Chapter 22: Events Held

Ryox is a magic academy with a long history and a strong faculty. Every professor there has gone through rigorous certification for magical practitioner status, assessed by the Imperial Magicians’ Association. If one wishes to earn the title of magician and enjoy noble privileges, passing this certification is essential.

Most of the professors teaching at Ryox Academy are graduates of this very institution. Although they are not part of the Royal Magicians’ Corps, the empire grants them honorary membership status. In other words, every professor at Ryox can be considered a noble, so the absurd act of insulting professors would never occur there.

Ryox serves as a reservoir of magical power for the empire, which, in turn, acts as a backing support for Ryox. Every year, the successive Sassan kings allocate substantial funds to Ryox Academy—firstly to strengthen the empire’s control and influence over the academy and secondly to enhance the magical skills of its students.

In the empire, items such as wands, magic sticks, various gems, and magic rings are regulated. The empire strictly prohibits the circulation of these magical artifacts in the market. Of course, despite these regulations, some black markets still sell such items, targeting the empire’s mercenaries—even a magically enchanted sword can bring immeasurable benefits to mercenaries who do not know magic.

Magical artifacts generally refer to enchanted weapons, jewelry, and other items, including magic scrolls.

However, compared to magicians, there are not many enchanters in the empire, and only a few are well-known. As a result, magical artifacts are extremely rare overall. Even though Ryox has trained countless enchanters, magical artifacts remain scarce because most of them are requisitioned by the imperial army.

Nevertheless, as the largest and oldest magic academy in the empire, Ryox is not short of magical artifacts. These include precious gems that can amplify magical power. Ryox typically distributes these artifacts as incentives to outstanding students—those in higher grades.

And that was one of the artifacts Jiang Zhe had heard about…

Generally, the academy stipulates that only students in grade four and above may participate in the activity. Teams are usually composed of three students from the same dormitory. During this time, the academy asks professors to hide magical items in secluded areas in the woods behind the ancient castle and distribute maps marked with all the locations. The academy does not restrict students from “stealing” maps from other teams or from using magic during the activity, as this is intended to spur their growth. However, it prohibits the use of high-damage magic of grade five or above, especially fire-based magic; it restricts the use of forbidden spells; it bans black magic; and it strictly forbids continuing to use magic after an opposing team has surrendered. Students who seek help should be assisted, and if unable, they must promptly notify a nearby professor… The activity is supervised by powerful professors, so even if a student gets injured, help can be provided promptly. Overall, no major incidents have occurred, as Rexos is the largest magic academy in the empire, and even the children of high-ranking nobles dare not deliberately harm others within the academy. The activity is very interesting, especially when precious magical items are found, but it’s not fun for younger students. Watching the older students excitedly discuss the “forest treasure hunt,” they feel both envious and resentful, and secretly criticize the academy. In fact, the former headmaster of Rexos isn’t unwilling to let younger students participate, but given the huge difference in strength, even if younger students find their desired magical items, they may be “stolen” by older students, which could easily lead to negative emotions or even hatred among students. The headmaster doesn’t want this and hopes that every student in the academy approaches learning magic with a positive attitude. In July of the new calendar year 403, the theoretical courses for all grades have largely come to an end. Both older and younger students have entered the stage of applying the magic they’ve learned. But theory is still theory, and the classroom is still the classroom. Real battles between magicians don’t give you much time to recite spells—after this activity, most fourth-year students will understand and firmly remember this. Those who play the “villain role” are usually students in grades five to six. It must be said that Rexos Academy’s teaching methods are truly unique. ※※※

Zim is already a sixth-grade student. As long as he passes the qualification assessment upon graduation, he can become a respected magician. Like all students at Riox, Zim also participated in the treasure hunt organized by the academy in the fourth grade with hopes and a bit of luck. Unfortunately, he ran into a group of sixth-grade seniors along the way. Although some advanced magic techniques were made available to students in the fourth grade, Zim’s mastery of these spells was still far behind that of the older students. In the end, Zim and his two roommates got nothing and suffered some minor injuries. He was very angry at the time, but now, looking back, he finds it quite amusing. He plans to give his younger peers a good “lesson,” just like the sixth-grade seniors did before, to show them that knowing how to cast magic and using it wisely are two completely different things…

“Hey!”

