Memory Seal- Volume 2

by Insane Mooncake

  Hearing this, Arthur finally understood, and couldn’t help but cover his face with his hands. “That’s not a bastard son of mine. That’s your cousin. Aunt Patricia’s son.”

  “...Oh.”

  Kate paused, then turned around. “Good to know.”

  “...” Arthur was still in shock.

  A while later, Kate finally stopped, then jumped in the air with excitement. “I have a cute cousin to bully now!”

  …

  Meanwhile, Wesley and Patriarch Lumient had arrived at the front steps of the Lumient City Magician’s Registrar office.

  On the way in, all the employees of the registrar office bowed towards Patriarch Lumient, who in turn waved at them to be at ease.

  Finally, as they entered the main lobby, a uniformed official swiftly walked up to greet them. “Hello, Headmaster Lumient. What can we do for you today?”

  “My great-grandson here needs his rank to be officially updated.”

  “Oh, of course! Right this way, please.”

  The official led the two into a room with several tables, chairs, and a large orb in the center, then motioned for the two to take a seat.

  “Please wait a moment while we retrieve your files. What is your name and location of birth?”

  “Wesley Gia, from Blue Wind City of the Conarite Kingdom.”

  “Thank you very much, we will be with you shortly.”

  Patriarch Lumient spoke up. “Bring some food here for the boy, too. He hasn’t had much to eat today.

  “Of course. I’ll have it delivered to the room as soon as possible.”

  Once he had left the room, the official tapped his forehead with his sleeve. Talking to Headmaster Lumient was frightening!

  “You!” He snapped at a worker waiting on the side. “Bring our finest dishes to the room, and be quick about it!”

  Without another word, he headed towards the records room.

  “Wesley Gia, of the Conarite Kingdom. Hmm… let’s see.”

  After rummaging through the room a bit, he found Wesley’s file, and couldn’t help but glance through it. However, he found nothing out of the norm.

  Wesley Gia

  Son of Dean Gia, Patricia Lumient

  DOB: 9/9/999

  Mage Initiate

  A very simple, unremarkable file. He shrugged, closed it, then proceeded back into the room where Wesley and Patriarch Lumient had been waiting.

  “Hello headmaster. The food your request is on the way. In the meantime, Wesley, please place your hand on the orb and funnel as much of your mana into the orb as you can.”

  “Alright.” Wesley placed his hand on the orb, then concentrated.

  Raw mana usage was very inefficient, but provided a baseline for mages to be judged by. As such, it was how the Mage Association ranked their mages.

  After a bit, Wesley was still funneling his mana into the orb, so the official stood up and moved Wesley’s chair so that it was just behind Wesley.

  “Sometimes this can take longer than expected. If you’d like, please take a seat.”

  “Okay.”

  Wesley sat down and continued to concentrate, but as time went on, his mind began to wander.

  He wondered how Gust was doing.

  At this time, the door opened, and a worker walked in with a trolley filled with plates of the finest dishes the Mage Association’s resident chef could prepare - for Headmaster Lumient, no expense was spared.

  Finally, after a few more minutes had passed, Wesley had finally used all of his mana. In order to protect itself from shattering, the orb only took in mana in a small, continuous stream, which meant that the more mana one had, the longer it would take to complete the test.

  Of course, there were higher level orbs for Intermediate and Advanced Mages.

  “I think I’ve finished.” Said Wesley.

  “Yes, looks like it.” The official stepped forward to read the script that was now forming on the surface of the orb.

  Rank…eight? Elementary Mage.

  The official rubbed his eyes a few times, then glanced between Wesley, then the orb. After a few moments, he finally regained his composure.

  “As of today, your official ranking is Rank Eight Elementary Mage. Please return annually to update your ranking, or at your convenience. Please, take your time to enjoy the food we have prepared. Thank you very much.”

  He bowed towards Wesley, then to Headmaster Lumient, before heading out of the room in a hurry.

  “Haha, my great-grandson, you have not failed your family. A Rank 8 Elementary Mage, at your age, haha. Come, come, eat!”

  Patriarch Lumient’s smile stretched from ear to ear as he watched Wesley shovel food into his mouth.

  …

  After Wesley finally finished his meal, he and Patriarch Lumient strolled out of the mage association building, in the direction of the direction of the Lumient Family Estate.

  As for why they were walking, and not flying… Patriarch Lumient cast an eye over Wesley’s enormous belly.

  After half an hour of walking, they finally reached the Lumient Family Estate. Instead of leaving each other, however, Patriarch Lumient turned toward Wesley.

  “Let me show you something.”

