The slicers were furious. They slammed their front two legs against trees and rocks, producing little clicking sounds. More and more spiders appeared at a terrifying rate. Any one of them could kill him with ease. The slicers followed Felix as he desperately raced through the jungle. He held onto his impromptu beetle pouch as best he could while climbing over roosts and dodging under branches.

  The slicers were everywhere, their chittering blending into a deafening buzz. They were everywhere he looked, on every branch, every tree trunk, or rock. Felix couldn’t take it anymore, he stopped worrying about how many beetles he dropped and dashed forward trying to get out of there as fast as he could.

  Some of the slicers were so enraged that they started attacking. He could hear threads slicing through the forest around him. None of them had attacked him directly, but with every second their attacks got closer and closer.

  Just as he started running out of beetles, he spotted a chance. Ahead of him, the tide of slicers stopped. He ran as fast as he could, trying to put as many trees between him and the chittering mass behind him. He ducked and waved through the forest until he couldn’t hear any more furious clicks or trees crashing under their relentless assault.

  Only then did he feel safe enough to look back. The section of forest he came from looked like it was boiling. No one could stare at the writhing mass of spindly legs and overgrown eyes and still think of the creatures as cute. The forest behind him was left in ruin.

  Felix gently released the last few beetles that had kept him safe, feeling immense gratitude for the little things. Once he was sure the last of the beetles were safe, he sat back against a tree and laughed. He’d made it. He’d actually passed the first hurdle in this impossible challenge.

  “Yes!!! Take that, you damned gate! You can’t stop me!”

  Not wanting to sour his victory with a defeat, Felix quit the gate. Next thing he knew, he was back on his path outside the first gate. This time, it felt different. It felt like the Ways was celebrating his progress with him. The stones beneath his feet celebrated his patience, and the stars above his head celebrated his thoughtful approach.

  Looking back at the gate that led to the Crossroads, Felix could see that he’d nearly doubled his distance from it. It was concrete proof that he’d actually made progress. The gate still stopped him from continuing his journey, but he’d managed to push it back.

  Finally, he didn’t feel so helpless. Sure, the gate was still impossible to clear, but it felt just a little less impossible than yesterday.

  Unable to remember the last time he felt so light, Felix stepped out of the Ways. Taking notice of the ever-stationary sun, Felix decided it was about time for lunch. For once, he didn’t rush there while trying to avoid the hustle and bustle of the Crossroads.

  He simply took a leisurely stroll, humming a little jig to himself as he went to the dining hall to meet up with Lara and Aster. He was so happy with how his day had gone that it completely slipped his mind that Eugene had been meeting them for lunch the past couple of days.

  As he approached the hall, he noticed a small crowd forming outside. He couldn’t spot the cause of the commotion through the throng of bodies, but he could hear raised voices from the centre.

  “I think she’s made herself perfectly clear. She has other things to worry about, and so do you. It would be best for everyone to focus on improving while we’re here.” The ice in Aster’s voice sent shivers down his spine. He’d seen her get angry, but somehow this was on a different level.

  “C’mon, don’t be like that! You girls have time to hang out with that loser friend of yours. Wouldn’t that time be better spent with someone like him?”

  Felix recognised Marvin’s voice. Eugene quickly stood up for himself, and what he said made Felix’s blood boil.

  “Lara, be realistic, you know Felix is going to be stuck here when we leave in six months. I know you guys are close, having grown up together, and I’m not saying you should cut him off or anything. Think about it, if you were my girlfriend, we could both help him.”

  “That’s right, we’re all going to set out for bigger and better things. There’s no way that loser can keep up with us.” Marvin spoke about him with such condescension that he might as well have been speaking about a cockroach.

  “Stop it!” A gush of wind pushed back the crowd. Felix could see a cloud of dust bellowing out between the throng. He could feel the pressure coming off Lara even from where he stood.

  “I’ve had just about enough of you guys insulting Felix. Eugene, don’t think I haven’t noticed how you let your friends be mean to Felix. What he said to you wasn’t right, but he’s promised to apologise. But you– you’re just being a— a big bully! I won’t go out with you!” Felix could practically hear the tears of frustration in Lara’s voice.

  Still, even though he knew that those must have been the harshest words Lara’d ever said to someone. He still had a hard time holding back his laughter. The worst thing she could think of to call him was a ‘big bully’.

  Unfortunately, just as Felix was trying to swallow his laughter, Eugene and his group pushed their way through the crowd to storm off.

  Their eyes met, and Felix could see the tears in Eugene’s eyes. When he saw Felix laughing, the sadness turned to rage. He looked ready to charge Felix at that moment.

  When the rest of his group noticed that Eugene had stopped, they quickly took him by the arm and pulled him away. Irene and Marvin both shooting glares at Felix as they left.

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  “Spokes, that’s not good,” Felix muttered.

  With the crowd clearing, it wasn’t long before Aster spotted Felix and waved him over. She was busy comforting a distraught Lara while sending the few remaining stragglers glares that quickly scattered them.

  “Hey Lara, are you alright?”

  Lara looked up with puffy eyes and immediately dragged Felix into an awkward group hug. Still quite embarrassed by the morning’s fiasco with Aster, Felix immediately started blushing as Lara pressed them together. He felt too bad to break off the hug, and so he just started trying to comfort Lara as fast as he could while trying to convince her to let them go inside.

