Set sat down with an exaggerated groan. Orion gave him an amused glance but didn’t comment, knowing his friend’s love for dramatics well.

  “These old bones aren’t made for long-distance teleportation anymore. Why, even cutting the journey in two, I still feel sore!” He exclaimed, though everyone could see he was just putting on a show.

  In truth, Orion saw more life in Set’s eyes than he could ever remember seeing before. It was as if the chance to return to his old home had completely revitalized him.

  “There is a reason why even masters of the art use anchors, Archmage,” Asteria said with a titter, earning a sad nod.

  “Indeed, Magistra. The art of perfect teleportation remains beyond our grasp, and we are forced to either expend far too much power to resist the corrosive effects of the void or rely on external aids. If only someone had the youth and talent to solve this problem, Cyril would benefit greatly!” Set replied, slyly glancing at Orion.

  Before they could continue for much longer, Yue interrupted them with a pointed stare, “I see that you have regained your spirit, since you seem so jolly. The last time I saw you, you could have blended in with the most despairing of the Howling Ghouls.”

  Set lifted his gaze to meet hers, and for a moment, the air crackled with tension. Both elders were incredibly powerful, and while Yue had the advantage, given that the embassy had its own Light-attuned wards she had overseen for many years, she wasn’t necessarily a front-line fighter, while Set seemed almost eager for a confrontation.

  Yet, he reined in his impulses and sighed as he settled back into his chair, levitating a cup of mou into his hands and taking a sip. “I will always be grateful to the Lunar Sanctum, especially the High Priestess, for sheltering me during this difficult time. I was forced away from my home for over a decade, all because of an old man’s pride. I intend to repay that kindness. However, you shouldn’t stir old wounds, Elder Yue. Of all people, you should know better.”

  Initially, Orion wondered if he was referring to the situation that caused Yue to leave the Sanctum for Valderun, but that didn’t seem to be the case, given the lack of reaction from his mother.

  Something else must have occurred in the past. I suppose when you live that long, traumas begin to pile up.

  The Elder didn’t seem to notice that, as shadows flickered strangely around them, but nothing else happened, and Orion breathed a sigh of relief.

  He wasn’t exactly eager to get caught in the middle of a pissin' contest between two tier four monsters.

  They were currently seated in the private parlor Elder Yue used for entertaining guests and small gatherings, with the only other person present being Magistra Kissea, who had slipped in beside Asteria, but no one had taken any action to send her away.

  “I assume you confirmed it is safe for you to return to the Collegium, if you are this brazen,” Yue murmured, tilting her head like a lioness seizing her prey.

  Set smiled boyishly, washing away a decade of solitude and regrets and making him seem much younger than he had any right to be. “I have indeed. Mallon certainly doesn’t have the influence to keep me away now, nor is he interested in rekindling old feuds when his position as a member of the Senate is at stake.”

  That genuinely surprised Orion. Archmage Mallon might have stepped down due to a confluence of the war and schemes from various factions, but no one could deny he was among the most powerful of Cyril. To think that he risked being pushed out of even the internal governing bodies of the Collegium…

  “Bah,” Kissea scoffed, drawing everyone’s attention. “It seems to me that you are getting caught up in the sweetness of victory. Mallon is a patient man, and he stepped away from the limelight despite having no doubt grown attached to the power and influence it gave him, but that doesn’t mean he can be dismissed. I still remember seeing how terrible the power he wields is. Do not underestimate the most powerful mage to ever come from the Collegium, Suketh.”

  Orion wondered where the certainty in her voice came from. As far as he knew, Kissea was a relatively powerful, if not particularly impressive, witch among the Magistrae. For her to speak so openly suggested a personal history, especially since she used Set’s real name.

  Fortunately, the old man didn’t seem to take offense. Instead, he grinned, revealing surprisingly bright teeth in what almost looked like a daring expression. “I know better than anyone not to underestimate that man. I was there when he shattered the old kingdoms. I took part in the great sea battles of the north. Mallon is immensely powerful, perhaps even more than your High Priestess, but he is also a man who bound himself in chains of his own making. His desperation to end the Age of Chaos was so great that he accepted every compromise and let go of any sense of individuality just to ensure peace for all. He will not change, not now.”

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  Not for the first time, Orion realized that Set wasn’t always a good person. He wasn’t a monster, and he was a rare kind of ally. But his grudges ran deep.

  The discussion lasted several hours, but Orion was sent to his rooms not long after Set had declared Mallon too stubborn to change.

  He would have much preferred to stay, of course, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go against Yue’s command, so he slinked away to work on his metamagic some more while he waited for Set to finish securing the Sanctum’s support for whatever plot he was hatching.

  He'll come looking for me eventually—I know him well enough to realize that. In the meantime, I should try to make some progress. I’ve been getting the feeling that metamagic might be a more interesting school than it appears at first, so spending a few hours experimenting with it shouldn’t hurt.

