Chapter 6

GREY

I made my way to the lunch hall after the information overload from reading Sevren's notes. Making artifact's is much harder than it seems. I grabbed my food and looked around for Caera. I found Caera in my mind more often than magic; which is saying a lot.

I couldn't find her so I sat down across from Seth. "Hey Seth, how was your second day?" I made small talk.

"Good, I spent my free time in the library, I love to read!" Seth proclaimed. He was beaming with excitement. His sudden change in attitude took me by surprise, "I guess he really loves reading," I thought.

Before Seth could pull me into the multiple rabbit holes of his knowledge Caera and her roommate came and sat down. Caera sat next to me and Mayla sat next to Seth.

"Hey Seth!" waved Mayla with an ear-to-ear smile. "H-Hi Mayla." replied Seth.

Me and Caera exchanged knowing glances. We smirked before turning back to Seth and Mayla. "Looks like I'll be a wingman for a while," I thought, an evil smile forming on mine and Caera's face.

"Grey of blood unnamed, please come to the director's office," said the voice enchantment artifacts that covered the entire school. Seth, Mayla and Caera looked at me with shocked expressions. Caera's expression was because of an entirely different reason.

"Well, I got to go," I said non-chanletly. I wasn't worried, if needed I could get away, but if they did find something they would've called Caera as well.

I entered the Directors office. If I remember correctly his blood name is Remseyer. I don't know his first name, I don't think anyone does.

"Hello Grey, please take a seat," said Remseyer. I sat down in front of his desk. His office was red. Like everything in it was red except for a few things. The only thing that wasn't red was the chair and desk. "What do you want with me director?" I asked with a polite tone.

"I heard you overtook melee enchantment class today. Not only that but the student's found your class useful. Now the teachers of that class never last very long because they keep getting bullied by the students." explained Remseyer.

"What does any of that have to do with me?" I asked.

"I would like you to teach that class," said Remseyer with a sly smile. I raised an eyebrow at the sudden and unexpected class. He noticed my reaction and went into further detail. "Mr Gachi has been fired due to improper reactions, and the fact I didn't like his mustache."

I gave him a judgemental look but he ignored me. "The student's that where there said you properly taught them how to throw a punch as well as how you easily defeated Portrel. Not only that, you're someone from an unnamed blood but you're being backed by the Denoir house. You have all the qualifications, you just need to accept." said Remseyer.

"What do I get out of this deal?" I asked with a smug smile. "I also expect to get paid if I do decide to become a teacher."

Remseyer chuckled, "Of course, your payment would be delivered every two weeks. As for what you'll get out of this, how about your own private lab. I noticed you have an artificer class so you surely know the worth of a private lab."

I pondered the offer. Since I would be attempting to work with aether–something that Sevren doesn't have much information on, or anyone else for that matter–it would be best to stay away from curious gazes. "Very well, if possible I would like my lab to be as isolated as possible."

"I knew you couldn't resist such a tempting offer," said Remseyer as he held out his hand.

"I do have a question though," I said before accepting his hand shake.

"Ok, shoot."

"Why are you doing this, you barely know me or my skills?" I questioned. This situation is too convenient for me. It might even have something to do with Seris.

"Let's just say that I have a talent for telling if someone has potential; I like to invest early for maximum profit in the future."

I laughed then accepted his hand shake. "I think we'll get along very well."

CAERA DENOIR

I followed Grey after class to an isolated part of the academy. "Where are we going, Grey?" I questioned. I've never seen this part of the campus before so I was surprised that Grey knew of it. "Just follow me, you'll understand once you see it," Grey responded.

He led me to a building in the far corner of the school. It was old but clearly loved since there were signs of someone maintaining the building despite its old age. We walked up to the door which had a huge golden padlock on it. Grey pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Old musty air made its way out of the building. I looked inside to see old lab equipment and samples everywhere. The inside was the opposite compared to the outside.

There were spiderwebs everywhere and a thick layer of dust on everything. I coughed because of how much dust got into my face.

"It looks good on the outside, that's for sure," said Grey as he looked around. "What is this place Grey," I asked.

