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  Once Elder Aelon gave his small speech, he didn’t talk anymore, tackling his stack of parchment papers. Kaz simply got up, bowed deeply, and said, “Thank you for everything, Elder Aelon. I appreciate the advice. I will be back when I have more questions or right before my first Revelation.”

  The Elf simply waved his hand, not even looking up from his task at hand. Kaz took this as a signal to get out and promptly left the grand study. He descended the wide spiraling staircase, getting odd looks from those who saw him. Since he was so high up in the tower, some of the students looked at him with caution, not knowing if he was some powerful Mage visiting the most esteemed Elder at the Academy. Kaz simply kept his head down, with his hood over his head, and kept a steady pace, not trying to rush and make a fool of himself.

  Loud voices echoed across the final stretch, as this area was more common for students to pass by, as it connected from the tower to the main building. Making sure not to run into anyone, he timed his walking in order to seamlessly walk by most of the bustling crowd of students, wondering if his [ Evasive Step ] was guiding him during this moment. He made it back outside, where the sun was shining brightly, making the marble bricks and gold accents gleam radiantly. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes and continued walking, slightly speeding up with the gate in sight.

  “Where do you think you’re going, little runt?” A voice sneered at him from behind.

  Keeping his head down, he kept on walking, looking to avoid any confrontation. A strong hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back, causing him to be thrown onto his backside, his hood falling down, exposing his face. He looked up and saw five faces looking back at him, three of them being Elves and two being Humans.

  “Tsk tsk, you would dare ignore me? Do you know who I am?” One of the dark purple haired Elves tutted at him, his purple eyes sparkling dangerously. Kaz sighed and got to his feet and faced the group, rolling his eyes.

  “Unfortunately, I do not, nor do I care. Just let me go on my way,” Kaz replied casually, tired of this treatment that he was used to already.

  One of the Humans, who had orange eyes and blonde hair, puffed his chest and spoke up, “That is blatant disrespect to Nahan Faedusk, first cousin to the main branch of the Faedusk family.” This caused Nahan, which who Kaz assumed was the Elf with the purple eyes, to grin arrogantly at Kaz, expecting that name to strike fear into the Gnome.

  “Okay, so what?” Kaz replied, trying to keep his voice calm, but his body began spiking with adrenaline. Who was the Faedusk family? Were they some powerful family from the capital, but why would one of them be here at Sarus?

  The group started to become enraged at the lack of emotion that Kaz was showing, causing one of the Elves to point his staff at Kaz, almost screaming at him, “You dare act this way? Who are you to look down at the Faedusk family?”

  Feeling the cold sweat drip down his back, he knew this was something that was quickly going out of hand. He looked around and saw an audience forming for this confrontation, and the Mages who were previously guarding the gate seemed to be talking amongst each other. He gripped his glaive, using it as support as his legs were starting to shake slightly.

  “I mean no offense, but I truly do not understand why I was disturbed?” Kaz replied, his voice slightly shaking.

  The other Human, a female with deep black hair, grinned wickedly at his moment of weakness. She arrogantly stated, “Why don’t you just grovel in front of Nahan, and he might forgive you for speaking so rudely to him.”

  This time, it was Nahan who stepped forward, who had his lips pressed tightly together, trying to stifle his anger. He muttered, “I only meant to discover why such a weak Awakened was strolling among our Academy as if he was a part of it.”

  “I was invited by Elder Aelon to his study to have a discussion,” Kaz replied quickly, his voice straining as his senses were yelling at him to run.

  The group surrounding the Gnome suddenly stopped fuming, and after a few moments, all began laughing loudly at him. The Human male voiced out his disbelief, stating, “You? Elder Aelon invited you? A nobody? Come on, you need a better lie than that.” He quickly spread his hands out, looking at the crowd, looking for similar reactions as he was laughing. Most of the people in the crowd were chuckling at this revelation, but those who saw Kaz earlier with the Elder remained silent, trying to hide among the Mages gathered, not daring to speak up.

  Kaz deflated slightly at that, as no one backed him up. He saw movement to his left and noticed one of the Guards began moving towards the tower. A spark of hope lit up in him, but it was quickly distinguished when he walked out a few moments later, his face showing no emotion. Kaz simply gripped his glaive tighter, slightly leaning into it.

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  Nahan spoke out to him, the crowd instantly quietening when he began speaking, “Unfortunately, I do not find this… lie of yours to be credible. I believe you have made a challenge on my family, as you do not show respect to the Faedusk. You will regret this, Gnome.” And with that, he began casting an Ability, which seemed to be purplish in color.

