Chapter 13: Agreement of the Gods (1/2)

Even though the area between the outer and inner walls was huge, with so many people gathered in this singular spot, it was still a miracle that they didn't need to sit on top of each other.

With the initial hurdle of having the ancients accept him into their group now passed, Layn could finally relax. Even though just being amidst the enormous crowd of those people was still taxing on his emotional state, the archmage managed to grow beyond this anxiety. Right now, it turned into nothing more but a constant itch on his awareness, something that he could easily deal with or just flat-out ignore.

”Still, for your luck to be so bad…” Suddenly speaking up, Irea stopped Layn from contemplating over the details of his surroundings. ”This place isn't anywhere close to where you could learn the basics!”

Shaking her head in what was most likely supposed to be a disappointment, Irea actually failed to hide the excitement in her eyes.

”Oh? How far would a place fit for me to learn the basic be?” Rather than being discouraged by the words of this girl, Layn decided to be proactive about this matter. After all, there had to be a reason behind that excitement in the girl's eyes. If it was just a passing remark for her, she wouldn't have that look in her pupils.

”How far? Ugh, that's a tough question. The nearest place that comes to my mind is Yanyan academy… But I don't think it will be good for you to join its ranks. From my experiences there…” Clearly hesitating to answer Layn's question, Irea looked as if just bridging that place's name was enough to unsettle her.

”What would you advise me to do then? If that Yanyan place is no good…” Instead of forcing his way towards this academy, Layn simply allowed the girl to fill the blanks. Since she approached him with some kind of clear yet hidden purpose, pursuing the matter of that Yanyan place would only make it harder to actually reveal her intentions.

”To start from the very beginnings… How about you and me will go and…” Before the girl could even finish her sentence, a crisp sound of a hand smacking the back of her head disturbed her flow.

”Don't even think about it. Listen…” Once again using some kind of technique that allowed him to appear out of nowhere, the leader of the ancients put his hand on Irea's shoulder. Putting his weight on it, he forced the girl's knees to cave in, making her sit down on the ground.

”... I might not be an expert or a teacher of any sorts, but I still think going to the academy will be the best for you. Not only will that earn you an identification token, something that you will soon find to be in a dire need of, but it's also the perfect place to find the techniques suiting you.” As he ended his sentence, the man's face suddenly soured. ”But there is no denying of how shitty that place is. While on the desert, the strong eat the weak is taken literally, in that academy, unless you will bully others, you need to prepare to be bullied yourself.”

After saying his piece, the leader of the ancients looked sternly at the sitting girl. Reaching forth with his hand, he swung his forefinger to left and right, right in the girl's face before finally leaving.