Chapter 60: Judging A Book By Its Cover
In the White Griffon, like in all the six big academies, students from different years had no common spaces to keep the older and stronger senior students from hazing their juniors.
This feat had been achieved simply by having each academic year take place on a single floor. The ground floor of the castle was the welcome area for the visitors and also held the Secretariat, where clerks would take care of all the academy's paperwork.
The first floor accommodated all the first year's of academy, the second floor held those in their second year, and so on.
Above the fifth floor, there was the staff's living quarters and their personal labs, but most of the space was noted on the map as either empty or assigned to nondescriptly named departments.
Lith suspected that all the academy's private business, like the hidden specializations' training courses, took place there.
In that moment, though, while looking at the castle map with Soluspedia, Lith wasn't wondering about the academy's mysteries, rather he was cursing its faulty design.
'Dammit! It's no wonder that the Professors always move around with Warp Steps. I didn't realize it at first, but even a single floor is like a small city, much bigger than the whole of Lutia village.
'The Prize Hall is quite far from the hospital. It will take me at least ten minutes to reach it and even more time to return to my apartment. I hadn't planned on doing this much cardio! I'm tired and the only things I want to do now are sleeping and eating.
'The only silver lining in this situation is that everyone is suffering the same fate. After the gong, Professor Vastor left on his own, leaving us stranded in the ward.'
With all that had happened during his first day, the psychological burden on Lith's mind was enormous.
Facing bullies and holding himself back from using true magic, being forced to tolerate so many idiots without kicking their as*es, it was something he was no longer used to dealing with.
Since his rebirth, Lith had always kept the amount of human interactions to a minimum.
Now he was constantly on alert. He couldn't lower his guard for a second and had to keep the Ballot always at the ready. He couldn't wait to lock the door behind him and finally have some peace and quiet.
'I don't know if we'll ever be allowed to use Warp Steps in here…' Solus pondered.
'…but why exactly aren't we floating, flying, or something? There is no rule against the use of magic within the academy, except if used to harm or harass others.'
Lith froze on the spot, facepalming because of his own stupidity.
'Either I'm too tired to think clearly, or you are definitely smarter than I look. I love you, Solus.' Lith thought.
'I love you more.' She replied.
Lith pretended to cast a personal flight spell and then zoomed away with his back sticking on the ceiling. The ten minutes trip became a one minute flight at low speed, Lith couldn't risk crashing into someone else.
During that time, Lith contemplated how having a symbiotic relationship had changed his life. He was not thinking about Solus having a 360° 40/10 sight, her pocket dimension, or any of her capabilities.
What never ceased to amaze him, was how he had become used to thinking of himself as "we" rather than "I" in his own thoughts. Despite the terror that she had struck in his heart after their first meeting, Solus was now closer to him than his sisters.
They shared even his dreams, while he was asleep.
When he reached the Prize Hall, it was a complete disappointment. Lith had imagined it like a library, but filled with magical treasures, with the shelves occupied by items and their descriptions.
He had thought about browsing through them and asking the clerks' help from time to time, but reality begged to differ. Squeezed between the Battle Mage and the War Mage training halls, stood something that closely resembled an ATM.
On the flashing display, there was the blinking image of an opened palm, so Lith followed the fool-proof instructions, sending mana into it. The display turned bright, making a 3D hologram of a clerk appear.
It was a chubby woman in her thirties, with a tired face that put Lith's to shame. Her eyes focused on his face, Lith could see her fiddling with some kind of crystal.
"You are Lith of Lutia, right?" The crystal in her hands was projecting a detailed image of his facial features.
Lith nodded.
"Is anyone there with you? Is someone forcing you to spend your points?"
"No." Lith was cynical and paranoid, yet he was surprised by how bad things in the academies had to be, to enforce such a protocol.
The woman pressed another crystal, and a bubble of light enveloped Lith.
"You are in a safe zone. No one can see or hear us now. Do you need help? I can send you a guard in a second with Warp Steps. Are you sure everything is fine?"
"Yes, I am fine. Thanks for your kindness."
"1000 points on your first day?" The woman sounded sincerely amazed.
