Reborn With a Magic System

Mage Teft took hold of Damion's arm and walked him through the portal before the attendant could complain. Passing through the portal turned out to be no different than stepping through a doorway. Damion had half expected to become dizzy or sick to his stomach, but instead one moment he was in Saung and the next he was in Argentum.

The capital of its White Zone, Argentum was several times larger than Saung. The gardens around Argentum's teleportation platform were many times larger and more lavish than Saung's. There was even an amphitheater in one quadrant of the gardens. Damion guessed it was so that visiting dignitaries could address the people without having to travel far from the platform to get home.

Mage Teft guided Damion off the platform and through the gardens to a nearby street where a ground car was waiting for them. After dropping his adventurer backpack into the storage compartment, they both climbed in the ground car. They started moving and despite Damion trying to keep track of the turns and where the teleportation platform was, he quickly became lost in the maze of towering buildings.

Argentum was filled with skyscrapers of all sorts of colors. Damion could not tell if the glass in the windows was colored or if there was magic at work, though he supposed it might not even be glass. What truly surprised Damion was the traffic patterns. On the ground were ground cars driving in various lanes of traffic, much the same as any big city street on Earth. However, three stories up were the sidewalks, running along the sides of the buildings and crossing intersections and streets without any discernable supports. Just a wide walkway with railings running through the air; back and forth between buildings.

Running beneath the sidewalks were what Damion suspected where trains. Damion was not able to see them clearly given the angle from which he was looking, but they appeared to be a type of mass transit, almost like subways running under the sidewalks along all the buildings instead of underground.

Above the sidewalks were the traffic lanes for air cars. Damion was not surprised to see air cars flying higher up than the sidewalks, but the number of them flying around did surprise him. The only air car Damion had ever seen in use was Manager Halsey's when they went in search of the Aerico dungeon. Here though, air cars were almost as numerous as ground cars.

Damion could not help but remember what Ethan had told him about air cars and how they required a constant flow of mana to stay aloft. Seeing so many air cars made him wonder if these were somehow different than the ones they had in Saung or if there were really that many mages flying around the city.

After a while of driving through the towering cityscape of Argentum's downtown they emerged from the forest of skyscrapers on a wide road that appeared to be heading into a forested area. Damion almost thought they had left the city and were headed into the countryside, but he saw in the middle of this forest was a single glimmering tower rising above the tree line.

"Is that?"

"Yes, that is Silver Spire Magic Academy," Damion heard Mage Teft tell him. "The entire forest we are driving through right now is part of the academy grounds."

"Are there any Ferocious Beasts in the forest?" Damion asked.

"No. But the grounds are used for practice during some classes."

When the ground car entered the academy's forest, he lost sight of the school tower, but he turned his attention to the forest, enjoying the view. Damion did not know why, given that he grew up in a city in both his lives, but he felt strangely attached to the forests of this world. Sure, Benault Forest was filled with Ferocious Beasts that will just as soon as attack you as look at you, but he felt like he belonged among the trees, not the stone and steel of the cities.

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"Here we are," Mage Teft said as the ground car slowed to enter a set of gates that was opening ahead of the car.

On the other side of the gates was a large open courtyard and entrance to Silver Spire Magic Academy. The entrance led to the large central tower of the school, but Damion could see pathways connecting the central tower to several three-story buildings near the wall surrounding the area, Damion could tell by their look that they were dorms.

The ground car came to a stop letting Damion and Mage Teft step out to be greeted by Headmaster Sorin. There were a number of other people gathered, he guessed they were other teachers at the school, but he did not recognize any of them.

"Welcome to Silver Spire Magic Academy Mage Wells," Headmaster Sorin greeted. "I have arranged for you to have a dorm in the elite student area and have already had your school uniforms delivered to your dorm."

"Thank you, Headmaster Sorin," Damion said still taking in the scenery of the school grounds. Silver Spire, the central tower of the school, was enormous. He guessed it was at least a hundred stories high. The only buildings in area, aside from Silver Spire itself, were the buildings he suspected were dorms, which left Damion to wonder if all the classrooms and other facilities of the school where inside the enormous tower.

"Classes begin on the fifth, so you have some time to familiarize yourself with the grounds and the facilities. But I must ask that you remain on the school campus. If you wish to venture into Argentum, we will arrange an escort for you."

"I don't think that will be an issue," Damion said.

"Wonderful, this is Elicia," Headmaster Sorin said as he motioned for a young woman to come forward. "She will be your attendant and see to any needs you might have here at the academy. Please rely on her if you need anything, just inform her of your need and she will take care of it for you."

Damion looked at the young woman and was not sure what to think. She was around his age, perhaps a year, but no more than two years older than he was, and in her striking green eyes he could see a deep resentment, as if she was not entirely pleased with the task of being Damion's attendant. True Sight told him she was an E Rank and being here, he guessed she was a mage. Which might explain her resentment at being assigned as an attendant, which he assumed was some sort of maid or assistant.

With her blonde hair pulled back into one neat braid that ran down her back, and her ample bosom and soft curves that the simple black shirt and knee length skirt she wore could not hide, Damion had to question if she was chosen for her looks or because she was supposed to be a good at her job. The shirt and skirt both had green pipping along the hems and cuffs, he noticed a few other people in the group gathered to meet him wearing the same outfit, leaving Damion with the impression it was the standard uniform for the servants at Silver Spire.

"Elicia, why don't you show Damion to his dormitory and help him settle in," Headmaster Sorin told her, before addressing Damion. "An introductory lunch is scheduled at one. Elicia will show you the way when it is time."

Damion could tell he was being politely dismissed, but he did not mind. Formal occasions were alien to him and even this brief introduction left him feeling quite awkward. Being given permission to escape was akin to being granted a pardon.

Damion started towards Elicia, expecting the girl to lead the way, but she first stepped towards the ground car to retrieve his luggage, which was only his adventurer backpack. The young woman was a good head shorter than him, and even though he had not loaded his backpack down, it was still quite heavy. Damion struggled with the urge to help the young woman, but he felt if he did it would be bad for both of them.

After Elicia managed to get the bag on her back, she started off towards one of the buildings he had guessed were the dormitories at a brisk pace. Once they had gone about halfway along the path to the dormitory Damion turned to check behind them. When he saw that Headmaster Sorin and the other school officials had left the courtyard with Mage Teft, he reached out and lifted the heavy bag off Elicia's back.