Although the discovery of how the Class Ceremony would function had been shocking, Orion wouldn’t see it in action for another twenty days.

  That meant he had time to perfect his System Detection Glasses. He had already been eager to do so before, but it had now become a major priority—if only to confirm his assumption that no god would manipulate the System and that it was a matter of power density.

  “Perhaps it’s not just that,” he allowed after further reflection. Drinking some mou and pacing around the room had helped him blow off some steam, and he was now back to rationality, sitting down on his “repurposed” sofa. It wasn’t like the room he’d taken it from was being used anyway.

  “If all that was needed to affect a Class Ceremony was raw power, I’m sure the other factions would have managed to do it by now.” Although Seraphina was recognized as one of the most powerful individuals in the country, she was not the only one to have attained such status.

  Learning about other major powers was challenging because the first floor of the library offered only the basics and some history. To gain specific insights, he had to either access the second floor, which he wouldn’t be able to do for some time, or rely on gossip.

  Orion had done that both as a toddler at his mother’s side and recently by sneaking into the dining hall early during service to sit near the back.

  While everyone in the Sanctum could enjoy meals at any time, there were specific slots when various types of people could be found.

  Dinner service started at six. During this time, only menial workers, guardsmen, and the occasional hungry student could be found. It was generally a peaceful period, allowing the mundanes to unwind and discuss their lives without the anxiety of being monitored by the witches.

  Then came the students’ slot, where chaos reigned and the hall quickly filled. That typically lasted until eight. After that, it was only a trickle, as witches without families had unusual schedules and could show up at nine just as easily as at midnight.

  Though Orion would have liked to be present for the conversations that happened then, he would have stood out. Instead, by keeping to a more reasonable hour, he could appear as just another hungry kid trying to fill up on the free food and, at the same time, overhear all kinds of gossip.

  If there was one thing that was true across worlds, it was that people liked to complain. Whether it was about how strict the Inspectors were—not something Orion heard often, given that the Sanctum didn’t exactly have free speech protections—the rising price of foodstuff from the south, or how tense the guards in Silverpeak were, he didn’t particularly care. As long as they could fill in data for his ever-growing map of the world, he’d take it.

  Leaning back in his plush chair and sipping more of the delectable mou, he wondered how those powerful leaders at the heads of the other factions hadn’t managed to replicate Seraphina’s success.

  “If we exclude raw power, it can only come down to two variables. She either has developed a method the others can’t match, which is quite possible, given how everyone keeps talking up her skills, or she has a natural treasure or artifact capable of being used several times over the years.” The first option meant the High Priestess possessed a remarkable mind and, more importantly, had figured out something about the System that no one else knew.

  The second was both incredible, as such a treasure would be valuable enough to spark a war to get it, and underwhelming, because it meant that all the vaunted power she held depended on an external factor.

  I’m not sure what I want to believe. But one thing is certain: I need to have the glasses ready by then, or I will hold onto this doubt forever.

  Thus, he found himself back at the same point that had previously stymied him. Pure silverite was the best mana conductor known to the public. While it was possible that some mysterious material could yield better results, he currently had no way to confirm its existence, much less acquire it.

  No, silverite would have to do. Unfortunately, the problem was that he could not return with a pure ingot to the Sanctum, as its high conductivity meant it could be tainted by just about any active application of mana upon it.

  Magistrae like his mother could easily bypass such restrictions due to their unquestionable service to the Sanctum. However, Asteria had turned down his request to smuggle some for him, and he wanted to avoid raising her suspicions.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Though their relationship had never fully recovered after the burning of his journal, Orion still felt affection for her, despite himself, and didn’t want to jeopardize what little they had left. His previous mother had been little more than a burden, if he was being generous, so the competition wasn’t exactly steep.

  She had given him permission to continue with his research, but he never forgot that she was a Magistra of the Coven first. She could easily react negatively if she discovered what he was truly trying to create the glasses for. It’s better not to put myself in that situation.

  And so he was back to square one. “It’s not like I’m fixated on silverite without reason. All my attempts to use either ‘corrupted’ silverite or other conductive metals have failed, and I’m sure my calculations are correct.”

  All of his preliminary work supported his hypothesis. His Mana Field Theory posited that mana was both a quantifiable particle, which would explain how it could be extracted from the atmosphere in liquid form, and a fundamental force. It was, in some ways, similar to gravity, though it was not bound to the interaction between particles.

  For the System to be so ubiquitous, it had to be using the Field on a fundamental level. Of course, he could not yet understand how it operated. Its functioning was so far beyond the science of twenty-first-century Earth that it could barely be recognized as such, but he, the vanguard, could see the path it took.

