Chapter 108: The Academy Exchange Center

After Seraline left, Magnus's next stop was the Academy Exchange Center. Whether he went as Magnus or Cain didn't matter, so he didn't bother heading back to the dorms to remove his mask. The Exchange Center was a large structure made primarily of gray stone, slightly elevated off the ground with a staircase leading up to a broad platform at the entrance. Curved, smooth glass windows lined the outer walls in two rows. Despite being only one floor, it stood nearly half the height of the dorm building, with a sloped roof and elaborate ornamentation. Arches framed the windows, cornices and friezes adorned the roof's edges, and perfectly carved pillars and columns blended into the walls, making the building itself look like a piece of art.

But then again, most buildings in Takerth had that artistic flair.

As Magnus ascended the stairs, a group of Adept-level students exiting the Exchange Center quickly stepped aside—all except one. A friend from the group, noticing this, reached out and yanked the unmoved student over.

The student looked confused, turning to his friend and asking, "Why are you guys acting like you've seen a ghost?"

His words earned him incredulous stares from his friends, while the one who had pulled him aside whispered, "This is why you should've come to watch the Live Examination! That's Cain, you idiot."

The confused student froze, his expression shifting to disbelief. Like many Adept-level students, he hadn't watched the Live Examination. After all, it's not like they could participate in it, and the results usually didn't affect them. But this year, for some reason, had been completely different than the one before. Several Adept-level talents had seemingly appeared out of nowhere like a stampede of dark horses, and there was even a Pseudo Master-level among them. In an instant, the hierarchy that the upper-year students had established was blown apart. And the funniest part of it all was that most Adept-level students had to learn about the upheaval through word of mouth.

For many, it seemed unbelievable, but when almost the entire first-year student body is telling the same story, you have no choice but to believe it.

So this is the Academy Exchange Center. It's a lot bigger when you actually get close to it.

Ignoring the scene his presence caused, Magnus pushed through the finely crafted wooden doors of the Exchange Center. As he did, a small chime echoed from his Sigilbrand. Every other time he'd approached this place, it had warned him that he wasn't allowed inside. But now that he was officially promoted, that was no longer an issue.

Inside, the Exchange Center was surprisingly sparse. In the center of the building stood a massive circular reception desk, manned by over twenty 'Viras' behind their stations. In the middle of them all, a large glowing pillar pulsed with a soothing blue light.

It starkly contrasted with the polished, almost mirror-like terrazzo floor, which it seemed to go through and continue underground. The pillar itself looked to be made of cords, or perhaps pipes of mana, with something fluid, or at least resembling fluid, moving through them. Once the pillar reached the ceiling, the mana pipes branched off in different directions, tracing across the ceiling until they met the walls. From there, they shot straight down, connecting to small platforms evenly spaced around the room right next to the walls. Seeing something so out of place, Magnus found himself staring at them, wondering what they were for.

They sort of look like the stands you would sit a statue or mannequin on top of. Though, if you look at them from a sci-fi perspective, they also kind of look like teleportation pads.

As that thought crossed his mind, Magnus noticed that a student had stepped onto one. Each platform seemed built into the floor, matching the building's aesthetic except for the dark gray stone at each center. The stone looked like it was made of an entirely different material than everything else around it and had runes engraved on it, glowing with the same light as the pillar in the room's center.

The student stood on the platform for just a few seconds as the runes grew brighter, and in a familiar display, Magnus watched as space began to warp and the student disappeared into a bright stream of light.

Isn't that the same type of spell that transported everyone into the Alternate Space during the Live Examination? So they really are teleportation pads...

Magnus made his way over to the nearest receptionist, passing by several tables along the way. Aside from the teleportation pads, reception desk, and the pillar of mana pipes, the tables were the only other features in the building, giving it an indoor food court vibe—minus the food. He overheard bits of conversations from people sitting around, whether they were in pairs or groups, and they were mostly discussing deals with one another. From what Eredim had told him during class, the Academy Exchange Center was where students had to go to accept and complete assignments. It was also the only place in the academy where students could trade Arcana Credits without breaking academy rules.

Those two things made it by far the most trafficked place by Adept-level students and above.

If I remember correctly, Professor Eredim mentioned that trades between students could only happen if both parties reached an agreement. Even then, the academy would review the trade to decide if it was allowed. I guess it's their way of keeping things balanced.

