Roselle, following behind Risebelle, soon spotted the same building – the “Academy of Magic” – as her aqua-haired sister approached it with caution. She maintained a safe distance, her eyes also sing their surroundings for any potential threats ns of life.

  Suddenly, a ringing sound emanated from a small devi Risebelle’s person, catg both her and Roselle off guard. Risebelle swiftly stepped back, distang herself from the building as she retrieved the unicator from her robe’s pocket.

  Roselle followed her lead, curiosity piqued by the mysterious device. She watched as Risebelle pressed a button on the unicator, bringing it to her ear to listen.

  Risebelle held the unicator to her ear. Her eyes squinted upon speaking through. “This had better be good, Kintovar.”

  A familiar voice, with a hint of amusement, came through the device. “Always straight to business, Risebelle. I like that about you. But I do have something iing to report. Risebelle, you’ve stumbled upon the Academy of Magic. This pce is not to be uimated. They’re aware of our presen this isnd and are actively seeking to eliminate us.”

  Risebelle’s eyes narrowed in response. “tinue.”

  Kintovar took on a more ominous tohey once captured me, but I mao escape their clutches. They have beeless in their pursuit of me ever sihe students you’ve entered in the Mystic forest were likely part of this academy. However, there’s more to worry about. They have a Headmaster with formidable magic abilities, and she’s been w on a project to create magic capable of propelling both people and objects off the isnd and into the world beyond.”

  Risebelle exged a quice with Roselle, Kintovar’s words painted a picture of the academy’s iions and the potential threat they posed.

  Kintovar tinued, “If they succeed in this endeavor, it could meaire world turning against us when we eventually reach the city. We must take this threat seriously, Risebelle. Be cautious and gather any information you about their pns and the Headmaster. We ’t afford to uimate them. Get a good scope of the area before making any moves.”

  Risebelle nodded. “Uood, Kintovar. We’ll proceed with caution and do what we to gather information. We won’t let them catch us off guard, and if we enter any threats, we’ll hahem accly.”

  “Good. Remember, you’re my creations, and I believe in your potential. Stay safe, both of you.”

  Risebelle ehe unication and pocketed the device, then shifted her gaze to Roselle. “We have our mission. We o find out as much as we about this Headmaster and their pns. Let’s proceed with caution and keep a for any signs of their presence.”

  Roselle nodded her head in agreement. With that, she led the way back to the Academy of Magic to start their mission.

  Meanwhile, within the Academy of Magiews was getting out about the ret events.

  The Headmaster of the Academy of Magic, a formidable woman known for her mastery of the are arts, sat in her office, surrounded by shelves filled with aomes and artifacts. Her long, silver hair cascaded down her back, and her eyes held a pierg iy that spoke of years of experiend power.

  “The Forest Guardian, Thalindra, has beeed by a girl with a powerful on, Headmaster,” the messeammered. He trembled slightly. “It... it almost sounds unbelievable, but it’s true. The girl is one of Kintovar’s creations!”

  “Thalindra...” she murmured. She put her head downwards with sorrow for the loss of her friend. “And Kintovar’s creations... they’ve always been a thorn in our side.” She ched her fists, her anger simmering just below the surface. “This ot go unpunished. Prepare a team of our best mages. We’re going to eliminate every st one of Kintovar’s creations, starting with those two that have beeed to be seen in the Mystic forest.”

  “Mistress, what about the gathering of more Magical energy? Without Thalindra, we won’t be getting a heavy supply of it as we normally do.”

  The Headmaster sidered the messenger’s words carefully, her eyes narrowing in thought. “You have a point. We need more magical energy to power the project to reach the city. Thalindra’s death has left a void that must be filled. We will extract the magi the Mystic forest ourselves, every st drop of it. The forest will wither and die, but it’s a necessary sacrifice for our ultimate goal.”

  The messenger hough remained looking troubled. “Very well, Headmaster. I will rey your orders to the mages and the workers. But... I must say, I fear the sequences of draining the Mystic forest entirely. It’s a powerful and a souragic. The isnd’s bance may be disrupted leading to our doom.”

  The Headmaster’s anger fred, her eyes narrowing as she gred at the messenger. “You dare question my decisions? The power we gain from draining the Mystic forest is essential to our survival and our escape from this wretched isnd! The bance of the isnd is insequential pared to the greater poill wield. Do you uand, or must I punish you?!”

  The messenger quickly lowered his gaze, uanding the gravity of the situation. “I apologize, Headmaster.”

  “Prepare the extra team immediately. We’ll gather as much magical energy as we , and with it, we’ll also take down Kintovar’s creations ond for all.”

  The messenger hurriedly left her office to carry out her orders. The Headmaster’s face hardehe loss of Thalindra had ged everything, and she was now fully itted to eradig the threat posed by Kintovar’s creations, no matter the cost.

  “Kintovar’s Project...” the headmaster muttered. She gained both anger and grief. ”Kintovar’s creations are more dangerous than we could have ever imagined. If they possess the power to defeat Thalindra, we are in grave danger…”

  The Headmaster’s orders were set into motion. The Academy of Magic began to mobilize its forces. Mages bined with workers all gathered together, prepared to drain the Mystic forest of its a and potent magic.

