Skyler tsked, then—after checking his surroundings—vanished with Riruru.
The Talisman Department was quite far. Why bother walking when he could simply teleport there using his Voidstep skill?
It was a Mythic-tier skill—powerful enough to be used on others as well—since, rather than simply vanishing, he stepped through the fabric of space in front of him to reach any location he had in mind or could see.
The Calamity had specifically taught him how to utilize such powerful, high-tier skills by breaking them into smaller, manageable versions—channeling only as much Evol as his current strength could handle.
Nevertheless, he knew he could only use the Voidstep skill with Riruru—for now. As for others, he still needed time. Not that he ever planned on using it for anyone else. It was one of his secret skills, after all.
Also, when it came to Riruru... everything felt instinctive—like it was impossible for him to ever forget to include her.
And that's exactly how, when Charles and Zack reached the talisman department and found their classroom, they were surprised to see Skyler already seated in the class, in the front row, a smirk playing on his lips.
Charles sat down next to him, his gaze solemn as he stared at his side profile.
"Hey, how did you get here before me? I didn't see you anywhere on the way."
He wanted to add that he had even looked back but decided against it and just sighed as Skyler shrugged, offering no answer.
Zack didn't sit with them, despite the front row being mostly empty. Instead, he made his way to the very back row and joined two familiar faces—Oreon, the muscular man, and Mila, the short woman with dark hair.
They were the two unknown yet powerful side characters who should have died, but Zack had saved them and teamed up with them during the preliminary test.
Though they were in the same class, they weren't in the same section. The only time Zack could really meet the two was during non-compulsory classes, like the talisman class, where they could sit together if they happened to have the same professor.
Skyler secretly watched their interaction. Mila's gaze met his, and she flinched. He scoffed and turned away.
"They were the ones who abandoned me, and now she is feeling guilty, huh? Tsk."
Charles turned to him, hearing him.
"What? Who abandoned whom?"
Skyler shook his head.
"No one. Ignore it."
The classroom remained mostly empty when the professor—a young man with a stern expression, dressed in a tight-fitting suit—entered the room. He glanced around, his eyes settling on Skyler, Charles, and finally Zack. He gave a thoughtful hum.
"Ah, I see. As usual, many are skipping my class since it's not compulsory and only a side course. Still, I am glad to see two new faces—especially ones that seem to be the talk of the whole continent lately."
The students present glanced at Charles and Skyler, whispering among themselves, knowing exactly who he was referring to.
Professor Ohm Glacier, a powerful 15-star mage, was known for being strict—not just strict, but someone who disliked repeating what he had already taught in class. Unlike Zack, Skyler and Charles were attending his class for the first time. While Ohm did feel a sense of approval toward the two, knowing they could become future powerhouses of the continent, that didn't mean he would go over the basics he had already covered with the other students. The duo would have to catch up with the class on their own.
He stood at the front of the class.
"Take out your materials—the Evol-infused paper, special ink, and the brush I told you to bring. We will continue drawing Novice-tier talismans used for attack and defense. I will check everyone's strokes myself."
Skyler blinked as the professor began the class, his eyes filled with confusion. Paper and a brush? He hadn't brought either.
What now?
He glanced around the class, wondering which classmate he could borrow from—until his eyes landed on Charles, who had already taken out a brush and a few thick, square-shaped sheets of brown paper.
Without hesitation, he snatched the brush and a brown sheet from him. So smoothly, it felt as if he were skilled at stealing... ahem, taking things right under people's noses.
Charles shot him a glare.
But he just smirked, muttering.
"Sharing is caring."
Snorting, Charles pulled out another brush from his storage ring, glad he had brought a spare. Just last night, he had woken up and taken an easy mission at the Mission Hall to earn some star coins for his student ID.
Still, he frowned at the professor. His knowledge of talismans was limited.
What he did know was that, unlike Runes and Inscriptions—which could be drawn on the ground or in the air—talismans required inscribing spells onto special Evol-infused paper using ink made from monster blood.
Afterward, the paper was imbued with the creator's elemental Evol. Once created, the powerful spells on the talismans could be easily activated by anyone who shared the same elemental affinity, simply by infusing their own Evol into them—even if they had not learned the spell on the talisman.
Like many things in Eldoria, talismans were also classified into five tiers: Novice, Adept, Epic, Legendary, and Mythic—Novice being the weakest and Mythic the strongest.
Each of these tiers is further divided into three types: good, excellent, and perfect.
The ones who could craft talismans were called Talisman Masters, much like those who could understand and craft Runes and Inscriptions were called Rune Masters and Inscription Masters. These three were the most renowned non-combatant classes.
However, aside from that, Charles had no knowledge of talismans. Let alone how to craft the spell strokes the young professor was teaching, he didn't even know how to use the brush in his hand properly yet. The ink dropped before he could even write.
He sighed and tried to just copy the strokes the professor displayed on the projector, but Charles's efforts ended up looking more like doodles than properly inscribed spells.
He groaned under his breath.
"Why is this so damn hard? Does what I'm drawing even look like a spell? Who would ever buy this? I thought making talismans at the academy would be an easy way to earn star coins. But this is no child's play."
He shook his head, his gaze drifting toward Skyler, who was steadily dipping the brush—the one he had snatched from him—into the small ink bottle Charles had taken out from his storage ring. His hand holding the brush moved across the paper with haste, as if he were some kind of seasoned master.
Charles smirked. Good, he wasn't the only one struggling. Both he and Skyler clearly needed to go over the basics before they could properly start crafting talismans.
However, his smirk stiffened when he eyed the paper Skyler was inscribing his strokes on. The lines were neat and precise, with no ink smudges or visible mistakes—honestly, they looked even better than the ones the professor had displayed on the projector.
He eyed Skyler, then the latter's talisman paper, then back at him—before letting out a faint wry chuckle that lingered in the air.
"Is there anything you can't do?! How the hell is this even fair? The rest of us have to struggle and grind, and you just pick things up by watching them once! I've got a sharp memory too—so why can't I do the same? I don't believe this is your first time drawing talismans! This is obviously cheating!"
Skyler, who had just finished his very first Novice-tier talisman and was eyeing it with satisfaction after infusing the brown paper with his Light Evol, looked up and blinked.
"What are you saying? When did I ever say this was my first time drawing a talisman? Didn't you see my room? I've always been interested in these things since I was a kid. Whenever I saw any strange rune, talisman, or inscription in a game or on TV, I'd copy it to remember. My room is filled with those diagrams. I just used normal paper and a pen instead of a brush, so they looked like weird sketches on scrap paper."
Charles blinked at him, his mouth opening and closing. He did recall seeing numerous hand-drawn sketches of Runes, Talismans, and Inscriptions in Skyler's room; however, did that really explain his freaking amazing ability to draw a real talisman so easily?
True, Skyler had copied talismans from watching them online, but that alone really shouldn't have made him this proficient.
Still, Charles could at least console his bruised pride, knowing that Skyler's talent wasn't solely because he had just seen the process once. However, that didn't ease his frustration as he cursed the smirking man who stood up to immediately present his completed talisman to the professor.
Professor Ohm raised a brow at the youth calling him over to check his talisman. The rest of the students were still struggling to replicate the one displayed on the projector—and Skyler was already finished? Had he just scribbled something to show off?
Humming thoughtfully, he walked over to Skyler. But the moment his eyes landed on the talisman, they widened in surprise, and he instinctively raised his voice.
"A perfect Novice-tier talisman! How...?"