Annihilated Overnight

Ch 12

POV Krauss

"I will start with a 4th circle mental pressure"

"Understood"

I gathered my mental defences and steeled myself as the 4th circle pressure washed over me. To be honest a 4th circle pressure was nothing to be afraid of. Even a 5th circle mental pressure wouldn't do much in terms of damage to me.

"You can start increasing."

"5th circle pressure."

At that moment I felt as if I had been hit in the head with a sledgehammer. The pressure was more than what I had anticipated. However, after a few seconds I managed to reach a stable state again.

"I'm fine. You can increase again."

"6th circle pressure."

"ack."

My knees buckled and it felt like someone was forcing me to kneel down. My head felt like it would explode but I still managed to remain upright.

"Peak 6th circle pressure."

I really couldn't take it anymore. I could feel the three spell circles in my mind begin to tremble and creak. Right when my mental strength started faltering the pressure started to decrease little by little until it subsided.

I fell into an empty chair as the suppression was removed from my body.

"That is enough proof, no?" I finally asked after regaining my composure.

"Correct. Even a normal 3rd circle mage would have been damaged by the pressure, much less one infected with chaos."

That's good. Thinking back about it, I did get a pretty sweet deal for just being under pressure for five minutes. But my happy mood lasted for only a few moments before being destroyed by the professor.

"Now let us talk about your mother."

My expression turned serious at the mention of my mother.

"What do you want to know about a dead queen?" I asked warily.

"She isn't just any dead queen she was a part of the Vortemund family."

"If you know about that family, you must also know she was disowned long before she even stepped foot in the Carnel Empire."

"You say disowned, but even then you are an ice affinity spell caster and still carry with you the name of Vortemund, no?"

"A name is nothing but a record. After my mother was disowned she and all her descendants lost all her rights and connections to anything related to the Vortemund Clan."

The Vortemund Clan was an elite hidden family made up of high-ranking, ice affinity spell casters. Each of them was a born genius in the field of spell casting. Although they didn't rule an empire or kingdom, they were a massive force whose influence spread to multiple continents.

Their headquarters on the Brethel Continent was situated at the northernmost part and was very far from the Carnel Empire which was in the Southern half of the continent. After an incident in the clan my mother was disowned and all her ties with the Vortemund family were cut off. In my life I had never encountered them or had any interference from them, leading me to believe they weren't interested in me.

"That would be the case if things were normal."

"Normal?" At the professors remark I involuntarily asked out loud.

He gave me a deep look before saying, "From your face you really don't seem to know what has happened to the Vortemund family."

Something big happened in the Vortemund Clan? But what does that have to do with me? Seeing my clueless face the professor continued his explanation, "About a month ago news reached us that the Vortemund family had been annihilated."

"Annihilated? How can that be?"

I just couldn't comprehend those words. How could a superpower with multiple 9th circle Mage Lords be destroyed just like that, without anybody noticing anything?

"Exactly. We also couldn't believe what had happened and even suspected the news to be false. However, even after sending more spies they all reported the same thing. According to the news we received all their strongholds, even in the other continents, have been bathed with blood, with no sign of life remaining. The head of the 9th circle Mage Lord that was on the Brethel continent was found lying in his study next to his body. That is not the strangest part though. Whoever did this, not only killed all of them, but also emptied the treasury. High level spell tomes, scrolls and elixirs were all plundered away."

A chill ran up my spine as I imagined the destruction of the Vortemund family. The strength required to accomplish such a feat… I couldn't even imagine it.

"Could it be a Saint?"

"From the records we have that describe the power of the saints, they are indeed capable of such a massacre, but if there were still Saints or Legends in this world, we would definitely know of it." Professor Tischer replied while shaking his head.

It seems the Greenwich institute had some ways to detect saints. This kind of information would definitely be highly classified. This Professor Tischer must be holding quite a high position in the Academy to have access to this sort of information.

"If I am cleared of any suspicions related to the Vortemund Clan, can I leave?" I asked. I really wanted to go back and rest, I had not slept properly in a long time.

