in the borders of the Akashic Magus Academy, a certain student named Ashfelt Zephyr was having a different train of thought.

Something no other student was considering.