(Jacob, 16)

I still don't trust Alex, but Papa spoke highly of Jason and said that, should we encounter him, we should trust him as we would family. Alex seemed to speak honestly when he stated his goals, but street rats – especially street lords – can be deceptive, something I learned well in this life.

After agreeing to meet with Jason tomorrow before coming back to the academies to find our placements, Lina and I enter the carriage sent for me. We send our bodyguards into her carriage to follow us, though they don't like that. They would rather at least one of each of ours be in our carriage, but Lina and I wish to speak privately.

The moment the door to our carriage is closed and the driver sets the horse to moving, Lina creates a sound barrier.

"Did you find him?" I ask.

"Possibly," she answers. "It might be Jason."

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"During the magical affinity testing," she says. "He lit up all twelve crystals to what was probably the brightest they could be. During casting, he expertly performed every spell without a chant. During control testing, he did all ten blocks in only a second, and all at once."

"Papa said that the Sages have been teaching Jason since he was five," I point out. "It would stand to reason that he would have exceptional talent. Children who practice regularly from a young age often do."

"Maybe," she answers. "As it is, he was the only one I encountered. There were ten thousand applicants there, so we will need to wait. If he is there, then he will be in the top ten, even if he chooses to hold back."

The one who will change everything. He must be here.

"Do you think this is another attempt?" I decide to change topics, since I know we won't make progress with no information.

"Possibly," she answers. "He would have alerted us if there was some obstruction that caused him to change directions, and this is more than a simple detour. Would you care to let me handle this?"

"Feel free," I shrug, leaning back. "Unlike the magic universities' exams, we actually found ourselves pushed. One of the things we had to perform was to strike at a target with all our strength. Another was to perform a series of strikes against another target. And so on."

"Speaking of your exam," she says. "Did you find him?"

"No," I chuckle at the thought of reuniting with him. "If he is there, I didn't find him. Same as you, there were ten thousand applicants. Much like with the one you are keeping an eye out for, he will no doubt stand in the top ten. We're still in the nobles' district."

"I noticed," she responds. "Someone would not come after us at their own home, would they?"

"It is possible they are attempting to frame someone else," I tell her. "Try not to make things too messy, would you?"

"Still upset over getting blood on you that time?"

"I had just finished a bath," I tell her. "And the amount of blood you got on me was not something I could just wipe off. In addition, that was a new shirt, and the blood ruined it. That was a lesson in preparation for me."

All of my shirts are now enchanted for resiliency to blood. While it is not a perfect enchantment, it does help to save some of them where they would otherwise be irredeemable. If Lina and I had our former power, the enchantment would be a lot stronger and would save probably all of my clothes from the bloody burning that some find themselves ending with.

The carriage stops, and we wait the few moments it takes for the driver to open our door. When he does, we see Papa standing beyond him, smiling.

Looks like it is not an assassination attempt, but Papa giving the carriages orders without informing us of the change. No doubt this was planned before we parted ways this morning.

"Consider yourself lucky," I step out of the carriage. "That we saw you before attacking, Papa. Lina and I were thinking this was another assassination attempt."

Papa stiffens, his smile frozen on his face.

"Don't worry, Papa," Lina says. "We always look before we kill."

"Right," he relaxes a little as he remembers that, and I look at the mansion behind him. "This is the Sages' home here in Varil City. I thought I would introduce you to Jason, in case you had yet to meet. I regret not bringing you out to meet him before, but your mother would not agree to it, arguing it was for your safety."

"I would think," I say. "That allowing us to go to a place where no one else lives would be safer than keeping us in a place where some assassin or another attempts to take our lives every other week."

Sometimes, every other day.

"Perhaps," he shrugs. "The Sages did not come out, so it is just Jason here. Come."

"We did meet," Lina informs Papa. "Though it would be nice to officially meet him."

"Excellent," Papa smiles, then leads us to the front door.

The butler answers the moment Papa knocks, and Jason looks at us with a raised eyebrow. He wears just the pants he had on earlier and the bracelet I noticed on his left wrist while we spoke earlier.

"Uncle Zach!" He grins, charging our father and giving him a hug. "I didn't think I'd see you so soon after arriving, especially not after Lina told me who you were."

"Well," Papa chuckles as he returns the hug. "You learned who I was sooner than I expected, Jason."

"This sort-of makes me second-hand royalty," Jason steps away from Papa, and Lina and I give each other looks.

Is it really Jason? The one Lina was looking for?

"Perhaps," Papa says. "But it earns you no rights or special treatments."

"Maybe not," Jason grins. "But it does mean you broke the rule against lying to family. You were there and agreed to it, and you told me you weren't 'anyone all that high in power' after."

