The advisor made his presence known by walking inside the circle that the table surrounded. Everyone was now looking at him, waiting for his next words.
"As you might've guessed from your very neighbors, I invited all of you here with a purpose. Gentlemen who are bound to this kingdom, who do you support in the race to the throne?!"
"Are you in support of the first Prince who desires to expand his royal territory and go against the Holy Kingdom? Are you on the side of a lunatic who doesn't know anything else but fighting and thinks that strength will lead us to victory?"
"Or are you on the side of the first Princess who, despite being considerably strong, still looks for validation? She has already shown signs of bowing to the Holy Kingdom's messengers, do you want to follow her? Do you believe that her way of diplomacy will lead us to survive in the long run? Do you want to become a dog to the Holy Kingdom? A vassal state is the best thing she can achieve with her current way of working."
"Either option will make you lose the rights to your land. The Prince will ask you to fight for our country in the name of justice, while the first Princess will ask you to let your land be ruled by others. Only the big nobles have a chance of surviving the upcoming war."
His entrance made the nobles think twice about their current situation and the horrible prospects of the future. Some already knew everything he said and were waiting for him to continue, others had a different opinion.
"But advisor, you talk about war, but nothing concrete has ever been said.", the advisor looked the man in the eye and saw the uncertainty within them. On the outside, everyone was calm, but thinking of going to war with the biggest powerhouse on the continent didn't sit right with them.
"Yes, nothing official has been said or done, but do you truly believe that both sides aren't preparing? The priests of the Order of Light have been infiltrating the border cities, all of them have started to spread their faith. The commoners are being helped by these strangers for seemingly no reason but their kindness. Not too long ago two of their highest forces, two of the Colors even got near our border within minutes. Do you not see these signs as provocations? As preparations for the war?!"
The man didn't have any rebuttal, even if he did, he wouldn't dare say it with the current atmosphere.
"We will go to war with the way things are going, there's no avoiding it. But, not all hope is lost! By some miracle or the help of some kind of god, we have found a way out. My brothers and sisters, what do you think happens when the strong fight the strong? The weak gather!"
"Wouldn't it be better to then support the Prince if he's so confident about winning?", another noble contested.
"Hah!", the advisor couldn't believe his ears, "Why do you think the prince is so confident in the first place? Do you believe that at his age, he figured something out to fight against the most powerful state? Do you truly believe his confidence is real?"
The noble didn't like the attention for once, but he couldn't back down now. "Of course, the way he spoke during his speech not too long ago showed he had some plans in the making."
"Oh please, if he was some kind of scheming genius, then I would've believed it partially. But the man knows nothing besides strength. Let's say his confidence was real, he himself is only a Rank 2, perhaps Rank 3 if he has been hiding his strength, which would be uncharacteristic for him. If he is that weak, where do you think his confidence stems from?"
"Perhaps a strong backing? Maybe the king has given him something?"
"No, I can tell you from personal experience that the king doesn't give his children anything. All will be given to the victor. But you are not wrong, a strong backing would indeed give him rights to feel and act the way he does. Now gentlemen, let me ask you what kind of party would not only be willing to fight against the biggest force on the continent, but is also strong enough to give that foolish prince the impression of victory?"
The nobles all knew what he was talking about, but if that were to be the truth, then they wouldn't only have to worry about the Holy Kingdom.
"Hahaha, I can see it on your faces, you all know exactly what I'm talking about. Yes, the Demonic Cult are the only one with the strength and influence to fit both categories, as they have an eternal grudge with the Holy Kingdom."
"What kind of proof do you have?", one tenacious noble really didn't like the idea of not only having an external enemy, but an internal one as well.
"Only circumstantial evidence, as they aren't stupid enough to act in broad daylight. But haven't you heard of the massive increase of Demonic sightings?"
"That still doesn't mean that what you're saying is the truth.", the noble held strong, even with the annoyed glances of the other nobles. He knew that he was going too far, but didn't want to believe it.
"Yes, you are correct. If you don't believe in me, would you be willing to explain what you think is happening?"
"What if the prince has really gotten strong?", he said as his voice got smaller and smaller.
"HAHAHA, screw it, yes, let's say he reached Rank 3, no Rank 4 even. Do you think he'll stand a chance against one of the Colors? Hahaha, that would be impossible, my friend. We're screwed if we ever try to fight against them."
