I should be able to catch her. Adion thought as he looked out one of the small windows lighting up the spiraling staircase he was currently walking down.
He knew that he had missed his fighting class due to being preoccupied with the Headmaster for a long time, but he hoped he could still manage to meet up with Sell before she left. He was looking forward to sharing the happy news.
Sell is right that my sense of time isn’t very accurate, though. She could have already finished a while ago.
Adion climbed down the stairs with hurried steps. He passed a guard on the way down, who stopped and looked at Adion with a strange look.
Adion nodded in greeting and continued past him.
A door to his left was opened right after passing the guard. Adion turned to look, but the door shut abruptly before he had a chance to catch a glimpse of anyone.
It’s a little unsettling that so many people might suspect some of my abilities. But at least they can’t talk about it.
The Headmaster had explained to Adion that in his moment of anger, he didn’t just freeze the space of the Headmaster’s office. He had managed to freeze the space in a wide area, affecting plenty of people on the lower floors of the tower.
Fortunately, the Headmaster had gone to handle the situation while Adion was passed out. This high in the tower, most people were guards and faculty members who came into contact with many secrets that couldn’t be revealed easily. As such, they had all sworn strict Oaths not to reveal any secrets of Cyalis. With the Headmaster telling them to keep quiet about the incident, Adion wasn’t worried that word would spread from them.
They were not the only people who noticed the disturbance caused by Adion, however. Elder Seron Appos, a Soul mage of the Council, had his office in close proximity to the Headmaster’s. And he had been meeting with a guest at the time of Adion’s outburst. They had both been extremely startled by the experience and headed to the Headmaster’s office to understand what was going on.
They weren’t the only ones, either. There were Soul mages further down in the tower who had sensed something from afar. Even if they weren’t directly affected by Adion’s space, they had sensed something off.
The Headmaster had no choice but to make up an excuse. If he ignored them, they would begin to investigate it by themselves, and perhaps uncover Adion’s secrets.
The Headmaster had opted to make up the existence of an artifact that he had been having trouble with for a long time. He had told the Soul mages that Adion’s Gift was exactly what he thought he might need to activate it, and to his great excitement, Adion succeeded. He had then announced his decision to accept Adion as his disciple, something that would surely spread across the Academy soon.
The Soul mages were all curious about this powerful artifact, but the Headmaster had refused to answer any more questions. Hopefully, their attention would shift from Adion to trying to discover more about the mysterious artifact.
They would probably not suspect me of being the culprit. It is a much more far-fetched possibility. With the Headmaster’s explanation, there is no need to suspect me. Everyone knows that the Academy has several mysterious and powerful artifacts, after all. But no one can believe that a Silver mage has the power to freeze Soul mages.
Adion finally reached the bottom of the tower and rushed outside. He was in a great mood. Even if trouble could always come knocking, he was in a much more secure place than he had been just this morning. His power had soared unexpectedly, doubling the amount of space he could control with his Authority. He had resolved the problem with Elder Kilth and even gained the protection of the Headmaster. Most important of all, he saw a way out for him and Sell. He would have to work hard, though. bringing the Scrolls from 4th to 1st wasn’t going to be easy.
Even if I don’t make it, I don’t feel like the Headmaster will leave me and Sell to fend for ourselves. But there is no doubt that this is the safest route to take. I should work hard so there will be minimal risks.
As Adion got outside the Tower of Cyalis, he got a pleasant surprise.
“Sell!” Adion called out with a smile.
She was sitting under a tree not far from the entrance to the tower. She looked up as Adion called out and hurried to meet him.
“How did it go? What did the Headmaster say?” Sell asked, her voice and eyes filled with worry.
Adion looked into her beautiful red eyes and couldn’t help but smile.
I will have to work hard so that I can stay with her.
“You can’t look at me like that,” Sell said, turning her head away with a deep blush. “What happened in there?”
“It’s all fine,” Adion smiled reassuringly, “Elder Kilth won’t bother me anymore. I somehow ended up becoming the disciple of the Headmaster.”
Sell smiled at the news, not seeming too surprised. “That’s amazing. But…that means he has found out about everything, right?”
“Yeah,” Adion nodded, “He knew a lot, and I decided to tell him the rest. But it would have been impossible to hide it for long even if I didn’t. This way, I’ll at least have the backing of the Headmaster.”
“That’s true,” Sell said, “Can you trust him?”
“Can I?” Adion asked himself, “I suppose he didn’t seem like a bad person. And in the end, do I have a choice? I think I’ll have to trust him. At least as long as he wants something from me, I think I can rest assured.”
“What does he want?” Sell asked.
Stolen story; please report.
“Something very precious that only I can give him,” Adion said with a small smile, “He wants to figure out how to gain Authority for himself.”
“Is that something you can teach?” Sell questioned.
Adion had told Sell about his Authority, but she didn’t know what it really was. As far as she knew, Adion had just gotten lucky and found a treasure that made him capable of controlling fire and space to a certain limit without the Will of the world interfering.
