Chapter 2: Miracle Invokers

5"Is this really real...?"

Rio, confronted with a mind boggling revelation, let out a long suffering sigh. He had a hard time believing he was transmigrated into a different body, and perhaps in a different world to boot...

'I mean, who wouldn't be stunted in disbelief over such situation...?'

...It was a situation that broke reality and shattered the concept of what's real and not. He was sure, even the most illogical man alive would find the situation absurd, much less him an 'ordinary person'.

... Though compared to others, he was having it a lot more easier in terms of accepting his current absurd reality—afterall, transmigration was a trademark of webnovels.

With his years of decade experience as a webnovel editor, it wasn't a exaggeration to say that he knows all of the tropes of an average webnovel like the back of his hand.

Even then, he still couldn't get over the absurdity of everything yet—with that, he realized that worrying and thinking about it right now was pointless as he knew nothing about his situation at all.

It was akin to solving an extremely hard math question without knowing lick of the math topic. He didn't even know how he got transmigrated.

'...Right, I'm sure I heard them mentioning sorcerer?'

Whirling the blue pen on his desk, he figured that asking someone about some information was his only move right now.

But who should I ask...?

Rio furrowed his brows, his gaze moving to his left.

Towards his left, a stunning figure was seated. It was a beautiful long blonde haired woman wearing a white coat and with a black t-shirt underneath.

For a moment, he was stunned. Her blonde soft hair, flowing like a golden waterfall behind her back, and her soft angelic eyes that were like sapphire — shining blue and precious in contrast to her snow white skin and soft lips.

...She was a magnum opus.

'...Is she a celebrity?'

Rio faintly thought, instantly shaking his head afterwards.

No—that was underselling it. He even felt like it was a crime to compare mere celebrities to her. Sure, he was no great beauty analyst—but even a blind man could recognize the difference between otherworldly and merely beautiful.

The long blonde haired woman had a mature yet cute air around her, making her stand out in the office. The feeling and air radiating from her figure was something, he was personally, greatly attracted to.

Like him, a lot of men in the office also glanced towards her figure and felt a force of attraction luring them...

But immediately after those gazes saw her appearance—they averted their eyes with quick haste, as if not wanting to do anything with the woman at all.

'Is there a problem with her?'

Rio frowned, confused.

'...Nevermind that, let's just ask her some information.'

Deciding who to ask, he leaned his body slightly to his left. He reached out his hand and tapped the blonde haired woman's shoulder.

"..Hello."

Rio called out plainly. As if remembering something important, he curled his lips as he put on a gentle 'smile' on his face.

The blonde haired woman was alerted and responded in kind, her lips curling into a smile as she nodded cheerfully and smiled dazzlingly.

"My name is Rio—" Rio forced out the word out of his throat. "—Salem. Rio Salem."

"Hello, Mr. Salem." She said in a polite cheerful tone, as she continued. "My name is Samantha Gaia Constantino! I am pleased to make your acquaintance!"

"Such earnestness..." Rio muttered. If angels were real—she was probably one. He shook his head, continuing. "Hello, Ms. Samantha, I was wondering…if you had been teaching here for long?"

Samantha tilted her head, confused.

"Did we not just start our jobs as a new teacher, Mr. Salem?"

Well, that was awkward.

"Oh, right. I must've forgotten it due to the nervousness of being accepted. Oh, and don't call me Salem, call me Rio." Rio chuckled while scratching his head awkwardly.

"Well, It's fine Mr. Rio. It's fine to be nervous, this is after all the best magical academy in the world, Volund!"

Rio was stunned. He paused before asking. "...Volund?"

"Indeed, Mr. Rio." Samantha nodded. "Volund Academy — the greatest learning institute for the aspiring Miracle Invokers from the talented youths of society."

Rio's mind blanked, shaken beyond belief.

Volund... Miracle Invokers... Magical Academy...?

He was shaken because everything what Samantha just said was familiar to him. He recognized those names—not just recognize them, but clearly know where they were from too. One could even say he remembers them clearly than anything else.

'It can't be... right?'

It shouldn't be possible... Or rather, it was the height of impossibility. Even with the fantasy-like transmigration, such thing was even more... absurd.

The question remained in his mind, shaking his mind in disarray.

It shouldn't be possible... But...

Samantha furrowed her brows, confused. "Hello? Mr. Rio?"

"Hmm? What was that?" Rio asked half-distracted. This whole transmigration thing might have gotten more complicated than he thought, and if his suspicions were correct…

As much as he wanted to deny the thoughts forming inside him, he very much preferred to be logical and open for the impossibility. Though, thinking logically was ironic in itself by being in a fantasylike situation.

Nevertheless, he would check the students list and confirm if everything was really what he thought it was. After that, it should confirm whether he everything was merely a coincidence or planned.

"I was worried about you, you were giving a blank look again," She says in a soft tone, somehow uncomfortable. She continued with a worried tone, "Are you sure you're okay, Mr. Rio?"