"I enjoyed having someone who didn't treat me as a king, but as family," Papa gives Lina and me a look. "My own children began to distance themselves as they grew older because of the royal factor. Are you going around topless now?"

"What?" Jason asks, then looks down before looking back up and chuckling. "No, I just happened to have taken my vest off when I sensed you show up. I guess I forgot to put it back on in my excitement. I wanted to give the bath here a try."

He opens up a dimensional space and pulls out the vest we saw him wearing earlier, then pulls it on.

"There we go," he grins at Papa. "Cecilia, would you mind making tea for Uncle Zach and my cousins? Come on, let's sit."

Jason hops onto one of the couches, and I think I might enjoy hanging out with him. He treats us and Papa like normal people and seems quite relaxed. Unlike my stiff guards and the children of nobles.

Okay, not all of the children of nobles are stiff and arrogant and suckups, but they are difficult to just relax around. I might be the Crown Prince, but why should I have to be formal all the time?

Papa, Lina, and I sit on the couch opposite Jason, who gets a devilish grin on his face.

"Do you guys want to meet the Sages?" He asks. "I can't believe they – and you, Uncle Zach – never told me about their legendary history."

He was unaware he lived with the Sages? I can see Papa not telling him just to see his reaction upon finding out, but the Sages never told him about their past? About how they disappeared off the map to avoid being sought out by everyone and their uncle for knowledge, wisdom, and training?

Papa knows where they live, but I think he might be the only one who does. He visits them on occasion, which is how we knew about Jason.

"You're not going to-" Papa begins to ask.

"I am," Jason says, and I feel a pull of magic, before a shimmering, rectangular formation of purple magic forms a few feet from the end of the coffee table, runes lining its edges. "Papas! Mama's! Come here! I finished the exam!"

Jason giggles as I frown at the piece of magic. He called through it as if they could hear him. Is this a portal? Papa never mentioned that Jason or the Sages figured out how to create them. Judging by his expression, this does not come as a surprise to him.

When I turn my gaze back to the portal, a man in a simple, brown-and-blue robe steps out of it, and he looks at us, then sighs.

"Jason?" He asks.

"Papa Samuel," he says. "These are Uncle Zach's kids, Jacob and Lina."

Samuel, the Sage of Magic, is followed by two more men, then a woman, then another man, then two more women, and he introduces us to each of them, then smirks.

"None of you mentioned you were famous," Jason tells them, and the Sages look a little embarrassed. "And none of you mentioned that Uncle Zach was a king. Hey, Cecilia, would you mind making tea for my mamas and papas as well?"

I glance at the maid, who looks stunned by the use of magic and appearance of seven more guests. I would likely be shocked as well, if I went to pour tea for four and found eleven. In fact, I am a little stunned at the moment.

"We won't find out the results until tomorrow," Jason looks at the Sages as his portal disappears. "But considering none of you mentioned just how far I am compared to other magicians, I would say the chance of me taking first place is pretty high. Why don't we celebrate now? This way, when Jacob and Lina learn they've passed theirs and enter the Royal Universities, they can have a celebration all their own."

Who said we were going to invite you? Not that I would not, but you seem to making a pretty big assumption there, Jason.

"Cecilia!" Jason calls. "When you finish with the tea, please prepare a feast for us!"

Jason's expression suddenly turns serious, and he jumps to his feet.

"There's something I need to check on," he tells Papa and the Sages. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

(Alex, 16)

"Agh!" I grunt as one of the nobles from this morning punches me in the gut.

The few people who are in the alley won't do a thing, and nor will they report this. They're commoners and street scum, they would never dare report a noble for misaction. At this point, I think my eyes are swollen shut. They've been beating me down for several minutes without saying a word.

"I thought we told you," the brat in charge of this. "Not to take the application exam? You are trash. Scum. Worthless. You do not belong in a university meant for decent people."

They ambushed me on another street and dragged me to this alley, catching me off-guard. I doubt the gods would do this as punishment for my past, which means this is purely human cruelty. Nobles. Not all of them are so nasty. I know that, and have met some quality ones, even if they wouldn't give me the time of day.

The brat punches me in the gut again, two of his friends holding me against the wall by my arms, using a foot each to ping my legs back as well so that I can't kick. My reputation as the Leviathan Alex made it clear that anyone who didn't pin my legs would learn why they should.

He punches me in the side of my face, then the other noble punches me as well. I don't even know these guys, beyond them hating me. Their names, their families, none of that is known to me. Just that they know about my past and don't like me, and nor do they want me among those who come from 'good' families.

