2 Gale Windsoar (1)

"And so, the legends foretold, and so the legends prove true… that the day when the stars fell from the velvet night sky would be the second reckoning, a calamitous trial for the entirety of all races on the Celtioca Continent, presided by those beings far, far up above us… who look down scornfully upon this lesser plane."

500 years after the Second Great War of the Seven Grand Nation-States, sinister undercurrents appeared to be brewing in Lannidor, the imperial capital of the Flauian Nation-State. Located in the expansive continent of Celtioca, the Flauian Nation-State boasted ten-thousand years of history, as far back as the nation's dated written records note, and was one of the three surviving reigning powers of the Era of Calamity. Known for leading the continent's metalsmithing industries and boasting the reputation as being the progenitor of Warlock Magicks, many aspiring blacksmiths as well as magicians looking to pursue the sorceries of animal mimicry flocked to the Flauian Nation-State each day, in the hopes of becoming apprenticed to a master forger or grand warlock, respectively. The deluge of human traffic flowing in and out of Lannidor's heavily guarded, robust city gate was proof of the nation's strength and prosperity, fully demonstrating the economic and military might of the second strongest Nation-State.

Lannidor was also home to one of the four most prestigious combat institutions located on the Celtioca continent – the Saint Gaon University, specializing in all things related to the Warlock profession, as well as holding the occasional class taught by a guest professor, ranging from expert blacksmiths, royal guard captains, as well as court magicians.

Currently, within one of the many rooms located inside the university complex, a young man was sprawled out on top of the desk in front of him, his upper torso, arms, and head resting languidly on the viridian wooden surface. His short silver hair was parted to the left side, and his amber eyes were drooping, demonstrating the extent of his lethargy. Stacks upon stacks of papers were spread out messily all around him, and a collection of mysterious tomes was pushed off to the edge of the desk, seemingly ready to fall off at any given moment. Another piece of wood, with the name Gale Windsoar carved delicately into it could be seen pushed off to the other extreme end of the desk, shedding light upon the man's identity.

Rays of light were shining onto Gale's inclined back from the windows behind him, and the pleasant chirping of morning birdsongs could be heard outside the room; it almost resembled a scene from a painting. However, the sudden slamming of the classroom door broke the serenity of the scene.

Gale was startled awake by the loud *BANG* the door made, as it slammed into the wall behind it. Picking up his face from the table, his amber eyes stared fixatedly at the figure who had so rudely interrupted his afternoon nap.

With her ample chest, body's curvature, and pretty jade-like face, the twin-tailed beauty standing in front of Gale was someone that most people would find extraordinarily beautiful. However, seeing the pissed off expression that was currently plastered on her face, Gale felt nothing but a foreboding dread when staring at her, despite the fact that he was an entire two and a half heads taller than the she-demon in front of him. Despite the overwhelming feeling of fear enveloping him, Gale still couldn't help but admire her beauty, although he could only sigh in helplessness about one of her particular traits.

She's a bit too short for my tastes, Gale daydreamed to himself, but I'm sure that she'll have a ton of lolicons attracted to her. How is her body so developed despite the fact that she's so short? If we go by the United State's metric system, or whatever it's called, she probably has a E cup, but she's only 5' in height. 22 years old… I don't think she's going to grow any more than this. Forget it, I should stop with my lust-driven thoughts. I already have someone who's important to me.

Oblivious to Gale's perverted thoughts, the woman standing slowly trotted up to his desk, right in front of him, before violently grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. Lifting his head up to meet her own, she growled, "It's been an entire year, Gale. If you fail the teacher's qualifier exam one last time, then I'll see your sorry ass out of this institution. Only the best of the best get to teach here, meaning that our instructors need to excel in both theory AND combat. Fail one more time, and I'm not even sure if I'll be able to help you hold on to your lowly position as the admissions officer anymore."

"Understood, Headmaster Joanna," Gale slowly replied, averting his gaze. "I'm grateful for what you've done to cover for me up until now."

