"This," Arthur said with an almost fanatical voice, "is the academy's artificial 'Mana Well!'"
Petra felt as if she could even hear some envy in his voice…
The small sea of stumps stared in awe.
"Many centuries ago," Arthur explained, "the founders of the academy discovered a naturally unstable mana vein beneath this location. Rather than sealing it and divvying it up, they constructed a special structure to stabilize and circulate the energy throughout the building, creating the foundation of Llynun's Royal Academy of Magic!"
Hearing this, Petra immediately reacted.
Her many long years as a little thief on Earth immediately caused her 'where's the guards mode' to act up, and she looked around with a scrutinising gaze to search. Strangely enough, her eye movements seemed to mimic the shady big sisters, who likewise was also looking around for 'something'…
The floating sphere rippled softly as Arthur continued to speak.
"The Mana Well distributes mana throughout the entire academy. It nourishes the grand library, powers the academy's countless enchantments and rune channels, and supports the foundation and training of countless future mages!"
Finally distracted, Petra narrowed her eyes slightly.
Mm, so this was the source of 'that feeling…?' The familiar aura she had sensed earlier was clearly flowing through the room and originated from the mana well…
But why did Petra find the aura of a Mana Well slightly familiar? How strange…
From what she knew, a Mana Well should only show up in one of two places under normal circumstances, which were large institutions like this, which she had never been to before, or the Mage Towers, which Petra likewise had never entered in depth.
This made her confused…
Where had she sensed this aura before…?
She would definitely not be mistaken.
It had to be in this life, but…
Mm, Petra just couldn't figure it out!
One had to remember that this was an 'artificial' Mana Well. The 'real' Mana Well was a legendary thing that belonged exclusively to the world and served as the source of the world's energy, not only producing mana, but all five of the primordial energy derivatives, Natural Energy, Spiritual Energy, Mystic Energy, Soul Force, and Elemental Energy.
Petra was worried about this because she had felt a 'similar aura' before, which was not exactly the same as what she was looking at right now…
Was it possible that she had felt the aura of a real mana well before? Was there even more than one in the world? Troublesome! She had no idea, but she felt that annoying feeling again, which caused her significant distress, especially since she couldn't remember even with her terrifying memory…
Arthur glanced around at the group.
He seemed to be satisfied with the fanatical little faces.
"…Alright," he said after a moment of thought.
"We still have several places left to see."
The door opened again, and the tour continued…
* * *
By the time the tour finally came to an end, the girls had nearly circled half the academy. Excluding some private places and the forbidden areas, they had seen almost everything else.
Arthur led them back through several corridors before they eventually returned to the entrance lobby, where the tour had first begun. The massive hall stretched high above their little heads, the white marble floors gleaming beneath the tall arched windows that gave the room a very open aesthetic.
The faint echoes of footsteps softly bounced off the distant ceiling.
Arthur stopped near the center of the lobby and turned to face the group.
There were many students surrounding them, and excluding the classrooms, this was the busiest space, but none of them paid much attention.
The green-haired girls gathered together in a loose ball, some still excitedly whispering to each other about everything they had seen throughout the day.
Arthur crossed his arms, his dark eyes looking out over the sea of green heads.
"Well," he finally said with a small smile, looking out at these aspiring mages, "that concludes today's tour of Llynuns Royal Academy of Magic." A few of the girls clapped lightly while others nodded, their eyes still wandering across the enormous hall, clearly tired and not paying attention. "If any of you decide to enroll in the future," Arthur continued with a somewhat forced expression, "you'll eventually come to know this place quite well. Just remember one thing..."
He paused.
His eyes even swept past Petra for a brief moment, his face flickering with an unreadable expression.
"Ahem, magic isn't something you learn in a single day." He lifted a hand. His hand bloomed with light, forming many complicated lines that intertwined to create an extremely complicated, yet incredibly beautiful 'spell circle'. It appeared as a lotus flower. "The Mage Pathway is built slowly, through patience, countless failures, and an endless amount of practice. Even the greatest mages you've heard of have started as students walking these same steps. What matters most is persistence! Whether you decide to enroll in the future or not is not what is important. What matters is that you all find what you like and pursue a path forward for the sake of not only your clan, but also the world."
In the final moment, his eyes seemed to land on Petra, and he added, "It's never too late!"
A few of the 'older' girls nodded seriously.
Arthur glanced towards the female tour guide.
"You're free to escort them back whenever you're ready."
She nodded.
With that, the small crowd of girls slowly began drifting towards the exit in many groups, chatting excitedly among themselves. The nameless big sister was still holding Petra, and Petra just dangled quietly in her arms like an oddly relaxed plush toy.
But just then—
"YOU!"
A sudden shout echoed through the lobby!
All heads turned.
Standing there, not far away, was a young girl with a red face.
Hesta had appeared! No! Hesta had caught up!
The horse girl pointed dramatically across the hall, her eyes locked directly onto Petra, no, onto the sketchy big sister that was carrying Petra, who was using Petra as a shield!
All heads followed her finger!
"You stole my bow!! Damn it Jura! I should have known!"
The bunny girl, Jura Poulifna, froze.
Petra blinked.
This name… why did she feel as if she had heard Elena mention it before…?
The next moment—
"Give it back!!"
