“It’s been three hundred years,” said the mysterious girl, Celia.

  Three hundred years... she says that I like I could read her mind!

  What.. exactly does she mean by that?

  It couldn’t be that she means she was alive three hundred years ago? Surely not. That’s even before the founding of this kingdom! That would mean she was from the Era of Adventurers and Ascended… But then again. If there’s something anyone should take away from that era, it’s that anything was possible.

  I do admit, I’d be more skeptical if I didn’t watch her nails cut through the ground like butter just now.

  I regarded the girl whose blank expression stared back with eyes full of remorse. I was a bit curious as to what was causing her emotional pain, but if she really was from 300 years ago.. It could be anything. Friends, family, the world. A lot can change— and cease to exist —in a mere three hundred years.

  “I realize that you are feeling unstable, but I will ask further inquiries and require nothing but the truth. Do you understand? It is of the utmost importance that you do not lie. Afterwards I shall see to it that your needs are fulfilled and shall even let you enlist as a student if you so wish.”

  “..Help?” she asked, her voice nearly a whimper.

  “Indeed.”

  After a brief moment of contemplation, she gave me the slightest nod. Perhaps I’m taking advantage of her inner turmoil, but I’m thankful for the opportunity. How is she associated with the Cosmic Witch?

  What if she herself was.. No.

  I shook my head subtly while chiding myself.

  I mustn’t get ahead of myself. The Cosmic Witch was definitely young in existing records, but this girl in front of me is much to young to be the Cosmic Witch. Is this girl a relative?

  We’ll see if this leads to anything, it’s still possible that I might not gain any relevant information in the end.

  I reached over to my desk and picked up a pair of spectacles. She already agreed to being honest, but with these spectacles I can confirm that her responses are indeed the truth.

  I double-tapped the side of the spectacles that I now wore.

  “[Activate],” I muttered.

  The lenses shimmered and only visible to me were floating words and numbers of the ancient language. Momentarily, the contained chaos ended abruptly and left a rectangular box at the center of my sight along with the familiar phrase I’ve seen numerous times before:

  [Looking For Target]

  “Ah, before we begin. Take a seat,” I said, gesturing to one of the few cushioned chairs in front of my desk.

  That reminded me, I hadn’t let Serwin nor Brozen— the Auxiliary Dormkeeper —take a seat earlier… Well, no matter. It wouldn’t hurt them to stand rather than sit from time to time and the issue was resolved rather quickly.

  The girl seated herself and once she was comfortable I settled her head to be within the floating rectangle.

  As always, the spectacles spawned a line that looked the girl up and down, before disappearing and displaying the anticipated phrase:

  [Awaiting Response]

  Ah. With this, the inquiries can begin.

  “Now then,” I started. Do you know who the statue represents?”

  Rather than answering verbally, she gave me a small nod.

  Hm.

  The spectacles displayed to me only the arcane word [Truth], meaning—

  She’s telling the truth.

  Though I would have preferred a clear and concise verbal response, this would have to suffice for now. Fortunately these spectacles don't require a verbal response to determine truth or lie, a response of any kind is all that it requires. A powerful relic from the past indeed.

  Perhaps I should elaborate to her as to why I’m asking this.

  “You see, that statue was erected in honor of the legend that reached the pinnacle of magic. And while not the first mage to exist, she is certainly the predecessor of all students of magic we have today as the first to master most if not all types of magic. She mastered a type that no one else, to date, has managed to grasp. Even when we were able to touch upon spatial and chronal magic thanks to uncovered ancient artifacts.. None had come close to wielding cosmic magic. Thus she came to be known as The Cosmic Witch.”

  The girl made a slight groan which I didn’t understand.

  “...can’t believe…name.. still..,” the girl muttered under her breath while facepalming.

  I couldn’t quite catch the entirety of what she said.

  Curious, I raised an eyebrow.

  “Hm?” I prodded, hoping she would repeat herself or elaborate.

  To my disappointment, she shook her head, ending that line of thought. Instead, she turned her attention back to me, more focused than before. I assume she was slowly stifling the inner turmoil she had been suffering from moments prior.

  “Well, moving on. That is the significance of that statue. In a way, you could say she was the Godmother of Magic and as such, the founder of this kingdom. However, despite her significance, we have hardly a proper source divulging trustworthy information about her. This is where you come in now.”

  In her face, I saw an expression of understanding as she nodded slowly. Though, the way her eyes glinted discomforted me.

  Right, she’s demihuman. I was never good with those types.

  “So. Do you personally know who that statue represents?”

