The Sixth School Ch. 036

Alena's confusion hadn't been because she didn't recognize the spell, instead, it was because she did. This film of light wasn't the usual, more solid kind of shield meant to protect against physical attacks and various kinds of magic spells. Instead, it was a special kind of shield that could only protect against one thing, aura. At first, Alena hadn't been able to figure out why Roka needed the protection. She might have been a seventh-tier mage, but Alena was far too injured to produce any aura that would be harmful to the boy, not that she was motivated to anyway. In the case of Olivia, she only had enough power to match a second-tier mage, nowhere near powerful enough to pose any danger to the boy in terms of aura. But then, it had clicked in her mind that Olivia wasn't really a real individual, but just an avatar left behind by a far more powerful entity. Olivia wasn't trying to protect against Alena or herself for that matter, but the entity to which she was connected. Once Alena's shield was in place, Olivia nodded to her before closing her eyes. There was a few seconds of calm silence before the change came.

The first thing to change was the shape of the shield around both of them. When not resisting an aura, the light shield would look a lot like a light silk cloth flowing through a light wind. When resisting an aura, however, it would turn into a surface as smooth as an egg. Or, at least, that's what it should have been like. From what Alena knew, the stronger the aura that the shield was resisting, the smaller this egg usually was. It's almost as if it was being compressed from all sides by the aura that it was resisting. When the change happened in the familiar, however, the aura shield didn't just shrink into a smaller egg. Instead, it was like both she and Roka were wearing shimmering skinsuits made of light as the shields were compressed by the oppressive aura that filled the cave right up until it was pressed against their skin.

Despite the almost lethal danger that they were presently in, Alena could feel her body burning up. The fear just barely managed to keep her mind clear. Her body, however, felt like it was awash in a flood of lust. Her nipples hardened and she could feel herself growing wet down below. Her skin was suddenly very sensitive. So much so that, even her clothes rubbing against her skin sent shivers of arousal and pleasure coursing through her. It was as if the force that had invaded this place was lust incarnate. Struggle as she would, she couldn't get her body to fight against the effects of it. And so she didn't. Instead, she focused on keeping her mind clear and sharp, ready to face what came next.

Alena couldn't help but shudder the moment Olivia opened her eyes. She could feel the gaze of something vast and ancient falling on her through those eyes. Alena knew that it was still the avatar standing there and not the true being herself. The original was only projecting a part of her consciousness through the avatar. This, Alena suspected, was the only reason that Olivia's tier two and her tier three aura shields were holding up, although barely. If the true being had descended, Alena suspected that their shields wouldn't have lasted even a second before being torn apart like rotted cloth.

The being before her stayed silent for a while. Alena understood why. Part of the convenience of having an avatar was the fact that it could act and think for itself and didn't require constant monitoring. That way, the one that made the avatar could focus on other things while the avatar focused on the particular task assigned to it. This, however, made it so that when the creator once again reconnected with the avatar, they would have to spend some time going over the memories of the avatar to see what had gone on in the time that they hadn't been present. Alena noticed it when the familiar's eyes went wide and she turned her gaze to look at the sigil on the floor. Clearly, she had caught up to the present.

A smile crossed Olivia's expression as the being turned back to face her. "You've taken quite the risk revealing this to a being far more powerful than yourself. This kind of naïveté I'd expect from the boy, but not from someone as exposed to the ugliness of the magic world as yourself," She spoke softly.

Alena had to take a moment to compose herself when she heard her speak. Never in all her years of life, had she felt like someone was caressing her with just their voice. Even though the voice was still the same one that Olivia used, there was a spice to it that left all of Alena's hairs standing on end. It was as if an aphrodisiac had been laced into the very sound that the being produced. How that was even possible, she didn't know. The one good aspect of the drastic effect the being was having on her, was that the arousal was suppressing any fear she might have felt. She was perfectly aware of the threat that had just been uttered by the being before her. Hidden in the statements the being had just spoken was the simple question, What prevents me from just killing you and taking this idea for myself?