"It's a private lab I got from the director in exchange for teaching melee enchantment class. He didn't say how badly neglected it was though." responded Grey as he started to wipe off dust off of an old pile of books.

I looked at him wide eyed. "How did you do that? Was that the reason you were called to the director's office at lunch?"

"Yeah, I don't know why he asked me but he said that I had potential and he wanted to be on my good side," Grey explained.

"You don't have potential?" I asked in a teasing tone. Grey just laughed before grabbing a random artifact.

I myself started to look around to try and see something that could catch my eye. I came across a small device with a window on the upper half and a red arrow under it. The red arrow looked like it could move around to show a reading of some sort.

Above the small glass window was the words, "Majestic detector." I don't know why but I felt that this little gadget would be important in the near future. I put the thing inside my dimensional ring and continued to look around but I couldn't find anything interesting.

"We should probably start cleaning now shouldn't we," said Grey as he got a broom from the closet.

"Why did you even want this lab anyway Grey? You don't strike me as the scientist type." I asked as I started to look through old notes.

I felt mana being used so I turned around to see Grey using his magic to clean up. Water magic to wipe the floors, wind to collect flying dust and fire to burn said dust. "You just love showing off don't you?" I asked, slightly amused with the sight in front of me.

"Hey, no one else is watching and you know my secret so why shouldn't I? You're just jealous." said Grey smugly.

"You know, no one would ever use their spells in this fashion. Not that they could." I said. I was once again reminded of how versatile Grey is. I know he said he's a special case with 4 affinities but that doesn't mean I wasn't envious.

I stood in awe as I watched Grey clean the lab with his unique magic. I watched as water would spill itself on the floor or table then fly up in the air with all the dirt and dust. I watched as dust flew off and collected itself in the air and then ignited leaving nothing but ashes behind.

We had artifacts that could do this but they were hard to use and inefficient so they never took off. Grey stood motionless the whole time. "This must take a ton of concentration," I reasoned.

Once Grey was done we spent the rest of the day cleaning things that Grey couldn't with his magic.

"So Grey, what do you need this lab for?" I asked a second time.

"It would take too long to explain so just read these notes." Grey handed me a notebook filled with notes and theories. I looked through it to see what Grey and Sevren had found out. I looked Grey in the eyes and he had a knowing smile.

"Grey, does this mean that-"

"Yes, we can make relics with this. It's unfortunate that we need the entire insight for it though. We'll probably also need a way to control aether since as of right now the light bulb only works around other relics." Grey finished.

"This is just the first step, to actually do anything we'll need to decode aether runes. Then we need to have insight into it. Then finally we can make relics." Grey added.

"But in order to decode a rune you need insight. To get insight you need a working relic." I concluded. All relics were given to the High sovereign and the dead ones were sold off. Of course it wouldn't be this easy.

"Well gaining insight doesn't need a relic. It's functionally the same as how you guys can upgrade your spellforms with insight. Yes, having a relic would speed up the process but I believe that we could get insight if we go on an ascent. Even then I don't think we can make anything crazy for decades. I think the best we could do is turn something invisible, that's if everything goes really well." said Grey.

'What if you had an aether core or something crazy like that?" I asked hypothetically.

"Well if that is even possible then things would be easier, yes. I know a diviner that might be able to help us, but she's in Dicathen. Knowing her, she might be able to create a teleport gate or something crazy."

"What's a diviner?" I asked. I'd never heard of such a mage.

Grey turned to me. "A diviner has multiple abilities. They can see the future, talk to people far away, and see a person's past. They have others but I don't know anymore."

I must've had a shocked expression since Grey continued talking. "There are very few of them. I only know of one. They are normally hidden from the public because of their abilities."

"How do you know about them then?" I questioned. I knew Grey didn't like to talk about his past but my curiosity got the better of me.

"I was the childhood friend of the elven princess. I lived with her for three years and I met the Diviner while I was staying there." Grey said with a darkened and painful expression on his face. "She was the one who hurt me the most. S-She said to leave a-and never show my face again." said Grey as tears started to fall from his eyes.

