Eight days ago

This is a nightmare. The worst kind.

Me, the headmaster of the academy, the teacher in charge of protection and barriers magic and three others teachers in charge of teaching advanced combat magic are in an emergency reunion. One abberant has appeared in the town and is now conveyed to us by the secretary of the guild master of the adventurers guild.

Abberants are otherworlders coming withouth notice, or more exactly withouth being called. The last time one of them appeared was 30 years ago, and it was handled by the headmaster herself. He was a dangerous one who was able to mortally wound two teachers before being put down.

It's our job since the fondation of the magic academies to adress these problems. It's in the founding contract, the secret other side of all schools founded by the magician hero. Protect this world from foreign threats. This is the reason we are highly respected by all the country leaders of this world, but only a handful of autorized and strong enough people from the school staff know about it and are in charge in each academy.

On the meeting room, the atmosphere is solemn. Each of us have already put on our battle gear, concealed below our academy robe. Silence permeate the chamber as we wait for the headmaster to speak.

" - Professor Lkhenai, since this is your field speciality, you will assume the examination of the subject.

Here the papers with the questionnary and how to analyze it if you were to have any trouble about it.

We will stay on guard in the room, and if he do anything who can be deemed strange or dangerous, we will destroy him on the spot."

The headmaster, a raven haired, pale woman who doesn't look like 67 years old at all , formerly nicknamed garbra the hex witch when she was younger, push as expected the responsability to me.

I have been formed for this.

But, to have been formed for this doesn't mean i would be happy to confront one of these monsters. Especially since i'm more of a researcher than suited for combat.

I close my eyes and remember slowly the four main steps to follow.

First : create a sentiment of trust with it,

Second : analyze the abberant and determine his personality and if he's a threat because of it,

Third : discover his power and if he's potentially a threat because of it,

Four : elimination or supervision of the subject.

It involve many other points, but these one are the four core rules, and succeeding them is essential.

I open my eyes and slowly nod.

" - Yes, madam. I will not let you down."

" - This is what i'm expecting of you. Remember, do NOT sympathize with it, whatever the reason. Always stay cool headed even if you yourself feel pity on him or are afraid. One mistake in the evaluation can spell the demise of all of us. If he were to turn suddenly wary, if he were to suspect something, we will potentially all will be in danger.

I will now cast a magic to protect us from mental influences, poisons and diseases. The room where we will go is a safe room further enhanced with barrier magic, so dont worry about going all out if necessary."

Diseases. This was the horrible power of the last abberant, the one previously killed by the headmaster. This one was an envoy of the evils gods, or so we suspect, and no records of this man have been leaked to anyone but a few outside the four academy. Because of that, the tale of the two teacher who bravely offered their lifes to protect others will sadly never be remembered in any book. I bit my lips, hoping the gift of this one will not be one of death and carnage.

" - Don't worry, Lkhenai. Put your best smile and act friendly. Nothing bad will come to any of you, this time, i swear on the found-"

A knock interrupt us. The headmaster's secretary enter with a nervous face.

" - He's here. We are bringing him on the designated room."

The atmosphere tense up to another level.

" - It's time."

We all get up from our chairs. After the Headmaster cast her spell on us, we head to the room.

Two minutes later, we are in front of the door. After nodding with each other to renew our resolves, i put my hand on the door handle.

I breath in, force a smile, then open it.

A single man is looking rather confused at us from his chair.

Today

I knock at the door.

" - You can enter."

" - Headmaster. Here the report about Kyle."

I stand in front of the desk of the rather dark room, filled with pictures and paintings of the previous headmasters, and with a water fountain gurgling in a corner of it. This was, it seems, a requirement from the founder to not touch this room, like many things in the academy. So it was a custom to not modify too much anything in the castle, to honor her wish and memory.

The headmaster, who was looking at a moutain of paperwork, slowly lift her head, put them on the side of the desk, then seat back on her chair and cast me a piercing glare.

" - Give me a short summary of his condition and what you were to suggest for further actions"

" - Yes.