Alena wasn't surprised by this. One would have to be a fool not to see the potential that this idea held. It was the kind of idea that could start bloody wars if ever revealed. Recklessly revealing it to the wrong party would indeed be a colossally idiotic move. Alena, however, was reasonably certain that she wasn't sentencing herself to death. "It would be naïve if I didn't think this through," Alena finally found her voice and responded. There were a few higher notes in her voice as she fought the urge to moan in the middle of her speech. Still, she managed to deliver the statement without making a complete fool of herself.

Olivia's head tilted to the side, the being looking slightly amused at her response. "And, pray tell, what was the thought process behind this meeting?" Came the question.

"A being as powerful as you are has no reason to make use of someone that isn't even a tier one mage. A mundane human doesn't have anything that you might want. And even if he did, you could very easily kill them and obtain whatever it is you were after. That you saw fit to leave an avatar with the boy means that there is something else that you are planning. Something that, I suspect, requires that this boy grows stronger as a mage. Nothing in this world is guaranteed. But with me by his side, that's as close as you are going to get to a guarantee that he'll grow into a powerful mage. Rather than kill me for an as-yet unfinished idea, why not help me? And in return, I'll help you in whatever way I can to ensure that Roka becomes the strongest mage that he can be!" she offered. She, of course, knew that just helping Roka by itself wouldn't be enough to balance out what it was she was asking for. But as was prudent in any negotiation, Alena gave the lowest price possible that she could get away with as her first offer. From here, it was simply a matter of negotiating until they both were satisfied.

A brow arched on Olivia's face. "Bold of you to assume that I don't have countless others that can serve the same purpose as the boy," The being countered.

"How many of those others have a seventh-tier mage as their friend and mentor?" Alena calmly countered.

"Two!" came the calm answer. "I even have one that is related to an eighth-tier mage," She added.

Alena couldn't help but raise her brows in surprise. The being before her had clearly spread out her options. From individuals closely related to mages at the highest levels of the magical hierarchy to individuals like Roka who was a nobody from a no-name town with barely even any knowledge of the magical world. Still, Alena didn't panic at this. Instead, she calmly replied. "And how many of those seventh or eighth-tier mages have come up with an idea even close to what I have here?" She asked. This time, her question was met with silence. The healer wasn't by any means a vain person. That, however, didn't mean she didn't know her worth. What she had done here was something even a ninth-tier mage couldn't replicate. A number of things had come together to make it possible, but in the end, it was her uniquely sharp mind that crystallized the idea into something workable.

"Besides," Alena continued. "Even if you were to kill me and take the idea for yourself, you'd still have to find another high-tier mage to execute it for you. According to your avatar, you were born above the tiers, and above the tiers you remain. You can't do it personally because of your lack of intimate knowledge about how mana cores and pathways work. Not to mention that your aura would destroy the mind of any mundane human if exposed to it for a substantial amount of time. So apart from losing the one mind unique enough to come up with such an idea, you'd be killing one mage to simply give it to another. A pointless act if there ever was one. And yes, you could still ignore this point and try to use other high-tier mages, but I am tempted to think that it won't work. You see, I am in the unique position of being a high-tier mage who also knows firsthand just how much toll mana can take on weaker bodies. I know when to keep pushing and when to hold back. Use a high-tier mage that has never known weakness as I have and take it from me, the results won't be pretty," She relayed.

There was silence in the cavern for a while before Olivia's voice was heard. "My avatar promised you a way to rise above the nine tiers and now you ask for me to help you make an army of high-tier mages. The value of each option on its own would be enough to exchange for the help of a ninth-tier mage. I am not generous enough to give both to a broken seventh-tier mage, so how about this, I'll let you choose one. Either take the chance to rise above the tiers and I leave you to figure out the intricacies of your idea on your own. Or, I help fix the errors in this sigil, give you the necessary knowledge to see your idea to fruition and you forget about rising above the nine tiers," the being proposed.

