Chapter 118

Archmage Edward Grothe

Eleanora knocked four times at the wooden door.

“Come in,” an answer came a few seconds later.

The girl gripped the brass handle and pushed, leading them in.

The room had a peculiar smell of old books, firewood, and spirits. Behind an Oak table was Master Edward, who was polishing off a generous piece of steak with a glass of amber-colored spirit to his left. “Pardon the mess, I’m having an early lunch. I’d like to offer you some, but I don’t have more.”

“That’s fine,” Connie replied. “We’re not here for a meal anyway.”

“Well, sit anywhere you like. I seldom have people coming in, so you’ll have to make do.”

“Master! That’s very rude! Lady Steelheart is a…a Lady!”

“No worries, we’ll wait,” the Lady in question said nonchalantly.

“Just make it fast,” the Dark Elf added.

“Master. It’s not even lunchtime yet,” Eleanora sighed, apparently used to her master’s antics. She apologized profusely to the two of them before continuing her futile effort to scold her master’s sloppiness.

“Well, I was hungry. Haven’t had breakfast yet, you know.”

“I tried to wake you up this morning, but you won’t wake up no matter how many times I’ve called for you,” she said exasperatedly.

“The fault’s in both of us, then,” he grinned as he gobbled the last piece of meat on his plate and finished off the meat sauce with a piece of bread.

While Illumca leaned stand-offishly on a brick-wall, Connie inspected the room with interest. The walls were lined with shelves - which, strangely enough – contained not just books as they were seemingly intended for, but also of specimens of strange and colorful rocks with labels crudely written on them. The books were all old and dog-eared. Clearly, they were well read.

“Now then, Lady Steelheart and Lady Illumca,” the man said after he finished putting his plate aside. “What can I do for you?”

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Connie took his gaze and turned to Illumca. The Dark Elf was expecting the man to start with pleasantries like the Nobles and was quite surprised by this bluntness.

Connie kept her silence and waited as she kept her gaze at the silver-haired Illumca.

“I…want to become better at controlling my Magic,” she finally said.

“Become better?” He raised two bushy eyebrows. Question plastered on his face. “You are a Dark Elf. By definition, you are already better than humans at the arcane arts.”

“Gifted…? That alone is not enough for me. I am lacking something, but I do not know what it is,” She stated. “So, I turn to you.”

“Oh, this is quite the surprise,” he answered. “I thought Elves dislike the idea of learning magic from their inferiors.”

“I do not have any other choice. Furthermore, you are her Master,” she gestured with her head at Eleanora, who was standing to the side, trying to blend with the grey brick wall. And failing quite spectacularly. “She is a Two Elements Mage. That’s something incredibly rare, even for our Race.”

“B – but, I – “ Eleanora wanted to say that she was beaten quite literally within an inch of her life the last time they met, but managed to stop as she was supposed to keep it a secret. “I cannot compare to you.”

“Don’t put yourself down so much. It’s annoying,” Illumca scolded her. The way she disparaged herself reminded her too much of her past, sickly self.

“Just take the compliments, Illumca is very sparse with compliments,” Connie added. “And as an Archmage, no one should be better at teaching magic than you.”

Hearing those words coming from the two people made Eleanora blush and she pulled down her hat to hide her face. Seeing this sheepish act of her student, the old Mage could not help but smile warmly. His impression of the two women rose instantly.

“In that case, I am more than happy to oblige,” The old Mage said. “The first step to becoming better is to first understand what you are lacking. Please tell me about your status and magic, as detailed as you can. Everything that you are comfortable enough to share. But the more detail the better.”

Illumca glanced at Connie. She gave her a sign of acknowledgment.

After giving him the details on her current status, Edward nodded to himself. “Well, can you show me your Fireball spell?”

Illumca called out her Fireball and held it aloft. Eleanora watched with sparkly eyes as the butterfly-shaped spell flapped its wings before Illumca canceled the Spell with a wave of her hand. She had seen it before while they were fighting, but seeing it up close, it was truly beautiful.

“I have never seen such spell to take on the form of living creatures before. He said analytically,” he commented. “What other spells do you know?”

“Firewall and Imbue Fire.”

