65 Paul

"Hey Paul mind if I stay a little longer???..." I asked him

"Sure no worries." He replied propping his pillow behind his back to get more comfortable. "Wassup?????" he asked.

"If you wanted to sleep I can go...." I replied to him sitting up.

"No no... its alright.... I'm sorry I can't spend more time helping and explaining everything....." He replied looking sincerely sorry.

"It's okay.... I understand you have alot of responsibilities here..." I replied.

"So what did you want to ask?..." He said with a smile.

"Just some stuff about you.....if you don't mine.." I asked.

"Sure no probs ask away." He said still smiling at me.

"Did you know I was coming here?..." I asked.

"No sorry..... I only noticed when I saw your name on the list when choosing students." He replied.

"I see..." I replied.

"So how come you can cast spells without needing a wand or speaking the spell??.." I asked.

"One of my old teachers taught me the secret of Casting without a Focus.... and casting spells without speaking is pretty common in very proficient casters." He answered me

"Ohhh I see... do you think I'll ever get that good???..." I asked a little curious.

"Of course you can.... but wait till you've mastered a few spells first." He smiled.

"Ohhh ohhh by the way is it true that we get sorted into houses??..." I asked.

He chuckled my excitement, "like your favourite book???" he asked.

"Yeah yeah." I nodded impatiently waiting of his answer.

"So we have three 'houses', Phoenix: represents Teamwork and friendship. Dragon: represents cunning and intelligence and finally Kraken: represents power and strength.

"So that means you're in Phoenix right???.." I asked.

"Sadly I'm not..... I'm in Dragon..." he answered.

"But..... Dragon sounds a little evil no?..." I asked.

"You know me I've always wanted to be in that house anyways." He reminded me.

"That is true...." I chuckled, " I still think you're a Phoenix though..." I added.

"You're not wrong I do rely on my friend's alot..." he added.

"What house do you think I'll be in??.." I asked.

"Defiantly a Phoenix." He answered.

"Are your thing to say I'm weak???.." I joked.

"Phoenix doesn't mean you're weak..... Phoenix although doesn't consist of the strongest individuals their bond and friendship is what let them get past the most harshest of situations and get through the most devastating travesties." He explained.

"So Phoenix are the best???..." I asked.

"All of them has their own strength and weaknesses." He explained

"By the way..... I was talking to my friend about ancient magic, because I saw the Deputy Head mistress use one....do you know any??..." I asked.

"Ohhhhh..... Yes she uses ancient magic....I think rune magic" He answered.

"Do you happen to know any???..." I asked.

"Any ancient magic? ....I know a few...." he replied.

"Really??? A few??!!" I asked in shock almost in disbelief.

"Yup my first teacher was extremely proficient in a number of ancient and forbidden magic." He answered.

"Ohh like what?..." I asked.

"You know.... when I told you I can make clones and alter minds, you gave me this look of disgust and fear.... like I was a monster.... It made me hate myself and what I've become." He replied to me his face plastered with pain and guilt unable to look at me again.

"I'm sorry..... I didn't mean to....." I replied quietly feeling guilty for making him feel that way.

"You know I would never do anything to harm you right...." he said quietly.

"I know... "I replied not even knowing what to say to make him feel better....."Thank you by the way.... for helping Jays parents..... Again I'm so sorry.... I should have realized sooner that you're still the same Paul..." I apologized to him.

"..... I'm not exactly the same person..... But I try to be a good person...." He replied.

"I know... I heard you saved a town from a Black dragon." I said.

"Ohhh yeah.... that was what made me famous...." He said.

"Yeah... people say that Dragons are almost impossible to kill...." I replied.

He chuckled a little, "Is that how the story went?.." he asked.

"Yeah... that's what people have been telling me..." I replied.

"Well.... I'll tell you this secret.... I didn't kill the Black Dragon that was harassing the area, I just gave it a better proposition." He smiled.

"So it was all a lie...?.." I asked.

"I guess so..... I understand why they thought I killed it though...." he answered.

"So are you .... Strong?.." I asked.

"What do you think?.." he asked me in return looking curious at my answer.

"I dunno... But when you held my hand back at the snowy place... I felt ALOT of Arcanum pouring out of you..." I answered.

