To any onlooker, it might've seemed like the great mage was talking to himself, but for any in the know, they would be shocked.
"Any person born with an innate gift is a lot more susceptible to magicules in the air, making you rise quicker in Rank but also in comprehension of the world around you. You didn't receive the slightest bit of training, but managed to not only figure out you had a gift, but also use it. This is remarkable, to say the least."
'...ex...pe..mint?'
"The experiment? Hmm, now I don't really want to try it out. Every being in this world has certain pathways in the body to guide magic from the core to a certain point where it can enter the outside world. These points we call gateways. Every creature of the same species has the same pathways, but they differentiate between species. Some gateways are used a lot more than others, the ones on the palms are the most common ones. But the ones on your feet or your back are used less since they don't really feel normal to use, and they are smaller, making it more difficult to pour a large amount of magic out at the same time."
"What I wanted to accomplish with this research was a way to get rid of the typical gateways and pathways, what I wanted to realize was a body that existed out of entirely pathways and every part of the body would become a gateway. If I figured out how to duplicate them, I could create a being that could channel magic anywhere in their body and release it at will. It wouldn't matter where it is at since the entire body would be capable of releasing it."
"Now that you know what I wanted to actualize, do you still want to continue with this experiment? If successful, I can promise you that after enough training, you would become a Ruler among mages. Perhaps with enough time, you could become like me."
'...Yes...'
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The bright tubes of light made the cold and metallic floor look twice as clean, there was not a single speck of dirt or dust to be found. Every wall and surface was created from some form of metal. The sound it made when he stepped on it made him feel uncomfortable. 'This just feels way too unnatural'
Thump, thump
Elam made his way through the steel complex, arriving at a presumably dead-end, the wall opened up like a door to give way to another hallways of the same dark gray environment. Not a lot further up was a small desk with the same secretary as before behind it, he was still mashing his strange board and looking at a screen that gave off a strange blue unnatural light. "Hmm? Is it your habit to drag unconscious people around with you?"
"Shut it, I've got a serious situation."
"Another sapling?"
"No, something worse.", at those words, did the man behind his desk get a bit more serious. He pushed his glasses up before taking up the strange horn-like rectangle. "Sir, it's me, Elam is back."
The conversation between the two wasn't hard to pick up, but Elam didn't want to bother with it. If there was something he needed to hear, they would say it to him. After receiving further instructions, he made his way deeper into the complex. His destination was the exact same place as before, making the navigation of the hallways a lot easier.
When he arrived he found two recognizable faces, the professor and the contact, were both waiting on him. The contact still had his elegant suit with black gloves on, while the professor looked a lot more tired than usual. The dark circles under his eyes were extremely visible, which for a mage was already a strange phenomenon, since they needed a lot less sleep to function.
"Now that you're here, care to explain what this issue is?", the contact said with a neutral voice. Normally when trouble appeared, he would be pissed off or angry, yet the surprising neutrality of his tone made Elam feel a bit better.
"This one here, sir.", placing Eleven carefully down on the ground, the professor came in for a closer look.
"Hmm? Isn't this? Why have you brought him here?", since the professor showed a hint of interest, the contact had to check what he was talking about. Changing his eyes to a darker version, he perused what the boy had in store. "He's one of the ones in 132nd training center, which was in an unstable situation quite some time back. Seems he escaped, so let me guess, he wants revenge or something?"
The contact could accurately figure out where he came from since every single camp had their own marking, signifying their origin. They would plant certain symbols inside the flesh to make sure that it wouldn't stand out, but people in the know would know what he was for and on whose side he was. For a mage of his standing, remembering millions of signs was nothing.
The professor looked up from that statement, something seemed off for him. "Revenge for what? There hasn't been a single casualty in those camps, does he have any idea on how much we worked to create those healing stations?", the frustration was clear, but the contact simply put his hand up to make him stop talking, since it looked like Elam wanted to elaborate further.
"Well, while that is part of the problem, the bigger issue is that he knows of someone's moniker, The Hand!"
"And? How does this trouble us?", the contact was flat as he possibly could be, even the professor was standing there with a 'that's it?' expression. Elam was confused for a moment, "He knows the name of someone that's at the top of the echelon! How is this not a problem?"
