Beckoning fates, p.18
Beckoning Fates, page 18
“Now, for conjurers, imagine just one gigantic ball of leaves drops into the pool of water. Because it comes from a single location, it may take longer to spread, but in the end, the leaves will still be able to cover the surface of the pool. That is how body enhancement should work for conjurers.” The class remained silent as they opened their eyes and pondered the information.
“The reason all you conjurers injured yourselves while trying to absorb the spell you conjured is because you didn’t use the mana from your core. The only mana you’re completely immune to is what’s been refined in your mana core. Even that, after your mana influences the environment into a spell, can hurt you. Therefore, conjurers need to utilize both mana from the atmosphere and from their mana core for a spell and integrate it into their body, or drop the big pile of leaves to make it spread over the pool of water.” When I finished explaining, I motioned for the students to come down onto the stage and start practicing. For the rest of the class, I went around helping them, giving them little tips on how to better visualize what they needed to do.
When the bell rang, Sylvie stirred awake and hopped on top of my head as I dismissed class. I was surprised to overhear some students grumbling that the class was too short.
I took the long route to my next class to take up more time while I did a broad surveillance. I experimented with sending out very faint pulses of wind, thinking I could use it as a sort of three-dimensional radar, but it proved not to be as useful as I’d thought it would. Earth Pulse was also of little use, since I could only detect the very basics, like how many people were in the area, not whether they were actually in combat. Even worse, the buildings and trees diluted the accuracy.
I arrived late to Gideon’s class, but he just motioned for me to hurry on to my seat and kept talking.
“Hey. Why are you so late?” Emily whispered.
“Disciplinary committee duties. I have to monitor the campus until ten minutes after class starts,” I responded, lowering my voice so Gideon wouldn’t hear.
“All right! Pair up and get to work on your project. The materials are in the back, but don’t all of you go at once.” He took a seat and began reading over something while the students got up to collect the materials needed for the Light-Producing Artifact. I was about to walk over as well when Emily stopped me.
“I already have everything we need. Let’s just get started.” She rummaged through her oversized bag, finding the various necessary components. She laid out all the things we needed, then we got to work.
Building the LPA wasn’t easy, but Emily seemed impressed by how quickly I had caught on. Even if she was only twelve, her praise boosted my ego—her being a genius and all.
We spent the rest of class tinkering around with the various artifact components Emily had brought with her, until Gideon dismissed us.
As I was leaving, he grabbed me by the back of my shirt and pulled me toward him. “Boy. Let’s catch up sometime. We have a lot to talk about.” He gave me a devious grin, but otherwise just patted me on the back.
“Mhmm. We should grab some tea, Professor.” I gave him a wave, then left the room with Emily.
Sylvie thumped my nose with her paw, ‘Papa! You’re not paying attention. Avier wants us to head over to the training room again.’
Is Avier Director Goodsky’s green owl? How can you talk with it? I asked my bond, but she didn’t know either.
“Hey Emily, I have to head over to the library so I’ll be skipping lunch. Go ahead without me.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” she asked, but I just shook my head.
“It’s fine. Go find Elijah for me. He’ll be lonely if I’m not there.” I made a sad puppy-dog face in imitation of Elijah to amuse Emily before running off in the direction of the library and training rooms.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Leywin,” Chloe greeted me with a professional smile and a bow, then motioned me to the back door.
“Nice to see you again, Chloe.” I smiled back and followed behind her with Sylvie on top of my head, wagging her tail.
After passing by the scarred man, I made my way downstairs—without Chloe’s help, this time. I hope Elijah won’t be too bored hanging out with Emily, I sent to Sylvie.
“Kyu.” ‘He’ll be okay,’ my bond reassured me.
Reaching the training room, I placed my right palm against the cold, giant doors, and a bright light once again greeted me.
“Boo!” Tessia jumped out from the side of the door, her hands out wide.
“Hey, Tess,” I responded casually.