  Once again, she gave me a nod. But this time more enthusiastically.

  Truth. At least the girl is cooperating quite nicely. Is she a descendant of the Cosmic Witch?

  Following that line of thought, I asked another question.

  “Are you related to the Cosmic Witch, founder of this kingdom, whom that statue represents?”

  She hesitated as if conflicted, but only for a moment.

  She nodded.

  …Truth, again. Alright this is more than enough confirmation. Without a doubt, I can tell she will provide much more information than we ever knew about our mysterious founding mother.

  It was hard to believe, even with the [Spectacles of Truth] confirming it. A living relic of the past was in front of me, one that could reveal much of what I strove to learn. Trying to calm the nearly childish giddiness welling up from within me, I decided to let my curiosity guide the next question.

  “Alright. Let’s have a change of pace. What was that [Ignen..] thing you mentioned just earlier, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “...Can I ask a question?” she asked.

  “Answering a question with a question?” I said.

  She nodded, her expression serious.

  I see.

  Though I had been the one asking questions, I was not so thoughtless as to refuse an inquiry of her own. In fact, considering her situation, to do so would be ignorant and foolish.

  “Ask away,” I said.

  Wasting no time, her lips parted as she asked a question I didn’t expect.

  “Do you know of Dragon Monarchs?”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Dragon Monarchs?”

  The Head Dormkeeper repeated after me in confusion.

  “Yes..” I muttered. “Dragon Monarchs.”

  I’m already regretting it, but I already revealed my situation. Not to mention my name.. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to realize that I’m the ‘Cosmic Witch’ he was referring to. So they don’t know the name 'Celia'. And while I don’t remember founding any kingdom, there’s no doubt he was describing me in that spiel earlier.

  It was quite embarrassing actually, listening to him talk about me like I’m some amazing historical figure. I wanted to curl up and hide my face because of the embarrassment.

  But I digress.

  “Indeed, I have heard of Dragon Monarchs.—”

  Oh?

  “—In fact, I believe a great deal of people know of them, if not fables of them. They were ancient dragons of yore, akin to royalty or greater in the hierarchy of dragons. Truly fearsome beasts that could very well have been strong enough to rule the world, but they mysteriously never even attempted to do so. Instead they kept to themselves. Who knows if they were real or not, most scholars are skeptical that they were ever real.”

  “Really?” I said, my head cocking to the side.

  He nodded.

  “Well.. what do you think of them? Do you believe they existed?” I asked.

  “I’m of the bunch that believes they must have existed in some way shape or form,” he said, tapping his fingers on his desk. Fingers covering his chin, he gazed into the distance as he fell into thought.

  “Even if this ‘dragon monarch’ species as described in fables never existed, there must have been powerful dragons that the stories were based off of. Although we have no physical evidence that any of them are actually dragon monarchs, there are only so many creatures that could cause the destruction of.. entire kingdoms even…”

  He sighed, as if remembering a sour thought. “Unfortunately, for every evidence found supporting the existence of dragon monarchs, there are ten, twenty more pieces of evidence opposing it.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  He shrugged, his eyes focusing back on me.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know much more than that though. Quite the mythical species, are they not?”

  “I suppose. Hmm.. what if I told you that [Ignentaraz] is the name of one such dragon monarch,” I said.

  He looked at me, eyes wide and filled with burning curiosity.

  “The name of one.. As in one that actually existed three hundred years ago?”

  I nodded.

  “They are real.”

  Or they were, at least. I know that there are the two that act as raid bosses for the cavernous world beneath Dragontain. Though how much has changed in 300 years?

  He gulped and cleared his throat.

  “Th-then, the stories.. Are they all true?” he asked, astounded.

  He leaned closer as he awaited my answer.

  Unfortunately—

  “I dunno,” I said with a shrug.

  “Huh?”

  “I haven’t read any of them, so I wouldn’t know if the stories you mentioned were true or not.”

  But I don’t actually know of them outside of the raid bosses, it was new to me too after all.

  “That.. makes sense. I see.” he said, his shoulders slumping ever so slightly.

  “Ahem. Well, you can always refer to the Royal Magicademy’s library for all sorts of information. There ought to be a few fables of dragon monarchs in there.”

  The library?

  True, the library could be a treasure trove for me. Not only could I learn more about Ignentaraz, I could learn more about the world. It’d be essential for me to gather information and understand my situation even a little bit more than I currently do. I don’t know what I’ll be doing from here on out, but I need a basic understanding of this world in this era rather than expecting to know everything from my time in the game.

