"Mage Wells, will you come with me please," an attendant Damion did not recognize said as he approached his dormitory.

"And where is it that you need me to go?" Damion questioned. He was not about follow someone he did not know, even if he was back at the school.

"To the Headmaster's office."

"What does the Headmaster want with me?" Damion asked. He was sure it was to review his dungeon run and receive his grade for the Wilderness Survival exam. Usually, a summons would be sent by message to his tablet. Not by an attendant just showing up, which made Damion somewhat wary.

"I have not been informed. This way please."

Damion chose not to give the attendant a hard time. He knew the way to the faculty offices. If the attendant tried to lead him somewhere else, he would just go to the Headmaster's office directly.

As they made their way through the central spire of the school, Damion realized his worries were unfounded. The attendant led Damion, and Phil since the Snow Hawk was resting on his shoulder, to the Headmaster's office without delay.

"Mage Wells, come in, come in," Headmaster Sorin greeted. "I was quite surprised to learn you were able to clear the Holy Forest dungeon."

"I distracted the White Griffin while I sent Phil to destroy the dungeon core," Damion told the Headmaster. That had at least been his plan. In the end it did not work out that way, but the way Damion worded his response resulted in the Headmaster's lie detection artifact not being triggered.

"And how did you fair against the rest of the dungeon's creatures?"

"Just fine. Since the guardian was the only thing B Rank, it was the only threat to me. Phil and I were able to slowly work to clear the entire dungeon. Not a fast clear like I hear some teams go for, but we were methodical."

"Well done. I will let Professor Moretti know you deserve full marks. Do you have your tracking artifact?"

"Oh, yes here you go," Damion said, pretending to take the artifact out of his pocket as he removed it from the Magic System Inventory.

"Did you still want to trade your spoils for points?"

"Not necessary, I went by an artificer shop after leaving the dungeon."

"Not a problem. Not a problem," the Headmaster repeated himself absentmindedly.

The way Headmaster Sorin was speaking, it made Damion feel the man was trying to work up the nerve to ask something. There was no reason he could think of for the Headmaster to suddenly be so nice to him. Unless of course, the old man wanted something.

"Is there anything else, sir?" Damion asked cautiously.

"Actually, yes. I want to make this clear, you are under no suspicion. Your location was confirmed by the exam and your communication tablet activity has proven you made no suspicious calls, but certain parties wish me to inquire anyways."

Now Damion was feeling a bit worried. If the Headmaster was tasked with investigating Damion's movements and communications it could only mean some crime was committed. Of course, he knew he had not broken any laws, or at least none he was aware of, but that did not mean someone else was not trying to frame him.

"May I know why I was looked into at all?" Damion asked. "I have hardly left the school grounds since coming to Silver Spire. I doubt anyone would try to frame me when my whereabouts could so easily be accounted for."

"I suppose you have a right to know," Headmaster Sorin said. "A former acquaintance of yours was murdered, by an Ice affinity spell."

"What! Who?" Damion shouted.

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He could not believe someone he knew had been killed. He had very few friends and since the school did not appear to have been put into lockdown to find the killer, he could only assume it was not someone from school. Was it Ethan? Arica? Perhaps Mage Blythe? Someone taking revenge on him in leu of going after Damion again maybe?

"Theodore Bianco."

"Theodore Bianco?" Damion repeated, confused.

Headmaster Sorin did say former associate, but Mage Bianco had not come to mind at all. Damion had not interacted with the young man in years. It was not until years after Mage Bianco tried to kill him that Damion even came to know he had tried. And given he had not heard of the Holy mage trying anything in years left him to believe their paths were unlikely to ever cross.

"Yes. Theodore Bianco was killed by a tier 4 Ice spell known as Frost Fire," Headmaster Sorin said as he eyed Damion, looking for a reaction.

"The only tier 4 spell I know is Ice Clone, I learned it from the Blanche family a few months ago, after that episode in the labyrinth."

