Chapter 21

Finals Week

Darksmith wasn’t like other academies. It didn’t give out degrees or fail you for poor performance. The students enrolled in one-year courses and then used their end of year results to decide if they should take a new course or repeated the same course again the following year. Headmaster Wink insisted they use this method because Darksmith was an academy of learning, an institute where you could expand your mind. It was not an academy where you were trained to perform a task, which was why Darksmith refused to offer credentials.

The real reason he refused to offer credentials was that he was terrified by the idea of hosting a graduation ceremony. Filling Darksmith with the leaders of the north and south would only invite assassination attempts, honour duels, and dark pacts potentially restarting the war. Wink couldn’t cope with that stress, so Darksmith didn’t offer credentials.

However, Wink had learned the hard way that you couldn’t give students nothing to work for and expect them to put in effort which was why Darksmith now published the exam results of the top three students in each class. These resulted went to all corners of Murdell and, with each passing year, these top three positions grew more and more lucrative. The prestige of families would now rise and fall based of these announcements.

With the final exams only two days away, desperate students were willing to do anything to improve their chances of getting a top three spots, even help Gorgath’s campaign for private tutoring.

I watched my eight most promising students hurry out of the Dungeonology Club’s cramped club room, carrying a stack of campaign posters I drawn. They were a Gorgath version of the old Uncle Sam posters, with the words ‘I want you to vote for Gorgath’ on them. I’d laid several minor enchantments over each poster to produce illusions that would draw people’s attention to them which was I needed students to distribute them. Minor enchantments didn’t supply their own mana and it was too much hassle to do so myself.

As the door closed, Arro tucked a wayward strand of blonde hair behind her ear and turned to look out the window. “Is there anything else you can do to help Gorgath’s campaign, Professor?”

Gorgath’s friend Arro was the head of and only human member of Darksmith’s Dungeonology Club. Dungeonology was the study of dungeon ecosystems, and her family was famous for being able to raise or lower the average level of a dungeon’s monsters in less than a year.

The appearance of a dungeon monster who could speak was the opportunity of lifetime for Arro and she was the very first person to introduce herself to Gorgath. The two of them had traded questions twice a day for several weeks, before Gorgath had asked if he was allowed to join the Dungeonology Club. She’d agreed which was how Gorgath ended up being a member of his first club and how the Demonology Club meeting room ended up in the dungeon fortress.

Despite her question, Arro didn’t move from her seat by the window and the smile on her face as she watched the spot outside the fortress wall where Gorgath took his lessons never went away. Arro looked kind of like a cheerleader, blonde hair, blue eyes, large dimples, but she was tougher than the typical students at Darksmith. She had a 1st tier class and had invested evenly between her physical and magical attributes. She was one of the few students who could train in the dungeon alone.

I cleared my throat to draw her attention. “I’ve made posters. I’ve convinced the Undead Enhancement Club to vote for Gorgath and I’m ending my lessons by telling my class to vote for him. I’ve done more than enough to fulfil my end of the agreement.”

Arro continued to stare out the window. “Have you asked Princess Carolyn for her endorsement?”

“She’ll want something in return.”

“What about Celest? Everyone knows you rescued her.”

“I rescued her from Gorgath.”

Arro paused. “Would you be willing to lift the curses you’ve placed on students if that vote for Gorgath?”

“Not particularly. Anyone that is still cursed deserves it.”

She finally turned to me. “Is there anything you can do?”

“That depend if you wish to get political.”

She frowned. “In what way?”

“The south students won’t vote for the north candidates and the north won’t vote for the south candidates. Some of the north students won’t vote for the north candidates, because of family rivalries, but they won’t vote for the south candidates either. The same is true for the south. If you could convince these students that it would be funny to see their nation’s candidates beaten by a dungeon monster, they would vote for Gorgath.”

She scowled, insulted by my suggestion. “If I do that, people will continue to treat Gorgath like an animal, Professor. That will make it even harder for me to convince them that he deserves our respect.”

I leaned back in my chair and folded my arms. “Do you know how to change the thinking of a nation?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just answer the question.”

“No.”

