Finally, Hyacine turned to Pela and said, "Alright, actually..."
Pela immediately perked up, her expression radiating interest. She nodded and leaned in, listening intently.
Hyacine explained, "Anaxa is actually my teacher. We're not from the Federation; we came here to study from elsewhere. He's incredibly skilled, but the Federation's system requires him to enroll as a freshman alongside me..."
Revealing this minor secret was far preferable to Anaxa being mistaken for a child predator. However, after hearing Hyacine's explanation, Pela's face fell into obvious disappointment, as if saying, "Is that all?"
"Why didn't you just say so earlier?" Pela remarked. "This kind of thing is quite common in the Federation. Foreign Wizards often enroll as freshmen. At the most extreme, it wouldn't be unusual to see a forty- or fifty-year-old sitting at the same desk as a teenager."
Hyacine blinked in surprise. "Eh, is that really how it is?"
"Of course!" Pela replied confidently.
Pela glanced at Anaxa. How to put it? One person's imagination of another could completely alter their perception. Just moments ago, Anaxa had seemed like one of the more handsome types, but as soon as Pela assumed he was a lolicon, no matter how handsome he actually was, she saw him as a dangerous old man who needed to be avoided.
However, after learning that Anaxa was Hyacine's teacher, she suddenly perceived him as young, handsome, and exuding an air of academic authority and dignified presence.
Pela then turned back to Hyacine and continued, "So, you're just teacher and student? I thought you might have some kind of special, unconventional relationship, or perhaps be hiding a world-shattering secret."
"Uh..." Hyacine's expression froze for a moment. In a way, Pela had hit the mark on both counts.
As for a special, unconventional relationship—well, they were the same person, after all. And a world-shattering secret? Okhema, the Demigod of the Sky, and the Demigod of Reason certainly qualified.
Chatting idly as they traveled, the trio quickly arrived at the Arcane Federation's Central Magic Academy. It's worth noting that this wasn't just the name of the school; it was also the name of the city itself. To be precise, the Arcane Federation's capital—the entire city—was essentially a massive campus city.
The three had arrived at the academy's foundational campus. Typically, new students would spend up to three years here mastering basic magic before choosing one of the Nine Great Schools and transferring to its corresponding campus. For example, the Evocation School's campus lay beneath the Shaping Mage Tower, one of the nine mage towers. There, all the wizards specialized in evocation, devoted to the ultimate elemental power.
However, the "up to three years" mentioned earlier didn't mean that students could graduate and advance after three years of study. Rather, it meant they had a maximum of three years to pass the Beginner's Assessment. Failure to do so would result in immediate expulsion.
The Beginner's Assessment was normally administered once a year, but students could also convince any professor to conduct an immediate assessment. Passing this would naturally allow them to advance directly to the next level. Anaxa had seized upon this "rule." The question now was how a newly enrolled freshman could "persuade" a professor to grant him this special privilege.
At the entrance to the basic campus stood two metallic Giants, each five to six meters tall. Their bodies gleamed with a beautiful silver sheen, etched with dense patterns of magical runes from head to toe.
These were the Arcane Federation's "Golems"—essentially "magical robots." While the Federation also employed "Magic Puppets," which were previously mentioned, those were considered "household items," whereas Golems served as "military weapons."
Common types included the "Stone Golem" and the slightly more powerful "Iron Golem." The two Golems before them were "Mithril Golems."
Even the most basic "Stone Golem" possessed formidable combat prowess. Imagine a five- to six-meter-tall stone giant. Even without special abilities, its sheer size and strength—able to walk and swing its fists—made it a devastating force on the battlefield. Ordinary soldiers' swords and shields couldn't breach its defenses, nor could they withstand its multi-ton blows.
Moreover, the Arcane Federation could mass-produce these "Stone Golems" without limit. As a result, they had no need for traditional warriors. Instead, they simply summoned vast legions of Golems to fill the front lines while the wizards remained safely in the rear, casting spells continuously.
This is why the Arcane Federation, despite having a meager population of only three million compared to the Empire and Alliance, remained a formidable power rivaling these two major nations.
Before Hyacine, the two Mithril Golems crouched slightly, their sapphire eyes flickering as they regarded the group. "Please present your identification," one of them said.
Hyacine and Anaxa each produced the identity cards Robert the Merchant had obtained for them earlier. A blue light emanated from the golems' eyes, scanning Hyacine, Anaxa, and their cards before declaring, "Identity verification successful. Welcome to the academy, freshmen."
The Mithril Golems stepped aside to allow Hyacine and Anaxa to pass, then resumed their position, addressing Pela behind them: "Please present your identification."
Watching this unfold, Hyacine couldn't help but think to herself, It's just like the ticket gates at a subway station.
As the trio continued deeper into the school, they arrived at a spacious clearing where all the incoming students had gathered. The moment Hyacine saw this, she knew what was coming next: it was time for the Headmaster's "brief remarks."
After a while, once the new students seemed to have mostly arrived, a blue Magical Projection suddenly materialized.
It was a wizard clad in a white Mage Robe, a monocle perched over his right eye. He floated diagonally above the crowd, his gaze sweeping across everyone present before he spoke. "I am Heinrich Stuart, Headmaster of this school. It is my pleasure to welcome you, new students."
"Regardless of how you arrived here or what your reasons for attending, as long as you possess talent and diligently pursue your studies, the Arcane Federation will welcome you."
"Cast aside your reservations and freely display your talents. In this place, genius deserves to be arrogant. Conversely, every year, at least fifty percent of the new students fail the three Beginner's Assessments and are expelled. I trust none of you will become part of that statistic."