Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

"What did you do?" Kalivas finally broke the silence by asking the question everyone shared.

"It is an ability I learned when I broke through into the Intermediate Rank. It is an extension of my Thunder Magic. So far, I have been unable to use it voicelessly under the effects of Channeling; however, because of my Channeling, I can pour the mana from Arts and the mana for Magic into it." He explained.

"How did you break through that barrier?" Kalivas continued. "Even I would need a few hits to break through."

"Overcharge summons every speck of magical mana in my body and compresses it into a single, overwhelming attack. Thanks to Channeling, I can manipulate it so I can use my Arts for it as well." Lucius answered.

King Verdayl spoke up next, "Are you saying you are an Intermediate Rank on par with a King Rank?" He eyed Lucius suspiciously.

"No. It leaves me extremely drained. Honestly, I\'m so weak right now that I\'m sure a strong breeze would knock me down. Also… I cannot use that ability again for another month, maybe more."

"Why not?"

"It puts an enormous amount of strain on my body. On top of leaving me on the verge of mana deprivation, it pushes the mana pathways throughout my body to their absolute limits. Trying it again before I have fully recovered would most likely kill me. Instead of a targeted attack, I would turn myself into a bomb."

Both the king and his father sucked in a deep breath. They agreed that it was an extremely useful and powerful ability, but what Lucius had just explained to him was a series of drawbacks that would hinder the usability of the skill.

After that initial explanation, Lucius decided it would be best to cover all the downsides. Not only did it leave him without mana and was unusable for more than a month after one use, but it also had other drawbacks. The biggest one was already shown: it took time to charge.

This meant that an opponent would have more than enough time to counterattack. Not only could someone attack him while charging the skill, but it was a slow-moving spell that could easily be dodged while firing.

"I see. Though it could be used to kill someone like me," Kalivas pondered, "we would need a King Rank to stand still long enough to charge it and fire it. By that point, every single warrior of their rank or higher would have time to sense the mana and move or attack. So what is it useful for?"

Kalliope finally spoke up after observing their conversation for so long. "For starters, he makes a good barrier buster. Also, it\'s good for intimidation. It did a good job embarrassing that Thomas guy as well."

She then nuzzled her head deeper into his arms, continuing to fight off his attempts to ward her off. Since he was utterly drained, he had no physical strength left to fight her off truly, and the girl clearly had every intention of taking advantage of it.

Giving up on Kalliope, Lucius then said, "It would probably work against a city, a fortress, or some other stationary target."

King Verdayl\'s hair stood on the back of his neck. "Is that what you did at Alvora?"

Lucius shook his head and smiled. "No. Let\'s just say I have experience with a special crystal mined in Aedrider, and I learned it has a rather violent reaction to Thunder Magic."

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For the next few hours, the group continued to talk over tea and snacks. Lucius was forced to entertain a large number of questions from his father and the king, but he made sure to answer all of them fully and to the best of his ability. After all, he owed them both, so it was the least he could do to answer their questions.

Finally, as time for the afterparty of the tournament drew closer, Lucius asked a few questions of his own, "Is everything prepared for my transfer into the academy? Kalliope\'s as well?"

Hearing her name, she perked up. She had assumed that she would simply act as a bodyguard and errand girl for him; she never expected to be a student. She was technically too old to be one since she had already graduated from Eroa\'s institution for education prior to the war.

"Yes, everything is in order. Kalliope is actually going to be hired on as a teacher\'s assistant to assist Old Man Carmichael." Kalivas explained. "You are being accepted as a student specializing in Marks. Only the Old Man seemed interested in taking you in as a student. Though I imagine after today\'s events, the other departments are eating their shirts!"

"You know Wally?" Lucius asked.

"Of course I do. He\'s a powerful mage. Do you think I wouldn\'t know him? Other than you, he is the only other person that I personally know who can use Channeling. Do not misunderstand, there are certainly others, I just don\'t know them." Kalivas answered.

"Hmm."

Kalliope chimed in again, "So, when am I going to meet this Rena girl?"

"At the party, most likely."

"How\'s that going to go, by the way? You are going to be in close proximity to a number of people who worked together to kill you." The girl growled. The fur on her ears and tail began to bristle a little.

"True, but they failed." He answered. "At least for now, my status as the champion and my little plan for the party will keep me safe until I regain my strength. I will not be so easy to entrap again."

Lucius stood up and went to his room in the embassy to prepare for the event. He was forced to ask his father to hold Kalliope down from sneaking in after him since he would be unable to fight her advances off. A part of him wondered if she would really even try since she seemed to love the hunt as much as the idea of actually being with him.

He carefully put on a nice suit and tie and checked his appearance in the mirror. There were burn scars on the back of his neck that were slightly visible from the front, and he still had the scar down his neck and chest from fighting the goblins with Rena\'s cousin, Simon.

Finally, he touched his left ear. He had pierced it when he got his position as a King\'s Shadow. Kalliope tricked him into thinking it was a thing that warriors did to celebrate. However, that was not the case, something he would have realized if he paid attention to Kalivas\' or Kalliope\'s own ears. Despite that, he kept it because it became a part of himself.

"Time to go," Kalliope called out from outside the room.