--
Cedric was puzzled as to why he was asked to stay behind but he didn't show it, he didn't say a word either.
The four people who ca with him excused themselves and left him and the Headmistress to talk in private. Not long after they left, Lissandra turned her attention to him and said:
"Well t, Young Sage. I am pleased to know that soone of your caliber is attending my humble institute."
Cedric was briefly surprised but he quickly recovered. Understandably, this woman knows of his real identity, she owns this place after all.
"Thank you for letting stay, Headmistress. Excuse for not introducing myself right away as I am being careful with my moves." Cedric replied.
"Oh please, don't be burdened. The gates of my institute will always be open to you. I of course know how sensitive your status is, and I also understand the need for secrecy. You don't need to apologize for protecting yourself since if I was in your position, I would've done the sa."
"If there's soone who should apologize, it would be . I tried my best to spare you from being drafted to the frontlines but the army needs us." Lissandra had an apologetic smile as she told him this.
"It's alright, Headmistress. I understand and I don't resent your decision. I actually think that it's a logical move. Besides, I never thought about escaping this. I'm willing to offer any help I could." Cedric replied.
"Oh, you're already doing way more than you're expected to," Lissandra stated with a proud face. "Your act of joining the House of Light and bestowing them a new light source - one that is identical to the real sunlight, and the Demon Soul Purification Altars...these will have a lasting effect on our civilization. In terms of achievents alone, you already surpassed the current Zodiac Saints."
Once again, Cedric wasn't surprised that she knew about these too. Even with his authority, there are so people who still directly outrank him and can view information about him. She must be one of those people, and if she was, that isn't surprising either.
"I asked you to stay behind because of a single thing." Lissandra suddenly stated, "And I believe that this will be of great assistance to you."
Cedric focused after hearing that. Then, he saw her waving her hand in front of her before a silvery light started converging above her palms.
The silver light flowed like rcury, drawing arcs and milky streaks in the air. It then ford intersecting likes that left a deep impression on Cedric. After a few seconds, Cedric realized what was going on.
"...an Aspect Sigil? A Sage's Totem...you're a Sage too?" He muttered in astonishnt.
He then looked at Lissandra in surprise, but what really shocked him was her next words...
"Yes, this is an Aspect Sigil. No, I am not a Sage." Lissandra replied with a wry smile. "I wanted to be but sadly, my talents are lacking to be one."
"Then...why...how did you...?"
"This Sage's Totem isn't mine. You'd know this since you're a Sage, but Aspect Sigils are in fact, the inheritance of Sages, passed down from one generation to the next. The Sage of a particular era will nurture the sigils, and add their own comprehension to it, enriching the inheritance even more.
So Sages would even create a new Aspect Sigil of their own, thereby increasing the options for future Sages." Lissandra explained.
"My teacher was the Sage." She stated while looking nostalgic. "The Star Sage to the be exact. She originally hoped for to inherit the mantle and perfect this Aspect Sigil. She believed that the future of Humanity was amongst the vast and starry skies."
"Unfortunately, my talent and skills are insufficient to qualify for the Sage's title. Therefore, I can't fulfill her final wish."
"As you know, there can only be one Sage in each generation. She hoped that it would be but I couldn't beco one. I tried my best, doing a Class Change Quest every ti I increased my Tier however, I failed."
"Upon reaching the Planar Traveller Realm, the Class Change Quest will no longer be available. Which ans that you'd be stuck with what you have. I accepted my fate and moved on nonetheless. Even though I wasn't sage, I'm strong enough to make changes anyway and nothing's stopping from doing that."
"Still, my teacher wanted to follow in her footsteps and beco a Sage. In anticipation of that, she left the 『Aspect of the Stars』 to . This was her life's work, her magnum opus."
"Even though I didn't beco a Sage, I still studied this extensively and it has beco the basis of my skills, class, and also the inspiration for the creation of this institute."
"This has been with for a very long ti, yet even then, I am unable to unravel all the secrets my teacher left behind here." Lissandra sounded depressed upon admitting this. "I've gained as much as I could from this and it won't make sense for to hold on to it when there's clearly a better option."
Lissandra then pushed the sigil towards Cedric, much to the Young Sage's hesitation.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked.
"I am." She nodded, "Have been for the past decade or so. I was just waiting for the next Sage to appear. Since I never beca a Sage, this has never been mine. It's technically yours. I just borrowed it and only returning it now."
"Besides, I have an idea of what you're trying to do." She added, "I believe that learning what this sigil could offer would be of imnse help to you."
Cedric stayed silent for a bit before accepting the sigil.
The mont it touched him, the sigil began emitting a more fearso glow, one that was more encompassing and seemingly boundless, like the endless blanket of stars above.
Seeing this gave Lissandra a strong nostalgia. This reaction felt the sa as the aura of her long-deceased teacher. It montarily caused her to be distracted and zone out, rembering monts of her past she deeply cherished.
Deep down, she still felt regret. It couldn't be helped, she wanted to beco a Sage but couldn't. It was the last request of her teacher before she left the world for good. If she had beco one, this sigil would've reacted the sa way to her as it did with Cedric.
And it's this very sa reaction that told Lissandra that she was indeed unqualified to hold on to this inheritance since it was never ant for her. That left a bitter taste in her mouth but if there was a saving grace for her, it would be Cedric. This young man won't desecrate her teacher's inheritance so it's in good hands.
As for Cedric, he was imrsed in his thoughts. The 『Aspect of the Stars』 was truly and imnsely helpful. Just by receiving it, it flooded his mind with all sorts of inspirations that he couldn't wait to validate.
Cedric fought the urge to test things out right now since this wasn't the ti nor the place to do so. But he's still imnsely grateful for this gift.
"Thank you for entrusting this to . I'll use it well." Cedric said after keeping the sigil away.
"I know you will," Lissandea replied with a small chuckle. "Anyway, now that I have returned to you your rightful inheritance, have you decided on which part of the army you want to join?"
"About that..."
**
Cedric left the Headmistress' office as soon as he was done with his business there.
He was briefly surprised when he saw that the other four people who had co with him earlier stayed behind.
"Yo!" Garrick greeted him with a cheeky smile. "Took you long enough. Did you already make your choice?"
Cedric tilted his head and instead of answering, he asked: "Were you waiting for to ask that?"
"Yeah!" Ulfric, or #5, nodded eagerly. "I wanna work with you again, Boss."
Cedric then looked at Isabella and lissa, they didn't say anything but it seed that they too had the sa idea.
"Don't," Cedric stressed out. "I can't bring you with . This isn't a project or so random mission we have to do to be promoted. We're being drafted to a war. Please be serious."
"See, I told you he'd say sothing like that." lissa, the 4th place in their batch, said this to Ulfric and Garrick.
"Oh well, at least we tried," Ulfric replied with a shrug. "I guess I'll just return to my post as a Cadet. That's the best option for anyway."
Cedric thought that they'd push the idea a bit more. Fortunately, it seems that they were expecting him to deny the request from the very beginning.
lissa then said that she'd join the dical Team while the other two were still undecided for now. That's when Ulfric turned to him and asked:
"How about you, Boss? Have you chosen yet?"
"I have," Cedric replied as he started walking away. "I'll be joining the Expedition Team."
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