Chapter 3 - revised

Koa returned to the apartment he shared with Adamend and dropped the various documents provided to him by the academy staff. He then sat at the table and sighed.

The events at the academy were rather straightforward and without excitement. He round the main office easily and was quickly provided various documents containing maps, academic courses, and some other documents that required a signature from his guardian. Koa was offered a tour of the building by an attractive female human. However; he rejected the offer and simply left shortly after arriving.

The small human girl he met on the way in crossed his mind as he exit the premise. Her angry face kept returning to his mind. She reminded him of something small and adorable.

Koa shook his head, bringing himself back to the present.

"Ah, you've returned." Koa looked up and saw Adamend looking quite relaxed in his robe and slippers. The wizard stretched his arms and released a wide yawn as he entered the room.

"I have located the book. We should have no issues with obtaining it. We'll have to act quickly." Koa got right to the point.

Adamend, who had wandered over to the kitchen, turned to look back at Koa, surprise etched on his face. Koa lifted an eyebrow. 'As expected, this wizard's location spell worked by luck.'

"Is this a surprise to you?" Koa asked.

"No! No, of course not." The wizard quickly tried to regain his composure. A sigh of relief clearly escaped him as the whistle of the kettle interrupted the awkward moment.

"Ah, tea time!" Adamend's expression immediately turned to one of joy as he spun around and began to busy himself in the kitchen once more.

'What a strange man.' Koa thought, not for the first time. He returned his attention to the document that lay in front of him. Although he confirmed the location of the book, he was unable to obtain it.

Koa studied the map of the academy. The layout was simple and security was minimal. With very little mana in this world, magic of any kind was not likely to be a problem. In fact, the book itself would likely be easily attainable.

Adamend sat noisily in the chair across from Koa. He placed a steaming mug of tea in front of the elf. "What are you so unhappy about?" The wizard's joyful voice intruded on Koa's concentration.

Koa looked up, but said nothing.

"You found the book, so what it the problem? Is it that difficult to take it from humans? I thought you said humans were simple idiots."

Koa glared at the wizard. After "I did not get close to the book, but I was able to confirm its presence."

"So you got a good look at it. That's good." The wizard replied.

Koa, however, disagreed. "It seems to be missing the power stone."

The older man thought for a moment, his right hand stroking his long white and black beard. "I was sure it was... Well, no matter. This is still great news." Adamend looked up at Koa, a smile spreading on his face.

"I thought the book was useless without the stone." Koa interrupted.

"That is no matter, my boy." Adamend took a sip of his hot drink. "Even if all we have is the book, that is one less thing the Dark King has. Besides, I am a great wizard, I can locate anything with the right spell."

Koa eyed Adamend skeptically. Anything to prevent the Dark King from gaining all three Mysteries of Power was better than nothing. However, he felt it was important to complete his mission in its entirety. Returning with a book that could not be read was not a completed mission.

Koa stood up and walked toward the front door, grabbing a small backpack that hung on the back of the door. "Where are you going?" Adamend asked.

"Training"

"For what?"

Without turning back Koa mumbled, "War." Then left the apartment.

***

Later that night a shadow entered the principal's office at Monarch Secondary. It moved silently and reached out for a thick green book. Just before touching the old book the shadow stopped. Suddenly the shadow began rummaging through the shelves and drawers. It was searching for something and clearly becoming more frustrated at not finding it.

The sound of footsteps and whistling made the shadow freeze. It listened as the footsteps grew nearer. The shadow clenched its fists before turning to the window and fleeing the scene. It would have to continue its search elsewhere.