"It's beautiful," said Circe as she lovingly held the handle of the silver whip, her delicate hand stroking the rune etchings as a lovely smile bloomed on her face. Everyone in the family knew that Circe had always wanted her own personal weapon and the fact that she was a weapon enthusiast further heightened her desires and now she had gotten her wish fulfilled albeit with a newly born growth-type weapon.

"the artifact was recently created and hence it hasn't awakened its ego yet so you must work hard to become stronger because the stronger you get, the stronger the artifact becomes, and when you reach the necessary level of strength required by the artifact it will awaken its ego."

"Yes dad!" said Circe as she sent mana into the whip causing it to return to being a bracelet which Julian explained was its neutral form when not activated.

"Now Cerb don't go thinking that I've forgotten about you"

Julian turned towards Cerberus and handed him the black backpack.

"This is a backpack I had made just for you by the best warlocks, tailors, and rune engravers. It is a magical storage device that contains six rooms essentially a bedroom, living room, a laboratory, a library, and two extra rooms for you to do with as you please. It's basically a portable house. I have also left some surprises for you inside which I think you might like and even though this backpack isn't a growth type artifact like your sister's, I had it made in such a way that the space inside can expand to three times its original size which should be able to fit what you need inside. it can also be used to store both living creatures and non-living creatures. Lastly, the backpack is made from materials of mythical beasts and hence is both extremely sturdy and durable and also has the ability to repair itself if it is

ever torn"

Cerberus looked at the black backpack on which the runes etched on it glowed brightly before disappearing leaving the surface to look just like any other backpack. Cerberus slung the backpack over his shoulders and he felt the backpack contract to fit his shoulder height making him feel extremely comfortable.

"So, do you like it?" asked Julian hesitantly. He knew how hard it was to please Cerberus and hence the reason why he had gone all out with this gift. Granted it wasn't a growth-type artifact but nevertheless, it was a high-tier item and so he was hoping that Cerberus, the man who was hard to please, would show any reaction to his gift.

Cerberus understood his father's intention and even though he knew his own personality, he decided to show some appreciation because judging by the numerous features of the item it must have been expensive to make.

"It is a nice gift, thank you"

He showed a small smile as he said so making his father extremely happy. Phoebe and Circe also looked at Julian with a small smile that remained unnoticed to Julian as he was too happy at the moment. Both women knew that Cerberus was simply showing a fake smile to please Julian but the fact that he went through the trouble meant that he liked the gift. To what extent they didn't know but the fact that he tried to show some emotion made them both happy. They knew it would take a long time to break through his cold exterior but the Blackwood family was a patient family.

Cerberus was certainly a lucky man to have such an understanding family. Whether or not he knew this was an entirely different matter.

"Anyway enough about that. Let's get going!" said Phoebe as she urged Cerberus and Circe outside the house. Julian was supposed to attend an important event at his workplace and hence couldn't go along with them which was why only Cerberus' mother was escorting them to the pickup point.

The trio arrived at a black SUV parked a few feet away and after placing their luggage in the trunk, they set off towards Richmond. Normally the trip to Richmond from Chiswick would take around 15 minutes but due to the morning traffic, it took 30 minutes instead leaving them with only 15 minutes to get to the Academy's designated pick-up point. Luckily it took only a few minutes after parking the car for them to arrive at the pick-up point which was located in a cathedral on one of the streets. It was easier to have the pick-up point at the cathedral because it was much easier to conduct a mass gathering of people in a religious site than on any other place which was why even with numerous cars parked outside the Nadxi cathedral and lots of people walking into the cathedral, nobody batted an eye.

They simply assumed that a congregation was going on among fellow believers.

The cathedral was also barred off from the public by large fences and a single gate which was layered with aversion magic that prevented non-supernaturals from entering. Hence whenever a normal person wanted to enter through the gates, they would suddenly feel the urge to do something else. There were only extremely rare cases in which someone managed to bypass both the fence and the aversion magic but they were usually caught by the detection traps laid all over the place which would alert the Warlock forces of high authority who would send someone to wipe away the memory of the trespasser.

Phoebe had parked their car in a large parking lot within the cathedral premises earlier on and now was currently escorting her children into the cathedral.

Inside the cathedral were numerous families and their children, some of whom were dressed in black clothes which were the standard uniform for Abyss academy indicating that they were also students there. Probably second-year students and above. The male uniforms consisted of a white shirt, black pants, and a black jacket while the female student uniform consisted of something similar except instead of pants, they wore long skirts that fluttered just a few inches past the knees. The shirts and jackets had the logo of the academy on the left chest area which was the picture of a large black dragon that looked extremely menacing and deadly. The dragon logo was derived from the image of the dragon of the Abyss. An extremely powerful dragon that roams the deepest and darkest voids between the realms that even the gods do not dare to visit. Legend says that the dragon is so large that a single movement of its body could shatter a realm which is also why it lives in the void instead.

"Looks like everyone is here"

A woman appeared out of thin air with a small flash of blue light in Infront of the gathered people in the cathedral. The woman looked to be at most 40 years old with long dark brown hair and stone gray eyes that seemed to be able to peer into a person's very soul. She was dressed in the faculty version of the uniforms which was a white shirt and a black jacket but instead of a skirt like the students, she wore a pair of black skin-tight pants that sinuated her slim legs. All in all, she was a beautiful woman for her age, at least that's what some of the fathers in the room thought as they couldn't seem to take their eyes off her, especially her slim enchanting legs.

The woman frowned at the perverted gazes as she shifted uncomfortably although that did nothing to hide her figure. Realizing that she couldn't hide her figure, she decided to simply ignore it as she faced the gathered teenagers and parents.

"Ehm!….. For the new students and parents who do not know me, my name is Sharla. I am a professor at the academy."