Julian van Thorne lay in the Academy Infirmary. He wasn't injured—healing magic had fixed the paralysis hours ago—but his pride was currently in a full-body cast.
He stared at the stone ceiling. Defeated by a metal stick. Defeated by a Pendelton.
The door creaked open.
"Get out," Julian said without looking. "I don't want visitors. Especially not pity."
"I don't offer pity," a calm voice replied. "I offer employment."
Julian sat up. Arthur stood at the foot of the bed. Zack hovered nervously in the hallway, holding a stack of blueprints.
"You," Julian growled, his hands sparking with small embers. "You cheated. You used a... a gadget."
"I used a high voltage capacitor," Arthur corrected. "And you lost because you spent six seconds chanting a poem while I closed a circuit in zero-point-two seconds."
Arthur threw a rolled-up parchment onto the bed.
"Look at it."
Julian hesitated, then unrolled the paper. It wasn't a spell scroll. It was a diagram. It showed the flow of mana like water through pipes—valves, pressure gates, and the 'Lightning Rod' Arthur had used.
"This is..." Julian squinted. "This is nonsense. Mana doesn't move in straight lines."
"It does if you force it to," Arthur said. "Your father teaches you to ask the mana for help. I teach you how to command it."
Arthur stepped closer, lowering his voice.
"I found something, Julian. In the Sub-Basement. Ancient Atherian machinery. It's powerful. More powerful than anything your father knows. But it's dead. It needs a power source."
"And let me guess," Julian sneered. "Your little glass jars aren't enough?"
"The jars are for toys," Arthur admitted. "To wake up a Titan, I need a nuclear reactor. I need the student with the highest mana density in the Academy."
Arthur extended a hand.
"You honor the bet. You come with me. You provide the raw power. In exchange, I will teach you how to cast a Fireball without chanting."
Julian looked at the hand. He looked at the diagram. The promise of "Silent Casting" was the holy grail of magic. It would make him invincible.
"I am not your servant, Pendelton," Julian said, gripping Arthur's hand. "I am a... Consultant."
"Acceptable," Arthur smirked. "Zack, bring the jumper cables."
End of Chapter 26