Lucian followed Belle toward the faculty wing. They climbed several flights of stairs in near silence, until Belle stopped in front of a wide door with a brass plaque that read: Elysia Iridell, Headmistress.
Even seeing it right in front of him, it still felt strange imagining Elysia sitting behind a desk. This was, after all, the same woman who used to complain about crowded streets and called cities “stone prisons.”
Lucian knocked on the door. “Elysia, it’s me.”
“Is that you, Lucian? Do come in!”
He opened the door and stepped inside, with Belle close behind him. Elysia’s office looked like a small forest that had been turned into a room. Plants filled every corner, while vines wrapped around bookshelves, and pots of greenery lined the windowsills.
At the center of it all was a wide desk, almost buried under stacks of papers. And behind it sat Elysia herself.
She still had the same long brown hair she’d always had, but instead of the robes she used to wear, she now wore a neat white blouse. Up close, Lucian had to admit that Elysia actually looked like a proper headmistress.
The moment he stepped inside, her face brightened into a warm smile. “I’m glad you actually came."
Lucian returned the smile as he walked closer. “That letter of yours was very intriguing, so I had to come and discuss it with you in person."
Elysia laughed softly. “Don't worry, I cleared up my schedule today, so we should have plenty of time."
Belle cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Lady Elysia.”
Elysia looked at her and smiled. “And It’s also good to see you again, Diabelle."
“Actually, you should call her 'Belle' for as long as we’re in the mortal realm,” Lucian corrected.
Belle’s expression didn’t change, though Lucian could’ve sworn he heard the faintest of sighs. “Anyway… would either of you like some tea?”
“Yes, please. Chamomile would be wonderful,” Elysia said cheerfully.
She then turned back to Lucian. “And what will you be getting?"
Lucian eased into one of the chairs across from her desk and lifted a hand in a lazy shrug. “Whatever you have is fine."
“Noted,” Belle said as she stepped away to prepare the tea.
Her tone made it sound less like agreement and more like she was quietly filing his answer under a mental category of obvious lies. Lucian didn’t comment, but he knew exactly why. Belle had served him long enough to know he always preferred jasmine tea. He just liked to pretend that he wasn't so predictable most of the time.
While Belle began preparing the tea, Elysia cleared space on her desk, sliding aside stacks of papers. She then looked up at Lucian with a bright, knowing smile. “ I imagine you have questions.”
“A few,” Lucian said. “Let’s start with an important one. Did you approve of that statue of me outside?”
“Hmm, and what if I did?"
“Care to explain why I appear to be nearly naked?”
“Nearly,” Elysia said with a soft laugh. “Lucian, the statue has a loincloth.”
“Which is doing very little of the work, but seriously though. You signed off on that?”
“Weren’t you always the one who insisted your appearance didn’t need to be recorded? I thought I was doing you a kindness. Now no one would ever guess you’re the same man who saved the world.”
Lucian sighed. “I appreciate the sentiment, really. But maybe we could have reached the same outcome with slightly more clothing.”
“I wasn’t about to chain the artists to their desks and limit their creativity,” Elysia said, sounding far too cheerful. “That would’ve been terribly unkind.”
Lucian pinched the bridge of his nose and exhaled. “Fine, you know what? That statue isn't that bad I guess."
"See? You're already getting used to it."
"Right… anyway, we have a lot to talk about. Maybe we should start with why you decided I should become a professor.”
“Of course, and before we continue, I should tell you that I’ve started having my visions again.”
“What? Since when?”
“A few years ago, so not that long. At first, the visions were manageable, but recently, they've become much worse. It's to the point where I have trouble sleeping sometimes."
Lucian knew that was bad news. Because as a high elf, Elysia was born with an extraordinarily rare gift.
She had the ability to see pieces of the future, and she was frighteningly good at the task. Where other seers and diviners might only be able to vaguely see what might happen in the future, Elysia could often describe things in much more detail.
Elysia had been the one who predicted the demon lord’s invasion centuries ago. She’d seen it before anyone else believed it was possible, and she took action far before anyone else did. She gathered the strongest heroes she could find and pulled them together into a single party strong enough to eventually defeat the threat.
