Xavier Gecko was very surprised to hear that Nick was still having soul states. The soul state, practically speaking, was simply an interaction between the person and the various laws carved into their soul. Every human is born with laws carved into their souls and these laws tend to determine the person's affinity for different types of magical energy. The soul state can be used to interact with these affinities, meaning, that a person can have a meaningful 'discussion' with basically the source of their magical potential in a form that they can understand. These soul states are usually nothing special, only helping Magicians to figure out what there highest affinities are but sometimes there are reports that Magicians receive inspiration regarding the use of magic from soul states. Soul states tend to be different from person to person so their overall benefits vary.
One thing is for sure though, soul states must be triggered by the requisite spell cast by a Magician or through the us of a magical tool. The academy has many such tools to help their students but Nick is saying that he entered soul states without any help and the dean knew that was strange. Dean Gecko thought:
(It must have something to do with the soul tag that I placed on him.)
Nick was sitting in front of the dean waiting for an answer so dean Gecko felt inclined to answer his question as honestly as possible minus his suspicions about his soul tag having something to do with it. The dean spoke to Nick, telling him information and even his own experiences regarding soul states.
"...So that's all there is to it. I don't know the cause of your soul states but they should be harmless to you. They may even bring you inspiration and benefits every once in a while."
Nick felt enlightened and relieved that these soul states would not put him in danger and just as the dean said he did receive inspiration from them but he was definitely not going to tell the dean about that. Some thing still felt amiss but he couldn't tell what exactly so he was not going to say more than he had to to the dean.
(My intuition is telling me that the dean is suspicious. It could be that I just have trust issues but I'd rather bet that the dean is playing tricks, more than that I'm just bugging out.)
Dean Gecko continued speaking:
"Now, moving on to the matter of you being brought here. I am satisfied that the ruckus in your dorm's cafeteria was caused by the fact that you just carved your foundation laws into your mindscape and you were ignorant of how to properly control your power. I will settle matters with the enforcement office. By the way, this goes without saying but I'll say it anyway for your benefit. Do not tell anyone the details of your meditation or the power of your mindscape or foundation laws, do not even speak of your own speculations regarding them. That is all, you may leave. Tell Thomas to come in here when you see him."
Nick nodded his head and said:
"Thank you for your teaching dean Gecko."
The dean nodded and Nick turned around and left. When he entered the waiting room he told Thomas that the dean wanted to speak with him and so Thomas entered the dean's room while Nick sat in a chair, waiting for him to return. The only people currently in the room were Nick and the receptionist. Nick wanted to get back to his room to experiment with his new found powers but obviously couldn't do that until Thomas returned and let him go. Nick turned his attention to the receptionist and thought:
(I want her.)
Nick had never actively tried to interact with women but that doesn't mean that he didn't have the desire, he just didn't want to waste his time enduring the social games that they played, as well as, his own circumstances were never the best. Nick walked up to the receptionist's desk and nervously asked:
"Excuse me miss, may I know your name for future reference?"
The receptionist looked at Nick with a gentle smile and spoke:
"My name is Samantha Bell. Young man, you know, I've worked in this office for quite some time and I've received the attention of many men and women but I've got to say, your stare makes me the most uncomfortable and I mean that in a positive way. Behind all that nervousness you seem to have a fairly formidable character. You see, I practice wisdom magic so I have an intuition for these things."
Nick was a little caught off guard, he didn't think that he would be complemented by this woman for staring at her, he thought at most he might get slapped on the head or something.
"Thank you Samantha..."
Before Nick could say anymore, Samantha interrupted him.
"And because I'm a Wisdom Magician, I can intuit your intentions quite clearly. Because the dean seems to think well enough of you, I will say this. I am a Regular Magician with more power than any nation's non-magical military. If you want to fuck me, your chances are very slim indeed. Hmmm...If you could somehow defeat the dean in combat, I might consider it but as you are right now I can crush you with a wave of my hair. Behave yourself and sit down, do not approach me with your lust in mind again unless you have the same capability a lion has to hold down his lioness."
Nick was shocked at hearing all that, he felt like there was a stone lodged in his throat. No matter how he tried to speak, when he opened his mouth, no words came out. He opened and closed his mouth for almost thirty seconds and ended up saying nothing. Finally, as he took one last look at Samantha's calm smile, he turned around and went back to his chair in defeat. He silently clenched his right fist.
