Decision

"Your means… No, that's not it. If your power is already so great, how do you expect this academy to be qualified to teach you in the first place?" Opening up his mouth for the very first time since the registration process began, the man who sat in the middle of the long table asked with an amiable smile.

"Elder, it is like I said. I was taught the great mysteries of the world. The only reason why my master allowed me to roam the world freely was because he deemed my skills to be sufficient to protect myself." Answering the question no one said, Layn dug his backstory a bit deeper. "But that does not mean I know everything there is to the world. Heck, the very reason why my master advised me to go out and explore was to learn more."

Shaking his head, Layn smiled gently. There was no need to hide the fact that he lacked the knowledge about the fundamentals because that was the most important point in the entire fake story of his.

Because if one were to think about it, what was the degree of fundamentals? What kind of basic knowledge and common sense did those fundamentals include? Without specifying the range that this single word applied to, Layn could always push any of his accidental faults on the lack of fundamentals!

"I understand. If that's the case, then I hope our academy will allow you to learn all those things that your master wished for you to grasp. On the other hand…" Pretty quickly dropping the entire ruse of whether or not they were willing to accept the archmage into their academy, the apparent leader of the elders attempted to set up a trap.

A trap that Layn couldn't afford to fall into.

"I'm sorry, but the things I know… Not only they appear to be greatly incompatible with the local teachings that I already discovered, but they could very well upset the status quo in the entire world." Shaking his head, Layn took a face of concern and worry. "If I recklessly spread the teachings of my master, this place would soon become a battlefield."

This time, Layn spoke the truth rather than trying to create yet another layer to his story. Given how even the local experts were mostly powerless against formations, if the archmage were to spread the manual of setting it in this world, then the future would change drastically.

Ancients knew formations. That one statement was true given how most of the knowledge that Layn's future colleagues discovered about the ancient world came from the three cities that were protected through the endless expanse of time exactly by a set of powerful formations.

But the period that Layn referred to as ancient, was long. How long exactly, no one could really say. According to the rough estimates and guesses of the scholars of Layn's time, just the last period of antiquity that they knew of lasted several times longer than the entire modern civilisation that sprouted after its fall!

As such, even though Layn was sure that at least some ancients knew or would know about the formation, he didn't dare to spread this knowledge around too much. After all, what would happen if those formations would allow the ancients to survive the coming apocalypse? With their presence, would the future, modern civilisation take root just like it did in the original timeline?

"That's… Well, since you decided to be sincere with me, let me tell you some of my own genuine feelings." Initially baffled by Layn's explanation, the elder in the middle quickly came to his senses, before explaining. "This reasoning is just as down putting as it is rational. I will drop the idea of forcing your knowledge out in exchange for what we can teach you."

Stopping the other elders that instantly flared up, the elder wanted to say something before lady Serene finally managed to climb back up to her chair before using it to prompt herself upwards, casting an angry glance at the archmage.

"Eh… I guess I overdid it a little." Commenting on her own behaviour, the lady took down the vicious expression from her face that made her several times uglier than she actually was. With a new, calm expression on her face, one could even begin to find some hints of former beauty on it.

"Little one, I do apologise. Given the urgent Sitra's request to have you registered, I just couldn't help but test you out. For that, I do apologise." Those words managed to take Layn by surprise. But what was even more shocking, was that the same man that instantly attempted to ditch Layn when lady Serene spoke unfavourably on him, didn't appear to know the lady's plans in advance.

'What an excuse of a man…' From the looks of things, Layn hardly could have any doubts about the male elder's reasons for acting the way he did. Be it the wish to wet his crotch or to curry some favours with the old female, it didn't matter. The only effect of his actions was that Layn now disregarded him completely.

"It's understandable. Given how haphazardly everything had to be preprepared given the short notice, I can hardly find any reason to blame you." Forcing his own personal judgment of the situation deep into his soul, Layn smiled. "In the end, as the elders, you are bound to protect the academy. Be it by upholding its rules, or just by protecting it from various scum trying to make their way in here."

With the situation now resolved, only a few more questions of mundane nature followed, before all of the elders jointly nodded their heads, allowing their leader to put a stamp on a paper lying down on the desk before him.

"With that, you are officially a disciple of our academy. While your power easily classifies you to enter the ranks of inner disciples or even elders, given your wish to learn and understand the basics, I temporarily assigned you to the outer district of the academy." Summing things up, the elder in the middle stood up before inviting Layn towards him with a wave of his hand.

As the archmage got closer, the elder passed him the very same paper that he just stamped before pointing his hand at the doors. "Once you get outside, ask your chaperone to guide you to the quartermaster. You will be able to get your robes and basic utensils there. Also, "

Taking a momentary break, the elder in the middle looked at his compatriots to the side. Then, his eyes returned on Layn's face.

"Just to make sure it's said out loud, once you will be satisfied with learning everything there is to learn in the outer academy, just notify any of the five of us and we will arrange for you to join the inner academy. " Passing the information, the leader of the elders put a genuine smile on his face before waving his hand at Layn once again.

"Now, get lost. We need to fix our pride that you destroyed so thoroughly!"