Greatest Academy's Student: Magic and Money

"Yes. It's an ancient language, though I don't know much about the other aspects of it. I only know a few spell activation words that lead me to understand it. But I'm not skilled enough to be a translator or teach it. I strongly advise you to meet with Mr Harper," Daphne said.

Finn turned the tab back to his view and gave it a long stare, responding, "I was planning to do that after I leave the library. Also, I think I will be going to that welcome party..."

Daphne's eyes widened in shock.

"W-why would you want to go?" he asked in a confused tone.

"Will all the remaining students on the billboard I haven't met yet be there?" Finn replied with a question.

"Uhm, perhaps. They were all there in the first section, so yes, they'll be there. But really, it's a toxic party; there are different kinds of negative attitudes and deeds that happen there."

"That's very expected; it's not my aim nor concern. I have a reason to go there. Can you get the address for me?" Finn inquired.

"Well, I know where Isabella lives, so I already have the address. We can go together if you want..." Daphne suggested in a low tone.

"Sure," Finn accepted, then asked another serious question.

"I'm concerned about another aspect of you; are you ever going to be interested in any gender for a relationship? You know what I mean..."

Daphne chuckled lightly. "Of course it would be a male. Actually, I'm not going to stay in the form of a male forever. My family has been trying to create or find a cure for me, so I can treat the disease and return to my female form."

Phew...

"That's nice." Finn muttered.

Done with their conversations, Finn strolled to a seat and placed the two books plus the tablet on the reading table.

Daphne rushed to sit opposite him, his eyes fixed on the book, or perhaps better called a pamphlet. He collected it from Finn and opened it. The moment he read what was inside, he burst into hearty laughter, leaving Finn confused.

"This seems to have been written by a sadist. Actually, a book about how to become a mage shouldn't exist, as it's a simple process even if you weren't born one."

Finn tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean? What's written in there?"

Daphne read out, "It says: As a highly accomplished mage, just above a novice mage, I believe that since you, the current reader, are a non-mage, you should not try to be one; it's so uncomfortable! Though if you were foolish enough to still want to be one, ask around about that specifically. It's only a simple concoction that would make you a mage, thereby creating the channel needed in you so you can access Aether. I advise you to meet with beings like witches or wizards, or a mage who knows about it. The rest are just credits."

"And it took two pages for that... nice summarisation," Finn said sarcastically.

What a short and highly efficient book...

"So, do you know the concoctions for that?" Finn asked.

Daphne closed the short book and fixed his gaze on the front cover, which featured a drawing of a wand with the title of the book directly beneath it.

"It's very hard to get the mix, but Aurelia would know about it. However, it's quite likely you might never get it from her, as she hardly speaks or socialize with students like you or ones far below her, as you may have noticed. I can't claim she's pompous, but that's just her."

"Is she the only one who could have access to it due to her being from a family of witches and wizards?"

"Well, there are many witches and wizards in our world and even in the Kingdom. But for someone who has access to such rare concoctions used to create a mage, it would only be her family."

Ugh, I see there's more reason to go to that party...

Finn opened the second book—The Breath of the Universe—and began reading while he switched off the tablet.

Daphne stood up to find something to read for a short while.

But then he remembered something and wanted to ask if Finn was interested.

"Do you like baseball? There's a game on at the moment."

Finn, still focused, responded, "I'm a big fan of baseball, but I can't watch a game today; I have to study this. Maybe if there's a game tomorrow or any other day."

"Oh, okay, there's one on Wednesday." Daphne responded.

Finn didn't reply; he kept on reading.

'Another study addict like Aurelia and Jasper; they always love to have a book with them,' Daphne thought.

[Please note that the quotation marks (' ') indicate thoughts from another character, not Finn.]

A couple of minutes later, accumulating to nearly an hour, the two of them emerged from the library.

Finn decided to head to Ms. Harper now, and Daphne suggested he follow him.

Shortly after, they arrived in front of a seven-storey building. Of course, it was also a glass building; most of the structures on the Academy's estate were made of tinted glass, making it impossible for people outside to see in, while those inside could see out.

"This is the Lecturers' Building. I think Ms. Harper's office is on the sixth floor, which is the History level for all History lecturers. There are actually two lecturer buildings: one for non-magical teaching lecturers and the other for magical lecturers. The latter should be directly behind this one," Daphne explained.

