"Lord Deirus, do you suspect anyone of being behind this attack?" Linjos asked.
"Suspects, no. More like certainty. Lukart." Yurial's tone was filled with spite.
"This is a very serious accusation. Also, I don't think Archmage Lukart would kill you just because I have expelled his son. Anyway, do you have any proof backing your theory?"
"You expelled Lyam?" Yurial was so surprised to not notice Lith mourning the fate of their schoolmate with high fives and down lows with the rest of the team members.
"Too slow." Lith dodged Friya's hand, giving her a feeble slap on the nape.
"Yes, I did." A cold shiver ran down Linjos' spine. He could almost see Manohar's shadow behind Lith's complete lack of respect towards a fellow student. No matter how toxic Lukart had been, in Linjos' mind his expulsion was a loss for all the magical community. It wasn't something to celebrate.
"I have a file as long as my arm about him and his gang, but I lacked solid evidence. A class full of witnesses and an angry Professor were simply overkill. I'll ask you again, do you have proof?"
"Yes and no." Looking at the confused expressions of those present, Yurial explained.
"This has nothing to do with Lyam's expulsion, nor with the rivalry between our families. The problem is that I can't talk about this matter without my father's approval. So yes, I do have proof, but no I can't show it to you."
"Should I speak with Archmage Deirus, then?" Linjos drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair with a pensive look on his face. He had heard many dark whispers about Lukart recently, but he had always refused to believe them.
After all, only those who greatly contributed to the Kingdom would be bestowed the title of Archmage.
"Yes. I can't betray my father's trust."
"If there's nothing you have to add, then you are free to go. I would love to give you the rest of the day off, but alas the academy must go on. You'll complete today's round tomorrow, first thing in the morning.
Professor Trasque will bring you to your destination."
"Actually, there is one more thing." Lith raised his hand.
"Speak freely." Linjos sighed. He couldn't wait to get rid of them to talk with Deirus first and the Queen later. She had to know he had found another candidate for the special list. First Lith, then Phloria and now Friya.
For someone with anti social behavior, Lith seemed to be a magnet for talented individuals.
– "Maybe it's because of the age, but I'm starting to sound more like Vastor every day."–
"Two of us are still without a Ballot. When can we expect the new ones to arrive?"
"Never." The question hit a sore spot, making the Headmaster's long face even longer.
"After the accident in the dimensional magic training hall, I started to suspect there was a traitor among our ranks. After the events occurred during the past months, I'm sure of it. No one outside the healing department could know your destination.
"I can't let anyone I don't trust blindly near the academy's power core, especially Forgemasters. It would be too dangerous. A slight alteration of the power core and the whole castle would become a deadly puppet in the traitor's hand."
Linjos hid his face behind his hands in shame. He knew that despite the best efforts of the academy's staff, many students were going through a rough spot. After the forced break during the plague outbreak, several of them had seen their grades drop.
The second exam had only made things worse. Despite the number of students promoted from the second to the third trimester was at an all time high, the grades' average was at an all time low.
Linjos had listened to their stories and they were all dreadful. Some had failed on purpose, to go unnoticed and have at least a semblance of a peaceful life. Others were being harassed just enough to make their life miserable and were on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
Linjos had been forced to choose between their peace of mind and their physical safety, prioritizing the latter. He knew he had failed them, but there was nothing he could do.
Hearing those words, Lith could do nothing but sigh. His last excuse had just crumbled.
***
Lith regretted having lost his first occasion to eat in a restaurant without having to worry about the bill. During lunch Yurial told to Phloria the official version of their adventure, before whispering to her the truth.
"Thank the gods you are all right. I wish I was there to help you. Did it hurt much?" Phloria touched Lith's arm, noticing the small cuts the uniform was still repairing.
Lith nodded in reply.
– "It's so odd that both Quylla and Phloria almost used the same words." Lith thought. "Guess it means they both care for me. I remember that when I was her age and I still lived with my parents, I often suffered from unrequited love. I wish there was something I could do to help her move on."–
Phloria caressed his hand, giving him a warm and fuzzy feeling that Lith hadn't experienced since he was still a newborn in Elina's embrace. It was soothing and pleasant, almost making him lower his guard.
Lith hated that moment of vulnerability, so he took back his hand after pretending to have dropped his napkin.
During the afternoon, Lith went to the first Forgemastering lesson of the third trimester. He had long waited for that moment to come. Lith had several things he wanted to ask Professor Wanemyre.
"Good evening, dear students. It's good to see so many of you back after the second trimester. Usually this time of the year is a bit lonely for me." She gave them a radiant smile that gave Lith the chills.
– "What the heck? First Nalear and now Wanemyre too? She also seems prettier than before. This makes no sense. Also, I have never seen her smile so much. Not even when someone performed a perfect enchanted item.
I'm telling you Solus, something is off."
"Maybe she too found someone special, but unlike someone I know she is letting herself go instead of playing impossible to get." Her voice was filled with sarcasm.
"What makes you think that?"
"The makeup, the jewelry, the smiles." Solus scoffed while pointing out the various details he had missed.
"She clearly wants to impress someone that makes her feel special."
Lith took notice of all the changes, only growing more and more suspicious.
