Going to the Clock Tower

~~ Clock Tower (Big Ben) ~~

" I'm pleased to meet you, master Barthomeloi, I was arranged by the Lord of the Department of Policies to escort you through the clock tower, my name is Hishiri Adashino, if there are any questions along the way please feel free to ask " a young woman seemingly in her twenties, but I couldn't tell since every magus have different ways to mask their age once reaching a certain degree of magecraft.

" Since there is no need for an introduction, I will request to be brought to the Department of General Fundamentals, I need to test my level of ability there first to join another department I presume? " I already knew that new magi needed to first go through four to five years of learning the basics in general fundamentals before being allowed to join another department, and by being a Barthomeloi I knew I couldn't allow myself to lag behind my peers, I needed to be better to have the approval of the family.

I already spent four years mastering enchantment and transmutation, while completely disregarding the other aspects of magecraft.

But I already had come up with a solution using the Memory DISC to catch up.

[ Memory DISC

It's an item used by the stand white snake to extract the memories of the person which is used on, allowing the one in possession of the disc to have the memories of said target.

Due to the disc being a product of a stand, it's completely invisible to the naked eye and requires another stand user to be seen.

After its use, the disc will automatically return to the inventory.

]

When I first thought of using it I encountered a problem in the fact that once the memory is extracted the person from which it was taken will become a like a person suffering from dementia with no way for recovery.

This was why I used a weakness removal card to not permanently remove said memories.

The card worked as intended.

Now, the memory DISC copies the memory instead of removing them completely.

" We have arrived at the general fundamentals " Hishiri stopped my train of thought as I looked up and saw the large doors that led to the general fundamentals class.

Without any thought, I opened the door and walked staring in, receiving some confused and some annoyed gazes from the class that was having a lesson.

" I am Barthomeloi Lucas, I will be direct with you, I wish to partake in the final exam on general fundamentals right now and be done with it, is it alright" stating my purpose I didn't forget to say my identity as in the clock tower the most important is connection and status, rarely is there someone that isn't connected to a magus family in a way or another, by stating directly that I'm a Barthomeloi I can go around many procedures in the clock tower and skip some annoying bureaucracy.

" I understand mister Barthomeloi, I shall immediately confirm with the department head and prepare your examination. In the meantime please take a seat " The teacher left as soon as he finished speaking to go and inform the department head as he said.

It didn't take long for the said professor to return with another person following, a toned giant of a man with blond hair and a goatee, McDonell Trambelio Elrod, and the person on which I choose to use the Memory DISC.

I brought out my stand giving him the DISC by disguising my action as a handshake for Lord Trambelio.

" I am Barthomeloi Lucas, a pleasure to meet you, Lord Trambelio "The man stared at me for some time before reciprocating my gesture.

I used the moment he was this close to me and made echoes and put the DISC in the back of the head of Lord Trambelio.

Why did I choose the lord of the department as my target?

Who better than the one that excels in said subject the most.

I wasn't worried about them seeing stands unless they had a way to see the will of another person.

" I was informed that you request to take an examination to directly end your study in the Department of General Fundamentals, is that right? " from what I know lord Trambelio likes talented people.

" That's right, I already joined the clock tower with a great delay in contrast to my peers, so I wish to catch up by taking an examination regarding all fundamentals "In contrast to Lorelei Lord Trabelio is a more amicable person even for the standard of a magi.

" then we shall instantly start with a written theoretical, and end all with a confrontation with a last-year student. That's if Barthomeloi agrees to fight a common magi without any noble lineage" his words were directed at the Barthomeloi family in general since our family puts lineage above all, while Lord Trambelio likes talented people no matter if they have a lineage or not.

" I will oblige to whatever opponent is given to me no matter what "

" then to not make anyone lose any more time we shall start immediately "We all moved to another part of the clock tower where Hishiri explained to me it was the training grounds used by most magi.

Once we entered the spacious room there was already a person standing there.

Going by their appearance he was no older than fourteen.

" this one is Marcus, he joined the clock tower 6 years ago and can be said to be one of the most talented excluding those that come from an already established lineage" The words of lord Trambelio contained a hint of satisfaction as he introduced my opponent.

" your first examination is rather simple, you have to use reinforcement in a fight with Marcus and win. And last, you only have to complete a theoretical exam about the other subjects " Hearing his words I knew the fight was only a sort of entertainment on his side to hopefully see a barthomeloi fail.

I knew that being from opposing factions would pose a challenge to how my evaluation would be.

Without wasting time I stepped forward facing my opponent, Marcus.

As per tradition, when I left the estate I took a gauntlet with me expecting a duel sooner or later.

I threw the gauntlet to the ground which Marcus picked up, signaling his agreement to the duel.

" I Barthomeloi Lucas, challenge you, Marcus, to a duel " Following what I was tough according to my memory, I initiated the duel like any Barthomeloi should.

" I Marcus, agree to this duel "Seeing my opponent being so cooperative I got into a stance for combat expecting him to initiate the attack.