If students were allowed to trade freely, stronger Adept-level students could just complete high-ranking assignments on their own and trade the rewards to others in exchange for favors. It'd be like gold farming or account boosting in MMORPGs. To prevent this, the academy checked every trade, making sure the stronger students weren't completing assignments for the weaker ones because of their status outside the academy or something like that. Of course, this only applied to Arcana Credits; the academy didn't care if students conducted other 'business' on academy grounds, but Arcana Credits were a takerth-only currency, so they had to do their best to stop it from being manipulated too heavily.

I guess that doesn't really concern me, though, since I don't plan on trading away anything I earn. At least not anytime soon.

Magnus knew for a fact that he was far too broke compared to the people around him to even think about making business deals or anything like that.

As he arrived in front of one of the few free receptionists, she looked up at him and smiled.

"Welcome to the Academy Exchange Center... Cain. This is your first time here, isn't it?" Not bothering to question which Vira clone she was or why the hell there were just so many of them, Magnus nodded.

"Perfect. In that case, please place the hand with your Sigilbrand under the device." She gestured to a device that looked exactly like the one Magnus had used when he first arrived at the dorm building and enrolled in Takerth Academy. Just like back then, a cone of blue light shone down onto his hand once he moved it under the device, causing his Sigilbrand to become visible and pulse slightly for a few seconds before the cone of light vanished, and his Sigilbrand faded along with it.

"All done. You're now registered with the Academy Exchange Center, and the Arcana Credits system has been unlocked on your Sigilbrand for you," the Vira clone explained, pointing to the hand where Magnus's Sigilbrand was engraved.

"All you have to do is think about wanting to view your Arcana Credits, and the number will appear in holographic form on your hand. Don't worry about being secretive; only you can see the number. Anyone else who tries to peek will just see a blur." Magnus glanced down at his hand and did as she instructed. He thought about viewing his Arcana Credits, and soon the number zero appeared on his hand, along with the symbol for Arcana Credits, glowing with the same color his Sigilbrand always did. The symbol resembled an eight-pointed star, with the letters 'AC' merged together and overlapping it.

Seeing that Magnus could view his Arcana Credits without any issues, the Vira clone continued, "If you want to trade with someone, just think the word 'trade' and look at the person you want to trade with. It will send the trade request telepathically, though they can deny it if they want. Any trades involving Arcana Credits must be spoken verbally. They'll be recorded and sent along with the trade details to the academy staff for review. Trade request reviews usually take up to a day, so please keep that in mind. Also, you are not allowed to trade in any areas besides the Academy Exchange Center; doing so will result in punishment in accordance with academy rules."

Listening to all that, Magnus muttered under his breath, "This thing really is just packed with features, huh?"

It could track student locations, let academy staff monitor and identify students even when their identities were hidden, open doors, and act as both a communication device and a warning system if students entered restricted areas. And now, it could even track Arcana Credits and handle trades between students.

"I believe that covers everything. Now then, is there anything else I can help you with, or any questions you need answered?" The Vira clone asked with a warm smile.

"Am I allowed to browse what I can exchange for Arcana Credits even though I have none?" Magnus asked.

"Of course," the Vira clone replied. She glanced down at her station, pressed a button beside the stack of papers she had out in front of her, and then pointed to one of the teleportation pads. Within seconds, the pad activated, its runes glowing brightly.

"Just step onto that, and you'll be brought to the catalog," she explained.

Why the hell do I need to teleport to the catalog? Is it in a different building or something?

Magnus kept his thoughts to himself as he walked over to the teleportation pad and stepped onto it. He saw the Vira clone wave goodbye as space began to warp around him just seconds later. In a flash of light that hurt his eyes, he disappeared from the Exchange Center.

Shit, why is it always so bright...

Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Magnus realized he was now sitting in a blank space.

"What the hell..." It felt like he was in a void. He could sense he was sitting in a reclined chair, but he couldn't see it—just feel it. Likewise, he felt his feet on the floor but couldn't see the floor or any walls. It was total darkness, but not from a lack of light. He could see his hands in front of him as if some invisible light source was affecting him and him only. As he took another moment to look around, he was about to stand up from the invisible seat when a voice suddenly spoke.

"Welcome to the Academy Exchange Center's Catalog Space." Like so many other times he'd heard a voice at the academy, it sounded like Vira's. But this time, Magnus couldn't tell if it was a recording or an actual person. Not that he had much time to dwell on it, as a two-dimensional floating screen constructed through magic appeared just a meter away from him.

Oh, I get it now; that's why we had to use teleportation pads. Leave it to Takerth Academy to go over the top like this.

