As Aiden, Liora and I filled out of the dinner having finished our food, we made our way over to a nearby park bench. While I had heard of the Omnimagic academy before as one of those big name schools, I didn't have any stakes in it so I was a bit surprised at why Aiden and Liora seemed so horrified.
"So it's like fully shut down?"
Aiden asked looking between Liora and I as they sat on either side of me.
"U-Uh yea, from what it says here, the campus was completely vacated as of 3 days ago."
I said looking back at the article.
The End of The Omnimagic Academy
It is a tragic day that such a prestigious university suffers in such graphic ways. The Omnimagic Academy, well known for their talented adventurers they train and their curriculum that serves to assist with several developing technologies, has suffered numerous attacks from the terrorist group The Black Dawn.
The school in attempts to defend against the actions of the students who were members assembled a student council consisting of
Fable Glaesimi, a well known gambler class student who served as the lead investigator in charge of ousting the black dawn
Alaster Cinder, a transfer student said to have high potential in fire magic as a fire mage, and even have fire elementals that work with him
Muusika Almawolf, a skilled commander who joined with Alaster and said to have been recommended due to his talents in strategy and unique soul skill
Shura Mercida, a talented weapon master who is rumored to have been scouted by members of the Hajnal Faith due to their unknown but potent ties to the goddess
And Alex Sylrath, a vampire from the prestigious elven Sylrath family, he was known for his lack of directional sense, and his defeat of an attacker 4 times his level during a school dance
Their potential is well known, but sadly the student council has been MIA for around a month now. In the time they have been gone, over 47 students died in a series of bombing attacks as well as 70% of the forest on the island to the school was destroyed in a fire. The school attempted to calm tensions, but despite their best efforts failed as many parents insisted on their children leaving before they died or were in danger.
The school officially shut its doors 2 days ago, but the current question on everyone's mind falls onto the topic of one teacher in particular.
Red has been a teacher at the academy for almost 8 years now, teaching a class called "How to kill me" that was known for its notorious difficulty and most classes resulting in students getting launched through walls or waking up from injuries days later. The reason for his shift from kingdom destroying to insisting on teaching at the academy is still unknown to this day, but with the academy's destruction, the fear of Red returning to his old ways remains palpable. Only time will tell
"So they really shut down the academy, what's gonna happen to the 7 stars books? They only got to the start of their third year."
Aiden said as he pulled slightly at his hair. Liora began to pace as she held her elbow in one hand, and in the other held her chin.
"Holy shit, a Sylrath is missing?"
I stared at both of them as I asked.
"D-Does the part about you know who did not register or?"
The both of them paused as Liora shook her head.
"Thats kind of big name problems, we're kind of small potatoes in terms of doing anything about that problem."
Aiden shrugged as he thought for a moment before he turned back to Liora and I.
"Hey guys, question, don't you think the ATV could use an upgrade?"
I nodded as I turned to Liora with a knowing smile. The ATV was a blessing that most adventuring groups spent months penny pinching to afford, so the fact that we got one after our first plate quest was a boon, and yet the small size, and open design left much to the way of comfort, but if it was between walking, and having a sore butt by the end of the day, the ATV beat walking every time. The only really comfortable seats were inside the main cab, but there were only two, one of which Aiden normally occupied. It was something that had been getting on Liora's nerves more and more to the point where she was complaining that she would just buy some cushions at this point.
As we all began to make our way down the road Aiden and Liora began to talk exchanging ideas of what to buy as Aiden pulled out his notebook and flipped to where he had been copying things from a catalog at the repair shop we had gone to.
"We could get the reinforced windows, or mounted spotlights."
"Or we could just get like a bunch of horsepower boosts and see how fast we can go before the engine explodes!"
"As if!"
Aiden barked, the two of them seeming to no longer be as sulky as I followed behind them. A part of me wanted to be worried about the situation, the actions of the black dawn, and how the world seemed to be in turmoil facing this or that. At the same time however, the fact that we were both too small, and not related to the incidents made the whole situation both less daunting, and less panic inducing. We were not some predestined heroes set to save the world. We are the hogs feet party, a small up and coming party of adventurers, and for me, it felt like enough.
"What say you Selene, do you have a weigh in about the choices?"
I looked up a bit surprised as I had been spacing out when Aiden talked to me.
"U-Uh, well we could get something like the repair drone I saw."
"Why, in case you break the ATV again?"
Liora chimed in with a mock condescending tone.
"O-Ok, first of all, its harder than it looks, and second, I don't see you having any time behind the wheel."
I shot back putting on an overly cocky grin on my face as I made an effort to look down my nose at Liora.
"Exactly, you can't prove I would do worse than you if I never try it, now can you?"
Liora said, chuckling. We made our way around a corner where we saw several vehicles behind a brick fence, the vehicles themselves were ranging in size from vehicles smaller than the ATV all the way to lumbering land train cars that had whole living areas including beds in them. As we walked over, a younger human man, no older than 16 walked over and said.
"Welcome to Alcones Auto, are you looking to buy or sell?"
"We're looking to buy, can you show us what kind of vehicle upgrades you all have?"
Aiden said as we made our way inside the lot and towards a large building.
"Upgrades you say, ready to spruce up your ride?"
The boy said as we walked inside, he gestured for us to follow him to the counter where he rummaged behind the desk before slamming down a booklet with so many pages it was thicker than my wrist from cover to cover. As we looked at the book I found myself thinking.
This probably isn't going to be as quick a thing as I thought it would.