10 – Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt

[Interlude]

While the duel in the Vestri court took place, a number of people were observing from hidden positions.

The young secretary, Miss Longueville, looked down from a hallway window close to the academy vault.

A troubled expression crossed her face as she witnessed the commoner overwhelm the young earth mage with the sword of the foreign lord.

Using a minor wind spell, she had heard clearly what words were exchanged. An anti-magic sword that crushed a dot earth mage with only one percent of its power. Its master who seemed to be one of those insufferable idealists with the power to back up their foolishness.

Why did someone like that have to appear…?

The boy was nothing impressive, even if he was a dot mage, though he should have been more than a match for any commoner. There were differences in skill between mages, even aside from the simple polygonal rating. She herself was 'only' a triangle class Earth mage, but compared to that sycophant Chevreuse who took pride in showing off the parlor trick of transmuting lead into brass, Longueville was in a completely different league.

There was a reason she was the most feared Earth mage in all of Tristain, and why she had the epithet of 'Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt'. The fact that she couldn't stack the final fourth element layer didn't mean that she couldn't combine other elements to achieve feats of Earth far beyond what a simple Earth-Earth-Earth mage could accomplish. Her ingenuity and experience was the reason she had been daring enough to attempt this job on the most heavily fortified treasure vault in the entire kingdom.

She glanced at the heavy vault lock. All but impregnable, reinforced with all manner of spells, to the point that even she couldn't easily breach it with her trademark 'spell' of 'crumbling' which was actually several different spells used in succession.

Still, she had found a weakness by seducing it out of the fool Colbert, and was almost ready to make the attempt soon.

The school's security was weak, and the staff even more cowardly. None of them would likely be willing to meet her in battle, even the Square class mages Osmond and Colbert. The fact that none of the staff had been courageous enough to even get near the duel was proof of it. Already, as Osmond's secretary she'd noticed that a mage staff member was theoretically assigned to guard duty every night, but nobody actually stayed up to perform that duty.

But this Lord Axion…

If she stole the Staff of Destruction as she desired, would he mind his own business or come after her because of his ideals? If he did try to play the hero, then she didn't like her chances.

Never had she heard of an anti-magic sword, but an artifact like that had to be just as valuable and powerful as the Staff of Destruction itself. The tactical implications weren't lost on her. How much easier would it have been to complete her other thefts if she could just cut her way through enchantments?

And with her own eyes, she had witnessed the transformation that came over the boy with a mere 'one percent power'. What manner of monster would be unleashed at the full one hundred percent power?

If it were any other job, I would just give up now but this one…if I fail, then they'll kill Tiffania…

By the time the Vestri court had emptied of students, she still stood there silently, her face as stony as the walls beside her.

In the headmaster's office, two old men were contemplating the results of the duel as well.

"What amazing speed! Was that really just the power of Lord Axion's sword, or was it Gandalfr? I'm sure I saw the boy's runes glowing," said Colbert.

"Why not both? Would the sword have worked as well for just anyone? It is said that the Gandalfr is a master of all weapons," Osmond said, stroking his beard.

Colbert turned away from the Mirror of Far-Seeing towards the seated headmaster. "Well, it's certainly exciting! I thought the legendary familiar was a big enough surprise, but Lord Axion has proven to be even more mysterious! Ah…I wonder if Lord Axion would let me study that sword…"

"Indeed, Lord Axion is proving to be most interesting. If only he could be persuaded to serve the Crown…it is all too rare to find a noble that pays more than lip service to their feudal obligations these days, despite what we try to teach," said Osmond sighing.

"We should report this to the palace immediately and ask for instructions!" Colbert exclaimed.

"There will be no need for that." Osmond shook his head sternly.

"But Sir Osmond! This could be the discovery of the century! A Gandalfr reborn in the modern world! Not to mention Lord Axion. The palace would definitely be willing to recognize a mage of such power with a title!"

"There is no need for us to hand over young Gandalfr and its master to those fools at the palace. Give them a toy like this and it'll just cause another unnecessary war. Court advisors have far too much free time on their hands and enjoy fighting to a senseless degree."

"Ooh…I see. I apologize for overlooking such matters. Then, what of Lord Axion?"