"Regardless of where you place tomorrow," the ringleader punches me in the face. "You will not attend any university," the other punches me in the precious spot, and I let out another grunt. "In fact," the ringleader punches me in the gut, then twice in the face. "You will leave Varil City by sundown today. We've already made sure the person renting you that apartment knows the error of their ways, and we burned the stuff you had in there."

What? They can't do that! Not that they would get into trouble. It would be my word against theirs, and-

"Well, that's a problem," a familiar voice says, and I try to open even one eye. That sounds like Jason. "I thought I told you earlier how you were violating the law. I suppose the beatdown before wasn't enough?"

I can hear him moving with that absurd speed of his, then the sound of someone attacking others, then them hitting the ground. I drop to the ground as I'm released, unable to remain standing. When the fight ends, I feel a hand on my back, then sense holy magic at work, the pain in my body soothing. He's healing me.

Once my eyes are healed, I open them and look at Jason, who's looking at me with concern.

"Are you okay?"

"Why did you save me?" I ask.

"Well, I can't very well let the first friend I make get his ass kicked," Jason answers. "Come on, let's get you somewhere we can take care of your bloody clothes."

He gestures with his hand, and a doorway of magic appears. A portal! He can create them? Not even the Magi of old were able to figure out how to generate them, and they were the greatest magicians to ever exist on Midlaris!

Jason helps me to my feet. Even though he's healed me, my body still aches, and I need to lean on him for support as we pass through the portal. I find myself in a bathing room, and a modern one, if I'm not mistaken by the enchantments in the bath and the new type of lights illuminating the room.

"This door," he gestures to the bathing room's door. "Leads to my bedroom. Put your bloody clothes on my clothes chest, and I'll have my valet take care of them for you. Do you want his aid bathing, or will you be fine?"

"Why are you helping me?" I ask. "I know what you said earlier, but-"

"Your past doesn't matter to me," he says. "I wasn't raised to judge someone based on their past when they are trying to make a better life for themselves, but for how their past affects their actions in the present. Yes, you were a street rat, but you want to be a better person and are attempting to climb above that.

"Plus," he smiles. "Even without all of that, I would help someone in need. Those guys were being unreasonable and were violating the law. It would go against my own personal moral code to not help someone in that sort of situation.

"Now," he says. "Would you like my valet to help you with the bathing? I can heal the wounds, but soothing the pain is another matter entirely. If the idea of a stranger assisting you makes you uncomfortable, I am no stranger, and would be more than willing to assist you. I have already done so so far."

He seems uncomfortable by that suggestion, and I don't blame him. Helping another guy bathe is probably something that would make most uncomfortable. Just thinking about having him help me bathe makes my face heat up.

"No, thanks," I tell him. "I can manage. You've helped me enough. I don't have other clothes, though – they said-"

"I know what they said," he tells me as a dimensional storage ring forms in the air. "You look to be around my size."

He pulls out pants and a tunic, then sets them on a shelf fixed to the wall.

"You can wear those," he tells me. "Don't worry about your current outfit, I'll have my valet ensure it's cleaned."

"Thank you," I say.

"Come on out when you finish," he says. "I'm entertaining guests, but we can always make room for more."

Jason leaves, and I strip, my body protesting at the movements, then again as I scrub the blood and grime off of me. At least I'm not wounded anymore, or this bath would be much more painful. Once I finish washing, I soak in the bath for several minutes.

He must be pretty wealthy, even as a noble, to have a personal bath fixed to his room. From what I know, the enchantments for this are not cheap.

After I finish soaking in the bath and letting my muscles relax from their beating, I climb out and dry off, then dress in the outfit he provided. Soft, brown cotton pants and a soft, dark green tunic with a split in the front at the collar, a piece of leather cord woven across the split in a criss-cross pattern.

I gather up my dirty clothes and enter Jason's bedroom, walking to the clothing chest at the foot of his bed, before noticing a dresser and wardrobe. How many units to hold clothes does he need?

Out of curiosity, I open the chest to see what he has in it, and find it filled with stuffed animals instead of clothes. When I open the wardrobe, it is filled with cloaks and robes. His closet is filled with the same, along with coats and vests as well. Only his dresser contains actual clothes, though I suppose to him, vests are considered an acceptable top by themselves.

After I finish exploring, I make my way out of his room, and when I exit the hall it is off of, I find myself faced with Jason, the prince and princess, a man I can only assume to be their father, and seven old men and women, each of whom possesses an air of power and authority.

And wisdom, too.

"Here he is!" Jason waves at me, then pats the couch beside him. "I saved a spot for you, Alex. You already know Jacob and Lina. This is their father, my Uncle Zach. These seven old farts are my paps and mamas."

He calls the king his uncle? Are they related?

"You have seven parents?" I ask.

"We found him as a baby," one of the old men answers. "And raised him as our son. The seven of us shared that duty, which was probably for the best, considering how much of a handful Jason was."

