“Oh, so this was in the Sword Saint’s vault? I’ve never seen it before.”
“I understand that during his training, Soln Rowell traveled the world and conquered multiple treasure vaults. If we could confirm where he obtained this, then maybe we could do the same for its powers.”
“Could it be some sort of vegetal Devil Staff? However, its color, its shape...”
“Who else but Lucia’s brother could take a treasured staff from that hardhead Sword Saint?”
One of them had a word of complaint for Lucia, who was standing with her arms crossed and a glimmer in her eyes.
“Do we really need to refrain from touching it? Can’t we just use gloves?”
“We can’t. There’s no telling what might happen, so don’t take any unnecessary risks!”
Amid this crowd of Magi who loved research more than life itself, the staff remained untouched because Lucia knocked back any troublemakers who tried to lay their hands on it. Researchers tended to lack the magical prowess of implementers. Absorbing high amounts of mana material daily and regularly dealing with trouble caused by her party members meant nobody could get past Lucia.
Once she was sure there were no more ruffians, Lucia turned her attention to Anna. “Anna, what about this is safekeeping?!”
“Well, what can you do?” Anna replied with a hearty laugh. “There’s no way the Magi here wouldn’t come to see something from the Sword Saint’s vault. Even normal Relic staves don’t make their way to us.”
Relic staves were both valuable research materials and powerful weapons. On the very rare occasion that one was recovered from a treasure vault, they rarely ended up at the academy due to financial reasons. A new Relic being brought in was big news, enough to draw in researchers from the other towers.
“Besides, if we hid it, that would just attract the wrong sorts,” Anna continued. “Isn’t it safer to keep it out here in plain sight until the professor returns?”
“Oh, perhaps you’re right.”
Just because they were more interested in theories than the grand power of magic didn’t mean researchers could be underestimated. Not only were they always pouring their hearts into their own work, but they were also enamored with the research of their colleagues. Some people could be very ruthless when they wanted. If anything, keeping the staff hidden was the more dangerous option.
“Especially since you’re a hunter, Lucia. And then there’s the fact that your beloved brother is famous for collecting Relics.”
Lucia’s eyebrows twitched, and she let out a sigh of resignation. “Mmm.”
It seemed Lucia wasn’t too fond of hearing her brother receiving compliments. He was supposedly a tad strange, but having a Level 8 for a sibling was something to be proud of. What was it she didn’t like? Was she actually worried that someone might take him from her?
Frankly, Anna thought there was no use worrying. Even if his face wasn’t widely known, being a Level 8 was enough to make someone famous. In a nation where hunters had high status, reaching such a high level could bring in marriage proposals from powerful nobles.
Still, Lucia was too nervous when it came to her brother. Her usual rational self wouldn’t worry about something from the Sword Saint’s vault being cursed, or think that her brother was after the academy’s treasure.
“If anything, I think it’s more likely that your brother is offering the Relic staff as an apology for making you miss your exam and angering the professor.”
Anna had been surprised when Lucia didn’t show up for her advanced compound spirit staff certification exam. Requiring both research experience at an academy and a recommendation from a professor, it was one of the most difficult magic certifications one could acquire. Apparently, she had her reasons for missing the exam, but while showing up and failing would have been one thing, not showing up at all besmirched her professor.
“M-My brother isn’t the type to do something so normal!”
“Still,” Anna said with a smile, “I’m pretty sure the professor’s mood will improve if she gets a staff from the vault of the Sword Saint. She recently started looking for a staff, so the timing couldn’t be better.”
Magic research was almost always accompanied by a degree of danger. Just like there had been with the lightning-specialized staff Lucia had recently brought in, there was always a bit of risk involved.
“Oh, forget it!” Lucia said with an uncharacteristic pout.
Anna thought she had put in another all-nighter working on a spell, but it turned out Lucia had an endearing side to her. It didn’t require a personality like Anna’s to be tempted into teasing this young Magus.
Probably having arrived late and missed her chance to see the staff up close, a girl from another tower approached Lucia. “Hey, Lucia, is your brother coming?”
“He’s not. He’s busy. I’ll remind you he’s a Level 8!”
“Wha? But he came with you last time!”
“He won’t be here!”
Lucia directed an icy glare at the dissatisfied girl. It was well known among the researchers that Lucia had brought her brother with her to her initiation. Even now, some people hadn’t yet forgotten about it. With Lucia’s frigid voice and imposing aura, the Magi began to lose interest in the untouchable staff and direct their attention to her.
Then, there was a brief scream. Lucia spun around to the direction it came from. One of the vines that composed the jet-black staff had extended outward and was grabbing at someone.
“I-I told you not to touch it! What did you do?!”
“Nothing. I didn’t touch—”
Their voice was cut off. The ensnaring vines continued from their arm to their upper torso. Stiff with shock, the blood drained from their face. The staff swelled. The vines grew longer and thicker to the point that they hardly resembled the staff as it had first appeared.
Amid the clamor, a vine went for another nearby Magus frozen in place. It moved swiftly, like a snake snatching up its prey. The first Magus was cast aside. Lucia dashed over and examined them. There were no conspicuous wounds on them, and their heart was beating. However, their complexion was pale, they were completely unconscious, and sweating profusely.
These were the symptoms of mana depletion.
“Is it absorbing mana?! Wh-What is this thing?!”
The bottom half of the staff forked in two and used them like legs to climb down from the display stand. The animallike movements caused the previously enraptured Magi to recoil. The vines continued to grow longer and thicker. It looked less like a staff and more like a vegetal monster.
With a scream, one of the Magi began to attack. Others followed suit, and soon billows of flame, blades of wind, and chunks of ice were slamming the thing from all sides. But then, the staff began to shake violently. The wounds left by the spells were instantly sealed, and the vines grew even larger. It was as if the vines had absorbed the attack’s energy.
Realizing this, Anna took a step back. “Could it be an anti-magical creature? What’s going on?!”
“See? What did I say?!” Lucia yelled. “Ah, my stupid brother! I’m not like Luke! I didn’t want this! I didn’t even touch it!”
“Is now the time for that?!”
The Magi scattered like ants. The former staff tossed aside the Magi it had been draining, almost as though to say they were of no further use to it. Then it looked at both Lucia and Anna, before settling on Lucia. She pressed her lips together and rubbed the bracelets on her wrists.
“Have it your way,” she said, sticking out her finger. “Come forth. I won’t let my brother get away with this!”
“Lucia! Not even you can take something immune to magic!”
After a moment of staring at Lucia (not that it actually had eyes), the former staff changed its posture. It turned around and skillfully used its new legs to dart off. With two outstretched arms, it grabbed some Magi who had been slow in their escape. Lucia didn’t want to imagine how big this mysterious staff could get from drinking up mana. They were in the greatest arcane academy in the empire, a place that had nurtured hundreds of fledgling Magi into experts.
Having outgrown the doorway, the former staff destroyed the frame as it moved into the hallway.
“Hey! Where are you going?!”
With a fierce look on her face, Lucia chased after it. Showing no hesitation to chase down a monstrosity. Just what you might expect from a Level 6 hunter.
Anna looked around at the demolished storage room and at her colleagues, all collapsed from mana depletion. Thinking about what would happen when the professor got back, she clutched her head.
“What am I gonna do...”