Reborn With a Magic System

When Ms. Teft disconnected from the rescue team Damion could tell what she was going to say before she actually said it. The look in her eyes told Damion everything. His mother, father and baby sister were dead.

"I'm so sorry Damion," Ms. Teft said hugging Damion tightly as tears flowed down his face.

"What happened? Why weren't they safe in the shelter? Our house wasn't even touched! The shelters are supposed to be safe. I insisted they go to the shelter. It's all my fault."

"No. No Damion. You can't blame yourself. You can't let yourself get caught up in what ifs. The only thing you can do now is move forward and honor their memory."

"They should have been safe. What happened"

"Their shelter was hit by an S Rank attack, and it damaged the protective enchantments. When the surrounding buildings collapsed down on the shelter, it blocked the air vents. Without the protective enchantments to create fresh air, the section your family was trapped in ran out of air."

The explanation left a bitter taste in Damion's mouth. Suffocation. His parents and sister did not die from the S Rank Demonic Beast's attack, but from lack of air. That meant if the rescue teams had been faster. If they had worked harder or faster his parents would still be alive.

"Why didn't the rescue team get to them sooner?" Damion managed to ask as he held back sobs.

"Each shelter is split into multiple sections. Each section is independent, so if one is damaged or compromised, it doesn't result in the entire shelter being lost. The section your family was in was one of the furthest from the main damage, so the rescue teams thought it had only suffered minor damage."

"What happens now?" Damion asked, though he was not entirely sure what he was asking.

"There will be a memorial service in a day or so for everyone that was lost in the beast wave. The council waits to hold it until everyone is accounted for. I am sure we can postpone your meeting with the headmasters until after the memorial."

"What? No. I want to get it out of the way," Damion said as he wiped the tears from his face.

If it was possible to forget everything he would, but he knew that was no real solution, neither was wallowing in doubt and self-pity. That was something he had done when his parents on Earth had died as a young adult resulting in him flunking out of college and never amounting to anything before he died and reincarnated here. This time around, Damion did not intend to fall into the same self-destructive spiral. It would take time, but he knew he would heal. For now he would settle for a distraction.

"Are you sure? It is okay to postpone," Ms. Teft said as she rubbed his arm reassuringly.

"Just tell them I'll go to Silver Spire with you. I don't care about the other academies," Damion said quickly. He really did not care about where he went to school or about anything at this moment. It would be best if he just let Ms. Teft make all his decisions.

"That is very touching Damion, but I was able to negotiate a spot at whichever school you decide to go to. Well, more like they insisted. They didn't want my position to influence which school you choose."

"Does it matter what school I choose? Won't I basically be learning the same things?"

"The basics are all the same. But the unique features of each school are closely guarded secrets," Ms. Teft said gently. "Let me tell you a bit about each of the schools. At least then if asked you can pretend you considered your options."

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"If you think that is best," Damion said half listening. He was not truly interested, but anything was better than letting his mind stay where it was.

"Erythraean Academy is in Rubrum which is the hub of its White Zone. As you might have guessed by Mage Bianco, Erythraean Academy specializes in Light and Holy magic affinities. They have the greatest repository of magic seals for those affinities and as such are the school all prospective healers want to go to."

"How is Mage Bianco related to Theodore?" The S Rank healer had felt hostile to Damion and hearing her name triggered a slight fear response, forcing him to be more alert than he was a moment before.

"Tricia Bianco is Theodore Bianco's aunt."

"Two S Rank talents in one family. Is that common?"

"The Bianco's are a very old magic family and have produced a number of S Rank mages over the ages. They are the most influential family in Rubrum and Tricia or Theodore will likely be the next head of the Erythraean Academy."

"Who is the current head?" Damion asked.

"Tricia and Theodore's grandfather. Eddard Bianco. He is not an S Rank talent but is an S Rank Holy mage in his own right. He has asked Tricia several times to take over the school from him, but so far she has declined and is happy just being a teacher at the school."

"Does Erythraean specialize in any other types of magic other than Holy?" Damion asked.

Holy was a good branch of magic, but he had an Ice affinity. If he did go somewhere other than Silver Spire Magic Academy, it would only make sense if it was somewhere that specialized in Ice magic.

"Spatial affinities. After Light and Holy, they also excel in Spatial affinities, which is why Arica attended there."

"I don't think I want to go to Erythraean Academy. It seems like a place overly reliant on one family, and Mage Bianco doesn't seem to like me."

"And which Mage Bianco is that?"

"The aunt, Tricia. She seemed really upset with me, at how I was trying to kill the Deinosuchus, even though I had never met her before, she was angry with me."

"That has more to do with Theodore than you."

"Huh?" Damion was confused now. He had not seen Theodore in years and while he would not call the two of them friends, they were at least on good terms, or so he thought.

"Do you remember when you were attacked on your first solo mission? The one to kill Aerico."

"You mean my run in with the Falks Guild guys? They never bothered me again after that, so I completely forgot about them."

"They would have never bothered you if it wasn't for Theodore. He offered their guild some much needed help, if they killed you."

"Wait, what?" Damion was confused now. Why would Theodore want to kill him.

"Theodore you see is a spoiled brat and is used to getting everything he wants. He and Arica went to Erythraean together and he was smitten, but she had no interest in a brat like him and while she was always polite to him, she always spurned his advances."

"I still don't see how this relates to me."

"When you three were in a team together, you got along with Arica much better than he ever did and it, well, annoyed him."

"Annoyed him? That is a reason to try have someone killed?" Damion was seething with anger now. "Besides, I was only 15. They were both graduates of the same school and live in the same city. What does his love life have to do with me!"

"I get that you are angry, but this was several years ago and obviously he has stopped."

"Did you make him?"

"I had words with his grandfather. I might not be S Rank, but I still have a fair amount of influence. Eddard was more than happy to set Theodore straight. And since you haven't heard from him since or had more attempts on your life, it is obvious that he got the message."

"But you think attending Erythraean Academy will spark up his jealousy again don't you?"

"It is a possibility. I would hope that he has matured by now, but you never know. Even if he is still angry, I doubt he would do anything other than make your school days difficult."

"And why is that?"

"Because you are too famous now. All three magic academies are fighting over you. Even though you have yet to reach C Rank, you are one of the most famous mages of this generation."

"Famous. Right," Damion said the word as if it was a curse. He'd rather have his family back. "Well Erythraean Academy is off the list. What does Beryl offer?"

"Beryl School of the Mystic Arts," Ms. Teft corrected. "They are touchier than you might think about their name. They specialize in Earth and Wind affinities."

"Wind and Earth. Another two that don't help me at all. Any reason I should consider going or not going to Beryl School of the Mystic Arts?"

"Not particularly. They have a better array of Ice magic spells in their library than Erythraean Academy or Silver Spire, since they once had a strong Ice mage professor. But that was quite a long time ago."

"This leaves me with my original choice, Silver Spire Magic Academy."