Chapter 326: Extremely Efficient But Also Extremely Dangerous
When Lancet’s and Espel’s conversation had ended, Lancet left the corridors with many plans competing for space in his head.
The Golden Barracks should have been the largest thing on his mind.
Two months inside the greatest military encampment in the world, surrounded by elite Awakeners, Kingdom Rangers and every resource humanity could throw at the coming war, was the kind of opportunity most students would beg for.
Instead, Lancet crossed the Academy grounds thinking about the Serpent Society, the Dungeon Gates that were displaying false ranks, the Warning Gates that had not even arrived yet, and the Character Exploration system.
It was obvious that things were starting to change. Fast.
He had to use this time away from school to successfully get a lot of things done and become even better without the constraints of textbooks and academic rules.
It was time to start deploying his Heroines on separate missions.
Thor could deal with the Serpent Society.
Astensia and Kestrel could take on the glitching Dungeons to help local Awakeners all over the world, while he prepared with Spectra for the Warning Gates.
Lancet knew that whatever those Gates brought, Spectra was the best of his summons in handling it. If the next stage of the story was going where Lancet expected, her powers were going to matter more and more.
All of this was the smart move.
There was only one problem.
Grace.
Lancet slowed near one of the covered walkways and looked down at his hand.
Sending one Invoked Summon away was manageable. Sending several into separate battles for a long period of time was another matter entirely. He would be feeding Grace into multiple connections for hours, perhaps days, depending on how far apart they operated and how much power they used.
Naturally, their kills would help by giving him EXP, and his increasing stats could continue raising his Grace Retention.
But retention and absorption were two different things.
Lancet could build himself the largest well in the world. That did not mean rain would fall faster.
His Retention determined how much Grace he could hold. Leveling it up gave him a larger reserve, but once that reserve was empty, he still had to absorb magical energy from the environment, separate the Grace from the Gloom mixed inside it, and refill himself at roughly the same pace as before.
The bigger his capacity became, the more obvious that weakness was going to get. So, one of the most important things now was to learn how to absorb Grace faster.
Lancet stopped. His mind went straight to the only solution he could think of. That technique he saw in the library that he had been putting off for far too long.
The Open Pores Technique.
And once he thought of that, only one person mattered.
Professor Estelle Nightingale.
Lancet changed direction immediately, hurrying to the Enchanter-D classroom in hopes to meet the Empathy Mage and professor before she could leave.
Thankfully, he found her standing beside her desk, arranging several books into a neat stack.
Estelle Nightingale was difficult to overlook even when she was doing nothing.
Her hair, black as a raven, fell over her shoulders, cut through by deep blood-red streaks that looked like blood paint. Her skin was pale and almost unnaturally clear, making the dark red of her lips stand out more sharply.
The gown she wore today was black through the torso and opened into dark crimson below the waist, fitted cleanly enough to show her shape without making her look any less severe.
Lancet stopped near the door and she raised her eyes almost immediately, though the action itself happened in seemingly slow motion.
Professor Estelle had a way she looked at people. As an Empath Mage, she did not need to stare for long before someone started wondering how much of them she had already noticed.
Lancet was already self-conscious as she studied him.
"Lancet."
"Hey, Professor Nightingale." Lancet carefully stepped inside. He closed the door behind him.
Estelle watched him carefully. "What do you need?"
Lancet walked closer to her desk. "Well, do you remember what we talked about with the Open Pores Technique?"
Her hands stopped over the books. "Of course." She gave him a curious but strong look. "We agreed to begin after the Inter-Class Competitions."
"Yeah..." Lancet leaned one hand against the edge of the desk. "About that... I want to ask something weird."
Estelle gave him another curious look. "That does not narrow down the possibilities."
Lancet nearly laughed. "Uhm..." He flexed his fingers, feeling her aura making him even more nervous. "Would you be willing to leave the Academy and train me somewhere else?"
Estelle stared at him.
For the first time since he entered, her expression changed enough to show genuine surprise. "Leave the Academy?"
"Yes."
"To teach you."
"Yes."
She looked at him as though checking whether this was some joke he had failed to deliver correctly. "No."
Lancet blinked. ’That was fast.’
"What a silly request indeed." She continued arranging the very expensive mental magic books. "My duty is here. I am the Instructor of Enchanter-D. I cannot simply abandon my faculty because one student decided his training would be more convenient elsewhere. Even if you are a very promising talent, Lancet Leogardt."
"I didn’t say abandon them."
"You asked me to leave."
"For a while."
Estelle folded her arms. "That changes very little."
Lancet straightened. "What if the leave was sanctioned? By let’s say... the King himself."
Estelle’s eyes narrowed. Lancet continued before she could dismiss it. "What if King Romsgard personally approved your temporary reassignment and put a sub instructor in your place?"
Estelle gave him a stare that showed how surprised she was about this. She could see he was actually being serious and this was some sort of big deal. Perhaps even an opportunity... for her.
She looked away from him and toward the classroom.
