Warlock Ch 171. Don't Die Unless You Want To
Cassius smirked. "Well, it makes you stronger. And, let's face it, every mage in this world probably envies you. I guess that's why the higher-ups dislike you so much—they know they can't control you, and that terrifies them. So, they make you a target."
"Thanks, Cas," Damian deadpanned, shooting him a withering look. "That's not exactly comforting. Knowing that my survival depends on the sa power that made a target in the first place isn't what I'd call a pep talk."
Cassius chuckled, unfazed. "Comforting or not, it's reality. And it's a hell of an advantage, whether you like it or not."
Damian sighed, letting his head fall back against the couch. "True."
Cassius gave him another potion. "Here," he said, handing it over.
Damian eyed the bottle for a mont before unscrewing the cap and downing it in one go. The stamina potion burned slightly as it went down, but the warmth that followed was a welco reprieve. "Like beer after a bad ga," he muttered in a sarcastic tone.
Cassius slid into the seat beside him, his posture relaxed, as if they were two best friends unwinding after a long day.
"So," Damian began, "this rank A exam. How are you going to make take it?"
Cassius' smirk widened, that telltale glint of mischief flashing in his eyes. Damian knew that look. It was the look Cassius always gave when he had a plan—one that usually ended with Damian wishing he'd never asked.
"Don't worry about it," Cassius said breezily. "I have my own ways."
Damian's brow furrowed as he studied his ntor. "Why do I feel like your 'ways' are going to throw into another 'dead or alive' situation?"
"Because they will," Cassius replied, his smirk unchanging.
Damian huffed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "Right. Of course. How silly of to expect anything else."
Cassius laughed, the sound low and amused. "Relax. You won't die. Not unless you let yourself die."
"Wow, comforting," Damian said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Let just go into battle with that on my mind: 'Don't die unless you want to.' Truly inspirational."
Cassius shrugged, his tone turning serious. "You have the demon king's power inside you. That makes you harder to kill than most, but it also ans you can't afford to let your guard down. If you survive this exam, you'll be stronger for it. If you fail… Well, let's not dwell on that."
Damian shot him a glare. "You're really selling it, Cas. I feel so motivated."
"You'll thank later," Cassius said with a smirk.
Damian didn't bother responding. Instead, he leaned back against the couch, letting his mind wander. The rank A exam wasn't just about proving himself—it was about survival. Once he took the test, he'd be officially registered with the magic governnt, a step that ca with both benefits and risks. It would give him autonomy, the ability to accept missions and apprentices without needing the ntor's approval. But it would also put him on everyone's radar.
He was already an anomaly, his rapid rise in power far beyond what was considered normal. Taking the rank A exam so soon would only make that more obvious. And if the senators—or worse, Aria—caught wind of it, things could get ssy fast.
Cassius, as usual, seed unfazed by the potential fallout. "You're overthinking it," he said, breaking the silence.
"Am I?" Damian shot back. "Because last I checked, taking the rank A exam ans standing in front of the sa people who already want dead. How do you think they're going to react when they see I've jumped ranks faster than anyone in history?"
"They'll be impressed," Cassius said simply.
"Or they'll see as a bigger threat," Damian countered. "You've seen how they operate, Cas. They don't want real mages—they want tools. And I'm not exactly the cooperative type."
Cassius leaned forward, his sharp gaze locking onto Damian's. "That's exactly why you need to take the exam. If you keep hiding, they'll co for you anyway. This way, you control the narrative. You show them you're not just so anomaly—they'll see you as soone they can't afford to ss with."
Damian let out a long breath, his mind turning over Cassius' words. "And what if they try to take out during the test?"
Cassius smirked. "Then you take them out first."
Damian rolled his eyes. "Great. Let's add political assassination to the to-do list."
Cassius chuckled, the sound low and infuriatingly smug.
Damian turned to him, narrowing his eyes. "Right, laugh it up. You know I'm right."
Cassius smirked, leaning back like they were discussing the weather instead of life-or-death warlock battles. "Well, this is funny because if this were the old you—the Kaelan you—you'd think exactly the way I do now. But I guess with your mories still patchy, you're stuck playing catch-up."
Damian frowned, sitting up straighter despite his exhaustion. "What did you just say? I thought you wanted to register properly, like the others. I an…" His voice trailed off as he pieced it together. "When I was Kaelan, I used the sa loopholes. We both did."
Cassius shrugged. "Yeah. But there's one crazy theory you floated back then—half-joke, half-serious. You said that a mage or warlock could prove their rank not through bureaucracy but through combat. That if soone defeated a higher-ranked mage, they deserved that rank themselves."
Damian's eyes widened as the mory clicked into place. It had been one of those late-night discussions, born out of frustration with the rigidity of the magical system. "That wasn't just a theory," Damian muttered, more to himself than to Cassius. "It was… a possibility."
"Exactly," Cassius said, his smirk widening. "And after your fight with Malthus, it's clear that theory holds weight. You took him down and your rank raised up. But the catch is, it's unofficial. Unauthorized. You'd be a rank A warlock without the governnt's blessing."
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