Swoosh! Hesta lunged forward—
But Jura reacted instantly!
Wind Step----Whoosh!
A burst of wind exploded beneath her feet as the rabbit girl launched herself to the side with a terrifying speed! There was a blur as little Petra swung wildly in her arms like loose luggage, while Jura slid across the marble floor with the roar of the wind.
It happened so fast, making Petra dizzy.
The surrounding students swiftly scattered to make space.
It was done so fast that they almost seemed to be used to it…
"H-Hey! Come back!" Hesta shouted.
The horse girl grabbed the nearest object she could find, which was a decorative stone paperweight.
And without hesitation—
THUNK! She threw it with all her terrifyingly large might!
The projectile flew through the air like a cannonball!
Jura, sensing the incoming danger, nimbly twisted her body, narrowly dodging the incoming object while snapping open a metal fan in her free hand. This was an ornate silver fan about the size of her forearm, about half a meter long.
Petra had no idea where she pulled it from, but it didn't seem to be a storage ring!
Jura grinned widely!
A sharp gust of wind blasted outward as Jura forcefully dragged the large fan through the air!
Whoosh!
A powerful wave of wind was condensed, forming a small silver whirlwind condensed from spiritual energy around her body. As the wind was pulled around and shaped into a wave, it was shot out as an attack, spreading out and causing several loose objects to fly into the air.
A nearby banner ripped free from its hook, and several students had to dive out of the way.
Papers were launched airborne while everyone's clothes were pulled by the storm.
The entire lobby was engulfed by the massive attack!
Despite the chaos, however, the two girls displayed a frightening level of precision!
Hesta continued to throw item after item, while Jura dodged and counterattacked, and Petra still clutched tightly in her arms. Their attacks curved around people, sliding through gaps in the crowd while still smashing into pillars, benches, and decorative stands!
CRASH!
A wooden chair shattered directly between the two, marking a brief pause to interact.
"Give it back!" Hesta shouted again.
"Catch me first! Hahaha!" Jura laughed as she launched another spherical vortex of wind, destroying a part of the wall with ease! She didn't seem to care about her surroundings as she violently used everything she could. Just then, she grinned widely, and the rabbit girl suddenly flipped backwards and tossed something into the air.
Swoosh!
Seeing the item, Hesta's eyes widened.
"My bow!"
The horse girl sprang upward with her terrifying leg strength, snatching the weapon out of the air without so much as a second thought.
The moment it landed in her hands—
Woosh!
She heard the air brake as something was shot towards her!
Hesta, still mid-air, looked down, only to be shocked at the sight of the dizzy Petra spinning towards her like a shooting star!
Jura had thrown Petra!
THWACK!
"Hump!" Hesta snorted!
She smacked Petra across the head without hesitation, parrying her away and shooting her towards the wall! swoosh—Boom! Petra crashed into the wall, destroying it with a streak of light…
Petra: "…"
Silently, there was suddenly a new name on 'her list'…
Ahem! At the same time, Hesta knocked an arrow and immediately shot it towards Jura without a moment of hesitation! Swoosh—BOOM! The arrow tore through the air, causing the rabbit girl to once again tumble across the floor, dodging in desperation!
Boom!
There was an explosion, and dust filled the air!
The surrounding lobby was devastated as everyone's vision was momentarily blocked.
Silence!
The lobby seemed to freeze…
Jura slowly sat up, rubbing her head as she looked through the haze...
"…Worth it!" She hissed to herself, clicking her tongue.
On the other side, divided by the haze, Hesta panted while clutching her bow tightly.
She peered through the dust and debris, only finding the unclear silhouettes of several scattered pieces of furniture lying across the hall. She frowned, not finding Jura.
Petra was still half stuck in the wall, unharmed…
She continued calmly chewing on a leftover sandwich she had stored in her pocket.
Although Jura and Hesta couldn't see each other, Petra could.
After both of them realized their situation, they paused.
There was a long moment of silence, then—
Eventually, the two girls stopped searching and guiltily sneaked away in opposite directions like children pretending that nothing had happened.
Behind them, after some time had passed, the lobby slowly returned to normal.
Erm, normal in the sense that there was no battle…
It didn't take long before the hidden students began to reappear and clean up… It was done so naturally that it almost seemed to be pre-practiced!
Petra looked around, only to be shocked to find that the lobby was repairing itself.
As the damage was slowly reversed, Petra found that the wall she was sitting in was beginning to morph back to its original state, you know, the one before she was launched into it…!!
She hopped down, clicked her tongue, dusted off her butt, and looked around.
Petra quickly spotted little Mimi and the other little girls. They were all untouched and were not dragged into the battle. They even seemed to be enjoying the performance! Petra also realized for the first time that the scary guide auntie was likely a third-order practitioner, no, maybe even higher… fortunately, she also seemed to be face blind!
Petra was still humming quietly, thinking about what to do next...
Then a shadow fell over her from above.
She looked up.
A man dressed in formal academy robes stood nearby.
He crouched down slightly, observing her with a curious expression.
"…Excuse me," he said calmly. "Would you mind coming with me for a moment? There is someone from the academy who wants to talk to you."
Petra blinked up at him, wondering…
Why her? Why her of all people? Shouldn't those two troublemakers be questioned first?
Unfortunately, they seemed to have already run away…