Chapter 10: Chapter 10
After flying for about an hour and a half at an incredible speed, I noticed the surroundings change from vibrant forests to a dark and gloomy one filled with twisted trees. Wizard Draven then motioned for the magpie to land.
In front of us was a large area shrouded in black fog, constantly shifting to form various faces displaying various emotions like happiness, sadness, pain, longing, etc. As Wizard Draven descended from the magpie, he used his gadget to shrink the magpie down and after putting it inside the device, he pocketed it.
While we were all wondering where Shadowgrave Academy was, Wizard Draven approached the gray fog and took out a token with a dark tombstone on it. As he brought the token close to the fog, a wide path opened up.
"This is the Fog of Sighs, a barrier created by the dean of Shadowgrave Academy. Anyone trying to enter without a token will be treated as an invader, and their soul will be trapped here as a gatekeeper to hunt others who dare to invade," explained Wizard Draven. "So, after entering the path, follow me silently if you don't want to join those souls.",he said while pointing towards the constantly changing faces.
After his warning, we all silently followed him through the fog without making extra disturbance. Moving forward, we emerged from the dark fog to see a large gate flanked by two 4-meter-tall stone statues with bat-like wings, scorpion-like tails, sharp claws, and a single huge vertical eye in the center of their faces.
"These statues are the second layer of defense for Shadowgrave Academy, constructed by the dean and two other second-order wizards of our academy. They will tear apart any invader who crosses the gate without permission. It is said that they can combined face off against a peak first order wizard," explained Oron.
Not paying heed to Oron's words, Wizard Draven approached the gate and used the token again, causing the gate to open with the sound of metal scraping.
Curiously, I asked Oron, "Senior Brother, what happens if someone steals a token or tries to enter like Wizard Draven is taking us inside?"
"Don't worry about the statues' usual emotionless appearance. They are capable of thinking and have more intelligence than a normal human," said Oron with a reassuring smile.
"Enough chit-chat, come inside quickly," commanded Wizard Draven.
Not daring to delay, I walked towards the gate with Oron. As I passed by, I noticed one statue's eye tracking me, causing me to panic and I lowered my head as I hurriedly crossed the gate.
On the other side, I found myself in a different environment. Unlike the dark and twisted jungle or the terrifying fog, this area was spacious with a large dark building at the center and various other buildings around it.
"Oron, take them to familiarize themselves with the place," instructed Wizard Draven before disappearing in a puff of smoke.
"Well, follow me," said Oron, leading us towards one of the buildings on the right side of the central building.
"The central building is where courses and lectures are held, and it's also where all the official wizards reside," Oron explained. "The right side of the central building has all the academy-related buildings like the mission hall, resource hall, training hall, spell hall, dueling arena, etc. There you can buy or sell various resources at official prices. The left side is for wizard apprentices to live. There are free houses, but you can pay magic stones for more advanced houses with facilities like labs and personal gardens. To the north is a market organized by various wizards, where you can buy and sell spells, items, slaves, and enjoy restaurants, auction houses, and other entertainment services. And obviously the south is the direction from which we entered the gate."
Oron continued to introduce other basic facilities and services of the academy. After some time, we arrived at a building labeled as the Resource Hall. Seeing the unfamiliar script on the sign, I realized I needed to learn Elbef, the wizard language.
Inside, Oron stood at a counter talking to someone. He motioned us to come forward and distributed five shining stones and a dark stone to each of us.
"These five are magic stones, the basic transaction resource here. The black stone is the basic wizard meditation method of our academy, 'The Shadowless Meditation Method.' Just let it touch your head to receive all the information about the meditation. Remember, this will bind you to a contract preventing you from teaching the meditation in any direct or indirect way until you surpass the strength of the contract's creator, our dean. And remember not to break the contract as it will result in your shadow consuming you alive," Oron warned seriously.
Nodding towards him, I along with others put the stone in center of my forehead. Along with a slight bloating like feeling, some information seemed to be stuffed inside my head. Focusing, it was the whole process of how to perform shadowless meditation.
Nodding towards him, I, along with the others, placed the stone in the center of my forehead. A slight bloating sensation accompanied the influx of information into my mind. As I focused, the entire process of performing the Shadowless Meditation became clear.
After confirming that we had received the information, Oron instructed us to get our personal identity tokens, which would allow us to enter the academy. The badge bore the same design as Wizard Draven's, but the tombstone on ours was dark gray instead of dark.
"Well, for houses, you can simply go towards the apprentice residence area. By asking around, you'll be directed to the place responsible for house allocation where you can get your free house."
"In addition to these, you also have free basic lessons for the next three months. After that, you'll need to pay out of pocket if you want to take other lessons."
As he was about to leave, Oron suddenly stopped and added, "Oh, by the way, remember to come here if you get promoted to a first-rank wizard apprentice within three months. There will be some freebies available for you at that time. See you then."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone