A True Genius Worries

by Sophia Schmidt

  When all the conversations ended, with the exception of Lith, they shared the information

  received. The Marchioness had made clear from the beginning that she had already enough

  on her plate.

  Revealing their connection would only draw more attention, something that both were glad

  to avoid.

  "I guess we both need a Ballot, now." Yurial sighed. Being a victim was a scary feeling for him.

  His family name had always been the strongest sword and shield, yet now it was reduced to a

  bullseye.

  "We need to go to Linjos' office." Phloria nodded.

  "And let everyone know that even powerful people like you are scared? That would mean

  playing into their hands." Lith objected.

  "What do you propose then? Ignore my father's advice and wait for their next move?"

  "That would be stupid. I say to play it smart." He took out his Ballot, pushing the button twice.

  A Warp Steps opened, and Professor Trasque came out of it. When he saw where he was, he

  furrowed his brows in disapproval.

  "Kid, a Ballot is not a toy. Don't try to give me the 'I accidentally sat on it' bullsh*t."

  "We need to see the Headmaster, it's an urgent matter. I had to resort to the Ballot because

  we can't allow for others to know about it. I'm sorry if I caused a false alarm." Lith deeply

  bowed, even though if necessary, he would do it again.

  Trasque's interest was piqued. He opened another portal, leading straight to the

  Headmaster's office. The room was immaculate as Lith remembered it.

  His hardwood brown desk was right in front of a glass wall, capable of blocking the excess

  daylight or amplify it, keeping the lighting uniform during the whole day. Several pieces of

  paper were arranging themselves in ordinate piles after he finished looking at them.

  Hearing the Gate open, he turned towards them. He seemed to have aged ten years since the

  last time they saw him.

  Chapter 101 Triple Casting

  Linjos was very tired, his face seemed even longer than usual, with dark circles around the

  eyes caused by the worries and the lack of sleep.

  When he heard what had happened, he only sighed, turning to watch at the forest below.

  "I really envy magical beasts. Things are so simple for them, taking only what they need,

  without caring for petty things like gold or grudges."

  Then he turned back again, looking at Yurial in the eyes.

  "I'm really sorry for what has happened to you, partly is my fault. And what makes me feel

  even worse, is that despite all my brave talk and efforts, you are not the first victim, and likely

  not the last either.

  The most basic move to get rid of a Headmaster, is to make the environment toxic through

  violence and intimidation. Academy's life is already very hard and demanding, it doesn't take

  much to make it unbearable.

  When that happens, the number of graduates plummets, the academy's reputation rapidly

  declines and a new Headmaster gets chosen. Usually, it happens during the last trimester. The

  timing of the events suggests someone really wants to get rid of me.

  I guess they didn't like me taking cheating off the table. You have no idea how many noble

  slackers have failed right off the bat." He sighed, again, taking no pleasure from their

  misfortune.

  "As for the Ballots, I can't. There is none left."

  "Is it because Lukart and his goons? Did they take them all?" Yurial was worried, remembering

  his father's words.

  "Actually, no." Linjos replied with a smirk. "After what happened between Lith and Lady

  Hestia became the talk of the academy, a lot of first- and second-year students came for the

  Ballots. The ones I gave you two young ladies were among the last ones.

  There were just about twenty to begin with, so I already ordered a new batch. The problem is

  that since their power source is the castle itself, the crafting method is quite complex. It will

  take some time."

  Phloria swallowed a lump of saliva, regretting not having got one before.

  "You have three Ballots and only five people." Linjos shrugged.

  "You will manage somehow. In the meantime, I'll do everything I can to ensure everyone's

  safety. But remember, each floor is really big, and I have only Professors at my disposal, not

  an army of watchmen, so be careful."

  Back in Quylla's room, Yurial, Friya and Phloria felt dejected and stupid. The world as they

  knew it had collapsed under their feet, the peace that they had taken for granted seemed to

  be about to end.

  All the dreams and expectations they had cultivated during all those years in the academy

  seemed so stupid and insignificant, compared to the idea of a civil war that could kill

  everyone they loved.

  And then there was the feeling of being cast aside. Even if they did it out of love, their families

  hadn't trusted them enough to tell the truth. Friya's case was the worst, since she now knew

  to be considered nothing more than a tool to an end.

  Yurial was so shocked that even the earlier aggression's memory was already fading in the

  background.

  "I can't believe I have been so stupid! Warden and Healer are just useless specializations.

  What my father, my family need is a warrior, a leader. If only he had been honest with me, I

  would have chosen wisely."

  Lith kept silent, letting him vent off his frustration. He knew by experience that when

  something that big happened, the words of a stranger would sound empty. Yurial needed

  time to accept the change.

