Chapter 40 - Contracted Spirit

  Felicia felt none of the confidence Daniel was showing on his face.

  “My magic? But it’s just…”

  Just a tiny light.

  How could that possibly impress the headmaster of the greatest magic academy in Javos? The elf who had lived for millennia?

  “Don’t worry, he won’t make fun of you no matter what you do.”

  Daniel's voice was reassuring, but it didn't stop the nervous flutter in her chest.

  “Not her, no,” Zoltran replied. “I’d never make fun of someone trying their best. But as her teacher, you are a different matter, Artorias.”

  Felicia could hear the smile in his tone. Friendly banter rather than an actual warning.

  “Of course. Go ahead, Felicia.”

  She swallowed, swapping her focus between the two of them. They both watched her with anticipation—Daniel with pride, Zoltran with curiosity.

  No choice, then.

  “...Where do I send it?”

  “At me,” Zoltran replied, taking several steps back to give her more room. “It’s the best way to study the magic accurately.”

  That was how Daniel had done it, so it came as no surprise.

  She took a deep breath, moving her focus to her core, to the mana flowing inside her. It moved into her arms, now held out before her, flowing through channels that felt more natural every day. Finally, it condensed between her palms, gathering into a single point.

  This is the first time I’m using it since… since the kidnapping.

  First to remove her gag, then the attack that shredded Norton’s cheek to pieces.

  I hope it left a horrible scar.

  That memory still haunted her, though she tried not to show it. The nightmares weren’t so bad, and once she heard Daniel’s sleeping breath beside her, she felt safe again. No need to wake him.

  Though in truth, Zoltran knocking on their door earlier had almost triggered a panic attack. Suddenly, she was back in the hotel room—five men storming through, rough hands grabbing her arms, ropes binding her wrists tight enough to cut circulation. And Elizabeth, bleeding heavily in the corner.

  Her hands had started shaking, trembling so hard she could barely control them.

  Luckily, she managed to ground herself. Daniel was just in the other room; he would save her in an instant if anything happened. And with that presence of mind, she had managed to send out her mana to look outside the door.

  It was just a small child, she’d realized with relief.

  A small child infinitely more powerful than those bandits. Looks can certainly deceive.

  But those thoughts had no place in her mind right now. She had to focus on her current task, had to prove that Daniel's faith in her wasn't misplaced.

  The light formed between her palms, spinning faster than ever before. Moving the mana was easier now than it used to be. She could condense it harder, use it better, spin it faster, and make the light stronger. All those hours of training were paying off.

  Spin. Spin faster! Condense!

  She poured everything she had into that tiny point of light. More mana than she'd ever used before, compressed tighter than she'd thought possible, spinning so fast it almost hurt to maintain control. Then she sent it forward with all the force she could muster, straight toward Zoltran.

  This is all I have!

  Zoltran went very still with his eyes fixed on her tiny light. The playful teasing from earlier had vanished, replaced by intense concentration.

  Without him even moving his hands, a cylinder of some kind appeared out of nowhere, right in the path of the spinning light. Felicia's mana sight reacted strangely to the cylinder, not bouncing off like it normally would but instead just stopping. It seemed vaguely red, though it was hard to tell through the distortion.

  What kind of magic is that?

  The moment her light entered the cylinder, it slowed significantly, as if time itself had been slowed to a crawl.

  Zoltran moved to the side of the slowing space, observing the light closely. His young face was a mask of concentration, studying every detail.

  “It spins.”

  "...Yes," Felicia eventually replied, feeling exposed for some reason. Like he was seeing through her magic to something deeper, something she didn't fully understand herself.

  “But somehow, the usual centrifugal force is working in reverse. It’s pushing the matter inwards instead of out, creating an incredibly dense point of mana as the spin increases. Not breaking a physical law, but reversing it.”

  Centrifugal... what?

  Felicia had no idea what he was talking about, but she understood the gist—her magic was doing something backwards. Something that shouldn't be possible.

  Wasn’t that most Sarun magic, though?

  "Is that... is that dangerous?"

  “Did you create this on your own?”

  He didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked one of his own, and somehow that non-answer felt like an answer in itself.

  “Yes.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Almost fourteen.”

  "Extraordinary. No, far beyond that."