Finn raised his gaze to the sixth floor mentioned, only to be met by the blinding sunlight pouring down on his face. He brought his gaze back down to the entrance.

"Let's head in then."

The two walked through the automatic sliding doors and were met by a grand lobby, with a few lecturers chatting and walking past them to exit the building, while others headed towards the elevator.

Both of them rushed to the elevator to join the four lecturers inside. The elevator indicated on a sign that it could lift a maximum of eight people.

Four lecturers were also heading to the sixth floor, so they pressed the control button for number '6'.

Each floor was dedicated to a specific subject, with every office allocated to a particular lecturer.

The lift offered a panoramic view; it was surrounded by clear glass, showcasing a breathtaking sight of the lush greenery and interlocking floors outside, with a few students milling about and engaging in conversation.

Sunlight streamed into the lift, vibrantly casting a golden glow over them.

As the lift ascended, the view expanded.

Upon reaching the sixth floor, the doors slid open into another glass-enclosed space.

The six groups of people stepped out of the lift into the bright, glass-surrounded passageway.

The four lecturers went to their offices, which were opposite each other.

Meanwhile, Daphne led Finn to Ms. Harper's office, a short walk down the passage, and to the left was her office.

Finn gave a slight knock on the glass door and waited for a reply.

"Come in," came a high-pitched voice with an exuberant tone.

The two wasted no time and entered. Ms. Harper was seated in an office chair behind a brown mahogany desk, with only five files stacked on one side, a desktop computer in the middle, and nothing else. The office was tidy, with two plush chairs in front of the desk for visitors.

Finn liked the surroundings and atmosphere; the glass walls made it a beautiful office, despite the lack of decorations—not even a flower pot.

Ms. Harper raised her gaze to see Finn and Daphne standing. She gestured for them to take a seat in the chairs, her expression radiating happiness, as if she were excited that students had actually come to visit her.

Both of them instantly sat down; Daphne crossed his legs and rested lazily in the chair, while Finn sat upright. Noticing Daphne's lazy posture, Finn kicked him in the leg to prompt him to sit up straight as a sign of respect. Daphne complied immediately.

Ms. Harper observed this and chuckled.

"You can sit however you feel comfortable." she permitted.

Daphne rubbed his leg, as Finn's kick had been quite painful.

"Okay," Finn replied with a smile.

'Why is he acting like my dad?' Daphne wondered.

Ms. Harper joined her palms together and asked, "How can I help you two?"

Finn moved quickly, switching on the tablet and searching for the text. He found it and directed it to Ms. Harper, who took it and had a look.

Finn added, "Uhm, I don't know what that short sentence means, so I came to ask about it."

"This is Eldaric language..." she muttered with a smile.

Daphne instantly responded with a clap, "I told him already."

Well, I didn't argue about you being wrong... Finn shot a sidelong glance at Daphne with a annoyed scoff; catching it, he fell silent as if he understood what that meant.

Ms. Harper stared at the sentence for a while before reading it out fluently:

"Huris barish ohiker teksi briou dorous."

Now that she had read it, it seemed like gibberish. Maybe it's just my ears... Finn thought.

She added shortly after, "This means: 'After Magic comes the end of all things.' That's a famous quote by Eldrin the Wise, which, until now, doesn't relate to anything."

Ms. Harper then handed the tablet back to Finn, who stared at the sentence, confused.

"Then why say it? Was he mentally deranged?" Finn asked politely.

Ms. Harper laughed again.

"No... we believe he is a wise and strange man. Anything else?"

What a crazy belief; this man is purely deranged...

"Currently, no. But I believe I will be visiting you frequently. I hope I won't be bothering you?" Finn asked, while Daphne was already chatting on his phone.

"No, feel free to come by at any time," Ms. Harper responded.

...

Now on the passage again, Finn scrolled on the tablet, reading, while Daphne continued with his chat as they walked towards the lift.

Suddenly, Daphne dropped his phone and turned to Finn. He asked, "Interested in the baseball match now? You can keep on reading while you're there..."

"Sure... if it's that." Finn responded, finally agreeing to head to the baseball match.

"Yay!"

"Oh, yes. I forgot... No. 2 on the Billboard, Finnian Gray, is part of the team. Care to know more about him?" Daphne added.

"Of course."