Chapter 436 – Escape Attempt.

“What if we get caught?”

“Don’t worry about it, this concealment spell will do the trick.”

“Are you sure? Won’t we get penalized if someone finds out?”

“Why would anyone find out, we’ll be back before it’s morning, and by then, we will all be true men!”

“Yeah, stop complaining, just think about all those beauties.”

“… Okay, I’m in, let’s go!”

“That’s more like it!”

Five young men were climbing through a window that led out from the large inn they were staying in. They were all wearing black robes to help them hide in the darkness of the night. It was around eleven at night, and they planned to sneak out to enjoy a night of pleasure in the town.

Today they arrived at the closed establishment reserved for individuals from Xandar’s Institute of Wizardry. It was a special event for all of them, and the entire place had been cleared of any outsiders. The compound was quite large and this helped them sneak out through the empty corridors. Eventually, they reached one of the windows through which they exited outside. Now, their only task was to avoid some of the knights patrolling the area. This task they deemed simple as they possessed magical means to aid them.

“See, I told you, those knights aren’t even paying attention and the silence barrier keeps our voices and footsteps hidden from them!”

“You truly are a genius…”

There were five of them and all around the age of fifteen. The youngsters hailed from shelter backgrounds, where stepping outside too much was not permitted to them. Their status as mages made others eager to shelter them, ensuring an easy life. However, this also meant restrictions on having fun outside designated places. Today they resolved to change that and to indulge in some adult fun in town was just what they desired.

Once outside they encountered some armored men that seemed rather lax. These were the knights from the academy situated near the institute. Most of them were simple squires and held only tier 1 class status. They couldn’t perceive anyone capable of noticing their concealment spell as only a few early tier 2 class holders were on site. Those of higher status were not patrolling but left the tiresome task to their junior counterparts.

“This is so boring…”

“I know… but we need to get used to this eventually.”

“Yeah, I bet we’ll have to guard some spoiled nobles after we become real knights…”

“Ahh… I hope that I become a guard of some young noble lady.”

“That would be grand.”

As they were sneaking by they stopped by a nearby tree. This inn had been created for nobles and rich merchants. It has an extensive backyard with a large garden with a pond and flowers everywhere. There were certain places they could hide behind so they waited for the patrolling guards to pass. Soon, they intended to make their way over to the three-meter tall wall that they would climb over. They could already see themselves out in the streets of Hazelfront, with the red light district being their main target.

“Hey, wait…”

“What’s wrong? Did you get cold feet again?”

“No… look there, what is that?”

“Huh?”

The five were one step of getting out of this place but before they could climb over the three-meter tall wall, one of them noticed something. Right on top of that wall, something was sitting. It was gently illuminating the place with a red hue that was being exuded by a circular orb that made up its eye. After a moment the others also noticed its presence but it was already too late.

“Wait, isn’t that one of those golems?”

Right as the leader spoke a large amount of light expanded from within this orb that was in actuality, a golemic eye. Before the five a small metallic spider stood, watching their every movement. It was also not the only one as another light source expanded from behind them. It illuminated the space the group was hiding in and it was clear that even their concealment spell wasn’t working.

“Damn, we need to get out of here! Run before…”

“Before what?”

The teenagers panicked upon seeing the two spider golems and realized that there was no escape. From a third direction, a familiar voice reached them – one that belonged to a professor who accompanied them in this advancement class. The man slowly revealed himself, his form large and surrounded by a shadowy haze from his own concealment spell. They couldn’t determine how long he had been there but it became evident he might have been aware of their escape much sooner.

“A-assistant Professor Wayland… what a nice evening… we were just taking a stroll through the garden…”

“A stroll through the garden, huh? You should at least try to come up with a better excuse than that.”

“We uh…”

The five didn’t know what to say as the presence of this man was far too overbearing. They had heard about some rumors of his exploits, all of which portrayed him as a man with no mercy, someone who only followed the Institute rules. Soon he was in front of them, looking like some kind of monster from within the dungeon.

“Just be quiet and come with me.”

“… Yes sir…”

The five slumped their heads but knew that it was better not to argue with someone who wasn’t afraid of going against high nobility. They soon found themselves walking through the garden with the squires and knights looking at them with anger. The walk back felt rather long and nerve-wracking. Soon they arrived at the entrance of the Inn where they were greeted by other faculty members from the institute.

As they entered the inn, the atmosphere became tense and the other students who were still inside stared curiously at the troublemakers. Professor Ulfine was there already waiting for them and so were many other people. The other students started chuckling the moment they saw the five walk back inside with their heads slumped down.

“This is going to cost you a lot of merit points, now go back to your rooms.”

“Yes, Professor Ulfine…”

It seemed that everyone had already been informed about their sneak-out attempt. It was quite a walk of shame back to their rooms which were then promptly locked behind them. While they weren’t punished directly, they could only imagine what would happen to them once they were back at the Institute.

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*****

“It’s so good to have someone else keep watch over these rascals. Those golems are quite handy, does the Runic Department plan on making more of them?”

Professor Ulfine smiled while looking at one of the chubby spider golems that Roland created. Thanks to them spreading throughout the Inn were they able to keep an eye on these rowdy youngsters. Their attempt on going into the city was noticed almost instantly and even though they used costly magical artifacts, they could not evade Roland’s runic detection technology.

“Not really but something similar is in the works.