"That is a delicate matter. There have been unpleasant rumors at court lately…if Lord Axion is truly as powerful as he appears to be, his entry into Tristainian nobility could have dangerous results if handled incorrectly, to say nothing of those who would covet the artifact in his possession. Rather than reporting to the palace, I will take this news directly to the crown princess."

"The princess? Isn't she still a child? I thought the Regent was handling affairs of state."

"Colbert you fool, you should get your head out of your lab sometimes. The princess has been trying to take matters into her own hands for months. It is precisely the Regent I am worried about. The rumors say that he has no intention of returning power to the Crown. Though he never struck me as the ambitious type, it is difficult to discern the true nature of a man who turned down the position of Pope for a mere temporary position as regent in a small kingdom like Tristain."

"That would be treason!" Colbert said with a shocked face.

"Do not speak of this to anyone. I do not know whose support he may have bought already, if the rumors are true."

"Y-yes, I understand!"

A short while later, in the infirmary, Louise sat bemoaning that she didn't have the funds to pay for Saito's full treatment. She would have to change his bandages and apply medicine personally to save on costs.

"Isn't that romantic? Your man is injured and you'll be taking care of him," said Kirche, the red headed fire mage that would always push her buttons.

"He's not my man, Zerbst! And there's nothing romantic about it when he wasn't even fighting for me!"

"Oh, so you wouldn't mind if that servant girl steals him away?" Kirche said with a wide grin.

"Wh-what?! What servant girl?" Louise felt a jolt of something she couldn't identify.

"You know, the one that he was with earlier today when the whole thing with Guiche happened. She ran off before the duel, but anybody could see they were quite friendly with each other."

Louise's face turned angry. "How dare he flirt with a girl without my permission! When he wakes up, I'll punish him!"

Kirche laughed as she walked away, her blue haired friend Tabitha trailing silently in her wake.

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[Kaleidus]

"Explosion!" The distant tree Louise had targeted instantly blew apart, sending bark shrapnel in every direction.

Louise herself was left gasping for breath, her willpower reserves running low after a series of tests I had her perform.

Around us was a swath of destruction and fallen trees.

"One more time, with Fireball," I ordered.

She nodded and held up her hand again, targeting another tree. "Fireball!"

The ensuing explosion blasted a hole straight through the tree, rending it into two halves, as if a bomb went off in front of it.

"It's just as I thought," I announced while viewing the results with infrared vision. "You can alter the effects of your explosions."

"Huh?"

"I've thoroughly analyzed your spells. So far, whenever you've cast an explosion without spellwork, it just causes an undirected explosion at the first thing in your wand's way. But you were able to create a shaped blast with heat when using the casting spellwork of Fireball. With Earth transmutation, the targeted material exploded into dust with the explosion. With wind, you generated an outburst of air pressure and shockwaves at the tip of your wand. We replicated the effects for each and they were not entirely random. What does this tell you?"

"…that my spells failed in different ways?" She said, eyebrows scrunched in thought.

"That's one way to put it. The spellwork you do as part of the spell, even if it doesn't succeed in the actual spell, changes the nature of the explosion. That means you are able to cast spells. It's your affinity to Void that's changing your spells into something else, and you should be able to refine these effects systematically, by changing the incantation and spell structure. Therefore, we will work on this until you have enough control over your explosions that none can deny your power as a mage."

Her frustration from earlier in the day completely evaporated as her face glowed with anticipation.

"Yes, sir!"

It was too bad Saito wasn't here to see this side of Louise as he was still recovering.

O O O

Eventually Agate came back with some wind stones in tow, and I introduced her to Derf.

"Welcome to the party! I'm Kaleidostick Agate!" She said cheerfully.

"Did your wand just talk?" Derf asked.

"What, never seen a talking wand before?" Agate replied cheekily, using the same words Derf said to Saito.

"…touché. Why, partner, I thought we had something special together! To think you already had someone!" Derf cried mournfully to me.

"Heh, you haven't met Offensive Bias yet, have you? You're actually the third inorganic member of our party," the Kaleidostick said while poking and prodding at the sword.

"As an ancient antique specimen, you are just what I needed to round out my collection," I said, taking out Offensive Bias' robot drone.

