A New Path - Chapter 252

As the last of the leftover dinner was being consumed by the combined might of the girls, Warrod stood up, stretched and flicked a coin at the girls, “Thanks for dinner, children.” Touka caught the coin and bowed her head slightly.

“You’re welcome, Sir!” After Warrod’s little intimidation joke, she had started seeing him with different eyes. She never really listened when Amell said not to ever judge by the exterior. She learned that this was the truth when she met Warrod. He was powerful, he just didn’t flaunt his strength like most other wizards did.

“Hohoho, I’ll be most interested to see you when you grow up, young one.” He winked at Briar which caused her cheeks to grow a little redder. She just nodded without an oral response. “And you, Touka. Take care of yourself, hope you get everything in order.” Warrod lastly turned to Amell.

“My old friend, I truly hope we see each other again soon. At that point, I shall buy you a drink.”

“And, you owe me dinner.” They shook hands and Warrod went on his way. He still had a job to do here in this forest.

“Girls, pack up your stuff, we are leaving soon.”

“Where are we going?” Briar asked. She couldn’t move at the moment, she had eaten too much food so she was going into a food-coma.

“The magic council. There are two candidates there that I want to check on. Go on now, pack your things and meet me here in one hour.” He disappeared and left the girls alone. After much struggle, they managed to get onto their feet and get on with their packing.

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In the open courtyard of the council, a rift that looked to be spawned from the chaos realm itself opened up. It wasn’t gigantic, but it was big enough for every guard that was on duty to notice it. What came after was even stranger, a little girl came skipping out of it like it was another regular Tuesday. That had the guard’s jaws hit the floor, then came to another surprise from the rift. A seconds young girl, this one a lot timider than the first. And, finally, the last one out was a large man. A gigantic man to be precise. He stepped out like he owned the place and snapped his fingers to close the rift.

“This place is massive, but people are a lot weaker than I thought.” Touka looked around in contempt, and she was measuring all the people she saw. The White wizard almost awoke from the collective amount of magic-powered beings working in this place. Being around Amell had been training in itself as she had to constantly push her other personality down. Compared to Amell, these mages working for the council didn’t amount to much, and that made it a little easier keeping the White wizard in check. The only problem was how many of them there were. Touka felt the calling of the White wizard deep in her soul to consume them all and take their magic.

“Maybe the strong ones are not home yet,”

“That’s not really how the council works, Briar! The weak ones are usually the only ones to leave this place to go on missions and such.” Amell saw an officer approaching so he shoved the girls behind him. “Stay back, for now, we are not here to fight them.” He whispered to the girls.

“Portgas D Amell! What business have you on council grounds this afternoon?” It was a high ranked officer dressed in white and blue robes.

“I’m here to visit the academy.” Amell’s tone made it sound like a command and not simply a request. The officer putting on a brave front had sweat running down his back. Amell was a man that could insult the entire council without suffering for it. The officer cursed his colleague who he stood in for because he was sick today.

“Are you here to escort me?”

“No, sir! We sensed your energy and I must handle your arrival.”

“Okay! I do not need a baby sitter whilst here. you can report to that council that I won’t stay long.”

“I’m sorry Sir, but I need to ask what your intentions are with visiting the Academy.”

“You do not need to do that. If the council wants to know, they will have to get off their high-horse and come down and speak with me directly. Amell signalled the girls and they walked away leaving a stunned official behind. The man cursed his luck once again.

The council academy was a place where gifted wizards did magic studies. It was here, Amell knew his next candidate waited for him. When they arrived outside of the academy both girls stopped and stood in awe for a moment. The building was beautiful and there were students running around all over the yard.

“You can leave me here, thanks. No more swamps or cursed woods. This is where I belong!” Touka marched away but Amell grabbed ahold of her collar.

“This place is for kids, like Briar. Are you a child?”

“No, but I can totally be a teacher here.”

“The moment they learn of your White magic they would have you behind bars. Or, the White wizard would kill them all. I don’t think that letting you stay here is such a good idea.” He released his grip and she stopped struggling.

“You’re right, curse this stupid white magic. When I finally get this removed I can start living my life.”

“I thought you didn’t want it removed, glad to see you have changed your mind.” Amell gave the two girls a little push since it started looking weird with him just standing outside the academy like some sort of creep. “I can extract the White wizard at a later date, so just for now, suffer through it.” Touka’s eyes started changing and familiar markings started appearing, but Amell stopped it by poking her in the back of her head. “Control yourself, Touka. Losing control here would be very annoying.”

“Sorry, I don’t think the White wizard enjoys the idea of being extracted. Its survival kinda depends on me.”

