Professor Tink paused for a mont, his brows subtly knitting together. When he had asked Raze whether there was sothing he desired, a favor of sorts, he had expected a request related to the academy’s politics or structure.
Maybe a letter of recomndation to get into the Central Academy, or even a hint about the upcoming events so he could give his own academy a competitive edge. But instead... this question. This specific, obscure inquiry.
Tink leaned forward, his tone shifting.
"Where did you hear about that?" he asked. "That’s not sothing you should even know exists."
His response confird it. The item did exist. But now, Raze found himself in yet another delicate position, this ti, completely unintended. He hadn’t known the information was a tightly kept secret.
He had only heard about it through Alen, soone with high-level access.
"There are rumors," Raze replied calmly, masking the tension under his voice. "You should know by now that I’m soone who pays attention to the tiniest details. I asked you because I wasn’t sure if the rumors were true.
"And if an artifact like that really does exist... I’d love the chance to study it."
Tink went silent for a few monts, clearly lost in thought. Yes, such an item existed, but the real question was: could he reveal sothing so confidential just because of a shared curiosity between them? Perhaps not. But maybe... maybe he could offer sothing in return, sothing less direct but still useful.
"Well," Tink finally said, "my answer might disappoint you." His lips tightened into a faint line. "Because officially, no such item exists."
The answer hit Raze like a weight to the chest.
The fact that Tink even needed to clarify it that way ant the item was real, but buried deep behind red tape and secrecy. And if it truly was inaccessible, then completing Alen’s request would be nearly impossible.
Without it, Raze would have to confront Ibarin directly or find another convoluted thod to dig into the man’s mind, and that was dangerous.
If he had the item, it wouldn’t just make revealing Ibarin’s dark secrets easier; it could unlock the truth about what happened to the other Grand Magus mbers too.
"I’m going to assist you," Tink said, breaking the silence, "but perhaps not in the exact way you were hoping."
He leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. "Actually, what I’m going to tell you is quite related to the topic we’ve been discussing for a while now. There is a thod, an advanced spell formation, that allows us to glimpse into soone’s mind. It’s not an item... but a magic circle."
Raze’s interest was instantly rekindled.
"The thod is complicated," Tink explained. "We use spell circles layered upon other circles to extract specific mories or thoughts. But it’s not as simple as reading a person’s mind like a book.
"You need a Key, a very specific set of instructions. You have to define what kind of mory you’re looking for. What kind of thought. Otherwise, the spell becos too vague and unstable. Dangerous, even."
Raze nodded slowly. He understood what Tink ant, especially after what he had experienced on Pagna.
Back then, when mories were extracted from individuals, it had required strict guidelines, precise instructions that narrowed the spell’s focus. If the intent was too broad, the spell would collapse under its own complexity.
On that island, the Key had been defined: extract only one’s darkest thoughts and most painful mories. That kind of focus required less mana and produced clearer results.
He rembered now that the spell had also needed to be carved onto the ground, a formation similar to what Tink was describing now.
It made Raze wonder... Could the technique used in Pagna have originated from the sa source? Perhaps it had been passed down after the Dark Faction’s founder returned to Alterian. Or maybe soone else had stumbled upon it later and refined it.
Tink continued. "Once extracted, that information still needs a place to be stored, usually in a crystal or similar magical container. And then cos the final issue: how do you display the mory?"
"A second circle?" Raze suggested. "One that links the stored information to others who want to view it?"
Tink smiled. "That could work, but it’s far from practical. It requires all individuals to be in the sa room at the sa ti. What if you wanted to share the information widely? Across academies? Across cities?
"In that case, you’d need to enchant the crystal to project its contents, and then cast a large-scale viewing spell to share what’s inside. All of this, storing, displaying, it’s doable. But the hard part? Extracting the mories in the first place.
"And I’m afraid that’s the part I can’t help you with."
He let out a small sigh. "Still, I hope I’ve shown you that what you’re looking for... is indeed possible."
Raze stood, bowing deeply. "You’ve already given far more than I could’ve hoped for," he said respectfully.
He now knew exactly what he was after. The pieces of the puzzle were starting to co together.
He could ask Kelly to begin investigating, to search for any magic circle records similar to the one used on Pagna. If such a spell had ever been used before, especially one powerful enough to extract mories, there had to be docuntation of it.
And if the spell was so rare that even the Grand Magus didn’t fully understand it, then soone would have written it down, sowhere, to ensure it wasn’t lost forever.
A thought did cross his mind, to ask Tink about Ti Magic while he had the chance. But that would be pushing it. He had already asked too much, and digging deeper might raise suspicion.
Ti Magic was sothing Raze could pursue alone. Quietly.
"I’ll take my leave now, Professor," Raze said, his voice calm and asured. "I rember the way we ca in, so there’s no need to escort . I hope you enjoy the rest of today’s event... and whatever the future holds."
Tink offered a gentle nod and leaned back in his chair. A nap, he thought, didn’t sound like such a bad idea.
He wasn’t too concerned about Raze. The student had proven himself to be polite, independent, and respectful.
But once Raze left the room... he didn’t head toward the building’s exit.
He turned the opposite way, moving with silent steps and full awareness.
He was headed to the principal’s office.
Because he knew this building like the back of his hand.
****
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