Chương 109: Studying The Seals

Realizing he had a way he might be able to complete his oldest quest, Damion grew anxious. He wanted to work on his idea now, but Ms. Teft was still here, and he could not start working until she left. Though while she was here, Damion thought he might be able to work on another quest.

"Do you know any tier 2 Ice magic seals?" If Damion could complete the quest to learn a tier 2 spell, then he could earn a whopping 500 Credits. With that much he would be able to buy quite a few upgrades and even some spells.

"You want to learn a tier 2 spell?" Ms. Teft was briefly stunned by Damion's request.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Tier 2 spells are much more complicated than tier 1. You won't be able to just remember them from a book."

"How will I know until I can see one," Damion countered.

"It doesn't matter if you can or not, since I don't know any tier 2 Ice magic seals. And it would be best for you to stick with Ice magic seals before you start venturing into Water magic seals. I know a few tier 1 Ice affinity spells, but I think you already know them."

"Ice Shard, Ice Breath, Ice Shield and Icy Grasp," Damion recited the spells from 'Hermetics Study of Magic Seals.'

"Exactly. It was quite impressive of you to be able to remember magic seals you read about when you were only six years old."

"I don't think I realized I had memorized them. I certainly couldn't use the magic spells until the seal on my core lifted."

"I don't doubt that. But I wanted to give you some advice and a warning about your meeting with the schools tomorrow." Damion nodded silently back, ready to take in Ms. Teft's warning.

"You are the only person ever recorded with both S+ magical talent and an S+ magic affinity. The other White Zones won't want to let you go too easily."

"You mean Erythraean and Beryl academies."

"The academies will have no choice but to let you study where you want, but the rulers of the White Zones won't give up so easily. You can probably expect a few very lucrative offers from all three parties. My advice is don't accept any of them."

"What do you mean? You mean the councils will try to bribe me to join their White Zone?"

"Not the councils precisely. The council of each region is of course the official governing body, but the roots of the White Zones run deep. There are a number of very old and noble houses, like the Bianco's that wield great power behind the scenes."

"I wouldn't call the Bianco's being behind the scenes. They essentially control Erythraean Academy don't they."

"True, they might not be the best example. Some of the prominent families are well known as they like to bask in the admiration of the masses. Makes them feel superior, I suppose. But the important thing is, don't be roped in by them. If you fall into their web of promises and lies, you will be hard pressed to ever achieve what you are truly capable of." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Why would you say that? Wouldn't it be best for them if I grew as strong as possible?"

"They will help you grow, but only to a certain point, then you will be kept too busy to devote time to training. If they can't control you, then you are of no use to them."

"Doesn't that mean if I don't join one of them then they will work to hinder my growth?"

"They won't do anything publicly. And they won't do anything before you finish your schooling, at least not as long as you give them the hope of joining. As long as you don't outright refuse them, they won't even entertain the idea that you would pass up the opportunities of wealth and power they will dangle in front of you. But they will try to manipulate you, even going so far as to threaten anyone you care about if you don't follow their rules."

"Delay until I graduate and then delay until I am strong enough to ignore them?"

"Precisely. By the time they realize that you don't need or want their help, it will be too late for them to openly move against you. They'll make things harder for you, artifacts will be more expensive or of lower quality, getting dungeon runs will be more difficult, things of that nature."

"Alright. I get it," Damion told Ms. Teft.

"Will they be coming here tomorrow or do I need to meet them in the Adventurer Association?"

"At the Adventurer Association tomorrow morning is what was arranged. Mage Halsey has agreed to act as host. While the White Zone nobles may have a lot of influence in the Association, none of them can control it, so it is your best safety net." After giving Damion that last piece of advice, Ms. Teft left. Once Damion was by himself in his house, not even five minutes passed before Damion began to feel completely alone.

The crushing weight of the loss of his family came back to the front of his mind and he had a hard time making himself do anything. This whole second life Damion had worked on growing his personal power. Preparing for when the Magic System would fully unlock and allow him to use magic properly. But now here he was. The family that had supported him unconditionally was gone. The few friends that he had, he had not spoken to in over a year.

For the first time in this lifetime, Damion found himself wishing he had done something, anything differently. Wishing he could go back and change things. Wishing he had made more friends. Just wishing he could bring back the dead. Damion was not entirely sure how long he sat and was trapped in his head, but eventually the words Ms. Teft said came to him.

'You can't blame yourself. You can't let yourself get caught up in what ifs. The only thing you can do now is move forward and honor their memory.' The words were still hard to swallow, but he knew she was right. He had to keep moving forward, it is what his parents would want. All he could do now was learn not to be so self-absorbed, to make friends and keep them. And maybe one day he would have a family again. Damion felt the weight on him lift slightly which gave him the motivation to do something.

He needed to be stronger. Strong enough that he would not have to worry about losing anyone ever again. Bringing up his magic seals, Damion began to study the differences between them. He started with the Ice magic seals. He knew four and between those four spells he was counting on being able to decipher the glyph for Ice. Damion was betting if he could figure out enough words the Magic System would grant him complete understanding of the ancient language.

After Damion studied his four Ice magic seals and believed he had determined the glyph for ice, nothing happened. This did not entirely surprise Damion, he had been hopeful, but did not fully believe one word would unlock everything. Damion started working on other magic seals next. At first Damion tried to summon the magic seals but was unable to. Thankfully, Damion realized he did not even need to summon the magic seals for him to study them.

The Magic System allowed him to view the magic seals in his mind with perfect clarity. Reviewing the magic seals this way allowed Damion to compare the magic seals more easily, since he could pull up several at once and look at them side by side, instead of having to switch back and forth. Progress was slow, but Damion began to recognize similarities in the glyphs of Lightning Breath, Ice Breath and Flame Breath. Seeing the differences and the similarities helped Damion guess at more meaning in the glyphs.

When Damion started studying the grasping spells, he felt something click in his mind as the Magic System sent him a notification and he could suddenly easily identify what these glyphs meant.