“To change the thinking of a nation, you give one-person enough information for them to change their thinking themselves and then move onto the next person. If you want people to change how they treat Gorgath and show him respect find a person and show them why he deserves this treatment. Let them work it out for themselves, because if they do, you won’t have to ask them to help you convince others he deserves respect, they will come to this conclusion themselves.”

She turned back to the window. “What does that have to do with encouraging people to make fun of him for votes?”

“If you approach people as individuals in the future, encouraging people to make fun of him for votes now won’t make it harder for you to eventually convince them that he deserves their respect.”

“It’s still wrong.”

“Only if you did it behind his back, but if you talk to him about it and he agrees, then it’s a sound campaign decision.”

Her turned back to me as her mouth dropped open. “You want me to tell him?”

“That shouldn’t be shocking to someone who claims that they want people to respect him. Gorgath’s not an animal. He’s an intelligent being. Yes, there are cultural differences, but he can make his own decisions if he’s provided with information. Refusing to give him that information because you think you know better or because of some condescending need to shelter him is not respect. It’s a superiority complex.”

“I don’t think I’m superior to him.”

“Then why are you surprised when I suggest you should talk over a campaign decision with him?”

She didn’t have a response.

“I think I’ve made my point.”

She dropped her gaze. “I’ll talk it over with Gorgath.”

“Do it quickly. You’ve only got two days until everyone votes.”

***

That night, Rupert Keeper of the Eastern Gate wasn’t happy with me. His expression was neutral, but his scent showed his displeasure as he stared at me in the meditation chamber entrance.

I was making another master rank undead skeleton. This was my fifth. The repeated casting of the master rank bonemeal and bone stitch spells had begun to make a significant difference to my creations. My fourth skeleton had attributes that were 25% higher than the first one I made, and the spells were still growing stronger with each casting.

“Why can’t we come to the Abyss with you?” Rupert asked calmly. “You’re taking the necrosaint’s people.”

“Davina’s people are grossly under leveled and receive special consideration because she’s my familiar. Despite your oaths, you still serve the royal family. Taking you into the Abyss to level under the protection of the necrosaint offers me nothing and makes you more dangerous.”

Rupert scowled. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want or need anything from you.”

“The princess is willing to give Angelica a third countess title.”

No matter how many countess titles Angelica acquired, she wouldn’t be able to increase the size of the personal guard she could travel with, which meant I wouldn’t be able to increase the size of my personal guard. However, each territory allowed her to raise a small army for regional protection, so it wasn’t entirely useless.

“It would have to be a neighbouring title.”

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“That shouldn’t be a problem. The princess intends to speak with several minor barons on the matter.”

I turned away from Rupert and waved to Cid and the other alchemists as they came through the side tunnel for their nightly mana refill. They were wearing crimson robes, like my people. They’d convinced their boss to buy them from Gregory because it lowered their downtime.

“Do you people ever sleep?” Cid asked, as he walked past me. “I swear I see you more than my wife.”

“Cultists never sleep, Cid.”

The alchemists chuckled as they continued on their way.

I turned to Rupert. “Your people can come, but you have to follow orders.”

***

The following day, during lunch, Headmaster Wink knocked on my classroom door. I looked up from the practice exams I was critiquing and motioned that I was free to talk. Wink wore a worried expression as he hurried inside and stopped beside my desk.

I immediately noticed that something was off. It had been months since I’d struggled to read someone’s emotional state from their scent alone. Wink’s emotional state was so far outside the norm that I didn’t know what to make of it.

I pushed the practice exams aside. “What can I do for you, Headmaster?”

His hands trembled as he leaned down and gripped the edge of me desk. “How’s the curse situation looking, Vincent? I hope they won’t interfere with exams tomorrow.”

I opened my top draw and place a sheet of paper with students’ names and the curses they’d received on the desk in front of him. “I’m seeing twice as many curses this week as I saw last week, but it’s significantly less than when I arrived. The students and those who supply them with cursed objects seem to have got the message that I won’t show mercy to anyone. I expect the students will be trying to poison each other instead.”

He gave me a slightly unhinged grin. “Poison we can deal with.”

“Then you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“If only that were true.” Wink pulled a flask from his robe and took a swig, dribbling a little down his chin, which he didn’t wipe away. “I’m told you added your occult studies class to the exam.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe. Maybe not. We’ve never included occult studies in the final examine.”

