Chp.26: Attacking the academy

It was a quiet morning at the Academy of Magic, as many others had been. Thanks to the fact that the weather was getting warmer as spring progressed, now when the students didn't have classes they could spend their time outdoors. On the back of the academy there was in fact a large garden full of well-kept lawns, trees that provided shade, benches where you could sit and even a pond full of frogs that delighted the place with their croaking. Therefore, during the warm months, the students spent there practically every moment when they weren't teaching (except when they got permission to leave the academy to wander around the city a bit) in that garden to sunbathe, have a picnic, study together or, in the case of the most enterprising couples, lurk behind some trees to have some fun. And with so many students gathered in one place, it was inevitable that sometimes they would start real debates that could be comparable of those ones of the experienced mages.

"I tell you that earth magic is the best way to deal with an opponent! You can block your enemy by continuously slowing them down, you can defend yourself by creating rock wards, and you can attack by building weapons with earth! There is nothing better!"

"That's bullshit! Earth magic takes too long to summon! Unless your opponent is a hundred yards away, they'll reach you before you run out of spell! You always need quick magic if you want to fight and at the same time powerful, just like the magic of water!"

"Nonsense! You can only hit with water magic! You can't defend or block your opponent!"

"Yes it is! You just have to turn the water into ice!"

"And would ice be stronger than rock?"

"It can be if you compress it enough! It's also cold, resulting in blood circulation problems that weaken the enemy!"

"However, it is a result inferior to the earth magic! And then, do we want to talk about the problem of resources? For the principle of conservation of magical energy, established by the philosopher Planio Sobo in the year 2031 of the Fifth Age, nothing is created and nothing is destroyed! So if you want to use magic you either convert mana into matter, wasting a huge amount of energy, or use it to manipulate your surroundings! The second method is clearly the best, but how do you apply it with water magic? Imagine finding yourself in a desert, or in a steppe, or even just in a city without fountains! Where do you get your water? Instead, you can find earth everywhere!"

"Ignorant! All four elements can be found everywhere, which is why they are considered essential! Even if you don't see it, water exists in a vaporous state in any environment, even the most arid ones! It may not be a lot, but still it is easy to manipulate for an experienced mage! Your earth magic, however, has its drawbacks! Imagine you're in the middle of the ocean: there's earth at the bottom, sure, but to bring it to you, you'd have to lift it up to the surface and then face at the pressure of several hundred tons of water! It would be easier to lift a mountain!"

The people responsible for so much noise were a girl with big glasses and two long braids and another one slightly taller with blond and wavy hair, who seemed about to jump on each other and tear off each other's ears. A crowd of other students had formed around them and they were watching the scene as if they were watching an extremely interesting show. Some were munching on something as if it would help them enjoy the scene better, others were taking notes, and some were even starting to put money on which of the two would win the debate. Suddenly the girl with the glasses seemed to brighten up and exclaimed: "Well, let's see what a teacher thinks! Professor Hakister, can you come here for a second please?"

Not far from them, Maldor was sitting on a bench and was simply reading a book, but before she could realize what was happening she found the eyes of dozens of students focused on her. "Um... sure. What do you need?" she said getting up and approaching them.

"Here, Professor Hakister, we were discussing which type of elemental magic was best in a fight" the girl with the glasses explained. "Someone, without saying names, said it was the earth magic, while someone else, again without saying names, said it was instead the water magic. What do you think?"

Maldor forced a smile. She knew very well who had said what since they had spoken less than five meters from her and in a rather loud tone of voice, but after the first twenty minutes she had lost interest in the debate and consequently she didn't know how many arguments they had brought up. "Well, it clearly depends on the type of context you are in, the opponent you challenge, in what he or she is specialized, the..."

"Yes, but let's imagine we don't know all these things!" the blonde girl exclaimed. "If you had to choose one type of magic for a battle, and you didn't know what it would be like, which would you choose?"

Maldor shook her head. As much as she enjoyed the students questioning and discussing with each other, sometimes their questions were so abstract that it was impossible to give them a precise answer. "Girls, this question is nonsensical. If I had to choose only one type of magic to use in a battle, then I would choose at random. For each type of magic there are a great deal of advantages and disadvantages, and to top it off every mage can study methods to lessen the above disadvantages. The amount of spells each type of magic allows you to use that for each one I can answer with another of equal range, even if it uses a different type of magic. Therefore, there is no type of magic more powerful than the others. Magic is neutral, it's the mages that make the difference. Magic is... well, it's like the metal a blacksmith uses to create a sword. The metal is always the same, regardless of the shape that it possesses; it is the blacksmith the one who models it in a more or less efficient way to create the sword"

The students listened carefully to her words, and were silent for a few moments to reflect on them. Maldor took that opportunity to leave: "Well, I'd say the debate is resolved. I hope I've been clear. See you in class!" and having said that she quickly leave and went to sit on a bench very, very distant from the one where she was sitting previously.