" Gandr " his shout brought me to reinforce my body and evade to the side.

Following my sidestep I charged toward my opponent reinforcing further my arms to attack him.

I was met with his fist nearly colliding with my face, as I twisted my body barely evening his punch as I had to stop my attack.

Trying to Make some distance between us I borough out echoes act.3 to load the memory disk in me as I kept reinforcing myself end pairing the incoming attacks.

It didn't take much for the memory to settle as I understood how to use reinforcement more efficiently.

I started analyzing my body composition and structure while avoiding Marcus.

Focusing on my arms I started by timing his attack and my reaction speed, the moment his punch was to connect with my arm I changed its natural durability to that of a ten-inch steel plate, making his attack not only ineffective but also hurting himself due to the impact.

Said stun, unfortunately, couldn't be done for more than a second, or I risked my arm exploding by the change it had gone through.

Taking this opportunity I charged at him and punched him in the guts, while also instructing Echoes to use his ability to make sure he doesn't evade.

The impact generated a dull sound that echoed through the whole room as the concrete under his feet cracked into a spiderweb due to the gravity he was under.

The punch and the increased gravity were too much to bear as he bent forward falling to the ground.

" Excellent work Barthomeloi Lucas, I expected nothing less from someone related to the Lord of the Department of Policies" the smiling Lord Trambelio came toward me while applauding.

" I merely did what I was asked for. if it's not too much I would like to finish the second part of my exam and proceed to choose the department of my specialization next." while I was tired from that earlier fight, I wanted to end this test to be finally free to concentrate on my things.

As such without waiting any further I was brought the papers with the questions on common magical knowledge, basic leyline, and mana studies, sympathetic Magecraft, and contagious Magecraft.

With the knowledge I acquired from the lord of the department itself, the questions were a breeze to answer.

It didn't take long before I gave back the papers to Lord Trambelio who examined them.

" What excellent work Barthomeloi, I would have expected nothing less from someone of your family, I ask you, are you interested in teaching general fundamentals in my department?" his enthusiasm was through the roof as he ended up looking through the papers, it seems I answered too well to those questions.

And while becoming a professor is appealing due to the freedom given by that position, I am more prone to refuse since even before arriving at the clock tower I had devised a plan.

" I am flattered lord Trambelio, but I am to refuse this offer" I answer while slightly lowering my head.

" While it's a shame that you refuse, I can assure you that if you change your mind in the future, you can come to find me in my office" Saying these last words Lord Trambelio left without insisting, as it would be useless to do so due to my family and the Trambelio belonging to different factions in the clock tower.

" Hishiri, where is the department of spiritual evocation?" looking at the guide given to me, I needed to head there as soon as possible to start the first case of my further training.

"Does Master Barthomeloi wish to join the spiritual evocation department?"

" yes. Did you think that I would join the Department of Policies since my family is involved with it?"

" seeing as it was the lord of the department they ordered me to act as a guide, nonetheless the fact that you are a relative to the lord of the department, I thought that the department of policies would be the first choice among the other departments" her reasoning was right if thinking in the lines of a magus, as joining the same department as the one were the family is most prominent is the most efficient way.

I needed to join the Department of spiritual evocation to further develop my Essence of the dungeon master by using the general template of the summoned fantasmal species as monsters that can spawn within the created dungeon, while also understanding how to properly summon and maintain a servant in preparation to the holy grail war.

" I wish to partake in that department as I don't think there is a need for me to join the same department as the family head. You may call it personal preferences" The little discussion with Hishiri instantly ended as she bought me to the Department of spiritual evocation.

The following time I had in the clock tower was spent mainly joining the corresponding lectures in which I was interested.

First was the Department of spiritual evocation, for obvious reasons.

Second, the Department of Mineralogy, which can also be explained.

Cough, Rin, cough cough, Luvia.

And lastly, the Department of Astromancy, which I joined mainly for Olga.

...

In general, my day was coming to an end as Hishiri left for her duties, and I began walking back home.

*Thud*

As I was passing through the corridors of the clock tower I bumped into someone making them fall.

Looking at the person I noticed she had an eye patch on her right eye long golden-bronze hair.

Seeing her I swore I saw her somewhere but couldn't fathom where.

" Sorry for bumping into you, let me help you up" I extended my hand so that she could stand up, but for some reason, she seemed unresponsive as she didn't answer or move.

" is something the matter? Are you alright? " seeing her not answering I squatted down to the same eye level, but when I tried to look at her in the one eye she had, she turned her head the other way evening my gaze.

" I mean, I'm sorry for making you fall, I was immersed in my thoughts while walking thus I got a little distracted and did not look where I was walking" Apologizing once again I took her hand that wasn't holding the bag trying to comfort her, only to be answered with her lowering her head while still looking away.

Seeing as the conversation was going nowhere I just lifted her while holding her hand and apologized one last time before leaving.

But I could swear I saw her somewhere before.