As the Headmaster Sorin eyed Damion, his thumb rubbed on his lie detection ring. The action made him think the man was checking to make sure the ring was working correctly.

"The concern was not that you had done the deed yourself, since we knew for sure where you were," Headmaster Sorin clarified. "The concern was that you had hired someone to do it."

"Why would either be a possibility? Mage Bianco did something stupid, years ago. He never gave me any trouble since, and I didn't even learn he had been the one to try and have me killed until just before I came to Silver Spire. His aunt, despite trying to recruit me to Erythraean Academy was… rather hostile. But I've not had any further issues with their family."

"It seems you are unaware. Well, the episode in the labyrinth, as you called it, may have been his doing as well. However, since I can tell you did not know of his involvement, you had no motive."

"To me, it seems perhaps the Blanche family is to blame," Damion suggested.

"And what would lead you to that conclusion?"

"You said Mage Bianco was killed by an Ice affinity spell. And a tier 4 one at that. There aren't that many people with an Ice affinity and fewer still that would have access to that spell."

"True," Headmaster Sorin agreed. "But there are enough suspects outside of the Blanche family that it seems premature to assign them blame."

"Like me?" Damion asked sarcastically. "The Blanche family is divided. From what I understand, Devon Blanche's death allowed a different faction to take over the family. Devon's branch, unable to blame me, since I acted in self-defense, would logically go after the person who put their precious heir up to it."

"I can follow your reasoning," Headmaster Sorin said.

The use of an Ice affinity spell, and a high tier one at that, strongly pointed to the Blanche family. They had the means, motive and likely opportunity. The Blanche family, like the Bianco family, was part of the Rubrum White Zone. Even if Damion could have secretly sent a message and arranged an assassination, he did not know the spell, which meant some other Ice affinity person had to have done the deed. If that was the case, it was virtually impossible for Mage Wells to have coordinated the plot, he simply did not have any contacts that could pull it off.

"Thank you for your time, Mage Wells. You may return to your dormitory. I am sure you are in need of a good rest. Since you still have a couple of days before your normal classes resume, I suggest you use the time to brush up on any assignments you may have due."

"One question, Headmaster," Damion said before leaving.

"Go ahead."

"Being an Ice mage, I'm curious about this Frost Fire spell you mentioned. I'm not familiar with it. Is it a spell in the school's Repository?"

"It is. However, the spell is restricted."

"What does that mean?"

"Restricted spells are those that are too dangerous for most people to wield. Frost Fire, has the potential to kill its caster."

"How is that even possible?" Damion questioned. Everyone knew that their own mana could not hurt them. Sure, he could take his Ice Sword and stab himself in the gut with it, but aside from an intentional act like that, a spell could not hurt its caster unless there was some sort of backlash.

"There are three ways a spell may harm its caster," Headmaster Sorin explained. "The first is of course backlash. Not properly casting the spell can result in harming oneself in a multitude of ways, of which I am sure you are aware. The other is intent. If you want to hurt yourself with your magic you can will your magic to harm you. The third, is accidental."

"Accidental?" Damion asked in disbelief.

"With most spells this does not happen, but with volatile spells it can. You see Frost Fire creates a flame of ice that both freezes and consumes. Its contradictory nature makes it an extremely hard spell to control, and it is possible for a mage to harm themselves if their control over the flames they summoned is lacking."

"Since it is a type of flame, can Fire mages learn the spell as well?"

"No. Despite its name, Frost Fire is a true Ice spell, there is no Fire element present in it. The name is more to describe the appearance and behavior of the spell. It looks like fire, but it freezes things. Once a target is frozen, the target is consumed, which allows for the ice to expand. Freezing a larger area and consuming everything inside to expand further."

"Such a powerful spell. I suppose it will be a long while before I am ready for something like that. I guess I will be going then," Damion said as he and Phil left the Headmaster's office.

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