  Quickly shifting into action, he readied himself for the attack. The mana construct flew towards him, but he remained standing in place, unable to move. The mana construct hit him directly in the chest, and Kaz felt… nothing? It was slightly tingling, but he felt fine, except for a slight tinge of pinching in his mana core. Kaz tilted his head questioningly, looking back at the Elf who had just attacked him.

  Nahan Faedusk POV

  Why didn’t that work? His anger boiled, as the little Gnome in front of him didn’t get affected by his newest Skill Ability, [ Mind Fear ], one of the specialties of his family. This arrogant little Gnome strolled the Academy as if he was a high three-star Mages. He did see the Gnome approach the Academy with Elder Aelon but denying that information made him appear to the crowd as if he was simply defending the Academy from unwanted intruders.

  Sweat started to accumulate on his brow, as he didn’t know what to do. The Skill Ability was at a low Rank, but everyone who was around his Resonance became deeply affected by it, causing them to go into a state of panic or fear, depending on the mental stability of the target.

  Salvaging the situation, he screamed at his loyal, yet mindless group, “Cast your Abilities at him! Make sure he doesn’t leave this courtyard without knowing he is not welcome back here again, and to understand what it means to disrespect the Faedusk name.”

  Around him, he saw his group begin casting their own Abilities. He knew they wouldn’t be able to do much, as he saw the guarding Mages trying to make their way through the crowd to stop this fight. He hoped they would at least get to damage the Gnome, to make sure he wasn’t going to lose face to some stranger who looked like he lived on the streets. Fear gripped him as he saw the Gnome’s eyes begin glowing a bright silver, and he felt a static wave pulse over him, his skin prickling. He began desperately casting his [ Mana Burst ], as he realized one thing: he made a mistake.

  Kaz POV

  Preparing his [ Mana Shield ], he heightened his feelings, trying to listen to the directions of his [ Evasive Step ], hoping he could prevent as little damage as possible. He knew he shouldn’t attack the group before him, as he didn’t know their Resonance, and he wasn’t sure if he could limit his damage to them.

  Kaz also knew that if he were to attack, the Town Guards could get involved, and he would be spending the night in a cell, potentially longer, especially since this Nahan was connected to some high ranking family.

  Faedusk.

  He will remember this name.

  Quickly dodging to the left, a mana construct streaked by his head, his [ Evasive Step ] pushing him to the limit, and he lowered his [ Mana Shield ] to block one of the mana constructs, which simply got absorbed by the shield. He knew that the damage still impacted his Health Points, but he was sure it barely affected him, as they seemed quite weak, meaning they were doing roughly up to 15 Health Points worth of damage.

  A flame like mana construct hit him straight in the chest without warning, causing him to tingle even more, his mana core getting uncomfortably warm. He looked up to see the Human girl smirking at him, finding satisfaction that her Ability managed to hit and affect him. He narrowed his eyes, and almost began casting his own [ Mana Burst ]. He took a deep breath and faced the group, ready for the second onslaught.

  The purplish ball of mana he saw earlier from Nahan struck him again, going right through his [ Mana Shield ]. How was that possible? The same tingling feeling came from his mana core, and this time his head slightly pulsed, a small spike of anxiety blossoming.

  When he saw the Elf grin at him, seeing the ball of mana crash into him, Kaz felt something click in him. He narrowed his eyes, and to the onlookers, his eyes grew a bright silver. Without even thinking about it, he cast [ Mana Burst ], opting for the double speed. His silver mana construct, in the forked shape it usually transformed into, flew at blinding speed, embedding itself into the Elf, causing him to stagger backwards.

  Shock came from the crowd, and even the group, who stopped their casting after witnessing that. Everyone subconsciously took a step back, fear forming in their eyes. Nahan’s eyes flashed a bright purple, and he shrieked at his group, “What are you guys waiting for? Attack the little cur!”

  Everyone stood there, with wide eyes, staring at the Gnome, who was unnaturally calm. The Guards managed to get through but were ordered to halt, stopping their advancement when Nahan pointed at them, sneering, “Don’t you dare intervene! I command you to step aside!”

  The Mages paused, unsure what to do, and they simply stepped back, suddenly finding the marble bricked courtyard interesting. Spurred on by this, Nahan began casting again, although Kaz was able to dodge it this time thanks to [ Evasive Step ], noticing that the mana construct seemed more unstable, not flying through the air in a straight line. The others also began casting, but they were quickly interrupted when a massive wave of mana washed over them.

  “What is the meaning of this?”

  The power imbued voice rang out over the crowd, but Kaz was unable to focus anymore, the voice sounding as if it was on the other side of town. His mana core seemed to explode, a huge pain going through it. It felt like it was overfilled, burning his whole body. It was similar to the pain he experienced in the Temple, although this one was unbearable. Kaz lost consciousness, as the pain overwhelmed his body and mind.