by Andrew Rowe
“What do you mean?” She dug another case out of the box, then handed it to me.
“Watch.” I closed my palm around the crystal, focusing my mana.
A week ago, it had taken me ten seconds to form a crystal of this size in one of the practice cases, but I’d been practicing making crystals of a higher degree of density in the open air since then.
I’d gotten it down to four or five seconds.
I handed the filled crystal back to her with a grin.
“...Are you using some sort of slight-of-hand trick?”
I grinned. “Nope. I’ve just been practicing.”
Professor Edlyn pushed up her glasses, looking down her nose at me. “Practicing.”
We were starting to draw some attention from the nearby students now, and I was beginning to regret making a scene.
But only just a little.
It was fun being ahead of the class for a change.
Professor Edlyn glanced me up and down, and I noticed her attunement mark was glowing — a subtle sign that she was using it to look at my aura. “A second attunement? Precisely how long have you been hiding that, Master Cadence?”
I really hadn’t wanted that to come out in public, but in retrospect, it was unavoidable. Plenty of people could see auras, and I had no way of suppressing mine. Maybe I should have looked into something like that as soon as I’d left the spire, but it was far too late now.
“I’ve only had it for a week, professor. I apologize for failing to mention it.”
My teacher sighed, shaking her head. “It’s fine. You’ve passed the test. Congratulations. You can head on home.”
“...Would I get a higher score if I can make a crystal without the case?”
“Show me.”
I did.
Professor Edlyn congratulated me for it, and told me to expect to hear about the “results of my test soon”.
She probably didn’t intend for it to sound ominous, but it definitely did.
I ignored the glares from some of my classmates as I left the room.
I didn’t think my early success would hurt anyone else’s score.
Probably.
***
The rest of the day was easy. I was still in good spirits from both the world’s easiest final exam and the Haste spell experiments, so I was a little more social than usual.
Of course, “social” for me largely meant that I was willing to involve other people in my experiments.
The first was a bit of sparring with Patrick on the rooftop, while I tried to use Haste magic to dodge his attacks. He used it to practice aiming attack spells more accurately at a moving target, so it was good for both of us.
Well, relatively. I was still terrible at moving with a Haste spell active, but practicing in a combat environment — and with more space than a tiny bedroom — helped me get used to it a little bit more.
We had to stop every couple minutes because I was getting seasick from all the sudden movements, but overall, it was both useful and fun. I think Patrick was happy just to get to spend a bit of time training with just the two of us, too.
I had another practice session with Marissa and Keras in the evening.
That went about the same as the last one. I did try attacking with the Haste spell active as a surprise, but Keras was still faster than me. And he wasn’t even using whatever his pseudo-Haste spell was — I didn’t see the telltale change in his aura that indicated that he was getting serious.
I needed a lot more practice before I could catch up to someone like him. That was fine, though. I was making progress, and so were my friends.
I had dinner with everyone. After that, I got back to work.
***
If I’d learned anything from the conversation with Jin, it was that I needed to verify important information on my own.
Everything he’d told me about the god beast attunements fell into that category.
I paid Researcher a visit.
“Greetings, Arbiter. How may I be of service to you today?”
She was in a different outfit today. It was still a suit, but it was mostly white, closer to our student uniforms. The change was jarring enough that it derailed my train of thought. “What’s with the new clothes?”
“Oh, this? A recent study found that humans in Valia have an easier time empathizing with people who physically resemble them. For example, humans — at least in this nation — appear to be more likely to select mates who have a physical appearance that approximates their own. This study has yet to be fully peer-reviewed, but I am eager to test it on my own! My hope is that by appearing more similar to one of the students, they will be more likely to see me as a reliable information source.”
“That’s... I’ll be interested to hear what you find.” It sounded to me like she was extrapolating from the study in a different direction from what I might have, but it didn’t necessarily mean she was wrong, per se.
It also wasn’t what I was there to discuss, though.
Researcher seemed happy about my indication of interest, at least. “I would be quite pleased to share! Now, what can I assist you with?”
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.
“I need some additional information related to Project Q-STN and Vera Corrington.”
Researcher’s lips tightened. “I’m afraid the project designated Q-STN is still classified information.”
I’d prepared for that. “It’s directly related to the assignment I was working on for Katashi.”
Researcher seemed to consider that, then nodded with renewed cheer. “Yes, of course. I will be happy to provide you with everything you need.”
It didn’t take long for Researcher to direct me to the appropriate documents. She wouldn’t let me take them home, so I spent a few hours reading at the Divinatory.
Everything Jin had said was accurate, including my mother’s name being on the list of people who had approved the god beast attunements being tested in the Serpent Spire.
Elora Theas, it would seem, was assigned to observe the project on behalf of the Valian government. That made her role in the situation much clearer, although I still didn’t know how she’d ended up working with Tristan and attacking Vera’s group.
