“I’m afraid the man is quite secretive. His career was meteoric, so he’s well known, but once he achieved his seat as Archmaster, he stopped appearing in public. If you’d like, I can try to find some of his earlier writings.”

  Orion’s conversation with Set gave him what he wanted, and the promise to get his hands on that man’s research was very welcome, but he still felt conflicted.

  Knowing that his biological father was out there didn’t matter much to him before. He’d already had a deadbeat dad once, and a second one didn’t surprise him.

  But having learned the complicated story that led to his birth, and knowing that the man was now an Archmage considered among the most powerful in the Arcane Collegium of Valderun, the greatest faction of the Cyril Magocracy… That was a lot to take in.

  In practical terms, this made no difference. He had no interest in building a personal relationship with the man, especially after discovering that he’d used Asteria so blatantly.

  However, it was a potential contact for when he left on his journey, and he couldn’t deny that being allowed into the Collegium to read all their research had its own appeal.

  Set had not said much more after that, merely informing him that Archmage Antares was known as a very secretive man who seldom involved himself in the practical running of the Collegium, much less in the politicking that constantly took place in Valderun.

  Orion strongly suspected that Set himself came from the Collegium and that he’d lost some kind of power struggle and had been exiled from his seat. However, he was too frazzled to ask, and frankly, he respected the old man too much to pry.

  “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back, huh?” He chuckled as he settled into his chair. His lab was cluttered with various knick-knacks, and he had to admit that his recent fascination with crystals had gotten a bit out of hand.

  Witches usually didn’t use foci, as they saw them as bulky and overly specialized. Inside the Sanctum, they didn't need extra power because the local Mana Field was perfectly attuned to their needs. When they went out, they rarely faced anything they couldn’t handle, thanks to their superior education.

  But that didn’t mean Orion had to limit himself that way. He’d seen firsthand what happened when he wielded magic through a crystal, and that had been in a moment of distress, with very little time to calibrate the formula beyond “bigger is better.”

  Though his laser hadn’t been enough to kill the harpy, it had greatly damaged her. If he could improve that spell, he’d have a very dangerous weapon in his hands.

  That wasn’t even considering all the synergy that Jewelcraft and runes could potentially bring to the table.

  Although an actual, modern computer might have been out of reach for him, nothing prevented him from building a simpler machine that leveraged those principles. The boost in casting efficiency alone was enough to make him salivate.

  “And I might need one soon,” he muttered. Word had reached the Sanctum of a poor woman being found dead in Silverpeak’s alleys, with her throat torn open and almost entirely desiccated.

  Coupled with the known presence of a vampiric agent in town just a few weeks ago, it wasn’t hard for anyone to see the connection.

  Of course, there was still a chance that this was just another false flag. It seemed to be a favored tactic of Cyril’s factions to stage attacks in the style of another group to sow discord between two enemies.

  And with the war in the south not stopping, despite the repeated actions taken by the High Council to discourage it, Orion suspected they might see more of this kind of thing.

  Chaos, after all, tended to feed on itself. Even people who had once been content in peace could be roused if they believed there was an opportunity for real gain.

  Thus, the production of the first Computational Crystal had become a very high priority for Orion. It had the side effect of distracting him from the chaos of his family, which alone was a good reason to focus on it, but he suspected he might need it sooner than he’d like.

  Just as he was about to dive in and start the calculations for his first iteration, the alarm spell he’d placed outside the door years ago—and that he’d entirely forgotten about in the wake of Schr?dinger’s Defense’s success—began ringing.

  Orion froze. No one had come close to the door for years. His protection was supposed to be absolute!

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  Yet, the alarm was ringing, indifferent to his crisis, and so he got up. After a moment of hesitation, he quickly grabbed the most heretical papers he had lying around and tucked them into his lab coat’s inner pockets, which were large enough to hide everything.

  Then, with resignation, he went to open the door. If this was Morliana finally making a move…

  His thoughts abruptly stopped when he found a very familiar girl outside, and no one else.

  Selene was staring dazedly at the wall next to the door, swaying drunkenly. It took Orion a moment to realize what had happened, and he closed his eyes and sighed.

  Grabbing the girl’s arm, he quickly pulled her inside before their presence could be noticed and dragged her to his chair, where he helped her sit.

  It took Selene a few moments to gather her wits, but eventually, she blinked. Her eyes were wide, glowing silver like the full moon, and she examined the room with pure curiosity.

  “So this is where you hole yourself up every day,” she murmured.

  “Do you want to explain why you tried scrying for me, and more importantly, why you forced yourself to endure the side effects of my wards? You could have been seriously hurt!”

  It was pretty clear to him that he’d overlooked something crucial with his protections. Divination had always seemed like a somewhat useless subject, but he knew Selene was much more skilled than he was at it.

