26: Werney's Plan

'Werney! You disappoint me... Why haven't you even managed to find a single clue about the whereabouts of the other twin amulet?'

Werney, who was currently in the maisonette at the administrative quarters, specifically built by the academy management for teachers who do not live near Rylinth Academy, was seated cross-legged on his bed, engaging in telepathic communication with someone in his mind.

Hearing what the female voice said in his mind, he furrowed his brow.

'Your Majesty, please grant me additional time. I'm planning to assess all the first-year students today during my alchemy class. Be rest assured that I will find the girl if she is truly the one wearing the other amulet,' he assured the voice, speaking only in his mind. His lips were not moving, nor was any sound heard from his mouth.

'You have already spent two days in the human settlement. How long do we have to wait? It has been sixteen years since our Devil Coven was specifically assigned this mission. But we failed then. Have you forgotten his threat eight years ago?... You have to deliver that girl before our next summoning of our lord's spirit manifestation,' the domineering female voice said in his mind.

'Your wish is my command, my queen! But…'

'But? What is it? What do you want? "As long as it helps you complete the mission, it will be granted,' said the queen's voice.

'I want to create a sleep-inducing incense that I can use on the students during my alchemy class. I need some Nrem Clover and Sablewood powder. These items cannot be found in the academy's alchemical supplies. So I wonder if there is…'

'Consider it done! The materials you have requested can be found in the storage compartment of the spatial amulet you are wearing,' replied the voice, cutting him off.

'Thank you, Your Majesty.'

Werney said in his mind. As the connection seemed to have been lost, he slowly opened his eyes.

Stretching forth one of his hands, a red-colored herb-like Nrem Clover and a small, spherical but transparent container, about two inches in radius, materialized in his outstretched hands. The container held black-colored Saberwood powder.

"Let's see how the wearer of that other amulet can escape my detection today," he muttered, grinning widely as he walked to a corner of the room.

This corner was isolated from the rest of the room with black curtains. There was a table, also covered with a black sheet. On it were a black cauldron, some vials, cruets, and jars.

Werney poured the two main ingredients for making the incense he talked about, Nrem Clover and Saberwood powder, into the cauldron, along with other herbs and materials. Then, using his spiritual energy, he caused the cauldron to float in the air while an array of fire erupted beneath it.

He is already refining the incense inside.

—— — ——

Evelyn and Zoya walked into their dorm room. They had just come from the infirmary, where Evelyn and her brother had been discharged.

As they entered the room, Evelyn collapsed onto her bed, while Zoya exited the room and headed towards the training grounds before their next class.

***

In the academy, students are expected to take four different classes in a day.

The first lesson took place in their homeroom class at the General Arts Hall of the G.M.D¹. The second lesson was held in the different Elemental and Variants Arts Hall sections of the D.E.V.M². But, the third lesson was either at the Alchemy Arts Hall of D.A.P.B³ or the Blacksmithing Arts Hall of D.B.W.C⁴. Meanwhile, the fourth lesson was either at the Combat Arts Hall of C.W.D⁵ or the Formation Arts Hall of F.R.D⁶.

The first two classes are mandatory for every student, but they will choose one department each, out of the other two classes to attend. The Healing Arts was under the G.M.D because it has not yet developed fully to become a department of its own in the academy, leaving the academy with six main learning departments.

***

Evelyn and the others were discharged from the infirmary around noon, so they had already missed the first two morning classes. The other two classes will be held during the day and evening, which is why Zoya went to the training grounds to practice until it was time for their next class.

If nothing else, the fight she took part in yesterday taught her just how much of a gap there is between her and an expert mage. If she is unable to progress faster to the expert level, how will she surpass Ivory, who is also an expert mage?

Just as Zoya left the room, Evelyn, who had been lying on her bed thinking about the decision she had made yesterday before the fight, sprang to her feet and went to the small armoire beside the wardrobe-like cabinet on her side of the room.

With both hands, she pulled open the door of the armoire, and inside lay a large black recurve longbow adorned with ancient silver carvings. By the side of the bow, there was a black quiver with silver carvings, filled with a total of about 40 sturdy arrows.

Seeing the bow and arrow gifted to her by her mother, her eyes shone with a glint of determination, much like a toddler being promised a reward by their mother.

She took the quiver with only a few of the arrows and wore it on her left side. Pulling out the longbow, she felt the quality of the weapon in her hands as she pulled back on the bowstring before releasing it. She wasn't an archer before, but she felt that the bow was fitting for her.