  "I'm sorry guys, I don't feel like doing anything right now." Phloria said.

  "I need some time to think. Most importantly, I need to make sure that my brothers are

  okay." Despite not having a Ballot, she darted out of the room before anyone could offer to

  escort her.

  Yurial followed her so fast that he didn't need to hold the door open. He walked in long

  strides, inwardly hoping for someone to attack him again. He really needed a way to vent all

  the pent-up frustrations.

  As for Friya, she felt enraged for her mother's condescending tone, but at the same time she

  was deeply scared. Too much to remain alone, she had no one to turn to for comfort, except

  the two that still remained in the room.

  "Dammit, this is the story of my life!" Lith inwardly cursed. "Everything that can go wrong,

  always does. Be it on Earth or here, nothing has changed. As soon as I fix a problem and try to

  get some peace, another one pops up.

  At this point, these kids are just a burden. They have too much to lose, but I can't afford the

  luxury of being depressed. I need to gather as much as I can, in case sooner or later I'll be

  forced to leave this Country full of idiots." ¨C

  "If you need some time alone, I completely understand." He said to the two girls, while hiding

  his clenched fists behind his back.

  "I'll take my leave."

  "What about the dimensional magic practice?" Quylla asked.

  "I beg your pardon?" Those were the last words Lith expected to hear.

  "I'm sorry for what happened to Yurial." Quylla was sitting on the bed, swinging her legs in a

  very childish manner, yet her cold eyes were nothing like those of a kid.

  "But honestly, all that happened today just proved what I said on the second day. This

  academy sucks, or better, the whole Kingdom sucks. All my life, I
survived only thanks to my

  skills, and once I got here, nothing changed.

  I don't care if this Country burns, it has never done anything good for me. But you guys did.

  You are the only ones that ever cared for me, and I don't want to risk losing you getting

  involved in this nonsense.

  If everything goes south, dimensional magic is our best way out of this nightmarish place."

  That was a feeling Lith could relate to. That speech bordering treason was music to his ears.

  At the moment, Quylla was the most important piece on his board, if someone could help

  him, that was her.

  After Friya reluctantly agreed, they started practicing the Loop spell. According to the book,

  unlike all the other tier four spell they had learned so far, generating a Gate required handling

  three magic pulses at once, one for each element.

  Being an educational spell, Loop required from the student only to properly handle the

  different energies, while the two portals' size, distance and duration were determined by

  hand signs and magic words.

  After casting the spell for the first time, Lith generated three mana pulses of the same

  magnitude, one made only of earth, one of air, and the last of water magic. Following the

  instructions, Lith made the first two energies merge, forming a yellow wisp of light between

  his hands.

  That was the easy part. The small energy core was highly unstable, hence the difficulty of the

  exercise consisted in giving it just enough water magic to quench the excess energy.

  Lith tried to go slow and steady, resulting in the yellow wisp dissipating under the conflicting

  forces repulsing each other.

  "Damn if it's hard!" Before he could start doubting about the moral integrity of Professor

  Rudd's ancestors, he noticed that Quylla was looking at him with admiration.

  "How did you do that?"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "That light. Sure, there were supposed to be two small black dots instead of a single yellow

  one, but it's more than I achieved this whole afternoon."

  Lith furrowed his brow in disbelief. That was just the first step, and he didn't even manage to

  do it right.

  "Do you have the same problem?"

  "Yeah." Friya nodded.

  "Do you know how to triple cast, right?" He asked, receiving another affirmative response.

  "Then show me." If what they said was true, there was no possible explanation for their utter

  failure. He needed to check.

  Lith made them perform in turns a single chore magic spell, then they had to keep the first

  one active while generating a second and a third copy of the same spell.

  The result was mediocre. With each copy, the size and intensity of the magical energy

  dwindled.

  "That's not triple casting at all! It should be like this." With a wave of his hand, Lith generated

  three identical small flames, making them contract and expand at unison.

  Soon it was clear that without solid foundations, they couldn't even attempt the first step of

  Loop. Lith was really conflicted about teaching them how to multi cast, it had never been part

  of his plan.

  But during the last Master Healer class, he had understood why his mana sensibility was so

  low. It was because he had never practiced it. Thanks to true magic and Invigoration, he didn't

  need to feel the energy flow, because he could see it.

  His companions, instead, could only rely on their instinct, and that resulted in honing their

  magical senses over time. Until that moment, he had been like a sighted man leading the

  blind.

  But if his fears were correct, to learn dimensional magic Lith had to develop his mana

  sensibility. Having no idea how to do it, he would need their help.

  "First of all, let's set aside Loop for the time being." He started explaining.