  Though his leveling speed was impressive compared to his peers, and he had proven himself capable of matching and surpassing even Jordan, who was older and more experienced, Orion could admit to feeling some trepidation.

  Only ten levels separated him from the next rank, and while that would normally take years to reach, he was gaining extra experience every time he figured out a new piece of metamagic, which told him it was especially compatible with his class.

  That, even beyond its sheer usefulness, made it worth pursuing. If he could advance to tier two before he had to return to the Sanctum—however unlikely that was, given that less than three weeks remained until Yue’s deadline—he’d be in a much better position.

  Not that he could match Morliana if she came looking for him again, especially with Set leaving the Sanctum for good, but her agents would be less of a concern, which was at least something.

  It makes me feel like I’m not wasting time, which is valuable in its own right.

  His initial success with [Maximize Magic] was enough to help him understand how flexible this art could be, but it was only when he took out the CC and started running the spell through it that Orion grasped its full potential.

  So far, he’d treated metamagic as a focusing tool, something to bring out a spell’s components and amplify them, giving the entire structure a new look, but that was only part of the truth.

  Its true potential lay in how it interacted with the Computing Crystal. While regular spells could be expressed in countless ways and only developed into formulas because that was Orion’s preferred method, metaspells naturally tended to be expressed as lines of code.

  Mathematical values remained very important, but the CC had multiple computational layers dedicated to calculating them, which allowed Orion to focus more on the form than just the factor. And metaspells were all about form.

  For example, his previous success with [Maximize Magic] had come from using it alongside [Torchlight]. Usually, he would recite the formula for the light spell and then add the one for the enhancement, but by running them through the CC and explicitly focusing on pure efficiency, the outcome was very different.

  TORCHLIGHT(r,L*) = META(Maximize{Radiance})( AdaptArcane( Light ? Emitter(radius=r) ? Stabilizer(coherence=σ?) ? Profile(Sphere) , constraints={UniformFlux, Nonthermal}, target_lux=L* ), guard={dT≤ε, Glare≤γ}, terminate=SoftFade );

  If he tried to use that as a formula, he’d have to spend several seconds aligning all the concepts in his mind. For a utility spell, it wouldn’t be much of a problem, but in a fight, it’d mean instant loss.

  Fortunately, the CC wasn’t as limited as he was. It could easily run through several lines of code in the time it took him to blink, making such a defined method fully viable.

  And the end result…

  The [Torchlight] that took shape then was much more controlled than any he’d ever cast before. Not only could he increase its brightness to the level he’d used against the Shadow Wolves, but he could do so with a fraction of the mana cost.

  And while that didn’t mean much for a tier zero spell, it made using tier two magic suddenly much more accessible. At least, if he understood them as well as he did [Torchlight].

  That was, admittedly, an obstacle, but it also served as a clear goal. Orion had so much science swirling in his mind, just waiting for the right moment to be released, that it honestly wouldn’t take much for him to dismantle any piece of magic, even without [Verification Principle].

  Simply using it on [Antigravity] will change everything. I can already leverage it to win most duels against my peers, but if I can activate it as a proper tier two spell, without losing coherence or risking excessive drain...

  That wasn’t even to mention what he could do by concentrating on specific aspects of such a spell. [Maximize Magic] could enhance both the illumination aspect of [Torchlight] and its healing power. When used on a complex spell like [Antigravity], the possibilities were limitless.

  The System appeared to agree, as it deemed it appropriate to reward him generously as he let the enhanced [Torchlight] fade away.

  SYSTEM NOTIFICATION

  +18.800 Exp

  Level up!

  That’s a lot of Exp. Much more than I earned fighting anyone in the Radiant Vigil. I guess there’s a reason why the Sanctum makes a point to tell everyone that the adventuring life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be unless you’re a true martial class.

  A knock on his lab’s door pulled him away from the implications of his latest discovery, and Orion had to reluctantly put aside his desire for rapid growth.

  This is a great accomplishment. It might take me a little while to reach level fifty since not everything will be as easy as this, but this provides a clear path.

  Opening the door with a telekinetic pull, he let his visitor in.

  Set entered with a curious expression, but his eyes quickly became determined. “Hello, Orion. I'm here to apologize for not greeting you properly earlier, and to congratulate you on your progress. A lot must have changed since you left the Sanctum.”

  “Yeah. But I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t protected me from Morliana, so don’t think you need to apologize for anything, Set. Or should I call you Suketh now?” Orion asked. He wasn’t aiming for waspish, but he did put some emphasis on the last sentence.

  Set smirked, seemingly unfazed by his annoyance. “Either is fine. Suketh is the name I was given, but I’ve gone by Set for decades. Both suit me well.” He paused for a moment, as if searching for words, and finally chose to be direct. “Now, I suppose I should get to the real reason I came to the embassy. I’d like you to come with me to the Collegium.”

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