Eli

  I lost myself in reading over each of the components she pointed out and their uses. Before I knew it, the rest of the group was just finishing up their rounds of exercise. They must have taken it easy today because there was no way I had been sitting here talking theory and reading information for two hours.

  “Eli,” Joanne said, “Do you mind watching over all of us as we practice some of our magic?”

  Swiping down on my screen to close the holographic terminal, “Sure, though I think Janet would be a better tutor than me.”

  We all turned to look at Janet. Her face was bright red as she shook it back and forth. Joanne saved her from having to speak, “If we were doing experiments with new spells, sure. But we are just practicing normal spells. Out of everyone in the class, you’re the one that is best at controlling your mana flow as well as judging how much a spell needs.”

  It wasn’t like I did anything special. I just knew how much mana a spell would need. Shrugging, I stood up and followed the group. They spread out in the middle of the field. In front of some, small targets stood. They would probably be casting one of the attack spells. The rest would be casting one of the utility spells.

  For the next two hours, I walked around the group. Pointing out issues in their spells and helping to find the right mana amount for each spell. Finally, everyone agreed to break for the day. I made my way back to the bench. Sàga was still sitting on the table. Her holographic screen popped back up as I approached.

  While I had been watching over everyone as they cast their spells, I had time to think about the issues with shielding. They had to be strong enough to deflect spells which meant they needed a ton of mana to power them. If I were able to cast the professor’s shield, my mana pool would only last through one or two spells. Nowhere near enough for a fight. Not when people could cast fireballs like they were nothing.

  No, I needed a shield that would power itself. “Sàga, are there any spells that draw power from other spells?”

  “Three examples available.” Three spells popped up on the screen.

  “Where did these spells come from?” I asked as I looked over each.

  “They were located in the file from Janet.” That surprised me. I thought she had only sent over information about components and their use. Not that I was going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

  Quickly, I went over each spell. Taking careful notes about how all the mana was routed and what each component did to said mana. Each spell was similar yet different. All of them had a storage section. Unlike the storage component, this section seemed to hold a spell and extract mana from it. Once the spells were used up, the component would go dark. No longer able to provide mana until another spell was input. Almost like a battery.

  “Is there a way to direct spells where I want them? Sort of like a funnel or such.” As soon as I asked, Sàga added two more spells to my workspace. “And what about shielding spells?” She added another five spells to my workspace. At this point, I looked over what was available and pushed the ones I didn’t need to the side. Easy to access yet out of the way.

  First things first, get any incoming spell to redirect into the storage area. Once that was done, the spell could use it to power itself. This would remove my need to keep the entire thing powered. Twenty minutes later and I had a prototype spell. It was simple and created a small hexagonal panel of shielding and only took seventeen different components.

  Sighing, I asked Sàga, “Is there any way I can get you to hold some of the components as I cast a spell?”

  “Yes,” she replied, “That has been one of my abilities since the beginning. Did I never mention it?”

  “No, no, you did not.” That would have been good to know. “How does that ability work?”

  “It is pretty simple. Just cast the spell in the holographic space. I will catch and hold the stable components as you create the spell. I would caution you not to rely on this as it will not always be available to you. Best to learn how to cast large spells on your own eventually. Also, you should practice dual and triple casting one of these days.”

  She wasn’t wrong, and that irked me a bit. Also, what was with everyone giving me more homework? Holding my hand over her holographic interface, I formed the spell. Letting the components go as I finished them. Just as she promised, she held them steady. Casting the finished version, a thin blue hexagon formed horizontally where the spell hung in space.

  Mentally grabbing the spell, I moved it to the other side of the table and turned it vertically, so the flat side faced me. It pulled quite a bit of mana from me. Enough that I was not sure I could hold it for more than ten minutes. Slowly, careful not to lose hold of the shield, I cast a fireball.

  If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  The fireball smacked into the shield and vanished. Almost looking like it folded in on itself. Checking the shield spell, I found the fireball spell sitting in the storage space. Releasing the spell, I watched the fireball to see if it faded away. Nothing happened. The shield spell didn’t even seem to be siphoning away any of the mana from the spell.

  Annoyed at the failure, I cut the flow of mana to the shield. It didn’t vanish. Instead, the fireball withered and sputtered before going out. Quickly, I cast another fireball spell. It was sucked in just like the first. Unlike the first, the mana was being sucked out as fast as I could provide the fireball spell.

  Curious, I cast a second fireball at the shield while still supplying the first. It smacked the shield and exploded. The drain of mana from the fireball, and in turn me, was immense. Releasing the fireball as fast I could, I watched it wither away. A few seconds later and the shield spell followed it into the ether.

