Chương 71: Duels on A Mountaintop

In the days since the big meeting with all the High Academs of Arcoryx Academy, Ryland slowly formulated a plan of dealing with the duels. He didn't want to get too involved in the process. It was a matter of principle more than anything. Ryland didn't particularly care about controlling his presence as Alaric had suggested weeks ago. Not after how he had dealt with the Incursion, and certainly not after the last meeting on Sundermount. What he didn't want to do was fight students.

Technically, he was a student too. A graduate student working towards the most prestigious degree claimable in Arcoryx Academy of Sorcerous Arts. Nevertheless, Ryland certainly didn't consider himself anything akin to the other students. Duelling him would be like pitting a pebble against a meteor. Ryland understood that line of thinking was, from certain perspectives, the height of arrogance. Yet it was the truth as well. Facts didn't care for perspectives.

Admittedly, Ryland could temper his response and pretend to be nothing more than a graduate student. But that was it, wasn't it? Pretending. The idea left a bad taste in his mouth. It was the same reason he had gone against Alaric's insistence of hiding himself away. Diplomatic or not, it was still a lie. And if Ryland allowed himself to start lying, even for reasonable causes, it'd be the start of a slippery slope he didn't intend to tread. He understood the pinch of hypocrisy in his line of thinking.

No one here still knew the absolute truth. No one present at the academy would understand the length and breadth of his experiences, would comprehend the true identity of his being. Even when the Oracle had tried calling him a Calamity, no one truly grasped the significance of it. But truths were multifaceted. Multilayered. It was a truth that Ryland wasn't a typical student, and as that truth was highly relevant to the academy, he was intent on not suppressing it.

All that said, he was clearly not the only person preoccupied by the prospect of the duels starting soon.

"Since we're going on a field trip, sir," Viren said.

"Do you think we can use the opportunity to pit our magic against each other?" Ryland could see Viren's—and that of several of the other students'—reasoning. Despite continuing the age-old tradition of duels established during the time of the Realmbreaker Wars due to overwhelming popularity, they hadn't abandoned all caution and guardrails. Students had to stick to strict provisions. There were rules to be adhered to, chaperones to be called in, forms to be submitted, and so on.

And all that just for sparring and practice duels. A field trip presented a boundless opportunity. A wilderness where they could unleash their true magical might. Ryland didn't fail to see the appeal.

"I understand where you're coming from," he told the students.

"But practicing duels really isn't the purpose of our field trip."

"We're aware, sir." Viren was the one at the lead, clearly the one who had been egged on to approach Ryland because of their obviously closer relationship.

"But it's an amazing opportunity to really test ourselves. And at such a critical time too. We just want to be as prepared as possible before the duels officially start." Ryland considered their perspective. In their shoes, he certainly would have salivated at the prospect of getting away from the academy's overbearing scrutiny and let his magic loose. He certainly sympathized.

Had the rather ridiculously wild incidents of a Primordial-ranked Incursion and the birth of a new Calamity not allowed Ryland to channel a bit of the true magic he was capable of, he might have grown frustrated at the lack of opportunities to exercise his true prowess. Now that he thought about it, those incidents had a strong silver lining of keeping him free of rust.

"Perhaps we can arrive at a compromise," Ryland finally said. Viren and the other students exchanged relieved smiles.

"If you can complete the task I set you before the class period ends, then we can spend the rest of the time going over duelling." That fired them right up. Well, almost all of them. Acrypha maintained her neutral expression and didn't give any indication she even needed duelling practice. Ryland cast [Translocate] and transported everyone to Sundermount. They had taken all the necessary precautions, of course.

The guardians had signed off on their permission slips, the forms for the academy had been completed, the heavy coats, gloves, and scarves to ward off the chill had been requisitioned, and at the end, Ryland had cast [Eternal Bastion] and [Dimensional Barricade] on all the students just as a final safety measure.

"Wow!" Bulgon, the tall golemite student, said as he stepped on the icy ground.

"We're really at the peak of Sundermount!" Ryland had obviously discussed with the other students about the destination of their field trip. Yet it seemed some of them had still not fully believed it. He allowed them to just explore and take it all in for a while. Simply existing and naturally mingling with the atmosphere atop Sundermount would do wonders for their still-growing manasouls. It was why Ryland had picked a spot such as this.

