Chapter 15: Birds of a Feather (1)

Riokes—Jiang Zhe had always thought the magic academy he longed for was like the school from his past life. But the moment he stepped through its gates, he realized he was wrong.
To begin with, Riokes was dozens, even hundreds of times larger than the school from his past life. It was less of a school and more of a massive castle.
Of course, that castle wasn’t right in front of Jiang Zhe—it was far away, so far that all he could see was a small black silhouette. What was in front of him now was a dense jungle, with a path paved with cobblestones winding through it—a road over ten meters wide. Compared to the surrounding jungle, it could indeed be called a path.
“Are we all here?” The middle-aged magician walked over and said to the group of children—no, future magicians, “You should feel honored. You’re about to see an ancient castle that has witnessed the history of magic—Heli Riokes!”
Unlike the excited expressions of the other children, Jiang Zhe remained calm. To be honest, neither Riokes nor the history of magic interested him at all. All he cared about was magic itself.
Glancing at the winding path, Jiang Zhe asked, “So, how do we get there? By walking?”
The middle-aged magician looked at Jiang Zhe in surprise and said with a teasing tone, “That’s how it’s always been… But for newcomers who are visiting Riokes for the first time, the academy will make an exception…” With that, he pulled out a staff from his magic cloak and recited a complex and hard-to-understand spell. Soon, the sound of horse hooves gradually came from the distant forest, and then, a dozen or so carriages appeared in sight.
Jiang Zhe had seen such carriages on TV—they resembled those from medieval Europe, with their bodies and lanterns on both sides reflecting a strong Western cultural influence. But Jiang Zhe wasn’t interested in the carriages themselves. What caught his attention were the horses pulling them—were those really horses?
Staring at the horses covered in flames—no, almost entirely made of flames—Jiang Zhe, who had never seen true magic before, was stunned.
“A fire-type summoning spell, a very advanced spell,” said a girl with fluffy red hair beside Jiang Zhe. Seeming to notice his shock, she added with a hint of pride, “Want to know why it’s considered such an advanced spell?”
“I’m not interested. Thanks!”
“You!” The girl got angry, glared at Jiang Zhe fiercely, and then turned to get on the carriage.

Actually, she misunderstood. What Jiang Zhe meant by “not interested” was that he wasn’t interested in the magic itself. As someone who had never come into contact with magic before, Jiang Zhe was interested in aggressive spells, not those that could only be used to pull carts—in his eyes, those flame-breathing horses might look impressive, but they had nothing special about them.

“Alright,” the middle-aged magician said, putting away his staff and addressing the group of children, “It’s getting late. Everyone, get on the carriage. We still have a long way to go to the ancient castle.”

As the magician said, there was indeed a long distance to the Rex Ancient Castle. Following the narrow, winding path forward, they suddenly came to an open area where a vast sky-blue lake lay before them. Due to the setting sun, the lake’s surface reflected golden light, creating a dazzling sight.

There were some unknown birds on the lake, and they didn’t seem startled by the carriage either; they all looked in that direction. Besides the birds, it seemed there were many beasts living in the forests around Rex Academy. At least Jiang Zhe saw a grizzly bear—one paw resting on a tree trunk, its body upright, its eyes rolling as it watched the carriage pass by.

Looking at the seemingly friendly bear, Jiang Zhe smiled slightly. “Interesting…” Before he could finish speaking, a question came from the seat across from him, “What’s your name?”

It was the red-haired girl from earlier. She wasn’t old, around Jiang Zhe’s age. But from her clothing, it was clear she came from a wealthy family. Jiang Zhe saw an emblem with a sword and thorns on her chest—she must belong to a prominent family. In the empire, only families from prominent backgrounds that had made outstanding contributions to the empire were eligible to use the sword and shield emblem, as these two symbols were the main components of the empire’s national emblem.

“Sos!”

“Sos? What’s your surname?”

Giving her a brief glance, Jiang Zhe turned his attention back to the scenery outside the window. Surname? Who the hell knew his surname! He only remembered being called Sos… Wait, how did he even get such a name?

‘Sos, hehe!’ A light laugh echoed in Jiang Zhe’s mind.

“…”

What was going on?

That familiar voice… Who was it? Who exactly?

He only remembered arriving by some lake after crossing over…

And then?

Why was he in a forest when he woke up again?

What had he forgotten during that time?

No, it was impossible to have forgotten…

He couldn’t have remembered the name Sos out of nowhere. Someone must have called him that…

Who exactly?

