The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

                  Zaos never went to see the magic school, but he couldn't help but frown when he found the place… it was as big as the castle. If they were teaching new mages there, why the hell couldn't he find a single one on the battlefield?

"Now that I think about it, entering this place while wearing armor might be weird…" Zaos said.

                  Zaos could see some guards in front of the gate of the academy and several others patrolling inside, but he wasn't a guard… Regardless, he still approached and presented the document to the guards.

"Hello, I have come to do some research," Zaos said.

                  The guards didn't recognize Zaos, but they did recognize a document with the king's seal. They readily opened the gates without making much of a fuss.

"Is there someone I can talk with first, like the principal of the school about magic books?" Zaos asked.

"If you walk in a straight line, you will arrive in the main tower of the academy, you can find the director near the top of it." One of the guards replied.

"I see, thank you," Zaos said and then entered the magic academy.

                  For some reason, Zaos felt strangely comfortable there… like he had experienced that atmosphere somewhere else. That was weird since the northern base was somewhat similar, but at the same time, it was very different. Regardless, the place was extremely quiet for some reason, probably because the students were having their lessons. That was good. The last thing Zaos wanted at that moment was to waste time dealing with the students there.

                  After walking for a while, Zaos found the tower the guard mentioned and some circular staircase. Zaos quickly climbed it, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the top and found a certain chamber. After he nocked on the door, he heard a feminine voice telling him to enter… that was weird. He expected to listen to the voice of an old man like Merkin's.

"Hello, my name is Zaos," Zaos said as soon as he opened the door and he saw a redhead working with hundreds of papers.

"You don't seem like one of my students…" The woman said without at Zaos. "Zaos… where did I hear that name?"

                  The director of the academy seemed to be a woman in her thirties. Although she seemed exhausted, she was definitely one of the most beautiful women Zaos had seen until that day. Still, Zaos ignored that and focused on her green emerald eyes… They seemed pretty familiar.

"Ah… Zaos Sielders," The director suddenly got up and then looked at Zaos. "You are Lyra's son. I heard a lot of rumors about the kids of the Sielders and Seres family… I didn't think I would see you though."

"Do you know my mother?" Zaos asked.

"Yep, in my last year here, I met your mother when she was just starting," The director said. "My name is Edea, it is nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Zaos said. "I received permission from His Majesty to do some research here about healing magic. If you don't mind, can you recommend some magic books?"

"I thought you were a soldier who had muscles for brains like your father,' Edea said, and then she began to read the document. "Speaking of which, I also remember now that you were supposed to use a weird fighting style that combines sword skills and magic. Ah! Your mother was also pretty good at healing magic, so how do you apply healing magic to the battlefield?"

"I don't use healing magic to fight… I used to heal my wounds," Zaos frowned. "Later than talking about that, can you answer my question?"

"Oh, right," Edea said. "Well, there are many famous wizards out there that are specialized in healing magic, is there a field that you are particularly interested in?"

"I want to learn more about magic that decreases the effects of diseases and that can boost people's stamina," Zaos replied.

"… Are you trying to learn that for your mother?" Edea asked. "Since she was young, her health had never been on the good side."

"Yes," Zaos replied. "It seems that lately, she has been getting tired pretty fast and staying in the sun is enough to make her have a fever."

"That complicates things a little bit, but…" Edea and then started to think. "From what I can tell, your mother already has access to the best doctor and healers. And when it comes down to it, healing magic that has any effects on diseases on weak people still aren't that developed. I also don't know much about them, but I can loan them if you want. This should cover your bases on the subject."

                  Edea naturally had several bookshelves in her office, and then she picked several magic books that would teach Zaos the basics of what he wanted to learn. Still, Zaos couldn't believe that he could learn the basics from five books alone.

"I guess this is a start… thank you very much," Zaos said. "By the way, isn't it forbidden to resell magic books like this?"

"Don't worry about it, I am not reselling, you are just borrowing it," Edea said. "You are pretty young and you already made some interesting discoveries using magic, so I am looking forward to the results of your research."

                  Zaos nodded and then thanked Edea once again before leaving the room. He hurried because it was almost time for lunch. On the way, Zaos decided to consider what he should do about those books. Lyra will probably get worried if she discovers that Zaos was researching that kind of magic to help her. So, for the time being, Zaos decided to keep that information hidden.

                  After lunch, Zaos had some time to relax, but then he decided to study the books for a little while since his mother decided to take a nap. As expected, her body grew too weak in the last few months. She had woken up less than five hours ago, and she was already sleepy… Zaos needed to make some progress much sooner than predicted.