"Knock, knock, knock..."
Yavi stood outside the door and knocked softly.
"Come in!"
The deep, stern male voice Yavi had expected never came. Instead, the voice sounded like that of an intellectual young woman.
Yavi gently pushed the door open and entered. A faint scent of sandalwood drifted through the office. Dark brown solid-wood bookcases covered an entire wall, and several potted plants spread their branches and leaves in the corners. Documents piled high on the enormous desk, where a woman sat with her head lowered, busy reviewing them. Hearing him enter, she looked up and glanced at Yavi, allowing him to get a clear look at her-she had a refined, intelligent face, with beautiful black hair cascading over her shoulders like a waterfall. Behind her gold-rimmed glasses were calm, bright eyes. After just one glance at Yavi, she lowered her gaze and continued leafing through the documents in her hands.
"You're Yavi, aren't you? Sicco Jett mentioned you before. He praised you as a witcher with considerable talent for sorcery," the woman said without looking up.
"Hello, Headmistress. My teacher asked me to give you this letter." As he spoke, Yavi took a letter from inside his clothes and placed it on her desk.
The woman closed the document she had been reading. With a curl of her small, fair hand, the letter flew from the desk into her grasp. "As you can see, Yavi, I'm Loriess, the headmistress of Oxenfurt Academy. I'm also a sorceress, and Sicco Jett and I once worked together for many years..."
Sicco Jett? Who was that? Never heard of him. Didn't know him...
Yavi scratched his head in confusion. He really did not know anyone named Sicco Jett.
Seeing Yavi looking rather bewildered, Loriess sighed. "Damn it, did that bastard tell you nothing at all? That teacher of yours, the one you call Professor C, is Sicco Jett."
"Ah... well..." Yavi had known Professor C since he was little, yet after all these years, he still did not know his name. The professor never said, so how was he supposed to know? And he had not dared to ask!
"His full name is Sicco Jett C. Armstrong. He was a nobleman in Aedirn in his younger years. Later, something happened-I don't know what-and he left his family, coming to loathe both his given name and his surname. By the time I met him, he had already started calling himself Professor C. Don't just stand there. Have a seat, Yavi!" Loriess began telling him a few things about Professor C. After all, when trying to bring two people closer, talking about someone they both knew was the most effective approach.
Yavi did not stand on ceremony. He pulled out a chair and sat down. Although he did not know what he would be doing in the future, he would most likely have to interact with Loriess often.
"You handled the griffin matter very well. Rather than killing the griffin outright, you left both sides room for peaceful negotiation. You're even more capable and more humane than I imagined." As Loriess spoke, she took a small purse out of a drawer and tossed it to Yavi.
"Wondering how I know about this? It's a means unique to sorceresses. There are two hundred crowns in there, your reward for completing the bounty. The bounty on the griffin was initially only three hundred. I added the extra two hundred myself to get the trouble with the griffin resolved as quickly as possible. Although the griffin isn't dead, you did resolve the problem, so these two hundred are yours."
Yavi did not stand on ceremony either. He picked it up and tucked it straight inside his clothes. He did not put it into the Talisman Space, however, because he feared Loriess might sense the spatial fluctuations. Instead, he dutifully put it in his inner pocket.
"Then is there anything else I can help you with, Headmistress? Before I came, Professor C specifically told me to help you as much as I could."
"Hmph! Don't try to make him look good, boy. I know exactly what sort of person he is. Would he ever say something like that?" Loriess scoffed at Yavi's kind words, leaving him somewhat embarrassed.
Then Loriess took out a card and handed it to Yavi. "This is a room card for the premium dormitory. Just take it there and register. Considering your identity and your future activities, I've specifically arranged a single room for you. You can simply use your original identity here. You're a nobleman, after all, and the students at this academy are all either rich or noble. Having a noble identity will save you a great deal of trouble. All right, you can go back and rest now. I'll contact you if anything comes up. Also, there's still over a week before classes begin. You can use that time to resolve the griffin problem completely. I don't want the griffin attacking Oxenfurt one day."
After finishing his conversation with Loriess, Yavi left the academy and headed east to the student dormitories by the eastern gate. He handed the card Loriess had given him to a staff member, who gave him a key and told him where his room was. After thanking them, Yavi made his way to the men's dormitory on the fifth floor. The dormitory building was five stories tall, with premium accommodations on the fourth and fifth floors, while the fifth floor held the very best single-person apartments. Opening the door, Yavi took a quick look at his future residence and nodded, reasonably satisfied. It was almost the same as a single-person apartment in his previous life. Apart from having no cooking facilities, it came fully furnished, and it even had a private bathroom, allowing him to use the toilet and bathe without leaving his room.
"Looks like this Loriess is fairly sincere. She knows my situation makes sharing a room with others unsuitable..."
Yavi put his luggage down in the room and looked around. Finding it reasonably cozy, he nodded. He might be living here for the next few years, and there should not be too much danger or fighting while he studied here. For more than ten years, Yavi had grown used to living on a knife's edge. Suddenly returning to a quiet, peaceful life left him somewhat unaccustomed to it. Although there would be no more life-and-death fighting, he could not neglect basic physical training. Only by keeping his body in peak condition could he face unexpected incidents at any moment. This was also the reason Yavi had survived until now.
Looking at the gradually darkening street outside, Yavi knew the day was almost over. He hurried downstairs for a quick bite, then returned to his room. Since there was still over a week before the opening ceremony, Yavi decided to visit the griffin tomorrow and see whether he could retrieve its egg before classes began, to prevent further trouble later.
After giving his body a quick wipe in the bathroom, Yavi lay down on the soft, comfortable bed. At that moment, his exhausted body felt relieved of its burden. He closed his eyes and waited for sleep, looking inward at his Rune System. Four runes now floated quietly there, and Yavi checked the runes he currently possessed.
Intermediate Tiger Talisman: provides a 9 × 9 storage space. Items placed inside enter a state of stasis until removed again. Intermediate Horse Talisman: increases personal health regeneration speed by 100% and magic recovery efficiency by 50%. Elementary Rabbit Talisman: passively provides a 30% movement speed bonus. Can be actively activated, doubling the speed provided by the passive effect. Cooldown is twice the duration of active use. The passive bonus is unavailable during cooldown. Elementary Ox Talisman: passively provides a 50% strength bonus. Can be actively activated, doubling the strength provided by the passive effect. Cooldown is twice the duration of active use. The passive bonus is unavailable during cooldown.
The pale green glow that had appeared around Yavi during his earlier battle with the griffin was the manifestation of actively activating the Rabbit Talisman, while the pale red glow came from activating the Ox Talisman. His constant use of the Tiger Talisman and Horse Talisman over the years had also caused those two talismans to upgrade.
Looking at the four powerful runes, Yavi felt full of confidence. Then he tucked himself snugly under his little blanket and drifted into a blissful sleep.