The God of Magic: Archmage Academy (OP, LitRPG)

Sen used Zeke’s connections to arrange for some private tutoring for the girls. A pair of experienced adventurers from the town guild were working with Samara, Ilm, and Milim today. A swordsman would help teach Samara techniques to deal with Sikar and his staff. While a magician specializing in illusion magic would focus on helping the other two. Since finding someone capable of using historia magic offensively was rare, it was the best they could do to prepare Ilm. Mori had accompanied them all for protection. The town was safe, for the most part, but they’d been through too much lately to take chances. Sen wouldn’t have been able to focus on his own preparations otherwise. 

Speaking of, the person he was meeting was late. They were supposed to meet just outside the dorms, but it was already ten minutes past the designated time. He decided to walk to the entrance hall to see if anything was going on. The school was quiet today. With final exams coming up, most students were studying in their rooms, the library, or spending time training. Few people had the luxury of roaming around campus. Sen didn’t really either, but he had nothing better to do until his appointment. 

A hushed argument got his attention, and his pace increased. Eavesdropping was a universal time-passer, and he had time to kill.

“Alari, don’t do this,” Ano insisted. 

Sen blinked at that. What could the two of them be arguing about?

He considered invisibility, but that felt too invasive. Instead, he cast a different sort of spell. “Unnoticed Maxima.” He was visible, but unless he did something to really stand out, most people’s minds would allow him to simply fade into the background. It was a good stealth spell for moral dilemmas such as this one. On the plus side, their brains would register he was there even if they didn’t consciously pick up on it. They wouldn’t say anything too embarrassing in these conditions. Which was what made it more appropriate than invisibility. 

[Shaky moral standing at best, but I’ll allow it.] 

Ano grabbed Alari’s wrist. She wrenched it away. “Don’t touch me. You don’t know anything about me,” she spat.

“I know you don’t want to do this. He can’t make you. I’ll—”

“You’ll what? I don’t need you fighting my battles. He’d rip you apart and stuff you in that pillow of yours. Stay out of this. It’s already set in stone. Just…”

“Then I’ll say it again. Let me throw it.” 

Alari looked more angered by those words than whatever else they’d been arguing about. “Do that, and you’ll make an enemy of me instead of just my father.” She brushed past him and hurried toward the front door of the academy.

“Alari. Alari!” Ano called out after her. 

The doors slammed shut. 

Ano’s head fell back, and he closed his eyes. “Well, that went about as badly as I thought it would.” He turned and looked directly at Sen. “Sneaky spell that, you’ll have to teach it to me.”

Sen chuckled. “If I were sneaking, you wouldn’t know it.”

“I knew someone was watching me sleep at night. I just couldn’t prove it until now.” 

Sen pursed his lips. “You have an actual sleep paralysis demon…” He shook his head. “What was that about?” he asked.

“That? Just two hard-headed people ramming those heads together, hoping the other would budge. Alari is leaving town. Going to train with the Flamelord for her graduation duel.”

“And you wanted to stop her from training?” Sen asked, trying to piece together the scenario.

“I’m strong, but not ‘taking on the Flamelord’ strong. Not yet, at least. The training isn’t so bad. It’s always good to get stronger. It’s what she’s getting stronger for that I don’t like as much.” Ano sighed, his shoulders slumping.

Sen put it together. “She’s challenging you, isn’t she?”

“While Snake and Susanna have passed the top spot back and forth all year, me and Alari have been pretty consistent in the rankings. Her father’s going to insist on it. I think it’s dumb. Why fight each other now? We’ve already got reputations. But if we fight, one of us is coming out on top, and the other…” He trailed off with a sigh. “There’s no point to it, Sen. Her father just wants to save face. I don’t want to fight her. I’m afraid of what her father will do to her if she loses. He’s known for his temper.”

“Which is why you offered to throw the match?”

Ano nodded. “She’d be just as mad, and honestly, her father would be too. I don’t think he’ll be happy unless she runs her blade through me, heart, feathers, and all.” Somewhere floating above Ano’s pillow unzipped as if letting out a gasp. “I just don’t know what to do, Sen.”

“Then do what she wants. Give her the fight she asked for. Maybe she’s not doing this to prove anything to her father. Maybe she’s trying to prove something to herself.”

Ano blinked at that. He stared at Sen for a moment and then nodded slowly. “So this is what it’s like for Mori all the time? Having a brother like this to talk your head back on straight when you’re losing it?”

Sen chuckled. He reached over and put a hand on Ano’s shoulder. “I’ll talk your head back on anytime.” 

Ano grinned. “Alari’s not the only one leaving. I’ll be heading out with Laurette soon. Just a couple of hours from now, actually. The others are heading back too. Our time at Bright Sail is officially coming to an end. Kind of sad when you think about it. Came for Academy Wars and ended up crashing on Bright Sails’ couch for a couple of months.”

“Remind me never to invite you to my home,” Sen said. “What’s next for you? After graduation, I mean.”

Ano leaned his to the side. “Dunno. Might join a guild. Go on some adventures. Hunt some monsters. Find cool places to nap. The usual.” His pillow floated up to him, and he leaned on it. “Too bad you aren’t graduating too. We could get into a lot of trouble together, Sen.” 

A familiar sadness washed over Sen. In a way, this conversation was reminding him a lot of the last one he’d had with Ragmár before he’d come to the future. It was odd to think about all that had happened. The people he’d left behind, the people he’d found in the future. One decision had changed everything, and not just for him. “I’m sure we will again, Ano, one day,” Sen said. 

Sen reached a hand out. Ano clasped it with a satisfying clap. “Until then, brother. I’ll be waiting for you out there. Don’t take too long to catch up.” 

