Chapter 50: Politics And Ideals
Linjos was a man in his late twenties, about 1,77 meters (5'9") tall. His ample mage robe made his build a mystery, he might have been a mountain of muscles or as thin as a stick. He had a perfectly shaven long face, a cleft chin, and an aquiline nose.
His hair was chestnut brown, with shades of silver. His brown eyes were brimming with intelligence and worry. Lith could almost hear his panicking thoughts.
'Judging from the difference in treatment Lark and Distar received, he must be aware of how powerful she is at the moment. I am really curious to see how this will play out.'
The Headmaster's bushy eyebrows were wriggling like furry worms, while he was deciding how he should face the unexpected development.
'He too has a light blue mana core.' Solus observed. 'He is weaker than Ainz, but stronger than anyone else we met, except for that b*tch Linnea. Blue must be the minimum requirement for the position.'
"Well, this is really embarrassing to say, dear Marchioness, but I don't know if I can help you." Linjos considered Linnea's political stand bulls*it. He was fiercely opposed to her motions and policy suggestions during the last Headmasters Council.
But he had lost, even if by a small margin. The rules were clear, he could only follow the regulations approved by the majority of the Council.
"Well, I believe it will be easier than you think." The Marchioness sat down on an armchair, inviting Linjos to do the same. Watching the Headmaster getting ordered around in his own office, filled Lith with joy.
'I wish it was me with so much power that I could make them all bend the knee! No more hiding, no more lies. Just unbridled power!'
"What do you mean?" Linjos asked after sitting behind his desk.
"You see, I am partially at fault for this whole situation. If I had just told the truth from the beginning, nothing would have happened. Unfortunately, I had my own reasons, so I hope you do understand how confidential what I am about to share with you is."
The Headmaster's interest was piqued, and while Lith had no idea what she was talking about, he was a liar skilled enough to know when to shut up and let her work.
"Of course, everything you say will never leave this room. You have my word."
"You see, I met Lith a few years ago, and I was so amazed by his skill and talent that I took him as my apprentice." She closed in to the desk, almost whispering.
Both men were taken aback by that revelation.
"So Nerea actually taught him only the basics, it was actually I who imparted the ways of magic to him. The problem was, and still is, that my family is under the scrutiny of too many eyes. I have too many enemies.
"So, to prevent one of them from snuffing him out before he could achieve his true potential, we decided to keep everything a secret and let the world think that Count Lark and Nerea were the ones actually taking care of him."
"That would explain a lot!" Linjos exclaimed in shock. "His achievements are too outstanding for someone without a proper background. It also explains why the Court has taken the matter so seriously, despite the fact that it came from a lower noble's appeal."
'Well, f*ck you too, mate.' Lith thought. 'Diss Lark one more time, and you and I will have a problem.'
"Exactly." The Marchioness nodded, passing him several papers that she pulled out from one of the rings she wore.
"I still can't afford the truth to see the light, you know what happened to my daughter. So, I would really like to avoid officially forcing you to accept him with the authority entrusted to me by the King. It would raise a fuss on multiple levels.
"I hope that you can understand my position and that those documents will give you leverage enough to defend your standing, if the Council tries to reprimand you."
Linjos read the papers, and at some point, almost jumped up from his chair.
"He is the one that cured your daughter and extracted the magical poison our labs are currently studying?" He simply could not believe his eyes.
The best healers among the Griffon academies staff had tried and failed, whereas a kid was supposed to have correctly diagnosed the nature of the illness and managed to cure it.
"I'm sorry for being rude once again, but all the testimonies come from your family members. The Council will surely object that this is just a ruse to force their hand. This story is simply unbelievable."
"Go to the next page, please." She didn't even care to hide her smirk.
The second page was also a statement. Ainz was one of the witnesses, and he had reported everything he had seen during that day. In his statement, Ainz gave a professional assessment on Lith's skills, pointed out and described the numerous personal spells he had witnessed him using.
Linjos went completely pale.
Ainz testimony was a sworn one, just like the others, but coming from a mage it had a completely different significance from that of a noble.
Doubting his word was the same as calling him a liar and an incompetent, the consequences of which would be terrible.