  This entire place, for example, didn't exist when I played Adventuria. What else could have changed in the last three hundred years?

  But, to offer the library just like that. Surely he knows how important that would be for someone that just skipped three hundred years.

  I narrowed my eyes on the man.

  “For free?”

  The Head Dormkeeper gently took the Spectacles of Truth off and folded them before returning it to where he got it from.

  “Of course, of course~,” he said, dragging out the last word. “If you become a student, that is.”

  He gave me a closed smile with clasped hands.

  Ah, there’s the catch.

  So being a student isn’t just an offer of charity, it’s what he wants. For what reason? To keep me from leaving on my own? He did state that he wanted to use me to learn more about...

  Well..

  Me.

  But is that it?

  “There’s no ulterior motives..?”

  “Hmm, aren’t you a cautious one? Well, I do have a motive, but it’s not quite an ulterior motive,” he said ambiguously.

  C’mon, stop beating around the bush.

  “If you’re thinking of restricting my freedom in any way, forget it,” I said, crossing my arms. “I’m sure the library would be of help, but I’ll figure something out one way or another.”

  Just like starting out in Adventuria.

  “Well that’s a problem… I did intend on using your status as a student to keep you here,” he admitted shamelessly. “But I’m willing to negotiate.”

  Giving a slight shrug, he continued.

  “As you know, I want to learn more about The Cosmic Witch and the Era of Adventurers and Ascended. I’m a bit of a history fanatic after all, especially when it comes to magic or the founding of our kingdom.”

  A history fanatic huh...

  I sighed. “Well, if that’s all—”

  “Great! I’ll get you registered by the end of the day, and starting tomorrow you’ll be an official student!” he exclaimed, his voice jubilant.

  “Hold on. I didn’t say—”

  “Of course! Your uniform!”

  He started jotting down something on a piece of parchment.

  “There will be one sent to your dorm room that fits your size.”

  “I didn’t..! Wait, how do you know my size?”

  “A clean robe suitable for magic is provided along with the uniform. As for your schedule—”

  “Hey..”

  “—Hmm. Yes, we’ll figure something out. Some elementary courses shall do, along with a history course.—”

  “Heyyyy.”

  “—I’m sure that’ll be of much help. Ah, a parchment with your schedule shall also be in your room.”

  “Hey!” I said, flustered. “Just stop for a moment!”

  Ugh, is Serwin like this too?

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Sure, I'll help in exchange for some things. But I don’t want to be forced into attending classes I had no intentions of taking.”

  “I would be greatly offended if I were one of the professors. However, as an ex-professor, I am still slightly offended. The Royal Magicademy offers education many individuals would kill for.”

  “But I didn’t exactly ask for it nor want it,” I reminded him.

  “This is true,” he said, letting out a slight sigh. “Well fret not. You are already an exception so attendance will not be mandatory.”

  He jotted something down onto the parchment again.

  “There, that should be everything.”

  He rolled it up and tossed it into the air, chanting “Send”.

  The parchment combusted into crimson flames.

  Wow, this guy. He didn’t even ask for my confirmation.

  “Wait, you don’t need to chant your spell in [eng—] in the ancient language?”

  “Ah, ancientglish? Although many spells require incantation through this arcane language, most spells that we use today can be cast through commonglish with much more ease for a learning mage. It was quite the breakthrough at the time, but I imagine this is news to you?”

  “Y-yeah.”

  “Moving on, all we need to do to finalize your enrollment is…,” he muttered while once again looking at the book of registered students.

  “[Register]!”

  The book began glowing and he gestured towards me.

  “Now, all you need to do is put your hand on the cover like so,” he said, hovering his hand over the book.

  “Eh?”

  Wait, this is kind of like…

  This book— or rather, item —was in Adventuria! It was an item that guilds used to keep track of their members. I didn’t realize it right away because I was never part of a guild— too much drama for me —, but I recognized it from when I visited Kenta’s guild. He used it to search one of his members that supposedly betrayed the guild. Like I said, too much drama.

  If I remembered correctly, once a person was registered, it would essentially copy their status onto the page.

  In other words…

  I’m fricked.

  If I let myself register without doing anything, he’d discover that I myself was a Dragon Monarch.

  And my Cosmic Witch title! I have to do something… but what?!

  When I tried to cast magic last night— through teleporting —I passed out for some reason. But now that I think about it, that could have been mana exhaustion. Long story short, if one were to completely exhaust their mana pool, they would feel extreme exhaustion and gain temporary debuffs. There would even be backlash if the spell is unable to complete because you don’t have enough mana, which must've been what happened to me with the sudden pain and all.

