- Hours Before The Inquest -

"An Exalocross? Your inquest subject is another monster?"

Victor was using [Mage Hand] to return the books they didn't use on the shelves of the Campus Library while Emerys and Lilac are poring over several tomes and scrolls at a nearby table. The flamboyant man had the Librarian class before he became an Archivist, so he had the [Private Conversation] skill. It allowed the three to converse without disturbing other people near them.

"Yes, Victor. And no, the director withheld the Seeker's Report this time. She said that the report may be erroneous." Emerys replied. "I don't know what the hell's anomalous on this one."

Emerys knew his abilities made him a better Seeker than an Archivist. A close-range fighter rather than mage and scholar. Since he was nine, his mother trained him to become a Psion: a bruiser that can create items from their imagination. Emerys had little talent in it, but she pushed him so hard during those five years that he gained four psi items, two of which are enchanted.

Unfortunately, his training did absolutely nothing when the Silverfire Roc torched their home. That was the second time an anomaly demolished his family. It was also when Emerys realized that martial prowess was not the path he should pursue. Especially if he wanted to seek out his anomalous father.

"Emerys, focus. Stop spacing out." Lilac used her [Scrivener] skill to copy relevant passages from a scroll and into Emerys' notebook. "I found something."

Victor went towards their table, curious about what they've dug up.

"These Exalocrosses, Exalocrossi, whatever.. are literal rips in space. It makes sense that the Director chose Kingsgrove, the resident spatial expert, to do the inquest." Lilac finished writing and flipped the notebook for Victor and Emerys to see. "Exalocross's twin tentacles are photosensitive, so the containment room would be really bright. The creature itself can be killed by piercing its central eye."

"Piercing, you say?" Victor smiled. "Sir Pierce won't have any problems with that."

"I also found evidence of higher level Exas casting [Fireballs] and [Lightning Bolts], all emitting from its eye," Lilac said. "If you're gonna hit it with an abjuration, targeting the limbs and tentacles won't work."

"It can't be that easy..." Emerys looked at the pile of tomes that he and Lilac went through. "You mean I can use my chains to subdue it, counter its spells and threaten its eye, then just poke it with a wand?"

"Don't look a gift griffin in the beak, boy" Lilac said as she rolled up one of the open scrolls. "Now, can you two help me clean this up? I need to find more information about the roaming divinity..."

- Minutes After The Inquest -

"Tell me what happened."

Director Selena had a hard look on her face as Emerys and the Sergeant entered the office. The room had very little decor, but it had one thing that no other room on the whole campus has: a glass ceiling. The moon shone through the circular opening, illuminating the room along with two magical braziers. The stone floor was bare, and the walls are lined with shelves of books, various items, and scroll cases. Selena sat behind a large heavy table, holding an obviously enchanted staff across her lap.

"The inquest was successful, Director." The Sergeant replied. "The Exalocross has been confirmed as an anomaly. It was only Level 6, with [Rift Survivor], [Massive], [Extra Limb], [Bloodhound], [Ray of Disintegration] and [Seeking Shot.]"

One ability per level, none of which explained why it lacked the natural weakness of Exalocrosses.

"I see. And Senior Archivist Kingsgrove?" Both the Sergeant and Director Selena looked pointedly at Emerys.

"I... I thought..." Emerys started stammering a response when the Sergeant cut him off.

"Assistant Archivist Emerys [Counterspelled] Kingsgrove's [Confounding Teleport], Ma'am."

"No! I-I didn't! I was behind the Seeker with a tower shield, so I was not able to aim correctly... Please, Director, believe me, I tried to negate the beams from the monster."

"[Ray of Disintegration] isn't a spell, Archivist." The Sergeant responded. "The Exalocross doesn't even have a [Mana Pool.]"

Director Selena closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, before looking at Emerys. "Let me get this straight. You aimed a [Counterspell] at the Exalocross because you thought the rays were a spell? How many of its abilities have already been identified at that point?"

"Four, Director." The Sergeant said. "I have to mention, ma'am, that we were also under the [Formation Anchor] command. He should have known exactly where SA Kingsgrove was."

The [Formation Anchor] ability was a command ability. It gave everyone under the user's command supernatural sense of position. Coupled with the [Warbanner] passive ability of the Standard-bearer, the anchor command was shared to all allies within a hundred meters. It was needed since the Archivists was not under any officer of the Athenaeum Seekers.

Selena noticed that Emerys was visibly shaking and that the Sergeant's interruptions are not helping the boy compose his thoughts. "Calm down, Mister Mitchell."

Emerys looked at her and began to organize the thoughts in his head. After a minute, the Sergeant started tapping his foot. Selena's staff winked out of existence as they waited. She was about to say something when the assistant Archivist spoke up.

"Ok. Here's what happened, Director." Emerys started. "After the fourth skill was identified, the monster started to fight defensively. The Seekers pushed it harder until Sir Kingsgrove saw an opening, which he took."