There was still a great deal more to this picture I wasn’t seeing, but for the moment, at least I had a paper trail to confirm some of Jin’s claims.
That still didn’t mean I agreed with his approach, but it did mean that I could understand it a little bit better.
Mother...How could you allow this?
I bid Researcher a good night and headed back to Derek’s manor.
I wanted to research more, but for the moment, I needed to sleep. I had a test coming up, and I needed to be ready.
***
Wyddsday. The day before the second part of the dueling class final exams. I was almost out of time.
It was also the only day I didn’t have any classes, so I could use it in any way I wanted.
I asked my friends if they’d figured out anything, but they hadn’t. No one had been looking into it; they’d been too focused on practicing.
That left it to me.
I started by looking for Teft himself to ask about the test. I didn’t want to talk to him about it, but it was low risk with a high potential for reward.
For better or worse, I couldn’t find him, at his office or otherwise. I asked Derek and Keras, but they didn’t know where Teft was, either.
So, I asked Researcher to scry on the tournament area.
“That’s an unusual request, Arbiter. Can I ask why?” She peered at me with a strange degree of intensity. She never seemed to blink unless she was using it to display a reaction, like surprise or confusion. Subtle things like that reminded me that as human as she looked, she wasn’t quite the same.
“I’m having a test there tomorrow and I’d like to get information about what I’m up against.”
There was no point in lying to a creature of knowledge. No
t only did I suspect she’d be able to tell just by looking at me, it felt rude.
“Oh! Why don’t you just go over there and ask?”
“I’m not sure I’m strictly allowed to know the contents of the test in advance.”
She folded her arms. “Then I’m not sure I’m allowed to help you.”
I frowned. I hadn’t expected resistance from her. “It’s for a dueling class. Knowing your battlefield in advance is a critical part of duel preparation. I did look for the teacher to ask directly, but I couldn’t find him.”
All true, even if I hadn’t looked very hard. And I could have just asked Researcher to locate Teft.
Fortunately, she caved immediately. Nodding vigorously, she proclaimed, “Yes, gathering information is critical to being a successful duelist! Well done!”
“Thanks. Uh, so, you’ll help?”
“Sure! Where is it?”
“The vaban arena.”
Researcher waved her hands, and a flickering image appeared between us. As I stepped closer, I could see that it was an overhead view of the vaban arena. She pointed at the image. “What do you need to see?”
Wow. That was...quick. I’d never seen someone work a scrying spell so effortlessly, but it did make a degree of sense that an elemental could work spells like that easily. I pointed at the spot where we’d had our previous contest.
The map shifted, showing a closer view of that spot. I could see several people inside, working on the arena floor...were those other students?
I watched for a bit, seeing some students lifting up tiles, others putting them down...and still more drawing on new runes.
Wait, is that Professor Vellum down there with them?
Oh, those must be second-year Enchanting students. They must be working to change the arena right before the test.
And on the weekend. Yeah, that sounds like one of Vellum’s classes.
That explained a great deal. I’d suspected they had students working on the tiles, but I’d guessed it would be a massive number of first-year students. Using a single class of second-year Enchanters was more efficient. It wouldn’t take long for a full class of Citrines to enchant all the tiles — or even change the existing enchantments on them.
“Did you see what you needed to see? I can maintain this a little longer, but it’s kind of exhausting.”
I shook my head. “No, I’ve seen what I need to see, thank you.”
Researcher breathed a sigh of relief and released the image. “Great. Was it helpful?”
“Definitely. I know exactly what I need to do.”
***
Professor Vellum’s eyes narrowed as I approached. “You’re not in this class, boy.”
I nodded amiably. “You’re right, but you know me, always looking to improve myself. I thought I’d volunteer to help out with the enchanting here, you know, get myself some experience...”
Vellum tilted her head to the side. “You’re in Teft’s class tomorrow, aren’t you?”
“Yep.”
Vellum cackled. “Now you’re thinking like an Enchanter. Just don’t be too obvious about it.”
I pointed at myself. “Me? Obvious? I’ll be the soul of discretion.”
“We both know that you won’t. But either this will be a glorious disaster, or you’ll manage to wipe the perpetual smirk off your professor’s face. I’ll be pleased to contribute to either.”
And just like that, I participated in Vellum’s second-year enchanting exercise, as a “volunteer”.
When the matches came the next day, I was more than ready.
***
“Corin, why are you grinning like that?” Patrick asked while we waited for class to begin.
“You’ll see.”
As expected, Teft led us to the vaban arena for our second round of tests.
“Assemble the teams you used last time.”
Marissa offered me a friendly nudge. I grinned in spite of the awfulness of being touched without warning. Being on Marissa’s team would make this a lot easier, especially now that she’d had another week to recover and train.
We started doing some warm-up stretches together. She had a smile on her face as she looked at me. “Glad it’s us again, at least. Didn’t want to be paired up with some stranger.”
