Extra Of The Magus Academy

"Rather than spend your valuable time on useless stuff, like investigating me… wouldn't it be better to put your resources to better use?"

Ash's voice echoed in his room after a minute of silence.

Raven Nightshade wasn't moved by Ash's words, as he found it incredibly obvious what the boy was trying to do. By shifting the Shadow Inquisitor's focus to another matter, he could find some leeway to act and evade scrutiny.

Unfortunately for the crafty snake that was Ashfelt Zephyr, Raven was an expert at manipulation.

He wasn't going to fall prey to it.

"I'm serious." Ash continued. "Arius Inkwell came to the Expert Wing just the other day, and he seemed completely off. Not only did he break the boundaries that exist in the Academy, by traveling all the way here from the Apprentice Wing, but the malicious words he uttered makes me certain he's up to something…"

All of these things were the truth, and Ash was indeed not playing around.

Sure, he would appreciate it if Raven Nightshade backed off from his affairs, but he knew it wouldn't be that easy to accomplish. Bringing up the information of Arius Inkwell was simply done out of concern.

'If Arius keeps following this path, then the tragedy of the original storyline is bound to happen…' He sighed.

Ash wanted to prevent that from happening, if possible.

Unfortunately—

"You underestimate me, Ashfelt Zephyr. I am not like those other students that dance at the palm of your hands and dangle on your puppet strings. You can try your best, but I won't be so easily manipulated."

This caused Ash to sigh even further.

'His strong distrust for me makes him view my legitimate information as less credible.'

There was nothing he could do about it at this point. All he could do was wait until Arius struck in some capacity, which would make Raven have no choice but to pay attention to the matter.

'But, considering how obsessed he is with me now, I'm sure he'll delegate the task to his Order of Shadows and pursue me himself.'

Ash shrugged all of this off.

'You can try your best, Raven Nightshade… but you'll never get anywhere.'

"I should leave now." The man clad in darkness began walking towards the door. "The Main Tournament continues tomorrow, and… you'll need all the rest you can get."

"I didn't know you cared that much."

"...."

Raven didn't respond to Ash's words. Instead, he silently walked out, and the moment he stepped out of the room, dark silhouettes surrounded him.

In an instant, he vanished.

"Whew!"

Ash collapsed on his bed and sighed, using a Wind Spell to gently close the door, forcing it to automatically lock itself.

'Things have gotten quite messy, haven't they?'

Nothing ever truly went according to plan, which was why Arius and Raven were being such pains to him, even when he had a tournament to prepare for the next day.

'I already have Fey to worry about, but this?' Ash shook his head. 'The issues just keep mounting.'

He wasn't complaining by any means, but exasperation was inevitable.

With this came worry.

'The biggest risk right now is with Dustan.'

Arius mentioned revenge, so he was undoubtedly going to target Dustan at some point. Also, since Raven Nightshade was now certain that Ashfelt was a prime suspect, he would also be targeting Dustan.

'The question now is… who will get to him first?' Ash couldn't help but wonder.

Either way, he couldn't help but feel for the boy.

'Sorry, Dustan… but you're on your own.'

************

[Meanwhile…]

Dustan sighed as he walked in the bright cobblestoned path of the campus grounds.

He had just left the Library and was on his way to his dormitory, but the bitter expression on his face made it appear like he had just been through the most unpleasant experience. He had a what appeared to be a permanent scowl on his face, and his back hunched slightly as he sluggishly moved his body.

As his brown hair danced with the wind and his green eyes barely lit open, he kept up a constant sigh.

'Why?' He asked himself. 'Why couldn't I also participate in the Exchange?'

He had watched the recordings of the Exchange earlier that day—including Ash's fight—and he could no longer hide or control his jealousy.

'Ashfelt is there and I'm not… it's no fair.'

Still, there was nothing he could do about the matter but whine to himself.

As a former Beta Student, he had no friends in Alpha Class, so he was constantly alone. As for his Beta Class friends, they were already treating him differently due to his new status, causing him to grow uncomfortable in their circle. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire

He didn't want to admit it, but he was very lonely at this point.

Dustan never realized just how close he had gotten to Ashfelt, and how much his world revolved around his scheming friend until he left. Not only could he feel Ashfelt's absence, but he began to crave his return.

'I still hate what he did to me, though…'

TZZZTTZZ!

A sudden buzzing sound resonated around Dustan, causing him to snap out of his thoughts and look around him.