"Say what you want. I can't believe a person of that age can change so much in a bit more than ten days. She wasn't like that before the end of the trimester."–
"In the last six months, you have practiced how to create the most common magical tools, like dimensional items, reinforced clothes, and magic storing rings. All these objects have one thing in common: despite you needing to cast several spells of all the elements to obtain them, the final sum is zero.
None of them has any elemental property, hence they are called neutral items. From today onwards, I'll explain to you how to infuse an object with a single element. Infusing multiple elements has the same requirements of performing multiple enchantments, and will be a subject of the fifth year."
She looked sternly at Lith. Clearly, she and Nalear had talked.
"Contrary to what you have learned so far, giving an object elemental properties cannot be done without ingredients. If any of you has some notions of Alchemy, you'll notice that this is one of those cases where the two disciplines overlap.
But unlike Alchemy, where ingredients are necessary to absorb the element and store it for future uses, Forgemastering does the opposite. This happens because alchemical items exploit their own instability to bring out the stronger effect possible.
A Forgemaster only aims to create something that can be used endlessly instead. Infusing an object with an element means that the Forgemaster has to purposely alter the balance of their own spell in favour of the chosen element.
That would cause the final product to be slowly eroded by the very energies that empower it, until either it crumbles or explodes. To prevent that, an ingredient is needed.
For example, if we want to infuse the fire element we don't need a fire based magical treasure, but a water one. It acts as a counterweight during the forgemastering process and restores the balance.
The stronger the intended effect, the more powerful and rarer the ingredient usually is. I waited for the third trimester to introduce this technique because even simple enchantments require very expensive natural treasures.
There is only so much that you can learn by reading a book, Forgemastering requires a lot of practice to be mastered. That's why the last trimester will be about putting into practice what you have studied so far until it becomes second nature to you."
Wanemyre clapped her hands, making appear on the desk of every student a bowl full of water, a silk cloth, and a crystal looking flower.
It was very similar to an Earth chrysanthemum, but instead of petals it was composed of delicate ice shards exuding a faint blue glow, constantly condensing the humidity in the class into dew.
"The ingredient you'll learn to handle today is called the Frost Dew flower. It grows in the forest surrounding the academy, making it uncommon for the White Griffon residents. For the rest of the world it's quite rare, though.
As you can see, I provided you the full plant. When picking up a natural treasure no part of it has to be removed, otherwise it will lose some if not all of its potency as an ingredient."
Lith noticed that even the roots were intact. Whoever picked it up, had executed the task with meticulous attention.
"The first thing to do is to remove all the impurities from the stem, roots, and leaves. The flower requires a separate treatment that I'll explain later. Use the water bowl to wash away dirt, earth and insects' eggs.
"Clean it one leaf at a time and try to only use your fingertips. The stem is more resilient, you only need to be careful not to break it. As for the roots, avoid touching them at all. Just dip them in the water until the earth turns into mud and detaches itself.
"Always keep the water clean. You'll understand you are doing it right if the Frost Dew's glow increases.
"The treatment requires a gentle touch like you are cleaning a wound. Manhandle the ingredient and it will become useless. You can also use first magic if you are confident enough in your skills. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Otherwise, begin."
Removing impurities was second nature to Lith, so he directly used water magic to take control of the water in the bowl and make it gently flow over every centimeter of the plant.
As soon as he identified clots of dirt, he would use earth magic to remove them and then added fresh water. Out of curiosity he used Invigoration too, discovering that the flower still had a vigorous mana flow.
– "This reminds me that I have yet to properly examine the magical plants the dryad gave me as a reward for sparing her sister's life. Sigh, I can't wait for the winter break. I have so many things that need my attention and so little time."–
The Marchioness had warned him to not show them around and he had no use for them. With everything he had on his plate, after checking their type, rarity, and market value, Lith had completely forgotten about their existence.
Lith could also perceive how the contact with water temporarily revitalized the flower, while the cleaning process was strengthening its mana flow to the point Lith could see his breath steam.
He had initially considered the task a chore, but soon Lith noticed that the ever growing mana flow was starting to resemble a pseudo core.
– "Is it possible that if properly nurtured even a plant can evolve? Maybe that's how dryads are born. Invigoration allows me to see and remove internal impurities, I wonder what would happen if I completely purified it before performing the Forgemastering process."
"It's more than that. Maybe we can use Invigoration to artificially grow magical treasures, if not even give birth to plant creatures." Solus pointed out. –
Lith's scientific curiosity was excited on a new level. He became more and more engrossed in his work, forgetting about everything but achieving perfection.
Solus took a mental note of his wish, already picturing Lith's despair when he would realize that every discovery he made would take away more of his free time to be studied. Their list of "to do" things was already so long Solus doubted he could even afford to sleep once a month.
Lith used the silk cloth to dab the water before calling the Professor.
"Good gods, ten minutes have yet to pass and you finished already? I can even see hoarfrost on the petals. Someone seems to be a natural. Fifty points for achieving so much at the first try. I think this might be a new record for the academy."
Lith swallowed a lump of saliva, a stinging sensation at the base of the neck made him raise his head. Every single student was staring at him with eyes brimming with burning hate. Their collective gaze exuded a faint killing intent.