What on earth…
“Hey!” Suddenly, an impatient voice interrupted Jiang Zhe’s thoughts. “I’m asking you a question!”
Frowning and giving the seemingly angry girl a displeased look, Jiang Zhe said, “May I ask what’s the matter?”
“Where are you from? You don’t seem to be from around here…”
“Ron!”
“Ron?” The girl tilted her head in confusion. Just as she was about to speak, a light laugh came from inside the car. “Ron, I think it’s the name of a small village…”
It was a child with golden hair, dressed in an exquisitely crafted black suit—clearly not from some minor family.
Anyway, the seven or eight children traveling with Jiang Zhe seemed to come from fairly good families, except for Jiang Zhe… well, he was special.
Glancing briefly at the smug golden-haired boy, Jiang Zhe could easily guess what he was thinking. People usually like to boost themselves or prove themselves by belittling others, don’t they?
“Ron is the name of a small village, right?”
Jiang Zhe had no interest in arguing with a ten-year-old, even though he himself also looked about ten. “If you say so.”
“You!” The golden-haired boy was clearly dissatisfied with this answer. His face turned red. Suddenly remembering something, he said to the other children in the car, “By the way, I just heard a very interesting story. Do you want to hear it?”
“Go ahead,” said a child with round eyes, focused on his book.
The golden-haired boy gave him an annoyed look. Only when he noticed a shield patterned with blue and green on the other boy’s chest emblem did he stop looking displeased. With a mocking tone, he said, “This year, a commoner came to Riox…”
“That’s not unusual!” The boy in glasses didn’t even lift his head. He flipped a page in his book and said indifferently, “Riox recruits some commoner students every year… It’s true that some outstanding magicians come from among commoners. Magic isn’t exclusive to the nobility…” With that, he glanced at the emblem on the other boy’s chest and added, “Don’t you think so, Lord Flores?”

“That’s true, Lord O’Gil…” The blond boy smiled slightly, glanced at Jiang Zhe, and said mockingly, “But this commoner is a bit special—he actually asked Rex to let him owe those five hundred gold coins! Hey! Commoners are just commoners—why not stay in the countryside? Why come all the way to Sassen? My father said that one’s fate is determined at birth… Want to become a mage? Want to become a noble? Hmm?”
“He? Asked Rex?”
“This commoner?”
After the blond boy’s mocking remarks, murmurs arose inside the carriage. Even the red-haired girl who had first spoken to Jiang Zhe was surprised and sized him up from head to toe.
Jiang Zhe didn’t comment at all; he simply rested his head on his hand and gazed out the window.
The boy with glasses, surnamed O’Gil, turned to look at Jiang Zhe sitting next to him several times. Seeing that Jiang Zhe remained unfazed, he asked in confusion, “Aren’t you going to defend yourself?”
Still staring out the window, Jiang Zhe replied calmly, “That’s just how it is. There’s nothing to defend. Besides, I don’t think it’s anything shameful. As you said, magic isn’t exclusive to nobles. As for fate, it means nothing to me!”
“You!” The blond boy’s face turned red as he suddenly sneered, “See? I didn’t lie to you…”
Amid a few light mocking laughs in the carriage, the boy with glasses slammed his book shut and stretched out his hand. “Scott O’Gil!”
Turning around in slight surprise, Jiang Zhe saw sincerity in his eyes. After hesitating for a moment, he extended his hand. “Sos!”
“Very good!” Scott nodded with a smile and then continued reading his book, completely ignoring the blond boy sitting across from him, whose face was now red with anger.
By this time, the carriage had passed through the forest path, revealing a vast and flat meadow. Behind the meadow stood a huge castle—Heliorex, the “holy land” where over thirty thousand mages had lived for hundreds of years.
Enormous and majestic!
Upon seeing this ancient castle, Jiang Zhe couldn’t help but think of the cities in ancient China. He found it hard to believe that there existed castles in this other world that rivaled those of ancient China…
Like everything else in this world, the castle also reflected Western culture. It was built from giant stones as tall as a person. The outer walls were covered with vines and moss—a kind of grandeur different from that of ancient Chinese architecture!

The ancient castle was surrounded by four sharp towers that reached into the clouds. Jiang Zhe couldn’t even estimate the true height of the tallest one. Later, he learned that it actually contained a library holding over twenty thousand volumes on magic, along with related casting gestures, spells, and artifacts—essentially containing all the empire’s magical knowledge. Even the royal magicians’ library wasn’t as comprehensive as this one.

The carriage stopped on the stone-paved road outside the castle, and the voice of the middle-aged magician came from outside. “Alright, kids, you can get off now!”

Had they finally arrived? The gateway to the world of magic?

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Zhe pushed open the carriage door and stepped down. Behind him was a blond boy with a red face and angry eyes, as well as a red-haired girl who also stood up, staring in shock at Jiang Zhe’s background…

A commoner walking in front of nobles? Was he really a commoner? Scott O’Gill pushed up his glasses and glanced mockingly at the stunned people in the carriage before stepping down and walking beside Jiang Zhe, saying with a light laugh, “It seems you’ve angered them, buddy!”

At that moment, Jiang Zhe was staring blankly at the castle’s gate, over twenty meters high, on the steps. Hearing the voice, he turned with confusion and said, “Me? Anger them?”

