Lord Dan called on his mana again, smashing it towards his head in an effort to kill the attack. But...that was not how the viruses worked. The viruses rolled around in the attack, absorbing its mana and releasing it back as wisps. The artifact tried to cope, absorbing even more mana, but it ran out. An apprentice's mana could not sustain this type of combat.

The viruses died en masse as they stopped being fed mana, but not before they shot out one final volley. A volley that the artifact could not block at all. So the artifact went to its emergency command. A two second shut down.

Lord Dan fell to the ground, un-breathing as he abruptly lost consciousness. The Marchioness stood up, flashing towards her son before he could react. A single wave of mana emerged, clearing away any residual wisps that were left.

Nathan looked around, finally paying attention to his audience. The nobles mostly looked confused. But there were quite a few grim expressions. The Marquis. The Second Prince. Lord Johren.

The ones that knew what had happened, either by sensing it, or knowing what happened in mind battles. The rest apparently did not even sense what happened. What were they going to do if a mind mage or Fae attacked them?

"That was...quite a cruel presentation, Apprentice." Lord Johren stated.

"I had to use additional power given the use of an artifact." Nathan said. "I can heal him, if you wish."

The battle was done, but the damage was still there. If Lord Dan woke up with the false memories still in his head, it could have severe consequences.

Lord Johren looked like he wanted to say something rude, but the Marchioness spoke before him.

"Please." she said, stepping away. Nathan called on his barely spent mana, making a new virus. This one was a more careful operation, but it was easy enough to do. The Marchioness had already removed the artifact.

The virus, now powered by Nathan's own mana, invaded Lord Dan's mind, looking for foreign memories. The false memories made by this kind of attack were quite easy to differentiate.

The 'core' of them was a single image, one that had a different 'feel' to it to boot. The safer and more thorough way to do it would be to examine each memory's structure, and remove those that looked unnatural.

This was because some attacks could make images that didn't have the different 'feel'. But this was a more lengthy method. Nathan went for the shorter one, where the virus looked for the 'feel' and destroyed it. An operation made easier by the fact that he knew exactly what to look for.

The entire thing was done in under a minute.

"That should remove any damage done by my attack, but not by any other's." Nathan stated.

"I am aware." the Marchioness replied. "I am familiar with such magic."

Nathan was pretty sure that was a threat, that if he had tried something funny then he would be having a very different conversation. The kind of conversation he would not enjoy.

"That was quite an impressive demonstration and a learning moment for us. The Empire has been far too lax in its preparation against mind magic. How many of us here have been trained in detecting and countering it?" the Second Prince asked.

Nathan blinked. Well, that explained why barely anyone knew what was going on. But ignoring mind magic to this level...perhaps there was a reason the caravan was able to get away with it for as long as they did.

The noble response was frosty. The nobles present did not seem to like the Prince's statements.

"Perhaps it would be best if we ended this competition. There has been enough bloodshed for a celebratory occasion such as this." the Second Prince stated.

"I agree. The competition should end here." Isa said.

The nobles grumbled amongst each other but did not protest. The competition was a bit rude. Lord Johren was supposed to be the main character of the ball, but now...the celebration had been taken over by a bunch of people squabbling. And his brother had gotten injured.

Nathan retreated back to his corner of the ball, and the hushed conversations continued. Isa and Vanessa seemed to have become attractions for conversation, but he was still alone. That was fine with him, the less he had to interact with these people the better. Lady Astoria was another person that was avoided, she seemed to have ruined her social reputation.

"That was an excellent presentation." an unknown voice said. Perhaps he wasn't going to be left alone after all.

"Thank you for your praise." he replied, turning to look at the speaker. A normal looking man, with a normal looking mana presence, and a normal sounding voice. So normal that it made Nathan suspicious.

"Oh, it was merely an observation. That spell was not an easy one at your cultivation level." the man observed. "The mind viruses are famously difficult to control."

Nathan looked at this 'normal' man suspiciously. The mind viruses were a very rare form of mind magic, which was rare to begin with. A person that knew anything about them was sure to not be a normal person. So, the question was, why was he here?

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"Do you need anything?" he asked.

"Yes, in fact." the man said, smiling at him as he removed a single envelope. "This is an invitation to the Countess Guarding Diery to the Borderlands for dinner. Lady Aér would be glad to host her."

The Borderlands. Nathan remembered looking at them on the map. The part of the march and other territories that touched on the mountains. A desolate landscape with few civilizations.

The majority of these territories were uninhabited, many without even nobles for them. The few nobles there tended to live outside their territories, visiting them maybe once in their lifetime. For most parts, it was a forgotten part of the Empire. Lady Aér had to be one of the few nobles that actually spent time in her territory.

"I will convey your invitation to her, but I cannot assure that she will attend. The Countess is a busy woman." he replied. Inviting a guardian of the Empire was a bit presumptuous of a petty noble. Even a Count would have to pay a price to do so, let alone a mere Lady. But perhaps there was a reason for the Countess to go. Nathan would leave it to her to decide.