Despite being so young, his talent and power were beyond question. On top of that, the Black Griffon would become a sworn enemy of anyone who tried to taint their genius' reputation.
Such a heavy insult could even bring Ainz to personally challenge whoever dared to question his judgment, and there was no Headmaster that wanted to face him in direct confrontation, be it a magic duel or a contest of wits.
The two documents were more than enough to defy the will of the Council without repercussions, but Linjos wasn't the kind of man who acted on impulse.
'The fact that I can, doesn't mean that I must do it.' He pondered.
'Whatever I do, I will face a different backlash, either from the Marchioness or the Council. From a political standpoint, there is not much difference, and that makes my decision much easier.
'If this kid is really so talented, it would be a crime against magic to blindly follow the orders of those old fogeys. I remember well how they were opposed to me becoming Headmaster, claiming I was too young and too 'radical' for the position.
'It's time to teach them a lesson. Their wrinkly as*es have been rooted to their chairs for so long that they have forgotten about the passion that teaching magic requires.
'I accepted the position the Queen offered to me because I was disgusted when I saw how academies were being reduced to paper-pushers. They neglect their duty to nurture true talents and bootlick those who are already powerful in exchange for petty political gains.'
The Marchioness waited patiently. Being thoughtful was a plus on her book, only idiots and lapdogs would mindlessly charge toward danger.
"I will be glad to take your disciple in my academy, but only if he reaches the minimum requirements. Under my guidance, there is no favoritism in the White Griffon."
Both the Marchioness and Lith had no objections. Lith had been instructed about the admittance test by Nana well before his visit to the Lightning Griffon. Also, before going to the White Griffon, he had asked for confirmation from the Marchioness.
Nana's admittance had happened decades ago, something could have changed over time, but from Distar's experience, the structure of the exam was still the same.
Headmaster Linjos used his communication amulet to assemble the Heads of all the magical departments in the test room. Lith was curious to explore the academy, but the Headmaster opened another dimensional door, bringing them directly to their destination.
It was a big square room, with each side thirty meters (33 yards) long, that seemed carved out of a single huge piece of stone. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all smooth with no gaps except for a door.
The only pieces of furniture were several chairs lined up against a wall, were the Marchioness, the Headmaster, and the faculty heads sat as soon as they came out of several dimensional doors.
Lith felt a new respect for fake mages. Compressing space with such ease, allowing instant movements was something beyond his wildest dreams.
When all the seven Heads arrived, the Headmaster said:
"Show us your basics."
He was asking Lith to show his proficiency with chore magic, the foundation of all magics.
'If only you knew what you are missing…' Lith Inwardly smiled.
Lith took a deep breath, stimulating his mana core to its maximum output. He stood straight, extending his right hand upwards, right above his head, generating a sphere of dazzling white light the size of a chestnut.
His sharp hearing could already listen to some whispered comments.
"Perfect silent light magic. Trivial but effective." Said one of the Heads.
"Let's hope he can do something better, I have so much paperwork in my office…" Commented another.
Lith openly smiled, moving his arm clockwise, and when it reached two o'clock a bright red fireball appeared.
"Two kinds of perfect silent magic! Not bad, for a commoner."
"Double casting, finally something interesting."
Lith's arm kept moving in a fluid movement, not giving them the time to chat. At four o'clock a small thundercloud appeared. The audience started to get interested.
"Triple casting at twelve years?"
"What the f*ck? Triple perfect silent…"
The arm reached six o'clock, and a blot of pure darkness started to consume its surrounding light, pulsing with hunger. Both the Headmaster and the Marchioness had already understood what it was, but while the Marchioness had seen Lith in action, Linjos was shocked.
"It couldn't be Silverwing's…"
At eight o'clock rock, dust and dirt condensed into a small round stone, while at eleven o'clock a small bubble of water constantly shifted between gas, liquid, and frozen states.
"By the gods! Hexacasting with perfect silent magic!"
"That's almost Magus Silverwing's Mana Hexagram."
"The last student that managed to do that…"
The Headmaster hit the department Head with the elbow, forcing him to shut up. Lith's interest was piqued. Why interrupt him? Was the identity of the student a secret?
'There is no almost.' He thought.
