Magic combat is gonna be so fun.
He ran his fingers through his hair. They had grown long, messy, and irritating, but he had been too busy to take the time for it. His last retailer had too rescinded their contract. He was only short of selling these blankets on the road, and he already knew how that went the last time.
He came out of his dorm room, slamming the door hard as he walked out. His mood had been soured before a quarterly test.
Perfect, exactly what I wanted.
At least the hallways were quiet, most others were either out giving their own exams, or preparing for the coming one. He had an Artifice exam at 12, and then the Magic Combat at 4.
He checked his watch as he walked out of the dorms, it was 11:12, more than enough time for him to make it across the campus, and also avoid the ‘real mages’. He’d take the long route if he had to, but he swore not to get stuck with one of them on this fine morning.
Klein sighed again, the anger losing its grip on his neck, leading way to defeat and frustration. Only the aesthetic roads, and the greenery around him held him at bay from going into another anxiety spiral.
I can still make it. I have one more year. I can do it.
He was in his 3rd year, and he still had one more year left before he’d be forced to find work in the bowels of society. In the normal society. Maybe with his mana shaping, he could find work in an Artifice workshop, but he was just a Stiffer. Why would someone give him a job when there were better mages?
I need to talk with others about the business. Gods do I need some weed. Would Alain have some on him?
He held little hope for it. Although Alain had much more money on him, and more parents than his own zero, he was just too much of a coward to keep such stuff to himself.
Do I have to go to Ellie again? Ugh.
He had been addicted to weed ever since he came to the academy. Without he felt uneasy, like he was too alert. Like his mind captured everything as he walked, and it pinged in there like tinnitus. Even doping himself only did so much, but it was better than this.
To distract himself from the addict in his mind, he dug out a slinky from his pockets. He always kept it there. Everyone said it looked weird. He told everyone to shut it, it was great practice. Focusing a little on the well of mana hidden beneath his skin, he pushed it just a little through the ethereal veins of his spirit. His mana desired to run amok and assimilate itself in the world’s mana, but he held onto it, shaping it, and with a practiced ease of two years of mana shaping, he made the slinky float. Perfectly still, even as he walked.
It wasn’t anything much, but it made him smile.
A slinky was much harder to keep still. It was bouncy and light. It colluded with gravity and the wind to make his job much harder than a solid object would have been, but he kept it tightly.
Now only if I could float fire above my hands.
He let go of that thought as soon as it came. He suppressed it, in the deep deep hells of his mind where he didn’t dare to intrude. Such thoughts would do him no good.
‘But I want to be strong, to fly in the sky like a real mage and live peacefully on a hill far above the clouds!’
‘You’re just a slum rat. Be grateful for what you have, and don’t strive for more,’
He caught the slinky in his hands and played with it as he made way towards the Artifice building. His mind played the words of his childhood like a trumpet. Loud, blaring, and too stubborn to go away, even as he tried to.
His slinky fell out of his hands, breaking him from the charm. He kept staring at the slinky on the ground for a while.
Eventually Klein sighed, picked it up, and made way to the building.
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“Artifice is the intersection of the imaginary and the real. It’s the intersection of magic and reality. Creating spell boundaries on objects to produce effects unique to their symbols, although sounds an easy job, is far from it. It requires geometry, an innate sense for numbers and angles, which unfortunately, I find none in you guys, as evident by the practical exam a few days ago. Except maybe one or two of you.
“I don’t hold high hopes for you guys, but try to at least give me enough leeway to pass your asses. Your time starts now!” Professor Jasleen’s voice resounded through the half empty classroom, her enthusiasm about teaching resonated deep within Klein’s bones. She had the typical mage robes over her. Blue and purple in colour, she also wore a badge of a golden pen on her chest, displaying her speciality as an Artifice.
He sighed, and turned the question paper on his desk.
- Given a metal rod, consider cylindrical in shape, 10 cm * 15 cm in dimensions. You are asked to create the schematics of a ‘Recall’ spell, along with another ‘Stop Motion’ spell, with correct dimensions. Also mention the similarities between the two spells, and how the two spell boundaries would superimpose with each other.
- Take a donut shaped mana stone. Internal radius = 2cm, and external radius = 5cm. Mention the ways it can be used as an energy generator. Describe your answer in bullet points.
And so went the questions.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Klein grunted in approval at the paper. It was a little difficult, and he might lose one or two points in each question here and there, but it was nothing beyond his capabilities. Artifice was afterall, one of the subjects he could still practice even with his status as a Stiffer. Being a Stiffer stripped you of your future as a mage, unable to ever animate spell boundaries in the real world–except for the one you had, but at least it allowed you to define them on the real objects.
He started writing. His mood improved a little with every question he got right, and in the back of his mind he was certain that he had crossed enough marks to pass this quarterly test.
With thirty minutes left in the exam, he stood up, his paper in hand. The whole class was busy, some in scratching their heads, some in trying to cheat their way out of it, and some just staring at the ceiling like it would bring a divine revelation.
“If you’re done Mr. Skyla, then please leave the room instead of gawking around. Unless you want me to count it as a cheating attempt?” Professor Jasleen asked in a light tone.
Klein nodded, picked up his stuff, submitted the paper by her desk, and went out in a better mood.
What to do now? I don’t think others would be done by now.
He checked the time, and it was only 1:35 yet. He had another hour and a half before he would need to attend his second test for the day.
