The Voss are known for their bloodline. Producing magicians who tend to make a name for themselves.
They take pride in their lineage, and they don't view knights as their equals.
To them, knights are all brawn no brains.
"Pleasure to meet you, Tower Master," I greeted her, even though her appearance was not in my expectations.
"Oh no, the pleasure's all mine, Professor, it appears you're difficult to gain an audience with," Victoria casually walked across the meeting table, and Matthias settled back in his seat.
"Can't blame a man for being cautious," I replied, looking at her pacing towards me.
The reason for rejecting her invitation was really simple. I prefer handling one situation at a time. And I was solely focusing on the matters of rebellion, handling a perfect disguise of a professor at the same time.
But, I guess things won't move the way I want them to.
"How can I be of your…help, Tower Master," I asked for her reason to request my presence.
"Hmm…" Victoria hummed and stood a breath away from me.
She was short, but was coping with her lack of height using magic. Her legs never touched the floor, she was walking in the air.
"I've met several men of your age, professor, and no matter how noble their background is, they always have two things in their eyes, lust and opportunity," she said.
"My spirits don't sense any malice from you, and I can't even feel your core, are you… deliberately masking your strength, Professor?" She asked as her hand drifted to my shirt, fingertips brushing the button as she idly played with it.
'… You can't sense it because there's no core…' I wanted to say these words, but I couldn't. I'm not strong enough to defend myself from two of the clearance six mages in the room, who'd want to cut me open and observe my anatomy for the evolution of awakened individuals.
"I have no reason to hide my strength," I replied. "Maybe, I've just mastered the art of concealment,"
"A warrior with a skill that even assassins desire?" She continued, but her tone was laced with interest.
"Not to mention, you have developed quite an interesting theory for magic circuits. A genius professor who supports the first prince, runs one of the major trade network across kingdoms, knows about concealment, aura, mana, and circuits alike, to the point that even I find those theories interesting… you're gaining quite a lot of attention Professor," She said and leaned in.
"I'm curious. What's the price of your knowledge?" She asked.
"It's not something you can buy with the legacies of your Tower, or Voss gold," I said.
Victoria tilted her head and looked into my eyes, her hand still on my button, but still.
"Oh? Then what currency do you prefer?" She asked.
"…" I thought for a while. Her alliance was definitely not in my expectations but…
"Reciprocity," I paused for a while and then continued. "Help me whenever I'm in need,"
"Why? Are you about to do something that might need my name or powers? Now I'm really curious about you, Professor," She spoke and withdrew her hands at the back.
"You have my word, Professor, I'll sign a mana contract for you," She said, knowing well that mana contracts are not strong enough to damage a clearance six mage.
"Your words alone are more than a promise." I spoke.
"I like the way you present yourself," she said waving her hand as a stream of dense mist surrounded her.
However, before she disappeared, I saw her lips move, speaking a silent phrase, 'Your Highness'.
And with that the gust of mist vanished along with her.
'Fuck…' I cursed. 'How'd she find out?'
"Well, that was quite a show for me," Matthias spoke, killing the silence that lingered after she left.
He looked like someone who was watching a rom-com drama with a can of soft drink and snacks.
But… I was still thinking of how she found out that I was Ymir.
Matthias stood up and walked past me.
'Is it because she's a clearance six? Does that mean he knows too?' I thought and looked at Matthias approaching the doors.
'Should I test him out?' I thought.
"Matthias," I called out his name. My tone was casual. It wasn't meant for the Principal Matthias but the friend Matthias.
"Hm?" He stopped and turned his head a little.
"What do you see when you look at me?" I asked.
Matthias thought for a moment, and opened the doors of the room to exit.
"Suicidal idiot," he slammed the door shut and left.
"…That somehow sounds pretty accurate," I mumbled to myself, alone in the room.
'I guess he doesn't know then…'
.-.-.-.-.-.
Sighing, I walked on the podium and placed the file with the list of students on the table.
I was in the second year batch class, the same class that was betting on fights on my first day, had turned into a disciplined lot.
Even the Knight cadets had basic mana circuit knowledge that was essential during battles against mage.
"It has been over a week since I introduced and taught you the basic ten fold arrangements of circuit," I said, roaming on the podium, observing the cadets.
"Today I'm going to teach you that would not only help the knight, but the mages too," I said.
"We're going to learn about, the flow, the core concept of aura praxis." I said, as all of them listened with utter concentration.
"Which is… core as an oscillator!" I declared and continued, "Most of you treat your cores as an engine, a heart, the faster it beats the louder your output is, but you're wrong"
"You don't have to be loud, messy and waste 90% of your energy just like that, you have to change your perspective…" I said.
This was something I learned when my core was ripped out.
"Don't think that it's your core that's responsible for your aura or mana, think the opposite,"
"It's your energy, the aura or mana responsible for running the core. Your real training for the aura praxis begins from this day onward, and your goal is to sense every single particle of your aura and mana within your body,"
I'll train them alongside me. With a slightly different method, of course.