Azura sighed. It had already been several days since he had started his grand project, and it felt like he had barely progressed at all. Well at least in the main bit. He had made some new gear for everyone with bark from the tree, and the quality was exceptional. He had made a rapier styled blade for him and Elismera, a short sword barely longer than a dagger for Katy, and a spear for Luna. Everyone else was a bit harder, not really using melee weapons. He’d considered making them shields, but knew they’d all complain about having to carry them around. In the end he had settled on vambraces. The defended bit was smaller, but it would help them if they ever found themselves in a melee they couldn’t easily get out of. Besides the wood was extremely mana conductive, so it made casting spells through it easier, and more powerful too.
Now if only he could figure out converting his mana he’d be golden. He was really sick of this lightning coursing through him. Luna had mastered light, and unlike Lily who had been content with just fire and ice, Luna went on to try and learn ice next since Lily was the only other person who had figured it out. It probably would take a bit longer than light for her, but now that she had a grasp it wouldn’t be too bad. Now if only he could swallow his pride and ask her for advice. He didn’t think she used any special trick or anything, but perhaps it was her mindset or something else that had helped the conversion click for her.
At least this method for learning it meant he could do other things. The normal noble method takes a lot longer, and it is not something you can do multitasking with. That being said it worked for all the elements simultaneously so once you mastered it that was that. Still he didn’t regret his decision not to bother with it till now. Shards had served him fine, and the extra practice he had gotten in enchantment had probably saved his life on many occasions.
Now if only this class could prove itself useful. Since he had been to every class he had been to several he considered worthless after the fact, but at least they were interesting. He had thought that a class about spirit magic would be interesting, but this hardly qualified as an intro course, much less something that would help him at all. He supposed it made sense, discounting the teachers there were probably 5 people in the whole academy that used spirit magic in any meaningful way. Most mages only brush spirit magic when forming a contract. He was one of the rare few that actually delved deep into the subject.
“So as many of you know, the big reason to know this is because spirit contracts will be much easier if you know the terms…” For the first time at the academy he tuned the teacher out. If this was the extent of the lesson material he’d be better off planning. He had most of the circle drawn out, and a lot of the buildings placed along it. It didn’t look quite right as far as cities went. Given it was perfectly symmetrical, and of course the buildings weren’t lined up directly next to each other like they would be in a normal city. All in all from an architecture point of view it would be a mess, but it would look fine from a normal point of view, and it would be functional, so that was a win.
Roran and Elismera had been pretty handy, both in helping him plan out the circle, and helping him build it. Roran’s earth magic made making buildings a breeze, and Elismeras nature magic made excellent support, and a fantastic connector between nodes in the magic circle. The others had come to watch for a little while, but after determining it was ‘incredibly boring’ they had decided to explore the rest of the space in the armory. He knew they would just find a lot more of the same, but didn’t want to discourage them looking around.
He was rushing a little more than he probably should, but he wanted to get to making the castle in the middle. Once was done with that he could safely move all of his stuff into the armory, and his little spell to summon stuff from his vault would not only be much easier, but he could fit things much bigger than gold pieces in there. He hadn’t bothered to make many enchanted weapons for himself beyond his base set because he had no way to carry them all. The armory had gotten its name because it would change that. Between yggdrasil and his scales he had plenty of materials of the highest quality to work with, and that meant he would have the owed magic items for the dragon. A copy would be sent out to give them though, he wasn’t that confident in his pseudo immortality.
He tuned back into the class when he figured there would only be a few minutes left in the class. His copies still had a few classes to go to, but this was the last one for him for today. “Now of course this was all just the bare bones basics of spirit magic, but if you’re interested in going more in depth, 2nd years have research programs. Essentially what that means is you choose a topic, and join the group of said topic. After that everyone in the group researches the topic in their off time and they all share information. Any new discoveries will be paid for by the school, so if you fancy yourself an expert that will be a chance to make some money for your knowledge.” Professor Klein looked him dead in the eye while speaking.
He supposed he’d been a little obvious about how below thim course was, but that was hardly speaking to his ability, and more how basic the course itself was. He didn’t think that was biased either, he was fairly confident that if any of his friends had taken this course they would think the same. The only people who wouldn’t were people with absolutely no knowledge of spirit magic at all. Well he supposed it didn’t matter for right now. He’d just have to look forward to 2nd year.
He was relieved when the class officially ended, and hurried to exit. He regretted that decision immediately. The second he stepped out into the hallway he was greeted by his father who both looked calm and angry, and also was not emitting any magical power. “At least you seem to be taking your studies seriously, coming to even a class on a topic you know well isn’t something most would do.”
He debated on how to respond. He’d have felt a lot braver if the armory was fully completed, but as it was it was just a place he could run away too if he had time. A luxury he doubted his father would give him. His sister was more or less untouchable so long as the princess had her in her court, but that didn’t mean he was invulnerable. His father couldn’t force him to do anything now, but the man could still easily beat him if a fight broke out. “Of course. Knowledge is power of that we are certainly in agreement.” It was a little aggressive of a response, but his father would respect backbone more than sniveling so long as he wasn’t in direct opposition to his father.
