Dark Magus Returns

Raze turned the piece of paper over to see if there was anything else written on it, but he found nothing. The only thing he noticed was that the paper seemed fairly new, and it was written in Pagna.

'When did they have the time to put a letter like this in my room?' Raze thought. 'I only just joined the academy, and we were outside for around thirty minutes after being shown our room.'

'Which means the only ones that would even know this is my room are the students that were with me or the teachers in this academy. It doesn't really narrow down the suspects, other than the ones that would be in the other academies.'

Although it did concern him when the letter was put, there was also the question of why it was put. The letter stated that it was someone from Alter, an organization with two purposes.

To gather those who didn't belong in the other world and to store and protect items that could be used against the world. The thing was, not all of those in Alter were otherworlders. They also had field agents, which technically Safa and Simyon were a part of as well.

'They did state that Alter had eyes everywhere, including that in the academy. Does that mean they saw everything, including me falling down the cliffside? No, that's impossible. No one knew about that matter, and they only chose to contact me now.'

'Still, they would at least know the context of what happened. But then why call me for a meeting? Do they wish to meet me and discuss what I've done? Or is it because they have a mission to give me?'

It was debatable what Raze should do. Although he had agreed to work for them, he had already done many things against their rules under the name Dark Magus.

Other than the brief meeting with Himmy, he still had yet to understand the large scope of the organization and just how powerful it was either. For some reason, thinking of this, a thought entered his head that made all the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

'That message from the Dark Faction leader. They have even infiltrated the Dark Faction now... the Dark Faction didn't trust whoever these guys were, and he might very well be talking about Alter.'

In all honesty, Raze didn't want to look into Alter too much. He was much more concerned about his growth in terms of strength. Get strong and head back to Alterian somehow to defeat the Supreme Magus.

Once he made them suffer through the same things he had done, he didn't care what would happen to him after. With how things were going, if Alter really did run things behind the scenes, he might need to do more research into what exactly had happened to the previous Dark Faction leader.

Taking a step out the front door, Raze had ended up back in the main hall and could see other students relaxing in the area, talking. No one he particularly recognized. They gave him a stare or two and then went to whispering so he wouldn't be able to hear them.

'Should I inform Dame about this? If it gets dangerous, then he could have my back covered as well. He has more reason to keep me alive than not at the moment.'

Raze also still had the pills on him. He hadn't had time to go through what he had planned in combining the pills. However, now that there were eyes on him, if he did such a thing, then it could get him in even more trouble.

'It's best not to explain more to Dame either for now. It seems like he is also keeping a bunch of secrets. What's with people these days?' Raze sighed as he exited the academy.

The night moon was out, and it looked to be rather round and glowing. It reminded Raze of Alterian. During this time, there would be festivals taking place, where mages would come together and put on a night show for the children in the air.

He had snuck away from home when he was younger and had witnessed the spectacles more than once. It was what originally made him wish to be a mage, hoping he could do something similar by putting smiles on other people's faces.

'What a naive kid I was when I was younger,' Raze thought. 'Magic being used for events like that is useless.'

Heading around the back, Raze was anticipating who he would see, who would be waiting for him. Turning the corner, he could see someone, a young student with the blue headband on his head, allowing his spiky hair to be on show, with an eye patch covering one eye.

"Oh?" Liam said as he got up off the wall. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Yes," Raze replied. "But I did already inform you that I would be at the academy."

"Inform me?" Liam replied with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, I guess, but everyone thought you were dead."

The two stood looking at each other in silence for a while, until they both asked their questions at the same time.

"What's your relation to Alter?"

"You're Safa's brother, right?"

Something was strange. Why would a student ask him whether or not Safa was related to him, Raze thought. Was this due to another matter, was it something to do with the past?

"Alter? Like the thing you put stuff on. I have no idea what you're talking about," Liam replied.

"Are you playing stupid?" Raze replied. "Aren't you the one that called me here with that letter?"

"Called you here? I was just relaxing here until you showed up," Liam replied.

Raze still wasn't sure. Was he actually playing stupid? Was this some type of test that Alter set up? Or was it true, was he already here? Maybe whoever had written that letter didn't expect there to be another student here and had decided to abandon their original plan.

"Anyway, so I'm right, correct? You're Safa's brother?" Liam asked again.

Raze didn't care for this and was much more concerned about who had written the letter. He wanted to turn away, but the pang in his chest when his sister was mentioned was hitting at him again, causing him to stay put, and eventually ask the question.

"What do you want with my sister?" Raze asked.

A smile appeared on Liam's face when he said this. "I am quite the gentleman, you see. I wouldn't just pursue a lady without the permission of those around her. It seems I have already ruffled a few feathers of those around her, and I wouldn't want to do the same."

"So you ask me for permission. I am not in control of her life just because I'm family," Raze replied.

"Ah, yes, but there are quite a few of those that are quite doting on their family members, and sometimes their words and actions don't mix, which is why I propose something."

"We need to decide a pecking order anyway. Soon the students will be challenging each other to duels in private. So we might as well get our fight out of the way, but let's do so with a condition. If I win, then you don't get in the way of my pursuit of Safa. I have your blessing, if you will."

"If you lose, then, well, you need to keep the ones causing me trouble away."

Raze wasn't particularly interested in the deal itself, but he thought this might be a chance. He had learned a few skills, and he needed to see how they would match up against those of the main disciples.

With that, Raze reached for the sword he had around his waist and drew it. He knew he needed to be careful because there was a good chance that Alter was watching him even now, or the person in front of him was from Alter.

This wasn't a fight to the death, so he wouldn't be using his magic in this fight.

"Oh, I see you've decided to accept my deal. I think I should let you know," Liam stated. "I'm quite strong. By my predictions, I'll be ending up in first place on that list."

Raze smiled when he heard these words and didn't say anything. He just held his sword firmly as the two of them stood ten meters apart from each other. The shuffling of Liam's feet could be seen, and he soon rushed forward.

Raze started to remember the conversation he had with Dame back in the forest. If he had mastered six of the ten descending steps, then it meant he would be the strongest in the academy.

The words at the time, they felt like it was a joke, but what if they were true? Was Dame really not joking? Was there something unique to Raze that somehow made it so he could be stronger than others?

Thinking this, he had asked at the time whether it was true or not, and Dame had replied, "It's true. The only people who have mastered the ten steps have all been able to reach the middle stages. I wasn't lying when I said I gave you a valuable skill. I just thought you would have more time to learn it in your world, rather than needing it straight away like this."

"If you were able to mix the ten descending steps with the Devil's Sword Formation, I think you would be able to beat warriors that were even two stages above you. But as I said, that's impossible. Someone with that great of Qi control would be a higher stage warrior."

These were Dame's words, the words of a stage 6 Pagna warrior.

"You should be thankful," Raze smiled, lifting his feet, and then slamming it down into the ground. The whole area shook, and the Qi had hit Liam, causing him to have an uneasy feeling. When he took his next step, it felt as if he was going to fall over.

"Because you're the first person who gets to witness and experience my new strength!" Raze said, lifting the sword above his head.