Chapter 198: Leverage
The spells were far from useless. They would definitely be helpful in battle.
Coagulate, for instance, allowed him to drain his own blood and shape it into hardened constructs. He could form weapons, shields, or other objects with it.
He really wasn’t looking forward to using it, though.
Blood magic always ca with an uncomfortable feeling. Why did he have to drain his own blood if fire mages could form fire out of thin air with just a bit of mana?
Would it drain his vitality? If so, he wouldn’t want to use it in a long fight. Such were the questions.
Blood Chains was more straightforward, binding enemies with blood constructs.
Although Elion wondered if Coagulate could potentially achieve the sa result with enough practice.
’Probably,’ he thought. ’I’ll need to test both spells later.’
Elion’s eyes drifted toward the Hidden Affinity section for a mont.
That line had appeared at the sa ti he acquired blood magic from Celeste.
Ti Magic – ???
Unlike most things on the system, this one had never changed. Three question marks.
aning locked since then.
And unlike Celeste’s blood magic, which he had imdiately gained access to after sealing her, ti magic was sothing he couldn’t use at all.
Not even a little. He had tried several tis. Nothing happened.
No spells appeared, no instructions, and no skill unlocks. Just the sa three question marks.
The system had eventually given him a vague explanation.
Unlike normal elental magic, heaven-defying magics like Ti and Space magic were fundantally different.
They required an understanding of sothing called laws. Actual comprehension of the laws governing reality.
Without that understanding, the affinity might exist, and you might have it, but it could not be used. In other words...
He couldn’t cheat.
The system could help him learn normal magic by copying spells and techniques from others.
But with things like ti magic?
He had to understand it himself.
Right now, the system judged that his current understanding of magic was too low to even begin unlocking it.
So the affinity simply sat there, locked and waiting. Elion sighed slightly.
"Well... that’s annoying."
Still, it wasn’t completely useless.
Just knowing he possessed a ti affinity was already sothing absurd. His gaze moved away from the screen.
"I should go train for tomorrow."
He began walking up the pathway toward the academy. Today, even this usually quiet district was busy.
People were everywhere, settling into various housing establishnts. The entire city was preparing for the tournant.
Elion slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked. He couldn’t help but smile. He was really looking forward to it.
...
In one of the many Grand estates in Grimholt City.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
William felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
Rightfully so.
He had been in this exact situation not long ago.
Except this ti... it was far worse.
Because his brother was here, the situation was even more humiliating.
William knelt on the floor, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white. Rage burned inside him like poison.
At that mont, he truly felt like murdering that bastard Elion with his own hands.
"No, father," William finally hissed through gritted teeth.
Beside their father stood Xavier, calmly observing the scene. He looked down at his kneeling brother with a detached expression.
Honestly, he often wondered how the two of them could turn out so differently despite sharing half the sa blood.
’I suppose the heavens are not always generous,’ he thought.
His gaze lingered on William.
’It must be that lowborn mother of his.’
They shared the sa father, but not the sa mother.
William’s mother had been a woman of humble birth. Duke Dawncrest had taken a liking to her years ago and elevated her to the status of a concubine.
Even so, the woman had possessed decent talent, so society had not criticized the duke too harshly for it.
But to Xavier, the explanation was simple. Her blood had diluted the purity of the Dawncrest line.
In truth, Xavier held no personal hatred toward commoners. He simply believed in being pragmatic and logical.
History and statistics showed that noble bloodlines produced talented leaders generation after generation.
It was only natural.
Rare exceptions existed, of course. Occasionally, soone extraordinary rose from the common masses.
Special cases.
Cases like Elion Nova. Xavier sighed quietly.
After receiving information about Elion, many things had started to make sense. The matter had been more or less put into perspective for him.
The hostility between Elion and William.
Elion’s supposed death.
And then his sudden return, stronger than ever, with increased talent
To Xavier, the explanation was obvious.
William had likely attempted to eliminate him sowhere in the academy’s dungeons. But sothing had gone wrong.
Instead of dying, Elion had survived... and returned far stronger than before.
’He must have discovered sothing inside that dungeon,’ Xavier concluded, like many before him.
What followed afterward was predictable.
Elion had co back seeking revenge. At least, that was Xavier’s interpretation.
When he first heard that William had been beaten months ago, he barely cared. But then the situation escalated.
It had escalated to the point where William attempted sothing so cowardly as framing Elion for assault.
Unfortunately, Xavier did not have the full details.
That stubborn bastard Evander Kletis had refused to give him the official files from the disciplinary committee.
Of course, Xavier could easily obtain them if he truly wanted to. Soone in the committee would eventually talk, or William himself. Well, probably not, considering how mucb he seed to hate him as well.
But he wasn’t desperate for the information.
He already understood enough.
’What a waste of noble blood,’ he thought coldly as he looked down at William.
If anything, Xavier had beco curious about Elion. If the boy cooperated, he could beco a very useful piece.
But that depended entirely on how Elion handled what Xavier planned to throw at him.
"Father, if I may," Xavier said calmly, interrupting just as the duke was about to step forward.
Duke Dawncrest paused.
"What is it, Xavier?"
"Would you allow
to handle this Elion situation on behalf of my foolish brother?"
The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly.
’Why is Xavier interested in this matter?’ he wondered.
"What did you have in mind?" the duke asked.
"Thank you, father."
Xavier bowed his head lightly.
"I currently have considerable freedom in arranging the tournant matchups. I plan to make things a little difficult for Elion."
He smiled faintly.
"Nothing too excessive. Just enough to remind him of the consequences of angering a mber of the Dawncrest family."
Xavier folded his hands behind his back.
"After all, he appears to be quite talented. If possible, I would prefer to establish goodwill with him and potentially bring him into our faction."
He paused briefly.
"But before that... I would like to see what he is capable of."
Xavier’s gaze shifted slightly toward William.
"And of course, I will give William a chance to redeem himself as well. I can arrange for them to face each other in the tournant."
His tone remained calm.
"If William fails even then..."
He didn’t bother finishing the sentence. What interested him more was how Elion would respond to such a situation.
Would he rise to the challenge? Or crumble under pressure?
Duke Dawncrest fell silent for a mont, thinking. Eventually, he nodded.
"Very well. I will leave this matter to you."
His gaze hardened as he looked down at William.
"Just make sure this fool does not embarrass the Dawncrest na any further."
"That will depend on him, Father," Xavier replied calmly.
Both n looked down at William.
Waiting for his response, not that it mattered. William slowly lifted his head.
"I won’t fail this ti," he muttered softly.
The duke grumbled.
"I won’t be holding my breath."
In truth, Xavier had no expectations that William would win. Not even slightly. But that outco would still benefit him.
If William lost, Xavier gained leverage over him.
And if Elion won...
Then Xavier would gain leverage over him as well.
Either way—
The outco of the match would serve his purposes perfectly.
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