“That element is basically useless to all other mages or hybrids I have met.” Ajax was quick to point out. “My style of casting uses more mana for a lower effect but doesn’t rely on chanting. Not only that but much like rune casters the style actively competes with chanting. If anyone wants to try this element it can’t be a chant caster.”
“Why not a chant caster?” Lexi was quick to ask as she was also interested in the new element, though this was more for novelty sake than for the power it possessed.
“Very simple, I have no chanted spells that use it so there is no starting point for trying to use any chants with it.” Ajax said, even if people had figured out certain words or phrases there was no word for the void element that any of them knew.
“Just how inefficient are your spells?” Lexi asked now curious.
“Throw a fireball at that wall.” Ajax said instead of answering.
Lexi was quick to chant and throw a decent fireball that left a black mark on the wall. Ajax simply stood up and copied the effect tossing an equivalent fireball with a word leaving a second mark on the wall.
“How much mana did that fireball take from you?” he asked afterwards.
“About thirty.” she answered, it was a very weak spell she just tossed out to make a point.
“Mine took about one hundred and fifty.” Ajax said “and I suspect my intelligence is slightly higher than yours is. My style focuses on having spells empower physical attacks, it focuses on speed and flexibility but in a battle of attrition at long range I would be forced to use my bow or I would empty a lot faster than even a mage usually does.”
Void however was out of the question, he wasn’t willing to teach anyone anything about that element. His Legendary skill will be nigh-impossible to copy but the void element was and always will be the ace us his sleeve. Much like how curse attacks were not divulged in any way by one of the King’s top people Ajax would keep void to himself at the very least until he had a working counter to the element.
If he was true to himself however Ajax did find that he was willing to try and teach void to one being, that being was Fluffy and even for her it was in the far future once she had finished maturing. Ajax had developed void by focusing on shadow element mobility to move the point of impact but that was as far as he would take it before he got a companion of his own.
“Well done, your highness.” Professor Silvertongue interrupted their discussion as he got to the base. “Though your methods were slightly questionable they were within the rules and as such your team is the winner for this cycle’s delve.”
“But he didn’t decipher, they didn’t decipher the clue.” one of the other students murmured, even if they knew better than to try and complain about the crown prince on a day when he was this pissed off.
“The rules never said that they had to.” Professor Silvertongue chose not to ignore the mumble and use it to teach them all a lesson. “These sort of competitions are how nations decide conflict in order to prevent wars, you’d do best to learn that sometimes loopholes to the written rules exist.”
“But wouldn’t using such a loophole be more likely to cause a war or at the very least a battle to break out.” Anna asked.
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“That depends, but the answer is mostly yes.” Silvertongue nodded. “However, having you think about the existence of such loopholes is what is important here. If you use any that you find will have to be a case by case decision but making sure you are not blindsided by another side using it is something else entirely.”
For the reminder of the delve the prince had been trying to catch a moment where could talk to Ajax alone but none presented themselves. Ajax had noticed his attempts but wasn’t in the mood to deal with the prince trying to force him to teach him about void. He knew there was nothing the prince could do to force him but the attempts themselves could prove annoying.
For the rest of the delve Ajax had barely managed to get any more alchemy done, for the first time since he had joined the Academy he had primarily used his time to socialize with the other students in his class.
It had taken a few hours to get the point across that he wouldn’t be entertaining any talks regarding marriage at the moment but the discussion focused more on how each of the noble houses had made their start when they were first granted the title. All houses made it a point to document their beginnings, though some saw those beginnings as a point of pride while others chose to look at them as something to learn from.
“How does a house get its name?” Ajax asked the most pertinent question in the presence of the nobles, after all not only him but his entire family line will carry the name they are given.
“Most often they are named for a trend in the family or the specific actions of the house head that gained them the title.” Lexi explained. “My house is named Manashaper because of grandpa's ability to experiment with chants. House Shortsilence however was named for their renowned ability as interrogators, though the specific methods remain a mystery it is well known that after one of their members enters the dungeon prisoners start talking quickly.”
Ajax had to fight the grimace that fought to make its way on his face after hearing what house Shortsilence was known for. In hindsight it made sense for a line of effective interrogators to be rewarded even if the thought of their practice made him want to regress to his much more paranoid days.
“In cases like yours you will have to present your sigil to the king. Considering your strength you will most likely be alone with him in the room so you will have a chance to appeal for a different name should you not like the first he gives you but be careful with that since if you are too picky you may end up worse than you started.” Lexi said with a teasing grin on her face.
Ajax did make a note of it and was very thankful for all of the explanations that the rest of his classmates gave him, if nothing else he now knew he had at least a few connections in specific industries moving forward should he need them to get on his feet.
Handling the family finances wasn’t going to be his area, his job began with gathering this information and passing it along to his sister and mother and ended with being the one making any formal request or offers if they deemed it necessary. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
“We’ll be going to the Watered Horse tonight!” Rick shouted loudly as they were on the way back from the dungeon.
Ajax appreciated Rick’s care when it came to choosing the local, the Watered Horse was one of the lower class taverns in the noble section of the capital and one where Ajax wouldn’t stand out like a sore thumb for showing up in his regular day clothes.
“I’ll be buying for everyone so stop complaining.” Rick continued when a few people started to suggest some higher end places.
While that offer wouldn’t have been all that persuasive in their current company, all of the complaints died down pretty quickly once they saw that Benedict, Anna and Lexi were all going along with the choice.
“I’ll be seeing you all ten days from now.” Professor Silvertongue said as he dismissed everyone.
With that everyone went their own way looking to get out of their delving gear and into some regular clothes before heading to the Watered Horse. Ajax however wasn’t so lucky as the prince had followed him following their dismissal and had caught up to him just as he got to the door of his office.
“I want to know more about this peculiar element!” The prince demanded, it was much harsher than even he had originally intended to approach the subject but his patience had been worn thin the last few days.
“I know you were taught better manners than that.” A voice came from the side as the door to professor Silvertongue’s office opened and two women were exiting.
“Aunt Cleo?” the prince's jaw dropped in surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I came here to follow up and clear the air about the stupid threat you made towards a newly promoted noble a few days ago. Imagine my surprise to see you also pushing things further by hounding him for something that I know for a fact is private information.”
“But -” the prince started.
“But nothing!” she said, cutting him off. “You’ll be coming with me and explaining this to your father, keep going in this manner and you’ll end up like your uncle.”
The prince's face fell at that and he quietly bowed his head in frustration. His uncle had been first in line as crown prince and had been passed over for the crown despite being stronger than his father, all of it was due to poor diplomatic skills and a few international incidents.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, Ajax. Congratulations on the noble nomination.” Princess Cleo, the current king’s oldest daughter, said. “You certainly have had great timing for my daughter.” she finished with a nod at the girl standing behind her.
“Thank you very much for your discovery, Sir Ajax.” the other woman said while executing a perfect curtsy. “I’ll be turning ten in a week and will be the first of the royal family to make use of your discovery.”
“You’re very welcome.” Ajax said as he returned with a bow towards the two.
With that the two left with the prince in tow as Ajax headed into his office to get changed before heading out.