  After using all of his mana, then feasting on the delicious food the mage association had provided, Wesley felt overdue for a nap. But, he followed the Patriarch anyway.

  Before they could get to wherever the Patriarch was bringing him, however, Kate suddenly appeared before the two.

  “Gramps! Is this the cousin I’ve been hearing so much about? Ahhh, how come you didn’t tell me?”

  She reached down and pinched Wesley’s cheeks and started playing around with them.

  “Call me big sis, okay?”

  “Uhh…”

  Are big sisters this scary? Wesley almost felt like crying from the pain emanating from his pinched cheeks. Thankfully, Patriarch Lumient saved him.

  “Kate, darling, don’t scare Wesley. I’m bringing him to the family vault.”

  “Oh? Can I come along, pleaseee?”

  “I suppose.”

  Patriarch Lumient sent a mental message to Wesley.

  ‘Pardon Kate, she’s been hoping for a little brother for a while now…’

  “Well, I might as well do it now. Ready?”

  “Ready!” Said Kate.

  Wesley, however, wasn’t sure what was going on. “Ready for what?”

  “I’m going to cast a sleeping spell on the two of you so that you don’t know the location of the vault.”

  Wesley didn’t exactly trust his great-grandpa yet, but his curiosity had been piqued, and it’s not as if he could do anything if the old man wanted to do anything to him anyway, so he decided to go with the flow.

  “Ready.”

  Patriarch Lumient quickly drew a seal and put the two kids to sleep.

  Then he cast an additional invisibility spell on himself and the kids, picked them up, and flew high into the air.

  It seemed the vault wasn’t at the family estate after all.

  Chapter 4

  The first words Wesley heard were, “You can open your eyes now.”

  WIthout thinking, he answered, “5 more minutes, Gust.”

  “...”

  Patriarch Lumient wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but Kate, who had woken up already, slapped Wesley.

  “Hey, wake up!”

  After Wesley finally woke up, he looked ahead only to see that they were standing in front of a giant stone gate. Around him were torches, lighting the tunnel far behind them. Despite that, the lighting wasn’t enough for Wesley to see anything.

  Except that they were probably far underground.

  He returned his attention to the stone gate.

  The Patriarch took a miniscule key out of his pockets, then inserted it into the middle of the stone gate.

  It was almost comical how small the key looked in comparison with the enormous gate.

  Once the key was turned, ho
wever, the stone gate slowly opened, revealing… a pool.

  “This is just the first room, of three.” Said Patriarch Lumient. “This pool used to hold the blood of thousands of magical beasts, even several gallons of blood from a genuine dragon. We used it to nourish the mana pools and channels of the family’s young.

  “However, that practice ended generations before even I was around. Most magical beasts are extinct on the Magmont Continent now...aside from a few species that are farmed, very few can be found now compared to the past. Besides, modern potions can match or even surpass the effects the pool had provided.

  “In the family’s historical records, it’s said that magical beasts used to outnumber humans on the continent 10 to 1. Can you imagine that?”

  Wesley tried to, but couldn’t - all his life, he’d been surrounded by nothing but humans, with animals and magical beasts only arriving in his life as delicious dishes.

  “Anyway, we leave this as it is to pay respect to our ancestors, but the second room is the main vault.”

  With that, Patriarch Lumient led the two kids past the questionable pool, and into the second room.

  The room was illuminated by several hundred luminescent orbs that cast a soft glow on the objects within the vault.

  “How big is this place?” Wesley could see neither the back side of the room, nor could he see the roof.

  “A few hundred feet long, and wide. The vault is separated into five hundred separate areas. Don’t poke around, or I may have to kill you.”

  Hearing that, Wesley quickly tucked his arms as close to his sides as he could.

  “Well, I’ve brought you here today to retrieve a few things for you. After all, while my Lumient family is well respected by most, we still have our enemies who lurk in the shadows. I will not permit you to die by their hands.”

  “Alright, hold your arms out.”

  Wesley felt a few pieces of fabric fall into his hands, which wasn’t too bad, but then a few heavy items dropped onto his arms, and suddenly his arms were aching.

  Finally, Patriarch Lumient clasped a band made of solid gold and encrusted with several diamonds around Wesley’s wrist.

  “This band is a Holding item. Concentrate your mind on it opening up.”

  Wesley did as instructed, and could see in his mind an area around 50 feet by 50 feet, and twenty feet tall.

  With but a thought, the items that had been encumbering his arms suddenly disappeared and reappeared in this new space. In this space however, he could see them all clearly.

  There was a white robe, a thin belt encrusted with jewels, a medallion, a few books, and a closed box.