“That’s because you’ve never had anyone qualified to teach this class before. I’ve told my students that if they can achieve 80% or higher on the exam, then they know enough to voice their opinion on any occult subject where they feel confident doing so.”

Wink frowned. “How many do you expect to achieve that score?”

“A tenth of them. My students have been quite diligent.”

“You expect a tenth of them to be competent enough to speak on the occult.”

I nodded. “I’ve taught them how dangerous the occult is and those that have paid attention understand that if they don’t feel entirely confident offering their advice on a subject, they shouldn’t. Do my students know everything about the subject? No. But what they do understand, they understand well enough to be informed and stop others from making dangerous mistakes.”

“That’s good to hear, but it makes what I say next more difficult.” Wink cleared his throat. “I’m afraid, I’m going to have to let you go, Vincent. You’ve done a wonderful job, but you’re only here because of the princess, and I can’t have such an important position empty if Arcadia becomes safe and you suddenly decide to leave. I hope you understand the position I’m in.”

“I do. When will my replacement be here?”

Headmaster Wink turned to the door. “You may come in, Vesh.”

I was on guard the moment Headmaster Wink turned to the door. As far as I could tell, there was no one waiting outside in the hallway. And I hadn’t heard Headmaster Wink speak with anyone before coming here. That mixed with my inability to understand his scent and his bizarre behaviour was cause for concern.

I pushed my chair back and rose, brushing my coat aside so I could access Slaughter. I wasn’t quick enough.

A hollow walked into my classroom and every demonic instinct I possessed told me to destroy it.

My vision blurred as the hollow psychically projected the image of a healthy middle-aged man into my brain and my evil eye skill showed me a lumpy misshapen corpse with a pair of small tentacles protruding from the eye sockets. The two images fought each other for a second, until the evil eye skill won, and the mental projection vanished.

All that was left of the man was skin and hair. A misshapen body suit that the hollow wore to anchor itself to reality and remember what it was pretending to be.

Researching and studying the occult came with many dangers. Hollows were one of the worst and I was well aware that I wasn’t equipped to remove one.

Its psychic attack slammed into my mind and collided with my willpower before I could take a step forward.

“Submit,” the eldritch horror wannabe instructed.

The command smashed through several of my mental barriers and locked my legs.

I released Slaughter and raised my right hand in one smooth blurred motion, not bothering to hide my agility. I snapped my fingers, weaving together a 15th rank master destruction spell.

Necrotic magic that was supposed to consume and disintegrate collided with a telekinetic shield of raw willpower in a cloud of black death, creating a howling vortex around the hollow. The shield stopped my destruction spell from making contact with its flesh but locked the creature in place and redirected it’s focus away from the mental attack to its defence.

Hollows were creatures of destruction from beyond our reality, from beyond heaven and hell. They didn’t understand our reality and couldn’t fully enter, but that never stopped them from causing utter carnage as they moved through the world for reasons only they understood.

The hollow’s tentacle gaze snapped towards me, peering through the destructive energies. Its will was so strong that I could physically feel its gaze probing my body.

“Reveal,” it whispered in my head.

The psychic command slammed through other mental barriers and my fangs descended. My fingernails transformed into claws and my skin took on a corpse like quality.

Headmaster Wink leapt back with surprise. “Vampire!”

I ignored both the headmaster and the mental attack as I made a snatching motion with my hand and cast a 15th rank inverted void barrier around the hollow. A bubble of pure necrotic energy surrounded the hollow, cutting it off world. The master rank spell created a no-go zone. Nothing could pass through, not even an ancient vampire. You need magic to break it.

The psychic attack on my mind ended as every alarm at Darksmith began to sound.

Headmaster Wink shook his head, as he was released from the psychic controls he’d been under. “How did I get here?” He glanced at me. “Why do you look like a corpse, Vincent?”

I took a moment to forcefully retract my fang and reverse the other changes as I held the barrier in place. “You’re under a psychic attacked headmaster.”

“I am?”

My claws began transforming back to fingernails and the black faded from my veins. “Yes. This is a level 4 situation and you’ve been compromised. Would you be so kind as to contact the head of the banishment department and inform her that there is a hollow in my classroom. I’m afraid I don’t have the skills to remove the creature, only contain it.”