"The second option!" Came the immediate reply. There hadn't even been a second of hesitation before Alena answered. A fact that, by the look of genuine surprise on Olivia's face, truly caught the being before her off guard. Before the being could ask, Alena volunteered the reasoning behind her choice. "To brag of my age before you would be like an ant bragging of its size before an elephant. Still, just because I'm not as old as you are doesn't mean I was born yesterday," She declared. "Your avatar was never going to give me a way to rise above the nine tiers. You said it yourself, I am not some naïve individual, ignorant of how the magic world works. No one is stupid or extravagant enough to give out the method of transcending the nine tiers in exchange for a single tier one mage!" She relayed.

"And yet, you still chose to help the boy?" Came the intrigued voice of Olivia.

"To keep me from suspecting that she was lying to me, your avatar would probably have at minimum had to come up with a way to help me recover the power I had lost," Alena answered without missing a beat. "To regain my former power in exchange for training a single tier one mage is an acceptable exchange in my book," she replied. "The reason I chose to take teaching the boy seriously is not because of your avatar's promise, but because of the boy's promise to fight my enemies for me," Alena revealed, a small smile crossing her lips. "Foolish and naïve as it was, I could tell that he really meant it. And that, for me, was enough," She stated with a shrug. "If he makes it to the high tiers and I still haven't had my revenge, I wouldn't mind an extra ally, if he doesn't make it that far, then as he said, he probably wouldn't have made that much of a difference," She relayed.

There was silence as the being considered her words before she spoke. "You forget one thing, you are no longer negotiating with my avatar. She may not have been able to make good on such a promise, but I can," The being countered.

"Except you have already seen the sigil," Alena answered her. "Whether I like it or not, you already have the idea and while a small part of you talks to me, the rest of your consciousness has probably broken it down, looked for all the flaws and traps I hid in it, and resolved them. You have the full idea plus the answers I need to make the idea a reality. For all intents and purposes, any exchange we make here won't be for an idea that you already have, but for the boy. As I said before, no one is going to exchange a method to transcend the nine tiers for a tier-one mage. Not even you!" she asserted.

The smile on Olivia's face widened. "I like you more and more with each passing second," The being revealed. "Fine then, what are you willing to give me in exchange for the solution to the flaws you've pointed out?" Came the question Alena had been waiting for all this time.

"I won't pass it on," she replied immediately with the answer she had prepared beforehand. "Even if I was to live for another ten thousand cycles, to a timeless being like yourself, that would be no more than a snap of the fingers," She relayed. "After I am dead, you and whatever group it is you wish to set up will be the only ones with this knowledge," she offered.

"Let me guess, you already have contingencies in place. If I was to kill you right now, the secret would be spread to every corner of the world," The being spoke calmly. There was no anger in her voice as she said this. Instead, there was only amusement. This time, it was Alena who wordlessly smiled at the being before her. Her expression answered without her having to speak it. "Okay then," The being finally offered a scroll appearing in her hands. "Here are the solutions to the issues you noticed and a few that you missed. The complete sigil is also there minus the flaws and traps you left in this one," She said flicking the scroll forward toward the healer. Alena looked up, raising her hand to catch the scroll

As soon as her hands closed around the scroll, however, she felt a hand close around her neck. With her hand still high in the air holding the scroll, Alena turned downward to find Olivia just a step before her with her hand closed around the healer's neck. The grip wasn't tight in any sense of the word. Nevertheless, Alena knew that with just the flick of a wrist, the being could separate her head from her neck. "I don't need to tell you what will happen if you double-cross me, do I?" She calmly asked.

Alena could feel her very soul shake at the unhidden threat. To have this being as his enemy would be seeking a fate worse than death. Nodding her head, Alena spoke in a tone of forced calm. "I have no reason to make an enemy of a being as powerful as yourself. Believe me, I have no interest in betraying you," She relayed.

"Good!"

With that single word, the oppressive aura that had filled the cave disappeared and the familiar collapsed to the ground. Clearly, housing even part of her original consciousness in this much weaker vessel was too much for it to handle. The being had departed leaving a frozen Greg, a collapsed Olivia, and a trembling Alena standing in the cave...

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