“Heh,” Scott smiled, pushed up his glasses, and said indifferently, “Don’t worry. It’s just the silly vanity of some bored nobles!”

Glancing at Scott strangely, Jiang Zhe said, “If I’m guessing right, you’re also a noble, right?”

“That’s why I said it’s the silly vanity of bored nobles, not nobles as a whole…”

“You’re quite interesting to talk to!”

“You too!”

After all the children had gotten off the carriage, the middle-aged magician whistled, and the carriages slowly retraced their path along the road until they disappeared from sight. At the same time, the castle’s gate slowly opened, and a middle-aged female magician wearing a dark green magic cloak stepped out.

“Are these the children? Hod?”

The middle-aged magician shrugged and said to the children behind him, “Go in, kids. The academy has prepared a banquet to welcome the new students. Of course, before that, you’ll need to follow Miss Tilda. She’ll assign you dormitories. If nothing goes wrong, you’ll be living there for a year… Let me give you some advice ahead of time: Riox is quite large, so it’s best to remember the way to your dormitory and not wander around, especially at night! Also, until you learn one or two life-saving spells, it’s better not to approach the woods outside the castle—whether in the north or the south! A magician’s curiosity isn’t meant for such things…”

“Alright, Hod, don’t scare these lovely children,” said the middle-aged female magician with a smile. “Although I really like it when people call me Miss Tilda… kids, you can also call me Lady Tilda. If that’s fine with you, please follow me!”

“Okay, Miss Tilda!” the children said with smiles.

“What lovely children,” laughed Lady Tilda. She turned and walked through the gate, followed by the group of children. No, from the moment they stepped into Riox, they had already become apprentices of the academy’s magic school.

Not only was the gate huge, but the hall inside was also astonishingly large—Jiang Zhe had never seen a hall of such scale before. Torches illuminated the hall brightly, and the walls were adorned with portraits of past dark magic masters, so vivid that when the children passed by, the figures in the portraits would take off their hats and smile at them…

Lady Tilda led the children to the tower in the west—a tower that appeared extremely tall from a distance and even more majestic up close. Presumably, this was where Riox’s students lived.

Through her explanations along the way, Jiang Zhe learned that the tower had seven floors in total. From bottom to top, each floor housed students of different grades, while the seventh floor was reserved for the professors. Of course, some exceptionally talented graduates who wished to stay at the school could also live there.

After leading the children to the hall on the ground floor of the tower, Lady Tilda walked over to a table in the hall. On the table was a black box covered in magic arrays, looking very mysterious.

“Alright, kids, please stand properly,” said Miss Tilda, tapping the black box and smiling. “Including you, there are 329 students in first grade. You’re the last batch. After being assigned to dormitories, get familiar with your rooms first. Well, gather here in 15 minutes. Any questions?”
“Miss Tilda, how are the rooms assigned?” asked a boy curiously.
“It’s very simple,” said Miss Tilda with a smile. “Just catch the parchment that flies out of this box later…”
“Miss Tilda, what about us girls…”
“Don’t worry,” said Miss Tilda teasingly. “You won’t be assigned to rooms where boys live. Oh, and although it might not be necessary, I’d like to remind the boys that every room and every door here has a barrier. So… disturbing others, especially girls, will result in punishment… Hehehe…”
“Is this really a reminder? Judging from that laugh, it doesn’t seem like it,” said Scott, pushing up his glasses.
“I agree!” added Jiang Zhe with a wry smile.
“Well…” Looking at the quiet children, Miss Tilda pulled out a wand from her magic cloak and gently tapped the black box. The box trembled, releasing parchment equal in number to the children, which flew into each child’s hands.
Reaching out to catch the parchment, Jiang Zhe murmured the words on it.
“1-101?”
“Oh?” Scott glanced at him in surprise, lifted his own parchment with his fingers, and smiled. “It seems we’ll have to get along for a long time…”
“Heh!” Jiang Zhe smiled. To be honest, he felt a bit fond of this glasses-wearing, polite boy. He seemed different from those nobles…
“Then, let’s go check out our rooms, Thor?”
“Sure!”
What would the dormitories in the magic academy look like? They probably wouldn’t be the same as those in college in his past life, right? That would be too boring… No, there should be something interesting…
Jiang Zhe and Scott found the room corresponding to their numbers, and the door was open…
Before Jiang Zhe could take in the room’s layout, he saw a strange guy standing at the window, bare-chested, posing in various ways…

“Hey, guys, you really showed up late… Well, don’t you have any comments on my muscular physique? Don’t hold back with your compliments…”
Glancing at that guy’s lackluster muscular build, Jiang Zhe opened his mouth and was stunned for a long time before suddenly turning to Scott and saying, “I think we need to change rooms…”
Scott seemed to recover from his shock, pushed his glasses up, and said with a strange expression, “I agree!”