His arm didn't stop, at the second round of his hand, the single dots of energy became connected by tendrils of power, forming a perfect hexagram inscribed in a circle.
Through the shared connections, energy started to circulate, until the single elements disappeared, leaving only a golden hexagram floating in the air. (AN: If you have problems imagining the result, just look again at the book's cover :P)
That was the reason why Nana had been admitted back in the day, and she had passed it down to Lith.
Lochra Silverwing's Mana Hexagram was a rare feat, that barely one magician out of a hundred was capable to perform. It was an exercise that demonstrated not only mastery over all the elements, but also a deep understanding of the flow of mana.
It emphasized the mental strength and focus of its caster. It was an unwritten rule that whoever was capable of casting the Mana Hexagram was automatically admitted, even if they were a slave.
After that Lith started to cast fake magic spells as fast as he could. Now he had to prove his mastery and control over the first three tiers of magic to skip the beginner's years.
He was supposed to cast at least twenty tier one spells, but he performed thirty. He could have done more, but he had decided to avoid overachieving.
Lith had already studied and memorized all the White Griffon records, if geniuses scored 110/100, 90/100 was a perfectly fine result for him.
He didn't want to get too much spotlight, just enough to get his talent recognized and maybe turn some professors into his backers. That way he would be able to spend the next two years in a calm and peaceful environment.
He was there to learn, not to fight. Lith stopped at tier three spells, going further would be too dangerous. Not only would he have exposed too much talent, but he would also risk skipping the fourth year.
Specialization courses started on the fourth year, and Lith wanted to remain in the academy long enough to assimilate everything it had to offer about forgemastering, and maybe even healing. Not to mention that he still needed powerful backers.
When he finished, there was no applause or congratulations, but the convened mages huddled up, starting to discuss wildly. Their 'whispers' were loud enough that even with his old hearing Lith would still be able to listen to them.
"Outstanding performance." The Marchioness had left the group as soon as the discussion started, she had no place in it.
"Thanks." Lith pretended to be tired and short of breath.
"Do you think I'm in?"
"Most definitely, unless heaven and earth turn upside down."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Legion20
Legion20 Thank you very much for your support, guys.
It's hard to express how your comments helps me find the motivation to keep writing.
Some bad news, tho. Between my job, looking for a better job and writing my novel I fear I'm overloading myself. I could take a pause of a couple of days, sooner or later.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chapter 51: Bargains And Promises
"Nice trick, by the way. Silverwing's Hexagram is an uncommon skill for an admission exam. Also, generally those capable of performing it are fighting oriented mages, who don't apply to either the White or Black Griffon.
I must admit that I have underestimated you. I would never have expected a country bumpkin to have such deep knowledge, and to be able to exploit it to turn a good performance into an excellent one at that.
The White Griffon examining board have not seen Silverwing's Hexagram in decades."
'F*ck me sideways!' Lith's face and thoughts were polar opposites.
'Either Nana didn't know about this, or she set me up. Let's hope my score isn't too high. I don't want some 'school princess/prince' bothering me because of it.'
In a matter of minutes, everything was settled. New dimensional doors opened and the mages disappeared without saying a word.
Back in the Headmaster's office, Linjos gave them the result.
"Congratulations, young…" He remembered that Lith had no family name.
"…mage. Your admission to White Griffon has been approved unanimously with a score of 93/100. Your actual score was 88, but it has been years since an applicant was capable of performing the Hexagram, we awarded you 5 extra points."
'88/100?' Lith thought. 'Either I limited myself too much, or someone is really cranky today. The Hexagram proved to be a wild card, but luckily my score is still within the expected range.'
Linjos continued his speech, unaware of Lith's worries.
"I look forward to seeing you back here in a couple of months, to start your specialization years. Here, take. It's some material you can study and review to help you make your choice."
The Headmaster gave Lith seven small books. The first six were about elemental specializations, while the seventh one was about item creation. Lith took them all avidly.
"Those are highly confidential. You are not supposed to show them or discuss their contents with anyone outside the White Griffon."
Linjos tone was dead serious, so Lith gave him his most heartfelt assurances.
"Perfect. Any question before I call in the wardrobe for your uniform?"