"I wasn't that much of a handful!" Jason protests.

"Yes, you were!" The seven elders say in unison, before laughing, the royals joining in.

"Ignore them," Jason tells me. "They're getting senile in their old age. Come on, have a seat."

Hesitantly, I sit beside Jason. This is a situation I have to be extremely careful in. As I sit, I realize just how close I am to him and scoot a little further away. Jason shifts a little, too, which tells me that he's probably uncomfortable with me. Then all of this is an act, probably just for show to others.

"You said you wanted to discuss something else with me?" The king asks Jason.

"Yes," Jason answers. "The rule of the Royal Magic University is that all first-year and second-year students must be a part of some sort of study, research, or training group. While this is intended as a way of improving one's abilities or assisting the magical research of your kingdom, I do feel that it is not something I can simply do."

What does he mean, 'your' kingdom? Oh, right, he mentioned he was a foreigner. If that's the case, why does he call the king 'uncle'?

"That is the rule," His Majesty nods. "And it is not one we can change for anyone. The universities are not permitted to show favor to any students for any reason in such matters. However, the top ten students in each grade are allowed to form their own groups without a staff sponsor. All groups require at least five members, who can come from both the Royal Magic University and the Royal Knight University."

That reminds me, if I enter a university, even one not the Royal Knight University, then I will need to join a combat training group for the first two years to further my skills. With my background, finding one will be nearly impossible, which will result in penalties on me unless I can convince the advisers that the lack of a group is not my fault.

"Hm," Jason says. "If Jacob and Lina join, and if Alex makes it into the Royal Knight University, that would be four members. I will only need one more. Would I be permitted to have a two-part group?"

He just casually included me into his group, despite this being just an act. I guess he just wants to use me. Typical noble, thinking of commoners and scum like we're tools and not people.

"A two-part group?" The king asks.

"Yes," Jason nods. "The first part of the group will teach basic magic control. Essentially, everyone there will be my students, and I will work with them on honing their magical capabilities. This works for both knights and mages. Mages as it assists them in casting spells, knights as it can assist them in becoming naturally faster, stronger, and more resilient."

Because the greater strength of magical power one has, the more one can increase their physical attributes.

"In addition to that," he continues. "I will teach them basic magics. Even a knight can benefit from them – I believe Slayers all train in enhancement magic. While this does fall into specialty, it is one of the easiest specialties to learn. Considering that those who are admitted into either of these two universities have passed strict tests that do perform some measure of magical ability and requires a certain level of it, that means that any student who joins the group should, in theory, be able to perform a basic enhancement within five months. While this seems useless to a mage, being able to enhance one's physical defense and speed are essential in combat for a mage as well, as it allows them to take more hits and evade them easier."

"And the second part?" His Majesty asks.

"The second part," Jason explains. "Will have stricter requirements for joining. Only those who show true talent can join. In addition to that, they will need to be able to listen to me and properly use their emotions. Someone who constantly blows up at someone will not be permitted to join. This second group will perform more dedicated magical training in addition to control and enhancements. The purpose of the second group is to shape its members into elite mages and warriors."

"I see," the king responds. "It seems like a group suited to you."

"That is the idea," Jason nods. "All I will need is to find a fifth member. Eventually, I will end the first part of the group, leaving behind just the elite unit, but to get there, I will first need to filter through people. The second part of the group will perform practical training against ogres and corrupted and wield gear on the level that I have created."

He says that like he can make some truly special gear. Is that arrogance or truth?

"I sense an ulterior motive, Jason," His Majesty says.

"Not everything someone does has more meaning than what is on the surface," Jason smiles. "I have until the end of the week to find a fifth member, I believe?"

"If we told people," Prince Jacob says. "That you were raised by the Sages, you would likely have students flocking to you to join, wanting to be their second-hand students."

The Sages? The Seven Sages? Wait… are those who the seven elders in here are? These are the Sages? And he just casually introduced them as his parents, even if adopted? No wonder he sees the king as his uncle.

"That is why," Jason says. "There will be a strict requirement to join. Even if we didn't do that, once the results of the second group's training became obvious, people would be wanting to join to learn how to become so powerful."

They're talking as if these training techniques can really make people that strong. Is that the power of the knowledge of the Sage of Magic?

It's a shame Jason only wants to outwardly show that he has some level of care for street scum. That shift he made when I sat down made that obvious. Otherwise, I would have a chance at learning techniques that may have been taught by the Sage of War.

If only my memories had been more complete when I was younger and I had understood them better, back when things went south for me and I found myself on the street. I may have been able to begin a life worthy of my true past sooner. Then, maybe I could earn my way into that second group.