Chương 278: The Message

Once in the privacy of Leland's guest room, which was part of the apartments on the second and third floor of Leland and Flannery's store, Damion plopped his bag on the floor and threw himself onto the bed. It had been a long day. He had graduated from Silver Spire. Watched a school bully be freeze-dried to death. And witnessed his teacher flee into self-imposed exile. Now, at long last, he was able to take a break and take a look at the message she had given him some months ago.

Thinking back, Damion had to wonder if she had been expecting this to happen. She had, after all, killed Theodore Bianco in the middle of the school term, while he was in the Holy Forest dungeon. As for killing Thomas Sorin, was she really waiting for the Wind mage to strike at him, or was she going to kill him anyway? Whatever was the case, Damion figured this message had the answer. Damion plugged the message into his tablet and a projection of Mage Teft appeared before him. She looked rather tired.

More tired than he had ever seen her before in fact.

"Hello Damion. I hope this message finds you well and that you have graduated from a magic academy and have reached B Rank. What I have to tell you is difficult, but I owe you the truth, in fact, I owe you more than the truth. I just hope that you will forgive me once you learn what I have done.

"Earlier today, which is likely confusing for you, since I don't know how long it will be before you see this message, but early today a beast wave erupted in the Saung Green Zone. You have already been dispatched to guard the wall. I on the other hand have taken it upon myself to shield you from dangers you do not yet understand."

'A year ago,' Damion realized. Mage Teft recorded this message over a year ago. There was no way that at that time she could have foreseen Mage Bianco making another attempt on his life, or the foolhardy actions of Thomas Sorin. This was about something else entirely.

"Soon, your seal will be lifted, and the world will come to see you as a mage with possibly unlimited potential. How high you will rate, I can't say for sure, but I believe you have a chance to be the best. And that is the cause of my concern.

"If you are seeing this after graduating from a magic academy, I'm sure you have come to realize some of those dangers. I hope you were able to navigate the pit of vipers that are the academies, and if not, I hope you did not promise them too much.

"The Saung beast wave has given me an opportunity that I cannot let pass. One of the greatest pieces of leverage the noble families have against common born mages, is their family. To free you of this particular burden, I have called on the assistance of an old friend and moved your family safely to Levande, a town in the mountainous region on the border of the Argentum White Zone. Barring any unforeseen incidents, they should be able to live a quiet and peaceful life, free of the danger brought on by your talent."

Damion paused the recording. Hearing Mage Teft's words brought tears to his eyes. His family was alive. His mother, father, Bethany, they were likely doing quite well in Levande, an out of the way town in the mountains. For the last year, he had felt like something was off, like they were not really gone, but he always thought that feeling was just denial. Now he knew his heart knew something his mind did not.

He knew the place, he had actually been not too far away from there a few months back, when he found the ice dungeon. If only he had known at the time. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

'No,' Damion told himself, wiping the tears from his face. If he had known at the time. He would have placed them in danger. He was watched too closely. Too many people waiting for him to show a vulnerability they could exploit. By keeping to himself, he had unintentionally shielded himself from most of the noble families' plots to ensnare him, but even then, he had still run into danger. Headmaster Sorin had a lie detecting artifact and it was not until late in the school year that Damion had realized it.

He had always been cautious with his words, but if he had known his family was alive, the Headmaster very well could have sniffed it out.

"Your family is living under the family name of Brunnen. You should not have any difficulty in looking them up. I will try my best to keep them informed of your progress, but I can make no promises since I do not want to accidently reveal their location.

"While I can understand if you want to rush to see them as soon as possible, know that visiting them can place them back in danger. Unless of course you are strong enough that no one would risk the harm you could inflict in return.

"I hope I can tell you this myself one day. And answer all your questions, but the future is unpredictable, and I don't want to take the chance of you never reconnecting with your family so I will make sure you have this message to view when you are ready. Just be careful with this new knowledge." The message ended and Damion quickly tossed it into the Magic System Inventory for safe keeping. He wanted to go now. Open a portal to those mountains near Levande, but he stopped himself.

He was not sure if there was a way to detect portals opening around or inside a city or not. If there was, then his action would be caught and possibly lead to his family. He was strong. But not yet so strong that certain nobles would not use his family against him. He needed to be stronger. He needed something the noble families feared, to use as a deterrent. There was logic in why Mage Teft waited so long to tell him. Why she wanted him to be stronger before he sought his family out. But he missed them.

Now more than ever. In his anger and rage that fluctuated back and forth between blaming himself for being weak and Mage Teft for keeping this secret, Damion recalled the spell Mage Teft had used on Thomas Sorin, Frost Fire. Damion pulled the other message holder out from the Magic System Inventory. Mage Teft had told him it contained all the spells she could get her hands on from the school's Repository. And if she knew Frost Fire, he was sure that spell would be in here too.

As he scrolled through the list of spells, Damion was surprised it was not longer. There were less than twenty spells on average for each affinity. And rarer affinities, like his Ice, there were even fewer, most of which he already knew. From the list Damion immediately selected the few tier 4 and tier 5 Ice affinity magic seals and let his tablet project them one at a time. Once he observed each of the magic seals, he sat back on the bed and smiled as the notifications from the Magic System started rolling in.

Ding {Magic seal recorded} [Ice Beam - Active - (F Rank 250 Mana p/s) Channel you magic into a devastating beam that freezes everything it touches.] Ding {Quest Completed} [Quest: Learn a Tier 4 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – Reward: 100 Experience, 5, 000 Store Credit] Ding {Magic seal recorded} [Frost Fire - Active - (F Rank 300 Mana) Conjure devastating frost fire. The fire will consume through ice and devour everything it touches. Cannot be doused with water or smothered. Only a wielder of Frost Fire can extinguish it.] Ding {Quest Completed} [Quest: Learn a Tier 4 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – Reward: 100 Experience, 5, 000 Store Credit] Ding {Magic seal recorded} [Ice Domain - Active - (F Rank 1, 500 Mana, 250 Mana P/S) The area around you becomes an ice world. Reduces the power of all other magic in your domain.] Ding {Quest Completed} [Quest: Learn a Tier 5 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – Reward: 1, 000 Experience, 50, 000 Store Credits] Ding {Magic seal recorded} [Ice Mastery - Active - (F Rank 2, 500 Mana, 100 Mana p/s) Master all Ice around you and bend it completely to your will.] Ding {Quest Completed} [Quest: Learn a Tier 5 Magic Spell – Status: Complete – Reward: 1, 000 Experience, 50, 000 Store Credits]