The students were silent a little longer, then the blonde girl said, "Actually, with this explanation, I agree with Professor Hakister. If indeed magic is like metal, then the shape doesn't matter, what matters is the blacksmith's skill"

"Yeah... now the whole discussion that we had before seems pretty silly to me" the girl with the glasses murmured. "We should have asked her earlier!"

"I think everyone here thought about it, but no one wanted to disturb her for fear she'd get angry. After all, it was her free time! But she was so kind! Many other professors aren't like that!" another student said.

"Yeah! Professor Hakister is the best!" another one said.

"Maybe we should ask her to explain this concept better in the next lesson! I mean, I'm sure she would be very specific and comprehensive!"

"But will she agree?"

"Of course! She's always available to answer any questions!"

"It's true, Professor Hakister is really the best! Even if a few days ago she made us clean up the whole classroom..."

"Well, you can't say we didn't deserve it. Especially some of us..."

"Hey, I already apologized, okay?"

"I don't think an apology can give us back a full hour of our lives, Thob!"

"Hey, did you know that the other day Professor Hakister was seen again with Professor Hugoson? What do you think, there is something between them?"

"In that case, Professor Hugoson is a lucky man! Any man would kill to date Professor Hakister!"

"Alador!"

"What? She's beautiful, smart and classy. I defy any man, and quite a few women too, to not desire such a person"

"I heard that her maid, Miss Kotaru, isn't so happy to see them together. Why, in your opinion?"

"Perhaps Professor Hakister already has a boyfriend, and Miss Kotaru doesn't want she make fun of Professor Hugoson!"

"It's impossible, Professor Hakister is too kind to make fun of Professor Hugoson like that! In my opinion it's more probable that she comes from a family with very strict rules regarding love affairs, and Miss Kotaru is here to control her. I heard which is quite common, especially among people of noble origin..."

"Or maybe, Miss Kotaru is also interested in Professor Hugoson, and she sees Professor Hakister as a rival!"

"And if instead you were really interested in Professor Hakister?"

"But they're both women!"

"And so? What's wrong with that?"

Fortunately Maldor's current body did not possess the hearing that she had when in her dragon body, so beyond a distance it was impossible for her to hear what her students were saying, otherwise her cheeks would get so hot that they would set fire to the bench where she was sitting. She continued reading her book seemingly without concern, at least until she heard a whisper in her right ear: "Are you ready?"

Maldor's hands stiffened slightly as she heard Keita's voice, but still she continued to read the book as if nothing had happened. "Yes" she whispered, knowing that her sister was beside her hidden by the invisibility rune. "And Kotaru is too. You can get busy anytime"

"Good" Keita's voice answered. "As soon as we start making noise, run to get the portable gate"

Maldor nodded imperceptibly, then she added: "Please, just one thing... if you can, avoid killing the students. Do it if it's necessary... but avoid it if it's not"

Keita was silent for a moment, then she replied: "Okay, we will do our best to avoid them getting involved. But I won't promise you anything"

"That's enough for me" Maldor said. "So, when are you going on stage?"

"In five minutes. Get ready" Keita replied, and then her voice faded, a sign that she was gone.

Maldor waited, still pretending to read her book. In her mind she was counting each second one by one. After those five minutes, three figures appeared above the roof of the academy. Even though they looked completely different than usual, Maldor knew they were Tikka, Keita, and Teramon. The three went almost unnoticed despite their sudden appearance, but they wouldn't be for long: Tikka in fact extracted a large vial containing what was clearly a potion of fire. She waved it slightly, and then she hurled it at a random spot in the academy.

As soon as the vial broke, an explosion rocked the entire building, and an entire corner of the roof was immediately ablaze. Students all over the school quickly panicked and teachers rushed outside to see what was going on. Tikka threw more vials containing the potion, creating more explosions, so strong that some walls cracked. While they weren't enough to do massive damage, they were still enough to scare humans.

"Quick! Everyone around me!" Maldor yelled at the students, who promptly obeyed; since they were frightened, they were ready to listen to the first person's orders with any authority. Maldor knew that once inside the school the students would be safe: the battle would take place outside and the blows shouldn't be enough to bring down the building. Very quickly she had all the students gathered in the garden and protected them with a magical shield from falling debris or the shock wave of the explosions, and she led them towards the entrance of the academy, from which many professors were already leaving to look for to resolve the situation.

"Great job, Professor Harister!" the vice principal Bump exclaimed upon seeing her. "Take the students to the underground kitchens, they'll be safer there! We'll treat them!"

Maldor nodded. Getting inside the school without arousing suspicion was exactly what he wanted; in this way no one would be surprised if at least for a while she wasn't fighting with the other teachers. This left her with enough time so that no one would interfere with her theft. She quickly led the students she was escorting into the underground kitchens, where all the other students of the academy were already, and then ran straight for the laboratory.