"Kid, you have hit the motherlode, feel free to check our inventory."
On the screen, something similar to a web page appeared, that he could navigate through by using mana.
Dimensional items' prices ranged from 100 to over 300 points, magic storing rings cost 100 points per tier. There were also weapons available, but Lith had never held a real one.
During his training, back on Earth, he had only made use of wooden swords, knives, and spears. The balance was completely different and without proper training, they would be useless against a skilled opponent. Potions were the cheapest objects, costing 10 points each.
The most expensive item on the list was the uniform, costing exactly 5000 points. That price would allow Lith to keep it even after concluding his studies, and have its looks changed to something less flashy.
Sadly, there was no wrist or pocket watch available.
He bought the cheapest dimensional amulet (80P), one magic storing ring for each of the first three tiers (600P), and a physical enhancement potion of each type (30P). Lith now had all he needed to mask the use of true magic and Solus.
The clerk sent him the items via Warp Steps one at a time, asking him to imprint them in front of her, for security reasons. Even the potions were no exception.
On his way back, he stopped at the canteen. It was too early for dinner, but he was in dire need of comfort food, so he stored a cup of hot chocolate and some pastries before going back to his room.
The books had yet to be delivered, so he could finally relax and contemplate his purchases. The first thing he did, was to use the speed, strength and skin hardening potions to compare their effects with Fusion magic.
After he filled them again with colored water, all he would have to do was to pretend to drink one of these to be able to activate Fusion magic without arising any suspicions, as long as he kept the effects similar.
Only when he went to the bathroom did he realize how big his room was. It was very similar to a one-bedroom apartment, around fifty square meters (55 square yards). It had a double bed in the top right corner with his chest sitting in front of the bed.
A couple of meters to the left, against the wall, there was a wooden wardrobe.
On the left wall, there was a hardwood desk and a chair for his studies, with a couple of empty bookshelves mounted above it. Furniture aside, the room was empty, making it appear even bigger.
An inner door led to the biggest bathroom he had ever seen, occupying over a third of the room. There was a real toilet and a sink in front of a mirror, both with running water.
Lith was on the verge of tears. After all those years he had almost resigned himself to pee*ng in the wind and poo*ing in a hole in the ground. Even at Count Lark's home, the best he could get was a chamber pot.
Most of the space, though, was occupied by a bathtub big enough that it could comfortably accommodate four people.
'Is it me, or did whoever designed this room have a dirty mind? First the double bed and now this?' Lith thought.
'Makes sense, considering that they are piling in teenagers without parental control. Remember the spell Nana gifted us before going to the Lightning Griffon?' Solus pointed out.
'Actually, I had almost forgotten about it. But seeing how fast Tista and Rena developed, even at twelve years it mustn't have been hard for Nana to find a partner. I am tall for my age, but still hairless and shorter than most of my classmates.
'Not to mention that, even the idea of touching a kid makes me want to puke.'
Lith then took the most magnificent, comfortable dump since his rebirth. That moment alone made every hardship he experienced since coming into the academy fade away like a bad dream.
After that, he took a long hot bath, or at least that was the plan. He had barely dipped his body and lathered his hair when someone knocked on his door.
"I knew it! This should be the fourth law of thermodynamics: whenever a body and soap meet, a parcel arrives!"
Furious, he used water magic with a wave of the hand, to remove most of the water and soap from his body while pulling his uniform out from the pocket dimension and right onto his body, like he had never been undressed.
As predicted, a clerk had come to deliver all the books he would require for the fourth year of academy. Noticing his frown and wet hair, the clerk guessed what had happened and left after making Lith sign his register.
After a bath and another call home, Lith went to dinner.
He was about to consume a delicious stuffed blinker when something unexpected happened. His perfect solitude was interrupted by three known individuals approaching his table. Lith stopped them before they could sit down.
"Sorry, but we have a saying in my village. The best way to enjoy a blinker requires only two guests: me and the blinker."
"We didn't want to share it, we just wanted to sit here, with you." Yurial said.
"Really?" Lith knitted his eyebrows. "Aren't you afraid of the consequences of associating yourself with a pariah?"