  The words should have made her feel good. But his tone was... wrong. Too heavy.

  “...Thank you, Headmaster.”

  His eyes remained fixed on her spinning light with something that looked almost like worry. He turned to look at Daniel, and a few silent words seemed to be conveyed between them.

  "I have it under control," Daniel said, and there was something almost defensive in his tone.

  Felicia's chest tightened. What is it I don't know?

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “It’s a damn good thing you found her, but I’m not confident you do.”

  Found me?

  “Ehh, can I join the conversation?” Felicia asked timidly. It was definitely about her, and unquestionably something serious.

  Daniel seemed hesitant, but Zoltran turned back to her. “Do you know about the young healer who became a corrupted spirit?”

  Oh, this was serious serious.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Everyone did, at least to some degree. It was as much a part of Artorias’ legend as the man himself.

  “What do you know?”

  “...She contracted a spirit before she was strong enough, which caused it to take over her mind and become corrupted. The healing magic became death magic, spreading across the continent. Luckily, a brave hero and his party managed to stop her before it consumed everything.”

  Zoltran nodded, folding his arms in a sagely manner. “And since then, the country decided to forbid Sarun magic from reaching the public, only letting certain noble families and powerful archmages learn from the old archives. Healing magic was banished completely, as the corrupted version was so dangerous.”

  That filled in some pieces she hadn’t known. The loss of healing magic, especially.

  Does he fear that I will become too skilled in my own Sarun magic, and end up corrupted?

  "I think I understand your worry, Headmaster." She tried to keep her voice steady. “I will not contract any spirits, no matter how tempting it is.”

  "You are clever." There was approval in his tone, but also something else she didn’t like. “Indeed, that is the worry. But there’s still one thing you don’t know.”

  Zoltran looked over at Daniel again, as if asking who should be the one to say it. And Daniel eventually spoke.

  “The spirit of any Sarun magic is a mirror of the magic’s creator. Another half, slowly forming in the spirit world. The contract other mages use is just a replication of the original version, meaning you will be contracted from the start." He paused, and she heard him take a breath. "You already are."

  Felicia's stomach dropped. "...What?"

  "You already have a spirit," Daniel said gently. "From the moment you created your magic."

  "...And you didn't think to mention this earlier?"

  "Your spirit is still in its infancy, without any danger. I'll raise your level more than enough to stop any potential risk in the future." His tone was reassuring, doing his best to make her feel like a child. "I didn't want to worry you without reason."

  "I think that's the real reason." She couldn't quite keep the edge out of her words. "You don't want to worry me."

  “Not when you don’t have to, no.”

  That didn't seem fair. It was her life on the line, her magic. Her spirit, apparently, growing somewhere in a world she couldn't see or sense. A mirror of herself that could potentially kill her if she wasn't strong enough.

  …Then again, what good will worrying do?

  Daniel had proven himself time and again. She trusted him more than anyone, even wise and ancient elves. If he said he had it under control...

  “Fine. I’m sure you know how to handle it.”

  “It’s rarely a problem in the first place, even for the creators of new magic.”

  “While that is true,” Zoltran interjected. “I’ve never heard of a Sarun magic being created at such a young age, with one very notable exception." Another pause, heavy with meaning. "How old was she, Artorias?"

  Oh, let me guess who…

  Daniel paused, hesitant to answer. But he still did, confirming Felicia’s fears.

  "She was fourteen." His voice was quiet. "Fifteen when I sealed her."

  “Exactly.”

  Daniel seemed frustrated, but also hesitant to openly speak out against the old headmaster. Instead, he looked back at Felicia. “Fillie, what does your index say your level is now?”

  Felicia focused on the armband around her wrist, sending a small pulse of mana into it to activate the status screen.

  [--|--]

  Felicia G. Harrowbloom

  Initiate Mage

  Level: 331

  Mana: 101 / 681

  Stats not available

  [--|--]

  "Uhm, it's at 331 now." She tilted her head slightly, calculating. "19 up from yesterday. Isn't that very fast?"

  Zoltran's eyebrows shot up. "Nineteen levels in one day?" He studied her again, then turned to Daniel. "What method are you using?"

  Daniel folded his arms with a haughty look on his face. "Told you I have it under control."

