Blade Over Magic

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Xander pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, both in genuine exasperation and to hide his embarrassment.

"Everyone, meet my father, Xavier Lowell, though you may know him as the Verdant Mage. And as you can see, he isn’t some abstract concept, he actually exists." He introduced dryly, and the others just shuddered.

"If you understood just how Archmages worked, then I wouldn’t be so quick to throw away that abstract concept distinction." Xavier shrugged and looked around, his gaze pausing briefly on Mia who didn’t say anything, then he spoke.

"Anyway, I heard most of your conversation, and Mia is correct, you lot are in quite the pickle at the moment. At least politically." His words seemed to Sober up the other three, their expressions turning a bit solemn.

That’s when Xander spoke.

"So, you should have heard my earlier question, then?" He asked, and Xavier smiled faintly.

"Correct, you intend to use me as an umbrella for you and your friends. A simple strategy, but I suppose I’m not an Archmage for nothing." He rubbed his chin in thought, and Aubrey, Curtis, and Falael suddenly had a baffling feeling of familiarity, as Xander did the same whenever he was deep in thought.

After a moment, Xavier nodded to himself and spoke.

"I’ll allow it, in fact, I was planning on it to begin with. So it’s no issue." At that, they all let out relieved sighs, and Falael bowed, a large shift from their usual demeanor.

"Your assistance is greatly appreciated, your Excellency." At that, Xavier just waved his hand and sat on the edge of the bed near Xander, and Xander suddenly felt like he was sitting next to a mountain. It was strange. Xavier’s figure was obviously humanoid, but as soon as Xander was near him, it was as though something unfathomably heavy appeared near him.

It wasn’t hostile, though.

"It’s not that absurd. Granted, while i can act as an umbrella and stop certain people from causing problems for you, you still need to do some political navigating one way or another. It can’t be helped, your performances were simply too extraordinary." He leaned forward, fingers intertwining as he continued to speak, no one even having any ideas of interrupting him.

"For this, you need to actually know who you should be wary of. As you know, Solvaren has numerous factions among the upper echelons besides the Royal Family." Everyone nodded slowly at that. While the Royal Family possessed the most influence in the Kingdom, it was widely known that there were numerous other factions with a sizeable amount of power and influence, some being just a bit weaker than the Royal Family.

Xavier looked at Xander.

"The first you need to be wary of, Xander especially, is the Mage Tower, which is headed by my fellow Archmage, Bellion." The name struck a chord within Xander. He suddenly recalled how, upon transmigrating, the first thing he saw was the rejection letter from Bellion Academy, the thing that drove the original Xander to his death.

A look of realization dawned on the faces of the others, and Xander understood why.

The Mage Tower was pretty much the most influential Mage Organization in the Kingdom, but they were also the most traditional in their ways of magic. It was also usually the place graduates from Bellion Academy went to if they were talented or skilled enough.

However, it was also widely known that members of the Mage Tower were hard-core when it came to magic, and more often than not, they were the first ones to condemn paths they deemed as dead paths. It was actually someone from the Mage Tower who wrote a thesis on different paths and why they were ’dead’, and why traditional magic was just inherently superior.

This person was Archmage Bellion himself.

So it made a lot of sense that the Mage Tower would be problematic.

"... Archmage Bellion wouldn’t act personal, would he?" Xander asked with a dubious expression, and Xavier gave a laugh that wasn’t really a laugh.

"Believe me, he would erase you the first chance he got. That guy is so petty its almost sad." He didn’t even hesitate to badmouth his fellow Archmage, and the people in the room suddenly felt a sense of disconnect. Archmages always sounded so distant and untouchable, so seeing one so casually speak ill of his ’colleague’ was... surreal, to say the least.

Meanwhile, Mia glanced between Xavier and Xander, then she said without even batting an eye.

"You mock him for his pettiness, but the reason Xander exists is because you couldn’t keep it in your pants." The air in the room seemed to freeze.