“Mmm…the basics Spells, is it? Speaking about Imbue fire…you know, one of our past Professors had tried to use Imbue Fire on himself before. Fortunately, he had the sense to do it near the faculty pond and immediately jumped into it the moment he was on fire. He survived the mishap, though he ended up having to suffer through weeks of healing by the Clerics,” he chuckled, remembering the hilarious memory. “At least we learn something from that. It’s that even if it’s a spell, it’s still fire.”

Eleanora sighed at the man’s rambling and urged him to go to the point.

“…Ah, yes…this is extremely fascinating. Butterfly-shaped Fireballs…and two jobs, eh? A Mage and an Assassin,” Edward whistled in appreciation. “A very enviable thing, having two jobs. But also…quite the quandary.”

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“Why is that?” Connie asked.

The old Mage did not mind her curtness and continued.

“Having two jobs means that you have to learn two times as many Skills. What people master in five years might take you eight, or ten. Especially when talking about two different jobs like a Mage and Assassin. For example, you are acquainted with Captain Klein of the Blue Lions, yes?”

After seeing Connie’s silent acknowledgment, the man continued. “He is both a Mage and a Swordsman. As a Knight, he focused on the sword, so he is not as good with magic. But here is the interesting part,” he gestured sharply with both his hands. “Both Elves and Dark Elves are blessed by the Elements. They are naturally gifted by the Gods. So how will this affect Lady Illumca’s Mastery? What is the path that she should focus on? Should it be power or control? This is for her to decide.”

“Two times the profit, two times the hard work,” Illumca said.

“More like four or five times. But you understand the idea. For this, there is no shortcut,” The Mage exclaimed. “This leads to another question. How much is your Mana Points?”

“Well…It’s…” she looked at Connie.

“It doesn’t matter. I am sure these two can be secretive.”

The silver-haired Dark Elf then gave him her answer. “My Mana Points are 6400.”

The moment Eleanora heard this, she let out a half-cry, before clamping her own mouth in surprise. Edward’s eyes were so wide, he looked the very image of a bewildered owl.

“Is this true? You are not joking with me?”

“Yes, I'm not lying. Something wrong with it?”

“Well, hmm,” Edward grabbed the empty glass on his table and filled it with the spirit from his bottle; sucked it down to his gullet in one gulp to try and calm himself down. “I don’t know what’s normal in the world of the Forest Dwellers, but first…can you tell me what level are you at currently?”

“49.”

“Haha! Almost breaching the First Wall, is it? By Junnaveil’s Grace, the Gods indeed have their favorites.”

“First Wall?” Illumca asked.

“In Calendia, that’s what we call Level 50. Not sure what the Forest Dwellers call it, though,” Edward sighed as he began tapping at his lips with his forefinger. “If those numbers are correct, then in Mana Points alone you have more than twice most human Mages. Even my student here only has about 3000.”

“That is incredible!” Eleanora said excitedly. “I knew that you are different, Lady Illumca!”

“In that case, we need to do some test,” Edward said. “Eleanora, would you be a dear and prepare the Research Room for mana measurement?”

“Yes, Master!” Eleanora quickly left to do as she was bid.

He watched her go with a smile as he poured himself another glass. “I have never seen her quite as excited as she did just now.”

“She is a good kid.”

“She is. But I worry about her sometimes. Especially because she is very trusting…of other people,” his eyes lingered on Connie’s face before turning to his desk. “As a teacher, I cannot be prouder of her. As her guardian – sadly - I cannot help but be worried about her growth as a person.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, a lot of Mages are pompous assholes. Observe…Prince Mikael, the arrogant young shit that he is,” the man said, a laugh of self-deprecation escaped his lips.

A small curve formed at the side of Connie’s lips. Now, this is a man worth knowing. “Is that something someone of your station should say?”

“It’s a perk that comes with being an Archmage,” the elderly Mage finished his glass and put it down on his desk with a decisive thunk. He paused for a bit before he took a deep breath.

“Do you know what's special about Mages? What's really special?"

"That they can cast magic?"

"No, what's special is that, unlike many other jobs...Magic is something you are born with. Oh, you can say that about Alchemists. But what's different is this. Most Mages are born with only a single element. One, single gift by one God. Now, to be born with two Elements? Blessed by two Gods? She is destined to become great.”

“But the weight of greatness is often too heavy for such a young girl. Not many could understand the expectations people have for her. The envy such blessing would invite. And I realized this too late…”

The man stroked his long, stained beard with a thoughtful frown. He slapped his head and laughed when he saw them staring at him. “Ah, silly me. You’re not here to hear an old man complain. Come, let’s go to the Research Room.”