“Agreed. We’ve practiced this. We can win.”
I didn’t know exactly what the rules of the match were going to be. It would take something truly unfair for me to still have to worry, though.
“Today, your teams are going to be matched against your former teammates. You have five minutes to prepare before matches begin.”
Of course, this was Teft’s class.
Obviously it was going to be unfair.
Marissa and I paused mid-stretch, and there was a brief interlude for expletives.
Teft kept talking. “The rules are the same as last time; you will lose when your shield sigil is depleted, and no outside weapons are allowed. There have been minor alterations to the arena setup, but you should find the match otherwise similar to before.”
We both shifted back to standing positions, sizing each other up. I broke the awkward silence first. “I should tell you in advance that I prepared some things just in case I ended up against someone I couldn’t beat in a fair fight.”
Marissa raised an eyebrow. “And?”
I waved at her. “And obviously, you’re someone I can’t beat in a fair fight.”
“...Resh it, Cadence. I’d think you were tryin’ to flatter me, if ye had an ounce of flattery in you.” She folded her arms.
“I just don’t want you to think I’m targeting you unfairly or something, Mara. I remember when--”
Marissa waved her hands dismissively. “Didn’t know you then, Corin. I get you now. Yer gonna to try to win however you can. It ain’t personal. I get it.” She offered me a hand. “I won’t be going easy, either.”
I clasped her hand. “...You could go a little easy?”
She laughed. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Patrick and Sera seemed to be having a similar conversation, but I couldn’t hear all of it, because Sera was whispering. Patrick’s replies were clear enough. “I won’t throw the match, I promise!”
After that, Sera went over to Teft and pulled him to the side to whisper something to him. That was unusual, but I didn’t have time to worry about it. If she needed help, she’d ask me.
Mara and I spent another minute getting back to our stretches, then we walked over to the ring.
It’s the same as yesterday. Six different active settings on the tiles this time, rather than five like before. No middle of the night alterations that I can see. At least, no obvious ones.
Good.
Our five minutes were up shortly thereafter.
We were the first pair sent into the ring.
I felt a wave of trepidation as Mara and I walked down the steps.
Teft gave us the sigil monitors to attach to our shield sigils when we reached the bottom. We fastened them on as Teft walked away.
We turned our gazes back to each other. There was a shared feeling of anxiousness and trepidation.
“Best luck,” I offered.
“Goddess be with ye,” she gave in solemn reply.
Equally meaningless platitudes. We would win or lose this on our own.
We headed to opposite sides of the arena.
This was not what I’d hoped for on a number of levels.
First, I had wanted as much time to observe the ring as possible. If there had been another match first, I could have confirmed what I’d seen during the setup of the arena.
I tried to console myself with the knowledge that going first was actually to my advantage; if we’d both observed a prior match, Mara would have probably gotten more new information out of it than I would have. I already had a pretty good idea of what we’d be dealing with today.
“Pretty good” was just never good enough for me. I disliked uncertainty, and I’d be uncertain un
til the match started.
Second, I probably couldn’t beat Mara in a straight fight. Flattery had nothing to do with that; it was an honest assessment. I had two attunements, but neither of them was built for straight combat, and she’d received extra power straight from Katashi. Her total mana to work with was still greater than mine, if only by a small margin.
If I had Selys-Lyann, at least I would have had a reach advantage, but we still weren’t allowed to use any weapons other than standard dueling canes. Melee combat was probably my best bet against most fighters, but against Marissa, I couldn’t count on winning that way.
Third, and worst of all...even if I won, that meant that Marissa lost a match. I didn’t know how badly that would impact our scores. Based on the last match, it seemed like performance was a factor even for the winners, so I hoped that we’d both just be able to make a good fight of it.
That meant that my “win” condition was harder than just winning the match outright. I needed to win, put up a good fight, and make sure Marissa had a chance to show off as well.
Unfortunately, that took one of my best tools right out of the equation.
No matter. I had others.
I was prepared this time.
“Bow to your opponent.”
We bowed. Marissa looked nervous, but determined.
“Begin!”
Marissa rushed forward, just as I’d expected.
I reached into the bag at my side, watching her.
As Marissa hit the red square in front of her, the ground below her erupted with a burst of light. I expected it to badly damage her barrier, as it would have last time.
That didn’t happen.
She was moving so fast that the light barely glanced her — and the portion that hit her didn’t deal any noticeable damage.
It should have.
I activated my attunement, and I took a step back when I saw what she’d done.
Normally, a shroud started at the skin and extended a few inches outward. Barriers generated by most magic, including shield sigils, were further out. They were designed to take damage first to protect the wearer from suffering any injuries.
Mara had reversed that relationship. Her shroud was massive, stretched out in all directions from her body. That meant anything that wanted to damage her barrier had to get through her shroud first.