Hearing this, the Headmaster sighed, an expression of frustration evidently displayed on her delicate face. "It's not that I want to kick you from your post as the Head Instructor of Warlock Sorceries, but you must understand that the institution's founders envisioned a university in which the most elite professors and students gathered, proficient in both tactical application and theoretical application of their subject matters. Your knowledge on Warlock Sorceries is profound, and your thesis about all the methods warlocks can use to easily counter the elemental nodes within Arcanists is definitely an important contribution to the archives of our school library, but as to your actual combat abilities… I'm sure nothing more can be said, right?"

Gale winced. It was true that he was a pioneer in the field of Warlock Sorceries, theorizing an entire six Gold-rank new spells to add to a warlock's arsenal of magicks, but in terms of his actual combat strength… any freshman recruit to the academy could probably wipe the floor with him without breaking a sweat. Hearing the Headmaster mention his sore spot, it was obvious that he would grow unhappy, especially because his job was at stake.

Noticing the change in Gale's facial expression, the Headmaster sighed, reaching into the back pocket of her tight-fitting blue and gold uniform and bringing out a vial of a vicious black substance. Upon noticing the object, Gale's eyes turned as round as saucers, greatly surprised by the item that the Headmaster had brought out.

It was an entire vial of Body-Refining Liquid! Widely known as the most precious elixir available to those who walked down the path of a warlock, just a single drop of the liquid swishing in the vial could be sold to a Warlock Practitioner for around five gold coins, not to mention the amount contained inside the vial, which Gale estimated to hold around sixty drops of Body-Refining Liquid. Even though most people who trod on the path of magicks were relatively rich, purchasing this vial would still definitely force them to tighten their belt for a few months and cut down their other, inessential expenditures.

Three hundred gold coins! Just thinking of this astronomical sum had Gale gasping for air. Despite being reduced to a lowly admissions officer, his monthly salary of thirty five silvers could still be considered a lot better than what the average civilian in the Flauian Nation-State could hope to make in an entire year! Yet, the Headmaster had taken out something worth almost a hundred times what Gale would make in an entire year, and seemed as if she was about to give it to him. How could he not be moved by such a generous act?

"Seeing from the look on your face, I assume that you already know what this liquid is," Headmaster Joanna said, the corner of her mouth lightly upturned in a small smile. "Just think of this as a gamble that I'm taking on you with pretty bad odds, but I do hope that you'll succeed, and that my investment will be repaid in the near future through the new theories and spells that you'll develop and add to the university's collection."

With those parting words, the Headmaster placed the vial on Gale's desk, before swiftly leaving as fast as she had arrived. Watching her graceful parting figure and appreciating the curves of her body as she swayed, Gale remained mesmerized for a moment after Joanna's departure.

Shaking his head, Gale cleared his mind of any unnecessary, lingering thoughts before focusing his attention on the vial. Unscrewing the cork, Gale chugged the entire thing, before tossing the vial into the waste receptacle next to his desk, and sitting down in a meditative stance.

He could feel a foreign energy permeating throughout his body, granting him a feeling of power like he'd never experienced before. It made him feel as if he could level a mountain with his bare hands and crush a legion of royal soldiers under his feet, although Gale knew that if he actually tried to attempt those deeds with his current level of puny strength, he would end up crippled or even killed before he knew what happened.

The Body-Refining Liquid passed through the leylines of Gale's body, guided by his meditative stance, thoroughly nourishing and enhancing the fibers of his muscles, greatly improving their strength, flexibility, and durability.

After three hours, Gale opened his eyes, a satisfied look on his face. "With this, I should probably have as much strength as a tier eight Apprentice Warlock. I most likely can pass the monthly teacher's exam now, albeit barely."

"I think it's time to see if there's been any reactions from the tome," Gale mused to himself, opening a drawer underneath his desk, revealing a wrinkled collection of pamphlets loosely bound together by a satin string stained a dark red hue, reminiscent of the color of dried blood. A wistful, pained expression briefly flashed across Gale's handsome face, before it was replaced by a much more stoic, determined expression.

"Your mistakes… I guess I'm obligated to fix them, and to make sure that no calamity of that scale ever happens again. It appears as if correcting your past wrongs is the only clue that I have about how I can return to Earth… Janet, please… wait for me to come back and return to your embrace."