In the world outside the dungeon, time flew by quickly and the people quickly moved on from the recent disasters. The capital of Pith for example was still in a period of reconstruction but it was no longer a topic of interest for the inhabitants of the continent.

Instead, the gaze of the people had shifted towards the rising tension between the Galeburst Dynasty and the Volcan Empire. At any moment, either side could initiate an attack as troops had been stationed all along the border of the Galeburst mountain range.

Still, life had to move on, and at least until another war actually broke out, the people were paying attention to another piece of news.

"The Arbor Academy is recruiting staff and students?" A wandering apprentice alchemist asked themselves this question after overhearing some conversation. As a wanderer and budding practitioner of the field of alchemy, they were somewhat expectant having heard this.

Similarly, all around the Bosque kingdom, rumors of the academy had started to surface and those sufficiently talented began their trek towards Arbor Town.

The academy head, Samuel Oakley, was currently inside the academy building thinking about something.

"Hm.." Samuel was troubled about a little something.

"Everything is too quiet" Samuel couldn't help but doubt his own sanity after muttering this crazed raving. Was there a problem with peace?

Naturally, Samuel was not against peace, it just made him feel uneasy.

The Duke for example hadn't reached out to Samuel since they last met. That didn't mean the Duke had cut ties with him as the funding for the Academy was still being provided. Not just that, the recent rumors were all part of the Duke's advertising. Still, it was rather unnerving...

The brewing conflict with the Galeburst dynasty that the young Volcan Emperor was trying to partake in was also a source of worry but not one larger than the dungeon in their backyard.

Samuel then grabbed another piece of paper. It was a report provided by his ex-secretary, now temporary Freedom Union head, Jasmine.

"A mysterious island.." The appearance of a mysterious island shrouded in thick fog. If it was just that there would be no reason for Samuel to feel uneasy, but it was the fact that the fog was impenetrable by normal means thanks to the spatial attributes it contained.

"No doubt a treasure trove for space magicians.." It was just a problem that so few existed and the dangers were completely unknown. Anyone brave enough to plunge headfirst into that island was worthy of Samuel's respect.

Overall, there were lots of mysterious occurrences with no obvious consequences. It made Samuel oddly anxious and thus, he decided to speed up the recruiting. On that topic..

"Mr. Oakley, the princes are ready to see you" The elegant voice of a man said from outside of Samuel's office. This was a man recommended by his wife to help him out with secretarial matters.

"...Let them in" Samuel said putting away his idle thoughts.

Shortly after his reply, Samuel saw two young boys and the aged ex-Bosque King Brennan enter his office.

"Greetings Mr. Oakley" Brennan said humbly, he didn't dare to put on any airs in front of Samuel. The man had fought a f*cking dragon!

"Hello, Sir Oakley" "Hi Sir!" The two young boys then followed their parent's example and also greeted Samuel who simply nodded.

"Please take a seat" Samuel said and motioned to the small group from his seat with a smile.

After the group did as they were told and took a seat in front of him, Samuel initiated the conversation.

"What brings you all here?" He asked while maintaining a persistent gaze on the young Aaron. Misunderstanding Samuel's gaze, Brennan instantly interjected.

"Oh sorry, I haven't formally introduced you to my eldest son, have I?" Brennan said accompanied by an awkward chuckle.

"No you have not" Samuel said only looking at Brennan for a second. The atmosphere in the office became rather dry.

"Cough cough, yes this is Aaron Bosque. Technically.. My second son.." Brennan said with some trouble.

"I am well aware" Although Samuel never paid the second son a visit, he obviously knew of his existence. They were at one point in the same camp in the capital Pith as high-standing figures so it was impossible for him to be oblivious of the prince's existence.

Aaron fidgeted awkwardly, all of his courage disappearing from his body. The serious scrutiny of Samuel made him unable to present his case.

"Anyway" Samuel said finally breaking his gaze away from the young boy.

"You want to admit them as students yes? Consider it done" Samuel continued quickly wrapping up the matter.

"Wha- Wait..!" Aaron cried out suddenly.

