The instructor saw this so he dissipated the barrier he erected for the fight and immediately declared Cygnus as the winner of the battle. He then instructed the man to remove the ice crystal which he reluctantly did. He was a bit disappointed because he couldn't end the fight for real.
The woman gasped for breath the moment that ice crystal shattered. Her friends ran to her side and checked if she was alright. She coughed and wheezed then she took deep breaths until her breathing returned to normal.
The apprentices looked at Cygnus and decided to avoid him at all costs. Even Lilia, who was supported by the other girls, went away without any words. The master smiled before he returned to the bench where he was lying and continued with his rest.
In a dark room where all the lecture and training rooms were monitored, Celes stood with a tall man who had graying hairs but a well-built physique. His deep-set eyes and amber eyes were focused on the fight that just happened.
"I didn't expect him to be hiding that ability," Celes commented after the fight ended. He rubbed his chin and hummed. "What do you think of him, Magus Maximus?"
The person who stood with him had not much reaction after seeing the fight but he certainly had his own opinions. "Observe him a little bit longer. I believe that he is hiding more things."
"Alright. Shall I report to you everything that he does?" the elder asked. If the Magus Maximus requests for it, he has no choice but to do it.
"No need. I have my ways. For now, carefully observe him and that man with him." The man turned around and left after he gave those instructions.
Celes once again looked at the projection on the wall with a small grin on his face. "That guy is really interesting. To be able to hide such a detail, what other things can he be hiding?" He wondered out loud since he was the only one in the room.
The training ended so Cygnus and Astro went back to their room to change before they went straight to the hall's library. There, the master spent the remaining hours of the morning reading. Astro was also given the chance to read books together with the master.
At lunch, they went to the canteen since the master wanted to experience eating in a place full of people who will look at them in curiosity. As they entered the room, he could already tell that it was not different from those school canteens he had tried before. There was really no difference no matter where he went.
They found an empty table and took a seat. Since the canteen functions through magic, even the ordering of food was done by just tapping on the name of the food on the menu. After he was done, the food was immediately served after ten minutes which impressed him.
As the plate of foods he ordered were being served, the other apprentices looked at him in envy because his food was the most expensive one in the menu. That food can only be afforded by those who had money or those who were given big allowances by their masters.
The meat was of the highest quality and even the other ingredients were of top quality. The desert was also on par with the ones he had at his own bakeshop. It was not definitely not disappointing. He slowly savored the food and finished everything before they left.
"How does it feel to return to this place?" Cygnus did not look back as he asked the mage. He was neither fast nor slow in walking as he waited for him to answer.
"Nostalgic and at the same time disappointed," Astro did not hide what he truly felt.
Every corner of the tower reminded him of the days when he was still enthusiastic to learn about magic. Although he never entered the Hall of Time, the structure of each hall was still similar. It was supposed to be happy memories but when he remembered what he had discovered, he felt disappointed.
"How about we go down for a bit and visit the other halls?" Cygnus stopped on his tracks and turned around with a grin.
Astro nodded and let the master do whatever he wanted to do. They found the teleportation door and entered. As the spell was activated, they were surrounded with light then they vanished and reappeared at the Hall of Vestige. They roamed around the hall and noticed that there were no people around.
Archmage Ragus was on his way to where his disciple was training when he ran to the two people who were looking around the hall. He was surprised for a bit when he remembered that the youngest Ginehart from the main family entered the tower.
"It is a pleasure to see you again, Rigel Ginehart," the Archmage took the initiative to greet the man.
"Oh it is also a pleasure to meet your sir. If I am not mistaken you were the mage who was with Ezio during the ball!" He exclaimed as he showed a little bit of excitement. Ragus thought that the smile on his face was refreshing.
"Ah yes, I am Ragus and I am in-charge of looking after Ezio's welfare even though he is still in the academy." The mage laughed and nodded his head in acknowledgement. "By the way, why are you here in the Hall of Vestige?"
"We were looking around since we don't have anything to do today so I decided to explore the other halls together with my aide," he pointed at the person behind him. Astro gave the archmage a bow.
"Is that so, then you can join me for a while. I'll be meeting my disciple today for her training so you can come and watch," he invited.
Since they were already there, they decided to accept the mage's invitation. They followed him through the complicated hallways of the floor until they arrived at the private training room used by Ragus.
The woman inside the room stood up when she felt that her master was already at the door. She frowned when she felt two other presence with him but she really didn't care. Her master would often invite other people during their training.
Ragus pushed open the door and his disciple immediately gave him a bow. Arean raised her head and was taken aback at the people who were with her master. What surprised her the most was the person who was grinning at her. She had seen him in Moonvale and he was the guardian of Ezio.
"What-what are you doing here?" She shakily pointed her hands at Cygnus as she took several steps back.
The master remained indifferent and instead scrunched his brows. He looked confused and did not know how to answer the woman. "What are you talking about?" He asked.
"You were in Moonvale! What are you doing here? How did you enter the tower?" Her questions were coming after the other which made her master frown. He looked at his disciple and sighed.
"Arean, stop this nonsense and stop pointing your finger at him. He is the newest apprentice at the Hall of Time, Rigel Maverick Ginehart and he is also the youngest son of Duke Ulysses Ginehart." He introduced the identity that the master was currently using.
Arean looked at her master and then at then at the man. She was now more confused because of the information from her master but at the same time, she can't be mistaken. No, there must be something wrong in there. It was impossible.
"No! I clearly remember that face. He was the person in that bakeshop that was destroyed. He was with Ezio! That's right he can prove to you that this person is from Moonvale. How can he become a duke's son?" She tried to explain to her master. Her master would surely believe her.
