Chapter 24: The Spatial Ring

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: The Spatial Ring

The forum continued buzzing. Ethan’s reputation had already made him unpopular among many students, but his family’s influence had kept most people from confronting him. Now, for the first time, someone had publicly embarrassed him, and in front of the entire academy. Naturally, everyone had something to say.

Xavier, meanwhile, couldn’t have cared less. He had already reached the Alchemy Division. The moment he stepped through the entrance, one of the guards spotted him. The man’s face immediately broke into a grin.

"Xavier!" he said.

He raised a thumb.

"That was one hell of a way to start your first day," he said.

That was Nathan Brooks.

Unlike most of the staff, Nathan had a personal reason to feel satisfied about what had happened at the academy entrance. Before awakening his mana, he had worked as an ordinary security guard at Arcadia Academy.

Back then, Ethan Carter had once visited the Resources Department to collect supplies and repeatedly treated Nathan like dirt, mocking him simply because he had no power or status.

Nathan had swallowed the humiliation because he had no other choice. So when he heard that Xavier had finally put Ethan in his place, he couldn’t help feeling pleased.

"That was quite a scene this morning," Nathan said with a grin. "You really gave Carter something to remember," he added.

Xavier smiled faintly.

Nathan’s expression soon became more serious.

"Still, you need to watch yourself. The Carters aren’t the kind of family you want coming after you," he said.

"They aren’t one of the city’s elite families like the Sinclairs or the Harts, but they’re wealthy enough to cause plenty of trouble. Ethan is their only child, and his parents have spent years indulging him," he added.

He lowered his voice.

"His mother is especially protective. A while back, Mira had an argument with Ethan and put him in his place. His mother was furious. She even hired several awakened fighters to deal with Mira," he said.

Xavier’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Mira was already an Apprentice ranked mage at the time, so they couldn’t do much to her. But if she hadn’t awakened her mana yet, things could have ended very differently," Nathan continued.

He shook his head.

"The Sinclair family didn’t exactly make things easier either. Instead of backing her, they pressured her into apologizing. The academy administration eventually stepped in and put an end to the whole mess," he said.

He gave Xavier a meaningful look.

"So don’t assume Ethan will simply forget what happened today. His family probably won’t," he said.

Then Nathan smiled again.

"Anyway, I’m Nathan Brooks. If you ever need help around the academy, come find me," he said.

"Thanks, Brooks. I appreciate the warning," Xavier said.

Nathan nodded and turned toward Marcus.

"Since you’re new, Xavier, you probably haven’t gotten familiar with the department yet. Why don’t you settle into the alchemy room? I’ll show Marcus how things work on the security side," he said.

"Sure," Xavier said.

Xavier entered the alchemy room while Nathan took Marcus away.

His duties turned out to be far simpler than he’d expected. He only needed to verify the department’s inventory, making sure the ingredients and finished elixirs matched the records. Everything was neatly organized, with separate storage areas for different materials and grades.

Within twenty minutes, he had finished checking his assigned section. Nothing was missing.

With his work done, Xavier sat down and opened the two books Gideon had given him. He wasn’t planning to dedicate himself to alchemy, but understanding magical ingredients and elixir properties could prove useful. With the Investment System, knowing what different resources were capable of was never a bad thing.

Outside, Nathan finished showing Marcus around. The two security guards eventually settled near the entrance, phones in hand and drinks beside them.

Xavier glanced outside and laughed quietly.

"If I didn’t have the Investment System, I might actually enjoy being a security guard," he said.

The job certainly looked easy enough.

The Resources Department closed briefly around noon. Xavier had lunch with Nathan and Marcus before returning to the alchemy room. The rest of the afternoon passed quietly as he read through Gideon’s notes and familiarized himself with the materials around him.

By five o’clock, he had finished his final inventory check.

Time to go home.

Nathan had originally planned to invite Xavier and Marcus out for dinner, but when they reached the academy entrance, they spotted someone waiting nearby.

Evelyn Hart.

Nathan glanced at her, then at Xavier. Marcus did the same. The two exchanged a quick look.

"Come on," Nathan said.

Marcus immediately followed him.

Xavier stared after them and shook his head. Those two had clearly decided to leave him alone.

Evelyn walked over and held out a small metallic ring.

"I brought the Starfire Awakening Elixir you asked for. I also brought the recovery elixir," she said.

Then she placed the ring in his hand.

"And this is for you. It’s a basic storage ring. Consider it a little extra for the trouble," she added.

Xavier examined the ring. Storage artifacts weren’t common. They were created using rare spatial materials and specially treated metals, allowing the owner to store nonliving objects inside a pocket dimension. Even the simplest models were expensive. He hadn’t expected Evelyn to give him one.

Still, after what he had traded away to obtain the Starfire Awakening Elixir, refusing the gift would have been pointless.

He slipped the ring onto his finger. Almost immediately, he sensed a small space connected to it.