Ery spent so ti with Urix, seeking to understand what was truly happening within the Academy. But to get confirmation, they decided to visit the Zodiac Branch of Utopia City, where Ery t his old senior, Grand Magus Heorgar.
Their reunion began warmly, but the pleasantries quickly faded into a more serious discussion.
With the Grand Magus Sinure the overseer constantly away handling external affairs, Heorgar—as second in command—had been forced to shoulder greater responsibilities. One of his main responsibilities was maintaining the relation between Utopia and the Magus Academy. Thus, the recent decline of the Half-Blood Hall from the top ten ranking had beco his direct concern.
Heorgar rubbing his temples with a weary sigh, "So many half-blood factions are complaining about the Academy halls!"
Previously, excluding Ery’s hall, the half-blood faction maintained one top-ten hall, two higher hall, and one dium-ranked halls. Today, they had only one remaining in the higher ranks—one of the Twin Halls managed by Ery himself. The others had fallen behind: Instructor Sirin, the Peafowl Empress, and Toleno, the Spectral Swarms, were both struggling to stay afloat between the higher and middle halls, while the last—led by Harambe, the mighty Kong—had dropped all the way to the lower halls.
Ery frowned. "Tell what’s going on."
Urix took a deep breath and began explaining. Over the last two decades, more and more acolytes from the elite factions had entered the Academy. At the sa ti, many senior acolytes—who should have graduated—were choosing to remain, extending their studies.
To handle the influx, Headmaster Goldstein hadn’t created new halls. Instead, he expanded the top ten into the top twenty, redistributing the Academy’s resources. But this only worsened inequality—more resources flowed to the elite factions, while the Twin Halls, despite being ranked high, now received allocations closer to mid-tier halls. The mid and lower halls fared even worse.
"This isn’t even the main issue," Heorgar said grimly.
Urix sighed. "Most of these new acolytes... are special admissions. Noble sons and daughters who couldn’t et the entry requirents. So were even sent just to keep them away from the warfront."
This created considerable tension among the acolytes themselves, but the noble factions made sure that every hall under their control was led by a Grand Magus instructor. In fact, most of the top twenty halls were now overseen by three-cosmos Grand Magus figures. It was no wonder that Master Atika had been unable to break into the upper ranks.
"Then why don’t we send our own three-cosmos elders as well?" Ery asked, his voice calm but edged with frustration. He understood how vital the Magus Academy was—its halls shaped the future of every young magus.
Heorgar let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "If only it were that simple... we couldn’t assign our three-cosmos elders to such a post, or we would be heavily criticized for withholding our strongest forces from the war effort."
He leaned back, his expression bitter. "Even if we did send one, these noble factions would find a dozen ways to block the appointnt. They always do. Influence, politics, petty bureaucracy..." He forced a smile, "Sadly, Ery... this is how it’s always been, and now... its just beco much worse!"
Urix tried to interject, his expression uneasy. He wanted to argue that the Academy still tried to maintain fairness, but even he couldn’t bring himself to say it. In the end, he only muttered that Deputy Headmaster Aurora had been fighting the sa issue for years—with little success.
Ery’s expression darkened; the hypocrisy left a sour taste in his mouth.
He rembered the vision of the Academy’s founder, Supre Altus Dresden, who had built it as a place of learning for all, regardless of blood or birth. In those early days, many of the greatest minds behind the Academy’s formation had been half-bloods themselves.
But knowing that Headmaster Goldstein ran the institution—a man deeply rooted in the Magus Alliance bureaucracy—Ery could easily see where his loyalties lay.
"Is the Nephilim involved in this?" Ery asked suddenly.
Having endured his own conflicts with the Nephilim Faction during his academy years, the thought ca naturally.
Urix shook his head uncertainly. "I’m not sure... but this surely is a coordinated effort among the elite factions."
He listed several nas—Grade Three and Four factions, each no less prominent than Urix’s own Wellenstain Faction.
Heorgar gritted his teeth. "Hmph. I’d bet they’re the sa ones stirring trouble in the markets here and in Centauri. Damn opportunists! They move in the mont the war pulls others away."
As his voice echoed through the chamber, Heorgar explained further. He went on to describe how Utopia’s surrounding cities had grown increasingly unstable—markets manipulated, supplies hoarded, and criminal groups suspiciously well-funded. Though he had no proof, Heorgar suspected the elite factions were involved.
Ery frowned, his mind drifting to another familiar figure—Emissary Duncan, the Magus Alliance’s representative in this sector. If anyone could confirm Heorgar’s suspicions, it would be him. But before Ery could voice the thought, Heorgar suddenly snapped his fingers as if rembering sothing.
"Wait a mont—why don’t you ask your woman about this?"
Ery blinked. "My woman? ...Klea? She’s been in the Nephilim Howorld these last few years. Do you have news of her?"
Heorgar barked a laugh. "No, not that one—the other one! The bat half-blood!?"
A realization dawned on Ery. "Annara..."
Heorgar had often teased him about her, claiming she was his woman — after all, they had spent years stranded together on that mysterious planet long ago.
It had been years since he last saw Annar. The last ti they t, he had entrusted her with a delicate mission—to gather information about the Nephilim faction from within their hidden networks. To think she had returned to Utopia City...
If anyone could navigate the tangled web of information between factions, it would be her.
"Where is she now?" Ery asked.
Heorgar shrugged. "Its been a few week since I saw here, she always cos and goes like a ghost. But..." He reached into his storage ring and pulled out a small map "She has a secret hideout.. you might find her there."
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