Yurial laughed at the idea, drawing all the eyes in the canteen. The only thing the others knew, was that the four of them belonged to the same specialization. Expecting a fight to break out, the room fell silent.
"What's there to be afraid of? My father is an archmage, he can wipe out most of these guys with a finger snap. Besides, powerful mages should stick together."
"Yeah? What about the glass flask you threw at me this morning? Or the dirty handkerchief she hit me on the head with?" Lith said while pointing at Friya, who became red from the embarrassment.
"How did you know it was me? I was right behind you."
"I'm that good."
"I admit it, we started off on the wrong foot, but there's no reason why we cannot be friends." Yurial said with a confident and charismatic attitude.
"Friends?" Lith stood up, the audience even stopped chewing, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"That's the son of an archmage!"
"Guess he doesn't fear the coward's end."
"I hope they kill each other." These were some of the comments that Lith and Solus managed to perceive.
"If you were in my shoes, would you really be friends with someone that first mistreated you, only to act all friendly after he has discovered your talent? My educated guess is no.
"You all should have been smarter, and not have judged a book just by its cover. Lucky for me, you revealed your true nature, so I won't buy your nice act."
"I admit it, I was wrong and I apologize for that." Yurial was unrelenting, Lith had to give him that much. "You may not like us, but try to be more pragmatic. If they see you with us, your life will be much easier."
"Point taken." Lith replied. "But right now, I don't feel like making 'friends', maybe another time." He extended his hand to Yurial, who promptly shook hit.
"Thanks for not threatening me with your dad's power. Much appreciated."
"Would it have worked?" Yurial asked with a smile.
"No, I would have called your bluff. Neither you nor any archmage strikes me as someone so petty and short-sighted that you would make an enemy out of the entire academy for something so trivial."
Yurial accepted the compliment and walked away, closely followed by Friya. Quylla remained behind, staring at Lith with her big puppy eyes.
"Sorry for not helping you this morning, but I was too scared to move." She said in a low tone. "They aren't bad guys, I think they deserve a second chance. They have been really nice to me."
Lith snarled, bringing his face closer to hers in a threatening manner, but his voice was actually calm and caring.
"Listen well, short stuff. Never trust people just because of a few cheap words or presents. To them our talent is just a tool, they do not consider us as their equals.
"People will always be nice and friendly until you've served your purpose, but at the first mistake, they'll drop you like garbage. Stick to those two, but don't let them use you. And now go, before someone thinks that we are friends.
"Either you take a Ballot too, or stay the heck away from me. Go!"
Lith yelled the last word for the others to hear. In his eyes, Quylla was destined to end up like Nana, unless she managed to wise up and shed her childish naivety.
Finally alone, Lith sat back down and started to wolf down his dinner.
'You'll see, you bastards. It's only a matter of time before this young snake from Lutia becomes a dragon and swallows you whole.'
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Legion20
Legion20 It may be stupid, but in a fantasy world, running water, a toilet and a shower would be priceless to me. Exp the toilet!
Chapter 61: Error Of Judgment
The next day, during breakfast, Lith noticed that people were looking at him with astonished expressions. He had no idea if it was only because of his new set of rings and the amulet he left in plain sight hanging outside his shirt. After all, only the user would know what their quality was, seeing as all the enchanted items looked the same.
Another possibility was that the news from the Master healer class had started to spread. Either way, he didn't care. Lith just waved his hand to those who stared at him for too long, giving them the finger and forcing them to turn around.
The first lesson would be with Professor Trasque again, this time in Theory of Combat Magic's training hall. While everyone else was on foot, checking the map from time to time, Lith flew straight to the destination, arriving several minutes early.
He spent that time with Solus, reviewing all the contingency plans they had prepared against Professor Nalear's dumbing effect.
Thanks to Soluspedia, he had no need to read and memorize what was required for any lesson, but he still needed to practice the accents and hand signs.
Knowing was not doing. Still, Soluspedia had given him a lot of spare time, compared to his peers, and he had used that time to prepare for the worst.
Lith had no idea if his new body was a much easier prey to hormones compared to his old one, or if his problem was just psychological.