  “White and gold are the representative colors of the Lumient family. However, this robe that I have just given you is incomparable to the one you are currently wearing. Although the design is simple, the robe is capable of growing and shrinking to the size of the wearer, increases the rate which the wearer absorbs mana, and will also act as a small amplifier to your spells’ outputs.

  “The belt and medallion both fulfill the same purpose - they are made to absorb energy for short periods of time. The idea behind them is that if you’re hit by an energy-based spell, it’ll absorb enough of the energy for you to live. You’ll even be able to make use of the energy in your own spells, but the energy can only be held for a few minutes, at most.

  “Finally, the books contain all the spells the Lumient family has recorded, alongside detailed analyses of the structure of seals and the basis of magic. The closed box contains medicines for the continued development of your mana pool and channels.

  Hearing all of this, Kate couldn’t help but pout. “Gramps, that’s more than I got! You’re cheaping out on me!”

  “Language.”

  “Hmph.” Kate was not having any of it. “I want something too!”

  “Hm, you’re right. I am being unfair.” Patriarch Lumient glanced around the room, searching for something to give Kate.

  “Gramps is the best!”

  “If I recall, your magical theory teacher said your understanding of magical theories is unremarkable, yes? Here’s another copy of all of the books I just gave Wesley. Study well.”

  …

  A few days later, Arthur led Wesley to Headmaster Farhir’s office at the Reiniad Elementary Institute of Magic.

  “Ahh, Wesley. Great to see you again! Thank you for attending, I heard you were given the rank of Rank 8 Elementary Mage? Congratulations!”

  Headmaster Farhir had been delighted to hear the news. The more geniuses that came through his school, the better he and the school looked.

  “During our fight, you used mainly ice spells. Am I correct to assume that this is your main area of focus?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Alright, was wondering if the ol- er, Headmaster Lumient had tried to convince you otherwise. He is rather preferential of light magic… Anyway, before we place you in classes, however, we must test your knowledge regarding magic, so here is a general magic knowledge test. Please complete it now, it should take around 5 hours.”

  He then looked to Arthur. “You can leave now, if you’d like. This will be very boring. I’ll send Wesley back home with an escort at the end of the day.”

  Arthur nodded, then left.

  Wesley sighed. Perhaps school wouldn’t be so fun after all.

  Thankfully, once Wesley started the test, he found that the question were extremely easy.

  For example: “Which magical theorist is the law which states that activatable magic seals for short-term spells are too volatile to be engraved on objects for casting named after?”

  Wesley thought for a moment, then scribbled down an answer.

  After an hour or so, he stood up and walked out of the room, looking for Headmaster Farhir, but couldn’t find him. Eventually, he made his way down to the reception area, where a single receptionist was working.

  “Where’s Headmaster Farhir?”

  The receptionist barely even glanced at him before responding. “Tomorrow marks the halfway point for the school year, so it’s time for the school’s representative team to be reformed in preparation for the annual competition. He’s busy making sure everything is set up for that.”

  “Ah. What should I do then?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Wesley thought about it for a bit, but then decided to take a nap instead. Before he fell asleep though, he had one thought.

  Competition? Sounds fun.

  Chapter 5

  When Headmaster Farhir returned, he saw Wesley napping in an armchair, then turned to the receptionist. “When did he finish?”

  The receptionist looked at the time. “About five hours ago.”

  “Really?”

  Headmaster walked past Wesley, and walked through the building to reach his office, and reached for Wesley’s test papers.

  He sat down behind his desk, then began reading through Wesley’s answers.

  His first observation: Wesley’s handwriting was horrible! Although, the kid was half-blind, so maybe it wasn’t his fault?

  Second observation: All of Wesley’s answers were correct! Actually, to some questions, he had even provided analysis further than the question required.

  He was happy to have such a talented student, but at the same time he almost felt like crying.

  Was the Conarite Kingdom’s education system so much better than his? Wasn’t the Conarite Kingdom supposed to be a fairly backwater Kingdom? Hell, this was Lumient City!

  After going through the rest of the test papers, he leaned back in his chair as his fingers tapped a swift rhythm on his desk. The kid’s knowledge, paired with what had happened the other day...

  “Tali!”

  “Yes, headmaster?”

  “Add Wesley to the list of candidates for the Rank 8 Elementary Mage slots for the school representative team.”

  “Yes, headmaster.”

  After the receptionist left, Headmaster Farhir slumped into his chair, then ran his
fingers through his hair. “Just where did you find this kid from, Chris.”

  He walked back to the reception area, and stared down at Wesley.