I Can Turn You Into Gold

Silver sighed. After that theory exam, his eyes hurt and he was far too tired. He wanted to just curl up in his bed and rest for two hours until it was time for the practical exam.

He arrived at his palace, which looked identical to the one Rachel and the others were staying in, and prepared to enter.

Near the entrance, a suit of armor was stationed, unmoving.

Strangely, he felt a strange wind blowing against his back, then heard the sound of mana dispersing. Turning around, he saw Rachel standing behind him with a smirk that he could only describe as malicious.

The suit of armor also noticed, but it did not move. Back in the assembly hall, Sir Thornwel was looking at this scene with interest.

"Silver, was it?" Rachel asked this while also beginning to approach him, greatly unnerving Silver and causing him to take a step back. Uncertainty and suspicion flashed in his silver eyes; he was instantly on edge.

He nodded, and she flashed her canines in a most villainous smile.

"That's funny, and kind of ironic."

"Why," Silver scoffed, "cause my hair's blue?"

Rachel chuckled and shook her head. "Not at all."

She was a few feet away from him, but she stopped and folded her arms directly under her breasts, pushing them up a bit. Thanks to the crop top's design, that only made them more noticeable. However, Silver didn't look away from her eyes, and that only made Rachel smile wider.

"It's funny cause your name is Silver, yet you aren't even worthy of second place. It's ironic because you may be 'silver' now but, if you become my retainer, I can whip you into shape. I can turn you into the finest gold in all the world."

When Silver heard her say this, he snorted and turned around. "You may be something where you come from, but don't assume everyone is as shallow and inexperienced as Ferdinand." He began leaving, but stopped when he felt a strange motion in the wind.

It felt like ...something was coming right at him!

He turned around, barely able to catch a glimpse of a giant rock projectile. He cast an immediate short range transfer spell, teleporting just a few meters away from his initial location. The rock ended up smashing into and decimating a nearby tree. When he looked at Rachel again, her arms were still folded but a large portion of the earth around her was torn out.

She had used it to attack him with.

"What's your problem!?"

Rachel tilted her head to the side and giggled. "I'm bored. Plus I don't like being doubted."

Rachel moved her arm and another piece of the earth arose to heed her command. This time, the rock was compressed by an insane amount of force, causing it to take the shape of a long spike.

She flicked her finger, and the spike shot toward Silver, aimed at his chest.

"Tch!" Silver had only a moment to act, but this was more than enough time.

He clapped his hands together in a lightning-fast motion, causing a thunderous sound to fill the entire space. An endless amount of silver-tinged blue mana was generated, becoming waves of power that forced the spike to stop in place.

"A pure mana force attack?" Sir Thornwel, on his floating chair, muttered those words.

Silver then immediately followed that action up by slamming one hand on the ground, producing another wave of mana that slammed the stone spike into the earth and shattered it.

Rachel giggled with her arms folded, then started to get closer to him.

"You know, Silver," she closed her eyes and shook her head.

Silver saw this as an opportunity and immediately took it. His hands both made grabbing motions, and even more mana poured out of him. A powerful force took hold of Rachel, trying to bring her to a halt and force her to the floor.

Feeling the immensity of that force, Rachel had to admit that Silver was incredibly talented. However...

Silver gasped in shock and abject horror. Despite the full force of his mana-attack on her teenage body, Rachel continued walking unhindered toward him. Worse yet, that villainous smile was warping into something far more cruel.

"Mana is meant to be used as fuel. That's cause, on it's own, it's nothing more than a natural force- energy. All energy can be negated."

With Rachel being much closer, Silver could see faint traces of a transparent shield around her. It was in a constant affront against his mana, preventing it from reaching her body in the first place.

"TOTAL MANA NULLIFICATION!?" This time, in the assembly hall, the quiet was disrupted by Sir Thornwel's incredulous shout. He hurriedly apologized to the students and cleared his throat.

Silver cancelled his attack, realizing that he could not win.

"Why do you not cast a spell?" Rachel asked him this, but for some reason he felt like she already knew the answer.

Something about that look in her white eyes made him think that she was in absolute control of the situation- and that there was nothing that could escape her sight.

"It's got nothing to do with you, and I mean that. Talking about it isn't good for either of us."

When she heard that, she frowned.

In that moment, Silver saw one of her eyes turn to a shade of otherworldy gold. Looking at it temporarily ensnared his soul, and he was at a loss.

"Curse magic is psychotic tomfoolery; I've seen only a few people make proper use of it."

Silver heard this, and the words repeated in his subconscious, allowing him to snap out of his trance. Still in a daze and blinking rapidly, he asked, "How did you know?"

Rachel noticed that Silver was desperately trying to avoid looking her in the eye, so she assumed that her eyes had shifted their color again. She closed her eyes and cast her mind's eye on herself, seeing that only one of them had turned.

The hue was the exact same as Razalith's eyes but, while she was looking, it reverted to white. It was peculiar, to say the least.

"Silver, there is very little that I do not know- a fact you will come to understand if you make the right choice. Become my retainer, and I will rid you of the foolishness plaguing you."

Silver took a short breath and muttered a word, but he closed his mouth and did not speak it out loud.

After a short period of thought, he shook his head. "Your retainer? And what would that entail?"

Rachel spread her arms and chuckled, "Total subservience, of course. All you are will belong to me, and my every wish will be a command you cannot ignore."

"Of course, you are far too mediocre in your current state. That is why I offer to rectify your problems, if you would only profess yourself my eternal servant."

A bit of Razalith started to leak out in Rachel's tone, but it served the situation well.

"I'm sorry, but that seems like a deal with the Devil to me. I'd essentially be giving my life to you- my soul-"

"A deal with the Devil is exactly what it is. Oh, whatever. Give it time, Silver. I will place this mark on you for now. After you pass the practical exam, I will find you again."

Rachel had already disappeared by the time her last words fell, and Silver saw a strip of paper flying toward him. It attached itself to his right hand, where it came to life with shiny writing: "You belong to me."

Seeing that, Silver immediately tried to tear the paper off. He could not, but this did not discourage him from trying.

Eventually sighing in defeat, Silver went in search of the rest he had come for.

...

I wonder, while walking to my palace, why my eyes continue to shift into gold. I am never aware of when it happens since there is no change that I can feel. However, it is instantly noticeable.

Also, Silver seemed to be lost in my eyes for a while there.

I am disturbed from thinking by the sound of teleportation. Cake and Arthur have arrived at the same time.

"Rachel," they both call to me. Cake is still all happy-go-lucky, but Arthur looks beat.

"Took you two long enough. Come, let's eat."

Both of them seem excited to hear that, and Arthur is suddenly in much higher spirits. His speed quickens and he says, "In that case, Rachel, how about some of those lovely tarts?"

"Tarts? What's a 'tarts?' Does it taste good?" Fides laughs at Cake's clueless expression from within the pocket of her dress. Cake blushes and laughs embarrassedly, then follows Arthur inside.

I am about to go in, but I stop when I hear Red-Eye's voice from within the nearby puppet.

"Just who are you? How can you easily cast Top-tier spells like Magic Nullification?"

I smirk and place a hand on my hip, facing the puppet and looking directly at Red-Eye.

"I'm Rachel Vahn. As for the rest..."

"You'll have to see for yourself."

I turn around and leave, despite Red-Eye calling to me. I know now that I have him right where I want him; he will only place more attention on me.

The more he focuses on me, the less he will understand. The less he understands, the more desperately he'll go in search of those that will.

From there, the cycle will only continue. It will continue until I am known throughout the world.

Then, and only then, can my work truly begin.