  My long distance teleport spell takes around 10% of my total mana pool.. So that’d mean I have less than 10% of my entire mana pool.

  I have an illusion spell I can cast, but since it’s fairly high-tier, I don’t know if I have enough mana..

  In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't actually cost that much mana, but if I have less than 10%, how much do I actually have? My mana pool could be practically depleted for all I know.

  But I have no choice.

  The worst that would happen is that I collapse from exhaustion again. Much better than revealing who I actually am.

  I neared the desk and looked at the glowing book.

  No point wasting more time thinking about it! [Falsify Status]!

  I chanted the spell in my mind.

  Immediately, I saw my own status’ information appear in my mind, but I couldn’t take my time looking over it. I felt my spell waiting on my decision.

  What level to change my status to? Hrmm…

  I pointed at the book.

  “I don’t need to chant anything?” I asked the Head Dormkeeper.

  I already knew the answer, but I had to buy time.

  What level would be adequate enough to not be suspicious? In fact, I don’t even know the level of the average person here!

  “No need. All you need to do is rest your hand in the imprint on the cover. The book takes care of the rest.”

  Maybe I should just go for level 10? That’s extremely weak so it should be fine right?

  “Just place my hand there..? Got it.”

  Ah, but what if it's TOO weak? Being related to the Cosmic Witch, I'm sure he must expect some level of competency... Mmm, Level 40 it is!

  Deciding upon a level, I quickly set my spell in motion.

  To be truthful, I didn't have the faintest idea as to whether this would work or not. I didn't even know how it would feel to do magic in the first place. Not to mention how to actually go about it when it wasn't programmed coding. I just willed for it as best I could and hoped for the best.

  I felt something within me drain before my hand touched the book, eliciting a sigh from me.

  Like a weight lifting from the core of my being, or a pressure lightening, I felt something dissipate. I simply knew my spell completed.

  That feeling was.. my mana?

  In that case, I was safe!

  I kept my hand on the book for a few moments until the glow from the book diminished— signaling my registration —and the Head Dormkeeper spoke up.

  "Great! You are officially a student of this prestigious institution! Congratulations."

  "Yay..." I mumbled dejectedly, my fatigue from mana exhaustion came back full force now that adrenaline began to wear off.

  The Head Dormkeeper glanced down at the book as it started flipping far into its contents. It slowed and the Head Dormkeeper uttered a "Hm?" before doing a doubletake at the page it stopped on.

  "Th-this can't be!" he exclaimed as he stood abruptly.

  H-huh? Did illusion spell not work? Ugh, I hope not.

  "Lev- level fourty!? I-.. This is unbelievable," he said while staring at the page intently.

  "Uh, is level fourty good?" I asked, feigning ignorance. "Ah, by this magicademy's standards I mean.."

  "Is level fourty—"

  He rubbed his eyebrows as he chuckled.

  "For your age? It's.. more than good. I don't quite understand the standards of mages three hundred years ago, but by modern standards.. you're a prodigy. Actually, disregard that claim. Level fourty is beyond even the greatest prodigy. It's unprecedented to have a child as young as you be the same level as a master mage."

  Oh.. Oops. 'Master mage' though? That's odd. A level fourty mage is still a noob in Adventuria

  "You truly are related to the Cosmic Witch," he said whilst shaking his head.

  "..I see," I muttered, unsure of how to react.

  "In any case, that ends our meeting for now. I have work to attend to after all," he said whilst gesturing at a pile of paper on his desk.

  A wave of unease shot through me.

  Now what?

  "What should I do in the meantime?" I asked.

  "Feel free to explore campus. Serwin should be exempt for classes today due to being called here for punishment, so feel free to ask him to give you a tour!" the Head Dormkeeper replied. "Here, take this and return it later."

  He held up a small token, and tossed it to me.

  "If anyone or anything brings you trouble, just show them that," he said with a sly smile.

  The token held a symbol of sorts depicting a wand with starry effects around it.

  "... Thanks."

  "Now, shoo," he said, waving a hand at me. "I really must be returning to my work."

  Please let me know if you thought this was downright horrible, or if you didn't mind it too much. I know I should just do my own thing and write as I see fit without overly worrying about things like this, but I think taking feedback is important to help guide my self-improvement, even if I don't completely change my style right away.

  healthy dose of dialogue! I think..

  Are you guys fine with seeing Artena's POV sporadically as I write them (probably one chapter every once in a while)?