NOVGO.NET Chapter 24: Feeb Tower
Chapter 24: Feeb Tower
Elara:
By the time the final class of the day ended, my head felt as though it had been stuffed with an entire library.
History, politics, academy regulations, introductions to magical theory, unfamiliar names, unfamiliar customs, unfamiliar everything... every professor assumed their students had grown up in Starfall. Every lesson assumed years of prior knowledge. Every conversation reminded me that I was always several steps behind everyone else.
Still... I refused to let myself fall behind.
I wrote pages upon pages of notes, determined to learn everything I could. If knowledge was the first step toward becoming stronger, then I would learn until my hands cramped. Unfortunately, there was one question that had remained unanswered all day.
What exactly was Feeb Tower?
The answer finally came. And not because someone kindly explained it to me. No one at Moonveil Academy seemed particularly interested in helping the "Lost Princess."
I found out completely by accident.
The afternoon sun was beginning to sink lower when I took a wrong turn while trying to find Professor Fenrith’s office for my private lesson. The academy grounds were still a confusing maze to me, and despite carrying the map in my phone, I somehow always managed to end up somewhere I hadn’t intended to be.
This particular pathway led me toward a smaller collection of buildings tucked behind the grander towers of Moonveil.
Compared to Nightfall Tower and the magnificent lecture halls I’d seen throughout the day, these buildings looked painfully ordinary. There were no floating lanterns, no enchanted fountains, and no towering magical statues. Just simple stone buildings that resembled a normal university campus far more than the rest of Moonveil Academy.
Students walked in and out carrying textbooks instead of being empty handed like I had been witnessing since morning. For a brief moment, it reminded me of home.
I slowed my steps as raised voices drifted from around the corner.
"...Please..."
A girl’s trembling voice.
"I’m sorry..."
Then laughter.
Curious despite myself, I quietly stepped closer until the scene unfolded before me. Three girls stood beneath a large oak tree, or rather... two stood watching while one stood tormenting.
It was the blonde from Advanced Elemental Studies. The same girl who had mocked me in front of the entire class. She lazily twirled one finger through the air and around her hand danced several tiny spheres of shimmering blue light.
Across from her stood another girl. She looked no older than me. Brown hair and simple academy uniform with no academy crest embroidered on her blazer. She was visibly shaking.
One of the glowing blue spheres suddenly darted toward her face. The girl flinched violently, squeezing her eyes shut. The sphere stopped barely an inch from her nose.
The blonde laughed. "Oh? You thought I’d actually hit you?"
The glowing sphere circled around the frightened girl’s head before brushing against her shoulder.
The girl whimpered. "Please... I didn’t do anything..."
The blonde ignored her completely. Instead, she tilted her head thoughtfully. "I have been practicing precision all week." She smiled. "I wonder how close I can get before you faint."
Another blue sphere appeared beside the first. Then another.
The frightened girl’s breathing became uneven. She looked on the verge of tears.
Behind the blonde, her two friends watched with obvious amusement. One clapped lightly. "Try both at once."
The other giggled. "You almost made her cry already."
The blonde laughed. "I know. Groundlings are so fragile."
Groundling.
The word immediately caught my attention. And before I could fully process it, one of the girls behind her spoke. "Liliana, don’t accidentally break your new toy."
Liliana.
So, that was her name.
Liliana merely smiled. "Relax. I know exactly how much pressure a groundling can handle."
This time, the terrified girl finally whispered something. "I... I’m only here to study..."
The pieces clicked together and the realization hit me all at once. Feeb Tower... humans. These buildings... they weren’t simply another department. They were where human students studied. Ordinary students. The same kind of people I’d believed didn’t even exist at Moonveil Academy.
My fingers tightened around my notebook.
I knew I should walk away. That this was none of my business. I barely knew this world. I’d already managed to antagonize Reign Valemont. I already had my hands full. Getting involved again was incredibly stupid.
’This isn’t my fight.’ I repeated that to myself. ’Walk away. Keep walking. Don’t make another enemy.’
Then, the blue spheres suddenly multiplied into five, then six, then seven. They surrounded the terrified human girl like hungry wolves. She squeezed her eyes shut, trembling so violently I wondered whether she was even capable of standing anymore.
"I said..." Liliana’s voice turned almost playful. "...look at me when I’m testing my spell."
Testing.
Testing?
She was using another human being as target practice.
Something inside me snapped. Before my brain could stop me, my body had already moved. I crossed the remaining distance in seconds. My hand shot forward and I shoved Liliana sideways.
"What the-" She stumbled several steps before catching herself and every single one of her glowing spheres vanished instantly.
The frightened human girl collapsed to her knees, breathing so hard it sounded painful.
What left was silence. Absolute silence.
All three girls stared at me, first in shock, then in anger. I stared right back.
Liliana recovered first and her blue eyes fixed me like her new target. "What... did you just do?"
"I stopped you." I answered simply.
Her expression twisted. "You pushed me."
"Yes."
"How dare you?"
I glanced toward the trembling girl. "How dare you?" I returned calmly.
For one second, nobody spoke. Then Liliana laughed, and definitely because she found anything funny. But because she was furious.
"The groundling princess..." She took one slow step toward me. "...is protecting another groundling?"
Behind her, one of her friends muttered quietly, "Seriously?" The other snorted. "Maybe she should just transfer to Feeb Tower."
I ignored them. Instead, I extended one hand toward the frightened girl still kneeling on the ground. "Are you alright?"
She looked up at me with wide, frightened eyes but seemed too shocked to answer.
Liliana’s voice cut through the silence. "Move."
I didn’t.
"I said..." Her voice became colder. "...move away from her."
"No."
My answer came without hesitation. I knew exactly what I was doing. And exactly how stupid it was. I wasn’t naive enough to believe these people couldn’t make my life miserable. They absolutely could. The warnings I’d received from Reign echoed inside my mind.
Most people wanted to watch me fail.
Wonderful. Perhaps I’d just given them another reason. Even so, I couldn’t stand there and pretend I hadn’t seen it. Not when the victim was a human. Not when, only two days ago... I had been exactly like her.
Liliana’s patience finally snapped. "So be it. Since you love pretending to be so helpful. Then be my new test object."
Blue magic gathered around her fingertips. The air itself seemed to shimmer as the magical pressure in the courtyard instantly intensified.
"I’ll teach you both your place today."
The glowing energy surged as she lifted her hand-
"Miss Everhart."
A calm voice interrupted everything.
The globes vanished instantly and every head turned toward Professor Fenrith who stood several meters away, hands folded behind his back as though he’d merely been taking an afternoon stroll. His expression remained as unreadable as ever.
Liliana immediately lowered her hand. But she didn’t look the least bit afraid.
"Professor..."
Professor Fenrith didn’t acknowledge the frightened human girl. He didn’t question why magic had been gathered. He didn’t ask what had happened. His eyes simply settled on me. "Miss Argentis." His tone remained perfectly even. "It’s time for your private lesson. Follow me."
And then he turned around and started walking away.