Locations of severe significance, places that held the weight of history and the imprint of inconceivably powerful magic, reflected back on those who tended to visit. That was partly why Sundermount mountaintop wasn't visited directly by most people, aside from just being hard to reach. For mages who were still growing, for people whose manasouls were still evolving, the injection of pure, weighted energy available here would help a great deal in their growth.

That said, this was supposed to be a class, so Ryland did corral them eventually.

"Your task is simple today," he said once he had everyone's attention.

"Simply find a specific thing about Sundermount that you can identify with, and then focus on absorbing it." It was possibly the vaguest instruction a teacher could give to his students, but they were used to it now. A fun part of Intuitive Magic was letting intuition guide the magic. In this case, they were going to use their intuition to determine which exact part of their manasoul would resonate with the impressive ambient mana in their surroundings.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. And the way Ryland had been conducting his class, letting the students explore and determine things by intuiting it themselves, meant they didn't really look for further clarification. They had a task to do, they had the prerequisite knowledge, and now, it was time to use it all. Ryland was pleased to note that at least half the class had brought their semester-long assignment as well.

The Inscription papers glowed with the four-dimensional spell circle that Ryland Inscribed into each one, and the students got to work reviewing their experiences, moving around the Glyphs to come up with new possibilities in their lives. He walked around, helping students where needed, giving advice and support as required, and also making sure no one plummeted off the mountainside. Of course, with [Eternal Bastion] active, no one would actually be hurt even if they did fall. But still.

Ryland would like it if the trip didn't leave any of his students traumatized.

"I think I've got it, sir!" Viren said when Ryland came over.

"Oh?" Ryland asked.

"What exactly is it that you've got?" He lowered his voice, less out of secrecy and more because it sounded like he wished to be more sincere than exuberant.

"I was thinking back to the time you took me and Tallow up. Way up. For the exorcism of Fate. We were really, really high back then, floating above the entire world. And this moment… it's very similar to that." Ryland slowly nodded.

"So you've been likening the sensation of Sundermount to the significance of getting Fate's threads removed from yourself and Tallow."

"Yes. Exactly. And I think…" Viren looked unsure for a moment.

"Well, there's two ways to look at this. I thought if I could go this high up, if I could gain a bird's eye view over the world, then I'd know exactly where I was needed and where I'd have to go, since I'd be able to see everything, right?"

"But…?"

"But if I keep looking at things from so high up, then I won't be able to see things from the ground up as often anymore." His voice quietened.

"I might lose a very important perspective."

"Indeed." Ryland was actually impressed Viren had been able to think of things from multiple different sides. Maybe going on about deliberation all the time was having an effect on the boy.

"And I imagine you're thinking of how to theoretically find the balance between those two perspectives." Viren nodded.

"I obviously don't have to find the balance right now. It's all really abstract. But it's interesting to think about. To intuit, like you said, sir."

"Indeed. It does seem like an interesting exercise. I hope you've tied it practically back to your magic."

"I have. With my Soul Glyph of—" He stopped himself and properly lowered his voice this time.

"With my Soul Glyph of Burning, I realized I needed to be capable of both short- and long-range fire magic. So that capability is driving the way I shape my manasoul." Ryland smiled broadly.

"Excellent way of thinking, Viren." Viren flushed a little, pleased with himself. Tallow poked its head out of his coat and tapped him proudly on the cheek. While most students were making decent progress, Ryland found Acrypha somewhat stumped.

"Is something the matter?" he asked. She was standing off to one side of the mountaintop. While others were pointing things out to their friends, or inspecting certain areas or views that fascinated them, Acrypha was merely standing there with a little frown on her face.

"I…" She was hesitating again, finding it once again difficult to extend trust.

"I don't think I feel particularly inspired here, sir."

"Is there a reason why?" Ryland asked. Acrypha didn't answer. She had been admirably neutral so far, but her expression faltered by the tiniest bit.

"You don't have to speak of it if you don't wish to," Ryland said kindly.

"In fact, if you'd like, I can take you right back to the classroom immediately."

"I…" She swallowed.

"I came here once before. It wasn't… it wasn't fun, sir. It's just a reminder of what I'm supposed to be. A reminder of the heights I'm supposed to attain. And if I can't… then I might as well fall off—""Enough." The coldness in Ryland's words made Acrypha jolt. She jolted, looking scared and regretful. Ryland took a moment to modify his tone.