However, Elysia’s gift of foresight came at a heavy cost. The stronger her visions became, or the more often they occurred, the weaker her mana core grew. To this day, Lucian had no clear understanding of why her foresight and her mana core were so closely and inversely linked, but the pattern was undeniable. Each glimpse of the future drained her more and more.
When that happened, she was unable to cast higher-tier spells, and in the worst cases, she could not cast magic at all. Lucian still remembered the first time he met her. What had struck him most was how drained she looked, and how odd it was to see a high elf with barely a spark of magic remaining within her.
So when Lucian looked at Elysia now, he found himself wanting to ask the question he’d been avoiding since the moment he walked into the room. “How much of your magic do you still have left?"
“Maybe it’s best if you see for yourself.”
Elysia opened a drawer and took out a small blue gemstone. Then, she placed it between them with a soft tap. Lucian recognized it as a mana-storing gemstone. When mana was poured into it, the gem would glow brighter and brighter as it filled. It was the kind of thing used most often for training novice mages in mana control, or simply to store spells for later use.
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She picked up the gemstone and held it in both hands. She closed her eyes, focusing. Lucian watched closely for a few seconds as… nothing happened. The stone stayed dull and lifeless, not even offering the smallest flicker of light.
Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly. “May I?”
“Of course,” Elysia said, handing over the gemstone.
Lucian took the gemstone and let a small amount of mana flow into it, barely a trickle, just enough to confirm it was working. The gem lit up at once with a warm, steady glow, which meant that the stone wasn’t defective. Unfortunately, that meant the problem was with Elysia herself.
He set the gemstone aside and looked at her again, trying to sense even the faintest trace of mana coming from her. There was not even a tiny bit of mana that he could catch, no matter how carefully he searched.
Only one conclusion remained. Elysia's mana core was nearly empty, or worse, it could no longer produce mana at all. “You’re completely magicless now."
Elysia gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s one way to describe it.”
“How did you survive this long without magic?”
“It wasn’t so terrible once I grew accustomed to it, and with my reputation, very few people ever dared to trouble me. Surviving an encounter with the Demon Lord had its advantages, it seems.”
Despite her attempt to soften the truth, Lucian couldn’t help the feeling of regret settling in his chest. “I’m sorry, I should have come to see you sooner.”
“Lucian—”
“I mean it. Seeing you like this brings back some less than ideal memories if I'm being honest."
Elysia let out a long sigh. “Don’t be so harsh on yourself, I only called you now because I believed this was the first time I truly needed your help. I saw terrible things, the world being torn apart by things I couldn’t even see.”
“That’s… a strange thing to say coming from you. You normally see invisible creatures or other such entities in your visions just fine. That’s how we found the demon lord’s hiding place, remember?”
“Yes, that’s how it’s supposed to work. But lately, all my visions have shown me what comes after. Cities on fire, kingdoms reduced to ash, millions dead. And the strangest part was that it was all done by entities I couldn’t perceive at all."
“Do you at least have some kind of idea as to what these invisible entities might be?"
"Not yet. But I know that things have to change, or the world is going to be doomed sooner or later.”
“Right, I can agree with that, but I’m still wondering how me becoming a professor is supposed to stop the end of the world.”
Elysia’s expression tightened slightly. “Because I saw this academy frequently in my visions. For reasons I still don't understand, a lot will happen here. Including the first attacks from those strange, invisible entities. Which is why I’d rather you stay close by, to keep an eye on things.”
Lucian nodded once. “Fair point, but isn’t this island supposed to be able to defend itself? There's a mage academy here after all, I’d expect it to be well protected.”
“You'd think so, right? But things are different now from what you remember, for starters, have you heard of the System?”
“The system of what?” Lucian asked.
“The System. It started appearing after the demon lord was defeated, and it’s only become more common since then. I’m sure Diabelle… I mean, Belle can explain it as well.”
Lucian turned his head just as Belle walked over with a tray. Two cups of tea sat neatly on it, steam curling gently into the air.
As Belle set the tray down on the desk, Lucian looked at her. “Do you know about this System?”
“I am aware of what it is, Master Lucian.”
“And you never told me?”
“You never asked."
Lucian snorted. “I suppose I only have myself to blame for that one.”