Glancing at the fourth-grade students chatting excitedly around the fountain, Zim’s lips curled into a smile. He remembered being just as excited back then, hoping to get a magic-enhancing item, preferably a gemstone or something. But… it’s fine. At least he can teach them things they can’t learn in class, like a real magician duel! As a senior, “teaching” his younger peers is part of Riox’s fine tradition!

As he was thinking, Zim, holding the magic texts in his hand, turned a corner. Suddenly, someone rushed out from around the corner. Neither of them could stop in time, and they collided violently with a “bang,” scattering white parchment with a slight yellow tint all over the ground.

“Ow!” It was unimaginable—Zim felt as if he had hit a wall, especially his shoulder and right leg, which hurt terribly. Grinning in pain, he looked up and saw the badge on the other person’s chest, only to realize it was just a first-grade student. This guy should be at the Imperial Knight Academy!

As a sixth-grade senior, Zim naturally didn’t want to argue over such a trivial matter with a first-grade student. Rubbing his shoulder, he spoke first, “Are you okay, junior…?”

“I’m fine…” The boy looked at Zim, who was grimacing in pain, and scratched his head in confusion.

“What… what major are you in?”

“The Enhancement major…”

No wonder! Zim sighed bitterly.

“Are… are you okay, senior?”

How could there be no problem? Zim knew his own troubles well, but he didn’t know what to say. He hurriedly picked up the parchment on the ground and said, “It’s fine, just be more careful next time…” With that, he left in a rush. He felt almost knocked to the ground by a first-year student—quite embarrassing as a sixth-year senior.

In his haste, he didn’t notice that another parchment had been pulled down at the corner…

“Huh? What’s this? Could it be dropped by that person?”

Picking up the parchment on the ground with confusion, Allen frowned as he examined it. It seemed to be a map, resembling the woods behind the ancient castle, but what were those crosses on it?

“Could it be…” Seemingly realizing something, Allen opened his mouth, glanced around to see no one paying attention, then quickly hid the map in his magic robe with a smirk…

※※※

Meanwhile, our classmate Jiang Zhe was sitting on the sofa in the dormitory, staring at a fireball. On the sofa next to him, Scott held a pen, concentrating intently on the magic book in his hands…

“Tch!” Jiang Zhe frowned.

“Hm?” Scott instinctively looked up, his expression somewhat unnatural. “Did… did something happen?” He stared fixedly at the fireball in Jiang Zhe’s hand.

“I feel a strong repulsion between the elements. If we force it…”

“Absolutely don’t force it,” Scott said hesitantly, seeing the fireball emit a dangerous white light. “You can’t just recklessly compress elements, especially someone like you… It’s not like a simple [Fireball]…”

“Done!” Having spent almost half a year together, Jiang Zhe had grown familiar with his two roommates, so his speech sometimes became casual. “You’ve said that several times already…”

As he spoke, Jiang Zhe’s expression changed slightly. A crack appeared in the center of the fireball, emitting a dangerous white light that made Scott’s face turn pale. “Oh no…”

“Boom!” It wasn’t the fireball that actually exploded, but rather something coming from Jiang Zhe’s mouth.

“…” Glancing at the fireball, which now emitted a purplish-red glow again, Scott shook his head helplessly and sat back down on the sofa.

After getting to know them better, he gradually understood the personalities of his two roommates.

First was Allen, an outgoing person who could get along well with both acquaintances and strangers, unfazed by mockery. He was a nobleman with a broad mind, but Scott couldn’t accept his casual and careless lifestyle. It was only later that Scott learned Allen’s father wasn’t originally a noble but a merchant—successful, to put it nicely, or a nouveau riche, to put it bluntly. The count title had been bought with gold coins. Scott felt both relieved and speechless at this revelation. Compared to Allen, Thors had a personality more similar to his own—quiet most of the time, especially around strangers. But after getting to know him better, Scott found him easy to get along with. Well… he seemed quite easygoing, sometimes making harmless jokes, though rarely. “Snap!” With a flick of his fingers, Jiang Zhe released the compressed fireball and summoned five more. Scott secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For him, the pressure from that single fireball earlier had been far greater than those five ordinary ones. “Is it still not quite there, Thors?” “No,” Jiang Zhe said, shaking his head as he played with the fireballs, making them float chaotically in the air. “I have some idea now, but I still can’t quite control them… I think if it were Professor Hod, it would be very easy for him…” Scott smiled faintly, flipped a page in his book, and said without looking up, “Of course. Professor Hod is the instructor for Fire Blue Magic. But I’ve never heard of a first-year student reaching this level. I think it’s likely you’ll be invited to stay at Riox after graduation. By then, maybe Professor Hod will resign from his position as instructor for Fire Blue Magic and focus solely on tutoring you…” “Graduation?” Jiang Zhe smiled bitterly, lying back on the sofa and sighing. “I still owe the academy five hundred gold coins…” “Listen, that’s not that much,” Scott said, putting down his book and pushing up his glasses. “If you don’t mind, Allen and I can help pay it off for you…” “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass,” Jiang Zhe said with a light laugh, speaking seriously. “I know. You and Allen are both of noble birth. I heard Allen’s father even runs a merchant guild. But I don’t want to rely on that…”