They were quite literally creating pocket dimensions just so students could 'shop' in peace and privacy. It was so absurd that it almost made Magnus want to laugh, especially since the screen in front of him reminded him of online marketplaces like the ones back on Earth. In the top right corner, he could see how many Arcana Credits he had. Next to that was a list of categories: Magical Materials, Spells & Runes, Aura Styles, Equipment, Enchantments, and more. Magnus wasn't exactly sure how to interact with the screen until he noticed that it responded to where he looked and his intentions, selecting and deselecting items accordingly.

"Like a super interactive store page," Magnus muttered to himself as he started browsing through the categories. Magical Materials split into subcategories, featuring everything you'd expect—Mana Catalysts, Magical Herbs, and even the body parts of certain Mana Beasts—all things that could be used in forging magical artifices. The Spells & Runes category branched into subcategories as well, like Offensive Spells, Defensive Spells, Support Spells, and Rune Engravings.

Runesmithing was a specialized job that not just anyone could take on, even among mages. So, rune engravings were helpful—they acted like stamps that automatically engraved the rune onto a surface for you. Of course, you still had to supply the mana, and if you couldn't handle the basic upkeep, the rune would degrade due to the suppression effect fairly quickly.

As for the spells, they mostly came from two sources: custom or unique spells created by skilled mages interested in sharing their work or spells that had been uncovered. The world was full of magical locations, some of which were akin to ancient ruins. That's why the academy had assignments involving the exploration of these potential sites. In such places, you could stumble upon old magic—spells from what Eveline would consider a rudimentary era, barely worth attention, in her words. Still, it was possible to find gold even when searching for copper.

A prime example of that was lineage magics from ancient magical families long gone, which could sometimes be found in vaults or forgotten libraries. If you looked in the Aura Styles category, you'd find similar cases: aura styles written down by past Master-level or even Champion-level knights but left behind for various potential reasons. While a lot of old magic and old aura styles wouldn't be particularly useful for mages or knights relying on their own family's magic and styles, there was still something to be learned from them.

After all, progression is all about standing on the shoulders of one's ancestors, allowing descendants to see further than those who came before them.

Hmm, but what about spell catalysts?

They were listed under the equipment category, which also included pre-made magical artifacts, as well as both normal and enchanted weapons, armor, and tools.

Let's see, the cheapest Apprentice-level spell catalysts are around five hundred Arcana Credits, while Adept-level ones range from six to ten thousand. Master-level catalysts shoot up into the tens of thousands. I guess that explains why assignments are so generous and offer so many credits.

Magnus rubbed his chin as he browsed the prices, feeling a bit anxious. He was only interested in a few specific spell catalysts, but seeing these prices made him worry that he wouldn't be able to afford what he needed without taking on multiple difficult Intermediate-level assignments.

I might have to rely on Luden after all...

Magnus started searching for the exact spell catalysts he needed to put his plans into action. But when the screen updated to show what he was looking for, he couldn't help but look surprised.

[Apprentice-level Catalyst—Sensory Magic—Mana Imprint]

[Description: Works by enveloping and injecting a target (person or object) with mana to create a detailed imprint of its physical characteristics. The spell captures all aspects within the mana's range, providing the caster with direct, comprehensive, visual information about the target's structure and properties. Capable of working on a microscale from 5 to 100 μm, with information transfer extending up to ten meters from the user.]

[Uses: 1 (30 Minutes)]

[Binding Method: Blood Linking]

[Price: 650 Arcana Credits]

So cheap!

That was the first thought that crossed Magnus's mind when he saw the catalyst he'd been searching for. It was under sensory magic, though it fell into the subcategory of probing and was therefore a probing spell instead of just a sensory one. In fact, it was the same probing spell that he had made a deal with Luden for back in the day.

It's clearly lower quality. The one Luden gave me could work down to a single micrometer, be used ten times before becoming completely inert, and each use lasted for two hours. But that's perfectly fine—I'm not interested in paying more for a higher-quality one. I just need quantity.

Magnus let out a sigh of relief and leaned back into his invisible chair, smiling under his mask as he spoke to himself.

"This is perfect. One Intermediate-level assignment should be more than enough for me to get the catalyst I need. Man… I love it when things are simple." He had thought he'd need to go on a whole side quest to get the catalyst he wanted, but it was turning out to be pretty straightforward.

"Still, being this close to getting them makes me even more eager. I wish I could just buy them now," Magnus muttered jokingly. But not a second after he had spoken, he heard the familiar voice echo through the Alternate Space.

"Would you like to use Arcana Advance? Arcana Advance allows students to purchase items from the exchange center on credit, with the obligation of repaying the Arcana Credits through future assignments and other academy-related activities. It should be noted that failure to repay the Arcana Credits will result in the student being required to fulfill the debt via contract instead."