Damn, it’s really unbearable.

  Adion wiped some sweat from his forehead and got up to move his position to a new spot in the fighting pit, where some shadow from the walls still remained.

  He took his seat and once again grabbed hold of some space using his Authority. He once again made the space volatile, but he didn’t apply the step-by-step approach he had used previously.

  Usually, he had to first split the space into two parts, then four parts, eight parts, and so on. He then had to consciously manipulate the different parts of space to move around sporadically, Willing them to be more destructive. Of course, this was a process he had pretty much perfected by now, and he could take each step a lot faster, almost on instinct.

  But he wasn’t happy with just that. He wanted to move away from the step-by-step process, no matter how fast it was, and move on to something else. He wanted it to become something akin to a concept. Just like he didn’t have to increase a fire to become hotter and hotter when he conjured it, he didn’t see any reason not to be able to do the same with his volatile space. If he could, there might be a way to make improvements at a faster rate, or at least discover a new path.

  It really only does take a thought from me to make space volatile. But it starts off pretty weak. I have to make use of a lot of Will to increase the lethality of the attack.

  Adion let go of the space, and it soon returned to normal. He didn’t see any point in exhausting his Will too much, he needed time to think and test every new idea that came into his mind if he wanted to improve. If he exhausted his Will entirely so early in the day, he would waste a lot of time that could be spent practicing.

  “Did you hear about Princess Sellitha?” A voice suddenly reached Adion.

  Sell?

  Adion immediately spread his space mana to feel what was going on the other side of the wall.

  “What happened?” Another voice asked.

  “I don’t know everything, but apparently, she was carried out of her dorms by members of the Amyss family and taken away from the Academy in their carriage. I guess something serious must have happened for them to be willing to make a move like that on their own princess.”

  What!?

  Adion felt himself grow cold. His heart started beating fiercely.

  Adion grabbed hold of the space behind the two students and teleported over.

  “What happened to Sell?” Adion asked, trying to keep his voice from yelling.

  The two students turned around in surprise. “Ah, I’m not sure. But she was seen being carried away by some elves in a carriage with the Amyss family crest.”

  “When did this happen?” Adion asked, resisting the urge to beat the man in front of him. Even if he had answered straight away, Adion felt he was too slow.

  “Not long ago, maybe five minutes?”

  Adion turned around and ran away at full speed.

  I should be able to catch up. The carriage can’t move too fast inside the city.

  But why would they take her away? Did they discover our relationship? Even so, they can’t kidnap a student from the Academy, can they? I have to tell the Head-...Right, he’s gone.

  Is there anyone else I can ask? Dean Lukas should be willing to help, but I don’t know where he is at the moment. If I go to the Tower and he is somewhere else, I would waste a lot of precious time. It’s also not guaranteed he can do anything. I should have asked how powerful the people were who took Sell away.

  I should just assume that they are Soul mages. Even a Hard Soul mage is not impossible. Would they listen to Dean Lukas even if he is weaker? I somehow doubt it. If they are able to act like this within the Academy in front of witnesses, they are sure to have some backing here to make them unafraid of suffering consequences.

  Who let them in, though? Don’t they fear the Headmaster?

  Right, they wouldn’t know that the Headmaster would protect Sell because of me.

  It didn’t take long before Adion got out of the Old Academy. He decided not to ask for help from Dean Lukas.

  He looked around to see if he could spot any carriage that might be able to take him the rest of the way.

  Would it be quicker? At least in the Academy, I should take a carriage.

  Adion quickly ran up to a carriage at the side of the road and threw a pouch of Vastro coins to the driver.

  “Take me to the Academy gates as fast as you can!” Adion yelled before jumping into the carriage. Carriages within the Academy would usually only accept credits, but Adion didn’t think anyone working as a carriage driver would hesitate to accept his requests when it involved so many Vastro coins.

  And he was right as the carriage soon took off at full speed.

  There aren’t so many twists and turns inside the Academy, so the Silver beasts pulling the carriage should be slightly faster than my running speed. When I get into the city, I will have to move on my own, though, or I will never catch up.

  Should I ask Grandpa for help? No. There is no time for that. If I let them get too far, everything will be too late.

  Is there a way for me to catch up, though?

  Adion thought through his options. But his worry of losing Sell made it hard to think clearly.

  I’ll have to teleport if I want a chance. Thankfully, I have my mask. If I teleport across the rooftops, I should be able to get through the city pretty much undetected. It will also clear the view of the carriages down below and allow me to move unimpeded.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Adion soon arrived at the Academy gate, and he immediately jumped out of the carriage.

  “Did you see an Amyss family carriage drive past here?” Adion asked the guards there.

  “Um, yeah,” One of the guards nodded.

  “When did it leave here?” Adion asked.

  “About 10 minutes ago?” The guard answered hesitantly.

  “Thanks,” Aidon said, before running off.

  I’ll deal with you all later.

  Adion couldn’t help but feel furious at the incompetent guards. How could they let a carriage drive off with an unwilling student?

  If the Headmaster doesn’t want to get involved. I will take it upon myself to wreak some havoc once this is resolved. I’ll punish everyone responsible.

  Adion left the main street and ran into an alleyway, where he donned his mask. He then quickly teleported to the roof of the building next to him.

  They should be heading for the west side of the city if they are heading back to Amyss.