He then put on a hat and left the room. Connie and Illumca looked at each other and then followed him silently.

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The place they called the Research Room was a large room filled with bookshelves laden with books and tomes. The room smelled very strongly of ink. And of late nights and unwashed socks. The latter smell caused Illumca to cover her nose with the back of her hand.

A few scrolls were scattered around, all bearing some sort of runes, most of them had the look of unfinished work upon them. Two young male Mages were hunched over one of them. When they noticed them coming, they stood rigid and greeted them with an awkward bow.

“Lock the door,” Edward told one of the Mages.

“Yes, Dean Grothe.”

“Dean Grothe, these people are…?” the other Mage asked him.

“Ah, yeah. Didn’t get out much these days, did you?” Edward laughed as he showed them a crystal ball carried by the carving of an ugly imp made of stone. It was roughly waist height and was bolted to the stone floor. The ball itself was the size of a child’s head and was glowing with a dim light. “Alright, come over here please,” he then gestured at the young men with a thick finger. “And you and you, mum’s the word. Get it?”

The two nodded and kept their distance. They were used to the man’s antics and had no desire to be blown up again. They could still find feathers in their hat weeks after his last research went awry.

“This is a Mana Measurement Crystal. Specially made to measure the purity and the element of one’s mana. It is more sophisticated than the one used by the Hunter’s Guild,” Edward said as he put his hand on top of the Crystal Ball. It then began to glow light green. “It’s very simple. Just put your hand on top of it and it will try to suck your mana. The purer your Mana is, the brighter it will glow. Light green is the color of Wind Element, which is mine. Water is blue, and earth is dark brown. Very simple.”

“Can I have a try?” Connie asked curiously.

“Feel free. Though for non-Mages, at the most it will just glow a bit.”

“Well, here goes,” Connie put her hand on top of the ball and felt a prickly sensation on her palm. They waited for a few moments only to see that there was no change in the crystal ball.

“Unfortunately, your mana is very low,” Eleanora said after seeing the result. “Odd. Usually most people, even non-Mages could change the intensity of the glow even for a bit.”

With a sigh of resignation, the blonde-haired girl lifted her hand off the ball. She did not show it, but she was quite disappointed to find out that she was unable to use magic. It would have been an interesting experience.

“Your turn, Illumca.”

Illumca stepped forward and gingerly placed her hand on top of the ball. A few seconds after she did so, the light turned reddish yellow.

“Ah, Fire element,” the younger of the two Mages behind them said. “Wait…something’s wrong.”

The Dark Elf felt the palm of her hand that was in contact with the ball growing warmer and warmer until it was scalding hot. The growing pain made Illumca wince and she tried to take it off, but her hand was stuck on it. The light within the ball quickly grew in intensity. The glow growing brighter and brighter until it was almost blindly bright.

“W-what’s happening?!” Eleanora screamed as she turned her face away from the light.

“Is this supposed to happen?!” Connie shouted. A whirlwind began to form with Illumca at the center, sending the scrolls flying into the air.

“No! It isn’t! Stop! Take your hand off!” the old Mage said in a hurry.

“It’s not coming off!”

Illumca grabbed hold of the base of the stone imp and yanked her hand off. She felt like her sking was being ripped off, but there was no blood. When she succeeded, the light and the wind quickly vanished, leaving the crystal ball dark.

“Are you okay?” Connie asked Illumca with worry. The Dark Elf looked at her hand in bewilderment. She could still feel the scalding pain, yet her hand was pristine still. In order not to worry her, she answered. “Y-yes…I’m fine.”

Contrary to the worried Connie, Edward - who had come to his senses - was so positively excited that he was grinning madly. “Ohh! Ohh!! This is astounding! Truly astounding!!”

“That bright glow! It was the brightest I have ever seen in my life!! Do you know what it means?”

“What does it mean, Master?” Eleanora asked as she rubbed her eyes. She was still seeing stars.

“It means that her Mana has no flaw! Haha! Finally! We can continue with our research, my dear!” He then grabbed Illumca on both her shoulders, his eyes sparkling like that of a kid who had just got his first sword. He ignored the obvious look of annoyance on her face and said with great relish.

“Come! There is something I simply must show you!!”