About twenty minutes had passed since the conclusion of the Dragonborn boy's third, and final, professional license exam, which left him an achievement of having three B-grade or higher professions simultaneously before the age of twenty, the first of such in over five centuries. On top of that, of the previous holders, he was the youngest by five years. Technically, this achievement is a profession-centred one, but it would not count as a Professional Accomplishment, as it did not do anything to improve technology or society in any significant way.
Presently, Luca was being given a deep, meaningful stare from the Head Guildmaster, who had just arrived prior to him, which, like most of the locations where damage was high, had simulation arrays and self-repair arrays, just in case the simulation was incapable of fully handling the power of the spells. The reason he was receiving this stare was because of the three new headaches he'd caused to Elizabeth Tudor: Grandmaster Alchemist Edgewick barging into her office, Grandmaster Enchanter Runette's earlier conversation, and Grandmaster Array Specialist Athers' rather blunt request for assistance with attaining compendiums from the boy. All of these were for the same reason, generally: Luca, with the unseen and unknown assistance of the System, was a horrifyingly brilliant genius.
As it only took five minutes to cross from the Array Specialist License exam room and the training hall, the leftover fifteen minutes between his arrival and now consisted of a long lecture from the Head Guildmaster, who made sure to thoroughly grill him on the significance of his actions. With just the three license exams he'd taken now, three of the most significant magic-based professional guilds would completely support him in the future. While their assistance did not have the same overwhelming support of one of the Mages Guild, one of the four major guilds, it was already approximate to having the support of 30-40% of the Mages Guild's prominent figures.
Of course, that alone was not enough to truly trouble her. What set her off totally, on the other hand, was the necessity for memory-based materials for Luca's compendiums. As these substances were uncommon to find, they were quite expensive. For example, to create a memory jade slip, an A-grade Alchemist and an A-grade Enchanter were required, as certain materials needed runes added to them during the alchemic process and could cost up to one full platinum coin: one white gold coin per professional and eight for the materials. Thanks to the two millennia that it had existed, the Mages Guild possesses an enormous stockpile, so five of the aforementioned eight white gold coins for the materials could be written off. As for the two white gold coins set aside for the professionals that were responsible for the necessary production process, both Grandmasters Edgewick and Runette would easily refuse it, as the significance of Luca's revisions outclassed money by an enormous margin. The remaining three white gold coins would end up being split among three major forces: the underground Dwarven empire of Kharnboldohr's seven major clans, the Circle of Druids (a unique High Elf only Mage subclass) in Cyelume, and the royal family of the Valarion Kingdom.
While the Mages Guild Headquarters had an enormous budget due to the span of its branches and subsequent responsibilities, it had a set maximum per year based on its income for the previous year. As it had managed to collect a total that was just shy of a full platinum coin last year, the present budget of the Mages Guild Headquarters was one platinum coin. Just the appearance of this one Dragonborn boy and his brilliance had suddenly taken 30% of that and basically chucked it to other people. If not for her instincts, and the constant assurances of it being not only a great trade but one that could easily make that money back tenfold or more from her colleagues, Elizabeth Tudor likely would have exploded, figuratively or literally.
Having completed her tirade of words that could questionably be taken as verbal abuse, the Head Guildmaster had calmed down significantly. Half of her rant had been that of a superior towards a subordinate and half had been that of a concerned teacher towards a student, forming a very strange mental image when one tried to describe it. "Now then, since I'm going to have to do a lot of negotiating with two major powers, we can't have a lengthy duel so that I can fully understand your abilities. Instead, we shall make this mock duel into a Mage's version of a simulated combat duel. We will simulate identical gear that will only do two things aside from its base form: grey robes that will turn red in places struck by a spell or attack and a wand to cast said spells. Points will be given based on the severity of the hit in terms of location, power and effect, along with strategies used, after the duel. Wounds that do not impact one's abilities to a certain degree are ignored, while ones that do will be worth one point. Two points are awarded for vital point strikes or well-planned strategies. Three points only appear for instant victories. A victory counts as fifty points, so the winner has a significant advantage."
"How long will this duel last, since we need to rush it a little? Also, are there any major rules to cover?" Being the cause of the problem from the get-go, Luca was understandably sheepish.
"It will go for thirty minutes or until one of us is defeated, depending on which comes first. As for major rules, the usage of taboo magic, such as those of the Sacrificers, external assistance other than those of familiars, non-soul- or life-bound items, and alchemic products cannot be used. Of course, your familiar's case is unique, so we must have him remain a spectator. As a concession, my own familiar will remain a neutral party." Elizabeth's familiar was a powerful B-class Cyclone Goshawk, a rare avian magical creature with the two elemental attributes of Wind and Thunder, a companion she had raised from an egg as a child. The combination of the Tudor Destroyer's overwhelming firepower, pun intended, and her familiar's excellent Dual-Elemental control, she had once, when she was about 30, successfully challenged and defeated the strongest Fire-specialized Dark Faction Mage of her generation, a member of one of the three Dark Elven royal families, Feldis Lightbane of the Lightbane Royal Family. This was the final accomplishment of her early career that secured her position as the newest Archmage of Fire following her predecessor's retirement upon becoming a centenarian.