With the distractions in place, Lucas was ready for whatever Elam had in store. He trusted Elam somewhat, especially since he didn't find a good reason for possible betrayal. He got accepted under his tutelage by luck. Calculating that into part of a bigger plan is hard to believe, though some part of Lucas was sure of it.
As long as he had his own strength, he should be capable of surviving. If Elam wanted him dead, why bother going through all of this work, it didn't fit his personality, unless that was also part of his scheme, but again, part of Lucas couldn't accept that for it was too losely connected from reality.
Climbing the mouintain again and seeing the cabin he so often visited he stood still for a moment. 'Through all of our experimentation, we still haven't found a way to copy his illusiory magic. We learned how to create spells purely with our mind, although they have to be made in advance. But this is still a mystery.'
'We should focus on what we can do now, when we meditaded here we found a way to create a flame that could withstand the cold, we need to find more combinations of elements to remove the offensive cabapilities of other spells.'
'I know, I'm just looking to the future. If we can make ourselves look like someone else, or create an illusion so strong it could trick any mage. We could become one of the most powerful mages out there.'
Entering the cabin revealed nothing but the usual. The warmth felt pleasant while Elam was nicely tucked in.
"Are you done?", he asked in his morning voice. "Of course, you shouldn't have any trouble helping Gilbert now."
"Do you think it's enough?", Elam was still a bit skeptical. "Are you doubting me? I made sure that the school will be in an uproar for quite some time. You just have to play your part."
Elam stood up and approached Lucas slowly, "Once more, are you ready?", to which Lucas nodded with sincerity. "Then sleep.", Elam pointed at Lucas. A bunch of circles appeared in front of his finger. They were filled with magic runes so strong, Lucas could barely notice the spell before closing his eyes.
"I hope I'm not wrong about this."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Elam walked along the metal floor, the doors in front of him quickly scanned him before automatically opening. The sound his footsteps made, and the feeling, annoyed Elam a bit. The doors closed behind him, closing off any route of escape for anything that entered.
"Hmm? Sir Elam, what a surprise, I thought you didn't like visiting us?", a man with round glasses was sitting at a reception desk. The man was focused on a box in front of him, one of the sides was colored in. Pushing buttons that were arranged in front of the box made the colored side change pictures. He was chewing on something, but Elam had never seen it before. 'Must be one of those stupid inventions again.'
"I don't, but I had to come here.", his voice was monotone yet still had a bit of lingering disgust. The man behind the desk looked up at Elam with surprise. "You had to come here? Why?", he said before focussing on the box again. His fingers kept pushing the buttons in front of him without pause. The noise it made irritated him to no end.
"I believe I've found one of the saplings.", he said, this time it wasn't filled with disgust but rather a tinge of pride. The man behind the desk snapped to his eyes, "Are you being sincere?", his tone was a lot heavier than before. Elam simply opened his eyes and stared back.
"I see, I'll call the professor and our contact.", the man said before picking up what looked like an ear of a cup. But the ends were a bit bigger and there were holes in them. He pushed a few more buttons before he started to speak to himself. Elam watched on in silence, he didn't understand what was happening, but the man wouldn't be joking around.
"They'll be here soon, please proceed to the AC.", Elam knew what the man was talking about, but he didn't know where it actually was. Continuing forward, he passed another door that opened automatically. At the ceiling were little white boards that lit up. They displayed certain numbers and letters, giving Elam the direction he needed.
Hallway after hallway, he eventually reached another pair of automatic doors. "Aha, the man of the hour arrives at last.", a tall man dressed in a black suit and gloves, spoke with irritation in his voice. His foot was tapping the ground in a certain rhythm. Besides him, there was one other person, the professor.
His close to bald head with long beard showed he was one of the most experienced out of all those present. "Hello professor and I assume you're the contact?"
"Tch, is that how you talk to someone of higher statue? How absolutely disrespectful, watch how you speak to me!", his hand tightened, making his gloves make a leathery sound. Elam wasn't one for etiquette, hell, he would rather just stay in his couch.