"Ohhhh nice!!! You already can sense Arcanum?!" He asked with a giant smile.

"I guess?..." I answered kinda unsure.

"It's a good skill.... generally the amount of Arcanum someone has is proportional to their power... so .... If you feel an individual have alot of Arcanum it tends to mean they are strong." He explained.

"But does that mean you're stronger than all the headmasters and headmistresses?.." I asked shocked at the revelation.

"Well... not really.... in their case..... Raw powers doesn't necessarily mean overall strength... Egwene is Ageless... some say she's even immortal... Abbraxsoth is rumoured to be a descendant of a Titan..... And Hanna in terms of Arcanum she's probably the weakest but no one really knows what sort of technologies she has in Aspa if needed to get her hands dirty." He explained.

"So what sort of Ancient and forbidden magic do you know?...I promise I won't do that face again..." I asked honestly adjusting myself to sit more comfortably on his bed.

"The only other people who know this is Ashley, Scarlet and the Headmaster so you have to promise me that you can't tell anyone..." He replied.

"I promise." I promised him in return.

"Well my arsenal of spell is quite vast..... And I have never used any so far..... But similar to the Deputy Headmistress I can use Runic Magic... but I also have a very strong Offensive version of it. Another extremely powerful one.... is I can create a Null-field.....-" He explained

"Null field?.." I interrupted him.

"So I can essentially instantaneously make a zone around me... we haven't measured its distance yet but it nullifies everything that utilities Arcanaum within it." He explained.

"So like an EMP?.." I asked.

"Yeah like a lasting EMP for Arcanum.... so it will disable individuals from using Arcanum... even golems won't operate.... but I'm unaffected so they will be hugely disadvantaged." He explained.

"Okay that sounds ridiculous." I replied hearing him explain it.

"Yeah.... so you can imagine coupling it with my Portaling.... it's pretty much overpowered..." He added.

"So that's why you're known as the strongest..." I replied in understanding.

"Well that was only two of my Ancient and Forbidden Magic... but I've never used them in combat before... people have only ever seen me use Normal magic.... and my Portals." He explained.

"Well your portals alone seem ridiculous..." I added.

"It is... there are some high level spells you can do that does similar effects.... but they aren't as instantaneous as mine..." He explained.

"Do you think I'll be as strong as you?.." I asked him feeling a little hopeful.

"Of course!.... like I said before... everyone has potential... you just need to practice and train." He said explaining to me.

"Do you really think that?.." I asked.

"Of course...like you I started from nothing.... I was just as oblivious about magic as you was..." He replied, his answer giving me a little more hope.

"I Went into the other room and saw loads of weapons and an arena.. Is that your training room?.." I asked.

"Yeah... it's my training room...me and scarlet use it when we want to spar or practice and training." he answered.

"Do you?... know how to use weapons?.." I hesitantly ask not wanting to offend him.

"Of course, why?.." he asked.

"No reason..... Just generally people who use magic only use magic.. in movies and stories.." I answered him.

"That's true.....but I like to practice close combat... an over reliance on Magic and Spells is a weakness in battle.... Imagine if you met someone who can nullify magic... or make a null-field..... You're gonna be screwed." he explained.

"Other people can use Null-fields?.. " I asked in shock.

"Well strong casters can use counterspells and counter magic..... but the only thing known to use something similar to a Null-field is a creature called a Beholder.... it had many eye stalks each doing something special... one of them being a Null-Cone." He explained.

"Ohhh I see... it must be pretty dangerous...." I said hearing him describe it.

"Ohh yeah..... Don't ever think of fighting one ever!" He warned me.

"Is there anything you might lose to?... it sounds like you're unbeatable... " I asked.

"You think I'm unbeatable?... there are a great deal of monsters of unimaginable Godly levels of power..." He answered me.

"By the way…. what Gods are there in this plane?..." I asked.

"Well... there are a quite alot..... The Pantheon it the main group of 'Good Gods' then there are neutral Gods... and there are also bad ones.... but they dwell in their own plane..... They can't physically manifest themselves here but they can help and have partial influence...." Paul explained.

"How do you know so much?.." I asked.

"My first teacher was very intelligent and knowledgeable, listening in class also helps as well." He joked.