The ceremonies after the vote were supposed to be private, since oaths needed to be taken to make sure Antares had only the best intentions toward the Collegium before he could take his seat, but the man found the time to pop up to the balcony and tell them he’d like to see them again soon.

  “They are bound to return to the Sanctum soon,” Yue’s cold voice cut in. She had quickly regained her composure and was now wearing her most unimpressed expression.

  Having seen her hands tremble in shock at the powers wielded during the Rite, Orion was less taken by the performance, but the others appeared surprised she’d speak to Antares so curtly.

  “Elder, maybe we could delay—” Asteria started, but she was sharply cut off.

  “Don’t be foolish, girl. The High Priestess has called for your return once this matter is settled, and it looks settled to me," Yue hissed, her gaze heavy enough for Orion to see she was holding back much of what she really wanted to say.

  They really need to have that conversation. This is too important to ignore, and now that Antares has been elected to the High Council, he will be in constant contact with Yue.

  He clearly wasn’t the only one who thought that, because his mother reached over and took the Elder’s hand. “We will talk about this,” she promised before turning back to her old flame. “As for your request, we will make the time within the next week, but I cannot guarantee anything after that.”

  Yue seemed prepared to argue, but for once chose patience and breathed out her annoyance, giving a brief nod. “A week is acceptable.”

  Antares responded with a brief nod, though Orion noticed his eyes lingering on him and Asteria just a moment too long before he disappeared into the crowd of Archmages eager to speak with him about important matters.

  Peering down the rails, Orion also saw several of those who had cheered for Ulysses standing at the edges of the crowd, clearly despondent but knowing better than to let themselves be seen grouping together.

  One thing was supporting the losing candidate when things seemed to go well. Another was showing they still held the same feelings after everything was said and done. That would require a harsh response from the new High Councilor, and Orion didn’t doubt his father would make an example of any fool who did so publicly first.

  Notably, Ulysses was gone. His loss had clearly shaken him badly, as the power he had been so confident in proved to be nowhere near enough to stand up to someone he had considered barely more than a child.

  It would take time for him to recover from the defeat, time Orion suspected his father would use to bring back many into the fold, and isolate the ambitious old man as much as possible before he could begin testing the waters of his new position.

  “Come on, Moonbeam. It’s past your bedtime,” Asteria said, lips curling up at the outraged look he shot her, and he was pulled away, though not before hearing Naerys’ cackling laughter.

  “Up and at—”

  “Huh, he’s awake,” Pauline muttered, rubbing her chin in surprise.

  Orion gave his mother and his guard a dry look as he finished putting on his shirt, refusing to dignify them with a response.

  As if I could relax when I’m so close to the next tier. Just one measly level, and I’ll finally improve all my traits, and more importantly, my class!

  Though usually a milestone reached much later in life, from what he’d seen in his years wandering around Silverpeak, he had recently realized that the most promising members of his age group weren’t far behind him, and those just a bit older had already crossed the boundary, igniting a fire under him.

  That, and his decision to bring the light of reason to Cyril, required him to become much more powerful than he currently was. He had seen his father wrest control of the mightiest faction in the Magocracy with his personal skill alone, and although that path was closed to him unless he wanted to destroy the Lunar Sanctum’s fabric and remake it entirely, something that would face immense resistance and likely result in a worse outcome than trying to carve his own path, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t encounter roadblocks.

  If I want to make my voice heard, I need to quickly rise above the crowd. Of course, the more I stand out, the greater the risk, but honestly, I seem to attract enough of it even without putting myself out there, so I might as well take advantage of it.

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  “Well, since you are already up and about, we might be able to go and get back before lunch. I heard the kitchens were putting together a spread of roast pheasants and water vegetables, and I’m not missing that if I don’t have to,” Pauline declared, nodding confidently to herself as if her priorities were perfectly normal.

  Asteria gave the girl an amused look. “We will take all the time we need to ensure a proper rank up, but yes, if everything goes right, we might be back sooner than expected.”

  Her head hadn’t truly been in the right place to say no to him the night before, as they walked back to their rooms. Orion felt a bit guilty asking her to take him back into the wilderness to get the last experience points he needed to reach level fifty.

  Still, she seemed back to her usual self, and in fact, her aura appeared more controlled today, which was a good sign that she was finally adjusting to her new power.

  “So,” he interrupted them before they could really get started, “where are we headed? Back to the hills? I guess I could do it with a few orcs, although it might take me some time.”

  Asteria shook her head, the light catching and reflecting off her hair in mysterious ways. “No, moonbeam. We went there because I needed some specific ingredients for my potion. You, on the other hand, are a wizard, a mage who relies on understanding theory and developing new spells from those concepts. You need to either produce something new or achieve mastery to rank up.”