“Hehe, Thors, you’ve misunderstood,” Scott said with a faint smile, tinged with self-mockery. “Actually, this is also a kind of investment for the nobility. My… my father once said that especially someone as talented and promising as a future mage like you should be someone every noble would want to get to know…”
Looking at Scott in confusion, Jiang Zhe laughed and said, “You’re really direct in your speech, Scott!”
“Is that so?” Scott pushed up his glasses. “Maybe it’s because I’ve seen a lot…” He paused for a moment before raising his head and asking, “Thors, what’s your opinion of the nobility?”
“I don’t really have any feelings about them!” Jiang Zhe shrugged.
“As I thought,” Scott said with a faint smile. “I can tell that your impression of the nobility isn’t very good. It’s no wonder—today’s nobles in the empire really struggle to make a good impression… especially those without titles.”
“Commoners?”
“…” Shaking his head self-mockingly, Scott said with a bitter smile, “You’re just as direct, Thors. Yes, that’s exactly it. But the nobles of the past weren’t like this—they were honest, gentle, polite, and punctual. Like my grandfather. I think my grandfather was a true noble!”
“Grandfather?” Jiang Zhe was taken aback. Usually, it should be the father, right?
“What about your father?”
Scott fell silent for a moment, pushed up his glasses, and said in a low voice, “Just a vulgar and boring noble!” His words were filled with mockery and indifference.
“…”
“Never mind. Let’s not talk about him. Where’s that guy?”
“Aaron?” Seeing Scott deliberately change the subject, Jiang Zhe didn’t want to delve deeper. After all, it was their family’s private matter, so he followed up, “I haven’t seen him since this morning. He said the professor in the enhancement department is very impressed with him…”
“You heard that from him!” Scott said, wearing his familiar mocking smile. “I heard he was too forceful in class and knocked others out. That guy really should go to the Knights Academy…”
Before he could finish, the door of the dormitory creaked open. Aaron poked his head in, probably having overheard them. He asked in surprise, “Who are you talking about?”
“Us, of course!” Scott said with a frown. Then, seeing the strange smile on Aaron’s face, he asked curiously, “Did something good happen? Did the professor invite you for tea again?”
“Pfft, no way! I had something great happen, guys!”
“Oh?” Jiang Zhe was surprised. He conjured five fireballs in front of Aaron and said with a smile, “What’s so great?”

“Listen to his nonsense,” Scott pushed his glasses up and said to Allen, “Go on, future great knight!”
“A battle mage!” Allen retorted, walking straight over to the sofa opposite Jiang Zhe and Scott and sitting down. He carefully took out a piece of parchment from his chest. “Look!”
“What’s this?” Scott took it with confusion and realized it was a map marked with a dozen crosses.
“Hehe,” Allen said in a low voice with a strange laugh, “Haven’t you noticed? This is a map of the woods behind the ancient castle. I guess it was left by an old magician, marking the location of treasures…”
“That’s way too many marks!” Scott sneered. “Some old magician? Don’t you know this is part of the academy’s tradition? The professors deliberately hide them in the woods. It’s not some treasure—just magic items! Treasure? You idiot!”
“Really?” Allen looked at Jiang Zhe in surprise. Jiang Zhe shrugged and shook his head with a smile. “It seems so. And the academy rules state that only students in fourth grade and above are allowed to participate…” Then he repeated what he had heard from Dia.
“Tsk,” Allen said dejectedly, sinking into the sofa. “I thought it was something special. Since it’s useless, I might as well throw it away…” Suddenly, he remembered something, sat up abruptly, and asked Scott, “Scott, how valuable do you think this thing is?”
Not understanding his meaning, Scott frowned and said, “I heard there are only a hundred or so of these. Not every upperclassman can get one. So during the event, the academy allows students to ‘steal’ others’ maps to reduce competition. After all, although they’re magic items, there might be some precious things in them, like gems that enhance magic power… What do you plan to do?”
Allen reached out and took the map from Scott’s hands, smiling mischievously. “What if we sneak in? I’m not very interested in those magic items, but it should be quite interesting. If we’re lucky…”
“Don’t even think about it,” Scott said firmly. “Even if we had this map, the professors wouldn’t let first-year students like us participate—just us might get caught trying to take it out right away.”
“So what if it’s not just us?” Allen grinned.
“What do you mean?”