"Oh," Rio muttered, realizing that he was quite rude and caused the other party to worry. He waved his hand in dismissal. "It's nothing, I'm fine. Also…do you have a student list here?"

"You can check at your e-handbook, Mr Rio." Samantha replied while pointing at the cyber tablet on Rio's desk.

"I see," Rio muttered as he looked at the tablet. So the tablet was called an e-handbook... I wonder what's the difference between a regular one and—

Rio shook his head, now was not the time. He shifted his gaze to Samantha, giving out a thankful expression as he bid to end the conversation. "Then pardon me, Ms. Samantha. I am grateful for your help."

"No problem," Samantha smiled, her head tilting. "We're colleagues now, I'm always happy to be a help."

Rio nodded and turned his back, wanting to confirm his suspicions as quickly as possible. He grabbed the e-handbook taking it to his face. In midst of his hurried actions, he noticed his appearance reflected on the screen.

...Even if it was the second time he was seeing his new face, it didn't soften nor lighten the ominous strange feeling of what he was experiencing.

The whole thing was weird and ominous. Every trace of his previous body was gone, only what remained was new—unfamiliar body completely different from his previous one.

...The e-handbook was suprisingly easy to access, contrary to its appearance—it didn't have any complicated procedures to open or to use. It was like a modern tablet, albeit infinitely better and more high tech.

After a minute of exploring the e-handbook, he finally found the student list. And there it was. Rio's face was indescribable as he closed his eyes.

His suspiciouns were correct after all. A name was plastered on the screen. A name he knew all too well.

Arcuied Valens.

Arcuied Valens. Rio repeated in his mind. The main character of a novel in his previous life, specifically the webnovel he was editing before he transmigrated.

Arcuied Valens was your typical webnovel main character, possesing a heroic personality but not impulsive nor rash. He was observant, and smart while also being a busybody kid with a hero complex.

In essence, he was the focal point of the story itself—everything revolved around him and the other cast of characters that would later appear.

Ignoring the main character for the moment, several implications went to his mind about his sudden transmigration. Of course, most of them were suspiciouns and baseless theories, but on the other hand, a conclusive fact was....

"…John Smith has to have a hand over this," Rio muttered while thinking about his previous life, or per se, the events in John's house, "He has to."

Every event pointed towards John Smith, his friend. The author of the novel and also the one that he last talked to before this sudden absurd transmigration.

Not to mention his cryptic messages...

Rio felt an irritating feeling surged inside him. A sense of betrayal, his brows fiercely furrowed from the implications of his friend's involvement.

At this moment he really wanted to find John Smith and ask him what the hell was going on—because right now, he was in the dark of everything and it was irritating him.

The lack of control and authority over a situation irritated mostly anyone, especially if the situation involved themselves. Rio was no different. He couldn't care less of other situations he had no business with, but with such a situation involving himself...

It took a steel mind to control himself to calm his mind down in case he would do something irrational. Rio let out a heavy sigh, his mind tired from the sudden events.

"The entrance ceremony is starting." A voice resounded in the room. "Please quiet down and take a seat, Vice Director Greg is about to go up in the stage and speak up."

"Again, please be ready for the entrance ceremony; teachers."

The chatterings and voices in the room gradually quieted down, eventually reigning a still silence to the office as they waited in expectation towards the stage.

—

Arcuied was having a normal day. Earlier today, he woke up, sweat dripping all over his body while his instincts screamed and shook from terror of the nightmare he dreamt. He just sighed. It wasn't the first time it happened. And something told him it wasn't going to be the last time either.

'In any case...'

Arcuied shook his head, emptying his thoughts as he calmed himself down. It was not like he was able to do anything.

He examined the room he was currently in. The room was large, unsurprisingly so. It was the stadium of the greatest academy in the world, after all.

The room had two different sides. At the furthest front of the room, a wide glistering stage was situated, and above the stage was a transparent mirror. Looking beyond the mirror, he realized there were other people behind it, watching them in silence.

'Are they teachers..?' Arcuied thought. They should be the teachers...

He twisted his head and examined the back of the room, uncontrollably opening his mouth in awe. The back was impressive to say the least. In the bottom of the floor, seats were all over the placeq—occupied by the students.

Above them, there were people with powerful aura's. The people above varied in age, some were young, and some were old. However, one thing was for certain... all of them were strong.

Arcuied felt his hair stand from chill just by looking at them.

'...If I'm not wrong, they should either be nobles, or powerful Miracle Invokers.' Arcuied thought, evidently no matter the case, they were special.

While he was thinking, a sharp slice suddenly resounded in the room...

"Good morning." A calm, wisened voice resounded from the stage. In that instant every student turned to look at the stage.

At that moment, an old man wearing a snowy white cloak stood. The man glanced at the crowd, waiting for everyone to quiet down before he continued.

