“As much as a lot of mages might look at these kinds of things as curiosities, they all hold secrets of unimaginable power. Look at the Gift, Adion has,” Professor Haul said as he gestured to Adion.

Why does he always feel the need to point me out? Adion thought to himself with a grumpy expression.

I’m not even actually Gifted.

“Look at the Words of Truth of the faelin,” Professor Haul continued, “We have yet to go through it in any great detail, but trust me when I say that Words of Truth does not lose out in terms of power compared to Gifts. In my eyes, they are often even more incredible.

“But we are not faelin, and most of us are not Giften, so those powers seem beyond us. Well, I refuse to accept that. The world can’t possibly be so boring. With enough knowledge and power, these things should be within anyone’s grasp.

“Those things actually appear very easily accomplished in my eyes. At least when you compare it to the power of Oaths. Gifts and Words of Truth can be somewhat explained and understood. But what sort of magic compels Oaths to be kept? And what tremendous power does it take to deliver the punishment of a broken Oath? This is not a power any living being has. If someone were to grasp a similar power, I’m sure they would become the most powerful mage in the world.”

Professor Haul looked out at the classroom and spotted a student with her hand raised. “Yes?” Professor Haul urged the student to ask her question.

“What exactly happens when an Oath sworn in front of a Moonlight Oak is broken?” The student asked Professor Haul.

“When an Oath is broken…” Professor Haul repeated to himself. He then looked out to the class and beat his cane against his limp leg. “There are consequences.”

He got that injury from a broken Oath?

Adion and Sell sitting next to each other as usual and were paying rapt attention. Out of all Adion’s classes, ‘Inexplicable Magic’ was probably his favorite. The class was nearing its end, but Professor Haul had been seemingly led off-topic by a student’s question and revealed some interesting information.

“That’s right,” Professor Haul nodded solemnly, “I have broken an Oath, and this is my punishment. This is perhaps the greatest reason for my interest in the sort of magic we discuss in this class.”

“Can’t you heal the injury with healing pills?” The same student asked carefully.

“No,” Professor Haul shook his head, “It just gives a temporary relief. But this is far from the worst effects breaking an Oath can have. In many ways, I got away lucky.

“Since we are on the topic, we might as well dig into it a bit. As you all know, taking an Oath is no light matter. Even if you are not in the presence of a Moonlight Oak, few would dare swear an Oath lightly.

“Does anyone know what kind of magic is used when taking an Oath?”

The class was silent at Professor Haul’s question.

“You there, Kivron” Professor Haul pointed out an elven boy in the front row, “What do you think? Is it some kind of mysterious mana? Is it a concept? Is it the Will of the world making sure people keep their words?”

“Er,” Kivron hesitated, “I’m not sure.”

“No one is,” Professor Haul scoffed, “I asked you what you think.”

“I would probably say…that it’s some form of mana, perhaps with a lot of mysterious concepts imbued,” Kivron answered.

“Could be,” Professor Haul slowly nodded, “Does anyone here have a different opinion?”

“I think it’s the Will of the world,” Hefrem, a fourth-year student whom Adion recognized from the Scrolls, said. “Nothing else could be responsible for such a mysterious and all-mighty effect.”

“Nothing else?” Professor Haul questioned, “Not even gods? Not even the Phoenix?”

“I don’t think so,” Hefrem answered.

“Well, I won’t say anything, as I don’t know the answer,” Professor Haul said, “What I do know is that an Oath operates in a way that is beyond our current understanding. It has gotten the name ‘Oath-magic’ in academia. Pretty on the nose, but it is a suitable name.

“This Oath-magic works in a way that is almost undetectable. I say ‘almost’ because everyone who has taken an Oath can feel something at work. It is just far too mysterious and subtle for anyone to grasp exactly what is happening, though. And is is a difficult feeling to put into words. I can only say that it is a vague feeling of an incomprehensible power at work.

