Terria Tower,
"Hm, that's not good." A gentle voice came from within the pale mist that covered every inch of the room.
"What's not good?" Telmear's gruff voice, filled with tension, followed, in contrast to the previous voice.
Terria stood at the entrance to the mist-filled chamber across from her brother, silently. Her pale, unblemished face was creased with worry as she waited for the Principal to elaborate before speaking.
"Everything seems fine."
Telmear's expression grew confused upon hearing the reply. From the Principal's tone, he knew he wasn't joking, but the reply made no sense the more he thought about it. What's not good? Everything's fine?
"Uh, Professor, Can you-" Telmear started to ask for clarification, but the Principal's voice drifted out of the mist, cutting him off.
"That's the problem, Telmear. Everything looks fine. I can't sense anything from my view." The Principal's voice exuded the worry that he felt. "With my authority, I can see that he was here, but beyond that... It's like he vanished."
"The laws seem undisturbed, no sign of spatial disturbance-"
"—even the ambient energy across the room that should have been disrupted if an artifact or authority was used is completely stable. From my deduction, the energy levels showed no fluctuations when he disappeared, either."
The longer the Principal spoke, the heavier the tension became, until he abruptly fell silent. Through the haze, one could almost feel the frantic calculation rolling through his thoughts.
"So what does this mean?" Telmear asked, crossing his arms so tightly that the unique metal of his armor creaked under the unconscious pressure.
Terria stood in tense silence. The blame for losing Arthur fell squarely on her shoulders since he had been placed under her direct care. If the Principal could find no traces to aid her investigation, the case would hit a dead end.
That meant reporting back to the Cross Estate—which would inevitably trigger a summons from her mother.
The single scenario she was desperately trying to avoid.
"I could bribe Telmear if there were a way to track him, but if there are no clues to Arthur's whereabouts, even he would be forced to tell Mother..." Her expression tightened along with her breath at the thought.
The silence within this floor of Terria's tower was deafening. Each of them wore a heavy expression, even if the Principal's face remained hidden behind the fog. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
"I found something- but let's get back to the Central district. I need my True body to take a better look... The mist began to compress, withdrawing into its form as the principal's voice came from within." You both, don't say anything to that crazy woman for now. I don't want the Academy to be destroyed during my time as the Principal."
"Besides, the awakening should be finishing up soon, too. I'd love to see how many actually succeeded this time."
Although the Principal's tone was casual, Telmear had personally gone on Rifts expeditions with the Principal; These mist-clones of the Mist Demon possessed low offensive power, but each wielded ninety percent of his true body's sensory capabilities.
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Yes, he could dive deeper if he came here in his True body, but the fact that he would need his True body was what made Telmear worry.
He felt like the disappearance of Arthur might not just be some minor issue but something that might drag the entire Cross Estate into the Fray.
Terria, on the other hand, was visibly breathing easier; hearing the Principal's words was like a splash of cold water in the blistering Sandtime Rift.
The phrase crazy woman didn't even begin to capture the true terror of the Head of the Cross Family. She was just grateful for more time—and the clue the Professor had found was a beacon of hope.
"Are you both coming with me?" The Principal's voice as he floated out of the room slowly.
Terria exchanged a glance with Telmear. Without a word passing between them, she flicked her wrist, channeling her connection to the tower's runes to teleport all three of them down to the first floor—though not before sealing the chamber behind them to preserve the condition of the scene.
The teleportation was brief. In an instant, they materialized within the first-floor general area, drawing curious glances from the newly awakened Transcendents. Ignoring the crowd, they walked straight toward the exit.
The trip from the Northern district to the Central district was the same using the skybus, with the only complaint coming from Telmear, who hated the fact that he couldn't just fly over to the Central district.
This was a rule for the entire Nerfall Academy, a rule imposed by the tower of Authority.
The transition from a Low Rank to a High-Ranked Transcendent granted the ability to fly, but for miles around the tower, it was impossible for Transcendent to mobilize their aura to fly.
Subject to this rule, the imposing ability of the tower of Authority was Terria, Telmear, and even the Principal, even if this was just his clone. The same would be the case if it were his True body.
They arrived in the Central district; following behind the Principal were Telmear and Terria. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
"Your true body is in the awakening grounds?" Telmear had to ask, seeing the direction they were moving in.
"Calm down; first we see the kids. I already sent my memories to the main body." The words of the principal couldn't calm the worries of Telmear, but still he followed silently; his abilities were more suited for combat, so the best option was to see where the Principal's investigation led.
Sounds of shouting came from the foot of the approaching tower in the distance,
"Huhu... It seems the young ones this time are quite few... and quite heated too." The principal chuckled as he spoke. His sight caught the confrontation ahead.
While they approached the tower, his senses, which extended farther than Tessia's or Telmear's, saw a black-haired kid pummeling the snot out of a white-haired kid.
"Hm... that's a good one. He figured out how to use his aura to support his movements pretty quickly." Watching the rapid movement of the kid throwing the first punch, it was obvious that, although the clumsiness was there, the speed at which he learnt it was impressive.
"I guess the saying that the tower may be cruel, but it never produces failed products stands true as always"
Suddenly, he noticed something about the boy pinned to the floor, helplessly receiving punch after punch to his pale face.
White hair? The Principal glanced sideways at his two companions. The signature hair color of the Cross family was snow-white, though he hadn't known what Arthur looked like beforehand. While hair color alone wasn't enough proof since others shared the trait, a quick enhancement of his vision revealed something undeniable: a silver ring stamped with the Cross family crest.
"What is he doing among the newly awakened transcendents!!" The principal panicked at the sight, turning in fear; he wouldn't be able to stop the reaction of the two deadly Transcendents behind him.
Fights among Transcendents weren't uncommon—and High-Ranked Transcendents weren't permitted to interfere—that rule only applied when Transcendents fought each other. The Cross Kid wasn't even of age to undergo the awakening till next year!
He wouldn't have a reason to stop the two nuclear missiles beside him when they acted.
"I count the boy attacking the Cross Kid as dead; how many bystanders will be caught in the crossfire?" The Principal was mentally counting his losses as he looked at the small surviving pool of newly awakened, which, compared to the crowd that went in, was barely forty-five altogether.
At this exact moment, Terria's voice fell, riddled with confusion.
"Isn't that Arthur getting his face bashed in?"
The Principal glanced in silence at the refined lady with the shockingly crass tone. I suppose they really are that woman's daughters, no matter how dignified they look.