“Let’s walk and talk,” Adion suggested. He always made sure to isolate any sensitive conversation with a film of space, but being so close to a lot of powerful mages, Adion was still a little uneasy.
“Sure,” Sell agreed, “Where do you want to go?”
“Why don’t we head to the fighting pits? Or are you too tired from class?” Adion asked.
“Not at all,” Sell said, seemingly excited for some more training.
Once they had gotten a little further away from the Tower of Cyalis, Adion felt a little more confident in speaking about his secrets.
“So about my Authority…” Adion started, prompting Sell to look up at him. “I have no way to teach it. I just kind of tried to explain it when the Headmaster asked. But I don’t really know much about this power myself, so maybe he hopes to see me come to a realization that could help him.”
“Didn’t you explain that it came from a treasure?” Sell asked.
Should I explain it all? No. We will go on our date soon. I want to give her the pill immediately upon revealing everything.
“I managed to hide that part,” Adion said with a small smile, “I also managed to hide everything about the Celestial Phoenix.”
“That’s…good? But won’t he soon find out about everything? Not even you can hide your lying from the Headmaster,” Sell questioned.
“I wouldn’t lie,” Adion said, “But now that I already have the Headmaster on my side. I can refuse to answer. I don’t think he’ll push too hard.”
“Adion,” Sell said worriedly, “Don’t make an enemy out of him. It’s not worth any secret.”
“I doubt he is that kind of person,” Adion said, “With what I’ve already revealed, he is sure to be content for a long time. I can always just challenge him to figure it out himself. He seems like the kind of person who would enjoy something like that.”
“Just be careful,” Sell warned.
“Don’t worry, I know,” Adion said.
“But this is really great,” Sell smiled, “With you being the Headmaster’s disciple, no one would dare find trouble with you.”
“I know,” Adion smiled, “I also managed to get his help in another matter. How do you feel about joining the Scrolls?”
“The Scrolls? Why? Did the Headmaster demand you join them?” Sell asked.
“He didn’t exactly demand it,” Adion said, shaking his head, “He just laid out a plan where us joining the Scrolls and taking it to the rank 1 spot was the best option.”
“What plan? What are you talking about about?” Sell asked.
“A plan to get away safely to Quemer, all without being intervened with or followed by the Amyss or Hesfym family,” Adion said.
“You…How?” Sell asked hopefully.
Adion went on to explain all the details the Headmaster had told him. Sell listened attentively the whole way through.
“This could work,” Sell said, looking at Adion with a wide smile, “This could actually work! I was always worried about my chances of getting away, but now I feel like there is a lot of hope.”
“Of course, it will work,” Adion said, “And if it doesn’t, we’ll find another way.”
“Yeah,” Sell nodded happily, “I can’t believe the Headmaster agreed to help us out like this.”
“Well, he didn’t immediately agree,” Adion muttered, still a little unhappy at the Headmaster’s previous words. “But I managed to convince him, so it’s fine now.”
“Oh? How did you convince him?” Sell asked.
“I charmed him,” Adion said with a grin.
“You charmed him?” Sell questioned with an amused smile. “Somehow, I found that unlikely. He must have been very reluctant to get involved with another Pure Soul mage.”
“He was easily convinced with the right push,” Adion said, “Anyway, let’s not dig into that. How was class?”
Sell looked at Adion with a pout. But she soon began talking about the class and what Adion had missed during his meeting with the Headmaster.
They eventually reached the arena and rented a private fighting pit to train together in as usual.
Sell began placing out numbered papers around the pit as soon as they entered. They would usually begin their practice with Adion teleporting around and testing Sell’s spatial awareness.
“Hopefully, no Soul mage sneaks up on us today,” Sell said as she placed a paper in one of the corners of the pit.
“If they do, I will be able to tell,” Adion said, “Not even the Headmaster was able to escape my notice after all.”
“That’s true, but they might examine your aura just like the Headmaster if they notice they’ve been caught,” Sell said.
“That is a possibility,” Adion slowly nodded, “If I ever say, ‘The weather is getting more pleasant every day’, it means someone is watching, and you shouldn’t reveal anything.”
“That’s a good idea. Okay,” Sell nodded.
“Right, you never actually said if you agreed to join the Scrolls with me. I know it might cause your sister and family to-” Adion began but was interrupted by Sell’s laughter.
“Of course, I will,” Sell laughed, “Even if Soaring Soals might have been easier if we want to take it to rank 1, the Headmaster is right in that it will be a challenge for me to leave with that House.”
“Good,” Adion said with a pleased smile.
“By the way,” Sell said carefully, “You joining the Scrolls. And this competition. Does that mean…you will come with me? That you will escape to Quemer with me?”
Adion realized that it indeed was a decision he should probably have thought some more about. But somehow, it was just obvious to him that he would go where Sell goes.
I’ll have to talk to my family about this. I also need to think about what to do with Perk and Tib.
But no matter what, I’ll leave with Sell.
Adion looked at Sell’s hesitant expression and smiled. “Well, I’m not exactly known for being able to keep my distance from you.”
Sell smiled brightly and ran up to kiss Adion.
Yeah. No matter what.