Headmaster Wink blinked several times still coming out of a daze and then rubbed his forehead. “What did you say, Vincent?”

“I’ve trapped a hollow inside a void barrier and need the head of the banishment department to remove it for me. This is a level 4 security threat.”

Wink finally got his thoughts together and tapped the medallion around his neck.

His voice filled the academy. “Would the banishment department and anyone familiar with combating a hollow please make their way to the occult studies classroom. Professor Vincent has contained a hollow but is unable to destroy it. This is a level 5 security threat as I am currently compromised.”

The headmaster dropped his hand and leaned against my desk closing his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them again and looked at me. He gave a relieved sigh when he saw that I looked human.

“I was never very good at dealing with psychic attacks,” he said, rubbing his forehead. “Do I need to call professor Burdin?”

Professor Lint, the head of the banishment department, flew through the door like a bullet. “Only if you want this abomination to possess a hundred bodies instead of one,” she shouted at him, while looking down at the void barrier. She turned to me. “How long can you hold the void barrier?”

“Long enough.”

Professor Lint turned to the Wink. “Headmaster, please vacate the classroom and head to the infirmary. I have everything in hand.”

***

Three days later, Dalin guided Headmaster Wink into my classroom while I was marking the final exams. The Headmaster was dressed in a casual robe and wore a set of bracelets that weakened his ability to cast spells. The hollow had been in his head for several hours before he’d come to my classroom, and head of the infirmary and Professor Lint were concerned that it had used that time to reprogram the headmaster into a sleeper agent. He had weeks of recovery ahead of him.

The two of them stopped in front of my desk.

I force down the impulse to disintegrate Wink. My instincts were telling me to use a scorched earth policy for anything related to the hollow. “What can I do for you gentlemen?”

Dalin gave me a grim smile. “The headmaster believes that you’re a vampire, Vincent. This delusion is related to several other delusions that I can’t break, so I would like to prove to headmaster that you’re not a vampire.”

Wink scowled. “I’m not crazy.”

Dalin patted Wink’s shoulder. “I know old friend. Vincent with your permission, I would like to use a holy spell on you.”

I nodded.

The cleric raised his hand and hit me with a master tier holy bolt spell. The light was so bright that it momentarily blinded me. There was no pain. I just couldn’t see.

As the spell faded, Headmaster Wink splashed holy water in my face and held up a holy symbol. “Back demon.”

Neither the holy water nor the symbol reacted to me, but that didn’t put Wink at ease. He began weaving a spell but was slowed by the bracelets. Dalin sensed the attack and cast his own spell first.

The headmaster’s eyes rolled back as he passed out.

Dalin caught him and lowered him to the ground, before turning to me. “Professor Lint said the hollow came here to gain access to the private occult library. Do you know why?”

“With it, it could gain have access to another of its kind.”

As I’d lowered my void barrier, Professor Lint had severed the hollow’s connection to the rest of its body outside our reality. She’d bound what remained here, questioned it, and then banished it back to its reality. She did everything strictly by the book, but she’d uncovered something about hollows that was previously unknown.

Hollows were prisoners and they were kept separate from each other.

The moment the hollow had taken over the Vesh, it had sensed traces of another hollow coming from my private occult library. With those traces, it would have pulled the other hollow into this world. It had been excited for the two of them to slaughter this world together.

Dalin frowned. “Is Darksmith in danger?”

I shrugged. “Professor Lint is tracking down the Vesh’s home and business. She’s bringing back everything that was being studied so I can determine if there is a risk.”

“And if there is?”

“I’ll remove it.”

“Because your children are here?”

“No. Because hollows are a threat to everyone. Both Heaven and Hell will ignore each to destroy hollows if they’re near.”

“I thought hollows were demons.”

“They’re not. But don’t feel bad for thinking that. I thought they were demons too, but a few seconds in its presence disabused me of that notion.”

“Why?”

“Every demonic instinct I have told me the creature was an enemy. For context, I’ve stood in a presence of an angel and my demonic instincts considered it to be less of an enemy than that creature.”

Dalin scowled. “That’s blasphemy.”

“That’s fact.”

“When are you leaving Darksmith?”

“When my daughter wants me too.”

“When do you think that will be?”

“Not for a while.”