Conditions

Ch 11

POV Krauss

"Good Afternoon. The Third Prince, Krauss Vortemund Carnel."

"Good Afternoon. How may I address you?" I replied back in standard greeting.

A single person was sitting in the room. A man who looked to be about middle-aged was in a chair with various documents strewn about over his desk. There was a large window which was the primary source of light in the room. The walls were lined up with multiple cabinets with rare magical materials as well as what appeared to be spell scrolls.

"Ah. How careless of me. I am Siegmund Tischer, an 8th circle Archmage. You may call me professor Tischer. I have been wanting to meet you from the time I heard you will be enrolling in the academy."

An Archmage. There was an 8th circle Archmage in front of me. The aura released when he told his power level almost made me collapse. If not for him holding back and Master Marcus diverting the majority of it, I would have fainted on the spot. This was the terrifying mental pressure of a mage level spell caster.

"I am honoured to meet you Professor Tischer." I bowed politely in greeting. In front of such a powerhouse even an emperor had to watch his words, much less a prince like me.

What I was confused about was his last sentence. He has been wanting to meet me? For what? What could an 8th circle Archmage want from a mere magician. All the possibilities ran through my mind, but I couldn't come up with a definite answer. In the end I gathered the courage and asked him,

"May I know why you wanted to meet me?"

At my question, Professor Tischer looked at Master Marcus. It seemed like he wanted him to leave. Clearly, Master Marcus also understood that, but he didn't move. That was also understandable. Letting a 3rd circle Expert Magician stay alone with an 8th circle Archmage wasn't very safe. On top of that Professor Tischer wasn't a fighter but a spell caster. The amount of bizzare techniques and spells they used were unimaginable. Harming was the least they could do. What if he influenced my thinking, or took over my body?

"Master Marcus you can leave."

"But your Highness your safety-"

"It will be alright. Didn't the imperial edict tell me to enrol in the institute? That is what I am doing right now."

If he wanted to do something to me he could have easily done so by planting traps in his room. Master Marcus was only a 7th refinement afterall. If an 8th circle spell caster wanted to do something there was no way to stop him. There is nothing that can beat a prepared spell caster except pure power disparity. Also, I was enrolling in the institute. He could have just waited a few days if he wanted to harm me. That would be a much more discrete and simpler way.

Seeing me being adamant about it, Master Marcus finally left the room. Now there was only me and Professor Tischer alone which did make me a little nervous, but I was confident I wouldn't be harmed.

"May I ask the same question again?" I asked turning towards the professor.

"Well, who doesn't want to meet the reclusive Third Prince of the Carnel Empire? A genius spell caster that nobody knows much about. Do you know the rumours that have spread about you?"

He paused to look at me for moment before he continued, "Some say you have been assassinated by the spies of the Gretel Empire, while others believe you fell sick, like both your parents did. There are other more sinister rumours as well, many believe news about you being talented is a lie fabricated by the imperial household and your mental state has been infected with chaos, some even think that you have been in contact with forbidden magics.

But all these rumours are still rumours. Even the Institutes informants couldn't confirm nor deny any of these. There is simply no information about your past actions. If it wasn't for the Imperial edict about you being sent to the Greenwich Institute most of the world would have forgotten about you."

Of course, I knew that there were rumours flying about me. I had expected that when I cut myself off from the rest of the world. But I didn't expect them to hinder me here.

"You suspect my mental state?"

"Correct. But that is only one of the reasons I called you here for."

I frowned again. There were more reasons?

"How do I prove my mental state?" I finally asked. Thinking was useless at this point. All I had to do was prove the rumours false one by one.

"It is a dangerous method."

"I don't seem to have a choice."

"First. There is no need to doubt your talent, your test was performed in the court, in front of dozens of people." Seeing me not deny his words he continued, "Tell me then. Are you stronger than the average 3rd circle spell caster."

"I am." I answered confidently. But at the same time, I was confused. What was the point of asking such a question.

"Consolidate your mental strength. I will apply pressure on it and keep increasing it slowly to the point where a newly advanced Expert Magician's spell circles would crack."

What the ****? Does he really want to kill me?

I almost swore out loud. This is nothing short of madness. What if there is a lapse in my concentration and he is unable to stop in time? I would really go mad at that time. Wait. Was this why he used mental pressure on me when I entered the room?

"What you are asking for is to put my life in your hands without any guarantee for my safety."

"I am an 8th circle Archmage affiliated with the Greenwich Institute."

"And I am the Third Prince of the Carnel Empire. The institute will abandon you the moment they know you attacked the prince of an empire only relying on rumours." I retorted. Even if he was an Archmage, attacking me meant provoking the Carnel Empire.

However, instead of getting angry at my disrespect for his power, he calmly replied,

"What do you want me to do then? The institute is supposed to check every student's background before letting them in. There is simply nobody who knows about your actions in the past few years."

"Is there no other way to check mental strength?" I asked.

"If there was then there wouldn't be a stigma against spell casters. Chaos energy is hard to detect and doesn't even show up on the element affinity test. Chaos Infiltration is a subject long studied by spell casters, and yet there haven't been any progress in its solution. In fact, those who closely study Chaos energy's effects are more likely to be infected with it than others making it harder to progress in this field."

He looked at me and continued. "All we know is its effects. First, it weakens your mental state by slowly corroding your spell circles. And second, the caster's behaviour changes and becomes more irritable. The more you are infected by chaos the more ill-tempered you become to the point of madness."

Although, I had read about Chaos energy from the books in the imperial library, I didn't know much about it, so what professor Tischer was saying was new information to me.

"You want to check the integrity of my mental strength to see if I have been infected with Chaos energy?"

"Correct. With your talent your mental strength should be much stronger than others at your level. If you are not infected by chaos that is."

After thinking for a while, I finally made a decision.

"I agree, but there will be conditions." Seeing Professor Tischer nod I continued, "First, I don't want people to know I am the Third Prince. Make up a fake identity. Preferably with the name of Leon Durnell."

Since the students were of varying backgrounds the students did have an option of keeping your information private. But making information private was not the same as attending with a fake identity. If I went in with the name Krauss everyone would know who I was.

"Alright. But the dean and a few others will be notified, and in the main records your real name will be written."

I expected as much. But as long it is not on any public records I am fine.

"Second, I want the graduating conditions and course restrictions removed from me. I want to be able to study whatever subjects I choose."

To graduate from the Greenwich Institute there were some compulsory courses you had to go through. But I had spent the last few years studying on my own in the Imperial library and even had the help of a few seniors. I had no wish to waste my time on relearning stuff I already knew, like magic theory and spell casting basics.

After thinking for a while about my request the professor replied, "While choosing courses you can choose any as long as it is available for your year. But for the compulsory courses, even if you don't want to attend, you will still have to pass those exams if you want to graduate, I will remove the attendance requirement."

"I accept."

I had gotten more than what I had hoped for.

"Finally, I want you to fulfil a request of mine in the future."

"That is too much."

I was flat out refused as soon as I said it.

"It won't be harmful for the academy."

"Still no. A request from an Archmage is too valuable."

"Just a small request. It won't be related to killing or fighting someone."

He thought about it for a while before finally agreeing, "Alright. But remember, it can't be something harmful to the Institute."

I had compromised a lot at this condition, but it was still worth it. Even if I couldn't ask him to directly remove a threat I could still use his name as protection. An 8th circle Archmage's name could achieve a lot if used correctly.

Seeing that I was done, the professor got up.

"Now, let us begin."

** ** **