...Dimensional Shift, Arcuied blinked in suprise at such a skill being applied. From his understanding, it was a Sorcerer Rank B Skill. An instantenous movement where the user transports to another position by shifting his dimensional positioning. As it sounds good at face value, it was impractical in real-life battles. To actually shift your dimensional positioning, you need to calculate the distance, time, and space(position) between two areas, and to do that accurately you need to stand still as moving will mess up the calculation. It doesnt help that the calculation is hard even for a Rank B Sorcerer.

The man covered with a snowy white cloak, caressed his long white beard waved his left hand that held a long staff.

"My name is... Gregorious Valkor. The Vice-Director of Volund Academy."

Gregorious announced as he tapped his staff on the floor. At that moment — the space warped, the normal clean tiles evaporated as purplish black space began to cover the room, darkening the sight of many.

The students were in a flurry, however they found they could barely move as if a huge pressure was holding them down. Arcuied vehemently struggled, only managing to nudge his hand slightly before giving up.

Arcuied sighed, shaking his head in resignation.

"Stand down. Listen closely and be quiet. I am here to welcome you—all of you youths to Volund Academy,"

Gregorious said loudly, staring towards the audience in the room.

"The Volund Academy is unlike any other academy. In here, everything is different. However, It is still best in education and training among any other. There's no contest or anything in the world to fight the prestige of this academy—one could say that the moment all of you stepped here, you're officially guaranteed for life."

Greg swung his staff as a luminiscient orb appeared on top of the room. It was formless, transparent, and shining. "However... as talented youths, surely all of you aim to be greater than that. Then you weren't mistaken in going here."

"Volund Academy has one purpose—to nurture talents. It is to train the talented youths. To prepare them. To teach them the ways of magic and powers of Miracle Invokers..." Greg continued, as his voice getting louder each time he talked. "That's right. A Miracle Invoker. A supreme being who has the power to wield miracles. To hath control nature itself. To shatter, cut, and pierce anything with your body. That…is what we teach you to become, an Invoker of Miracles."

"...For only beings with such powers are able to protect humanity againts others that wish harm onto humanity. The demons. The dragons." Greg lowered his voice as walked around the stage as he continued. "But do remember. We are here to teach you the powers of miracles, not to use it for your own misconduct, but to protect humanity. With great power, comes great responsibility."

The students felt their blood boil, shuddering in excitement.

Arcuied was the same. The desire to protect others overtook his body... however, different from his body—his mind was calm and tranquil, only focusing on a single goal.

The people above the room varied in expressions. Some were happy, while some were uninterested or unimpressed. It didnt take long before the students and guest above, applauded alike.

—

Rio looked beneath the mirror, his eyes slightly distracted. He remembered that as much as this was a fantasy world, this was also a cruel, and grueling world full of threats. The external threat of demons, and the internal conflict of humanity.

In the beginning, the rise of magic gave humanity power. It was unknown how and when magic appeared, but the moment it did all hell broke loose.

Every human was different—some wish to simply observe and not help. Some wish to lead the world. Some wish to destroy it.

Humans were, and will always be the incarnation of desire. They desire for everything. They desire for wealth, for power, for divinity and... authority.

In the wake of magic, humans chased for their ideals and clashed against one another—causing wars after wars and battles after battles... until a leader of man—a Messiah finally showed up.

The Human Monarch, Asterios.

The leader of the revolution of humanity and the man that brought the world to peace and stability amidst the destruction and chaos of beasts and man alike.

In his reign, he spread the power of miracles—the ways of Miracle Invokers.

If he remembered correctly, Miracle Invokers were seperated into different professions and purpose. Granted magic was infinitely diverse, famous geniuses across history found a way to simplify magic.

'Three Miracle Ways.'l

The first profession—Mystic or Occultist, the profession to communicate with existences beyond human comprehension, or beings outside the world. This was commonly acuited as the most mysterious and hardest class.

The second profession—The Sorcerers, the profession that came from the mystical Elves. It focused on controlling the laws of nature... until when humanity took charge of its development and it started to control beyond nature and even the laws of space and time itself.

Finally, the last one—Martial Artist. An original profession from humanity themselves. It focused on using magic to enchance a person's body to fight beings above their own. It was the first profession humanity ever used, dating back from the Era of Magical Beast. While this profession was simple to understand, it is the most diverse among the three. People in this profession differ from Swordmasters, Archers, Lancers, or just Brawlers.

Miracle Invokers are also classified by rank. Starting at Rank E, to eventually reaching Rank S. This was the general conscensus humanity as a whole reached throughout history.

As for him, well, he doesnt really know. He did just arrived here moments ago. He thought of experimenting later and testing things out, though he would have no problem in theory since he read most of the info in the novel, but trying it out in real time and thinking in theory are two vastly different thing.

Well, such things for later..I guess, Rio thought as he heard the ending of the announcement and prepared to meet the guest at the designated room.