"Wouldn't then following the first princess be better?", but the advisor didn't have to answer as the man immediately saw his own mistake. Following the princess would be a death sentence for most of the smaller nobles.
The man didn't know what to say, but everyone was still looking at him. "Then what do you propose we do? You brought us here for that exact reason, no?"
"Gentlemen and women, what do you think happens when two dogs fights for a bone?", the advisor said while he revealed one of the nastiest smiles the nobles ever saw. The wrinkles almost overlapped, making space for his grin. His old appearance coupled with his demeanor left all of them speechless.
'They're in, only a few more meetings and we'll have our stepping stone. My dear Freya, we'll get out of this alive!'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A cold but gentle breeze flowed throughout the clearing in the forest. Lucas felt the grass touch his hands, the hard ground was softened by its presence.
"You're finally awake, don't try to pretend to be sleeping."
Lucas was just awoken, but already felt terrible. The environment was simply too different from what he last saw.
"I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed in you. I've heard about your circumstances from Elam, but to think you couldn't even reach the top of the mountain."
The tone of the man was formal, deep and without emotion. Still, Lucas could feel the disappointment in his voice. He was clearly expecting more from him.
"I'm the guest teacher that Elam should've introduced. Call me Master or Teacher, anything else will be adequately punished."
Lucas was just awake, the situation was too tiring for him.
'What an ass, he's going to be teaching us? Sigh, great.'
'At least we're not on the mountain anymore. Plus, we gained quite a bit from that reckless behavior.'
'Indeed, it seems they were watching us this whole time. Now I'll never feel at ease.'
'Not that...well, a bit, but our experiment. I think I have a better grasp on how the energy is meant to flow.'
"Now then, let's get started with the basics, I don't like wasting time, but since you can't even perform the most basic magic it seems I need to reeducate you."
Lucas didn't know what to think, for once both his thought patters agreed with one another.
"Tell me, what kind of magic is there."
"There are six categories into which magic can be divided. Fire, water, earth, wind, light and dark."
Lucas knew he was right, but the look on the teacher's face showed he wasn't satisfied. 'Did we have to say it faster?'
'That would be a stupid thing to be dissatisfied from.'
The teacher shook his head from side to side. "I don't know who taught you, but he must've been a complete idiot or scammed you. If you believe there are only six, then what would you call the illusory magic that Elam uses to hide his measly shack?"
While Lucas was very smart and could think critically and plan ahead, he didn't have an immediate answer. He could only think back to when he visited Eleven's hideout and tried to remember the runes he used. Sadly, too much time had passed and he had experienced.
"That..it's a combination of light and water runes. Also, shack?"
"Do you think he lives in some kind of palace? Also, you're wrong, illusory magic has nothing to do with water runes. Next, what would you call this?", he said, while a branch from a nearby tree started to grow outward. The branch kept growing until it reached the man's hand. "Do you think this is also the combination of water and light? Then what about necromancy? I've heard you asked Gilbert to summon souls to prove someone guilty, what do.."
"WHAT?! Gilbert summoned souls?", both were surprised at their reactions, though for different reasons.
'As far as I remember, we only asked to resurrect that girl, that's why we didn't get rid of the body, so it could be reused.'
'We did ask if there was a way to gather information from the dead, if each one used the body one after another they could amass quite a lot of testimonies. Considering it worked out in the end, it seems Gilbert surpassed our previous calculations.'
'I did think that since he would clear his name and slap the church in the face, he would be happy to oblige, but he outdid himself. Considering his profession, helping the church out would be blatantly disrespecting them. But to think he could summon them in the open air! I mean, that's a great way of bombarding them with false testimonies and emotionally convince them. That's..how?'
'How the hell am I supposed to know? Ask our new teacher, dumbass. He's clearly telling us there's more than just 6 categories.'
'Like what, hidden elements?'
Lucas was trying to figure things out by himself, but he didn't get anywhere. Looking back at his new teacher, he was ready to reveal what he had conjured up.
"If you're thinking that there are more types of magic than the six you mentioned, then I'll have to stop you there. Since you can't even use magic vision, there's no easy way to explain it to you. So, let me phrase it this way; where do you think runes come from?"
If he wanted to appease his new teacher, he would need to reach his expectations. The fact that he barely survived the climb was a testament of how high he needed to score in order to gain his approval. Not that he simply wanted the teacher to like him, but he could possibly receive rewards if he did well.