Maybe he was so unaccustomed to strong positive feelings, that the unexpected first crush had been able to catch him off guard. All the good things that happened in his life had been obtained through effort and hard work.
He wasn't used to things going well just because of luck. Lith needed years of constant care and affection, before accepting that his new family was composed mostly of good people.
And now, out of the blue, he had such a strong emotional reaction to a complete stranger, that simply thinking about her would make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
'If just the idea of looking into those eyes, bright green as a luscious forest during spring, under the noonday sun, makes me week in the knees and dries my mouth, I'm scared to death by what the real thing could do.' Lith thought.
'Yeah, agreed.' Solus sneered. 'It's only getting worse. You are only a few bad rhymes away from writing her a poem.'
'Yes.' Lith inwardly sighed. 'The good thing is that unless I think about her, I'm able to be my usual self. I must avoid turning into a rambling fool if she comes near me. Solus, I'm depending on you in case sh*t hits the fan. Do your worst.'
The training hall was even bigger than the canteen. The space inside was completely empty, except for circular rings with a diameter of ten metres (33 feet), evenly spaced among them and spread throughout the whole room.
Lith's train of thought was interrupted when he saw Professor Trasque arrive, followed by Headmaster Linjos. After all of the students had arrived, Linjos made them sit down on the ground. He had something to tell everybody.
"If any of you are asking yourselves why Lady Hestia, Lady Vark, and Lady Carn haven't attended any of yesterday's lessons, the answer is that they were busy packing their stuff. As a matter of fact, they have been dishonourably expelled from this academy.
"The terrible events that transpired yesterday, have been added to their personal files. They can apply to other academies, yet I doubt anyone will give them even a probationary admittance.
"I am not telling you this because I want to threaten you. I just want you to realize that your actions have consequences. Life isn't a game, there is no do over. More importantly, I want you to reflect about the society you want to live in.
"Does anyone of you know that, despite six out of ten students at the beginning of each year belonging to the great noble families, seven out of ten of those that actually manage to graduate are just commoners, merchants and small nobles?
"And why is that? Because while the nobles waste their time harassing others, thinking that their family name will always solve every problem, the others work hard, knowing how important magic is. They don't have the luxury of a second chance.
"If a noble fail, they just return to their beautiful manor with their whole life still planned out for them ahead of time. Those who succeed, instead, have too much to lose, and their motivation keeps them focused. Most of the time, a huge part of that motivation is revenge.
"Do you realize how many mages have destroyed entire noble households because of past grudges? Do you really want to live in a world were commoners tremble in fear of the nobles, while the nobles in turn fear the mages?
"It's because of this flawed morality that our Kingdom is slowly devolving into chaos. The academy rules don't just protect the commoners from you, they also protect you from the mages of tomorrow.
"Might makes right is all fun and games, until you find someone stronger than you. Then, it becomes a nightmare, were you can lose everything on the whims of your betters. Law is a shield to defend the weak, not a sword to threaten others' lives.
"I hope that you all take my words to heart. Thanks for your time."
As soon as the Headmaster left the room, the air filled with comments about the news. It had been years since the last time someone managed to get expelled, and it only happened because a Professor witnessed the events.
It was easy to predict where the discussion was headed, so Lith took out the Ballot and stood up near Professor Trasque. He had joined the academy a little more than 24 hours ago, and all the 'mean looks' routine had already bored him to death.
Trasque didn't miss any of it.
"Still blaming the victim, uh? Our Headmaster is really a good guy. He really believes in you lot. As for me, I believe that humans are too arrogant and self-centered to have any concept of pain outside their own.
"People are only able to empathise with things they experienced hard enough to get hurt themselves. That's why I took this job."
The contrast between Professor Trasque's handsome face and the cruel smile he made, managed to make it even creepier.
'Between his veiled threats and the grins, the Professor really seems a full-blown psycho. I doubt he'll receive many love letters from the female students.'
'Harrumph.' Solus objected. 'The pot calling the kettle black. That's the same face you do almost every minute of the day.'
