Chapter 349 Human, It’s Death You Seek! (1/2)

Theodore, human, aged 47, a mage from the Twilight Flatlands. His face was an ordinary one, his personality introverted, and he was a teacher at Winter Fort Academy.

The Twilight Flatlands was located to the south-east of the Empire and was connected to the hub of the Dark Forest. The place was shrouded with thick fog and filled with rivers and swamps, and the mist was often so heavy light simply could not seep through, which in turn was how it got its name.

According to legend, a primordial dragon resided there, and its very presence was the reason the locale was encumbered by the damp darkness.

As an ordinary child who grew under such a difficult environment, Theodore had always dreamt about leaving this cursed place to see the wide world, the free world.

Therefore, it was perhaps the mercy of the ancients that his wish was quickly granted—after being tested positive for magical affinity, the brown-haired boy was chosen as an adept by an Imperial Mage who had traveled across the world. Under the blessing of family and friends, he left the depressing place, and arrived at the heart of the Empire—the Imperial City, the Holy City of the Triplet Mountains.

That may have been the happiest time in his life. Not only was he able to learn the mysterious ways of magic, he could finally experience a lucid world without fog.

However, as happy times go, it did not last long. The war against the orcs had suddenly broken out. After being enlisted alongside his mentor, his mentor soon died on the battlefield. Though sudden, it was still nothing out of the ordinary—war would always claim lives.

However, despite thinking that he was already prepared for it, he was still at a loss when it really happened. He genuinely felt the irony that he himself, who was ever so weak would survive, while his mild yet formidable mentor died to a single ambush.

The war had concluded not long afterward. He was now an initiate without a mentor; he could learn by himself but at most he would end up as a rogue mage. Initially, he had simply wanted to leave the Flatlands, but now he had really fallen in love with magic and could not accept the fact that he was now an outcast.

With a once-in-a-lifetime resolve, he sought out a man and told him his hope to keep learning magic. That person was none other than the former comrade of his mentor and the leader of the Grand Team of Imperial Mages—Nostradamus, and it was a gamble that he won.

For the sake of a departed comrade, the old mage took him under his wing as a student and taught him certain spells. In return for his grace, Theodore would agree to whatever Nostradamus desired of him.

That naturally included this occasion, where the elderly mage asked him to leave his work with the Guild and leave the cozy Imperial City. He would then be stationed at the cold and desolated northern border as an academy teacher.

Although he agreed without hesitation, he now felt a tinge of regret.

”This damned place. The weather's as bad where I'm from!” Standing at the entrance of Winter Fort Academy and staring down at the foot of the mountain, Theodore rubbed his hands as his expression darkened.

”No, it's worse!”

The northern snow plains at the border was a hostile environment, and was definitely worse in every aspect than the Twilight Flatlands. It was to Theodore's utter shock that it would snow in summer too, and that the temperature was always below zero.

Additionally, the temperature was a notch lower than the surface mid-summit where the academy was built. He would have to wear three layers of cotton if he did not cast [Environment Survivability].

Many from the Twilight Flatlands tend to deem the gloom and cold of their hometown magical damage—which Theodore was absolutely certain about, too.

He thus believed that the winter of the Imperial City was a mere trifle, and that the northern realms were the same one way or the other. Now, he realized that he was wrong. The frost from the snowy mountains could go through his bones and even more clothing would not help.

Not far off were the sounds of frolicking. The brown-haired mage turned to see quite a number of teenagers playing around in the little forest near the academy.

They were only wearing a single thin layer of student robes as they dashed out and rolled about in the snow, all without a single sign of suffering from the bitter-cold air. All of them were students from the academy –it was their break time right now, the time for a breather.

”Are kids from the north… monsters?” Theodore mumbled unconsciously, tightening his robe and shaking his head.

”Professor Drake!” Suddenly, a youthful voice called out behind him.

He turned to find a boy and girl with identical platinum-blond and gray pupils walking towards him from the academy.

