According to the map he got from the village, the academy is situated north. Normally, he would go straight without thinking, but his situation was different — he was being followed, so he needed to be untraceable. He chose to go through a swamp instead of going through plain sight. He started traveling on foot; his water and food supply should be able to make him last a week. His new clothes weren't looking so good, but he didn't mind — at least they were masking his appearance. After traveling for four hours, he decided to choose a place to rest, so he got on top of a giant mushroom and started going through the pages of the tier 0 void spell. This book was pretty thin, without anything particular about the cover. The name of the spell book in his hands was "Draining Grasp." Apparently, if he learned this spell, he could drain life force out of someone. He put the book down and brought out the other tier 0 spell book; this one was called "Voidlight." This spell helps with concealment — it would help him distort light, making him remain in the shadows unseen. Alonzo thought about which to learn first, but he came to the conclusion that learning Voidlight was the best course of action, especially since he was being hunted. He got comfortable and started reading the Voidlight spell book. After an hour, he got up and tried to conjure the spell through chanting. The first two times were without success, but on the third try, he managed to dim the light surrounding him, making a one-meter radius around him covered in darkness, making it hard for him to be seen. But there was a downside — if he stayed in bright light, he would stand out, so this spell was most useful in darker zones or at night. He started exercising this spell for one hour, getting accustomed to using it.
After getting used to it, he got up. Outside, it had become night, so he needed to be careful. He moved through the night but didn't activate the Voidlight spell since he would waste precious mana. He found on his way an abandoned house, so he decided to rest inside, but first, he needed to make sure the house was safe. He blocked the door with some furniture and barricaded the windows, then he jumped in bed and slept.
In the middle of the night, he was woken up by a weird sound. He quickly got off the bed, hid under it, and activated the Voidlight spell, making himself unseeable. An armored figure entered the house. The knight looked around; realizing there was no one inside, he soon left. Alonzo didn't leave his hiding spot — he needed to make sure everyone had left. After 30 minutes, he decided to get out. He scanned around the area and left quietly. He took the map out of his spatial ring and tried to figure out another route to his destination. He had an idea: "Why would I need to go directly to the academy if I could go to a big city and get the protection of the local authorities and maybe even be transported through a teleportation rune to the academy?" According to the map, there was a city a few kilometers away. He couldn't afford to be found, so he started sprinting toward the city, not even stopping to look behind.
He was close to the city, just a few hundred meters away, but behind him, he heard a sound dashing toward him. He didn't dare look back, just sprinted straight ahead to the city gates. A slash was thrown at him from behind, but the sword was met by another sword — someone intervened, helping him. It was a Luminari person dressed in green leather armor. The enemy knight tried to retreat but was shot with an arrow to the head by an archer guarding the city walls. The Luminari warrior turned back to look at him and spoke: "This is not the place to speak. Follow me!" The warrior went past him. The city gates opened, and Alonzo followed him inside the city. It was still night, so no one was on the streets. Soon they came upon the gates of a giant white structure suspended on pillars. They entered inside and were surprised by long hallways. They went to the end of the hallway, and the Luminari warrior signaled him to enter inside, so Alonzo did as he was instructed.
Inside, there was only a single person, seemingly waiting for him. This place looked more like an office; there was a desk behind which stood a thin man on a chair. The person spoke to him first: "Take a seat; we'll stay here for some time!" Alonzo did as he was told and was ready for questions. The man behind the desk continued: "My name is David. I am the lord of this city. May I know your situation?" Alonzo could only smile bitterly and say: "I am a student from the Elarion Academy of the Moonveil. My group and I were kidnapped by some humans from the Empire. I managed to escape the place I was trapped in, but the surviving members of my class are still there!" David's expression grew serious and he said: "I see. We will ensure your safety and help your colleagues. Can you give any particular details about the people of the Empire who kidnapped you?"
Alonzo thought about it and started speaking: "I only managed to see two knights. One of them was a female in silver armor and the other was a tall male knight in black armor. They said they defected from their Empire. Also, they wanted rewards to release the students or they would kill them!" David shook his head and said: "Such cruelty. I promise to bring them to justice!" David got up and went to leave the room, but before he left, he said to Alonzo: "My guards will guide you to the teleportation center so you can get back to your academy. You have made a valuable contribution — expect rewards!" After David left, two guards entered the room and escorted him to a teleportation rune formation. He stepped inside and got transported back to his academy, to the place where he had first entered it.