'Do I really have such an unsettling expression?' Lith was flabbergasted.
'No sh*t, Sherlock!'
"Now, let me explain today's lesson." Professor Trasque continued.
"These rings are special. Once activated, they become a closed cage, nothing can get in or out. I can also modify their internal structure as I see fit."
With a few flicks of his fingers, the pavement rose in different sections of the nearest ring, forming first a small corridor, then a stairway, and lastly an L shaped path.
"You will enter this ring in pairs. I'll prepare different scenarios for you, and in each one there will be an assailant and a victim. The assailant can either use first magic or a knife like this."
Trasque showed them a blunt piece of metal that could barely pass for a wedge.
"The victim can only use first magic for self-defence. The scenario ends as soon either contestant receives a direct hit."
Seeing a little too much enthusiasm in some of the students, he decided to make things clearer.
"I know what you are thinking, but it's not what it looks like. This room is for training, not fighting. It means that even if you win every scenario, no matter if it is as the victim or assailant, you won't necessarily receive any point.
"You are here to learn how to handle difficult situations. What really matters is not the result, but what you learn from experience. There's a lot of you, so we'll use two rings simultaneously. Don't worry, it won't take long.
"This is a real-life simulation, not a bard's tale. Each round will last around five seconds, ten if you really take things slowly. We have plenty of time. To follow the Headmaster's wishes, I divided you into pairs composed of a commoner and a noble.
Let's do a few warm-up rounds, to give you an idea. Mister 'most wanted' here, has just volunteered. Who else?"
Seeing no raised hand, he picked a random student.
'Solus, since I have impulse control issues, limit my output to Nana's first magic level.'
'Copy that.'
In the first round Lith was the victim, while the assailant was a fifteen years old girl with shoulder length curly red hair. Despite the fact that she was at least five centimetres (2 inches) taller than Lith, she had no confidence in her physical skills, so she decided to use magic.
When Lith saw that she was actually performing hand signs for first magic, he weaved together two spells. The first made a thick layer of ice appear under her feet, while the second was a wind blow, the equivalent of a push.
When she tried shifting her weight to resist the push, she slipped, falling down head first. Trasque started laughing his a*s off. The fight had lasted barely two seconds.
"I'm sorry, I really am." He said while helping her to get up, healing her broken nose.
"I completely forgot that he is a perfect silent hexacaster, that made a living out of hunting since he was four, while you led a pampered life, composing poems. There was no malice on my side, gods are my witnesses."
No one believed a single word he was saying.
"Jokes aside, that was terrible on your side." He said to Lith.
"Let's see if the problem is you or your opponent. Who is capable of at least silent triple casting?" Few hands were raised.
"Okay, among you, who received military training?" Among the remaining ones, Trasque picked the biggest guy he could find. It was a fifteen-year-old boy, already 1.77 meters (5'9") tall, weighing at least 80 kilograms (176 pounds).
His muscular body resembled that of a marine.
As soon as Trasque let them start, Lith threw the knife at his victim, guiding and accelerating it with a sliver of air magic.
The student dodged it easily, but not having any combat experience, he kept his eyes on the knife until it clashed with the translucent yellow barrier that enveloped the ring. When he looked back at Lith, he was already in front of him.
Lith's right hand released a blinding light with the same intensity of several cameras flashing together, while the left one was holding a small ice knife, aimed to the victim's throat.
"Okay, stop." Trasque appeared between them, grabbing Lith by the wrist.
Once again, the battle ended a second after its start.
"Kid, I don't remember stuttering. Your performance is a perfect example of what you don't have to do. Get off the ring. Minus twenty points for you, and that's because this was just a warm up. The next time you do that, it will be much worse."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Legion20
Legion20
sorry for the lack of action, but aside mindless face slapping, school life is mostly about school. Is not like there could be a convenient terrorist attack or a random beast breaks in, the headmaster would be fired, and for a good reason. There will be action in a few chaps, tho. It's a promise.
EDIT: The 2nd guy got military training, but has no real combat exp. I skipped the 'real' part. Sorry for the confusion. now is fixed.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
4,564 Power
stone You may also Like
Paragraph comment