Heading Underground (pt.1)

Vian nodded readily and stood up from her seat, she held Alastor by his hand, "When are we going? Now?"

How pleasant it was to see her so eager to help him, Alastor was happy deep inside. However, he shook his head calmly as he pulled the map he had and showed it to Vian.

"I do not think it is safe to go there immediately. Look, our goal is basically going to this place," he pointed at the place where the Academy was located, then added.

"But of course, not here exactly. It is under it. The Academy has a special floor underground, which is also connected to an even lower cave. That is our destination."

"Hmm, I never knew about that place."

Scratching her head a bit, Vian tried to recall the structure of the Academy that she was taught when she was but a young kid.

'The Academy is like a small town.'

It had hospitals, education institutions, a shopping area, Alchemists, and everything that people needed. There were some rumors about how it was also surrounded by a magical barrier that kept any possible intruder away.

They had three main buildings, one was for the instructors, the second was for the students' dorms, and the third is the place where the students learn and train themselves.

"How do you know so much about it?"

Hearing the sudden question from Alastor, Vian blinked and faced him awkwardly, 'Damn in, did I mumble that or something?'

She had that habit, which could be completely terrible based on where she was and the people around her.

Thankfully, this topic was not a taboo, and she could easily answer him.

"I was taught about this when I was young. Somewhat, it is the basic education noble children receive as soon as they show enough potential to join."

Alastor nodded, "That makes sense. I never studied any of that as I was recognized very late, so I supposed everyone else knew about it by their personal self-study."

In reality, Alastor simply never knew about that all. The previous Alastor had some knowledge but it was written very briefly, and more focused on the most important parts of the Academy.

The previous Alastor acted as if he was expecting someone to come and take his place, which was intriguing for Alastor. He was provided with the exact information he needed, it was the best help he could ask for after attacking the helping system he got.

Unknowingly, Alastor fell silent as he pondered on his thoughts. Vian did not know what he was thinking about and immediately thought she had something wrong.

"Uh, I didn't mean to actually mention that, I am sorry…?"

"Hmm?"

"I am really sorry, I should've been more careful instead of-"

"Pause, Vian. No need to worry over nothing," mumbled Alastor who just understood why she got worried.

He had a rough backstory, everyone would be worried. Alastor just waved the matter away, he really needed to get this over with. The drag was for far too long.

Without letting Vian think about anything anymore, Alastor held Vian's hand and left the room.

"I see you know a little about it, and I already have the gist of it. I think the correct decision is going there as soon as possible, then."

Vian nodded and followed him obediently, not intending to make him let go of her hand. At the same time, she wanted to focus more on his safety rather than her trembling feelings.

"Are we going alone? I am unsure if we are actually enough. As in, something is telling me that we most likely should not go there alone."

Pointing to the phoenix flying behind them, Alastor responded, "My powers and this little birdie are going to be more than enough, if I may say."

'Is it?'

Despite wanting to question it, Vian swallowed her insecurities and nodded again. If Alastor had his trust in her, she should believe in herself as well. At least, that was how she wanted to believe.

The corridors were surprisingly empty as they strolled at a casual pace. But Vian thought that this must be due to the students leaving to take their classes.

"Are we going under the main building?"

"No, the place is actually under the instructors' building. We may have to be a little sneaky to go through it."

Alastor replied as he looked around. Unlike the young woman next to him, Alastor did not believe that he was so lucky that the time he started to head underground was the day where there were no students skipping any classes.

'Something is suspicious here.'

The silence was unnerving as they moved as quietly as they could. There was no one there around them, there was no Instructor, no student, not even one servant was present.

"–This feels like we are in some sort of illusion."

"Illusion? No way that is true."

Vian, almost immediately, denied Alastor's words. She had been watching for a while, their surroundings were real. In addition,

"I feel no mana in this place. It is strange, giving some traces should at least be around, but that also adds to the fact this cannot be an illusion."

"Hmm, I suppose you do have a point there."

Alastor let out a soft sigh, they were soon enough in front of the huge tower-like building which was the Instructors' building. The doors were perfectly smooth as they opened them, leaving no traces or noises behind them.

Following the map, Alastor crept through the dead silent building and into its depth in no time. Not only was there no one to stop them or question them, but Alastor could also feel something weird about the situation.

"This is clearly staged up," he told Vian who was now on guard with him, "Something is wrong about this place. No, not an illusion. I do agree I was a busy hasty in my conclusion, perhaps. However, now I am sure."

Vian silently watched as Alastor aimed his finger towards the ceiling, or to be more specific, towards the shadowy sphere that was taking its place there.

Alexander tried to attack the sphere once it realized the foreign mana source seemed to be suspicious, but the phoenix stopped upon a simple gesture of Alastor.

'Woah…'

"No, little phoenix. This is the reason why we are safe, you cannot destroy it. It is the only way we can enter without getting our asses handed to us on a golden plate."

Alexander landed on Alastor's shoulder and nodded softly. Meanwhile, Vian could only think about two things.

'Since when was Alex so obedient… And what is that thing Alastor is talking about?'