“When I broke my Oath, that same feeling manifested itself again, but at that time, it was a lot more horrifying. The power didn’t feel vast, but it felt unstoppable. It was as if it was just a light breeze, but even so, even if all the most powerful mages during the Age of Wonder worked against it, it wouldn’t matter.

“Why do some who break Oaths live and others die? Why do the punishments vary so? We can only speculate. But many believe that it depends on the Oath and how severe the crime is. Perhaps even intent plays a part.

“As of yet, we have no idea how to fight this. My injuries look no different from an ordinary wound that a mage might suffer in battle, but due to the influence of this Oath-magic, it cannot be healed.”

Professor Haul looked at the students for a while before announcing, “This will make a great assignment, come to think of it. I want you to write a short paper with a theory on Oath-magic. What is it? How does it work? How can we begin to understand it? Use your imagination. I hope you won’t bore me.”

With those words, the class ended, and the students were dismissed.

“What do you think about this Oath-magic?” Sell asked as they stepped outside the classroom.

Adion had given the matter some thought, and as he listened to Professor Haul talk about it, he thought he had a theory he could write about for his assignment.

“I feel like it’s a special kind of magic, like Words of Truth, a deep concept that someone incredibly powerful has manifested in the world,” Adion said.

“That’s an interesting theory. If that’s the case, it must be one of the most powerful or perhaps deepest concepts to have ever existed,” Sell said.

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“Yeah,” Adion said, “It hurts my head just to think about somehow grasping a concept with that ability.”

“Well, we have plenty of time to think about it. Maybe we can come up with something similar,” Sell said with a smile.

Since Sell has already managed to grasp her own Words of Truth, she might be able to take it further than anyone else.

Adion couldn’t help but feel slightly vexed.

I should work hard so I can grasp Words of Truth of my own.

“I never knew Professor Haul received his injuries from breaking an Oath,” Sell mused, “But I guess it makes sense. Otherwise, he would surely have found a way to heal by now.”

“What kind of Oath do you think he broke?” Adion asked.

“I have no idea,” Sell said, “It could be anything. I’m more curious why he risked his life to break it.”

“It can’t have been an easy decision,” Adion said.

“You haven’t sworn an Oath, right?” Sell asked worriedly.

“Of course not,” Adion said.

Have I?

“You’re not sure!?” Sell yelled out in shock.

“I’m sure, I’m sure,” Adion said, “I wouldn’t forget something like that.”

“Good,” Sell nodded, “I haven’t either. And I wasn’t planning on it. But discussing it in class, I’m more sure than ever that it’s a bad idea.”

Yeah. Unless it’s something I’m incredibly certain of, I won’t swear an Oath on anything. I don’t want to leave my life in the hands of some mysterious power.

Sell and Adion had lunch together before they headed to the Old Academy where they had the Headmaster would hold the next class.

“By the way, haven’t Professor Haul ever asked you about your Gift?” Sell asked as they were walking together.

“Not yet,” Adion said, “Hopefully, he doesn’t plan on it. But if it’s just a few questions, I’m sure I can bluff my way through it. Now that I’m the Headmaster’s disciple, I doubt that any professor would be bold enough to suggest any deeper cooperation. Maybe Elder Kilth would have approached me if not for our disagreement.”

“That’s a relief,” Sell said, “It might be hard to fake your Gift if it came under scrutiny for a long time. I’m not sure if there is a way to determine whether something is a Gift or not.”

“I’m not sure either,” Adion said, “Maybe I should ask the Headmaster about it. It would be good to be prepared in case someone questioned me about it.”

It didn’t take long before they arrived in the North Wing of the Tower of Cyalis, where their class would be held. As they arrived in the classroom, Adion spotted Felicia and Relmon sitting next to each other.

“Adion,” Relmon greeted Adion in a grumpy tone.

“What’s the matter with you?” Adion asked as he and Sell sat down.