"I still don't see it, I know all the members of the top echelon of the Order of Light, not that it changes anything. Yes, he'll try to gain information, he'll seek out any way to hinder our plans, yes, but so what. He's a simple Rank 1 that's gained basic training, do you think he'll stand a chance against us."
Elam didn't know what to say, had he just left it alone then there wouldn't be any issue, but since he knocked out Eleven, it was a bit too late to say nothing happened. "Although, this could become a great opportunity for us, excuse me for a moment, I need to contact my Lord. Professor, please show sir Elam what happened and explain to him our current plan.", with that he moved away to enter a separate chamber.
"Well, you heard the man, follow me.", the professor moved on without looking back, he was sure that Elam would follow him anyway. And he was just right, Elam dragged Eleven's body with him, before arriving he made sure that he wouldn't wake up for quite some time.
"If your tired mind can still remember, we have a situation of our own. Since the process from our sapling was altered to a great extent, it seems we also have overestimated the duration."
"You mean..."
"Yes, he's already out, and we're sure of it that he is indeed a rightful heir."
A smile bloomed on Elam's face, he knew he wasn't wrong this time. Stunned in disbelief he let go of Eleven's body, letting him fall to the ground. His eyes started to tear up slightly, tiny droplets were being formed, but they were wiped away before they could fall. Joy overcame him, he was scared that history would repeat itself, losing someone precious once more. To Lucas it might've not seemed as important, but interacting with someone on a daily basis made Elam care for Lucas. The talent he showed, and his scheming mind showed that there was a chance of his goal being achieved.
The professor heard the body fallign and saw Elam standing there with a revelation plastered on his face. "Would you mind not throwing your thrash around? Our plans need to be revised."
"In fact,", the professor hadn't finished speaking, but Elam wasn't listening anymore. "even though he's a strange case we haven't seen before, the results are the exact same. We can sense the same changes, so the only thing that was special was the process itself. I'll submit this information to the main library, and...are you listening?"
"Hmm? You said he came out, right? What are we going to do now?"
"Ugh, and they wonder why I hate working with incompetents.", the professor mumbles under his breath, not caring if Elam heard it or not. "Yes, he's out, and the contact is dealing with the situation. Our plan for now is that you'll teach him combat techniques for the following weeks, and the contact will come in the form of a guest teacher to explain the basics of magic."
"The contact will teach him personally?", this was something he had never heard of. Contacts were meant to be people who stayed in the background and only acted actively when things were dire. But there were no signs of this situation being so bad that they needed the contact to step in.
"Yeah, didn't you read the procedure of how we handle the heirs?", the guilty look on his face gave the professor enough information.
"Did you at least read the instruction manuals, the main guidelines, the introduction letter???"
"Cough, cough, anyway, you said I needed to teach him combat techniques. Do you have any in mind?"
"Urgh, if you read the procedure, you would've known. Let's see, he already conjured a blue flame once, so give him a decent basis on that. Now that he's an heir, he can also learn plenty of different techniques, try to come up with a combination that will protect him while also giving him plenty of offensive power."
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The contact separated himself from the other researchers in a soundproof room. The walls were the exact same like the others, made of cold metal. But there were extremely complex diagrams of runes placed on every surface that made sure that nobody could peek or hear a single word from inside the chamber.
He needed to catch his breath to calm down and lose all emotion in his voice before reaching out to his master. "My Lord, Elam came back with a runaway from training center 132. He knows of The Hand, but that is where his knowledge ends. The heir is still unconscious, but as reported before, has finished his transition."
The contact didn't need to ask anything or provide possible ways of dealing with the situation, as his master could always come up with plans and schemes that stretched far beyond his own capabilities. "I see.", a low authoritative voice, answered his report, "Train him to the best of your capabilities and manipulate the runaways memories, place anyone affiliated with us on his good side. I'll prepare something on my end to make them fight against a fake and let the kid have revenge. Keep up the good work, goodbye."
With that he could feel that his lord had already moved on to work on something else, 'He's always overburdened by the work of us lessers, if only we could help him lighten his burden.'
Even if he wanted to help, only his lord could come up with plans and had the organizational skills to look and plan so far in the future. He had already received instructions before and knew what the future should look like, so it was up to him to make sure that future came to pass. 'The Lord can only count on us for these small tasks because he doesn't want anyone to carry a large burden. So it's up to us to make sure everything goes according to plan, and I'll do anything to reach our goal.'