The street lights around him began to flicker.

And then they were out.

Almost instantly, he took a defensive stance, his eyes darting all around as a bead of sweat formed on his face and he felt the hair on his skin stand. His throat instantly felt itchy as he swallowed the last bit of saliva in his mouth.

"Who's there?" An attempt was made to sound bold.

No response.

The crackling sound only intensified, followed by a low humming sound, and then loud cackles that would send shivers down a person's bones.

"[Starry Flash]."

Dustan cast a relatively powerful Spell, sending multiple flashes of light high into the air in order to illuminate his surroundings.

In an instant, the lights were sent out, covering the area with their warm glow.

'H-huh?!' Dustan's eyes widened as he saw someone standing still, a couple of feet from where he stood.

The relative distance, coupled with the way the person smiled as he stared at him, made him take a while before recognizing him.

"A-Arius…?" He muttered under his breath.

Arius Inkwell was not wearing his signature glasses, making it difficult to recognize him, but Dustan didn't have a problem with this, since one of the tasks he was given by Ashfelt before leaving was to ensure he constantly watched Arius for any change in behavior.

'So far there has been none, but… what is this?'

This seemed like a different person… only barely resembling the boy he used to know.

"Vermin… plebeian scum."

Arius' deep voice caused the very air to vibrate as he spoke.

His eyes were bloodshot, oozing a greenish black color as he gave all his attention to the confused and slightly frightened Dustan.

"You… it's your fault I was demoted." He continued his ramblings and took a step forward. "If only you understood your place and remained in it, I wouldn't have been humiliated like that…"

Arius quickened his movements, now to the point of sprinting.

"I'll teach you a lesson for that… and the tuition fee is YOUR LIFE!"

WHOOOSH!

He became a blur, dashing at Dustan with breakneck speed so the boy barely had any time to react before he went straight for his heart.

However, thanks to Ashfelt's teachings, Dustan had already enhanced his body with a few silent Spells and was able to barely dodge Arius' half-hearted attack. He shifted to the side and rolled on the floor, his eyes wide with confusion and fear as he stared at Arius.

'He would have really gone for my heart… he really wants to kill me!'

But why?

Dustan knew Arius bore ill-will towards him, since it was the former's promotion that led to the latter's demotion. However, no matter how annoyed Arius was, he wasn't crazy enough to kill someone because of it.

'He's an honors student…' Dustan reasoned. 'He knows the risk of killing someone.'

That was when it struck him.

'What are the risks?'

Dustan was a mere commoner.

Even though he was in Alpha Class, that didn't change his standing in the eyes of the Academy bureaucrats. There was no way a member of the Four Great Noble Households would be punished severely for getting rid of a mere commoner.

'But Arius would never take that chance… right?'

Dustan took a fighting stance, ready to defend himself against Arius' next attack while wondering if he could talk some sense into the boy.

Running away was suicide, especially since Arius had proven himself to be much faster.

"You can't do this, Arius! Killing another student is—"

"You're livestock… objects for my amusement… and revenge…" The way Arius spoke was akin to a man drunk on wine.

He was clearly not fully himself.

"Did he get possessed or something? But how could something like that happen? He didn't participate in the Exchange, right?'

Dustan swiftly shrugged aside his thoughts and decided not to focus on speculations.

'It doesn't matter how it happened, but that it happened.'

With his mind a lot calmer than before, he could actually confirm it as the truth: Arius was indeed possessed by something.

How did Dustan know for sure?

'The Alarms haven't been triggered yet despite the use of Spells… which can only be caused by the interference of Tainted Spirits.'

That meant two things for Dustan.

'I'm facing someone with a Tainted Spirit… and no one is coming to help me.'

WHOOOOSH!

Arius didn't waste any more time, swiftly raising one hand to summon a gust of jagged spikes made from wind mixed in with corrupt energy.

The spikes moved very fast, traveling like bullets as they charged at the now-focused Dustan.

"[Water Walls]."

He reacted quickly, summoning layers of walls made entirely out of water.

There were a total of four, with a fifth one underway, but the jagged spikes tore through everything and still charged at Dustan, who was able to dodge in time thanks to his barriers slowing the projectiles down.

"Ack!" As his chest hit the flow and he swallowed dust, he realized just how outclassed he was in his fight.

One glance at the grinning Arius told Dustan all he needed to know.

'He's too strong…'