Arcane Heir: History's Strongest Mage-Chapter 50: Sprites (2)

The group of thirty students continued to be led down the wide hallway of the second floor, their eyes glancing around curiously at the decor within the castle. The moving paintings were one thing, but even the mundane items like the candles and statues placed around appeared mystical. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

It was as if they’d entered an entirely different world the moment they stepped into the castle.

"Meow"

A black cat leapt onto a nearby table, its glowing amber eyes shining with an ethereal glow as it evaluated the students.

"Oh my goodness, a kitty!" one of the girls squealed, unable to help herself from approaching it.

Michael flinched.

He did not like cats, or perhaps it would be more appropriate to say that cats did not like him. He’d met exactly three that he could remember, all of which had used his body as a claw sharpening tool.

The red-haired girl however, seemed to not have the same issue. She picked up the cat and stroked its fur, holding it close to her chest—gushing all the while.

The black cat purred loudly, clearly enjoying the attention it was being given.

"Damn it Felix, ya pervy bastard!" the violet sprite shouted in anger, "Stop fraternizing with the children!"

Huh?

At the sprite’s angry shout, the cat leapt from the arms of the girl onto the ground with a profound grace, intending on escaping with speed.

Just as everyone was confused as to why the sprite reacted in such a way, she waved her hand, causing a violet light to shoot from it, hitting the black cat who let out a miserable wail.

Before their eyes, the once gorgeous black cat began to change. Pale white skin replaced the fur—too much skin in fact. In just a few moments, Felix had turned into a human—a naked man at that.

The red-haired girl shrieked in fright as the man appeared in place of the cat. He had long silky black hair and was skinny, his bones almost piercing through his pale white skin. The guy looked like a ghoul almost.

"Hehe, sorry..." Felix replied, scratching his head in a feline-like fashion.

As the group stared with a mix of fear and horror, Felix took the opportunity to flee on four legs, painting both a horrifying and yet bewildering sight.

Lilly, the red-haired student began to hyperventilate, going into shock.

"W-What the fu—"

Her words were cut off as she suddenly lost consciousness. Yet just as she was about to fall onto the hard ground, the blue sprite appeared, catching her with an outstretched arm.

"Those of you with blue emblems, follow me." He ordered before muttering a spell, causing Lilly’s unconscious body to levitate above the ground.

Around twelve students rushed after him, continuing down the hallway and taking the first left, leaving around half the students left.

"Er... I’m sorry you had to see that," The violet sprite spoke up, scratching her head awkwardly. "Usually he’s well-behaved."

"Who was that?" the curly-haired student Randolph asked warily.

"That was Felix... he’s a bit of an odd fellow," the green sprite spoke up this time, looking rather uncomfortable. "He’s actually a graduate of the academy, and was one of the first mages to create a revolutionary transfiguration spell, allowing humans to transform their bodies."

"The problem is..." he continued, "it turns out that transfiguring oneself can have an effect on one’s mental state—something to do with the brain shrinking during the transfiguration, I think..."

An eerie silence hung in the air once the explanation had concluded.

How tragic, yet terrifying... Michael thought, a mixture of pity and fear confronting him.

To think that such a talented mage was reduced to such a state where he would roam around the academy grounds as a cat. What else could it be called but tragic?

This only reinforced to Michael that magic was dangerous. He had already experienced multiple near-death encounters when dealing with magic.

There was the time he tried to absorb chaotic mana, as well as the invasive mana from the dead violet mage in the mana-scarred lands. But perhaps the most mysterious was the entity he encountered in Velmara city—at the site of the dried up mana spring.

The one that likely led to the death of everyone in the city.

Even after pouring through the library in the Winterborne estate, Michael was not any closer to finding a lead on what it was.

"We should get going," the violet sprite announced, "the headmaster will be upset if you’re late for the welcome feast in the grand hall because of us..."

With that, the two sprites led the remaining eighteen or so students further down the seemingly endless hall. At some point, the green sprite split off in another direction, taking with him all but three students.

Now, only Melody, Michael and another boy remained. Surprisingly, this was the commoner who had caught Michael’s attention outside the entrance of the Academy earlier that day.

Only now that he was alone could Michael finally evaluate him properly.

The guy had an olive skin tone and messy brown hair. On his nose and under his hazel eyes were some freckles, dotted indiscriminately. While he wasn’t exactly conventionally attractive, he had an exotic look, especially paired with his remarkably white teeth.

The commoner boy seemed to have noticed Michael’s evaluating gaze and flashed him a smile, "The name’s Rudy Graves," he said, thrusting out a hand.

Michael looked down at the hand and could see the dirt and calluses at a glance. However, he didn’t mind, grasping the boy’s outstretched hand and completing a firm handshake.

"I’m Michael Ellis, and this is Melody Winterborne—my fiancée." He replied, only remembering to add the final part at the last moment.

Rudy’s eyes lit up, his appreciation evident. He leaned in and whispered, "Damn bro, how did you score such a hottie? Does she have any friends?"

No... She has no friends, he said dully in his heart.

Michael let out a pained laugh, feeling Melody’s glare burning into the side of his face.

"You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other," the violet sprite said, urging them to follow. "After all, you’ll all be sharing a room."

"HUH!?" Melody’s horrified voice turned high pitched as she heard the impactful words.