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“I see the school is doing you wonders, and in more ways than one.” His fathers sharp crimson gaze pierced through him as if seeing all of his secrets.” I supposed you wasted quite some time making sure this wouldn’t have its intended effect.” He noticed the nova lily extract in his fathers hand. Just that small bottle was worth more than any magical item he had ever made, maybe even combined. He doubted his father had paid for it though if he got it this quickly. It was a good thing he had decided earlier was better for his trip.
“Of course not. I have attended every course offered by this academy, and have attended every event. In fact I am taking my studies so seriously that I even decided to go to the pool of rebirth to further enhance my abilities. If one of those things prevents my contract from being absolved I apologize, I am merely doing my best to properly represent the silver name.” He knew it was bullshit, his father knew it was bullshit, but as long as it made sense his father couldn’t do much about it.
“I see. Well if you’re so confident in how much work you’ve put in your studies how about we spar. If you can land so much as a single hit on my skin I’ll leave you to your studies.” He gulped that was one hell of an ultimatum. The unsaid consequence of not being able to land a hit was far more frightening than he had assumed.
“And why pray tell, would I agree to something like that? I admit that being unable to leave the academy is mildly inconvenient, but not enough for me to risk whatever trap you without a doubt have set for me.” It took all his will and more to maintain his frosty calm exterior. Not even his father was powerful enough to recklessly start a fight in the middle of the academy, but if he agreed to it then any protection the school gave him would be null and void.
His father laughed. A genuinely amused sound that sent shivers down his spine. “I see, misguided as it is, at least this attempt at rebellion is at least competently thought out. As you no doubt intended your sister is outside of my purview so long as she remains in the princess’s court. Not only that, but her being there is a great boon for the Silver family, so getting her out would damage our name in more ways than 1. Of course I’m sure you know that she was never my only option for leashing you, simply the most convenient.” He did not like where this was going. His father rarely acknowledged anything he did, and praise of his little rebellion could only end badly.
“How about a different wager then?” His father raised an eyebrow in curiosity. This would delay his escape from the silver name significantly, but it would also let him stall for time that he desperately needed if he hoped to be able to win the wager his father offered. “I’ll stop trying to disown myself, and will do my level best to represent the silver name and bring it prestige. In exchange you’ll leave me and my friends and their families alone until we graduate. Then on graduation I’ll fight you. If I can injure you I win and am free of the curse of Silver, if I can’t you win, and I’ll follow all of your expectations to the best of my ability for the rest of my life.” To say he didn’t like these terms was an incredible understatement, but his father wouldn’t accept any terms that didn’t obviously advantage him.
His father chuckled again, less amused, and more… impressed? “I see, so you have grown a little after all. I’ll allow it, after all despite not actively trying you have brought some minor glory to the Silver name. Lord Crimson said his son speaks highly of you, and that is no small feat. Getting your sister into the princess’ court also speaks well on our name. Braving the pool of rebirth is also quite a feat especially at your age. A shame it solidified your contract to such a degree.” Not on its own, but he was’t dumb enough to say anything and risk his father’s surprisingly generous mood from fading. “Here, I have no need for this anymore, but I’m sure you’ll find a use for it.”
He caught the nova lily extract with wide eyes. His father turned to leave. Why did he have a feeling he had just narrowly escaped death? He held his breath until his father left. After he was sure his father was gone he exhaled in relief. He only vaguely remembered the dream he had before waking in Avalon, but he had the feeling he had avoided that outcome, at least for now. Still he had not put himself in a great position. He was supposed to be able to land a solid enough hit to deal damage to his father in only 4 years? Perhaps he should have chosen the mega laser after all. Less utility, but even his father wouldn’t be able to walk out of it unscathed.
His eyes drew to the bottle in his hand. The small bottle weighed heavy in his hand. Not for its weight, but for what it was going to represent. He had avoided using anything his father had given him, he would succeed on his own, or fail on his own. He knew this bottle represented the shattering of his pride, no rather him needing to abandon his pride if he wanted to have even the tiniest chance of succeeding. So with a final sigh he vanished. The armory awaited, and he had a new ingredient to play with.
***
Tiamat left the school in a jovial mood. It was not often he was actually entertained, but his son for all his faults was one of the few that could put him in such a mood. He wished his wife hadn’t foolishly interfered with Azura’s project, not only because he was quite curious as to the result of spellwork beyond anything he had ever seen, but also because she was much better at managing Azura than he was. The boy did almost anything she asked, and had been properly shaping up to be the perfect heir while she lived. Now the boy wallowed in defiance, without any real idea what he was defying.
Still if nothing else the boy's growth was satisfactory. It seemed Azura had fully unleashed his mothers blood, and had become quite powerful. Not as strong as he was at that age, but strength was never Azura’s style to begin with. He could confidently say if his younger self from his first year at the academy fought Azura now, he’d lose. He simply had not had the necessary skillset to properly contend with all of his son's tricks back then. Of course now he was so far above his son that the tricks would be meaningless. Even if his son was twice as strong as he was when he graduated, Azura still wouldn’t manage to deal him any damage.
He had hit his limit, and overcame it many times, and survived many life or death battles. He had no doubt Azura would have his fair share of those too, but the boy simply hadn’t given himself enough time to overcome the massive gulf between them. Not that he had any intention of slacking off in the meantime. Azura afterall never met his expectations, he either fell under them,... or far surpassed them. Which would it be this time he wondered.