"Thank you for your help." the man bowed, retreating away as if he was dealing with a higher ranking noble. Nathan looked at him suspiciously. What was up with him? Just what did this man know? And why did this Lady feel confident that the Countess would come?

The ball ended soon enough, not quite regaining its liveliness after the 'competition'. The three of them left the next morning, leaving before the Bern family awoke. Mira said that was fine as far as etiquette went, and probably better given the events of the previous days.

sc

Althea

In the end, she did allow the Viscount to modify her ships. There was too much to gain from doing it. And the Viscount promised that none of his inventions would blow up, spew poison and other dangerous substances randomly, fall apart on top of people, try to sink the ship, drive the crew insane, drive the ship into the open sea or any other similar things.

The Viscount's expression and list of promises did not give her any confidence. Althea was doubting her decision even as the Empress teleported her back to Deadre, wondering how many ships she would lose to the Viscount's madness.

"Althea, do you have a moment?" the Empress asked.

Althea's head shot up, her mind clearing as she replied. "Of course, your majesty."

"What do you know of the Human Cup?" she asked.

The Human Cup...she hadn't heard of it.

"The Human Cup is a competition between nations, and the two continents of the human race." the Empress said, seemingly guessing althea's ignorance.

"I suppose it is an exciting event." she said.

"Of a sorts. The event isn't popularized, largely because of how badly our continent tends to lose, but it is an important event. The only human Grandmaster personally presides over it. The northern continent hasn't gained much in the way of rewards in the previous cups, but I think that can change next year." the Empress said.

Althea had a feeling she knew where the Empress was going with this.

"The cup takes place in three levels. The first is a local level where the Empire's team is chosen. The second is a continental level where the continents team rank themselves, and train. The third is the intercontinental match where we compete against the southern continent. The northern continent hasn't had a team reach the second round yet." the Empress said.

"And you want me to participate?" Althea guessed.

"Yes, but not just you. I want a team from the Diery county to participate. Nathan cannot participate, the competition is only for those fully human. But I do think there is much to gain from doing this. I can give you resources if you wish."

"Why the insistence?" Althea asked. "I would participate either way if resources are at stake."

The Empress looked at her. "I suppose you haven't heard of what happened at the Bern ball. Vanessa utterly destroyed one of the Zerolian heir wannabees. A largely useless one, but it was still a remarkable achievement.

And she hasn't been trained yet. I do not wish to be rude, Althea, but the county does not have what she needs. Vanessa can become much better if she just had guidance. As for Isa...I would suggest asking Verest about her. There is something he wishes to tell you."

Althea considered that information for a moment. The Empress wasn't wrong, the county had about zero trainers, and she had been neglecting the college. Perhaps she should remedy that. As for Verest, did he want to train Isa? That was a good thing. Why was he hesitating?

And not knowing about the ball...that was a mistake. The county was lacking any methods to collect information to. And information would be vital if she wanted to compete with Duke Zerolian.

"I will see what i can do." she replied.

"That is all I ask, and please, don't hesitate to tell me if there is anything you need. The Empire stands to benefit greatly if you even reach the second round. But do not stress yourself too much. That continent has a much greater amount of mana, and a legacy unbroken by the burning. There are even Master stages under twenty among their candidates."

"I see." Althea replied, sitting down in her office as she thought about it. Master stage before twenty. That meant that person had crossed into the Master stage in less than two years if they started at eighteen too.

That was certainly an achievement and perhaps one that she could not replicate. To do that and keep a strong foundation seemed almost impossible. But she had to try. Presuming that Master stages were rare, they needed to be at least a late Journeyman stage in a year to match the normal level of the Southern Continent. That means crossing almost the entire Journeyman stage.

Althea sighed as the door creaked open. This would take a significant amount of planning.

"Steward Ven, have Isa and the rest arrived?" she asked.

"Yes, they arrived a few days ago, your grace." the Steward said. "Nathan left you this invitation from a Lady Aér."

Lady Aér. Althea hadn't heard of her.

"Have you-" she began to ask.

"I do not think that Lady Aér is a lady of the Empire, Countess." the Steward said, his tone carrying more warning than she had heard in it in a long time. Althea looked up, observing his expression.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "Are you aware of her?"

"Not of her particularly, no. But I am aware of the Aér, who I presume she is one of." the Steward said.

"The Aér are one of the more powerful races outside the three great races, Countess. The home of the Aér has not been found, despite many attempts to do so. But it is known that any one of them that leaves their home is at least at the Adept stage.

The species is known for their ability to peer across the present, watching things across continents from the safety of their hidden homes. The Aér are a peaceful race, but not one to be trusted.

This would not be the first time they involved themselves in the affairs of other races, usually to weaken them from within. I would approach this one with caution and a great amount of preparation."

Althea sagged into her chair, looking at the invitation wearily. Why was it that when she dealt with one thing, another came right up?