  “I would add a mana storage as a buffer as well as a few more spell storage spaces.” Came Professor Olivia’s voice from behind me.

  Jumping to my feet, I turned to her, “Professor, I am sorry.”

  “For what? Experimenting with spells? Did I not say that everyone should be doing so whenever they had a chance?” She had. Her reason had been the same as Sàga’s, versatility was key to any fight and situation.

  “You did, but Professor Sebastian made it clear that we should not experiment without proper supervision.”

  “While I can understand where he is coming from, there are some things I do not agree with. That being one of them. Everyone should be free to experiment with their power. How else would you grow?” She seemed like she wanted to say something more but stopped herself. “Anyway, that was a decent spell, though limited in a number of things. Tell me what you think some of the issues are.”

  “As you said, it needs a few more spots for spells to be siphoned from. The one limits it to siphoning one spell at a time. That siphon also seems to only happen if I don’t provide it mana. Almost like a backup.”

  “Anything else?” I thought for a second before shaking my head. That had been my first and only attempt at the spell. It could be full of issues that I had yet to run into, and I would not know. “Well, the shape, for one thing.” We both chuckled at that because she wasn’t wrong. “But also, it will not be able to handle light or darkness-based spells. You will need to create a sort of filter for those and dump the mana.”

  “What would happen if I didn’t deal with those mana types?”

  In response, she looked down at the spell diagram and cast her version. “Let us see.” A small black light spell floated to contact the shield. It was sucked in just like my fireball had been. Suddenly the entire spell shuddered. Black bolts sparked outward before the shield shattered.

  “Why did that happen?” I asked, curious about what had been going on inside the shield spell.

  “Each mana type flows down their respective threads because that is the path of least resistance. Since there was no thread for the dark mana, it flowed through all the paths and forced itself into each component, breaking them as it passed through.” Seeing my comprehension, she continued, “Now, what can you do to fix all of the issues we have found in the spell?”

  I took a couple of minutes to recall each issue and come up with some sort of fix for each before answering. “As you said, add a few more spell siphons and a mana storage component. Also, move the storage input so that the spell pulls from there before pulling from me. Then there are the two elements it has an issue with. I need to find a way to separate those two out and dump them. Last, I need to change the shape of the spell to cover my whole body.”

  “Good. I look forward to what you come up with.” She nodded before turning. Walking toward a couple of students that looked to be practicing hand-to-hand a couple dozen feet away.

  Focusing on my screen, I quickly added two more spell storages. What took me a while was trying to figure out how to get the funnel section to use all three. That would allow me to lower the number of components I needed, or at least I hoped.

  “Dude,” came Robert’s voice. “Have you been sitting here all day?” Looking at him, I realized just how late it had gotten. The sun was already setting. “Have you eaten anything?” My stomach’s loud growl answered him. He laughed, “come on, Joanne sent me to get you for dinner. She said that you would be still here.”

  Putting Sàga away as I stood up, I walked next to him. “So, are you ever going to ask her out?”

  “What makes you think I should?” His face was beet red as his eyes quickly scanned around us.

  “Everyone in the class knows you both like each other. Even I, the nonsocial one, has noticed.”

  His shoulders slumped. “Tell me it’s not obvious to her. I don’t want to ruin our friendship.”

  “I won’t lie to you. Maybe you should talk to some of her girl friends and see what they think. I am pretty sure they will say that she feels the same.” Robert looked disgusted at the thought of talking about feelings with one of the girls.

  In a not-so-subtle change in topic, he asked, “So what were you so focused on all day?” I shrugged and let him change the subject.

  “A shield spell that I could cast.”

  “Ah, yeah. That would be good to have with all the murders happening recently.” I froze, my mind flashing back to the interrogation I had suffered through. “What’s wrong? Did you know any of them?” Shaking my head, I said nothing. My mind working through the emotions and memories. “Don’t worry. Whoever it is, only targets those that are alone. Just stay in a group and you should be fine.”

  “What makes you say that? There have only been two deaths.”

  He shook his head. “No, the faculty found another four today. The only link they can find is that they were caught alone. Oh, did Professor Olivia find you earlier? She was looking all over around noon.”

  I nodded, instantly understanding why she had been in the field. She had made the run in seem natural. It was a good thing that I had let myself get pulled outside. Based on how Professor Sebastian had acted, I was pretty sure I would not have survived another session with him.

  Robert must have noticed something as he let the conversation die. Not another word passed between us as we continued to the dining hall.