Looking at Jiang Zhe and Scott, who both had puzzled expressions, Allen whispered, “Make a few hundred copies of this map and sell them to the students in the academy—I think there are many people like us. And as you said, not every senior has one. We can keep one for ourselves and sell the rest for one gold coin each. I think by then, the academy authorities might even approve it. Even if they don’t, with so many people in the academy, we can still make a few thousand gold coins no matter what… We’ll split it evenly among the three of us, Sos, what do you say?”
This guy…
Seemingly understanding something, Scott glanced at Jiang Zhe, lowered his head in thought, and said, “It sounds easy, but I think this map was created using a drawing magic scroll… I’m not sure, but we can give it a try…”
It seemed Jiang Zhe also understood something as he hesitated and said, “Hey, Scott, Allen, I…” But he was interrupted by Allen. “What’s the matter? Isn’t this activity pretty interesting? Just wait and see what a battle mage is capable of!”
Scott rolled his eyes in exasperation, took the map from Allen’s hands, and said with a faint smile, “In that case, I’m also quite interested in curses from the seniors—last month I found a few curse spells in the library, but I haven’t used them yet. It might be good to give them a try…”
“Hey, didn’t the academy rule that curses can only be learned in the third year?” Allen asked in surprise.
“Mind your own business!” Scott pushed his glasses up and turned to Jiang Zhe, saying, “I think this guy has a decent idea. We’ll split the gold coins equally. If the academy authorities start investigating later, none of us will run away—no one loses out, and no one gains an advantage. How about that?”
“Heh!” Jiang Zhe smiled faintly.
What does it mean no one gains an advantage? First, Riox’s school rules are relatively lenient. Second, his two roommates are from noble families and aren’t short of money—why would they care about a few hundred gold coins?
They said this mainly because he refused their offer to pay the 500 gold coins for his enrollment fee…
If it had been at the beginning, Jiang Zhe would likely have hesitated, but now that the three of them had gotten along quite well, refusing again might seem unkind.
“Then… what do I need to do?” Jiang Zhe asked hesitantly.

“It’s not just you; it’s all of you!” Scott smiled slightly and said, “Allen, go to the professor and get some ink. Thors, go to the library and bring some parchment—there isn’t much left in the room. As for drawing, since neither of you has taken the magic scroll crafting course, leave it to me…”
“Well…” Jiang Zhe naturally knew that drawing was a very exhausting task, so he hesitated.
Seeing this, Allen chuckled and said, “Worried that the academy will hold you accountable? Relax. What rule in Rexox says we can’t do this? The old guy always says to keep an eye out for business opportunities and seize them immediately without hesitation! Uh, that’s our family motto…”
Scott was speechless and sneered, “I used to think you should go to the Imperial Knights Academy, but now I realize I was wrong. You should become a merchant instead…”
Allen didn’t mind at all. Shrugging, he said, “The old guy used to think the same way. He always said that in this world, wealth is more tempting than power to make people work hard. He also claimed to be a successful merchant and wanted me to become one too. Later, he heard that a mage title is more respected, so he brought me here—after all, a mage title can’t be bought with gold coins…”
“Enough, we don’t want to hear this,” Scott interrupted Allen and turned to Jiang Zhe, “The event seems to be in ten days. There’s not much time left. Thors, we need to hurry. You’ll have to draw as well eventually; I can’t trust that guy.”
“Hey!” Allen, who was drinking water, was very dissatisfied.
“Mm!” Jiang Zhe nodded seriously.
To be honest, he wasn’t someone who liked to owe favors, even at Rexox Academy. During his time there, he often worried about those five hundred gold coins.
To be honest, he wasn’t good at making money. Besides, five hundred gold coins was indeed a large sum for him right now. The reason he said that before was simply due to the circumstances.
※※※
A week later, on the eve of Rexox’s annual “Forest Treasure Hunt” event, something rather unusual happened in the academy…
The event maps, which used to be “precious” because of the prizes offered in previous years, were now being sold in large quantities around the academy—one gold coin each…