As surprised as I was that Grey was a princess' childhood friend–the elven one at that– I ran up to him and pulled him into a hug. I was a bit taller than Grey so I pushed his head into my neck as I felt his tears run down my shoulder. I dragged him to a nearby bench that was in the corner of the lab.

Once we were seated I put Grey's head on my lap; I didn't have time to be embarrassed, Grey pulled me out of my lonely life so I needed to help him with his past. I don't know what I would do if Grey betrayed me like that other girl did. "Would he? If he found out about me… He might not do anything! Since he knows how it feels he'll probably accept me,"I thought, hoping for the best outcome.

For the time being I wasn't ready to tell Grey but I'm glad he's starting to open up to me. Even telling me about someone who hurt him was a huge step. I found myself hating these people too. I don't know why but if I had to guess it's because I felt something for Grey. "How do I feel about Grey? I'm thankful, yes, but is that all?"

Grey continued to cry for about half an hour before he calmed down. "Sorry Caera, it's just I find you easy to talk to. I feel that we're similar in some ways." admitted Grey as he kept his head on my lap.

"In what ways?" I questioned, I started to play with his long auburn hair. Grey didn't mind and let me continue. "Well, you remind me of my old l-" Grey said before covering his mouth with his hands.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Nothing, just a slip of the tongue." replied Grey. He then turned himself so that he was laying on his back; he was looking right at me with the back of his head still on my lap.

I knew that it wasn't just a slip of the tongue, it was probably something deeper he wasn't ready to tell me. Probably the huge secret he had. "Grey, if you want to tell me you can, I promise I won't look at you any differently." I said with a genuine smile on my face.

"That's what my parents said…"

"I'm so sorry Grey, I didn't mean-"

Grey put his finger to my lips to stop me from talking, "I know you didn't. I shouldn't have said it out loud."

I felt my chest thump in pain. Grey's hurt expression was worse than when he told me about his childhood friend. "His parents said that, yet they did anyway. Grey's trauma is deeper than I thought."

I brought my forehead down to touch Grey's. "Well, I swear that when you do tell me you will still be the Grey that I know."

"Thanks Caera, but we should probably go to our dorm, it's late." said Grey. I looked outside to see the sun had long since set. I nodded before saying goodnight to Grey and returning to my room.

GREY

I flopped down in my bed, exhausted from cleaning all evening. I haven't even eaten yet. I spun onto my back and put my hand on my forehead. Why did I do that. I almost told Caera about my past life. Alice and Reynolds said the same thing to me before cursing my name. Caera will probably do the same, run away.

The thought of Caera leaving me hurt more than anything I felt before. She was a girl that helped me despite not knowing me at all. She doesn't care about my past or my origin. She's so understanding it makes me think that she has a huge secret as well.

"Where were you all evening?" asked Seth as he tore his face out of his book. "You have a huge stuipd smile on your face." I shot up and realized that I had indeed a huge smile on my face.

"Since you and Caera left I can only assume it's something to do with that?" Seth asked.

"You can't call me out! I saw how flustered you got when Mayla sat down next to you. You like her don't you!" I exclaimed, trying to get his attention anywhere else.

"Don't change the subject, you like Caera and you know it!" shouted Seth, he was looking a little red as well.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" I shouted back, my face felt like it was on fire.

"Really now?! Then why do you spend all of your time with her?" questioned Seth.

"Why do you keep looking at Mayla?" I returned.

By now both of our face's were beet red and our faces were only a few inches apart from each other. "Why don't we stop for now," I suggested.

"Y-Yeah," agreed Seth as we both changed into our night clothes and went to bed.

I stayed awake thinking about Caera. "Do I really like her? I've only known her for a month but we've lived together, slept in the same tent, trained together and eaten together."

I twisted and turned thinking about that lonely little girl who was starving in the forest. She was strong, mature, competent and cute. Her lovely red eyes don't let me look anywhere else. Her long blue hair is smooth and calming. Her face is adorable with pinchable cheeks. Her lips are soft and and a pretty pink, I can picture myself approaching them and-

I slapped myself in the face. "What was I just thinking about? Why was I thinking about Caera in such detail?" These hormones!

I cursed myself, I'm much older than her. It's just wrong. "I should probably just go to bed," I thought as I went to sleep.