4 A Calling Voice

The stars shone brightly above the evening's skies as the scarce clouds did not hinder the moon from exhibiting its gentle luminescence. Due to curfew, the city was pretty silent, but it was even more convenient for Laurellius as night was a good time for extra practice.

Laurellius sat on his bed as he raised both hands sideways, his mana flowed from one hand to another. His eyes were closed to focus on the mana alone, and he continued to trace some basic nodes in the air as he kept trying to see if it could improve his perception. However, two hours later, Laurellius gave up.

He sprawled back to his bed: " Ah.. this is no good. There's no improvement at all. I guess doing something that's never accomplished before is way more difficult, huh?"

He sighed. He was trying something that was concluded as impossible by the ones who stand atop the world of magic. For hundreds of millennia, no one had been able to successfully increase their perception without increasing their Realm of Power.

Of course, Laurellius also wanted to break through the next Realm of Power. However, his accumulated magical energy was far from enough to break through the realm of being a Novice Mage. He estimated that it would take at least two months before he could accumulate barely enough. And even that wouldn't guarantee a breakthrough.

Laurellius sighed once again and lamented at the unfairness of talent.

And so, he began to crawl into his pillow to retire himself from the night, however. . .

" H-Huh?....

A sudden feeling of being tugged once again washed over him, as he almost lost his balance and almost fell from his bed.

" Rell. . . Keep it down. . ." his sister muttered in her sleep. Laurellius was scared for an instant that he'd woken his sister. After all, he'd promised her earlier that he would properly take rests. He didn't want to get scolded in the middle of the night.

By his little sister no less.

He heaved a relieved sigh, but the tugging feeling came again. And this time, it was far stronger.

" Ugh!. . ."

Laurellius made a small groan as his mind blanked, and he felt something rip from inside his head. A sudden headache then followed, along with an illusory burning feeling. He grit his teeth to endure, but it was getting worse.

" W-What. . . the hell is this. . .?"

He clutched his throbbing head, as he could almost feel it bleeding. It was the feeling that he got; Bleeding.

' Come here. . .' a voice suddenly resounded in his head.

His eyes widened for an instant, but the pain in his head didn't give him any luxury to worry about anything else. Pain continued to assault his mind, and the next instant. . .

He couldn't take it anymore and passed out.

• • •

As the Arcanum City was also a part of an Academy(hence the name Academy City), it was natural that it had morning alarm bells that woke everyone up, as the gigantic tower that stood in the middle of the Academy(which was also in the center of the city) rang out. Although it was mostly used as an alarm bell, the Arcanum Tower was without a doubt a Magic Tower, hence it was capable of many things.

One, for example, was that it was a control center for manipulating weather inside the city, and it was also the main defense center in case the city gets attacked by intruders.

It also had the property to control how much sound is transmitted to every individual so that those who are nearby would not hurt their ears during announcements and morning wake-up alarm rings.

Alarm bells rang as it was transmitted to everyone within the city, and resounded in everyone's ears as if it came directly from someone's whisper. But instead of a whisper, it was more of a mildly loud ring.

" Whoaa!!!" Nell suddenly shot up as she screamed in surprise. It was already two weeks, yet Nell still couldn't get used to the morning alarm bells.

Laurellius woke up as he opened his eyes, and noticed that his posture was completely different from what he usually woke up to. His head strangely hurt, but other than that, he felt strangely refreshed. It was as if the two weeks of constantly pushing himself and sleeping very late at night was a lie.

He sat up and scratched his head.

"Ugh... What happened..?"

He then looked at his sister and noticed that she was still holding her chest as she panted deep breaths. Perhaps the shock was greater than usual.

"Are you okay? Your face is pale."  Laurellius asked with concern. " I think we should get you an Exception Rune. The shock's really getting worse lately, right?"

"No, it's really fine, I said," she insisted. Nell didn't like troubling her brother. " Besides, buying an Exception Rune would mean we'll be going to the Arcanum Tower. Exception Runes costs money, and so does the entrance into the Academy Grounds, right? Not to mention the trip would take an entire afternoon."

"But I'm more worried about you rather than the money. You think mere coins would be able to measure my little sister's value?" He said as he approached her and gave her a gentle head pat.

Nell gave him a sweet smile. " Thank you, Rell. But you see, I'm sooo okay now. I've calmed down already, and I'm really, really, healthy. See?" She then stood in her bed and twirled to show her well-being.

Laurellius chuckled in amusement. "Ha-ha what am I suppose to do with you... It can't be helped. Since you're adamant in not going, then make sure you're not gonna regret this later."

Laurellius then stood and brought a change of clothes with him. " I'm gonna take a bath first, is that fine? I have work today."

"Okay!"

And so, Laurellius prepared for the day.

• • •

After Laurellius took a bath and changed his clothes, he then left the inn and left his little sister along with his books. She already knew how to read, so she would be able to entertain herself for a while.