  "Multi casting will require for you to concentrate only on first magic. The three key points are

  focus, willpower and visualization. It's like picturing in your head different persons at the

  same time." He made appear three different flames.

  "If you focus too much on a single subject, the others will blur." One remained stable, while

  the other two started to change randomly in shape and size.

  "Forget normal magic, where you can do everything one step at a time, like reading a list. You

  must be able to split your focus evenly, and that requires a strong willpower, and a clear

  visualization of the effects you want to create."

  Contrary to his wishes, they spent the rest of the afternoon practicing first magic, while Lith

  could only assist and guide them at the best of his possibilities.

  Chapter 102 Progress

  Reading the reports about the internal struggle that was taking place in the Griffon Kingdom,

  the Mage Empress had the impression of reading an history book. Centuries ago, the Gorgon

  Empire had faced a similar crisis.

  After Magus Lochra Silverwing had divulged her magical inheritance to the whole world, the

  mystical arts had started to improve by leap and bounds. The knowledge she had released,

  had interrupted the long stagnation period magical research had suffered.

  As any change, thought, along with new solutions brought new problems. Until that moment,

  magic had been limited to tier three spells, and that had allowed to rich and powerful families

  to hold a monopoly of it.

  The inheritance contained the basis for many tier four spells, and planted the seed of what

  would have been known as specializations. Realizing the countless military applications, the

  upper echelons of every Country were put in a bind.

  Keeping the use of magic limited only to the scions of their families, would make achieving

  any progress slow and difficult. Magic had always been a rare talent, and now there was so

  much to study but so few mages.

  On the other hand, allowing commoners to study magic would have altered the balance of

  power. Once they had access to tier four spells, who could guarantee that the new mages

  would not bit the hand that fed them?

  While the Griffon Kingdom opted for the creation of the Mage Association, granting even to

  commoners status and riches according to their contributions, the Gorgon Empire had

  dismissed such idea as suicidal.

  They preferred focusing on Forgemastering, investing all their resources in the development

  of slave collars. Thanks to these magical items, commoners could be conscript safely and their

  attitude for magic checked.

  Every mage candidate was forced into submission, incapable of disobeying the orders of his

  masters. The slavery of commoner mages lasted decades, until an old and crafty Forgemaster

  managed to find a loophole.

  Her master had asked her to create an artifact capable of temporarily disable magical items,

  to use it on the battlefield and cripple the enemies' resources when they needed them the

  most, but he never said anything about avoiding it to affect the collars.

  When per his request, she showed him how it worked, the collars of all the mages in the

  household went off, and the revolt begin.

  By combining the use of the artifact to free new mages and applying the collars to their

  tormentors, they slowly but inexorably exterminated or enslaved all the noble households.

  The artifact was a secret, so all she had to do was to use her now obedient master as a t
rojan

  horse, letting the rebellion spread silently, until it was too late. After killing all the nobles, the

  mages took the power, destroying every trace or mention of how to realize the collars.

  Even researching the matter had become a capital offense. From being a monarchy, the

  Empire became an oligarchy only based on meritocracy. Titles would not be inherited, every

  position would be occupied by those that were deemed worthy.

  Most mages had no interest in fancy mansions or life-size gold statues of themselves, they

  would invest most of their income for their families and research.

  The first law enacted by the first Mage Emperor and his Magic Council, had been the freedom

  to study magic, no matter the social status, and introducing chore magic in the core set of

  disciplines children had to study.

  The system wasn't perfect. A good mage could be an incompetent or cruel ruler, not to

  mention that at his/her death, the replacement of even a local governor could take quite

  some time, leaving the territory open to corruption or attacks from the outside.

  Also, because most of the resources were invested in constantly researching and developing

  new forms of magic, their human army was considered to be the weakest among the three

  neighbouring countries.

  Nonetheless, the Gorgon Empire was now the most advanced Country in the field of magical

  research. The capitol was a floating fortified city, whose white walls shone in the daylight like

  a beacon for the travellers.

  The guard towers extended above and below the wall, with giant magic crystals at each

  extremity, fueling the mystic rune circles, visible at the naked eye. Each tower was capable of

  attack or defence, according to the circumstances, making the city virtually unconquerable.

  "Idiots." Said the Magic Empress. "They have only delayed the inevitable, putting a different

  kind of collar to their mages. No matter how long, a leash is always a leash. Order the armies

  at our borders to be ready for the attack.

  It's only a matter of time before someone does something stupid and things escalate. We

  must be the quickest to reap the benefits from their folly."

  * * *

  The next morning, Lith had no real hope of succeeding at the second lesson of dimensional

  magic. After teaching triple casting to the girls, he had spent the whole night practicing, but