Perhaps for the commoners of the empire, a gold coin could allow a family to live comfortably for a long time, but in the eyes of the noble students at Rexx Academy, a gold coin was hardly any different from a silver coin. In just a few days, hundreds of copies of the “map” created by Scott were sold—most of them bought by younger students, especially those in the first year—they didn’t all know that the activity was restricted to senior students only.

When the professors at Rexx heard about this, they were mostly astonished and amused. This teaching method, which appeared to be an activity but was actually a form of magical assessment, had been in use for over a decade, and such a thing had never happened before.

Professor Manhert, who was in charge of Rexx’s educational regulations, also found it difficult to make a decision after hearing about it. After all, the academy’s rules did not explicitly forbid students from selling things on campus; on the contrary, the academy supported students in selling the enchanted items they created to other students or even to the school itself. But something like this had never occurred during his tenure as a professor.

Eventually, the matter was brought to the old dean…

When Professor Manhert anxiously reported the situation to the old dean, the dean was already wearing monocles and examining a map—obviously, he already knew about it.

“The first-year students have managed to do this. Although there are still some areas that need improvement, it’s already quite remarkable—truly commendable!”

“Dean, isn’t now the time to talk about this?” Compared to the old dean’s calm demeanor, Professor Manhert seemed anxious and frowned. “These kids are too bold—they even copied the activity maps issued by the academy. I think this should be dealt with seriously!”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” the old dean said, taking off his monocles and laughing while smoking his pipe. “If first-year students can replicate things to this extent, it shows great talent. Shouldn’t we encourage such students?”

“But Dean, what if every student acts like them in the future…”

“Then we’ll be more cautious in such matters—don’t underestimate them just because of their age. In my opinion, all the students in this class are talented. Maybe in over a decade, they will become the pillars of the empire and the pride of our Rexx Academy. Discouraging their enthusiasm isn’t a good thing…”

“Well…” Professor Manhert hesitated. “What about this activity then?”

“Hmm,” the old dean put down his pipe, slowly standing up. He looked out through the floor-to-ceiling window at the students in the fountain garden and after a long while said with a smile, “Since the kids are interested, let’s set a precedent: the academy approves all students to participate in this event!”
“But that would make supervision a bit weak. Besides, we might not have enough magical props prepared…”
“You don’t need to worry about that,” the old dean chuckled. “Suspend all classes for now and have all the professors oversee the event. As for magical props… well, I’ll prepare some more in the next two days. You’ll have to work a bit harder then… Hehe, consider this event as a school anniversary celebration.”
“Well… okay,” Professor Manhert sighed and nodded helplessly. “There’s no other choice. But Dean, I personally suggest punishing those three first-year students—Thors, Alan Skander, and Scott O’Gill!”
“Thors…” The old dean murmured the name as he gazed at the students outside the window, then his face lit up with a smile. “An interesting little guy… Let’s give him a warning then!”
“Huh?” Professor Manhert was stunned.
A warning? Was a warning also considered a punishment? At least it should be some deduction from their annual evaluation scores, right?
Just as he hesitated and was about to speak again, the old dean spoke up.
“Don’t blame it all on the kids. After all, it’s the academy’s negligence. Who drew those magical maps? To have them copied by just a few first-year students—as professors, this is unacceptable. It’s a serious dereliction of duty! Make sure such things don’t happen again!”
“Yes… yes, Dean!”
“Then it’s settled. Professor Manhert, you may go back now. I’ll get in touch with the Imperial Royal Magicians—since all the students in the academy are participating, we certainly can’t let them be disappointed with the prizes…”
“Understood, Dean!” Professor Manhert nodded and left the room.
After he left, the old dean turned around, glanced at the student files scattered on the desk, and smiled as he picked up his pipe and took a puff.
One specializing in enhancement, one in illusion magic, one in fire magic…
Containment, control, attack…
Hehe, it seems this year will be particularly lively…
“Hehe, those three interesting little guys… don’t let others kick you out of the forest right from the start!”