CelestialShadow
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Chapter 149 - Persona
🕑 Added 2024-04-30 01:13:53 +0000 UTC“Heads,” Adion lied.
“You have improved a lot quicker than I thought,” The Headmaster said with a slight smile.
“Well, I have been practicing a lot,” Adion said, looking down at the coin he held hidden. It showed heads, but Adion had convinced himself that it was tails. It was something he had practiced a lot these past weeks. He always liked to improve, especially so when it could be measured, and progress came quickly.
“Is it enough to get to borrow the book?” Adion asked, looking toward the bookshelf.
The Headmaster's gaze followed Adion’s, and he said, “I did make that promise, didn’t I? Well, I guess it doesn’t hurt. Just remember to balance it with your other studies.”
“I will,” Adion said excitedly. He got up from his seat and went to pull out the book called Ancient Shiora - Through ruins, remains, and records, Shiora’s place in the world during the Age of Wonder.’
It’s been a while since I had something interesting to read.
“How secret is it?” Adion asked.
“Hehe,” The Headmaster chuckled, “It’s about the level a diamond class student wouldn’t have to work too hard to find out about. But it would still cost quite a few credits.”
“I see,” Adion nodded. He had somewhat hoped that it would be something basically only the Headmaster had access to.
Well, I guess I shouldn’t expect too much. But it’s still all new information for me.
Adion put away the book in his bag to bring with him later.
“By the way, how is the research on the Elixir of Life going?” Adion asked.
It had been two weeks since the auction, and Adion had found out that the Alamani family had cooperated with the Academy in obtaining it. Now, the Academy would be able to study it for three years before handing it over to the Alamani family.
Adion had asked why the Academy simply didn’t buy it. He knew it was expensive, but he didn’t think that the Academy would lose out in a battle of wealth even with the Alamani family.
Apparently, the Headmaster could have struggled for it. But he wasn’t the sole leader of Cyalis. There were a lot more members in the Council. Even if he had the most power by far, he couldn’t be too careless. If he had spent that much money, he would have been in an awkward position. Perhaps it would have been worth it if he could obtain it for himself. He was getting old, after all. But that would have caused a great commotion, not only from inside the Academy but outside as well.
The Headmaster wasn’t that desperate for a longer life. He had faith in Adion’s future and that it could lead to him advancing to the Immortal stages. But he couldn’t do that if he did something as stupid as taking the Elixir of Life for himself. It was safer to make a deal to study it and see if they could replicate it.
Adion was relieved when he heard the Headmaster explain it. He would have felt guilty taking so much money from the Headmaster. He could also just give an Elixir of Life to him. Adion didn’t value them all that much. He just had to be stronger first, so that he could deal with the consequences.
If the Academy seems close to discovering something but has to give the elixir up, I might make an anonymous donation. It would be a nice gift not just to the Headmaster but to all of Shiora.
“It’s still far too early,” The Headmaster answered, shaking his head, “Perhaps things would have been a little easier if the elixir was for us to use as we wanted. But it’s not. We have to be careful not to affect it in any way. It makes research a lot harder.”
“That makes sense,” Adion said, nodding.
“Well, we have three years to examine it and do experiments,” The Headmaster said with a light smile, “I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out. Perhaps it’s too much to say we can replicate it exactly. But with so many talented people giving it their all, I’m sure we can at least replicate it to a small degree.”
“I hope it works out,” Adion said sincerely. “By the way, I thought about a question I have about aura.”
“Let’s hear it,” The Headmaster urged Adion to continue.
“Is there a way to hide your aura that makes it seem like you’re someone else?” Adion asked, “I know how to hide my aura, but that would only make it appear as if I’m hiding, but is there a way to do it so you hide while still showing off your aura?”
Adion had thought about this ever since he received his money from the auction. He had already given money to Tib and Perk to buy a mansion in the city. He also hired two Gold mages to guard and train them. It was well within his budget now, and he didn’t want to worry about their safety all the time.
Even if the guards hadn’t taken an Oath to secrecy, they had signed a contract with him. It was far from as secure as an Oath, but it should be somewhat of a deterrence for them to do anything stupid, and it wasn’t like he would let them know anything too secret either. He also had confidence in dealing with them if they betrayed him.
Tib and Perk had already found a place when he brought them the money. And just a few days ago, they bought it. Now, Adion wanted to go visit, but he knew he had to take some precautions.
He thought it was fine to visit them a few times at their inn, he was always careful in not being seen and only met them alone in their room. But he didn’t feel entirely confident in approaching their new mansion in his identity as Adion Remori. He knew there were eyes on him. Even if he had his sphere of space mana, he couldn’t be sure there wasn’t someone spying in the middle of the city.
If someone saw Adion repeatedly enter that mansion, they would begin to question what he was doing there. And once Tib and Perk were ready, and they started working toward bringing Celestial Shadow to work, it would be disastrous if someone could tie it to Adion.
Thus, he planned on making sure everything was completely safe. He bought a room in an apartment building across the road from the new mansion, from which he could teleport to the mansion unseen. He also had his mask he could wear, so people wouldn’t recognize him. But what he was afraid of was that someone would be able to tell it was him from his aura.
If he hid his aura, he would stand out like a sore thumb walking down the street. But if he didn’t hide his aura, it was possible that someone who had a very good aura sense and was familiar with his aura could recognize him.
Thus, he asked the Headmaster if there was any way to make his aura appear different from his usual one.