"Please take me as your disciple!" He added much to Samuel's surprise. The latter raised a brow and shot Brennan an inquisitive glance.

"Ah.. Yes! Please take my son under your direct tutelage!" Brennan said coming to his senses. He was also spooked by his son's outburst but he was able to quickly overcome this as a former king.

"Me- Me too!" The younger Alvin jumped out of his seat and shouted showing his enthusiasm.

"Direct Tutelage?" Samuel quickly realized that things were different from what he expected. He imagined that the two princes were being brought to enter the academy which was an easy matter. If it was to be his disciples, however.. He put on a troubled expression.

"Are.. Are you opposed, Mr. Oakley?" Brennan asked cautiously.

"Opposed.." Samuel silently muttered to himself.

It wasn't that he was opposed as much as he had never considered taking in disciples. After all, wouldn't everyone studying in his academy be, in a way, a disciple of his?

But Samuel quickly shook away the notion knowing it to be untrue.

'They wouldn't be taught by me personally' The academy had numerous classes and all of them were not taught by Samuel. At most, Samuel would probably give a lecture or two to the whole student body but.. did that suffice?

After some quiet contemplation, Samuel shot Aaron a last glance with narrowed eyes. Doing so, he quickly came to a decision.

"I'll take them both in " Samuel said with a smile. Brennan felt the smile lacked sincerity, especially considering the speed of Samuel's decision, but he was nonetheless happy.

"Thank you very much Mr. Oakley" Brennan said smiling wryly. Aaron and Alvin on the other hand took no notice of Samuel's hidden emotions and both looked ecstatic.

Aaron in particular more so than his younger brother.. He could finally enter the dungeon, it was just a matter of time! Aaron's genius plan was truly coming together... Had the lack of physical activity for most of his life caused his brain to be more developed?

As Aaron patted himself in the back mentally, Samuel and Brennan wrapped things up and the small group was quickly dismissed.

After the office door was firmly shut, Samuel's eyes turned sharp with suspicion.

"Something is wrong" He ascertained. Both Aaron and the Kimani girl had mana in them that seemed wholly incompatible with their personalities. Basically, they both seemed nice on the surface, and thanks to his previous interaction with Kimani, Samuel knew this wasn't a facade.

Basically, someone might have planted something in them.

Samuel tended to walk around Arbor Town often ever since he acquired his power of domain and thus knew that the mana was either not natural or extraordinarily rare. Given its partially sinister nature, Samuel ruled out the latter.

For the sake of investigating the matter further, Samuel took Aaron under his wing. As the saying went, it was good to keep your friends close and your enemies closer..

***

Back in the elven desert, the elves had grown accustomed to the moving break room and were lounging around as they waited for the sandstorm to disperse.

They were at first rather impressed with the room but after growing quickly accustomed thanks to their racial trait, they were just bored. The room was lacking in activities.

Sure, walking out in the sweltering heat wasn't fun but the dehydration combined with the heat of the sun was enough to empty one's brain of any rational thought and thus causing the entire trip to become nothing but a blur.

Inside the room.. it was so comfortable..

Sure, once again, the seating could use some modifications as the couple of couches Ed made weren't padded with cushions. Currently, they could be rather uncomfortable after sitting on them for a while but otherwise.. the nice temperature combined with the windows made for a very chill atmosphere.

"We should be getting out of the sandstorm soon" Ed said to the group of elves who were lazing about. Sandstorms could last an entire day or two, especially in a world of magic, but thankfully, Ed and the group only had to spend half a day in it. Whether the moving feature of the room played a part in this was unknown but Ed only knew he had to be thankful that they could continue their trek.

Not even half an hour after Ed's words, the windows which were being buffeted by sand and wind were left battered and dirty but light started to peer in.

"Aaah.. The sun!" An elf shouted as they stood up from their sitting position.

Ed was glad to see so much enthusiasm but..

The elf then immediately broke down and started crying.historical

"Nooo!!! The sun!!!" Other elves quickly joined in on the crying tirade. If the sun was out.. they had to continue going to the bloodhaven!!!!

Ed could only shake his head and let out a sigh.. He was really curious about the bloodhaven now.