“Aww, you weren’t scared. No fun,” she grumbled. Sylvie jumped off my head and into Tess’s arms.
“You’ll have to try a lot better than that. Come on, let’s get started with your assimilation.” I pushed her toward the center of the training room. It was amazing how dense with mana the air in this room was, compared to outside. The fact that there was grass and a waterfall here also put me in awe, despite it being the second time I’d been here.
“How have you been feeling lately? Are you still getting rejection symptoms from your beast will?” I asked as Tess took a seat near the pond.
“I haven’t had any since the last time we were here,” she said, but then became quiet. Finally she looked over her shoulder and stared at me, batting her long gray eyelashes. “Hey, Art?”
“Hmm?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Well, compared to you, I’m so emotional. So I feel like you get overwhelmed and just end up following my selfishness.” Tess’s gaze shifted down as she said this.
“Ah, so you do know,” I replied with a smirk, earning me a smack on the arm. “We’ve known each other for how long, Tess? At this point, you can trust that you’ve seen all sides of me, even the ones I don’t want to show. Even knowing that, you accept me and have patience with me—and I’m grateful,” I looked seriously at the downhearted princess. “Don’t ever think that what I’m doing is out of obligation.”
Both feeling a little better, we began the assimilation. Tess’s mana core had come a long way. Being a solid orange stage conjurer at her age made her somewhat of a prodigy. She wouldn’t be able to refine her mana core until the assimilation was over, but it shouldn’t affect her too much. While mine had taken years, I estimated that with my help, it should only take a few more weeks for her to completely assimilate with the elderwood guardian’s beast will.
When we were done, I patted Tess’s back. “Let’s end it here today.”
“Thanks.” Tess shot me a shy smile as we both sat in the grass, the only sounds coming from the waterfall and Sylvie’s soft breathing.
“I know you said to give you time but… do you think I can maybe hold your hand right now? Just for a bit? If not, it’s okay—I won’t be mad.” Tess averted her gaze to avoid mine. Her bangs covered her face, but she couldn’t hide her red ears poking out.
I gently grabbed Tess’s right hand with my left and squeezed gently. Our fingers weren’t interlocked, but the warmth from her hands spread to mine.
“Is this okay?” I tried to take a peek at Tess’s face but she nodded, quickly turning her head away.
We just sat there for a couple of seconds, hands locked, and time seemed to slow down. It intrigued me that such a simple gesture could fill me with such a sense of calm.
63
Field Trip
For the next several weeks, nothing noteworthy happened, yet I was kept busy enough that I didn’t have time to visit my family. After school and training, disciplinary committee duties took up all my remaining time.
The class I was teaching had a harder time than I’d expected when it came to “divergent training,” as I had decided to call it. The concept of focusing mana into a single point proved to be difficult for all the augmenters in the class, while reabsorbing a conjured spell was an even more arduous task for the conjurers.
So far, out of all the augmenters, only a student named Benson had managed to do anything remotely close to what I had in mind. As for the conjurers, only Kathyln had succeeded in reabsorbing her spell and enhancing her body—but even then, she had only managed to augment her hand. Feyrith was a close second, and he was the only other student on the brink of success.
My Deviant Magic Theory class had been moving along quite slowly; our professor explicitly stated that she would begin covering new material after we had finished our mid-semester tests. A semester was sixteen weeks long and we’d only gone through four weeks of school, so it would be another four weeks before she’d start going over what I wanted to know.
“Are you excited for the class dungeon excursion tomorrow?” Tess leaned in closer to me.
The two of us, along with Sylvie, were in the training room during lunch. I had just finished helping her with assimilation. By my estimate, Tess needed about one or two more weeks to fully assimilate, which worried me because, until then, her magic use would be very limited.
I just shrugged. “Eh, we’re only exploring the first three floors, right? I doubt we’ll find anything worth getting excited over.”