Since most of the lodgings and other accommodations for non-students were in the Residential district, which was the eastern part of the city, he still has to go to the other side of the city to reach the Market district, which was located in the western part of the city. If he simply walked, it would take him several hours to reach his destination, so Laurellius took a faster way.

Couriers.

If there was something abundant in the Academy City of Arcanum, then it was the sheer number of the couriers who drove a magic device with three or four wheels that transported people for a certain fee at certain distances. Flight was strictly forbidden inside the city, so the transportation was one of the most profitable jobs in the city.

There was also the fact that it was easy to find a courier. All new entrants are given a free courier call-in device to aid them in their navigation of the city, and Laurellius also had one.

He took his courier call-in device. It took the shape of a thin tablet that was about 4 inches tall, 2 and a half inches wide, and half an inch thick. He poured some of his mana on it, and it lit up as a blinking red dot appeared in the middle of its front screen. Laurellius waited for a while, and not long after, the dot turned green as it stopped blinking.

Laurellius smiled, as he then put the device in his pocket. And as he expected, a courier appeared not long after. It was a three-wheeled one, so he might've been lucky for having a cheaper ride.

"Where to?" the courier asked.

"To the Market district, please. On the 13th zone entrance."

The courier nodded, and Laurellius went to take a seat. The magic device then started up and began to move.

And so, Laurellius headed for work.

Not paying attention to the calling voice within his ears. . .

• • •

Laurellius' job mainly consisted of fixing a bunch of magic devices that weren't too broken. He worked in a repair shop for magic devices, but he wasn't allowed to fix any unfunctional devices as he didn't have a proper license. Though fixing minor defects was fine, the city forbade allowing unlicensed mages and wizards to fix any broken devices.

Laurellius worked hard as always and managed to fix all the requests in time just before his shift ended. Though he was unaware of it, his coworkers and even some of the licensed seniors admired his works. He was efficient, quick, and always precise on his fixes.

After fixing another device— a time tracker called a clock—Laurellius heaved a sigh. "Well, that ends this one too... Mr. Hicks, are there any new requests?"

Hicks, one of Laurellius' unlicensed seniors, was reading a piece of newspaper for today when Laurellius called out. He turned to Laurellius when he heard him,  "Huh? Wait up, I'll check it... Hm... Nope, doesn't seem like it. You're done for the day."

Laurellius was a bit surprised by his senior's reaction. Mr. Hicks was usually one of the more talkative of his coworkers, so it was a surprise why he ended the conversation with just that.

Laurellius then noticed something: " Hm? What are you reading about, Mr. Hicks? You're more focused than usual."

Mr. Hicks only gave him a sideward glanced, before shifting his gaze back at the newspaper and answering: "About a certain phenomenon yesterday. A tremendous surge of powerful energy shook the entirety of the Empire yesterday afternoon. It alarmed the High Mages and the Grand Wizards as well as the Imperial Mages about what it was, only to find nothing.

I think it was caused by another one of the Empire's secret researches or another plot from the neighboring kingdoms, I bet. Though the Empire clarified that they had nothing to do with it, who would believe them? They've gotten us many times already."

Lairellius gave a wry smile at Mr. Hicks' words:  "I don't think we should jump to conclusions that fast. We don't know anything after all. And the Empire's still doing their best to improve the nation, right?"

Mr. Hicks scoffed but didn't answer.

Laurellius put stroked his chin: "But still, yesterday huh?.. Ah! come to think of it. I think I saw something in the sky yesterday, but my sister and a passerby said they couldn't see it.  Also, I had a massive headache last night. Could these be related?"

Mr. Hicks turned to Laurellius and laughed:  "Ahahaha! You're thinking too much, kiddo. You obviously would have hallucinations and a headache if you overwork yourself, so get some rest already, you workaholic brat!!"

"Ahaha... I guess I should. I wouldn't wanna get scolded by my little sister, after all." Laurellius said with a dry laugh.

However, Mr. Hicks sighed as he looked at him with a gaze that suggested he didn't believe him:  " Listen up, kid. You can't convince anyone with how you worked today. Just look at those piles of devices you've fixed. There are about three times than the usual, yet you still managed to fix all of it.  Were you fired up or something?"

Laurellius pondered as he held his chin: "Come to think of it, I indeed felt that I was able to perceive things easier today and I felt like my mana was more than usual... Maybe I really am fired up. I mean, I was encouraged to take the exams again yesterday."

Mr. Hicks groaned as if he was reminded of an unpleasant memory. He then snapped at Laurellius: "I don't care if you got encouraged by a girl or whatever! Just go and go home already! Your sister's such a sweet angel so be a good brother to her at least!"

"Fine, I get it. Geez.." Lairellius spoke dryly, as he began to pack his things.

And so, Laurellius returned for the day.