Chương 186: The Ransom

After his morning exercise, Damion went out and met Phil before returning to the school grounds to spend the day practicing his magic. Midterm break lasted for a week and he had only spent a little over a day inside the labyrinth. Since there was no way the academy was going to let him join a team to go into one of the city's B Rank dungeons or go back into the labyrinth, Damion's options of things to do on his break had become severally limited.

When Elicia joined him after her meeting with Headmaster Sorin she had a big smile on her face and Damion could not help but think her meeting went well.

"So, how did it go?"

"Headmaster Sorin was quite insistent that I push forward and seduce you. So much so that he gave me this," Elicia said holding out a vial. With True Sight Damion could see the rank of the potion, whatever its effects were, it was A Rank.

"Do I want to know what is in that vial?" Damion asked thinking it was some kind of love potion.

"Probably not. The potion is called Control. I'm sure you can guess what it does," Elicia said as she tipped the vial, pouring its contents on the ground.

"What are you going to tell your grandfather now?"

"That I dosed your drink and then you accidently spilled it."

"Glad I could become clumsy to help you out."

"Just be glad I didn't actually use it on you."

"Should I be afraid someone else will? How much does a potion like this cost?" Damion asked.

"A few thousand gold, not that you can buy it anywhere. Just like the Mage Bane Toxin that was used on your healer friend, Control is a restricted potion. Only the Paladin and Justiciar Orders are even allowed to possess it."

"Well, I guess that explains why you didn't just sell it for the gold to start your future new life."

"I didn't even think of that," Elicia responded as she looked at the spot where the liquid had soaked into the ground.

"Too late now." Damion and Elicia spent the rest of the day discussing his labyrinth run and what he could have done differently and what spells the Blanche family might provide in compensation. The next day Mage Teft summoned Damion to her office to meet with the Blanche family representative. While he was excited to get new spells, he was also feeling a bit of dread, having to face a family member of someone he killed was not something he was looking forward to.

"Elder Blanche, this is Mage Wells," Mage Teft introduced Damion to the older man with thinning hair in her office. The man appeared to be in his 70s, but Damion knew appearance on Nerotath did not always portray an accurate estimate of age. This man was an A Rank mage and was likely far older than anyone he had met before. Most of the A Rank mages Damion had met appeared to be in their 40s to 50s, with a few appearing slightly older. Elder Blanche appeared to be older than all of them.

His hair had long since turned to gray and the wrinkles on his face hid the fact that this old man, despite his appearance, was a powerful and dangerous mage. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Mage Wells. It is rare to find an Ice mage outside of our lineage. Tell me, are you perhaps distantly related to our Blanche family?"

"I don't believe so sir. I'm the first mage from either of my parents' lines."

"Remarkable," Elder Blanche commented. Damion could feel the elder's eyes appraising and probing him, as if searching for familiarity.

"Perhaps your parents were mistaken and one of your grandparents were distantly related. What were their names."

"As much as you would like to claim him," Mage Teft interrupted, stopping Damion from answering.

"Damion's lineage has been well researched by the Mage Association and Headmaster Sorin since coming to Silver Spire. And that is not why you are here today." His grandparents were people Damion had not thought about in a long while. Obviously, he knew he had them, but his parents hardly ever spoke of them. Damion had asked his mother once and she told him about her and his father's sad childhood. Apparently, both his mother's and father's families were killed off in a beast wave when his parents were young.

Their families lived in Yellow Zone town that was completely destroyed by a beast wave when his parents were around ten years old. The small town did not have enough space in the shelters for everyone. The residents all hid their children in the shelter and then tried to flee to the nearest Sentinel Order stronghold, but none made it in time. The entire adult population of the town was wiped out, leaving a town full of orphans. The orphans were brought to Saung and raised in a group home.

Some found adoptive families, but his parents' town was not the only one destroyed by that beast wave, so there were quite a few orphans. His parents grew up together in the group home, eventually dated, married, and had Damion.

"Quite right, apologies," Elder Blanche said with a sigh.

"For the return of our ancestral armor, along with the promise of not pursuing the matter further, the elders of the Blanche family are prepared to offer you two magic seals."

"Just two?" Damion questioned. He was still secretly hoping they would grant him unrestricted access to all their family magic seals, but that was probably too much to ask.

"Yes. While there was much discussion on the necessity of this exchange, the value of a tier 4 spell greatly exceeds the value of a B Rank armor. Still, it is our ancestral armor and we would like it back. To that end, we will also offer you a tier 3 spell." Damion had to stop himself from drooling at the thought of learning a tier 3 and a tier 4 spell. When Damion remained silent, lost in his imaginations of what the spells might be, Mage Teft spoke up to continue with the negotiation.

"What spells will you be providing to Mage Wells?"

"The tier 3 spell is Ice Armor and the tier 4 spell Ice Clone."

"Both of those spells can be obtained in Silver Spire's Repository. You are hardly granting him something as valuable as you claim."

"We both know it won't be easy for him to obtain those spells from your Repository," Elder Blanche countered.

"Offer an alternative tier 3 spell," Mage Teft demanded. She knew Elder Blanche was right. It would be difficult for Damion to earn the points needed to access the higher tier spells in the Repository, but he was well on his way to saving for tier 3, so she believed he could reach that point before the end of the term. Tier 4, however, was out of the question.

"Perhaps Frost Over. From my reading of the Justiciar's report, Devon used the spell in the labyrinth and Mage Wells seemed to be curious about it."

"Is that the spell that could freeze the surroundings?" Damion asked.

"If mastered to a high enough level, or used repeatedly, it can have that effect."

"I accept," Damion said quickly. It was not that he was afraid Elder Blanche would change his mind, Damion was just eager to get his hands on the spells.

"Your tablet please," Elder Blanche said while taking out his own. Once he took out his tablet Elder Blanche tapped a few buttons and then a message appeared on Damion's tablet that he received two items. He wanted to open them right away to check but decided it would have been bad form and might appear that he did not believe Elder Blanche had operated in good faith. Instead, Damion pulled from his spatial artifact Devon's set of B Rank armor to complete the trade.