  He just needed to follow it until it led him to the Truth.

  “Alright, enough complaining, I need to find a solution. There has to be a way to get my hands on untainted silverite within the Coven.” He already knew there would be some in the Pantry, but while he could sneak some ingredients from his mother’s stores in the classrooms, he already knew getting into that wing would be impossible.

  Even discounting all the people who came and went constantly, and who would be able to spot him immediately regardless of any spell he devised to conceal himself, there was the tiny issue of High Priestess Seraphina having personally placed magical protections on it following the ghoul attack.

  So, where else is Silverite kept?

  Some of the enchanting rooms would have more than enough for his needs, so that might serve as a good starting point. He’d need to scope out the area to ensure he knew what to expect, but given the amount of jewelry they produced every day, he doubted anyone would notice a single ingot missing.

  “Well, that may be wishful thinking. Witches seem surprisingly attached to their earrings, bracelets, and pendants…”

  It struck him then, like a bolt from the blue.

  Scrambling out of his chair, Orion slammed the lab door closed behind him and dashed down the corridor, two flights of stairs, and another set of hallways until he finally reached his apartment.

  Breathing heavily, he rested his hands on his knees, trying to regain control of his heart rate. “Damn… There might be something to that physical training Dorian and Luna insist on doing… This sucks.”

  “Now, why would you need to run that hard, moonbeam?” He heard an amused voice ask. When he turned around, he saw that his mother had opened the door, likely having heard him huffing and puffing down the corridor.

  Panting, Orion stood up and tried to appear as composed as possible, pushing his white curls out of his eyes. “I just remembered I didn’t water my plants.”

  Asteria’s smile only widened at that. “I’m sure you did.” Stepping aside, she gestured to the inside. “Well, get going. Those plants won’t water themselves.”

  Feeling that he shouldn’t have gotten away with that but unwilling to look a gifted horse in the mouth, Orion quickly slipped in and aimed for his room.

  Once inside, he closed the door behind him and took a deep breath. On the windowsill, one of the potted plants that Selene had gifted him over the years sat in desperate need of water, and he pursed his lips. “I might actually have to water them. I wouldn’t want her to get offended if she were to see their state.”

  He had never particularly cared for plants beyond their potential uses in pharmacology, but if they died, Selene would somehow know.

  Can’t even call her a witch as an insult. Every damn woman here is one.

  Dismissing the potted bonsai for now, he hurried to the nightstand beside his bed. Pulling the drawer until it came loose from the wooden rails, he flipped it over onto his bed.

  After a minute of frantic scrabbling through rolled parchments, knick-knacks, empty vials, full vials, and toys he had never played with, he finally found it.

  “Aha!”

  Grinning, Orion stepped into the light streaming through the window and held up the pendant. Just like the day it had been given to him, it was a perfectly smooth oval made of silverite, lacking any detail, as the noblewoman who had commissioned it ultimately chose not to keep it.

  Though he longed to test the purity right away, he knew he couldn’t afford to. If he disturbed the balance even a little, his mana would be absorbed within, and he’d lose his ticket to success.

  Carefully placing it in his cloak’s inner pocket, Orion then proceeded to hastily put everything else back in his drawer, return it to the nightstand, and, for good measure, even watered the poor semi-desiccated plants.

  With that done, and the threat of Selene’s disappointed gaze drilling into his neck gone, he shouted goodbye and quickly left the apartment.

  “Moonbeam!” Asteria called, stopping him just as his hand reached for the door handle. Orion sighed and turned around, knowing it was better to face this now. Her use of his old nickname often meant she had something to say that he might not like.

  I really need to take the pendant to the lab. If there’s any chance of crafting the Glasses before I get my Class, it’s now.

  “Moonbeam,” she repeated as he entered the open kitchen, leaning against the table. “I was thinking, since your Class Ceremony is coming up, that we could take a little trip down to Silverpeak together tomorrow. There’s a restaurant I think you’ll like.”

  Orion longed to deny her. He was so close, and even if he started the forging process now, it would take him several hours to determine whether the Glasses had been crafted correctly. He would likely end up working late into the night, and if everything went well, he’d then spend many more hours testing them out.

  But looking at her hopeful expression as she tried not to twist her hands, Orion felt something inside him soften. He doubted they would ever have a proper mother-son relationship, given how different he was from normal kids, and considering his plans for the future. Maybe he could give her this.

  “Alright, will lunch work for you? I have something I need to do, so I probably won’t be up too early.”

  The bright smile he received in response was enough to let him know he had done the right thing.