Chapter 3

The wooden-soled shoes clacked noisily in the hallway.

In cases where most students came from Bellpot or other large cities, their shoes would be fashioned from nicely polished leather with a fresh smell which felt slightly foreign and uncomfortable; a gift from their parents who handed its maintenance to them, a sample of the responsibilities that came with adulthood.

Katachi had no such luxury to get those well-furbished shoes, having grown up with Mother Rinnesfeld who believed that Nature had much to offer those who worked hard. Of course, physical vanity and the like were barely problems for Mother Rinnesfeld and Katachi who used Nature sparingly and expressed their gratitude whenever they did.

Regardless, everyone in the vicinity twenty meters away from where Katachi stood could hear the noisy wooden sabots plopping and clacking on the marble floor.

K: (Bertund wasn't kidding... They all have their heads fixed to their front as they walk. But how do they change the spell's conditions from day and night? It's probably controlled by some kind of ritual circle, but what was it based around? Did they put something to determine when the magic changes in phase?)

A group of girls who were casually chatting with each other noticed the wooden plopping getting louder and clearer. They stopped to stare outside their class at a completely clueless young boy in ragged attire.

"Who is he? Why is he wearing those shoes?"

"Is he a new student?"

"Ugh, he looks so filthy! Look at how worn-out his clothes are!"

His distinctive differences were picked on instantly. Students who went to the Sage Raufid Magus Academy often came from rich and poor families alike but he did not expect the difference in ancestry to be so apparent.

There was a rather large group of those rich children who were talking to each other in a prideful manner, flaunting their riches and such before the others. It was obvious because their uniforms were hemmed with gold and silver which symbolized their wealth. Their bags were of a high-quality shiny leather that reflected the sun's rays similar to their shoes.

They stood with their chests puffed out and arms crossed, trying their best to impress the others in the group with their parents' monetary power and influence. Among the five who stood, one was a female who even flaunted her chest in a prideful stance. She deliberately straightened her back and thrust her sternum forward in plain view.

There was another group who had normal uniforms, classic cloth knapsacks, and simple shoes. They were reading the scrolls and books they brought, twiddling their thumbs and discussing something about Axia which Katachi presumed was a subject or chapter they studied. The students grouped like so were obviously those of a lower status or class, a middle-class group who probably ended up in that class by scoring roughly the same as the rich. With that single image, one conclusion was made clear.

K: (It appears that the classes here are formed and based on magic compatibility instead of status, hierarchy and rank. They're centralizing and improving the quality of the magically adept by giving them reliable yet relevant competitiveness amongst their classmates. It's still too soon to judge, so I'll keep that as a possibility.)

That was surprisingly accurate had he voiced out that thought for others to hear. In fact, that very notion would creep out most of the other children. How objectively Katachi viewed something as simple as a brief glance into the classroom was by no means a feat for a child.

But that was the very same perceptiveness which allowed him to reach where he was today – Alive.

He wished not to entertain the onlookers now focused on the clear, resonant noise outside the door. Katachi got away as fast as his feet could carry.

*** ***

The entire school and its structures were bewitching and eye-opening to the point where remembering every detail would need one to use those halls repeatedly. Katachi had yet finished admiring one of the more interesting 'attractions' thus far when he had long passed it.

Earlier, he bumped into something while walking backward with his head turned to face the weeping willow statue. Since turning around to look behind him would set the 'destination' to his rear, the magic continuously forced his body to twist to his left repeatedly and pace back and forth a two-tile wide area.

In turn, that forcibly made Katachi 'dance' to an awkward tune. It wasn't a good thing either since he was causing quite the scene with his already-distracting wooden sabots. Having experienced that once, it was safe to say that turning to look backward was by no means a good idea under the influence of that magic.

K: (That magic itself is flawed in its own way as well... Ugh. I feel like throwing up.)

The disorientation he felt was overwhelming and Katachi soon found himself in a garden upon regaining his composure without any clue on how he got there. The pavilion to his left was covered in a lot of vines, showing the neglect it suffered. Though it had creeper plants all over the pillars and roof it was perfectly clean in the center, if anyone put effort into dusting.

Perhaps the seat area was enchanted or made with a certain life-rejecting material blessed by Vithrolu, which would explain why the pavilion was full of nature and yet the center was devoid of life. To his right-

K: (... ? What is that?)

-was a strange wire attached to a small, well-hidden magic circle on one end and one of the pavilion's pillar on the other.

K: (Why is there thread here? I have never seen spiders spin their webs like that- No, the line is too thick to be spider thread. It's more like a wire based on the reflective surface and texture. What is it doing here?)

Out of curiosity, he tapped on the wire expecting it to be strummed or depressed under his finger. The instant he touched the contraption, however-

K: "Wha- !?"