"[Confounding Teleport.]" Selena replied. Instead of the more common [Teleport] ability, which just transports the caster to a distant location, [Confounding Teleport] allows multiple teleports as long as the source and destination are within shorter range.

"Yes, ma'am. He teleported in close range, within wand's reach of the monster." Emerys continued. "But somehow, the Exalocross predicted where Sir Kingsgrove would appear."

"The monster is a living rift, Archivist. It won't be a large leap in logic for it to have a natural way to sense spatial magic. Continue."

"Sorry Director, I didn't make the connection. It wasn't on any of the material I found, and this is the first time I encountered-"

"Stop. Emerys, what happened after."

The assistant associate took a deep breath to compose himself. "The Exalocross fired multiple beams of red light. We now know that those are [Rays of Disintigration], augmented by another skill, [Seeking Shot.]"

"You are behind the Standard-bearer at this time?"

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"Yes, Director. But the way the beams fired, from the spheres curving towards a single point, I knew the monster's target." Emerys used the long sleeve of his lab coat to wipe his forehead before continuing. "My [Trigger] ability kicked in."

The Sergeant looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "What's the [Trigger] and effect, Archivist?"

"When I see a hostile spell coming towards me or Sir Kingsgrove, use 3 Mana to [Counterspell] it," Emerys replied. "Unfortunately, I didn't know that the beams weren't a spell. My ability went through the [Rays of Disintegration] and hit Sir Kingsgrove. It negated his teleportation spell."

Selena closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose again. "Of course it would. You poured an entire day's worth of mana into your abjuration spell. Did you have any mana left, after the trigger?"

"I had 4 mana left ma'am."

"And then? Was that when Pierce disappeared?" Director Selena continued. "Do you have any guesses regarding what happened? How about you, Sergeant?"

"...Sir Kingsgrove was disintegrated, Ma'am. I'm really sorry-"

"No he was not, Emerys," Selena said sharply. "If he was, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Director, I believe SA Kingsgrove had an ability that works just like the kid- err, I mean Assitant Archvist's [Reactive Armor]. But instead of protection, it would be teleportation."

"Good guess, Seeker. Excellent work, you are dismissed. Tend to your team, I may need your assistance shortly." And with that, the Sergeant turned around and exited the room. "Emerys. Let this experience be a warning. The [Trigger] ability is not foolproof: it relies on your understanding of reality."

"Tell me, what do you think would happen if I used my [Trigger] and said 'When I hear a lie, use [Light] on my staff.'?" The director said as her office door closed. "Have I created a truth spell?"

Even during his time at the Academy, Emerys have always thought of using his abilities during a combat situation. Since he was a boy, he was trained to find and subdue a target while defending himself, so the shift in perspective was new to him. It didn't help that he was still reeling from the revelation that Kingsgrove was safe. "I.. I don't know, Director. I haven't tried."

"The [Trigger] would work, in the sense that it would accept the parameters and burn the Mana to be used by the [Light] spell. However, it will only trigger if and only when I believe I heard a lie." Selena said. "The ability itself is not able to discern truth, so it would rely on me."

"You are dismissed, Assistant Archivist Mitchell." Selena sighed as she motioned for Emerys to go.

"Pardon, Director. But where is Sir Kingsgrove now?" Emerys said. "And... do I have a new assignment?"

"I believe what Pierce used is called [Word of Recall]. It's not a triggered ability, it's just really fast to use." Selena stood from her chair behind the desk and walked towards one of her shelves. "Unfortunately, the downside of that ability is that the destination cannot be changed after it has been set."

"Senior Archivist Kingsgrove is probably at his estates at Heavensfall City, setting up a long range teleportation circle." The director continued. She then touched one of the orbs at her shelf, which glowed and revealed a picture of a large house. Unfortunately, Emerys was too far to see details. "He'd probably be here in a couple of days, considering he burned quite a lot of mana on the inquest."

"You are reassigned under Archivist Lilac Reseigh until Pierce gets back to the Third Campus."

- The Next Morning -

Mages needed calories to replenish their mana pools, so the first and third levels of the three-tiered cafeteria were almost always full. Emerys walked with a tray of auroch ribs, some bread and a glass of water. He immediately spotted Victor, one of the few people who didn't wear a white coat, so he went over and sat across the table from him.

"I heard from the grapevine that your inquest was successful," Victor said, not even looking up from his breakfast. He's eating chopped up squids in brown sauce. "Also, you killed Kingsgrove?"

"I didn't. He used a skill that teleported him all the way to Heavensfall." Emerys started eating his auroch ribs. "Also, I'm assigned under Lilac now, same as you."

"Really? I guess granny lily can use another helper."

"What are you guys working on?"

"[Private Conversation.] We're doing an experiment with #3102 later today. Griffon-class, code-named 'Redvers', which is cheeky since that's his actual name."

"A sentient anomaly? What's unnatural with it?"

"Him. He's a male Druid of Fire, except the divinity withdrew his blessing while he's transformed. So he's stuck as a Warhorse made out of elemental fire."