Sen smirked. “Catch up? Who said I was behind?”

Ano chuckled and waved as he ascended the stairs to go find Laurette. 

Sen laughed as well and headed back toward his dorm. He found Allen waiting for him, and for half a second felt bad about wandering off. But no, he was glad he got to see Ano before he left. “Allen!” Sen said as he approached. Allen was the young student attendant who had helped him customize his room when he was first admitted to Brightsail Academy. 

The boy turned and looked at him. “Hello Mr. Locke! So…you wanted to meet and talk about your room?” 

Sen smiled. “Not so much my room, but the magic you used to manipulate it. I was wondering if you could give me a demonstration?”

The girls weren’t the only ones who needed to prepare for their final exams. 

Snake 

He sat cross-legged in a forest clearing, pushing distractions and thoughts from his mind. The wind roared around him, bringing a chill to his shirtless body. More distractions. He pushed the cold out of his mind. The scales that started at his fingers now attempted to grow past his shoulders. As usual, he could feel himself approaching his limit. He needed more. He needed a way to call upon more of this power. It was endlessly frustrating to stand on the cusp of unimaginable strength and yet be unable to reach it. 

He tilted his head. He opened his eyes, and they transitioned into slitted serpent eyes as he scanned his surroundings. 

Someone was here.

He flexed his hands into claws and stared straight ahead at the man who walked into the forest clearing. The newcomer wore deep black robes with purple runes etched all along them. 

Marrow. 

Snake’s face twisted into rage. He certainly looked crazy right now. But he didn’t care. This man had experimented with him on and off for days at Harpis Castle. If the cultist was fool enough to escape only to throw himself to Snake’s mercy, he deserved what was coming to him. Snake was on his feet in a moment. 

Marrow shook his head. “Do you always strike when opportunity knocks? You don’t even hear it out?” he asked.

“Why should I?” Snake hissed. “You deserve death.”

Marrow nodded. “It’s odd. You seem to hate me so much, when a more appropriate emotion would be…fear.”

Snake sneered at him. “Why would I fear you? You’re weak.”

“Oh? Are those memories buried that deeply inside? You’ve forgotten about the Arcane already?” 

Snake froze. Marrow’s robes had always been familiar but…the Arcane? Was he really with them? No, that wasn’t possible. Marrow had been working alongside the cult of Harpis. That didn’t make any sense. But it didn’t stop Snake’s heart from beating faster in his chest. The lack of sense didn’t change the fear that suddenly had a grip on his soul. 

“You’re with the Cult of Arcane?” Snake asked. 

“I am. You don’t need to worry, little snake. I’m not here for you. I’m here for you. As a friend. I wanted to talk about your graduation duel. You’re the top-ranked student at Brightsail, so you can challenge anyone you want. Who were you thinking?” he asked. 

Snake glanced behind him, suddenly wary of an ambush. “The Flamelord’s daughter.” 

“Ah, Alari Kingcrew. An interesting pick. But is it the optimal one?” Marrow asked.

Snake squinted, turning to look at the man. What was he talking about?

Marrow reached into his cloak and drew a long sword. Snake took a step back, but Marrow held a hand out to ease him. He turned the blade around and offered its hilt to Snake. There were a series of holes in the grip, small, like tunnels an insect might bore through. The blade itself was a deep green that reminded him of his scales. It was powerful, at least high-grade. Why was Marrow handing it to him?

“That little weapon used to belong to a mage with incredible healing powers. You see those holes there? They’re designed to absorb poison and impurities. The previous owner used it to purge the body of toxins and demonic influences to save victims. That sounded pretty lame, so I had it reworked after I killed him. Functions similarly, but the effect is far better. Now, it can draw out and store poison or... maybe even your venom.”

Snake’s eyes shot open. 

“That’s the downside to those powers of yours, isn’t it? Your venom is so harmful it even hurts you. It’s a double-edged sword. So, I’m giving you one of your own. Pour venom into the blade, and it will store it for you. Then you can use it in combat with no problems at all,” Marrow said, gesturing to it.

Snake glared at him. “Why would you give me something like this?” he asked.

Marrow laughed. “Why? Because you’re going to earn it. You won’t be challenging Alari. You’ll be challenging that white-haired boy, and you’re going to kill him. If you don’t, we’ll be quite displeased. You know what that would mean, right? For her?”

Snake’s rage flared inside him. “Don’t you dare threaten her.”

Marrow held his hands up. “Then fight him and win.”

Snake ran his attention around the blade. There was another element to it. One he hadn’t noticed before. Shade Flame. This sword would create wounds that couldn’t be healed. That, coupled with his venom, would make for a deadly combination. The realization hit him in that moment. “You want me to kill him. Like, fully. They won’t be able to resurrect him.”

“That’s right, you can pretend you didn’t know about the Shade Flame. It’s hard to detect. You only noticed because you’ve already bonded with it. It should pass inspection.”

Snake was conflicted. This weapon was powerful, but what was the point if he couldn’t challenge Alari. “I want to be the best. I’d be throwing my opportunity away to fight one of the strongest students on the continent. Just to kill a first-year student?”

Marrow circled him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Snake, you know better than anyone that the boy is a prodigy. Look how far he’s come already. If you don’t snuff him out now, it’ll be too late later. He will eventually overcome you. But think about it this way. Who will they remember after you're done? The prodigy, or the one who killed the prodigy? This is an investment in your future. You want to be the strongest? You want to protect her? Then remove someone who will be an obstacle to that one day. Kill the boy.”

Snake looked down at the sword in his hands, and frustratingly enough, he realized Marrow might be right.

He just might need to kill Sen.

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