"I apologize for interrupting you. I just don't think such a notion is worth uttering to completion. It's not worth giving voice to. At all." Acrypha's voice was very quiet.

"Of course, sir. I'm sorry."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for," Ryland said.

"What's regrettable is that such a thought occurred to you in the first place…" Acrypha didn't speak any further. Ryland wasn't sure how to help the situation, especially because he had come to Acrypha to help her, but in trying to do so, he might have worsened things. It helped to moor himself a little by figuring out just what she had experienced to let her come to such a conclusion. Ryland wasn't angered easily, mostly because he refused to let anger drive his actions.

Clear, deliberated righteousness was what should inform his choices, nothing more and nothing less. And yet, imagining the kinds of experiences that had led a fourteen-year-old girl to think of throwing herself off a mountainside if she "failed" twisted a knife deep within him.

"When I was travelling through Realm 21," Ryland eventually said.

"I met a prince who was tremendously burdened by all the duties and responsibilities thrust upon him. So much so that he eventually fell gravely ill, and almost none of his minders were able to deduce why he was sick." If Acrypha recognized something of herself in the tale Ryland had started, she didn't give any indication of it.

"Do you know what happened to him afterwards?" Ryland asked. Acrypha took some time to think about it before replying.

"He… didn't survive. Not in his current capacity. Not as a prince with too many burdens."

"You are correct. The prince could no longer perform his duties as a prince. He was forced to abdicate his position in order to prioritize his health and wellbeing first and foremost. If nothing else, his minders realized in the end what was truly precious. Can you guess what became of him afterwards?" Acrypha pursed her lips, clearly unable to fathom what one was supposed to do after giving up their responsibilities. She shook her head.

"The prince," Ryland said.

"Went on to become king." Acrypha's eyes widened.

"What?" Ryland smiled.

"In a miraculous turn of events, his younger brother ceded the throne after the kingdom fell into harsh times. The former prince, the one who had long abandoned his duties as the primary heir, then returned and willingly ascended to the throne. He then proceeded to turn the fortunes of his nation around, and by the time old age made him abdicate, he left a country in prosperity." Acrypha blinked a few times, trying to understand what Ryland was getting at.

"But how… Didn't he abandon his duties?"

"For those keeping a closer eye, it was easy to note how he didn't waste his potential despite his illness. He recovered physically before long, took some more time to recover his mental fortitude, and then restarted small. First an estate near the border, then the local township, and then the main city of the eastern half of the kingdom. Before he was crowned king, he was the governor of the nation's largest port."

"A miraculous recovery," Acrypha said.

"A shrewd recovery," Ryland corrected.

"He recognized that his original trajectory was kneecapping his potential, almost ruining his life. As such, he recognized the problem and administered the solution not long after. Not only did he discover a process that worked for him, he was able to implement and utilize it to surpass his original expectations as well."" Did he surpass them?" Acrypha asked.

"He took the crown much later, didn't he?"

"Correct. Instead of his youth, he was well into his middle years when he became king. But rather than be a wreck of a monarch leading his nation to ruin, he was able to use his wisdom and experience at a far more advanced age to truly help his kingdom and leave it stronger than ever." Acrypha took a deep breath. Her eyes were still unsettled, like she had discovered a world-upending truth.

"I… see." Ryland wasn't at all certain how much she did see, but that was fine. The lesson had been imparted. It was now up to her to synthesize it. Hopefully, Acrypha would do so before the same situation as the prince occurred for her. The rest of the students reported success in their endeavours and were eager to start duelling practice. Ryland was still uncertain whether he ought to actually allow that.

After all, nothing about the field trip information he had submitted to the academy administration and to the students' guardians had indicated that they'd be allowed to fling potentially dangerous magic at each other. At the same time, he had given the students his word. Plus, [Eternal Bastion] meant they could have duelled Ryland himself without suffering much of a consequence. Not that he'd have allowed that anyway.

But as he watched their magic flow, as he declined invitations to participate directly, he realized what he had to do. Ryland smiled. Oh yes, he knew exactly how he was going to stop anyone from pestering him about the duels. He was just going to need his magic. And one, unfortunate victim.