"Yes, one. What is the academy's position about bullying? As you know, I come from a backwater village, my father is a farmer, and I don't even have a last name. In my experience, even the best of us tend to look down upon me, if not worse."
He threw a meaningful look at the Marchioness, who pretended not to notice.
Headmaster Linjos puffed out his chest with pride, straightening his back even more.
"Glad that you asked. Before my time, commoner's and merchant's children had quite a rough experience. But I have established a zero-tolerance policy for bullying and violence in my academy. I hope to set up an example for everyone.
"The Queen picked me up for this position because even as a student, I fought hard to defend the rights of the less fortunate. No matter their origin, powerful mages are too precious an asset for the Kingdom, to allow some spoiled brats to ruin years of hard work.
"You have no idea how many academies' alumni have defected from our Kingdom to get their revenge. The Court is giving this matter the utmost importance, that's why I expect many heads to fall in the next few years."
Just thinking of how many brilliant mages, even geniuses, had their lives destroyed by abuses of power, made Linjos heart bleed. Once they grew in power, they had left their home country with no hesitation, turning into a thorn in the side of the King.
Their rage was unbridled, the only way to make them come back would be to wipe out entire ancient noble families, but that was something outside even the King's reach. It would start a civil war, so the Crown had to choose the lesser evil.
But that didn't mean he would let that evil to stay and erode the Kingdom's backbone.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm afraid of." Lith didn't feel even a bit reassured by his words.
"As a hunter, I learned that a cornered beast is the most dangerous one. What if, hypothetically, I were to be harassed by one or more influential people?"
"I would stand by your side, and give them the proper punishment!"
The answer was too quick.
'Man, this guy is green. Either he comes from a fairy tale, or has not been in the real world long enough for it to bite his a*s.' Lith thought.
"I'm sure of your sincerity, but please, think about it. Prince whatever harasses a country bumpkin and gets reported. It's just the victim's word against someone who has at his back political and magical influence. What could you do?"
"I would order for an exhaustive investigation, listening to all the witnesses."
"And what if the witnesses get intimidated? Or if there is no witness at all? Are you telling me you could still do something?"
Linjos long face seemed to become even longer.
"No, I could not. Prince whatever would at worst get a reprimand, and I could only ask the staff to keep an eye on the bumpkin."
"Isn't there anything at all you can do to prevent this?" Lith was seriously rethinking everything. Getting admitted with a high score and having just Count Lark as an official backer, would make his residence a nightmare straight from day one.
"With all the magical marvels you got, isn't there some kind of alarm? A panic whistle? A 'gods please, someone, anyone save me' device?"
"Actually, there is." Linjos words made Lith sigh with relief.
From one of the desk's drawers, Linjos took out a big wooden box twice as big and full to the brim of black pearl-lookalike spheres the size of a baseball.
'Lucky bastard! Even his drawers are pocket dimensions. I want to learn forgemastering so badly.'
"These spheres are actually magical items, called Guilty Ballots." The name was self-explanatory. Even in that world, justice was represented holding a scale.
The jurors would cast their vote by setting black spheres on one of the plates for a guilty verdict, white on the other for an innocent one.
"Once you imprint one as yours, just like for a communication amulet, the Guilty Ballot will record every word and action happening around you as soon as you send some mana into it.
"A second mana pulse will trigger a call for help, alerting the academy staff that something is wrong. It would also work as a beacon for Warp Steps, allowing us to intervene immediately."
'Warp Steps, uh?' Lith thought. 'I'm a man of tradition, dimensional door sounds much better, but when in Rome, do as the Romans do.'
"Thank you very much! That's exactly what I hoped for." Lith grabbed one without a second thought.
"Wait, there is a reason I didn't offer it to you immediately."
Lith wasn't much interested, but he had to keep up his appearances.
"Is there any side effect?"
"No, the Ballot itself works perfectly, it has been made by the best Forgemasters, after all. The problem is that its use is socially frowned upon, by both students and teachers. I must warn you that it's much more famous as the 'coward's end'."
Lith hid his mouth with a hand, pretending to be in deep thought, while he was actually grinning in disgust.
'Yeah, right. I had enough of this bullsh*t back on Earth. "You need to learn how to stand up for yourself", they said. "A little bullying helps you build your character and prepare you to face real-life" and all that cr*ap.