(Fuck, that was embarrassing but she is right. I didn't know that she was a Regular Magician, I can't even feel any magic energy coming from her. Since coming to this academy that interaction with her ended up being my first real defeat. That's so lame. Sigh...I'll work harder and some day I'll definitely make a woman like Samantha submit to me. I just have to be patient.)
Nick waited quietly for another thirty minutes before Thomas returned. Thomas spoke to Nick in a more carefree tone than before:
"Based on the dean's recommendation, you have been cleared of all suspicions. You may leave of your own accord now."
When Thomas finished speaking, he disappeared in front of Nick's eyes. Nick felt relieved to be free of Thomas's supervision. Before Nick left, he steeled himself and walked up to Samantha's desk again, speaking with a slight bow:
"Thank you for your admonishment and correction as I did act presumptuously towards you but know that I have not given up and I won't stop until I possess that lion strength that you mentioned. That being said, I hope you'll be ready to be my lioness when the time comes."
Samantha's eyes widened slightly, reacting to this boy's guts.
(Is this young man brave or stupid?)
Suddenly, Samantha raised her right hand that was emanating a pinkish light and the scene in front of Nick changed; he now found himself in a space devoid of anything but a large shining object far below him. As the object got closer, he realized that he was apparently free falling towards what seemed like a huge ball of fire.
(Is that the sun?)
Nick could not speak and he felt like he was suffocating as he felt the heat coming from the supposed sun. When he was about to come in direct contact with the ball of fire, the scene changed back to reflect reality with him slightly bowing in front of Samantha. Sweat dripped off of his face like he had just taken a shower. Samantha spoke softly:
"We'll see."
At that Nick turned around and left, proud of himself for his declaration but internally kicking himself for how stupid it was to say that to a Regular Magician.
(Sigh, I'm an idiot...No! If I don't even have the guts to say something like that to a woman, then I'm basically showing that I don't have the chops to successfully chase down the things that I want. I don't have to be strong now, but I'll get there...over time.)
...
The dean looked at a holographic screen in front of him, witnessing the scene between Samantha and Nick.
"Ha, ha, ha. This young man sure has some guts, making such a declaration. There are no real consequences preventing faculty from exchanging blows with each other and If I had made such a declaration to Samantha, she would definitely have given me a small scar before I could take her down. I remember when I was young, I made even more ridiculous declarations than him. Ha, ha."
"Hmmm...I wonder. Should I give Samantha over to him for a night in exchange for the details regarding the magic scrolls that he used in the exam as well as information about his mindscape. My suspicion is that this young man has a special mindscape, just thinking about his apparent storage capacity for magic gives me goose bumps. There's also the unknown nature of the magic contained in his scrolls..."
The dean mulled it over for a while but ultimately decided against it.
"No way, that Nick Capitol doesn't seem so naive as to give up his benefits because of his sexual desires. Forget it, I'll find a handle on him sooner or later."
.....
When Nick got back to his dorm, it was already around 4 pm. Nick went back to the cafeteria to buy some food and then returned to his room to eat it there. After he finished eating he started thinking about his next moves.
(I should start by trying to alter the three spells that I already made to make them suitable for casting without scrolls. Then I should work on a spell that I can use as a trump card; I already have some inspiration from my last soul state so that will likely help a lot. Oh, and I have to make a magic scroll from the translation that I got from Marsha, I still have to fulfill my end of the agreement with her.)
Nick knew that he had a lot of work to do in less than two months but he was excited for what the future might hold. Nick sat at his desk and started chanting his meditation. The magic energy in his room appeared stimulated and started whirling around his head. Within his mindscape, Nick tried to move a large mass of his 'magic water' according to his will, all the while saying some of the words of his meditation:
"I am the rules."
"Within both heaven and earth, my path is limitless."
"This world is only grass for me to tread on to reach the mountain of my dreams."
"The rules have no limit."
The bluish water of Nick's mindscape became turbulent and its level started to raise. Nick could not visibly see it because of its apparent vastness but he could intuitively feel it. Nick smiled.
"The future will be interesting."