  Adion pushed his space sense as much as he could before grabbing hold of the space there and teleported to another rooftop. He stopped to look around before giving up trying to find the carriage for now, and teleported to the next building.

  They are ten minutes ahead of me, so it will take some time to catch up. I can ask the guards at the city gate even if I accidentally overtake them.

  Adion switched between running along the rooftops and teleporting as he headed to the western side of the city at full speed. His only worry was that he would exhaust his Will before making it.

  I have to push through. I can’t let them get away.

  As long as I can catch up, everything is salvageable.

  Since I’m the Headmaster’s disciple, they should be willing to at least listen to me. I’ll threaten them if I have to, or bribe them if that doesn’t work. Anything can be taken care of once the Headmaster gets back.

  Worst case, I’ll reveal the existence of another Elixir of Life. Now that I have the Headmaster behind me, I can handle the consequences. Well, it will still become troublesome. But not as troublesome as if they manage to take Sell to Iitha. I’m not sure even the Headmaster can help me at that point.

  No. He definitely will. He knows I’ll do anything to take Sell back, so unless he is willing to give up on me, he can’t give up on Sell.

  Still, things will be a lot easier if she is kept in Cyalis.

  “Can’t this thing move any faster?” Amelia questioned, annoyed at the carriage’s slow pace.

  “Relax, girl,” Bishop Derman said with a chuckle, “We got what we came for. You should rejoice.”

  “It won’t be long before it’s discovered,” Amelia said with a frown, “Even without the Headmaster here, it won’t be easy to get out of the Academy once it’s discovered that the Elixir of Life is gone.”

  Amelia conjured a small flame to burn off a patch of her clothing that had gotten some blood on it. It was far too conspicuous in case they got stopped.

  Amelia and Bishop Derman had gotten inside the Academy with the help of some people from Eternal Fire. They had no idea that their intention was to steal the Elixir of Life, though. If it was discovered, Amelia was sure that they would come forward and point them out immediately. Thus, she had taken care of them before they could betray their existence.

  She had already ordered her subordinates in the Church to take care of the Eternal Fire members she had been in contact with outside the Academy. There was a risk someone who knew who they were was left alive, but Amelia knew that they couldn’t expect to get away without suspicion. Her only goal was to get away from Shiora before anyone could stop them.

  They were sure to get discovered eventually, but the longer they could escape notice, the better.

  It’s a shame what this will do to the Fire Phoenix Church’s position here on Shiora. But the Elixir of Life is too important to let go.

  “You worry too much,” Bishop Derman said, looking out through the carriage window, “It will take at least a few hours before anyone notices anything. We’ll be long gone by then. Perhaps our involvement won’t ever be discovered. There are plenty of other families with motives to suspect, after all.”

  “Sage Vermon isn’t a fool,” Amelia said with a snort, “I would have to plan for a very long time before being able to come up with a plan that would make us clear of suspicion. With the importance of the Elixir of Life, the Headmaster will not spare any effort in getting to the bottom of its theft. I wouldn’t be surprised if he discovered the truth within a day after he returns.”

  “Perhaps,” Bishop Derman shrugged, “It’s not like he can do anything to us outside of Cyalis. And we’ll be long gone before he returns. In front of our Empire, Cyalis can do nothing but accept their inferiority.”

  “Of course I know that,” Amelia said, “But that’s only if we can get out of here before he returns.”

  “Surely he will be gone for many days still,” Bishop Derman said.

  “Nothing is ever certain,” Amelia said, “So keep your guard up until we are back in the Empire.”

  “Haha,” Bishop Derman laughed, “As you command.”

  Bishop Derman’s relaxed attitude annoyed Amelia, but she knew arguing wouldn’t get her anywhere.

  “Let me take a look,” Amelia said, wanting to get her mind off the predicament they were in until they left the Academy.

  “I was the one who killed a Soul mage for it,” Bishop Derman said.

  “And I was the one who came up with the plan,” Amelia argued.

  “For which I promised to ignore a traitor to the Empire,” Bishop Derman countered, “I’ll let you have a look later. I thought you didn’t want to celebrate too early? Not even I dare to take it out while we’re still in Cyalis. A lot of people would be able to recognize its aura.”

  I guess he has a point.

  “Oh? Isn’t that the Remori kid?” Bishop Derman asked.

  Amelia followed his eyes and looked out the carriage, where she spotted Adion running up to a carriage driver in a hurry.

  Why is he in such a hurry? Did something happen? Does it concern the Headmaster?

  She saw how Adion threw a pouch of coins to the driver before jumping into the carriage.

  “Should we stop him and ask why he is hurrying so?” Bishop Derman asked, “It could be news of the Headmaster.”

  “And reveal our presence here? Are you stupid?” Amelia asked.

  “We would have to silence him afterward, of course,” Bishop Derman said with a slight smile.

  “Don’t you dare,” Amelia said with a glare, “Remember your promise. Besides, killing the Headmaster’s disciple might incur his wrath on a whole other level. It is best not to push our luck too far.”

  “Haha,” Bishop Derman laughed, “I’m only joking. I’m not that careless.”

  But I wonder what happened. He seemed deeply troubled.

  Well, I can’t get involved. We have no time to waste.

  …

  Maybe something happened to Arlen?