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Well, I say tedious only because Anput and Jahi had been skulking about during the Combat Class again, their patience swiftly running out as our Professors had them sit out again.

As we walked through the busy roads, talking about whether or not they should just take the final now, I glanced to the side of the road, where a dozen people gathered around a singular stall.

Letting Anput's whining fade into the background, I focused my hearing on the muttering group, trying to figure out what they were talking about.

Standing behind the stall was an older man, his gray beard well groomed, while his dark green skin and pale yellow eyes denoted his Orcish heritage.

"News from the Kingdom! You won't regret buying a copy! Gates appearing frequently in Tragon Kingdom! Get your copy here!"

He was shouting and waving a rolled up paper in his fist, and I watched as the people surged forwards, dropping coins into his free hand to get themselves a copy of his newspaper.

Tugging on Jahi's hand, I alerted her to the man, and we walked forwards as well.

Hearing that Gates were appearing in the Tragon Kingdom at a more frequent rate was something that we needed to learn about.

Both because it could alter the political dealings with the Western Kingdoms, and also because I knew little of the Labyrinthian and Gates.

So, I slipped through the crowd and gave the man the silver necessary for the paper, rejoining Jahi and the others in a few seconds.

Unfurling it, I scanned the words before nodding, gesturing for us to return home.

Jahi took the paper from my hands, reading it as we walked, her face growing serious the further down the paper she got.

Entering into the cottage, I walked into the kitchen while the others sat at the table, listening to Jahi as she started talking.

"Tragon Kingdom has had four confirmed Gates open up throughout their lands, and another seven unconfirmed attacks on smaller rural villages. They can't determine the cause for this surge in Gates, but one thing is certain..."

Handing the paper to Leone, Jahi leaned back into her chair and sighed, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.

"They're in trouble. Each location targeted is important in some way, either as a food source, populated area, or strategically placed cities. The death count has already hit ten thousand, and that's with them lowballing the estimates."

Leone frowned as she handed the paper to Anput, her crimson eyes flaring as she said "While it is saddening that Tragon is seemingly being targeted, this is... well, frankly, pretty bad for us as well. Romagi is going to be on high alert and ready to attack at a moments notice due to paranoia. If the Romagi King wishes to declare war on us, claiming we have the... ability to open those Gates, his citizens would likely believe it.

The Western Kingdoms are more primitive then the Empire, and as such a large gathering of Humans, well..."

Leone trailed off, her voice filled with reluctance as she pursed her lips.

Jahi nodded, finishing her line of thought.

"The Humans have always had an inferiority complex towards the other races, and now that Gates are seemingly picking on them, they could very easily twist this as the Empress attempting to suppress them. Their understanding on the Arcane is limited, and the amount of people with a Core in the Western Kingdoms are much less than here."

"So they're a bunch a weaklings? Why should we care then? This should just be an opportunity to study why the Labyrinthian is capable of producing so many more Gates in one location and find ways to prevent that from happening here."

Although callous, Anput raised a good point, one that Jahi seemed to agree with.

"They are weak, but so is our Western Border. The Counties over on that side of the Empire are former Knights of the Romagi Kingdom, and while they might have been placed under heavy surveillance and given a strict check and balance system, they remain Humans. Who knows if they'll defect and give up the Mountains between Romagi and us? There are many ways to rid themselves of the Councilors and Soldiers the Empress 'gifted' them..."

Leone frowned again, her eyes conflicted as she said "Even still, they are still citizens of the Empire, and the loss of life anywhere should be mourned. Those villagers and normal citizens shouldn't have to suffer simply because we dislike the ones who rule them."

However, Anput just shrugged, saying "So? I could care less about the random citizenry of a foreign, barely amicable nation. Especially not when something far more dangerous seems to be using them as a testing grounds. If we can learn just what is causing this, or how it is happening, then their sacrifices have been more than worth it."

Leone glared at Anput, the two women on opposite sides of a moral compass; Leone was compassionate and cared about others, while Anput sought power and knowledge by any means.

As for Jahi...

Sighing, she looked between the two and said "I'm sure the Empress already knows about the happenings and has sent someone to the Western Border, but I doubt she'll step foot into the Kingdoms themselves. Humans are a short lived race, and its been a lifetime for them since the Empire quelled their little insurrection against us a century ago.

Besides that, the Romagi King will most definitely use this as an excuse to try and reclaim those Counties; those were some of the stronger Knights under the Kingdoms command, and yet they turned to us when we threatened to absorb the Kingdoms into the Empire, stopping that."

Anput grinned smugly at Leone, adding "Compassion should be reserved for those that can afford it, Leone~!"

Glaring at the Jackalkin, Leone looked away, towards me.

"Kat, what do you think?"

Lifting the teapot off of the stove, I moved towards the table, glancing between them.

Sighing, I poured each of them a cup before saying "While I pity the innocents who lost their lives, I am much more worried about what is capable of opening and almost controlling those Gates. I mean, from where they've been confirmed, those aren't random spots. Each one targeted something critical to Tragon.

The largest producer of grain in Venetia City, the second largest Military Academy in Fort Uxan, Fort Olivat between Tragon and Romagi, and lastly Iltaxia Village, which produces some of the strongest warriors for Tragon. Each confirmed location is something that Tragon cannot afford to lose, and yet each of them has been destroyed.

Whatever is doing this is smart, and I'm more concerned on what is capable of this. If it's a monster, then how did it grow so clever and learn so much about the outside world? And if its someone controlling these Gates, who managed to learn how to summon them? What's their end goal?"

Jahi nodded, her face serious as she said "I don't know which is scarier, honestly. If this is a monster, then that means the inhabitants inside the Labyrinthian are growing far faster then we could have ever anticipated. But if its a person? What level of power do they have to hold to be capable of working alongside the Labyrinthian?"

Anput was silent, her features just as serious as she nodded, staring back down at the paper.

A somber atmosphere descended around us, and I sighed as I spoke softly, grabbing everyones attention.

"We can't do anything ourselves about this, but we can improve ourselves. So, I would like to return to studying the History textbooks, prepare to take the finals, then start taking on more requests down in Zhu'Rong Caverns to hone our skills and get some more money.

This first year at the Academy is... honestly a little wasted on us, so we need to start doing something worth our time. If it's a monster or a mortal, either way we need to prepare ourselves for a fight, since this will likely lead to conflict with the Western Kingdoms and whoever or whatever is controlling those Gates."

The other three nodded, and Jahi took over, saying "So, we'll start studying a bit more and get out of all three classes. With the free time, we can go into Zhu'Rong daily and hone both our physical and magical skills, while also continuing to learn more about the Labyrinthian; Second Years at the Academy have access to most of the Library, and when we 'graduate' early we are considered Second Years. We should also take a trip up to the Palace to take a peek at the Royal Library as well."

Leone smiled at that, her crimson eyes alight with joy as she added "Mother would be happy to help, and Mom wouldn't mind letting us in! Besides, I'm sure we can learn a thing or two from each of my Aunts as well, maybe even my older siblings!"

Anput smirked at that, her face already looking exhausted as she murmured "All hundred of them~?"

Glaring at Anput, Leone started quibbling with the Jackalkin, who grinned as she snapped back, their 'argument' making Jahi roll her eyes in amusement, before the Demoness watched me prepare our dinner.

With that, our house turned noisy, but the warmth that filled the air was worth the noise, and later that night it grew noisy for a different reason.