Turning around, she walked towards the door, wearing a brown training dress provided by the academy. "I feel like there is a slight increase in my strength when I hold this bow... I can't wait to be able to condense pure energy or my flames while using it," Evelyn muttered, shutting her dorm room behind her as she made her way towards the training grounds.

Since the next class was still about two hours away, she decided to use this period to practice shooting at the bullseye.

Soon, she arrived at the training grounds. However, she headed towards the General Training Unit, which was the largest section in the training grounds. The general training unit also has indoor facilities and outdoor space to accommodate the students' training needs.

As she walked through the arched entrance, she noticed several students practicing individually within the training unit. Some were first-years, while others were second-years. Some were practicing with their weapons, while others were only practicing their elemental control. Everyone was minding their own business.

Evelyn scanned the area to see if she could find Zoya or any of the other guys, but she saw none. But instead, her eyes caught a particular area of this unit where students, like her, were practicing their archery skills with bows and arrows. They were shooting at the red-green colored targets and bullseyes.

She smiled and walked over to the area, observing the beginner archers in action.

Evelyn had never pulled the bowstring before, so all she could do was observe others and learn some tips or tricks from them. From her observation, it seemed like archery is more of a girls' thing because the ratio of boys to girls in this area was about 1:5.

Most of them were already skilled with their bows, only missing the bullseye by a few inches. Meanwhile, the arrows of the obvious novices, like her, couldn't even travel half the trajectory before losing all momentum and falling to the ground.

Even though the students' display was happening so fast, she was still able to learn a few things from these people just by observing. She realized that she was wearing her quiver the wrong way, so she quickly adjusted it to her right side since she held the bow with her right hand.

Not only did she learn how to easily remove arrows from the quiver, but she also learned the correct way to grip the bow and draw its bowstring taut.

Just as she was focused on herself, trying out the position of her fingers before putting them behind to grab the nock point of an arrow from her back quiver, a girl who had just shot the green center of one of the targets walked up to her. The girl had wavy brown hair and beautiful grey eyes. She could be considered an epitome of beauty, but in the presence of Evelyn, her beauty would be overshadowed.

"Hey, our novice observer," the brown-haired girl said, standing before her with her hands crossed. "I have been watching you standing there all day, doing nothing... I have taken a liking to your bow. Since you can't use it, I wonder if you would be willing to sell it to me."

The girl confidently said to Evelyn, with an air of superiority that added weight to her words, making it more of an order than a mere request.

Evelyn, whose hands were already on the nock point of one of her arrows, lifted her head and glanced at the girl. From the high-grade, golden-feathered arrows in her back quiver and her distinctive training dress, it was evident that this girl was not an ordinary girl. Perhaps she was from one of the great noble families.

"I'm sorry. I can't even lend you my bow, even if you were to give me a million points. Just because I am still learning archery, doesn't mean I won't be able to use it," Evelyn said to the girl. Afterward, she turned around and left the archery area, making her way towards the outdoor section of the general training unit.

"Such a waste of a good beast weapon. She is just a 3-star. She wouldn't even use the bow to half of its potential..."

Evelyn frowned as she heard what the girl said while she was walking away. She could feel her heart ache with pain when she heard the remark.

That's Evelyn for you. She is highly affected by negative criticism from others.

When she was outside the training unit, she felt a warm breeze brush across her face, causing her black wine-red hair to flutter in the air.

Taking a few deep breaths, she calmed her nerves and walked towards a tree in front of her, not minding the other students who were busy with their own activities.

'It seems that I need to visit the library again. I need to master archery as soon as possible'

She pulled an arrow from her quiver and placed it on the raised bow, which was pointing at a tree in front of her.

"Your bow should have been lowered, pointing to the ground, before inserting an arrow into it."

She immediately turned around when she heard the familiar voice behind her. It was a guy, with black, curly hair and hazel eyes that were fixated on her mesmerizing face.

__________________________________

Marked Words:

✓ G.M.D¹ – General Magic Department

✓ D.E.V.M² – Department of Elemental and Variant Magic

✓ D.A.P.B³ – Department of Alchemy and Potion Brewing

✓ D.B.W.C⁴ – Department of Blacksmithing and Weapon Crafting

✓ C.W.D⁵ – Combat and Weaponry Department

✓ F.R.D⁶ – Formation and Runes Department