Chapter 121: His Stolen Catalyst

Lucian stood in the dark corridor outside the academy infirmary.

He dropped his mana signature to zero and erased his physical presence.

The night guard sat on a wooden stool near the entrance and snored with his chin resting on his chest.

Lucian bypassed the guard and stepped into the medical supply room.

He pulled his metal lockpicks from his belt.

He inserted the tension wrench into the iron keyhole of the main medicine cabinet and manipulated the internal tumblers.

The lock clicked and the glass door swung open.

He reached past the bandages and the standard healing tonics.

He found a small glass vial hidden in the back corner.

Lucian grabbed the vial, closed the cabinet door, and walked out of the infirmary, all while making no sound on the stone floor.

He descended the stairs to the East Basement and entered the Inscription workshop.

Raziel and Zorya waited at the large wooden table.

Lucian pulled the vial from his pocket and placed it on the wood.

Zorya picked up the glass and inspected the silver liquid.

She uncorked the vial and tipped it over a blank stone slate.

A single drop of the thick substance fell onto the rock.

The silver liquid moved on its own.

It etched geometric lines into the stone surface and carved a complex runic sequence without anyone channeling mana or directing the shape.

Zorya dropped her charcoal pencil.

She stared at the self-drawing runes.

“An automated command sequence,” Zorya said. “It overrides existing containment seals and forces dormant magical architecture to wake up.”

Raziel looked at the glowing symbols on the slate.

He understood Angelina’s plan.

She wanted to bypass the academy’s internal defenses during the Ascension Tournament.

She needed the liquid to trigger a massive event while the Exarchs focused on the novices in the arena.

“We cannot give this to her,” Lucian crossed his arms over his chest. “She will destroy the academy.”

“We must give her something,” Raziel replied.

“She will expose my corrupted core to Elector Mordecai and the Inquisition will execute me before sunrise.”

Raziel pulled an empty glass vial from Zorya’s supply shelf.

He placed it on the table next to the original artifact.

“We build a forgery,” Raziel stated.

He raised his right hand and channeled his Umbral Paragon core.

He pulled the gold and black energy to his index finger.

He reached into the empty glass vial and drew a tiny, condensed tracking rune on the inside bottom of the glass.

The dark veins pulsed and the biological eye formed in the center of the geometric shape.

He masked the entire rune with a drop of standard blue ink to hide the corruption.

“Pour one tenth of the silver liquid into the fake vial,” Raziel ordered. “Fill the rest with standard mana water.”

Zorya executed the measurements.

She mixed the liquids and corked the forged vial.

The diluted mixture maintained the exact same visual glow and magical resonance as the original artifact.

“The tracking rune sleeps inside the liquid,” Raziel explained and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“When Angelina breaks the glass to use the catalyst, the Umbral energy will activate. I will feel the exact geographic location of the spell.”

Lucian grabbed the forged vial and nodded. “I will make the drop.”

Lucian left the basement and walked to the western courtyard.

He found the stone gargoyle near the perimeter wall.

He crouched down, moved the loose cobblestone, and placed the fake vial in the dirt hole.

He replaced the stone and returned to his dormitory to sleep.

***

The sun set over the academy the next day and Father Marius stood in the exact center of the main courtyard and unrolled a long parchment scroll to read the instructions.

“Phase Two requires teamwork and practical application,”

Marius announced to the assembled novices.

“Each assigned team will enter the Founder’s Wing on the third floor of the north building, navigate the environmental traps, locate the specific evaluation artifact, and bring it back to the judging panel before the hourglass runs out.”

The instructors kept the Founder’s Wing completely sealed for decades.

“Team Seven,” Marius called out and glared directly at Raziel.

“Proceed to the starting line immediately.”

Raziel walked forward and stood in front of the heavy iron gates leading into the north building.

Gideon stepped up next to him without saying a single word to his teammate.

Oswyn joined them and started reciting a loud prayer of protection, keeping his hands clasped together and his eyes shut.

“May Zhalyr guide our steps through the darkness and shield our fragile bodies from the hidden traps,” Oswyn chanted and raised his face to the sky.

“Save your breath for the actual test,” Gideon grumbled and cracked his knuckles.

Brother Thomas stood near the heavy iron gate and held up a small glass hourglass filled with red sand.

He flipped it over and the red sand started pouring into the bottom chamber.

“Begin,” Thomas ordered.

Raziel pushed the iron gate open and stepped into the dark corridor of the Founder’s Wing.

Gideon followed right behind him.

Oswyn brought up the rear while continuing his loud prayers without pausing.

The air inside the corridor smelled stale and a thick layer of dust covered the stone floor, showing no footprints from any previous teams.

The tension in the group was clear.

Gideon refused to look at Raziel and Oswyn’s constant chanting made tactical stealth impossible.

Raziel took the lead by default because he possessed the only tactical mindset in the group.

They reached the end of the first long hallway and found their initial obstacle.

A solid door stood closed and a complex seal glowed in the exact center of the wood with a blue light.

Oswyn stepped forward and raised his hands. “I will shatter the barrier with the holy word of the Goddess!”

He inhaled and unleashed a massive blast of amplified sound.

The blue seal flared and absorbed the sound without breaking or cracking the geometric lines.

Oswyn stepped back and gasped for air. “My faith requires more spiritual focus.”

“Move aside,” Gideon grunted and shoved the Orator out of the way.

Gideon channeled his mana into his right arm and activated his Gift of Amplified Strength.

His muscles bulged under his tunic and he threw a massive physical punch at the center.

BAM!

The magical barrier repelled the physical strike and sent a shockwave back up Gideon’s arm.

Gideon cursed and grabbed his wrist and stepped back.

His knuckles bled and the wooden door remained intact on its hinges.

Raziel walked up to the door and inspected the glowing geometric lines.

He recognized the exact geometric structure from his brutal training sessions with Zorya in the basement.

It represented a third-level kinetic reflection seal and the instructors reserved third-level seals for final-year Paladin exams.

They never used them for basic novice evaluations because novices lacked the mana capacity to break them.

Someone manually increased the difficulty level for Team Seven and Marius wanted them to fail the test right at the starting line.

Raziel raised his right hand and channeled pure blue mana to his fingertips instead of using his Umbral energy.

He needed to hide his true core because Oswyn would report the anomaly.

He used the standard runic theory he learned from Zorya and traced a specific counter-sequence.

He targeted the structural anchor points of the seal and reversed the mana flow to destabilize the magic.

The blue light flickered twice and died.

CLICK.

The heavy door swung open and revealed the next dark corridor.

Raziel lowered his hand and stepped through the doorway without hesitating.

Oswyn stared at the open door with his mouth hanging wide open and stopped praying.

Gideon grabbed his injured wrist and looked at Raziel angry, but he also showed a little surprise.

“How did you do that?” Gideon asked.

“Inscription,” Raziel answered and kept walking down the hall.

“Since when do you know Inscription?” Gideon pressed him and followed behind.

“Since I decided I wanted to survive,” Raziel stated and checked the floor for pressure traps.

Gideon didn’t ask any more questions or offer any more insults.

He walked through the doorway and stepped behind Raziel instead of walking beside him.

He did it out of practical common sense because Raziel possessed the skills to lead and Gideon accepted the follower position to ensure his own survival during the test.

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