The boy was in front, and in his hand was a huge silver-gray steel box carved with streams of magical circuits. It looked extraordinarily heavy, but the boy with a hunter's braid held it effortlessly, just like the girl with a ponytail behind him.

”Thanks, Ivan, Amelia.”

Theodore took over the two boxes and touched the contents without opening the covers through spiritual senses, before nodding in satisfaction.

”Sorry to trouble you during your break. What do you two want as a reward?”

”I'm thinking about…” Ivan began immediately after hearing the mage, only for the girl behind him to kick him summarily, before grabbing the back of his collar and whispering something into his ear.

”Thanks, Professor Drake! We—uh, should always help our teachers whenever we could, although we—um. We had finished reading all the library books in the public section, so…”

”So you want to access and borrow books from the inner vault, huh?” Theodore cut him short as the boy stuttered an almost-verbatim quote from his sister. The mage smiled, shaking his head while taking out a little parchment and pen from his robes. ”You've been helping me so diligently, how would I not realize what you two would want… here.”

Hastily scribbling his signature and a note that would grant permission, the brown-haired mage handed the paper to the delighted siblings while giving them a kind reminder of what being a practitioner of magic meant.

”Ivan, Amelia, you two have been the most hardworking amongst all the students. Still, you two must be aware of your health and rest from time to time. And don't just stick to the tomes—the measure of a mage is their ability to apply knowledge instead of merely hoarding it. Go have a stroll outside, and apply your understanding in practical terms. By the way, the books at the inner vault are quite difficult. Although I'm a biological researcher, I've dabbled in other disciplines. Do come look for me if you're stumped.”

”Yes, sir! And thanks, Professor Drake!”

Amelia seems to be shy with words, which was why her interaction had always been handled by Ivan, her outgoing elder brother.

Nevertheless, both were overjoyed to receive permission to borrow books from the inner vault—the brother's lips parted in a goofy smile, while the sister grinned lightly like a lady.

The break time was not that long, and the siblings quickly bade the mage goodbye. As Theodore carried both boxes in hand and watched on as the two left, his eyes showed the hint of a smile as he pondered.

Both Ivan and Amelia were the most diligent students Winter Fort Academy had to offer. Nonetheless, it was the younger sibling whose unparalleled talents far outshone her brother. She would definitely step in the threshold of Gold one day, although it would not be a surprise to find her entering Supreme either.

It was exactly because of that the entire academy's teachers would treat her with additional favor. And she would never disappoint—whether it was her grades or her practice, she always placed first.

Ivan's innate gifts did not compare to his sister's, but he was an excellent student too. Hidden beneath his carefree demeanor, was a heart of iron.

Whenever he had a problem he could not solve, the youth would not hesitate to ask anyone be it student or teacher. Should that fail, he would move under his own initiative to research it. Furthermore, he had an affinity for magical mechanisms and mystical lifeforms, the latter of which gave Theodore the intention of taking him under his wing as an initiate.

If not for that, even he would not be that lenient towards the children.

”Rumor has it that their parents had died from the rampage of berserk dragons last year, which burnt their villages to ashes. That's what got the Dragon-slayer Count to massacre the beasts in rage, but the dead never return,” Theodore mumbled to himself pensively.

”Though they look cheerful, but they're filled with hate in their hearts… It's a power that motivates, but to let such emotions go unchecked would definitely bring reprisals in days to come.”

The experienced mage could see the siblings' hidden intention. Both were rather interested in dragons, which made Theodore suspect the reason they kept asking after him was not because he was their biological teacher or that their recent topic was on dragons.

But who cares—Theodore was not inclined to heed such matters. He was actually happy that their own abilities were acknowledged at such a meager age, and the siblings would definitely contribute to dragon-slaying preparations in the future.

And right now, it was time that he went to work.

Adjusting his grip on the boxes, the mage inhaled deeply and carried the boxes that could not be transported by spells down towards the icy lake beneath the mountain.

As mentioned before, Theodore was a researcher of magical creatures—otherwise known as a biologist.

In older times, his type was called contract mages. They were mages who, through contracts or artificial adjustments to their own bodies, earn ownership over magical creatures.