That was the first Wolfe had heard of a backlash to curses. They sounded simple but effective, like Elemental Magic Circles when they were portrayed in movies. Both required some reagents, and Curses usually needed something nasty, but that was the only real difference in how the Coven’s film industry portrayed them.
“Is that why all the Elemental Magic they learn is for combat? Because their innate magic is best for healing and utility, so they only need offence?” Wolfe asked.
“Not quite. Everywhere outside is dangerous, and none of the allied Covens are on particularly good terms. But the rivalries between Covens are child’s play compared to the open hatred that everything else in this world seems to have for Witches. Even human nations are extremely dangerous for someone with Witch blood.
If they run into anything that isn’t a plant during their travels, it will likely be a fight to the death. That’s why while not all of the Witches outside the city are in the Morgana defence force, the force is all Witches, and the Academy is their only source of recruits.” She explained, in a much lower voice than was necessary, even for the library.
“Thank you. This will really help.” Wolfe replied before he picked up all the books except the one on curses and turned to head back to his room.
“Before you go, can you answer a question for me? I know it’s just gossip, but the art club really wants to know.”
Wolfe smiled at the embarrassed Witch and wondered what she was going to ask.
“Is it true that the Isabel Clan called Stephen back to the city because they found out that you two were lovers? The rumour going around is that you seduced him, and he abandoned his mission to marry a top-performing Witch into the family, so his family is punishing him.”
Wolfe laughed a bit too loud for the library before he could catch himself. “No, he was caught with contraband, and the Headmistress sent him back to the city. He was devoted to his mission the whole time.”
“Well, that will destroy the dreams of the art club. But it probably won’t stop the doujins.”
Wolfe knew it would be something like that. The way that the art club looked at him was just a bit different than the other Witches.
“I am off to get some other errands done. Thank you for the assistance.” Wolfe told her, gesturing to the stack of books in his hands.
“Tell your Witches to check out the gym if they have questions. The seniors of the Athletics Club are actually really powerful Witches, and they’re always willing to help their juniors.” The library assistant reminded Wolfe as he left.
He hadn’t been down there in a few days since it was so crowded with the new arrivals, but Wolfe thought a workout might be just the thing for this morning. Most of the gym crowd was either before classes or during the afternoon when the seniors were in Alchemy and their attendants were off duty, so a morning workout should be possible.
There were only two people in the gym when Wolfe arrived, and one of them was rather familiar to Wolfe. He had met the man during his trip into the Academy, one of the combat instructors named Dean, if his memory served him well.
He was doing a strange exercise, running on a treadmill with a weighted vest on and a twenty-kilo weight in each hand. He was doing curls as he ran, and it looked far more comprehensive than what Wolfe had planned for himself, so he headed over to the rack and picked up a matching set of gear.
As his Bloodline was purified through physical interaction with the Witches and his Mana Focus slowly condensed, Wolfe had been growing much physically stronger. He knew it in theory, as nothing was a real exertion to him anymore, but he hadn’t had a real chance to test it out, and this exercise proved to be no exception.
Even the twenty-kilo weights, which Instructor Dean was struggling with, were barely any resistance to his arms.
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It would look bad to show the man up while copying his exercise though, so Wolfe made his way to the second treadmill and set a varied terrain for the run.
“Preparing for another trip into the wastelands? Why don’t you join the supplementary combat classes I teach? They’re open to all assistants, so a human Familiar isn’t out of place, and a bit of sword work can really save your ass when the undead come.
Bullets don’t do enough damage to stop most of them, but splitting the head open works every time.” Instructor Dean offered.
“That would be great. I was once a bike courier, so I’m confident in my Cardio, but unless I’m carrying the Witches with me, running won’t save us.” Wolfe agreed, eager to see what the Academy would teach the living meat shields.
That was how the Coven members in the city treated all men, so Wolfe didn’t expect much better treatment of the assistants on the occasions that they were going to accompany Witches into the wilderness. The men of the police patrols didn’t often come to his family’s floor, but when they did, it was always twenty men with a Witch in charge, who cast spells to help them and stayed safely in the Armored carrier, so they were the only ones in danger.
“It’s only half the class long because the attendants have other chores. Even if they are big shot heirs, most of the students treat them like butlers and make them do all the cleaning and laundry.” Dean laughed, amused by the thought.
“They’re just too timid for their own good. The Witches will treat you well if you show them that you’re capable. But then, I’m a Familiar, and we can sense each other’s emotions and location, so it’s a bit different.” Wolfe agreed, but he also recognized that he did most of the cleaning of their dorm room and sent the laundry out.
After that, they jogged in silence while they finished their hundred curls and a long run before heading to the showers to get ready for the combat class.
Dean finally noticed Stephanie when Wolfe placed her on his shoulder on the way out of the gym, and his focused look turned to a smile.
“So, you managed to Summon a Familiar of your own. I got the feeling that you were a true Magi descendant on the way here, but getting a Familiar Cat is very impressive. No wonder your Witches are growing so fast. They’ve been the talk of the teacher’s lounge, how they might have to make Cassie and Ella skip half a year, or they’ll get lazy after they have learned all of the Elemental basics.”
Wolfe smiled back. “We are going over the last of them tonight. We know what the standard is for full marks, and unless they hit a major block on one element, they should be able to use most of them to that standard already.
Fire and lightning, which I am stronger with, took under an hour each for the witches to master. But even without my assistance, they should be able to get Earth, Wind and Water mastered in a short time.”
Dean seemed startled but recovered quickly to a look of professional neutrality. “We might have to step up the schedule then and have them do a wilderness gathering trip right after midterms. They can’t start the second year without experiencing the outside world, and they would certainly get up to no good if they had half a term of afternoons free.”