“I just told him about the legendary upcoming auction at the Appos Auction House,” Felicia revealed with a smile, “Thank you again for the invitation, Adion.”

“Oh, right,” Adion nodded. He turned to look at Relmon, “You want to come too?”

“I can come?” Relmon asked, surprised.

“If you don’t act all grumpy, sure,” Adion said.

“Haha,” Relmon happily laughed, “I’ll make sure I’m the life of the party. Thanks, Adion.”

“No worries,” Adion smiled.

“How did you manage to get a booth at the auction? Did the Headmaster set you up?” Relmon asked Adion curiously.

“My grandfather has some friendship with the Appos family, so he managed to secure a booth for us,” Adion said.

“I’ll make sure to thank him properly then,” Relmon said with a smile.

“Sell, did you-” Felicia leaned over to ask Sell something, but stopped herself as the aura of a Pure Soul mage took over the classroom, arriving as a wave that made every student aware of who was coming.

Does he have to do this every time? The aura of a Pure Soul mage is really uncomfortable when they want it to be.

The Headmaster soon walked into the classroom, scanning the students of the diamond class with a light smile.

Every single student rose to their feet and bowed.

“Hehe, you’re getting used to it. That’s good,” The Headmaster said with a chuckle. “It’s not proven, but just like the body and Will needs tempering to grow strong, I believe aura can also use some roughing up once in a while.”

Is that true? Although it somewhat makes sense, I still feel like the Headmaster just likes messing with students.

“Anyway, for today’s class, I hope you have been preparing yourselves. For the past two weeks, we have been looking into lies. How to hide them in your own aura and how to uncover them in someone else’s,” The Headmaster continued as he looked out over the students.

“If you haven’t prepared, then I’m afraid you will embarrass yourself today. But for the top performers, I won’t be stingy.”

The Headmaster paused for a moment and then sighed, “I flaunt a little of my aura, and everyone becomes too scared to ask questions. Very well, I will simply explain. We are going to hold a small competition. Every one of you will take turns joining me up here and lie to your classmates.

“Don’t worry, though. You won’t have to lie about personal matters and end up revealing things you shouldn’t.”

The Headmaster pulled a gold coin from his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. “You will lie about the result of a coin flip. Easy enough, right? You won’t get to choose when to lie or tell the truth, though; that would invite other aspects to come into play. You will receive a list when you come up. That list will tell you when you need to lie and when you need to tell the truth.

“You. Norfen,” The Headmaster pointed to a student in the front row, “You will go first. Get up here.”

Norfen hesitated for a second before approaching the Headmaster with uncertain steps. The Headmaster grabbed his shoulder and turned him to face the class. The Headmaster gave him the gold coin and the list of instructions on when to lie and when to tell the truth.

“Your classmates will come up one by one, flip the coin, and hide the result from them. Then, if the list says to lie, you lie. If the list says to tell the truth, you tell the truth.

“I’m aware that there is an unfairness at play since it is quite easy to simply guess the correct answer without actually seeing through Norfen’s aura. To combat this, there will be a punishment for guessing wrong.”

The Headmaster turned to look out over the class and continued, “If you give the wrong answer as to whether Norfen has lied or told the truth, you will lose ten points. If you decline to guess, you only lose one. If you guess correctly, you gain one.

“Norfen, you will lose one point every time someone guesses correctly and gain one point every time they guess wrong or if they decline to guess. This will continue until everyone has had a go. At the end of the class, the more points you have, the more credits you will receive as a reward. I promise I won’t be stingy, so make sure to give it your best effort.”

Adion turned to look at Sell and they both smiled at each other. This was a competition that suited both of them very well. Even if Adion hadn’t focused as much on hiding lies as he had on hiding his element and strength, he would be extremely shocked if anyone could see through him.

It’s not like I’m in a great need of credits, but I sure won’t say no if they come for free.

“Alright,” The Headmaster’s clear voice rang out, “Let’s begin.”