"Never mind that, sir Elam, you said you found a Sapling? How accurate do you think you are?", the professor's hands were rubbing against each other. It wasn't cold in the room, rather warm even, but his habits couldn't be held down. 'You aren't wrong this time, he's the best you've ever seen!'
"I'm very confident, he's a genius who creates his own spells and tactics before I can even teach him properly. He has meditated in a magical blizzard for half a day and figured out how to create a blue flame. He has the potential to become an Heir and has the mark."
The man in the suit stepped forward, his dominance plaguing the room. "We both know what you've said amounts to nothing. We've had countless people bringing in possible Saplings and do you know how many actually were?", he started to pace around. The chamber was bleak and empty except for a single bed. The bed seemed to be very soft and was engraved with the most beautiful of gems. Not a single wrinkle could be found on the sheets.
"In total, we found 7.653 possible Saplings, of which 7.516 died during the process. The 137 that survived weren't even all Heirs. Only 11 were found, and all the others were alive only in spirit. They lost their mind and went insane. Why do you think we're so strict when it comes to the selection procedure? If any crazy bat walks in with a possible Sapling, we can't just trust them, or we might lose lives for nothing."
The man was cold during his monologue, the atmosphere grew unpleasant. The professor was itching to get started, but the pressure the man was exuding stayed. "Our masters never asked for unnecessary murder, so let me ask you again. Are you sure he is a Sapling?"
Elam looked down for a moment, his eyes weren't focussing. "I'm certain, the mark is the biggest one I've seen, even larger than the running Heir. There's no mistaking it."
"Aargh, just show him to me already. Stop wasting my time with these stupid talks of morality. You want to create an Heir and you don't want him to die needlessly? Fine, if he fails to become one I'll make him live on differently."
A sigh came from the center of the room. The neatly dressed man was lost for words. "It's fine, we still need to run the tests anyway. Show him to us."
Elam walked up to the bed that would put royals to shame and made Lucas appear as if from nowhere. "This is him, he's registered as Conrad in our school, but I can sense it's not his real name."
"His name doesn't matter, it's his core that does. Would you look at this, a low-leveled Rank 1 has already tried his hands at Fire Intensification? Did you teach him that?", the professor was poking around Lucas' body. "No, I didn't teach him anything besides a way of creating spells, but I never actually taught him. He always found his own way without my direct guidance."
"Stop trying to make it seem like he has a better shot at becoming an Heir. I've read your file, you already failed a bunch of times. Why would you be any better now?", the contact was angered at the deaths that could've been avoided.
"There are countless mages that have done the same, if not better. Putting him on a pedestal doesn't prove anything.", the professor was looking at Elam and wanted to say something. But he couldn't until the contact was done talking. "Sir Elam, did you teach him to cast his spells without speaking yet?"
"Yes, but only in a theoretical sense, he has to prepare them beforehand."
"I see, then gentlemen, I think it's time for the main part. Let's look at his core.", the professor's smile was dazzling. The trio approached the bed, Elam was looking at Lucas' face before panning down to his stomach. The other two blinked and their eyes changed to similar looking ones that Elam had.
"Huh, he has the mark indeed, it is quite pronounced.", they were all staring at his body. Even the contact was a bit more serious when he saw Lucas' core. "I understand why you think he has a high chance of becoming an Heir, but...cores similar to his have also been found, and they always proved to be wrong. If he passes all the other tests, are you willing to put his life on your conscience? He will die if the process fails."
"I believe that I'm right. I stand by my choice.", his dark eyes stared at those of the contact. His neat appearance was always the first thing people focussed on, but his eyes stole all of Elam's attention. He wanted to prove he was right this time.
"Professor, let's start, I'll activate the Seed, you do the rest.", the contact moved in on the head of the bed. The decorations were fantastic, but one gem stood out of the rest. Like a cat's pupil, it was a stretched dark purple gem, it had an ominous aura. Luckily, it was a passive aura, and it didn't attack anyone. The contact placed his hands on the gem and not long after the gem shone a tiny bit brighter. "There, you do the rest, Elam, we have nothing else to do here, let's leave this to him."
"Yes, I also have some things to do.", Elam stood still for a second longer, looking at a scene he was so familiar with.