  “...Fine. Just make sure that growth continues.”

  "Nineteen levels in a day will be challenging to keep up," Daniel admitted, "but you have my word."

  "Good." Zoltran moved toward the door. "I will let you rest now. You seem to need it."

  "Oh, one more thing before you leave," Daniel said, putting his hand in the air like a student.

  The footsteps paused.

  "Yes?"

  "I was thinking of having Felicia join some classes to experience the academy life. Is that fine?"

  Academy classes. The words sent a flutter of excitement and nervousness through Felicia's chest. Real classes, with other students. She'd be so far behind everyone else, but...

  "Of course," Zoltran replied, now smiling like the old teacher he was. “You should talk to Quill about specifics, but I'd be happy to have such a talented student join us."

  "Good, I'll leave that for tomorrow, then." Daniel's tone shifted back to his casual self. "Thanks for stopping by, old man. I'll visit when I know more."

  "Do that.” Zoltran turned to Felicia as he opened the door. “It was nice meeting you, Felicia."

  She straightened slightly, trying to project confidence she didn't quite feel. "You as well, Headmaster."

  "Keep working hard, and make sure he doesn't do anything else reckless."

  "I will do my best!"

  And with that, Zoltran left the room, closing the door gently behind him.

  Felicia let out a breath, turning to Daniel with a smile. “He seemed nice.”

  "Yeah, he is." There was fondness in Daniel's voice, mixed with something like relief. "He's barely changed at all in a thousand years."

  "Isn't that nice?"

  "Very much so."

  Felicia focused her mana sight on the red cylinder that still held her spinning light inside, studying the strange temporal distortion. The light seemed to slow down further the deeper it traveled into the cylinder's center.

  “Will my spell suddenly burst out of that thing and break something?”

  "Yes, in a few weeks." Daniel chuckled. "He overdid it, but it's a nice method of studying your spell closely."

  “Is it Sarun magic?”

  “Yeah, one of a dozen different types he has mastered.”

  A dozen. The number boggled her mind. The legendary Artorias was known as an amazing genius wth his four signature types, but that paled in comparison to his teacher.

  How long would it take to master twelve? Well, I guess he had the time…

  “Have you ever tried making magic on your own?”

  "I have," Daniel admitted, and she could hear the wry smile in his voice, "but I never managed to come up with anything. Don't go thinking it's easy just because you did it."

  "We can't all be equally talented, I guess."

  "Pff, talk to me when you graduate with highest honors."

  Felicia chuckled, feeling the tension of the last few minutes finally draining away. But her mood quickly turned when her mana sight swept across the room and caught the balls of paper scattered near the waste bin. She’d gotten closer than ever, but not perfect.

  "I'll keep practising for a while." She turned her head toward where Daniel stood. "Will you go back to bed?"

  “No, if I sleep more now, I’ll be in trouble tonight. I’ll join you.”

  She smiled, moving back to the couch she had been sitting in while practising. Daniel sat down next to her, watching closely.

  And that's how the rest of the evening passed, Daniel coaching her through adjustments to her breathing, focus, and visualization.

  They took a short break for dinner—fish and potatoes with a wonderful creamy sauce, brought in by a servant. Then back to the formations.

  Her fingers carved through the air above the paper again and again, leaving trails of mana that slowly became more circular.

  In the end, after hundreds of attempts and dozens of crumpled papers adding to the pile by the waste bin, something clicked. A perfect circle was formed.

  Felicia stared at it through her mana-sight, barely believing it was real.

  "I did it," she whispered.

  “You did," Daniel confirmed, and pride rang clear in his voice. "Pretty close to twenty hours, right?"

  She laughed, carefully placing the paper on the table where it would stay undisturbed. “I’m glad I wasn’t a failure.”

  "The student is never to blame, Fillie." His hand landed gently on her shoulder, warm and reassuring. "But now you won't embarrass me when you start going to classes."

  That was a blessing. She’d been worried about that since talk of joining classes had been brought up. Unlike every other student, she’d never gotten the basic magic education most children go through.

  But at least I have talent. That should help, right?

  That night, when they went to bed, the perfect circle was still sitting there on the table—proof that persistence paid off, that she could do this.

  She fell asleep with a smile on her face.