  It probably didn’t take her much effort to find his lab. Schr?dinger’s Defense still worked as intended, blocking her from discovering the entrance, but did that matter when she could have been spying on him for who knows how long?

  More importantly, if she could see inside the lab, what did that mean for much more powerful and experienced witches? Had he been an open book for years, thinking he was safe while they watched his every move?

  Orion was beginning to spiral, but before panic could fully take hold, he suddenly calmed down. This is pointless. Completely and utterly pointless. Think, then act. Do not fret.

  It was a mantra that had carried him through the worst times of his life before, and it would work once again now.

  “This is the first time I've managed to see you,” Selene finally said, breaking him out of his funk. “I’ve tried many times to find you before, but I could never follow you after you rounded the last corner.”

  Despite having just admitted to spying on him for years, Orion could have kissed her. Still, her success meant something had changed. “Why did you succeed now?”

  Selene shrugged, “I think it might have been the astral alignment. You know the Great Wanderer and the Fiery Bird are about to pass by each other. All divinatory magics are enhanced this week.”

  Orion placed a hand on the table to steady himself. An astral alignment? He vaguely remembered that being mentioned before. He knew that the Great Wanderer was the local name for the seventh planet, a gaseous giant with an eccentric orbit that moved rather quickly considering its distance. Meanwhile, the Fiery Bird was the second planet in the local solar system, known for its comet-like corona of burning gases.

  Technically, each planet was supposed to correspond to a type of mana, and depending on their specific alignment combination, they amplified different kinds of magic.

  He had, of course, dismissed that as nonsense. Even the closest planet, the fifth Stormy Warrior, was far too distant to have any effect on them.

  Yet, he couldn’t find any other explanation. Unless Selene was lying to him, and she had always been capable of spying on him, which he doubted. He’d watched her grow, and he knew her better than anyone else.

  This still doesn’t mean she’s right, but it lends some credibility to her words.

  “How would the alignment of the planets give you a way to see inside my lab?” He asked. He could speculate as much as he wanted, but sometimes, it was better just to get information directly from the source.

  Selene smiled, now less dazed, “I could tell you that. But you have to tell me what you have been doing. Usually, you at least make an effort to show up once in a while, but I never see you outside of class these days.”

  Orion furrowed his brows, “That’s because I either get stared at by giggling girls, or have to endure Tevor’s stupid attempts at goading me into a rivalry.”

  His friend snorted, eyes twinkling with mirth. Still, she didn’t explain herself, so he sighed. “Alright, I will explain. Now talk.”

  “The Great Wanderer and the Fiery Bird are known for their straightforward nature. Everyone knows where they will go and what they will do. Whenever they align, any magic meant to keep secrets will weaken. That’s just how it is,” she said.

  Orion closed his eyes and counted to ten. “That’s just how it is, is not a good explanation.”

  “I know you don’t like not knowing things, but this is established practice. Every decent diviner knows that this month will yield the best results for the next decade,” she replied, and he acquiesced. Asking for more was unlikely to shed light on the matter.

  Selene, though a smart girl with a very unique perspective on life for someone raised entirely within the Sanctum, was still a daughter of it. Her entire pool of knowledge came from the local traditions, with a sprinkling of things she’d learned from watching him over the years.

  “Now, tell me,” she grinned, leaning forward.

  Perhaps it was his fault. He’d fostered her curiosity, and it was now coming back to bite him.

  “I am working on building myself a focus,” he admitted reluctantly. “I know witches don’t usually use them, seeing them as crutches or tools for specific purposes, but I think I might have a way to create a better one.”

  Of course, if what Selene told him was true, he would need to postpone the effort until next week at the earliest. If she had pierced through his protections so easily, despite being only at level twenty-nine, he doubted they would hold against a seasoned witch.

  I might have to work on the basics. I guess I need to improve my shield, and charms could always use some refinement.

  He was not enthusiastic about the sudden change in plans. While he enjoyed working on perfecting his repertoire, there was a rush that developing new theories and breaking new ground gave him—something that simply couldn't be replicated by the umpteenth iteration of the same spell.

  “Hmm, I guess you are thinking of giving up on it for now?” Selene said, and he nodded disconsolately.

  “Well, I don’t have a way to shield you. Astral magic is just beyond me. But maybe you could help me with something? I was looking for you for a reason, you know?”

  Curious despite himself, Orion tilted his head and asked, “What is it?”

  “I’ve been looking for the vampires,” Selene grinned, eyes gleaming. “And I think I found them.”

  Orion coughed, somehow unsurprised. No one sane of mind would have been hunting for the blood-sucking immortal monsters, at least not without significantly more power than either of them possessed. But Selene was just the right kind of crazy to do such a thing.

  “Where?” He asked, curious despite himself. He never claimed to be any better, after all. There was a reason they got along so well.

  “In the refugee camp outside Silverpeak. Wanna come?”

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