Belle moved to stand behind him. “The System appears to be a strange framework that has spread throughout life in the mortal realm. It allows mortals to see these messages whenever they complete certain tasks. It also assigns levels, which seem to measure an individual's growth and general capability.”
“Fascinating, can you tell me more?"
“I am not fully familiar with it, Master Lucian. The System has not appeared in the demon realm as of yet."
Elysia nodded, her fingers resting lightly against her teacup. “To be clear, the System came out of nowhere. One day, people just started receiving strange messages after completing certain tasks. Adventurers saw them the most, especially after killing monsters. On its own, that might not mean much. But the System’s arrival also matched something worse. Over time, fewer people with real talent for magic were being born. And even when someone did have potential, they couldn’t reach the heights that mages from past generations once did.”
Lucian’s eyes widened slightly. “And nobody noticed that change?”
“Not at first, because the change was slow and gradual. Of course, over a few centuries, it became obvious to anyone who was actually paying attention. But for most people today, this is simply how life has always been.”
“All this talk about the System… It did make me curious. Is there any way for me to actually see it?"
“You haven’t seen any System messages at all so far?”
“Not once, and at this point, I almost feel left out.”
He then glanced at Belle. “And you? Have you ever seen how this System thing works?”
“No, Master Lucian. I had not. And I doubt any demon has seen such a thing either. It appears to be limited to mortals for now.”
Elysia gave a small nod. “Both of you spent most of your time in the demon realm, so that’s probably why neither of you have seen it, because as far as I know, the System has only appeared in the mortal realm."
Lucian raised an eyebrow. “Is there a way to work around this then?"
"Of course there is."
Elysia turned in her chair and pointed toward a large orb sitting on a shelf behind her. It was almost the size of a melon, and it rested on a rather ornate wooden pedestal.
“Bring that here,” she said.
As Lucian approached the orb, he studied it carefully. He did sense that there was some kind of magic stored within the orb, though it wasn't one that was familiar to him.
When he picked it up, the weight surprised him. It was heavier than something that size should’ve been, almost as if a dense core had been buried inside the glass. He turned it slightly in his hands, testing the balance, then carried it back to the desk and set it down.
“What’s this thing made of?” Lucian asked.
“No unusual materials, if that was what you were thinking,” Elysia said. “It's mostly enchanted glass, with a silver-thread framework inside to stabilize an embedded artificial mana core.”
“There are artificial mana cores now?”
“Yes,” Elysia replied. “These artificial cores are used to power all sorts of utilities and conveniences nowadays. They aren't especially strong, though. Even the best ones only produce about as much energy as a tier two mana core.”
She tapped the orb lightly. “Their real advantage is that they can be built for specific purposes, which makes it much easier to create specialized tools like this appraisal orb.”
“Then this orb must have cost a lot."
“Yes, and for good reason. It lets me view people’s stats, such as levels, titles, and other things like that. But it also seems to register new people to the System. I discovered that a few years ago when I tested it on a traveling demon who came to the mortal realm.”
“Lady Elysia, you managed to register a demon?” Belle asked.
Elysia lifted a hand. “He agreed to it. I didn’t force him.”
Belle only nodded and accepted Elysia’s explanation. Lucian couldn’t help noticing that if he’d been the one to say, Trust me, I tested a mysterious object on a demon, Belle would’ve probably answered him with some form of veiled insult. Still, he supposed even demons had their biases.
Lucian turned back to Elysia. “All right, what do I need to do?”
“Place your hands on the orb and channel a little mana into it. The orb will handle the rest.”
Lucian stared at the orb for a moment. Now that he was looking at it closer, it looked far too much like the cheap crystal balls fortune tellers used in roadside tents. The only thing missing was an old woman muttering nonsense and charging five silver per question.
Still, if the orb was linked to the System, then the System had to be tied to magic. And if it needed mana to work, then where was it getting enough to reach the entire world?
The thought unsettled him, but Lucian kept the questions to himself. For now, he simply wanted to see the System in action.
He placed both hands against the orb and let a thin stream of mana flow into it. The glass brightened from within, glowing brightly. Then, the air above it shimmered as words began forming.