Lilac sat at the table and tapped Victor on the shoulder. He extended his skill so that it included Lilac in the conversation.

"I got the transfer slip with the inquest report, Emerys. Welcome to the team." Lilac said. She was having a light breakfast with just greens since she's not a mage. She doesn't have a mana pool to fill up. "Did Victor tell you about what we're doing?"

"Kind of. Any preliminary research?"

"Forester 2, Berserker Level 7. He also had Druid of Flame 8 before the blessing was rescinded." Victor replied. "Easiest inquest I've done since Redvers is willing to help. Really rude, but cooperating."

"Wait a minute. The deity of Life and Freedom was killed last month. It was a big deal- I remember hearing about it while we were training at the First Campus." Emerys stops eating and looks at his gay colleague. "When was the blessing rescinded?"

"Seven days ago. A Seeker got to Redvers the same night." Victor said. "According to him, he was hunting a panther at Calgough Timberland when he felt the blessing leave him. He used [Elemental Shift] as an attempt to hold on to his Druid class, but it didn't work."

"So now he's stuck as a Fire Warhorse, with no way to shift back to human," Emerys replied. "Any other druid got their classes removed?"

"We haven't heard of any other cases," Lilac said. "Prepare for an interview with #3102 later today. Unless someone he knew personally just ascended to become a Deity, we don't know how his blessing was taken. I have to meet with another team this morning so I might be a bit late. Don't start without me."

"Yes, Archivist." Both mages replied immediately before they continued to scarf down their big breakfasts.

"Now, to more important matters." The three felt Victor's skill fall away. "I heard that Seeker General Lancelyn is on her way here, at the Third Campus! The rumor mill is buzzing with speculation..."

The warhorse was made of liquid fire. The head was bright yellow, with a mane of flames running across its back. It had an orange body, going darker as you go down. Its lower extremities looked like obsidian, cooled lava, with grey smoke emitting from the hooves. And, being a warhorse, it was about twice the height of Victor, the tallest of the three Archivists in the room.

Emerys looked around the stone containment room. It had amenities for a horse: fresh grain, water, and flameproofed bedding. He thought of how a flaming horse can eat grain for a few seconds before giving up and looking at his two colleagues. It seems that they are ready to start the experiment.

"Hey there, Redvers. I'm back with Archivist Lilac. This is Assistant Archivist Emerys, he will be joining us today." Victor said. Lilac was using her [Scrivener] skill to quickly describe the scene and write the dialog to her notebook. "Are the accommodations to your liking?"

"Fuck no." Hearing the Redver's deep bass voice was unnerving. The horse's mouth didn't move, but the communication was not telepathic. The sound just resonates from the horse's flaming head. "You learned how to reverse this yet?"

"We're working on it," Victor replied. "We're gonna do some tests that might help."

Dark red sparks ran through Redvers' mane and both Victor and Emerys took an involuntary step back. Crimson electricity is distinctive of a person accessing their [Rage Pool], and Emerys have seen a Berserker take on five City Guards alone and win.

"Enough tests." The warhorse stomped one of its hooves on the stone floor and it sounded like a thunderclap. Wisps of fire started flowing from Redvers' mane as he repositioned to face Victor head on. "Get me out of here, I'll find a way myself."

"We can't do that," Victor said calmly, stepping in front of Lilac. "Calm down, Redvers. We're trying to help you."

More red lightning gathered around the flaming warhorse. However, Emerys knew that as long as the rage hasn't made its way to Berserker's eyes, it can still be reasoned with. It appeared that Victor knew this as well, which was why he was still trying to get Redvers to calm down. When the Berserker literally starts seeing red, then they won't be able to stop raging until their [Rage Pool] is completely drained.

"I thought he was cooperating?" Emerys whispered to Lilac as a chain dropped at his hands, ready to throw at the huge horse. "I can bind him. We can run out and get a Seeker afterward."

"No need to subdue him," Lilac said, loud enough for Redvers to hear, as she finally stopped scribbling at her notes. "You don't want to do that, Thirty-one Zero-two."

"...ThAt'S NoT My NaMe..."

However, before the sparks went further up the horse's neck and into its face, another thunderclap shook the room, this time coming from Lilac. Crimson lightning, thicker and brighter than what Redvers had, blossomed from the old Archivist's hands and straight to her eyes. When Emerys and Victor realized what was happening, they both immediately dived away.

That was until Lilac spoke.

"The difference between a Berserker like you, and Zealot of Knowledge like me, is that my faith allows me to control my [Rage]." Redvers took a step back as his anger quickly became fear. He knew how much power one can pull from the [Rage Pool], especially if you are willing to pay the price of uncontrollable fury. It seems that the grey-haired, soft-spoken lady had an ability that lets her maintain control while enraged. "If I see a lick of rage coming from you, Thirty-one Zero-two, I'm going to tear one of your legs and beat you with your own hooves, understand? Emerys, Victor, begin the experiment."

"At once, Archivist..."