Chương 275: Alias

Seeing his mentor Portal away, leaving him behind, Damion felt a bit of panic set in. She could have taken him with her. Or was she expecting him to use this opportunity to open his own Portal and make a quick escape. Either way, he was left between two groups each with their own interpretation of what just happened. The nobles in the crowd were calling for the head of Mage Teft. While the commoners argued the proof provided was vindication enough and that there was no need to hunt her down.

Justiciar Straus, however, had a different plan in mind. Here he had the young Mage Wells without his mentor and without the backing of Headmaster Sorin. This was the perfect opportunity for him to find out more about that mysterious potion the boy used a few months back.

"Mage Wells! You are an Ice mage. Why did you let your mentor murder Mage Sorin?" The accusation was clear and loud. If he could not hold the teacher accountable, he would shift blame to the student.

"I can hardly stop a spell I don't know. I do not know the Frost Fire spell. And even if I did, I would not have stopped my teacher from killing him. Mage Sorin attempted to murder me on several occasions, the only reason I did not swat him like the fly he was through justified combat was because he was just that, a fly." Damion remark brought a series of gasps from the crowd, but he ignored them. With a final look at Thomas Sorin's corpse, he turned and began walking towards Argentum.

"Halt!" Justiciar Straus yelled.

"What now?"

"You are to come with me for questioning."

"Questioning? For what?"

"About what happened here!"

"Are you bringing in all the other witnesses for questioning?"

"You are not a witness."

"Aren't I?" Damion asked with a smirk.

"I suppose if I am not a witness, I am a victim. After all, Mage Sorin attacked me, as evidenced by the recording. And I never attacked back, even if it was within my rights."

"You will come with me to answer questions on where your accomplice has fled to."

"Accomplice? That is a bold accusation Justiciar," Damion said, but then he thought of another method of resolving this confrontation.

"Just like everyone else here, all I know is that Mage Teft left through a portal she opened with an artifact. Since I've never opened a portal before, I can hardly offer any insights on where that portal might have taken her. But, if you insist on me going with you, we can. I'm sure some of the witnesses here would also like to come along as well. I'm sure they can offer some insight.

And while we are at your office, we can discuss the reparations the Sorin family will offer me for their member's attempt on my life."

"What?" Justiciar Straus questioned. He was not sure he heard Damion right.

"Isn't that customary? I mean, when a Blanche family member tried to murder me, I was awarded several spells as compensation. Since this attempt was from the Sorin family, and the heir apparent of the family, shouldn't they now offer me compensation?"

"Let him go," Headmaster Sorin spoke up.

"There is no reason to detain him for questioning and doing so will only make matters worse for all involved."

"Thank you. Headmaster," Damion said before resuming his walk through the crowd towards Argentum. Once Damion was free of the crowd, he summoned his Ice Sword and stepped onto it to fly to the city with Phil alongside. A few family members of students were amazed to see what Damion could do with the spell, but most of the noble families had already begun returning to the school grounds while speaking on communication tablets, eagerly informing their family elders of recent events.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Flying through the city as quickly as he could, Damion made his way to teleportation platform to inquire about making his way to Saung. There was no point in sticking around the White Zone. Unless he joined or worked with a guild, there was no way he would be able to get entry into one of the city dungeons or the labyrinth.

Combined with the fallout that was sure to come from Mage Teft's actions, Damion wanted to leave the city as quickly as possible. He considered going to a secluded location and opening his own portal to Saung, but he thought that might raise suspicions. If he appeared in another city by portal, and without the departing city having a record of it, they were sure to question how he got there. Especially after Mage Teft's use of an 'artifact' to open a portal.

Damion did not let on at the time, but the artifact Mage Teft had used, was just a communication artifact, made to send a signal to someone. And that someone, who Damion guessed was Mage Fletcher, opened the portal for her after receiving the alert with her location. By pretending the artifact had opened the portal, it lessened the scrutiny that would be placed on Spatial mages and shifted it to artificers.

"How much for one way to Saung?" Damion asked the attendant at teleportation platform.

"Ah, Mage Wells, your return to Saung was prepaid. You may depart whenever you are ready."

"Really?" Damion questioned. He had not expected that.

"Yes. There was no set time for the return, but since the platform is free now, I can send you through."

"Well, no time like the present," Damion said. He climbed the steps and once he was on the platform the portal to Saung opened. Not wanting to waste any time, Damion walked through quickly and a second later, he was back in his hometown.

"Welcome to Saung," the attendant said, greeting Damion, but keeping his distance due to the presence of Phil on his shoulder.

"May I offer you directions or call a ground car for you?"

"No, I know my way around," Damion said. Of course, this was only a partial truth. He had only been in this part of Saung a few times and barely knew where he was within the city. However, Damion had no intention of walking through the streets in search of familiar sights. Instead, he summoned his Ice Sword and flew into the sky, much to shock of the attendant. After less than a minute of flying, Damion spotted where he wanted to go. The Adventurer Association.

Flying down, he landed near the entrance to the familiar building and after Phil landed on his shoulder, Damion headed inside. Nothing had changed in the Saung Adventurer Association. Even the smell was the same. When Damion entered, every eye in the place followed him, not just because he was young for an adventurer, but because of the Ferocious Beast resting on his shoulder.

"Is Manager Halsey available?" Damion asked the clerk on duty.

"Who should I say is here to see him?" the female clerk said, trying to keep the fear of Phil out of her voice. Damion handed her his adventurer's license and for a moment, he thought the young lady was going to faint. After all, Damion's license showed he was only 19 years old but was a B Rank mage.

"Let me check to see if he has time in his schedule," the clerk said as she quickly sent a message to Manager Halsey. A reply came very quickly, which to Damion was no surprise.

"Manager Halsey has asked I send you up."

"Thank you. I know the way."

"Damion!" Manager Halsey greeted as Damion approached his office.

"I can't tell you how good it is to see you again. This is Phil I assume." Phil chirped happily at its name, eliciting a chuckle from Manager Halsey.

"I just heard the news about Helga. Shocking business. Imagine, the Justiciar issuing an arrest warrant for an S Rank that killed two nobles that attempted to kill her student. This is Headmaster Sorin and Headmaster Bianco's doing no doubt."

"I was not aware they actually went through with the arrest warrant."

"It is no matter. The recording of what Thomas Sorin did is spreading even faster than news of the warrant. By this time next week both will have been forgotten by everyone except those directly involved. Now, as I understand it, you came here straight from Silver Spire Magic Academy. What is it that I can help you with?"

"I'm hoping you can give me an adventurer license with a different name, or some sort of identification that I can use to avoid scrutiny, until this all blows over."

"You think it won't?"

"I think it is likely that the nobles will keep Mage Teft on everyone's mind and distort the truth until they can paint her as an enemy to humanity and then use my connection with her as a means to me."

"That is an unusual take on things," Manager Halsey said. He clearly thought Damion was being paranoid, but the boy had been the subject of numerous assassination attempts, so he thought he should at least let him have his say.

"I can provide you with a new license and a new payment card. But it won't really offer much protection. Anyone looking for you hard enough will see through the ruse easily enough."

"I don't need to completely change my identity, just something to present to others that don't know me. Something to just slow anyone looking for me down enough that they can't pin me down."