“Why do you want to know that?” The Headmaster asked curiously.
“I feel like there are a lot of eyes on me these days. I want to figure out a way to avoid potential spies,” Adion answered.
“Looks like you’re starting to think a little,” The Headmaster said with a nod, “Just don’t think this will allow you to act recklessly with Sellitha.”
“I know,” Adion said with an awkward smile, “So, is there a way?”
“There is,” The Headmaster nodded, “Like we have already established many times over, you can’t make your aura show something that is not true. But you already know a trick to work around that, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Adion nodded, “I can convince myself that that a lie is the truth. I thought something similar might be possible on a larger scale. Like I convince myself I’m someone else. But that sounds a bit too fantastical.”
“Well, that is the only way to do it,” The Headmaster said with a slight smile.
“Really? That works? How can I possibly convince myself I’m an entirely different person? And does my aura really reflect that?” Adion questioned.
“In a way,” The Headmaster nodded, “It works better the more you practice it, of course. But it can never be perfect. I doubt you would ever be able to fool your grandfather, for example. Even family members with just some degree of skill in aura would probably recognize your aura no matter how much you convince yourself you’re someone else.”
“That’s fine,” Adion said, “As long as I can fool spies. But I don’t see how it’s possible to convince myself I’m someone else, especially not for any significant amount of time.”
“It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort,” The Headmaster said, “But I’m sure you have already done it to a small degree.”
“I have?” Adion asked.
“In a way,” The Headmaster nodded, “Most people in your class would have become somewhat familiar with your aura right now, but let’s say you go into a fit of rage. You are so angry that you want to kill someone. Your aura would reflect that. Someone with an aura sense like myself would still feel it’s you, just a very angry version of you. But your classmates wouldn’t recognize it with the calm Adion they know. I’m sure you have experienced something similar yourself.”
There might be something to it. I never really try to memorize auras, but I know what the Headmaster says about anger and other strong emotions being reflected in aura. It’s possible I could be fooled by something like that if I don’t know the person well and they hide their identity.
“I’ll give you an example using myself,” The Headmaster said, “I’m sure you are somewhat familiar with my aura, right?”
“I suppose,” Adion nodded.
“Close your eyes and focus on my aura,” The Headmaster instructed, “Tell me when you feel something else.”
Adion did as asked and closed his eyes. He focused on the Headmaster’s aura. It was vast and powerful, as well as somewhat familiar. Adion was far too unskilled to be able to tell anything else, such as mood, from someone as powerful as the Headmaster.
But suddenly, something changed.
This…His aura is completely different now. He is revealing Diamond strength, but it’s not only that. That vague sense of familiarity is entirely gone.
Adion opened his eyes and looked at the Headmaster. He was watching Adion’s reaction with an amused grin.
“This is one of the auras I have under my belt,” The Headmaster revealed, “As for how I do it, it is something I have worked on for a long time. I’m sure there are a lot of ways to go about it, but as for myself, I have always had the habit of daydreaming. What I daydream about can change from day to day and year to year, but sometimes, I like to imagine myself as someone else. What if I never took on the role of Headmaster and instead became a fearless warrior who adventured out in the Outskirts? What if I was a famous scholar born during the Age of Wonder? What if I were the hero in the Primordial story and married the fae princess? With time, I build out these scenarios in my head more and more, and the persona becomes more and more real.
“When I changed my aura just now, I simply believed myself to be that other version of myself. I focused on all aspects of my aura that I know about and can control, and changed them to fit the persona. The rest comes automatically, as my belief gets firm. With that, the sense of familiarity you have with my aura disappears.
“But once again, this is not something that can be perfected. No matter how much you train in this, your soul will retain certain unmistakable and unchangeable characteristics. I suppose you could, in theory, fool even your own grandfather if you knew exactly what parts of your aura he senses familiarity with and manage to hide it from him, but that is impossible.
“Your aura contains everything about you. And I mean everything. You can never understand all of it. What you are doing when you believe yourself to be someone else is, in a way, to put up a smokescreen. The more you manage to convince yourself that you are someone else and the more thoroughly that character has been built up in your head, the thicker the smokescreen becomes.
“That is why this won’t work on anyone with a superior aura sense. They can pierce through that smokescreen and see the real you underneath. This shouldn’t be a problem with a random spy, however. It would take conscious effort to reveal something hidden like that.”
“I need to build up a persona, huh,” Adion mused, “That makes a lot of sense.”
“This is something that will take you a while. In particular, maintaining that persona for hours on end without bringing yourself out of the illusion. And you should always remember that when it comes to aura, you should take everything I say with a grain of salt. I’m only speaking from my own experiences. There might be another more suitable way of doing things for you. I’m just a Pure Soul mage. There is a lot about aura that still eludes me.”
“I understand, Headmaster,” Adion nodded, “Thank you for the advice.”
Adion finished up with his lesson soon after the Headmaster’s little lesson and started heading to his dorm room. It had been a long day, but Adion was excited about getting some practice done in the evening.
I’ll probably need to visit Tib and Perk before I can master this new persona thing. But it should be fine if I only do it a few times. I’ve taken a lot of safety precautions already.
I’ll visit them tomorrow so they don’t get lost on what they need to do going forward. I’ll also visit Grandpa since I don’t have any lessons. I haven’t seen him since the auction. The last time I went to visit, that Bishop Amelia had been there, so I didn’t want to risk her spotting something in my aura. I just hope she didn’t go there to find trouble with Grandpa.