As we have previously discovered, his body condition make him unable to harness any magic power, and even if the ability to be immune to mana seem a tremendous advantage, it leave him in facts in a weak state against anything magic related or even anything physically dangerous. As a side effect, magic sense are not able to discover him, since no magic power can be reflected back to the caster.

Since no brain magic can affect him because of the previous point, we have used a classical method to have a glimpse of his personnality : the results were on the "good side", a calm and rather analytic personnality with quiet aspirations, indoor and family oriented interests.

Finally, we haven't discovered yet what or who helped him cross to this world, since no data have been found in the library about the stone he described.

To sum it up, for the moment, his danger can be categorized at null."

The headmaster eyes light up as she cross her arms to her chest.

" - For now, you say ? And in the near future ?"

" - ... After further experimentations, i discovered his ability to absorb any mana he came near was actually slowly increasing by approximately 1% of the original zone it was covering each day. I say absorbed, but i didn't find out for sure if the mana is really absorbed or destroyed when vanishing. And futhermore, his ability is not only centered around his body, but with each part of him ; the blood i have taken out from him has the same property, only that the magic void doesnt grow with time, or at a much slower rate. Thankfully, his wastes are not similar.

In a few years, he can be a hazard to all magic-related life around him, or be used as a weapon against any magic opponent as a tool for assassination if his blood is regularly taken out. On the unlikely worst case scenario, all magic technology would be rendered useless after some times."

" - But you dont advise to remove this potential threat ?"

" - No."

" - Please explain why, with arguments i can agree for."

I gulp when a weak wave of magic leak from the headmaster. It's not a good sign when she's this serious.

" - ... Yes. Because of two possibility. Even if we were to subdue him, because his ability is not an ability created by the mind or the soul, but is inherent to his flesh, to kill him would amount to only change the starting point of the no-magic influence area-"

" - Even if we can't seal him with magic, can't we burn him ? Throw it in a dungeon ? These things are here to emprison dangerous monsters like this, no ?"

" - Burning him would only create ashes who absorb mana with the wind. Sealing him is to no avail since he would be ending up absorbing the seal, and the dungeon would finish with all his magic absorbed even if he were to die inside.

As for the other possibility, in the case where all the mana he absorbed is effectively stored in his body, his death would probably result in a huge sized explosion."

" - Big ? How much ?"

" - ... the size of this country at least ?"

She shoot up to her feet. This is the point of the conversation i feared.

" - How is it possible ? He absorbed so much magic already ?"

I cast my eyes downside.

" - Well... For experiments purpose, and to see if his ability to absorb mana was not something like a battery, i ended up make him absorb a mana cristal who was full to the brim with the entire magic pool of the staff and some students classes ? And he emptied it in a matter of seconds..."

" - YOUUUU DID WHA... !

...

No, let's leave it at that for now. And ? What do you advise, miss Lkhenai ?"

Her hairs sway lightly and a magic tatoo mimicking a white skull mask appeared on her face for all but a second. I'm definitely dead after this.

" - Simply to help him go back home. He doesn't wish to stay here after all, and would happily cooperate, so it's the most win-win situation."

She sit back on her desk.

" - Remember you are not supposed to go for a win-win... Haaa... But i can agree. Go back and tell him the good news, on my side i will contact someone who can help us find a mean to send him back. I will leave you in charge of the organization of the transport, and i will choose two people to go with him to protect and keep an eye on him."

" - Yes headmaster."

I turn myself and open the door to leave. My argument were sound and pondered, but aside from that, i'm rather happy i can help him since we can. For the few days we have been together, he was a rather cooperative guy who never said no to any experiments and tried his best to help in any meaning. It was the first time i ever encountered someone who didn't yell at me and try to escape in the second or third day of testing. All were a band of scaredy-cats, really.

" - Before leaving, miss Lkhenai."

" - Yes, headmaster ?"

" - After they leave, you will have to come back here for a discussion about your way of doing experiments withouth consulting me first."

Yes, i'm definitely dead.

Meanwhile, kyle was trying to find where the fuck was the north in the encyclopedia book he was reading, while grumbling. He didn't know, but he was barely safe.