  Judging by Aster’s equally frantic attempts, she was just as flustered. Their gentle coaxing eventually got Lara to sit down in the dining hall. As soon as Agrona had her drinking a purplish-looking hot chocolate, she calmed down. Agrona was too busy to hang around during lunchtime, but she still took a moment to offer some comfort to Lara.

  “Are you alright Lara? Want to talk about it?” Felix and Aster sat to either side of her, both still terrified that she’d start crying again.

  “Was I too mean to Eugene? I didn’t mean to call him… You know, that. It’s just that his friends are so mean. I don’t understand why they can’t be nice.”

  Felix had to choke down a laugh when Lara wouldn’t even repeat what she’d said. A glare from Aster made sure to shut him up.

  “It’s ok, you know Felix said way worse to him, I’m sure he won’t even remember what you called him.”

  Felix quickly went white as both girls glared at him. He had no idea how he’d somehow ended up being the one in trouble when he was just trying to comfort Lara.

  “I– That’s– What?”

  “That’s right, Felix, have you said sorry for the things you said to Eugene yesterday?” Lara pinned him with a glare.

  “Uhm, no I–”

  “Felix! You promised! You need to say sorry!” Lara was on the verge of tears again.

  “I will, I will. Listen, Lara, I was going to say sorry next time I saw him, ok? I just didn’t think it was the right time after you just turned him down.”

  Lara looked at him like he’d kicked her puppy before slowly starting to cry again. Aster gave him a look that made it clear, if he so much as thought another word, she would end him.

  Eventually, Aster managed to calm Lara enough for their usual lunchtime routine to resume. Which was good because Lara and Aster had a lengthy conversation about what an insensitive Stonehorn he was. They kept talking like he wasn’t even part of the conversation. By the end of it Felix felt like he should be the one in tears.

  With the conversation finally taking a more positive turn for him, Felix quickly seized the opportunity to tell them how much Aster’s advice had helped. They were both in shock when he told them how he’d cleared the slicers, though they both pointed out how stupid his name for them was.

  Without realising it, he’d grown a little attached to the name during his hours of surveillance. Every alternative name they suggested just sounded wrong. He promised to try to find the real name in the Library, but until then, he decided to just keep using his.

  “Thank you, Aster, I don’t know what I’d have done without you.”

  It was probably the first time he’d seen Aster genuinely happy.

  “Yeah! Thank you, Aster. Now Felix can finally move forward. I’m sure he’ll make it to the elite class with us now!” Lara gave Aster another big hug.

  While Felix felt the weight of expectation settle on him again, Lara was too excited to notice his expression drop.

  He managed to put on an excited face before she returned her attention to him.

  “Ah, so don’t be too worried if I miss lunch here and there. I might end up staying late in my gate on some days. If you need me, you can slip a note under my door, and I'll meet you. I’ll try to be here most days.”

  Lara gave him a quick side hug.

  “That’s fine, I know you’re working hard. We might miss a few as well. Don’t you dare hesitate to let us know if you need us, though. I’m sure we can figure out the next obstacles the same way we did this one.”

  Aster nodded in agreement with Lara.

  Felix spent the rest of lunch answering far too detailed questions about how he got past the little spider creatures. The two girls seemed astounded when he explained the writhing mass of slicers that followed him at the end.

  He, in turn, pestered Lara about the giant wave of wind she blew out when confronting Eugene’s group. Lara kept trying to brush away his praise, but her plans were foiled by Aster constantly gushing about how well Lara was doing.

  Eventually, it turned into a fight in which the two girls traded stories about how strong the other was.

  Shocked to learn that Aster was keeping up with Lara, Felix quietly resolved himself to do everything he could to catch up.

  With the dramatic lunch finally over, Felix made his way to his room. It was a little early, but there was a task he needed to do. He’d ignored the advice of a guide once. He wouldn’t do it a second time. It was time to learn his first spell.

  To cast a spell is to ask a favour of mana. Your mind shapes the request, your understanding of the mana phrases it so it can be understood, and your will, your will speaks it to the world.

  A mage cannot neglect any of the three parts. Sharpen the mind, exercise the will, and foster understanding with the mana.

  The more you understand mana, the more you are understood. The better your understanding, the clearer you can shape your request and the easier it is to convey. The three parts are interlinked. They form a triangle where each part supports the other two.

  Excerpt from ‘Baby’s first spell’ by the Sphinx.

  “Huh, I guess there was something useful in there apart from the spell. Though the odd choice of titles continues. It still doesn’t explain what affinities are or what role they play. At this point, it’s starting to feel like the books are ignoring the topic.”

  Casting a last thought towards the description, Felix let out something between a sigh and a groan.

  ‘Invigorating rest is a channeled spell of the life affinity with a low difficulty. Channel the spell before sleep, after meals, after exercise, or when experiencing cramps. Aids in the growth of unborn children and the health of pregnant women. Able to lengthen menstrual cycles, reduce cramps, and bloating. Advanced users may forestall periods completely. Makes sleep more effective, reducing the amount of rest required. When used by children, it ensures healthy growth.’

  “Let’s just get on with it.”

  “So... First, I need to connect to the life mana inside me.”

  Finally time for Felix to start working on his magic! Please rate and follow if you liked it! ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