Alastor's act of defeating a second year, despite not meaning much to him, meant quite a lot to the other students.
The first years felt that they had a leader capable of going against those they could not, in true sheep fashion.
These were the ones Alastor had wished to gain.
There were of course, some who envied him, ridiculed him, hated him for no good reason.
These were the kind that were soon isolated, due to Alastor's own networking, along with, surprisingly, Axel's help.
The young man was friends with just about everyone.
But when Alastor asked him to isolate those who went against him, he did so without question.
Axel was convinced that Alastor would be a historical figure in the annals of humanity, and followed his every word.
After a few weeks of isolation and passive ridicule, even the most jaded of Alastor's critics had to quiet down.
As long as they did not make themselves known, Alastor did not care enough about them.
During these weeks, Alastor also created a reputation as a 'genius' for himself, to the point where even the nitpicky and sadistic Professor Bones could not find much fault with him.
As for why he did this?
'For my own benefit of course.'
Alastor thought to himself,
'If I can become trusted enough, I should be able to find the Rune of Change that Bones is researching. The Rune of Control is locked away, but the Rune of Change hasn't been identified yet.'
Ever since he thought about having the Lord of Envy as an enemy, he wished to have a counter for him.
While this wouldn't help him much, some help was better than none.
It was also another added layer of insurance against his identity being found out.
Alastor was currently asking Professor Bones about why demons could not use Runes, and the answer was as he expected.
'No luck here either.'
Bones let out a sigh as his old bones sank into the chair.
He was extremely powerful, but even he could not escape the ravages of time, especially since the Time Rune was unknown to him.
'Hmmm, even if a Rune for Time existed, it would be fragmented into many, due to how many universal applications occur to keep 'Time' on track.'
He snapped back to attention as Professor Bones said something.
"Could you repeat that, Professor?"
Professor Bones said to him, "You young ones have no attention span! No grit!"
Alastor waited for the old man's reminiscing to finish, as Professor Bones finally said,
"We discovered an unknown Rune. Any new eyes would be helpful, even if they're immature."
Alastor knew this was just Professor Bones' way of complementing him.
'Here it is...The Rune of Change.'
'Unlike the other's, since I know the intent of the Rune to some extent, and once I learn the symbol, if I draw it in front of them, it will definitely react.'
'I need to hide the real meaning of the Rune of Change as much as possible.'
"Yes Professor. I would be honoured to help in this research."
Unfortunately, Professor Bones did not see the malicious smile forming on his star student's face as he left.
........................................
Karna was staring at a butterfly flapping it's wings on a hill far beyond what other's could see, when he was rudely awakened from his favourite pastime by a redheaded lady whom he had seen following him for the past thirty minutes.
Alicia Meltia Asher made her offer to the archer standing before her, to support her as he supported Alastor.
"I know your true value, Karna. I can bring out your potential to the fullest. The Asher family does not lack in Archery techniques."
"And I, am a generous leader. I take care of my people."
"This is my offer to you, Karna. Leave Alastor, and join me. The Rank 1 position in the mid terms will surely be mine."
An offer to switch sides.
This was practically Alicia declaring war on Alastor's status as the Rank 1, and the 'leader' of the first years.
Karna replied, "I see. I need some time to think about this."
Alicia replied, "Time is a valuable commodity, Karna. You have until tomorrow lunch to give me your answer."
........................................
Alastor and Karna laughed as they discussed Alicia's offer.
"She even said, 'I can bring out your potential to the fullest~'"
"She was so serious about it too! Hahaha!"
Alastor replied as he cackled, the maniacal laughter coming from deep within him,
"She's really quite something."
"Besides, organizing an army of rats does not change the fact that they are rats!"
Karna asked as he wiped a tear from his eye, "So, should I agree to her offer and tell you what happens on the inside?"
Alastor shook his head, "No, I'm sure she will have you under suspicion for a while if you join so easily."
"Refuse her."
Karna shrugged, "But then whose going to tell us about her comedic antics?"
........................................
Alicia looked at the mediocre creature in front of her.
"I'm Axel E. Rator! I want to join your camp!"
Alicia contemplated the pros and cons of letting him into the camp ashe smiled kindly at him externally.
'Axel Elio Rator. No outstanding combat attributes. Great interpersonal communication and information network. Would be extremely helpful. However, seen with Alastor multiple times, more as a following stalker than a friend.'
Alicia asked him, "Why do you wish to join me?"
Axel looked frustrated for a moment, and then angered.
"Because that bastard Alastor thinks he's some sort of hot shot! He doesn't even bring himself to look at those below him!"
As Axel's rant continued, Alicia thought to herself,
'Being spurned by someone you look up to. What he says makes sense on the surface.....But I still have a bad feeling about this. However, to gain the sort of social network he has would be a great boon against the Rank 1.'
And so, Alicia accepted Axel into her camp.
Meanwhile, Alastor had arrived in the specialized research laboratory for the Rune of Change, where a group of researchers including Professor Bones was already working on the Rune.
Alastor did not greet Professor Bones, knowing that he hates wasting time when doing research.
Bones simply motioned for him to sit in the observation area, along with a group whose express purpose was to catch any fluctuations or movements.
An old voice rang out, "Test 323: Beginning Type F checking."
After being handed a small guidebook that a particularly zealous colleague made, Alastor understood that Type F meant that Professor Bones would try to ascertain if this was a fragment of the Rune of Fire.
'I wonder how they'll feel if they knew they had a full, complete Rune sitting in front of them.'
Alastor understood how the original misconception could have arisen.
The Rune of Change, compared to other Runes, was exceedingly simple.
As they began testing, Alastor leaned back in his seat in the observation area, a small smile gracing his lips.
'Meeting Amber Rose was really such good luck.'
Due to her mere existence, the Weaver could not play around with my fate as it wished.
Now, my original path, belonging in the Book of Fate, was playing out.
Good fortune, misfortune, all depended on that Divine Artifact that superceded even the Rune of Fate.
'But right now, all I can do is thank the book for this good fortune.'
Alastor thought as he memorized the Rune of Change.