“I’m crying on the inside.” Amell provided expertly timed sarcasm and continued. “Now, let’s pick up the pace a little bit.” The academy building was surrounded by a lush garden with perfectly symmetrical roads through it. The building itself was a slightly modernized version of a very old building, most likely since close to the council’s founding, which was before even Amell got here. They walked through the doors and immediately, thanks to Amell’s impressive height, they caught the attention of the first teacher they came across.

“Sir, I have never seen you before, what can I help you with?” A man in his what looked be the early thirties asked with a smile. In hallways this crowded, Amell couldn’t really get away without drawing attention, so a crowd of students stood all-around pretending to do other things while secretly listening in. Amell was used to this so he just focused on the teacher standing there in his white and blue council robes.

“If you would be so kind, could you please point me in the direction of the principal’s office.”

“Use the stairs at the end of the hall then take a right at the top, then you have her office at the end of the corridor.” With a little apprehension, the teacher provided the directions then went on his way.

“Thank you!” Amell turned around and the girls followed closely. They weren’t nearly as used to this as he was, so the stares bothered them quite a bit. It wasn’t until they had climbed the stairs and had gotten away from the crowds that they calmed down a little.

“Here we are now,” Amell and the girls arrived outside the principal’s office and he knocked on the door with three solid and confident knocks. After some time they heard a mature feminine voice breached the door, granting them access. As they walked in they were greeted with the sight of an elderly woman with the most serene smile Amell had ever seen.

“Welcome to my academy, Sir Amell. My name is Ava, I am the principal of this academy. What have we done to be graced with this visit?” She bowed her head low in a show of respect. She respected him quite a bit and it showed in her display of manners.

“You know me by sight? I’ve learned recently that this is a rare thing nowadays even inside the council.” Amell sat down in front of her desk and the girls sat down on the couch in the back.

“Since your sudden appearance in front of the council members a few weeks back, most higher officials working for the council have been briefed. And, since your deal with the council still stands, your picture hasn’t been released.”

“I couldn’t care less about that part of the deal now. After all these years, I no longer care if people recognize me. Anyway, the fact that you know who I am saves us a lot of time. Last time I was here I sensed an incredible aura. You have a student here with absolutely extraordinary magic prowess.” His words caused her to narrow her eyes a little.

“I am particularly careful when it comes to my students, Sir Amell. I must ask you to explain what your intentions are here today in detail.” Ava uncurled her fingers and raised her guard. If it came down to a fight, she would have no problem laying down her life for her students.

“I’m not here with evil intentions, Principal Ava. The student I am talking about is a young girl, and since I always speak the truth, I won’t stop now. Her potential is wasted here and I want to take her under my wing.” Since this was not what she expected, Ava was caught off-guard, and she started to fumble with her words.

“I… Those two behind you. Are they your students as well?”

“Yes, you can feel the magic she has. I don’t lie when I say I want to take her under my wing. My intentions are not of harm in any way.” He pointed at Briar, and Ava could indeed feel how much magic she had. That amount was rare inside kids that young.

“What is the name of this student?” Ava asked after a few minutes of contemplating.

“I don’t know. Though, I can tell you that she is currently in the classroom below us.” Amell said with a smile and Ava started to look through some papers.

“That would be this class…” She strokes her finger across the paper and closed her eyes for a second, “There are a few gifted ones in that class. There is one that definitely stands out among the rest. Her name is Sherria Blendy. An orphan girl that came to us a few years ago. No one knows what had happened with her family, and the girl doesn’t talk about it much. In terms of anything magical, be it academics or practical, she aces them all. She is multiple levels above everyone here.” Ava took a second to collect herself. “What you say is true, Sir Amell. What we teach her here is textbook stuff. We don’t have time or personnel to handle someone like her.”

“Can I meet her? I don’t force people into becoming students of mine, I always give out a choice to decline.”

*Cough* Touka sat on the couch with a sour expression while tapping her foot on the ground. Amell chuckled and said, “Don’t be so angry. You could have picked the other choice, and plus, you enjoy being with us.” He turned to Ava again.

“Can you call her up here?”

“Shouldn’t be a problem. Wait here.” Ava stood up and walked out of the room. She came back later, now with a girl in tow. She turned around towards the girl and spoke slowly and calmly, “Sherria, please step inside.” Together with the girl, they hurried over to her desk.

“I want to introduce you to someone really special.” She looked at Sherria then giggled a little, “Actually, in your history class you talked about him.” They all saw Sherria’s facial expression alternate between uncertainty and curiosity.

“History class? Him?” Sherria pointed at Amell who raised his hand and waved with a grin. She got taken aback by how pretty she thought he was so she flashed an embarrassed smile and waved back stiffly.

“We talk about a lot of people in that class. We discussed your life yesterday, Principal Ava.” Sherria tilted her head and focused on studying his face. “Nope! Definitely don’t recognize him. No idea who he is!”