  Orion was pretty sure he’d done enough of that already that the System shouldn’t refuse him, but he guessed it was just as fine as hunting orcs, as long as he could finally take that last step.

  “Alright. So what are we doing?” he asked, and both women gave a foxy smile in response, which sent a foreboding feeling creeping down his spine.

  “Why, we’re going hunting, of course. You made me promise, didn’t you?” His mother giggled, and Pauline nodded.

  “Yes, a perfectly normal hunt. Nothing to worry about,” she said, eyeing his pristine white coat with dark amusement.

  The light shouldn't have disappeared so quickly in the distance. Orion knew that very well. He’d crafted this version of [Torchlight] after so many different iterations that he could recite every component in his sleep.

  Yet that didn’t change the fact that the cave he was being led through seemed to swallow both natural and magical light sources greedily, making it hard for him to get a clear sense of its proportions.

  And more importantly, of any waiting ambush.

  “Skreeeee!”

  “Gah!” Orion yelled, unleashing the [Infinite Laser] he’d been charging and slicing through the bat monster effortlessly, watching the two halves fall with a wet thump.

  SYSTEM NOTIFICATION

  +350 Exp

  Twin snorts from behind him told him that the shout wasn't as manly as he hoped. If I still had my glasses, I wouldn’t suffer this indignity. I’d spot any of these bastards long before they got close enough, and eliminate them without mercy.

  Unfortunately, wishing really hard wouldn’t bring his first masterpiece of this life back, at least not with his current skill level. If he ever reached the same power as Antares, that might change.

  More movement ahead pulled him away from thinking about the legendary duel he’d witnessed the previous night, and this time, Orion was able to properly calibrate his response to the lunging monster.

  The lizard that lunged at him had strange, crystal-like growths all over its body, especially around its head, where flesh had been replaced almost completely by citrine glass. The only biological part left was a chunk of brain visible through the transparent material, along with its long, fleshy tongue, which shot toward him, aiming to jab the crystal spike at its tip into his chest.

  Orion didn’t give it any more chances than he would a sworn enemy, meaning none, and a dozen blasts of kinetic force slammed into the creature, sending it crashing against the cave’s walls and causing it to shake ominously.

  He would have used light magic, as it was faster and cleaner, but these lizards seemed capable of absorbing much of its power into themselves. Although he managed to kill more than one, Orion wouldn’t take the less efficient route just because he was stubborn.

  Until I have a new version that can handle their quirks anyway.

  Once the lizard’s bones were properly broken and it couldn’t escape, he worked quickly. During the previous fight, he’d taken his time, only for new crystals to grow and heal the damn thing. So, he sent a kinetic spike into its chest and pulped it, breathing out only when the System pinged him.

  SYSTEM NOTIFICATION

  +1.150 Exp

  Nowhere close to what I need to level up. I could go through fifty of these before I get there.

  Unfortunately, his mother was being strangely secretive about what this cave was and what kind of monsters he might encounter, and Pauline seemed to have completely abandoned her role as his protector, enjoying the safety provided by Asteria’s presence with far too much enthusiasm for his taste.

  Now that the lizard was dead, he paused to examine it. [Verification Principle] worked best on active magic, but even the passive mutation the monster’s body had undergone was enough for it to detect something, and soon, Orion began understanding exactly why his mother had brought him here of all places.

  These growths aren’t biological at all. I thought they might have been keratin, but they're actually quartz. I could probably use this to cast a spell through.

  He had known that Asteria wasn’t unaware of his preference for crystal foci, and his CC had clearly indicated he favored the art of crystal casting, but he didn’t expect her to take him to the source of the quartz he bought at the market.

  “This is too low quality, though,” he muttered, pulling back with a shake of his head. Once, he might have been content with something that opaque, as it still would have let him refract mana enough to boost his spells, but if he wanted to improve his craft, he needed something better.

  The blood crystal the vampire lord wore was certainly good enough, but I doubt he’d give it up without it being pried from his cold, dead hands.

  Luckily, he was in the right place to find more, as reptilian screeches echoed in the distance, and he knew that more lizards were heading his way.

  Bigger ones, too, given the trembling of the ground beneath his feet.

  “You probably should have known better than to use kinetic magic in a cave, Orion,” Pauline chuckled behind him, and he sighed, ignoring the sniping and preparing for another battle.

  Their crystals can absorb light magic, but they apparently cannot reuse it to attack. They use its regenerative qualities to grow more crystals without suffering debilitating pain, which means as long as there is a source of light mana, they can go on almost indefinitely. However, altering the composition of the mana they absorb might result in interesting consequences.

  The first monster that emerged from the dark was more than twice the size of the last lizard, more similar to a Komodo dragon than a regular animal, and it had jutting spikes all over its body that promised severe pain to anyone unlucky enough to come into contact with them.

  It was a good thing Orion had no plans to do that.