On Saturday, we were to have an overnight trip to the outskirts of the Beast Glades with our Team-Fighting Mechanics class. Professor Glory had received permission from Director Goodsky, on the condition that we were not allowed to go past the third floor of the dungeon we planned on exploring.
The dungeon was a minor one—and a popular site for new adventurers, since the mana beasts in the upper levels were only E-class—so Professor Glory thought it would be a great way for the class to get in some real-life team-fighting mechanics practice.
“Pfft. You’re no fun. I bet you’re actually really nervous that we’ll be in the Beast Glades. I heard about it a lot from Grandpa. He says it’s filled with a lot of mysteries and wonders, but also dangers. Grandpa said to never fully trust any source of information about the Beast Glades, because it always changes.”
Tess seemed to be getting lost in her thoughts, fantasizing about how exciting our short trip was going to be. “We’re going to be fighting against real mana beasts! Can you believe it? I mean, I’ve fought a couple in Elshire Forest while I was training with Grandpa, but I’ve heard mana beasts are different in the Beast Glades. You know—more vicious. We’re going to be sleeping in the dungeon, too. That’s so exciting!” Her eyes sparkled as she imagined camping underground, surrounded by mana beasts.
Giving Tess a soft flick to the forehead, I woke her up from her dreamland. “Just remember, you’re probably not even at half your strength right now, and the assimilation isn’t going to be completed in time for the expedition. Don’t get full of yourself.”
“Ow! I know, I know. You don’t have to baby me so much,” she pouted, rubbing her forehead.
“Do you remember when we slept together in the same tent?” I waggled my eyebrows lewdly and Tess’s face turned red immediately.
“Kyu?” Sylvie tilted her head in curiosity; she hadn’t been born yet when this had happened.
“What did you say again? Ah yes!” Putting on a frightened face, I looked at my blushing childhood friend.
“‘W-Well, you see… beasts will more likely appear if they notice you, because they will see that you are a child. So, for our s-safety, it would be better for you to c-come inside the tent,’” I said in a high-pitched voice, mocking Tess.
“You asked for it!” She jumped on top of me, poking me hard as I continued laughing.
“Ow! Ow ow ow—okay,” I managed to say through my laughter, “I’m sorry! I give, I give! Tess, I’ll stop!” Tears formed in my eyes, from both laughter and pain.
“Kyuu!” Sylvie hopped around us. ‘Me too, I want to play too!’
Eventually, she stopped, and I lay panting on the ground, catching my breath, with Tess sitting on top of me. Looking at my childhood friend, I saw that her face was still red. Realizing immediately what sort of position we were in, I began to feel flushed as well, the more so as Tess lowered her head closer to mine.
“I see you two are getting along well. Virion will surely be happy.” The voice caught us both by surprise. Tess immediately jumped up, and we distanced ourselves from each other in embarrassment.
Director Goodsky approached us with an amused look on her face. How she had gotten in without either of us noticing was beyond me, but I couldn’t hide the awkwardness I felt.
Brushing off our discomfort, Director Goodsky changed the topic. “How is the assimilation going?”
“It-It’s going well. Art’s helped me a lot these past couple of weeks, and I feel a lot better. I haven’t been feeling any pain from the rejection lately, and as long as I don’t use magic too much, I think I’ll be okay.” Flustered, Tess scrambled for words and flailed her arms as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
I calmed myself and clarified, “She should be fully assimilated with her beast will in about a week or two.”
“Hmm.” Director Goodsky nodded at me, then moved to stand in front of Tess, who was still red. Gently placing her hand just above Tess’s stomach, Director Goodsky closed her eyes to sense Tess’s mana core.
After a brief moment, she retracted her hand and nodded, satisfied. “Good, good. I’m glad there were no troubles along the way. I knew I could trust you, Arthur,” she said.