Aubrey, who had been adjusting her glasses, went rigid like a rock, Curtis buried his face in his hands, and Falael turned to the side, ears twitching.

’... She really went out and said it, huh?’ Xander had stonefaced, because otherwise, he’d have burst out laughing.

Xavier’s brow gave the slightest twitch, and after a moment, he continued like nothing happened.

"The next faction you need to worry about... is the Royal Family itself." The words were so startling that everyone looked up, surprised.

"The Royal Family? Why???" Curtis blurted out, and Xavier just hummed.

"You lot don’t seem to understand just how significant the things you did are," He looked at all of them. "Xander aside, all of you have shown potential to reach the High Mage level, very likely the Quasi-Archmage level, and maybe possibly even become Archmages yourselves. The second and third possibilities means that your value—and consequently danger—rise significantly." He snapped his fingers, and everyone flinched, expecting some spell or another, but nothing happened.

Xavier’s mouth twitched upward, knowing damn well what he did, but he continued.

"The Royal Family is the strongest faction. But if they want to maintain that status, they need to constantly raise their power and influence. And considering your display, it would be shocking if they left you lot alone." He tilted his head slightly. "That said, even among the Royal Family, there are still sub-factions that will individually attempt to recruit you. This includes the different heirs. After all, the battle for the throne is still going on. So don’t be surprised if some prince or princess sends an envoy, or even comes personally, to recruit you." He smiled faintly.

"Knowing them, one of their ’sales pitches’ will be that they can act as a shield against other factions, protecting you and those you are close to." The way he spoke implied that he was familiar with their style of doing things.

Xander suddenly recalled a scene from not long after he Transmigrated, the sight of the carriage with the Royal Family’s emblem that had presumably carried one of the possible heirs to come and gain the support of Xavier. He wondered how that turned out...

"The last main Faction you need to worry about is the Nobility faction." Xavier hummed. "Technically speaking, I am kinda a part of this faction since I am a noble, but I never really liked those guys so eh. Either way they are the ’either you are with me or against me’ type. They will try their best to recruit you lot, but if they fail, they will try their best to hinder you. They are also likely to try and get their children to marry you so you’re tied to them in the scenario that you do join them. And like the Royal Family, they have sub-factions as well." At this point, Xavier paused, then he added.

"I suppose there is one more faction that could be considered a major one." This made the group perk up. As far as they were aware, Xavier had already listed off the major forces that would want to either recruit or hinder them. The only other forces they could think of were the various Merchant organizations, but that didn’t seem likely.

"I’m talking about the Underworld." That gave them a pause. The Underworld?

"... You mean the ’Illegal Underground Market’ Underworld?" Xander asked clarifyingly.

"Correct. Granted, unlike the previously mentioned forces, their approach will be more passive. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, while many make use of their services, no one really likes them either. But the fact they are still standing is a testament to their ability, so they certainly aren’t weak. Chances are that they will try to appear to you in hidden areas or send inconspicuous messages. It’s highly unlikely that they will try to cause you problems, though." When he finished, everyone turned contemplative.

Aubrey then asked.

"... Do we have to join any of these factions?" Her tone made it clear that she wasn’t keen on doing such, and the others shared the sentiment.

"Nah. Some will try to make your lives harder, but there’s only so much they can do with me here." Xavier shook his head.

Xander spoke up then.

"So, other than you, how many Archmages will be involved in this?" He asked curiously, and Xavier just gave him an amused look.

"At the moment, 3. Bellion and the 2 from the Royal Family. But even if we do end up butting heads, that’s not an altercation you can look at." He folded his arms. "That said, even if you don’t join any faction, things will get weird if you continue to move around on your own, even with my protection." Then he added jokingly.

"Unless you guys wanna work for the Lowell family. I wouldn’t mind, but Xander’s half-siblings will probably be weird about it." Everyone fell silent.

Then Xander scratched his head and looked straight at Xavier.

"What if I just said screw all of them and opened a school that teaches swordsmanship?"

At that, even Xavier’s smile froze.