Amell got a tired of those two talking about him like he wasn’t sitting just a few meters in front of them. He cleared his throat and spoke up. “Sherria Blendy, my name is Portgas D Amell, and I came here to talk to you.” He wanted to go in for a handshake but Sherria flew back against the wall. “Whaaaaat!!” Her mouth became wide and round, and she almost managed to go through the wall by the force she slammed into it.

“A-A-Amell!!” She sucked in a deep breath of air before falling to the floor staring intently at him. “YOU WERE ALIVE!?”

“I apologize for miss Sherria’a rude behaviour, Sir Amell!” Ava bowed her head while simultaneously knocking the girl on her head.

“No worries. I get that reaction a lot. I haven’t been an active wizard Saint in almost a hundred years or so. She’s not the first one to react like that, and she certainly won’t be the last.”

“ANYWAY! Can we focus here!” Sherria stood up with wide eyes, and her arms flailing around wildly.

“What does a wizard legend want with me? I’m a nobody, really!”

“You are not a nobody. If you would calm down a little, I will tell you why I have come here seeking you.”

“I am calm! As calm someone could be when talking with a historical figure I read about in my history book yesterday.” Sherria’s breathing was sporadic, but her mind was definitely more mature than other kids in her age group. She was ahead of her age group in every way, which is why she handled this as well as she did.

“Good! You need to be calm when I ask you what I’m about to ask you.” Amell flashed a nice smile for good fortune. “I want to ask if you would be interested in becoming my student in magic. Leave this academy with me and my other students, these two behind me.” Touka waved lazily and Briar with her timid attitude tried waving while looking as normal as possible.

“W-W-Wha-a-at…” A stutter, then a gasp for air, and Sherria straightened out her shirt, “I don’t understand. Why would you choose me? There are so many talented wizards here.”

“Compared to you, there isn’t.” Amell smiled and Sherria felt a small tingling in her mind. ‘You can decline if you want, but these offers don’t come twice.’

“AAAHA! Y-You spoke in my mind!” She stood with her mouth agape and Ava raised an eyebrow to her sudden declaration. She looked at Amell. “You know telepathy. Impressive! Sherria, you should accept this.”

“What does this mean?”

“I travel the land with my students as I teach them magic. That’s the gist of it. You can always decline.” The atmosphere in the room managed to reach both extreme serenity and unbelievable awkwardness. Sherria was responsible for the awkwardness since she simply stood there without saying anything.

“Me, travelling with the Eight Saint? HELL YES!” Sherria’s outburst was so sudden and so loud that Ava dropped her teacup and spilt hot tea over her lap.

“SORRY, PRINCIPAL AVA!” Sherria bowed low and apologized over and over again but Ava dismissed it. “I just got so excited, I didn’t mean to spill your tea!”

“Think nothing of it, sweetheart. Are you sure about this decision? There is no going back on this.” Ava cleaned up the tea with a towel. Amell waved his hand and the spilt tea, even what was on her clothes flew back into her cup.

“Wow! Can I learn to do that?!” Sherria watched the tea move like she was in a trance. ” That would be so awesome!”

“Maybe someday, now, as Principal Ava said, are you sure you want to become my student? There is no going back from this decision.”

“I’m definitely sure! My friends are gonna be so freaking jealous.”

“I’m sure. You should go pack your stuff now. We’re leaving in thirty minutes.” Sherria moved like a lightning bolt. The door slammed behind her and Touka released a large sigh and banged her hand down on the couch. “I can already tell that little girl is gonna be exhausting to be around.”

“Sir Amell. What is the plan for your little party now?” Ava started organizing the papers on her desk after the little tea-spilling accident.

“I have two more candidates I am going to go visit after this. Then, I’m taking them to Paradise island where I will train them in various areas of combat. My magic is my legacy and I want somebody to carry that forward when I’m gone.”

“Paradise island does exist? I must say, this has been one of the most exciting days in a long time.”

“Glad I could serve for some entertainment, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t talk to the council about what was said here. I would hate to have to visit here again, you understand.”

“Your threats sure aren’t subtle. You have my word, our conversation is off the record.” Ava displayed no overblown reaction to being threatened. She was, after all, a veteran wizard.

“Thank you! Just a precaution on my part. I know you play for the right side, Principal. The same can not be said for some of the council members. Now, if you excuse me, I believe we should be going. Tell young Sherria that we shall wait by the front door.” As soon as Amell said the word, Touka raced out of the office with Briar trapped in her iron grip.

“Until next time!” Amell strolled out of the office.

“Meeting Portgas D Amell. Another item off my bucket list.” Ava sat down again with a smirk.

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End

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