Hearing the guard’s words, Daniel felt a surge of curiosity.
Who could be visiting at this time?
Upon returning to his office, he found Rowan already there, waiting anxiously.
“Headmaster, you’re finally back,” Rowan said quickly upon seeing Daniel. “Just after you left, a group from the renowned Karea Academy to the south arrived. They were on their way to Lakecity for student recruitment but happened to pass through Riverside City—and they took an interest in our students.”
Daniel quickly understood the situation.
Karea Academy was famous, a prestigious institution boasting the Free Federation’s best educational resources.
Compared to Crossbridge Academy, it was a well-established powerhouse.
While Crossbridge Academy had great potential, it was still in its early stages.
Given more time, it might one day rival Karea Academy. But for now…
In a few words, Daniel got a clear picture of what was happening.
A group of young people dressed in standard uniforms entered his office, led by a young man named Murray.
Daniel noted that the group’s oldest member, Murray, looked barely over twenty, and the rest were about the same age.
Their abilities were impressive, with the weakest among them at tier-gold peak, while Murray himself was tier-platinum.
This level of strength was a testament to Karea Academy’s rigorous training.
“Murray from Karea Academy. A pleasure to meet you, Daniel,” Murray began, his demeanor respectful, which raised Daniel’s opinion of him.
“We had planned to visit Crossbridge Academy right after the secret realm event, but you seemed quite busy lately, so we thought this would be a better time.”
Murray had been observing Crossbridge Academy’s students at the secret realm, especially five who seemed particularly gifted.
He’d suspected that Crossbridge Academy would prevail in the competition.
Despite the strong contenders from Houses Windwhisper and Lunastone, Murray felt that those five students would carry the day.
When the results came out, Murray was surprised—not only had Crossbridge Academy won, but they had won overwhelmingly, with no survivors from the other two houses.
Clearly, something monumental had happened.
As House Windwhisper’s head vented his anger and drove away the crowd, Murray understood that change was coming to Riverside City, possibly through a major conflict.
Murray chose not to intervene, preferring to return to Riverside City with the crowd and wait.
If Crossbridge Academy had fallen to the combined assault, he would have left, as there would be no reason to stay.
While Crossbridge Academy’s young talents were promising, they hadn’t yet reached the level that would warrant Karea Academy’s protection.
After all, an unfulfilled talent was no different from an ordinary person.
Once the dust settled and Crossbridge Academy began to take over the two houses’ assets and rebuild Riverside City, Murray was astonished by their decisiveness and boldness.
Seizing the moment, he brought his juniors to visit, with recruitment as the primary goal.
“Karea Academy, I’ve heard of it. So, what brings you to Crossbridge Academy?” Daniel asked.
“Since you know of us, Daniel, I’ll get straight to the point. We’re here to recruit some of your students to join Karea Academy,” Murray replied, making his intentions clear.
“Which students, exactly?”
“The five who stood out in the secret realm.”
“Those five?” Daniel understood immediately whom they were referring to.
“Yes, I believe you must realize that those five are exceptionally talented. They could thrive much better at Karea Academy,” Murray said confidently.
Compared to Karea Academy, Riverside City and Crossbridge Academy were far too small to nurture true greatness.
“I see. I’ll need to speak with them first, then I can give you an answer,” Daniel replied.
“Joining Karea Academy is a dream come true for many. Who could possibly refuse? Headmaster, let’s not waste everyone’s time,” said a young man with brown hair behind Murray, his tone arrogant.
“Yark! Silence!” Murray scolded, turning to glare at him.
Yark glanced at Murray and fell silent.
“Apologies, Daniel. My junior was rude. I’ll ensure he learns his lesson. But as for consulting your students, are they currently in the academy?” Murray asked.
“They aren’t in the academy at the moment. When they return, I’ll inform them of your visit. If they’re interested, I’ll have someone let you know,” Daniel replied coolly.
Murray could sense the dismissal in Daniel’s tone. “In that case, we won’t impose any longer. However, we can only stay in Riverside City for three days. If there’s no response by then, we’ll have to leave.”
“Understood.”
Murray bowed, then led his group out of Crossbridge Academy.
Once outside, Yark couldn’t contain his frustration. “Senior Murray, that headmaster was clearly brushing us off! He’s just the headmaster of some backwater academy—how dare he disrespect us? Joining Karea Academy should be a privilege they’d be lucky to get…”
“Yark! Enough!” Murray interrupted.
“What? Am I wrong?” Yark asked, genuinely confused.
After all, joining Karea Academy was an honor for anyone familiar with its prestige.
Who would refuse?
And as for claiming the students weren’t in the academy—clearly a lie.
They had been in Riverside City the past few days and had never seen those students leave.
So why was Daniel giving them the runaround?
But since Murray had silenced him, Yark kept his thoughts to himself.
Just then, Yark suddenly lost his balance and fell face-first to the ground, his forehead scraping against the pavement and drawing blood.
His companions looked on in surprise.
Yark was a tier-platinum mage; how could he just trip while walking on flat ground?
“Strange… what tripped me?”
Turning around to inspect where he had tripped, Yark found nothing—no dips, no rocks, just a flat, smooth surface.
“Yark, falling on flat ground? Watch your step next time!” one of his classmates teased, as the rest laughed.
After all, they were all fine, and he was the only one who tripped.
Who else would they laugh at?
Even if Yark wanted to be angry, he couldn’t; he’d genuinely fallen on flat ground, and it was his classmate who cast the healing spell for him.