Long Island

Chapter 9: Magic Institute

"I understand what you mean, but you see she was made the head based on her achievements on the battlefield."

"I did not know!"

"You wouldn't know would you! She was part of the army till this last year. It was a shock when she joined the army at a young age of 10. And even more of a shock when she fought in the war. She has become a legend in the army."

Raka tried to imagine a ten year old Lady Altia fighting against scores of enemies. Hmm...he could imagine Lady Altia fighting off scores of enemies covered in their blood but....he couldn't imagine a ten year old version of her. Now that he thought about how old was she now!

"During the war she rose quickly in rank. But after it, she did not know what to do. She was too good in fighting but a lot of the older commanders did not like her and considered her much too young. The queen decided that it would be best if she could leave the active army and join the reserves. She offered her the job of her choice and she chose to be a Battle school instructor. Ofcourse she was inexperienced in teaching, so she was offered the position of the head who don't have to do much direct teaching!"

"So that's how it was! Did my request inconvenience Lady Altia and you by any chance?"

"Hahahah nothing of the sort. I always knew she could be a teacher. She just needed to become confident by actually teaching one. And then you offered yourself. Thank you brave warrior Raka!" Lady Verina smiled teasingly.

'So I was just an experiment!! No I can't think like that, I will become depressed. Lets say that I learned some good skills!'

Seemingly aware of what was going on Raka's head, Lady Verina simply smiled and added,

"Well on a serious note, I am really glad at seeing your progress along with Altia's. The magic school requires students to train their bodies anyway so I guess you can say that you have already finished the basics!"

"Um...that's nice...I guess!"

"Now before I begin, I must test your level of body training. We will begin from there." Saying that, she took out a couple of papers from her desk.

"These are rules and regulations of the institute. Memorize them. I do not tolerate mishaps born of carelessness and I certainly do not tolerate mishaps born of someone's willingness either. Magic is not something to play with and neither are the rules of this institute" she switched to a formal tone.

She drew another couple of papers and wrote something on them. She then asked Raka to prick his finger and put some blood on the bottom of those. Raka did as she asked.

"Well now that the formalities are over with, shall we start with your test. Lets find an empty training room..." saying which she started going back up the hallway towards the door. Raka followed. Some distance away she stopped and pulled on a lamp. A hidden door suddenly opened, which was painted as the surrounding wall. It revealed stairs going down. Lady Verina entered and went down those stairs and Raka followed marveling at the deception.

They came down to a well lit hallway, which seemed much larger than the floor above. It also had some rooms but the rest of the space was empty.

"This is our training hall. It is reinforced with stone and magic so we can use magic freely without destroying the village. Ho ho ho~ it also has magic which limits sound from leaving the room so its perfect for doing something naughty in as well!" she added in a sweet voice. Raka trembled. No one would be able to hear his screams. He wondered what the test would involve.

Lady Verina went into one of the rooms, which seemed to be full of all kinds of weapons and brought out two strong looking wooden staffs. Raka had been using the staff Lady Altia had made using the wood around the hills. It wasn't a bad effort but looking at a real staff, he could see a lot of differences. He was literally using a thick stick compared to the staff he was getting now. Both wooden, but the difference in making showed.