'Then, all those as*holes of teachers would be the first to cry when one of the victims committed suicide, or even better if they took up a gun to settle their scores.'
Seeing that Lith wasn't replying, Linjos continued.
"Very few students have picked up a Ballot, and even those who did would usually return it after just a few weeks. Isolation and ostracism are another form of violence I can do nothing about.
"And for someone away from home for the first time, a bad friend is better than none at all. It could prevent you from socializing, keeping everyone away from you, even those who could actually become your true friends.
"Please, have faith in me, I will stand by your side, no matter what. All the teachers I handpicked share my vision and will do all they can to help you."
Lith wanted to sarcastically laugh in the face of his groundless optimism and wishful thinking.
"Thank you very much for your concern, but as I can see it, it would be a thorny path with or without it. Besides, I decided to join your academy to quench my thirst for knowledge, not to make friends.
"Without the Ballot, I would be in the hands of fate. With it, instead, if you are right, I will never need it, nor ever be forced to reveal I do possess one. If I am right, we both will have our backs covered, and you will have what you need to pursue your ideals.
"It's a win-win situation."
Lith tried to be polite and accommodating, but in his mind, he could see several flaws in Linjos' pep talk.
'He admitted that he is not able to purge all the bad apples, this means that I need to be wary of both students and teachers. Not to mention that we barely knew each other. How can he possibly be so naïve as to expect me to take his word at face value?
'For all I know, he might just as well be a strawman with no actual power, that a rotten system has put into this place just for marketing. Only time will tell me if this guy is just a frigging paint job on a rust bucker or the real deal.'
Linjos sighed, but insisted no more. It hurt his pride and spirit seeing such a young man being so cynical. When he had started as a Headmaster, he had always pictured himself as a charismatic figure, capable of instilling trust in his pupils.
But being a mage, he was more pragmatic than idealistic, and recognized the truth behind Lith's words.
'After Linnea destroyed his future, it's natural for him to be biased. I'll show both to him and the Queen that my methods work. The Ballot is a sad relic of the past, born because of the incompetence of my predecessors.
'Nobles and commoners can and will go along!' Linjos thought.
After concluding that matter, Linjos summoned a wardrobe clerk into his office. The clerk delivered a uniform that was way too big for Lith's size. It consisted of a white shirt, blazer, pants, a robe and black shoes. The embroideries instead were of a pitch-black color.
"At the moment, the uniform is at its biggest available size. Our Forgemasters enchant them so that they are able to perfectly fit their wearer. As you grow over time, it will expand, so you will not have to change it.
"The uniform has many other properties. They are all described in a note inside the chest pocket, with one exception."
Linjos brought his shirt's cuffs close to an unused Ballot and the black sphere suddenly disappeared.
"You do not yet possess any dimensional object, and you cannot walk with a Ballot in your hand the whole time. So, our uniforms' cuffs possess a hidden function: a very small dimensional storage that only applies to Ballots.
"As far as I know, aside from us and the Forgemasters, no one is aware of its existence."
Lith nodded, sending mana to the Guilty Ballot in his hand. The magical item absorbed the energy greedily, imprinting Lith's mana as its master. In many ways, it was similar to Solus, yet the differences were like heaven and earth.
The Ballot needed Lith's mana to function, not to live, and it was incapable of absorbing it on its own. Through his mana flow, Lith was capable of making it start/stop recording, projecting the recorded images and sounds.
'This thing is dead as a doornail. It's just like some kind of CCTV and I'm the power plant. The uniform though, has some pretty sweet properties.' Lith thought while skimming the instructions.
Before leaving the Headmaster's office, Lith received even more booklets that described the academy's history, its forest, how the student point system worked, and so on. There was enough to fill a small library.
Thankfully, the Marchioness offered to carry them for him in one of her dimensional pockets.
'Dammit, if it wasn't for Soluspedia, it would take me months to read and memorize all this stuff. Between knowing the White Griffon rules and regulations inside out and the Guilty Ballot, I should have what I need to survive the next two years. Maybe.'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Legion20
Legion20
So far Lith's plan is coming together. Hope you like the chapter.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
4,401 Power
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