As Aiden, Liora, and Selene filed out of the diner after finishing their food, they made their way over to a nearby park bench.
Selene had heard of Omnimagic Academy before.
It was one of those big-name schools people mentioned like everyone was supposed to know exactly how important it was.
But Selene did not have any stakes in it, so she was a bit surprised by how horrified Aiden and Liora seemed.
"So it's, like, fully shut down?" Aiden asked, looking between Liora and Selene as they sat on either side of her.
"U-Uh, yeah," Selene said, looking back at the article. "From what it says here, the campus was completely vacated as of three days ago."
The End of Omnimagic Academy
It is a tragic day when such a prestigious university suffers in such graphic ways.
Omnimagic Academy, well known for the talented adventurers it trains and for a curriculum that assists with several developing technologies, has suffered numerous attacks from the terrorist group known as the Black Dawn.
In an attempt to defend against students who were members of the organization, the academy assembled a student council consisting of the following:
Fable Glaesimi
A well-known Gambler-class student who served as the lead investigator in charge of ousting the Black Dawn.
Alaster Cinder
A transfer student said to have high potential in fire magic as a Fire Mage, and even to have fire elementals working with him.
Muusika Almawolf
A skilled commander who joined Alaster and is said to have been recommended due to his talents in strategy and unique soul skill.
Shura Mercida
A talented weapon master rumored to have been scouted by members of the Hajnal Faith due to their unknown but potent ties to the goddess.
Alex Sylrath
A vampire from the prestigious elven Sylrath family, known for his lack of directional sense and for defeating an attacker four times his level during an attack at a school dance.
Their potential is well known, but sadly, the student council has been missing for around a month.
In the time they have been gone, over forty-seven students have died in a series of bombing attacks. Additionally, seventy percent of the forest on the island surrounding the academy was destroyed in a fire.
The academy attempted to calm tensions, but despite its best efforts, failed as many parents insisted on removing their children before they died or were placed in further danger.
The school officially shut its doors two days ago, but the current question on everyone's mind now falls onto the topic of one teacher in particular.
Red has been a teacher at the academy for almost eight years, teaching a class called How to Kill Me, which was known for its notorious difficulty. Most classes reportedly resulted in students getting launched through walls or waking up from injuries days later.
The reason for his shift from kingdom-destroying to insisting on teaching at the academy remains unknown to this day.
But with the academy's destruction, the fear of Red returning to his old ways remains palpable.
Only time will tell.
"So they really shut down the academy," Aiden said, pulling slightly at his hair. "What's gonna happen to the Seven Stars books? They only got to the start of their third year."
Liora began to pace, one hand holding her elbow while the other held her chin.
"Holy shit," Liora said. "A Sylrath is missing?"
Selene stared at both of them.
"D-Does the part about you-know-who not register, or…?"
Both of them paused.
Liora shook her head.
"That's kind of big-name problems," she said. "We're small potatoes in terms of doing anything about that."
Aiden shrugged, seeming to think for a moment.
Then he turned back to Liora and Selene.
"Hey, guys," Aiden said. "Question. Don't you think the A.T.V. could use an upgrade?"
Selene nodded as she turned to Liora with a knowing smile.
The A.T.V. was a blessing most adventuring groups spent months penny-pinching to afford. The fact that they had gotten one after their first plate quest was a boon.
And yet, the small size and open design left much to be desired when it came to comfort.
Still, if the choice was between walking and having a sore butt by the end of the day, the A.T.V. beat walking every time.
The only truly comfortable seats were inside the main cab.
There were only two.
One of which Aiden normally occupied.
It was something that had been getting on Liora's nerves more and more, to the point that she had started threatening to buy cushions herself.
As they all began making their way down the road, Aiden and Liora started exchanging ideas on what to buy.
Aiden pulled out his notebook and flipped to a page where he had copied things from a catalog at the repair shop they had gone to.
"We could get reinforced windows," Aiden said, "or mounted spotlights."
"Or," Liora said, "we could just get a bunch of horsepower boosts and see how fast we can go before the engine explodes."
"As if!"
Aiden barked the words, but both he and Liora seemed less sulky now.
Selene followed behind them.
Part of her wanted to be worried about the situation.
The actions of the Black Dawn.
The way the world seemed to be in turmoil, facing this disaster or that one.
At the same time, the fact that they were both too small and unrelated to the incident made the whole situation feel less daunting.
Less panic-inducing.
They were not some predestined heroes set to save the world.
They were the Hog's Feet party.
A small, up-and-coming group of adventurers.
And for Selene, that felt like enough.
"What say you, Selene?" Aiden asked. "Do you have a weigh-in about the choices?"
Selene looked up, a bit surprised.
She had been spacing out.
"U-Uh," she said, "well, we could get something like the repair drone I saw."
"Why?" Liora asked with a mock-condescending tone. "In case you break the A.T.V. again?"
"O-Okay, first of all," Selene said, putting on an overly cocky grin and making an effort to look down her nose at Liora, "it's harder than it looks."
She lifted one finger.
"And second, I don't see you having any time behind the wheel."
"Exactly," Liora said, chuckling. "You can't prove I would do worse than you if I never try it, now can you?"
They made their way around a corner and saw several vehicles behind a brick fence.
The vehicles ranged in size from machines smaller than the A.T.V. all the way to lumbering land-train cars that had whole living areas built into them, beds included.
As they walked over, a younger human man, no older than sixteen, approached them.
"Welcome to Alcone's Auto," he said. "Are you looking to buy or sell?"
"We're looking to buy," Aiden said. "Can you show us what kind of vehicle upgrades you all have?"
They made their way inside the lot and toward a large building.
"Upgrades, you say?" the boy asked, grinning. "Ready to spruce up your ride?"
He gestured for them to follow him to the counter.
Once there, he rummaged behind the desk before slamming down a booklet with so many pages that it was thicker than Selene's wrist from cover to cover.
As they all looked at the book, Selene found herself thinking one thing.
This probably wasn't going to be as quick as she thought it would.