Back in the outside world the scene had not changed, two sets of eyes were looking at Cyrus with piercing gazes.
The unmasked Cyrus sat in his seat, an internal whirlwind lashing throughout him as his core beliefs were challenged even at risk of being completely dismantled.
He heard a buzzing by his ear, exactly like a small gnat that had gotten to close. He paid it no attention however, for he was far too focused on his own mind.
The buzzing grew louder, despite of or maybe precisely because of the act of ignoring. It grew louder, its intensity increasing, and the area it covered continued to grow. Eventually it was no longer a small gnat or even a large fly, but instead sounded like a long column of galloping horses passing him by.
He continued to ignore it, all the way up until a bone chilling cold pervaded through his bones which made him slightly more lucid by force.
"Come to your senses already. Bah, you are embarrassing me you know. How can the half that makes me whole be done in so easily?"
A voice full of annoyance and spite was heard, revealing to the unmasked Cyrus that the noises he had been hearing were in fact words that had failed to reach him before.
"Did you not read through the papers on critical thinking? If you wish to see the world for what it really is then you have to accept that you could be wrong, doubt everything. Even I have admitted on several occasions my faults, because this is the best method of survival: adaptation. Your beliefs and the world you are in are clearly out of sync, but that does not mean you are simply wrong. Instead it should mean that you have assumed something wrong, the principles which you built the foundation of yourself are flawed and if you correct it then everything will be better" explained the dark half, barely believing half of what he was saying but his survival came first.
The optimistic Cyrus who was losing his light fast took in these words and with it came a slow realization that began to take form inside of him. Moving his focus from his own mind to the world at large, he straightened his back slightly and released the breath he had been holding the entire time.
Meeting the stares of his two allies he said as clearly as he could, but still revealing his stress through his shaky tone,
"I understand what you say. I…I have made an error in my judgement."
Being told something is one thing while considering it deeply is another. Putting it into words and speaking it out loud is the start of the process of truly believing and accepting, with only action left to prove not only to the self but to the world that is what is truly believed inside.
The tension that had built up in the room at large dissipated alongside the words of Cyrus, one satisfied and the other relieved but hiding their look quickly.
Imran was the first to speak up, sporting his usual practiced smile he said lightly,
"So long as you understand where we are coming from I am satisfied. For me you are an investment, which means that it is my best interest that you take the best path for both our sakes. I do not want to disparage you for your beliefs, but make sure that they do not one day bring harm to yourself or others. Everything must be measured in reality, for ignoring it will only result in you losing everything.
"You would not believe the things I have seen men do, not willing to cut their losses on an obviously failing enterprise…trying to keep it alive until the very last moment in which at that point, everything is lost."
While Minerva looked away but still added her own input,
"A promise was made. You need to be alive to carry it out."
While one reply was long and measured, pulling from personal experience to paint a full portrait, and the other was short and curt Cyrus was able to feel the sincerity behind the words.
Leaning back in his seat, allowing himself to recover quickly during the small lull in the conversation, Cyrus thought to himself:
"I have to agree with my cynical equivalent, emotions are difficult to deal with and comprehend."
Taking a few deep breaths and fully adopting a relaxing posture, Cyrus spoke with renewed vigor. "Thank you for the words, I will take them to heart and treat them seriously. Now let us get back on track with the main topic... The two attacks that I experienced are definitely connected, since in both attacks an Aero mage was present that covered the retreat of the attackers. The first time I did not get a glimpse of the mage, or even detect them for that matter, but the second time they were forced out."
Immediately Imran noticed the odd wording that Cyrus used, asking "They? Was there more than one mage?"
"There was, one was an Aero mage and the other was a Vita mage. The latter was the reason why I could not detect them during the first ambush as well as the second, since this particular mage is well versed in evading my usual detection spells. Because they were forced to reveal themselves this time around, I was also able to learn that they chose the perfect position to hide themselves in. It is obvious that one of the two mages is a master at tactics that involve hiding away in the shadows."
Pushing for more key information, Imran shot off another question "The rank and file attackers all had their identities completely hidden, but what about these two? Did anything about them stand out, even the smallest detail could lead us to learning of their identities."
"Their faces were covered and even their hands were covered in thick gloves, so all that could be told was their approximate builds and department of origin. Aero and Vita, these two are without doubt due to the spells that they used. The Aero mage was thin and tall while the Vita mage was short and fat, other than that…nothing is known."
Cyrus' tone grew more serious with his next words,"It is clear that they have an objective of some kind. A bunch of random discontented people would not be so organized, unless of course a leader rose and was charismatic enough to form a group solely to defeat me. The more likely explanation is that the group was quickly put together by either someone in the top ten ranks or someone extremely close to being in them. If we think of it like that then the reason for the attacks becomes apparent."
"To learn how you fight, analyze your weaknesses and use that information to the advantage of the ringleader. Even if the ambush were to succeed, then all that means is one less competitor" said Imran, easily reaching the same conclusion as Cyrus had.
Seeing that there was more to conclude from the information presented, Imran continued to think it over before the last of the puzzle pieces connected in his mind.
"The rankings will be decided not just by individual combat, but also by group conflicts as well. Which means… I am in danger just as much as you are."
Both Cyrus and Minerva merely nodded, confirming his own thoughts.
Minerva then spoke up once more, "We should all travel together from now on whenever we can. If all of us are together I do not believe that we will suffer under the ambushes no matter how many come at us, assuming that they will continue to not use magic that is. Then our task will move from survival to crushing the enemy as swiftly as possible, while also not revealing as many of our trump cards as possible."
"Information from the exams may be leaked out or even up for sale via Fidem, but any progress we have made and will make since then should be kept under wraps. It would be extremely unfavorable for us to get into a fight with an enemy who has had the time to carefully plan countermeasures against us."
"We also do not have to remain entirely passive" began Imran, tapping the armrest of his seat rapidly as the gears of his mind spun rapidly, "It was to be expected that groups and factions would arise eventually, such is human nature. I already have a small network of connections in place but I can easily expand that by spending some of my own Fidem. I can create our own small little faction, where we offer training in return for service throughout their stay in the Academy. We can devote one day a week each to training them as well as giving them a small part of our own Fidem earnings to seal the deal. Let me handle everything and as soon as I can and I will deliver you the contracts to sign, with a group of willing g followers at the ready."
Considering the offer carefully, the current Cyrus was interested in the proposition and had no issue with it which he vocalized at once, "Interesting, having a group of people to back us up could be most helpful as well as the fact that it can cement close relations with a wide group of people in the future. What a perfect plan I say, especially considering how well it plays into your own goals."
Lightly laughing the accusation away, Imran turned towards Minerva for her approval.
"I have no problems, so long as I can grill them as hard as I please."
Shivering slightly from the memories of his own experience of being trained by Minerva, Imran's perfect smile twitched for a second but he quickly recovered and said in glee, "Great, we are all in agreement then. Over the next few days I will put out the word and work on expanding my network. I will try to time the formation of the group right after the practical tests over the upcoming weekend. Our performance then will be the best advertisement of our skill and by extension worth, which will increase the number and quality of those who join us."
Thus the rest of the discussion between three allies remained on working out the details of the plan, then after another hour of careful discussion they went to rest for the night.