CHAPTER 256: TOWER

With freedom to make his club, Riven found Quin. He was seated in an office, legs propped up on a table as he stared at the ceiling.

The moment Riven walked in, he looked him right in the eye. "No," he said.

"What? I haven’t said anything," Riven said.

"I can’t be in charge of any club. I have a lot on my plate, and also, your view on the academy is very myopic. The first person you came to is me.

The academy is the size of a small town. Have you ever thought of seeing everything that this academy has to offer, the depths of this academy?

There are almost fifty instructors scattered all around the academy, and each one could be the one you choose for your club.

I can’t be the one you come to whenever you need something," Quin said.

"I come to you because I know you, and I understand you. Adding to that, you said you wanted to train me and my brother. You never spoke on that again," Riven said.

"I guess I did forget that, but do you still want to train under me? You are taking a lot under your wing. You are practicing blacksmithing and learning in the academy. You want to run a club, and you want to train under me.

The human body can only take so much, and even for someone as good and talented as you, it would still be a lot to carry," Quin said.

"I’m sure I can handle it, so will you do it?" Riven asked.

"Hmmm, before I do it, you’ll have to do a favor for me. In one of the towers of the academy is an old friend of mine.

They specialize in supernatural research and are very engrossed in their work. Something happened in the past to make them not want to see people, but it’s been way too long and I want them to start coming out again," Quin said.

"And my task is?"

"Find a way to make them come out. I don’t know how you’ll do it, but I believe that you’ll be able to make a way somehow. So give it your all and make them come out," Quin said.

"That’s a lot to dump on a kid," Riven said.

"You can handle it. Do that and I’ll do what you want. You have till exams to pull this off, and we have a deal," Quin said.

Riven stood there for a bit, he took a deep breath and nodded. "Tell me all I need to know about them," Riven said.

[...]

"Where are we headed?" Noel asked Riven, as he, Riven, and Jack found themselves headed somewhere in the school.

"Also, why the hell is Jack following us?" Noel added.

"What? I get bored being alone. The rest have themselves. Robert is always with his sisters or the fawning girls. Lance is either alone or stealing the hearts of girls, and as for the three Duke daughters, only Riven can handle their shitty attitude," Jack said.

"They would rip you a new one if they heard you," Riven said.

"Yeah, but they can’t hear me, so good thing they aren’t here. Also, I heard you are doing this to be able to make a club, and it’s a club that has permission to leave the premises. For sure I’ll join," Jack said.

Noel gave him a look that said, what the hell bro, and then turned to Riven. "So what are we doing here?" he asked, and Riven pointed to one of the towers out back, a very unkempt and old one.

"Inside that tower is someone that’s a friend to Quin, and he wants me to try and get them out of there for once," Riven explained.

"And do you know this person?" Noel asked.

"No, but they are an instructor, which means they are skilled. We have to be cautious to not get into any danger," he said.

They got to the door and it looked as if it hadn’t been opened for years.

"Here’s to day one of trying to enter and get them out," Riven said and walked to the door. He banged on it three times but there was no response.

He banged on it again, then again, then again, but no one came. So he kept banging until finally, something happened. They felt a surge in Mana, and when they looked down, they saw that a magical circle had formed beneath their feet.

"Oh shit, run, run!" Riven yelled, and they all ran. They couldn’t make it out of the circle before a massive burst of wind sent all of them flying. They slammed into the ground hard and rough.

"Urghhh, at least we know there is someone inside there," Noel said.

"Yeah, someone skilled," Jack added.

Riven got on his feet again and walked to the door. The group was then tossed away again, and this time it carried more force. But he continued until even Jack and Noel stood back, allowing him to go for it.

After more than twenty or so tries, he finally gave up for the day. They left, and as he walked, he turned back and looked at the building. "Tomorrow we try again," he said.

After they left, the doors of the tower slightly opened, and a pair of eyes could be seen from the darkness before it closed again.

[....]

Even after the setback, Riven wasn’t planning on giving up. The second day he headed there, this time with only Jack, as Noel needed to get some work done after school.

Riven took a deep breath and faced the door. He knocked, this time with more respect than last time, but the same formation activated and threw him away.

He came back again and kept trying. He did it until at one point he stopped and decided to talk. "I just want to see you. A friend of yours really misses you, and he would love for me to check on you. I’ll come back tomorrow."