"No. There is still one more thing I wish to confirm." Saying so he took out a folder from his desk and put it in front of me.

"What is this?" I asked curiously.

"Read it."

The image on the first page of the file sheet made me a bit surprised but it wasn't on the level of the previous two topics.

As expected, the Greenwich Institute moves fast.

"I am sure you know this person."

"Not much. Why?"

"She is a 3rd refinement High Warrior."

3rd refinement? Not 4th? And they don't even know she is an assassin? Damn, I really want to know what tricks she used.

"Then what is the problem? Rather, if you still find her suspicious just deny her entry." I asked. If they don't know her power level, then what is wrong? Moreover, there were many who were not allowed to enter the Greenwich institute due to unclear backgrounds.

"She has supreme talent."

"Ah." That explains your hesitation in removing her. "What is the doubt then?" I asked.

A supreme talent meant reaching 7th refinement on your own. Maybe even 8th and 9th refinement. If she studied at the academy, it would definitely create a strong ally for them in the future. Other institutes would blindly let people in once they were confirmed to have supreme talent. It was commendable that the Greenwich Institute could still see the dangers. Or maybe it was not commendable, considering they didn't manage to find out about her real power level.

"The person who gave her a recommendation letter and the person she came with."

"Me? What is wrong with me coming here with a skilled warrior that I found by coincidence?"

"The problem is not with you, it is with your relationship with the person who gave her the recommendation letter."

"Who gave it to her?"

"That I can't tell. Information like that is not to be disclosed until the student wishes to."

No problem. I always appreciate privacy laws.

"Anyways, I don't know anything about her, or the person behind her."

"Our informant suggests otherwise. Before you met with her in a bar, where she was searching for information on the Carnel Imperial Family."

Wow. I was speechless. There is only one way for the Institute to know this. That drunk in the bar whom Charlotte and I asked the question was an informant for the academy. A pretty skilled one in fact. Considering, even a 4th refinement assassin like her couldn't find anything wrong with him.

"Correct."

"What did you talk about?"

"I questioned her about her motives of course. How else am I to know if she is a hitman sent by somebody for my head?"

"Other than the information written in the file, what else do you know about her?"

This was a chance. I could easily remove a potential assassin coming for my head if I told the truth, but my instincts were warning against it. There was also the fact that she completely didn't recognize me, which made it hard for me to believe she was after me. However, If I didn't speak right now, I would definitely lose the goodwill of the academy.

A multitude of thoughts ran through my head before I softly exhaled before speaking, "I don't like the feeling of being a snitch."

"What else do you want?"

How nice. The professors in this institute really get straight to the point.

"It's nothing much. Just a small request."

"Speak." Professor Tischer nodded.

"The thing is, I am also very curious about this woman. She is as talented as me, yet her background is hidden. So, can you at least tell me which faction gave the recommendation letter to her?"

"No. I already told you this information is strictly hidden." Professor Tischer refused adamantly.

Fine. If I can't know it like this, I just need to ask her directly. Even if she won't directly tell me, there will still be hints.

"I want you to make her my combat pair then."

"I will consider it depending on the information you give."

Don't worry miss Charlotte. I won't snitch on you completely. I made those deals with you afterall.

"Her combat style is that of an assassin."

A look of understanding flashed across Professor Tischer's face.

"Just directly say she is one."

I shrugged in response, "It's not like this place has never trained assassins before."

He paused for a moment to think, before asking me again, "Are you sure about your request about the combat pair?"

"Yes" I replied without hesitation.

"You said she was looking up information about the Carnel Imperial Family in Cordon."

"She said she was only curious about whether the Third Imperial Prince had arrived at the academy."

"That makes it worse."

"She doesn't even know what I look like."

"You are jumping into danger on your own. Is that something an imperial prince does normally?"

To his concern, I only smiled, "I do believe in making intelligent decisions, but I am not vying to be a wise king, my only goal is to advance as a spell caster. I'd rather keep her close to me rather than have her strike me at an unexpected time."

And with that sentence, the discussion was over with me returning to my temporary accommodation.

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