“Where have you been these past few weeks though, Director? You were always in contact, from what I heard, but I haven’t seen you here at the academy for a while now. Did you just get back?” I said, tilting my head. My eyes were drawn to a small cut on her hand.
“Ah, yes. I’ve been away for some personal reasons. I am back now though, so come to my office if you need anything.” Director Goodsky quickly covered her hand and gave me a soft, grandmotherly smile. “I better get going, though. I have a lot of work to catch up on. Be sure not to overexert yourself, little one. Be especially careful while you’re in the dungeons. One should never underestimate even the lowest-level mana beasts.” Director Goodsky gently caressed Tess’s hair before gliding away, leaving us alone again.
“So… what are your plans after this?” Tessia said, breaking the awkward silence that the director had left us with.
“After classes, there’s an emergency meeting for the disciplinary committee since Curtis, Claire, and I are going to be away from campus over the weekend. We’ll have to work out a plan of action in case an emergency arises while we aren’t here. After that, I’ll probably go back home and sleep there. It’s been a while. I’ll get back to campus by tomorrow morning, in time to head out for the excursion. What about you?” I said, leaning back.
“I’m free until the student council meeting, since Professor Glory canceled class so we can get our rest. We have to go over a couple of things on the agenda, since both Clive and I will be away too.” Tess was a lot calmer now. I had to admit she looked pretty cute, sitting on the ground and playing with Sylvie’s paws.
I spent a bit more time talking to Tess, but I eventually had to leave to go to my other two classes. They seemed to drag on forever; we were already reviewing for our mid-semester exams.
“That will be it for today, class. Remember to keep up with your studies instead of procrastinating and cramming for everything the night before. I know you all love doing that,” Professor Mayner said sarcastically as he handed out some review sheets on basic spell formations. When class was over, I trudged toward the disciplinary committee room. Sylvie weighed particularly heavily on my head tonight.
“I trust that you will be able to keep the academy in check while the three of us are out. We’ve been through all of the emergency procedures these past two weeks so I’m confident that everything will be fine. As you all know, Kai is in command while I’m out. Remember that Director Goodsky is back on campus so if worse comes to worst, don’t hesitate to have her help—but I doubt there will be a need to. Dismissed!” Claire clapped her hands as the rest of us got up.
“Hey twer… I mean, Arthur, don’t forget, I want another practice match with you.” Theo placed a hand on my shoulder as I headed down the stairs behind Curtis and Kathyln. “Since we’re both here, let’s do it.”
“No, it’s my turn. You lost to him last time, so I get to try now.” Doradrea squeezed between us and looked up at me.
“That didn’t count! He just got a lucky break, that’s all,” Theo said, scowling.
“No can do, Theo, Doradrea. I’m going home to my family tonight. My driver is already waiting for me at the gates.” I slipped past them and hopped down the rest of the stairs without giving them a chance to try to convince me to stay.
“You have the protection ring Father gave you, right? Use it immediately if you feel like you’re in trouble. Promise me that, okay?” I heard Curtis worriedly nag his younger sister. We’d be leaving early tomorrow morning, so tonight was probably the last time he’d see her until we got back Sunday night.
Kathyln gave a silent nod, her face expressionless as always. When she saw me looking at them she quickly turned her head away. Curtis left his sister and walked toward me.
“I’ll see you tomorrow morning then, Arthur. I heard Professor Glory was thinking of assigning teams. Let’s join the same team if we can,” he said, bumping me in the arm with a fist.
“Yeah, sounds good.” I offered him a friendly nod, and gave everyone a wave goodbye as I walked out.
It was already pretty dark outside, the only source of light coming from the soft glow of the floating orbs. The campus grounds gave off a very mystical feeling at night, totally different from the eerie white lights that had illuminated the prison-like buildings of the academy in my previous life.
When I reached the main gate to the academy, the familiar driver was waiting for me. “Good evening, Mr. Arthur. I take it you have prepared everything?” he said, doffing his hat and giving me a slight bow.