He grimaced thinking about it. Magical Combat Test. A simple name with many painful memories attached.
I should have lunch. I’d need it.
He sent a message to his friends through the anchor about going to the canteen. They won’t be able to see it now, but the message won’t be disintegrated in the next 30 or so minutes.
Canteen too, was desolate. Only a few kids were scattered here and there, most of them choosing to sit in the open area rather than the closed building. He couldn’t fault them, the weather was pretty good today. Chilly winds with a hint of sun. It was perfect.
He ordered some pasta for himself, and took that cheesy dish outside. The chairs outside were made of wood, and the table had a single crystal in the middle of it. The crystal itself was cheap, merely acting as a heater for food or to order something else if they wished, hence no one had tried to steal much of them. Much of them.
He sat there for another 20 minutes, enjoying the dish, when his anchor blipped. It was a message from Alain. He too had finished his test, and was coming for the canteen. Klein told him to come in the open, and continued to eat his pasta.
Klein was a slow eater. He wasn’t ashamed of it. People made fun of it, but why would he change it? Eating slowly was supposed to be good for your health anyway. Not to mention, why would anyone eat fast and lose the taste of food?
Sometimes I just can’t understand people.
Alain came shortly. He wore the regular 3rd year robes for Stiffers. Black with dark blue covering half of it. Real mages get full blue robes. Klein was more focused on the singe of his robes. He eyed the boy questioningly, who deflated under his look and sprawled on the seat.
“It was brutal. I fumbled the final inscription, and the whole thing somehow erupted in a ball of flames. The professor had to come to my aid. I’m so failing at it,” He looked like he’d almost cry. Klein didn’t know what else to do but laugh at it.
“What was the inscription supposed to do?” He asked in between his wheezes.
“It… it was a ‘Cold Wave’ spell,” Alain hid his head lower under the roar of laughter from Klein.
“Gods. I can’t believe that would happen. Maybe it was due to last night’s Shower?” Klein suggested.
“I–I don’t know. Could it really be?” The boy looked a little hopeful, “Although there are protective measures against the Shower, it wouldn’t be the first time something transmuted in the campus due to it. I should try to file an inquiry against it. Maybe something would come out of it.” He wanted to run then and there, but Klein stopped him.
“Have something first. When and what is your next paper? Also Amelia is coming, and I need to talk to you guys about the business a little,” Klein said, his mood soured a little as he thought about the call.
Alain too looked seriously, but he waited for Amelia to come as he answered, “It’s Advanced Mathematics - I. I have it in another hour. The time tables are so fucked this time. Not only is it confusing, but it’s like they are trying to finish it as soon as they could,”
They talked around the point for a few minutes, both wishing to broach the business side of things, but also didn’t wanna look disrespectful and assholish. Klein hated this sense of formality which had come between him and his friends ever since he had decided to open it with them. He hated himself for it. He had been warned, but he just had to do it. Go ahead and shoot his friendship with the tag of business partners.
Finally Amelia came, and Klein sighed internally in relief.
“Sorry for keeping you waiting! I finished the paper last second. The professor was almost glaring at me by the time I finished. God I thought she was gonna fail me, or maybe even burn me with my paper if I took another second,” She panted a little as she sat with them.
“It’s alright, how did it go?” Klein asked.
“It was alright,” She didn’t specify beyond that, and Klein didn’t ask.
“By the way, I have some bad news. Our last retailer contacted me today, he said that they would no longer be taking our blankets,”
“What!? Why not? We improved it so much! How could they not want it!?” Amelia almost shrieked, her face marred with frustration mirroring Klein’s own. Alain meanwhile hung his head low.
“It’s the same excuse. ‘The material isn’t good. It tears up too easily. It warps when washed,’ and yada yada,” Klein tried not to look at Alain as he said it. Amelia too stayed silent.
“I-I’m sorry,” Alain whimpered, and Klein couldn’t tell if he was crying or not. He couldn’t find it in himself to forgive him either. Klein had worked hard, day and night, through the two years at the academy to improve his one and only skill. The one and only unique skill every Stiffer gets. And he had become good at it. Yet Alain didn’t have the kind of work background as him. He slacked often, took things too leisurely, and often resorted to apologising afterwards.
Klein had almost started to wonder what he saw in the boy to befriend. What did he see to start a business with? The fact that he had a skill which allowed him to weave threads?
Klein sighed and finally said, “We have another year to get it right. Let’s focus on our skill for now, and think about reaching out to retailers for later, okay?”
They nodded, both out of words. Klein stood up, “I’ve gotta go and study a bit for my next test. I’ll see you guys later,”
He walked away before he could hear their responses. It wasn’t the end, and he wasn’t about to give up on them yet. He just… needed some time alone for now. Some time for his thoughts.
As he walked towards the combat arena, he passed by the campus garden. They had many such gardens sprawled across the garden. Grassy plains was all this one was. Just a sprawling rectangle of properly trimmed green grass. He saw them roll as the winds blew over them, the sunlight highlighting it for that infinitesimal second, and Klein was suddenly aware of the great weather it truly was. He could imagine himself laying there on that soft grass. Alone and in peace. Wasting time for hours and hours as he counted the clouds in the sky. His childish wish came to mind. To have a hill beyond the clouds, and live there alone.
He turned away from the scene. It was just wishful thinking after all.
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