Abruptly, a teacher went to meet him. "Who are you, and why are you here?" said the teacher. Alonzo recognized the teacher — it was the very same teacher who greeted him first at the academy, Apostol. Alonzo spoke, clearing his doubts: "My name is Alonzo. I am a junior student in this academy, and my class and I got kidnapped by a bunch of knights from the Empire. I already alerted a local lord from the city of Ankara!" Apostol furrowed his eyebrows and signaled him to follow. The teacher brought him to the principal's office, but before they could enter, the door opened and a young man with a slim build and blond hair stopped them from entering and said: "I already got the information needed. Send him back to rest — he's been through a lot!" Apostol did as he was told and brought Alonzo back to his dormitory. There, Alonzo didn't sleep but checked the teleportation spell book. He wanted to try again. He conjured the spell through chanting, but this time was different — he managed to feel the spatial fluctuations, which was a huge breakthrough for him. Next, he meditated and focused on his core, making it brighter and bigger with clear success. He stepped into the realm of the half-empty yellow moon core; he felt immense power flowing through his veins. He needed to get some rest, but before that, he took a shower — he smelled like an animal. He took a bath and went directly to sleep.
The next day, he woke up early. He was informed his class would be temporarily suspended and he could use the training grounds freely, which made him really glad. First, he wanted to start his day with some exercises, so he went to the training grounds. After three hours of doing physical exercises, he went to the cafeteria to eat. There, he stayed at the table with Julien.
"What? You have been kidnapped by the people of the Empire and managed to escape? Really impressive!" said Julien.
"Now I want you even more in the war club!" said Amias excitedly. Leah didn't speak, but you could see in her eyes that she was surprised by his deeds.
He ate and then left. He still had many things to do. He went to his room and started practicing the teleportation spell for one hour. After, he thought he should also look in the "Draining Grasp" spell book — it was a good way not to waste time. Shortly, he was summoned again to the principal's office. As soon as he entered the room, he was given the sign to take a seat. Alonzo saw many abstract paintings on the walls of the office and small statues around. The principal broke the silence and spoke: "First and foremost, I want to say that I am sorry for your experience at this learning facility!" The principal got up and bowed to him in apology, which deeply shocked Alonzo — such a powerful and influential figure was bowing his head before him. Alonzo tried to say that he didn't deserve such regard, but was stopped by the principal. The principal continued as he sat back down in his chair: "Second, I will give you the compensation you deserve. Now I need to inform you that you'll be temporarily assigned to the parallel class situated on the same floor. Tomorrow you'll start your lessons. Also, go to the armory to get your reward! On the other hand, since I didn't introduce myself, my name is Hansel!"
Alonzo thought this person in front of him was really polite — he chose to speak with so much courtesy to basically a no one. Hansel told him to go back, rest, and prepare for the next day. Alonzo went back but didn't rest — he first wanted to practice Draining Grasp. After a few tries, he managed to conjure the spell correctly. His hand started glowing with faint black light, and his mana started draining fast, so he immediately stopped using the spell. "This one is too mana-consuming!" thought Alonzo, but the effects were good, so he could use it as a surprise attack.
After mastering this tier 0 spell, Alonzo went back to practicing the teleportation spell. His progress was fast — it could even be said he was faster than all the students in the first year, truly an impressive feat, if he wasn't reincarnated from a futuristic dystopian world. After a few more tries, he managed to conjure the spell correctly, but he needed to chant, and the distance of teleportation wasn't impressive at all, so it made it inefficient in battle. The distance he could teleport was just five meters in any direction, but he couldn't ask much from just a tier 0 spell. He decided to put that aside and go claim his prize. According to the academy manual, the armory is situated on the bottom floor below the training grounds, but he remembered the entrance to the final floor was blocked. Realizing there was probably no conventional way of getting down there, he went to find teacher Apostol to ask him for a way inside.
Apparently, Apostol is the Guardian of this academy, tasked with protecting it from harm — that's why Alonzo usually saw him only outside. So he went toward the rune teleportation formation to meet him. Apostol was simply sitting on a giant mushroom nearby the formation, seemingly guarding it, but before Alonzo could greet him, Apostol instantly appeared before him. Alonzo's eyes didn't see him coming. The teacher looked indifferently at him and said: "What brings you here, student?" His coldness didn't bother Alonzo, who said to the teacher: "I was told by Lord Principal that I could claim my reward from the armory!" Apostol looked bothered by being disturbed but activated the academy arrays nonetheless, transporting them inside the armory.
Alonzo saw an endless corridor in which there were many sets of armor, spells, weapons, and artifacts just laying around. Apostol spoke: "You can only keep one thing. You have five minutes!" Alonzo cursed at the teacher's sense of time and didn't bother wasting time arguing with him — he jumped right into action, looking at every object he saw. In the end, he took a black sword that looked more like a katana, but its sharpness was undeniable. Apostol looked at him and said: "Good choice!" as he teleported him back to their original position. Apostol didn't wish him farewell, just went back to his guardian position. Alonzo shook his head and went back to his room. It was already late — he needed to get some rest.