"Greetings, Derflinger. I am the ancilla Offensive Bias. Welcome to the Metarchy. I look forward to an efficient integration of our programs."

"Gasp! The legendary Derflinger has been reduced to a mere collectible item!"

"Well, Derf, now that you've met, I'll explain what everyone does in this team."

O O O

[Interlude]

In the dead of night, a hooded figure ran through the forest with nimble feet, carrying a large metallic object shaped like a tube.

It was Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt, who had just stolen the clearly labeled 'Staff of Destruction' from the Academy vault, after breaking in from the outer wall with brute force using one of her strongest golems.

She had sacrificed some rare reagents to reach the level of strength necessary to break past the Square-class hardening spells on the wall, but in the end, she had succeeded.

Unlike her characteristic behavior of leaving behind a note proudly proclaiming that Fouquet had taken the goods, this time she was in a rush to get away.

When she reached the cabin, her temporary hideout, she breathed a sigh of relief. They wouldn't be able to track her through the forest easily.

She could leave now and go to her client, but she wanted to learn the secret of the Staff of Destruction first.

What mage wouldn't be interested in such a powerful artifact? A weapon rumored to be capable of mass destruction that had to be locked away for fear of its might, where even a dot mage could kill a full grown dragon in a single shot with it.

If a mere dot mage could do that much, then in the hands of a Triangle of her calibre, how powerful would it be?

If she could use the power for herself, she might be able to protect Tiffania from her 'client', instead of meekly handing the artifact over.

She cast a cantrip of light and stared at the metal tube. For a staff, it was strangely designed with many parts, and exceptionally smooth. It reminded her a little of a rifle, but she couldn't identify the firing mechanism or trigger.

There had been no instructions for how to use it, so was it to be used like a regular staff? She tried to wave it around and incant some spells, but nothing happened.

After ten minutes of examination and nothing to show for it, she growled in frustration.

"That's a dangerous weapon you've got there," a voice said suddenly from behind her.

Her head whipped around and she brandished the staff towards the source of the voice.

What she saw there was a smirking Axion leaning against a tree with crossed arms.

"Someone could get hurt if you wave it around like that," he said, looking for all the world as if he was perfectly relaxed and she wasn't pointing a weapon of mass destruction at him, even though he clearly knew what she was holding.

"Stay back, or you will get hurt!" She shouted.

"Really? But you're pointing it in the wrong direction. You've got the firing end facing yourself right now," he said, lips widening further.

Her face reddened when her bluff failed.

A quick flick later and her own wand was back in her hand, the Staff now held parallel to her chest in a protective stance.

"Relax, Miss Longueville. I'm not here to arrest you," he said casually, much to her shock. He had seen right through her identity. "Your theft is the Academy's problem, not mine."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "No? So what, you want the Staff for yourself? Otherwise you'll blow my cover? I'm sorry to say that I won't be working at the Academy anymore."

The tense silence that followed had her sweating. Would he attack her for it instead?

Then against all expectations, he laughed mirthfully. "I don't want that thing you call a Staff of Destruction. Something of that level would barely dent my armor…why would I need such a weak weapon?"

The outrageous declaration only increased her anxiety. What could the man possibly want with her, if even the Staff of Destruction was worthless in his eyes?

"Then…what do you want?"

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A/N: Before anyone says the MC's armor is overpowered, he's bluffing. An anti-tank armor-piercing shaped blast will actually deal serious damage to his armor, even though it wouldn't kill him in one hit.

Thanks for all the comments last chapter! Some responses to questions or longer comments in reviews:

superpierce: Derf's just making things up for fun. But the power he can grant does depend on just how much magic he has access to. So you could call that a limiter.

Reishin Amara: It'll be a mix of both and my own take. I'll be using whatever is more interesting, and the windstone crisis was better IMO.

Lord of Moons: So Derf's physical body isn't actually that old. He's switched quite a few times. MC isn't really capable of making Mystic Codes yet, but he does have plans to get Derf a better body.

Father Chaos: The degradation of noble ideals was a thing in the novels too. But not much was done with it.

Giuseppe: That was the idea! The school is full of impressionable teenagers after all.

Quelthias: I think Kaleidus would argue that he's the better user, haha.