  Roselle and Risebelle, unaware of the immihreat closing in on them, tiheir mission to gather information about the academy. The air was thick with tension as they cautiously approached the academy building once more, their senses on high alert.

  As Roselle and Risebelle ehe building, they noticed a figure standihe frorahe person appeared to be a student, dressed in the robes of the Academy of Magic. Their back was turned, and they seemed to be preoccupied with something.

  Risebelle signaled for Roselle to stay quiet and follow her lead. She approached the student with a cautious step, her senses alert for any signs of danger.

  “Excuse me,” Risebelle said in a polite and calm tone, “we’re udents here and a bit lost. you help us find our way around?”

  The student turo face them. They appeared to be ie teens with short brown hair and a pair of gsses perched on their nose.

  The student’s eyes flickered with curiosity as they took in Roselle’s attire. Their gaze shifted between Roselle’s fur coat and Risebelle’s more traditional Academy robes. They furrowed their brows slightly, clearly finding Roselle’s ck of proper attire unusual.

  “udents, you say?” the student respoheir tone skeptical. “Well, it’s odd that you’re not wearing the academy robes. Everyone who arrives here is given one. Where are yours?”

  Risebelle maintained her posed demeanor, not letting the suspi of the student’s rattle her. “We... had a little mishap with our robes,” she expined with a faint smile. “We were hoping to get repts or perhaps dires to the robe ste area.”

  The student’s skepticism lingered, but they seemed to accept Risebelle’s expnation for the moment. “Robe repts be obtained from the ste room, but it’s in the opposite dire from where you’re headed. I show you the way if you’d like.”

  Risebelle nodded appreciatively. “That would be very kind of you. We wouldn’t want to cause any trouble.”

  The student offered a small smile. “No trouble at all. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the ste room.”

  The three of them began to move through the Academy of Magic. Roselle and Risebelle exged subtle gnces while they moved along.

  As they walked through the Academy’s corridors, the student’s curiosity got the better of them. They discreetly exteheir magical seoward Roselle and Risebelle, attempting to gauge their magical power. To their surprise and growing , they sensed nothing—no magical aura, no presenagical energy.

  “By the way,” the student began cautiously, “I couldn’t help but notice... you both seem to be g magical power. That’s quite unusual for students here, sidering everyone possesses some degree of magic. Is there a reason for that?”

  Risebelle maintained her calm facade, though her eyes subtly narrowed in suspi at the student’s probing questions. “It’s a long story,” she replied vaguely, “but let’s just say we’re here to learn and make the most of our time at the academy.”

  The student’s demeanor shifted noticeably, their friendly smile repced by a serious look. “I see,” they said quietly. “Just so you know, people without magical power are usually executed here. It’s a w of the academy. So, I hope you have a good reason for being here.”

  Before the situation could escate any further, Risebelle acted swiftly. In a fluid motion, she reached out and grabbed the student’s neck, her grip firm and forceful. The stude out a surprised gasp, but began choking aually, he colpsed and stopped breathing.

  Roselle’s eyes were wide with astonishment as she stared at the lifeless body of the student on the ground. She hadn’t expected Risebelle to take such drastic a so quickly, especially in the heart of the Academy of Magic. She trembled slightly and asked, “Is... Is he dead?”

  Risebelle remaiern. She gnced down at the fallen student. “Yes,” she replied coldly. “He was a threat, and we ’t afford to let anyone discover our true nature. We o proceed with caution.”

  Roselle hough she felt uneasy about this situation.

  Risebelle g Roselle, her aqua eyes cold and calg. “What are you waiting for?, you idiot? Hurry up and take his clothes. It might not be a perfect fit, but it’s better than standing out. We ’t afford any more attention. You got that?”

  Roselle nodded in uanding and began to swiftly ge into the student’s robes despite the fact that they were too big on her.

  Risebelle gnced around the hallway to ensure no one roag, her senses on high alert. Satisfied that they were alone for the moment, she reached into her robe arieved a small, sophisticated-looking device.

  “This is a sing device Kintovar provided,” she expined in a hushed tone. “It will analyze the magical signatures of those around us and give us an idea of their threat level pared to ours. Stay still, and I’ll activate it.”

  With a press of a button, the device came to life, emitting a soft hum. A holographic dispy appeared, showing a series of readings and data. Risebelle carefully examihe information, her face growing more serious as she processed the results.

  The holographic dispy on the sing device showed a prehensive breakdown of the magical signatures in the viity:

  5 signatures: No magical preseected (likely individuals set for execution).

  249 signatures: Weak magical presence.

  200 signatures: Below average magical power.

  300 signatures: Average magical power.

  50 signatures: Above average magical power.

  4 signatures: Very strong magical power.

  1 signature: Overp magical presence.

  Risebelle studied the results ily, her gaze fixated on the holographic data. “It seems that there are quite a few individuals here with weak or no magical abilities,” she whispered. “But there are also a signifit number with varying degrees of magical power. . . We aren’t strong enough to take on this entire academy yet.”