-it burned out into an ethereal realm with a purple tracer leaving nothing behind. The magic circle connected to the tree burned with a sinister vermilion. Tiny bits of what seemed to be fingernails, dead bugs, a beak of a crow and the like floated in mid-air. The tiny pointed pieces were all primed towards Katachi.

K: (Is this... a trap?!)

Within a second of them floating and suspending in mid-air they zipped towards Katachi in a menacing, merciless omnidirectional pincer attack. In that swift instant, the only thing one could do was think. It was a trap made deliberately to assault an opponent without giving them the chance to react. The purpose of its design was to ensure that one could not dodge or cast a spell to shield themselves in time.

Thankfully for the black-haired boy, having time to think was more than enough.

K: (恒定! Constant status – Self!)

A coarse dry whisper exhaled the words out in the back of his head. Two words formed on Katachi's body faster than an instant.

One of the words, 定, radiated with a golden glow. It was placed directly on his stomach region above the shirt which would have made the cast word obvious. The other word, 恒, had a very faint, smoky and grey outline resembling a whiff of a cloud. It was formed the same time as the character 定 but proved to be completely unstable as it had already begun dissipating the very moment it was formed.

The small dart-like objects cleanly landed onto him and dozens of clicks could be heard at that moment. However, 'landing' on him was all it did. The objects were fairly small and did not seem to carry any power in itself. Even if Katachi had not used the Word of Power as a shield he would probably have lived through the trap.

That was only true if the tiny shards did not possess any secrets. For example, had they been coated with poison or some sort of debilitating magic, using the Word of Power for protection was the right choice to nullify its effects. It could have been worth gambling the fact that it did not have secrets, and he could have taken the attack head-on. But Katachi chose not to take the risk since there was no benefit to it. In the first place, setting up a trap that complex seemed too much an effort for it to be a mere prank.

K: (Had I been late I might have died. They may be small, but the speed they were flying at was not to be laughed at. That was a speed meant to maim, not as a harmless prank like those boys who used to dump buckets of sludge on me.)

Katachi brushed the small objects off of his body. He escaped a potentially perilous trap, but he was in greater danger.

K: (...! Oh no! Fade off, fade off quickly!!)

The word melted away from his torso in slightly more than half a second. Katachi took furtive glances around quickly and tried his best to locate anyone who could have spotted him. With only the cries of crickets and cicadas filling the area he finally loosened up and gasped in relief quietly.

It was instantaneous and took no more than a second, but that was still incredibly risky – Had anybody seen that obvious Word of Power he would be busted on the very day he enrolled. That was something he would with all of his power avoid at any cost. Katachi silently thanked Segus for his safety and continued walking through the garden.

*** ***

The garden was an important piece of history within the Sage Raufid Magus Academy. It was a special place of many flora and fauna isolated in a plane known as Cosmatral Neud. Sage Raufid wanted to preserve as much life as possible during the warring days, so he invested a large amount of gold and sought to make Cosmatral Neud possible by recruiting the aid of many other sorcerors.

Unfortunately, the redirection magic was absent in the garden which also meant that the place was a frequent hiding spot for some of the more flippant students. At least, that was until the arrival of a certain foul-smelling woman. But her presence, unlike Katachi's, was not damaging at all. Rather, her interesting disposition there served to bolster the plants with more fertilizer.

In contrast, Katachi may potentially undo whatever efforts the previous custodians achieved in the garden. Of course, so long as he did not enter the place with the intent to destroy everything Katachi was always welcome into Cosmatral Neud. His Word of Power was not something any force of nature could handle, so should it run amok the disturbed wildlife may react unfavorably.

He reached his left hand into his slimy hat and scratched the center of his head. The slime wriggled excitedly in response to the familiar foreign object tickling it up from the inside.

Y: "Do you really think it's safe for him to be there, Bertund?"

Yorn spoke with a low baritone and an irritated face. The principal took his hand out from his slime hat and interlocked his fingers together.

B: "It's perfectly safe for him to be there, Yorn. He can storm through the entire garden and Bael's traps like a walk in the park. I'm more concerned about some of the animals there acting up."

His paltry and wayward concern was unsettling.

Y: "He just enrolled today! Surely your expectations in this child are too high?!"

Bertund gave a low, sinister chuckle.

B: "You worry too much, Yorn. We both know you're not that foolish to think that all the magic in the world work on the same dimensions. Or have you forgotten how menacing the Words of Power really are, even individually?"

Yorn's face twisted into a deep frown, unhappy at the fact that he was called foolish. But as a subordinate, he could only suck it up and tolerate the tactlessness the principal exuded. Moreover, Bertund's words were well founded and there was little room for rebuttal.

B: "You'll see in due time, Yorn. I'm excited to see how things will turn out."

Y: "What do you-..."

Yorn noticed what Bertund was hinting at.

B: "Indeed. He is closing in on her house. Let's see what will become of this, shall we?"