The room had already emptied. Several chairs remained pushed back from the desks, and one student had forgotten a notebook near the window.
She remained quiet for several seconds before taking the first crystal sheet back off the stack and placing it into a storage case.
"If the King himself sanctions my reassignment," she said, "then I guess I would have no choice but to join you, will I, Lancet?"
Lancet’s grin returned. "Thank you, Professor."
He turned and hurried toward the door.
Great! The first part was done. Professor Estelle Nightingale was onboard.
Lancet crossed the Academy grounds at a much faster pace than before. The next part was getting permission from the King and the President of KRB.
He had been careful not to tell Professor Estelle anything about the mission in case the King and President Bane said no. But fingers crossed that they wouldn’t.
Lancet returned to the hall and found King Romsgard and President Bane still there, talking to each other. Exela was standing firm like a statue still.
The guards at the entrance recognized him and allowed him through after a brief check. The servants were already gathering documents from the earlier meeting while several royal guards prepared the King’s departure.
Romsgard looked up when Lancet entered. "Lancet. You’re back."
Lancet smiled. "Sorry, Your Majesty."
Danistasia had not left either. Her expression suggested she had personally hoped she was done seeing his face for today.
Ordenance stood near President Bane, discussing something on a crystal sheet.
Lancet approached them. "Excuse me. I wanted to ask for one addition to the Golden Barracks group."
Alistair looked at him, assessing the strange question. "Who?"
"Professor Estelle Nightingale," Lancet replied.
Danistasia raised her brows. "What?"
Ordenance as well was surprised.
Bane folded his arms. "The participants from Awakener Supreme were selected before we came here. Training schedules, housing, security access and deployment categories have already been prepared. Adding another person this late complicates that."
Lancet nodded. "I understand, President Bane."
"Then why ask?" Bane said, sounding a little annoyed at Lancet’s audacity.
"It’s just," Lancet made sure to sound honest, "she can teach me something I need."
Bane paused, then turned fully to face the young Summoner. "And what is that?"
Lancet took a deep breath. "The Open Pores Technique," he replied.
Ordenance almost choked. Danistasia’s eyes narrowed.
Romsgard glanced between them. "I assume I should know what that is."
"An advanced Grace absorption technique," Ordenance said. "Extremely efficient but also extremely dangerous."
Bane’s attention stayed on Lancet as he spoke. "I know of it. I know of every Grace absorption technique during my long journey to discovering strength outside an Awakened Body. It is the most efficient way of absorbing Grace, yes. But most who have tried it found their graves instead."
Lancet gulped. "President Bane. It will be a game changer for me. It will completely change how long I can maintain my Summons."
The idea of that caught everyone’s interest and they fell silent to allow him speak.
Lancet stepped closer. "My Retention keeps increasing as I level up, but that only lets me hold more Grace. It does not make me absorb or separate Grace faster. If I’m expected to use several high-ranked Summons during a war, then recovery becomes one of my biggest limitations."
Bane understood the military value immediately.
Lancet continued. "Estelle Nightingale has mastered the technique. She already agreed to teach me. If she comes to the Golden Barracks, I can train under her while still participating in everything else."
Romsgard rubbed his beard. "And this would allow you to keep more Legends active for longer."
"Yes."
"At the same time?"
"Yes."
That answer interested him even more. The King looked toward Bane. "Can the technique do what he claims?"
Bane nodded, his eyes still set on Lancet. "If he survives learning it properly."
Danistasia stepped closer. "This is a good idea, of course. But surely we can find someone. Estelle has students."
"And so do you," Bane said, looking up at her for a second before returning to Lancet. "Besides, there is not much time. We leave for the Barracks tomorrow."
Danistasia’s stare sharpened. "Of course. Then I suppose there is no reason she can not come with us. Estelle is a powerful Empath Mage from the revered Nightingale family. I’m sure you have Enchanters in the Barracks who could use her knowledge."
Bane agreed. "Indeed. If Professor Nightingale’s presence materially increases Lancet’s ability to deploy his Summons, then her value at the Barracks may exceed her value inside one classroom for the next two months."
Romsgard looked toward Lancet. "You have already spoken to her?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"And she agreed?"
"A long time ago," he shrugged. "She postponed it because she didn’t want to help her defeat her students in the Inter Class Competitions. But now that’s out of the picture for me, there wouldn’t be any problem."
Romsgard turned toward Bane who remained quiet for a moment, clearly running the addition through whatever plans already existed in his head.
Then he nodded. "I can adjust the Barracks roster."
Lancet’s face lit up.
Danistasia looked toward him.
Bane added, "Professor Nightingale will be assigned under training support rather than frontline deployment until further notice."
"That’s fine."
Romsgard gave the final nod. "Then it is settled. Estelle Nightingale joins the Golden Barracks group."
Lancet smiled. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
He looked toward Bane. "And thank you, President Bane."
Alistair returned the thanks with a small nod. Danistasia said nothing.
Lancet claimed another victory.