Chương 361: The Hearing Part 3

"There is no need to alert the S Rank Assembly," a new voice said as several people appeared, seemingly from nowhere in the room. Clearly some spell had been used to conceal these people, but no one from the council dared voice a complaint as they all recognized the speaker. Donald Harris, S Rank Time mage. Appearing beside him were Helga Teft, Ingrid Fletcher and a third mage that no one recognized.

"Mage Harris, it is an honor for you to grace us with your presence," Chairman Thorn said. Despite the Fire mage's words, everyone in the room could see clearly he was not happy with the current development. Nor were his two allies on the council from the Caplan and Sorin families. It was quite clear the appearance of Mage Harris meant their plans today would be thwarted and the influence they had over the rest of the council was going to wane.

After all, who wanted to be allies with the people the most powerful mage in the world was upset with. True Sight revealed to Damion quite a bit about the newcomers. Mage Teft he, of course, knew and her S Rank Water affinity was no surprise. Mage Fletcher he knew of, the master of Arica's master, and the only S Rank Spatial mage. The other two were even more impressive than he imagined. Mage Harris, S Rank Time mage.

The appearance of such a mythical affinity was almost enough to drive Damion to purchasing affinities from the Magic System until he got the affinity himself. The other newcomer was even more of a surprise though. Others could not see it, or perhaps the mage had some sort of concealment ability like Damion's Conceal Aura, but this mage was SS Rank with a Shadow affinity.

He thought the SS Rank was just a myth to everyone, but here was a man, who appeared quite ordinary, and he appeared to have reached that mythical Rank with no one the wiser. While Damion was looking at them, he heard the Magic System send him a notification. Unfortunately, now was not the time to look over it.

"The Mage Association has three sacred duties," Mage Harris said with a glare at Chairman Thorn.

"Perhaps you can remind everyone what those duties are?"

"The protection and expansion of magic," Chairman Thorn stuttered out.

"That is the first."

"The protection and expansion of the human race."

"And the third?"

"The… the protection and… and…"

"The protection and nurturing of talents!" Mage Veers cheerfully helped.

"Thank you, Axton." Mage Harris said before turning back to Chairman Thorn.

"The S Rank Assembly, it seems, has let the Mage Association drift from its core purpose. Nowhere in the Mage Association charter does it say anything about judging talents. Or making it harder for them advance."

"We… we are upholding the second charge," Chairman Thorn said, suddenly gaining a bit of confidence.

"The protection and expansion of the human race. Mage Wells has taken personal possession of a B Rank Realm Breach. Such ownership runs the risk of…" Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Does Mage Wells have the ability to clear the Breach?" Mage Harris asked.

"Well, yes, but…"

"What but? There is no but. If he found the Breach, if he can clear the Breach and if he can afford as a B Rank to contain the Breach, it is his."

"What if he doesn't clear it regularly and it becomes a dungeon break and causes a beast wave?" Mage Caplan on the council asked, stepping in after Chairman Thorn lost his will to argue.

"What if? What do what if's matter? Has Mage Wells broken any law?" The silence from the council and the rest of the hearing room was deafening. No one dared answer Mage Harris and face his wrath. It was rumored that people that greatly angered him would find themselves ageing quite rapidly. Even mages who could live for hundreds of years yet would suddenly begin to look like they were about to keel over at any moment.

"I will take this silence as a no. Mage Wells, you have my apologies. If I had known such a farce was going on I would have come sooner. Now that this matter is cleared up," Mage Harris glanced at the council, each of whom nodded enthusiastically, before continuing.

"I would like you to come with me. Our esteemed guest has some things he wishes to discuss with you." Without another word, Mage Fletcher cast Portal and stepped through with Mage Teft and the Shadow mage. Not wasting any time, Damion walked over and stepped through the Portal with Mage Harris stepping through after him. Damion found himself in a wide wilderness, with some mountains in the distance.

As he looked at the surroundings, he realized the mountains were almost surrounding the entire area and he had a sudden feeling that this place was eerily similar to the wilderness training course exam area.

"What do you think?" Mage Teft asked.

"Is this where we'll… um, build it?" Damion asked. He was not sure how much he should say. He suspected Mage Fletcher was the Spatial mage that had helped Mage Teft several times and even took Elicia to safety. But he was not sure where the other two stood or how much they knew.

"Yes. This is where we will build our White Zone." Mage Teft answered. Since Mage Teft put it that way, Damion guessed Mage Harris and the other newcomer were allies and supportive of their plan.

"Are the mountains growing?" Damion asked as he watched the mountains in the distance as they seemed to change. He was quite sure they were in fact growing larger.

"Yes. Mage Bishop and Mage Forlani agreed to assist in the creation of the mountains. However, they are not aware of why we are creating this area. But before we get into all of that, I believe there are a few introductions to be made."

"Mage Wells, I am Ingrid Fletcher, I believe you know my son and his student, Mage Miller."

"Yes. Arica is a good friend."

"Well, I'm sure you know my name already. But I am Mage Harris, Time mage and head of the S Rank Assembly. And lastly this is Mage Arthur Thresbane, emissary of the Protectorate."

"I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time Mage Wells," the Shadow mage said with a smile.

"You have?" Damion questioned. Considering he had only recently even learned of the existence of the Protectorate, hearing that the SS Rank mage had been looking forward to meeting him was a bit nerve-racking.

"Oh yes. When I learned that you had S+ Rank talent and affinity I was most intrigued. It makes one wonder how far you might be able to go one day."

"Oh, well, I guess a lot of people felt the same when they learned about my test."

"I have here a more advanced testing crystal, it should be able to accurately assess your magic affinity and magical talent. Would you oblige me? I would like to see how high your talent truly goes." Damion felt a sudden sense of panic. If he touched the testing crystal Mage Thresbane was holding out would it reveal his other affinities? The most obvious answer was yes, even the testing crystals the Mage Association had could detect multiple affinities.

How was he going to explain his multiple affinities to Mage Harris, Mage Fletcher or Mage Thresbane of the Protectorate? A quick glance at Mage Teft did not get him any helpful information and all Damion could think was that he needed to play for time. The only method he could think do buy time was to ask a question and the only question he could think of was, how much did anyone know of Mage Thesbane?

"Is it that you are curious about the level of my talent? Or are you worried I might one day surpass you, an SS Rank Shadow mage?"