The Impossible Virgin Omega Wizard

The Council (Part 1)

Yoo Jin gazed at the alphas before them, five in total, three of them were wrinkled and two still smooth. Each of them wore extravagant garbs of different colors decorated with delicate gold designs that Yoo Jin could only assume were also from the Silla period.

Not a single one smiled as they stared down at him atop their high podiums.

"An omega wizard, you say," said the alpha in blue who sat in the left middle seat of the group. His hair was gray but the wrinkles upon his face were still minimal and not a single laugh line could be seen.

"Impossible," said another, a portly man who wore yellow robes and whose angular face stood in direct contrast to his soft body. "That is a privilege bestowed only upon alphas."

"Now, now," said the alpha right next to him, whose robes were orange and whose expression, though smiling, seemed to hint at an underlying disgust. "There have been many cases that humanity believed to be true only to be proven wrong with new evidence. A weak omega being a Saerim may not be within the reach of improbability."

"Rut minded fools controlling mana would be useless in their hands."

"Why don't we let Tae Hyun speak first before we start questioning those claims," said the man who spoke first.

Yoo Jin turned to him. He didn't quite understand exactly who these people were. Tae Hyun, notoriously bad at explanations, had simply said that they were 'The Council', which acted like the principals of the Academy. It meant that they were responsible for major decisions for the Academy. What those decisions entailed, Yoo Jin did not know and Tae Hyun did not expound on but it was immediately evident that these were the people who would decide whether or not Yoo Jin would be allowed to enroll.

"Why not simply have him as your omega, Tae Hyun?" said the man in yellow garbs. "You have still to pair with one from what I hear. If what you say is true then an omega like this will probably be valuable in your attempts at re-controlling your mana."

"Whether or not he becomes my omega has nothing to do with this request that I brought before you," he replied in a cold tone.

Yoo Jin peered sideways at him curiously.

"No?" said the man in orange. "If it is simply that he wishes to become a hunter, why go through the hardships of training and the examination when he can join you on your hunts as your omega or even a healer? Some omegas make excellent healers."

"His manifestation is significant. If you've read the report Doctor Yoon sent you –"

"Yes, yes, we have the document here," said the alpha in yellow as he carelessly waved about a piece of paper. "It said he punched–" he then paused and placed the paper back down, peering at it carefully, "It says that this omega punched a hole in a foot of concrete and the doctor even ventures to say that he may be the one responsible for the breach in a dungeon wall." He looked to the left and then to the right to his fellow councilmen. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

"Hmm," said the alpha who sat immediately to the left of the man in blue. He wore red robes. "It is simply speculation, is it not?"

Yoo Jin saw Tae Hyun's eyes narrow into a glare. "Is the Council doubting Doctor Yoon's assessment?"

"Of course not," the man in red replied, his voice silky smooth. "I am simply saying that since there is no definitive proof, we cannot be certain if this omega's mana burst, if it was in fact his, was the cause of that hole or the wall break."

"Then put him into the Academy to assess his potential," said Tae Hyun.

"What a ridiculous notion," said the man in yellow with a loud, boisterous laugh. "An omega attend the Academy?"

"Enough, Jo," said the man in blue. He then turned back to Tae Hyun. "On what basis do you have for suggesting he enter the Academy? As you are aware, not all Saerim become students here. Having an omega become a student is unprecedented and breaking with tradition and who knows just what type of liability it may pose on the existing students."

It?

"Tradition has nothing to do with it. If an omega Saerim is unprecedented then that means we have no tradition to go by. It is pointless to argue that."

"Watch how you speak to a Councilman," the alpha in red said calmly, coldly and Yoo Jin felt a brief chill run down his spine as the man turned and his eyes, full of disdain, met his.

"Tae Hyun, we cannot outright reject your request–" the blue councilman continued.

"Because of your family's influence," the alpha in red added quietly.

Yoo Jin turned to look at the man. His thin bearded face was full of unhidden contempt. Despite what Dr. Yoon had said, it seemed as though not everyone respected Tae Hyun for the wizard he was. He turned his gaze to Tae Hyun and saw that he wore an emotionless, unfazed expression. Yoo Jin paused, feeling a bit unsteady. It was too unlike this alpha to be so calm.

"Then let him attend as a trial student and you'll see just how powerful his mana –"

"Enough!" said the alpha in orange loudly. "An omega Saerim is a ridiculous concept and we shouldn't even be entertaining such a request."

"What do you think, Chief Tak?" interrupted the alpha in blue suddenly and it was then that Yoo Jin noticed an immense energy in the room.

Surprised, he turned around to see the old woman, whose powers he had witnessed yesterday, standing a few feet from the closed door. She hobbled forward, her hands clasped behind her back. As she passed, her eyes briefly met his and Yoo Jin was startled at the clarity within them.

"An omega Saerim," said Chief Tak slowly as she stopped in front of their podiums. "It is certainly an unusual case."

She looked at all the individual council members in turn and Yoo Jin couldn't help but notice the discomfort some of them seem to exhibit upon meeting her gaze.

"Wouldn't it be prudent to confirm for yourselves if he is in fact a mana wielder?" she said, measuring her words with a slow pace but no one dared to interrupt her. "And if the claim holds true, I would think it would be imperative to study him further. After all, an impossible becoming true is a case worth investigating."

"But" said the councilman in orange "letting an omega attend the Academy could cause strife among students, many of whom are stressed enough with their training. To add an unpaired omega atop that would be–"

"Think of the prestige of the Academy!" Jo, the man in the yellow robes, yelled. "We are known in the alpha world as an alpha only institution if word got out to these students' parents or –"

"You asked me for my opinion," Chief Tak said, her soft words immediately cutting theirs short.

"You think it might mean something?" asked the alpha in blue. "An omega emerging as a Waerim.... But omegas are weak so even if they do have mana control, their power will likely reflect that."

Chief Tak's reply was slow as she turned and met Yoo Jin's gaze again. "As of now, we know nothing."

"Then what do you propose we do? Enter him into the Academy and throw everything into disarray?" replied Jo, recovering quickly from his previous silencing.

"If we insist on going this route," said the red councilman and others all turned their eyes to him, "why not just have him enter the examination? If he survives then we will accept him into the Academy."

"What?" said Tae Hyun, who had been silent since Chief Tak's entrance. "Students who take the exams have a year's worth of training before being administered and you plan to send him in without so much as knowing how to wield his mana?"

The councilman shrugged. "I agree with Master Jo, simply accepting him into the Academy is inadvisable. If this omega survives then we can at least use that to justify our decision to the stakeholders."

He turned to Yoo Jin and smiled an affectionless smile. It was the first time any of the councilmen spoke to him directly. "Otherwise, you can always become a healer or... what's better suited to an omega than becoming an alpha's pair?"

"I'll do it," said Yoo Jin, slowly, not missing a beat and meeting the councilman's gaze head on. "I'll take the exam."