Chương 75: The Request

Maus' battle and Arielle's spell-casting trial were held at the same time, which meant that she likely wouldn't get to watch him. To make up for that, she worked with him that evening and early the next morning to ensure that she could identify and fix any weaknesses in his casting and specifically to work on his Vacu-dominant spells. Fiodor Antigones from Class A was part of Maus' duelling group. There was a chance that he would be facing Maus, who had won two of his four duels so far.

Maus thought it was unlikely that he would be able to beat Antigones with his current casting speed, even though he had a good base, but Arielle was determined to help him win.

"I didn't work this hard to make friends just to lose them to severance," she muttered darkly, planting her hands on her waist and staring at Maus with determination.

"You will beat Fiodor Antigones, even if you have to do it by the skin of your teeth."

"Yes, ma'am," Maus said, looking amused as he held up his wand to form a spell.

"But even if I don't, you'll still have Lyra and Riorke."

"That is irrelevant. Lyra and Riorke are not you." She would miss Maus regardless of who else remained and vice versa. All her friends were individually special to her, and Maus was more special in certain regards. He was her first official friend, based on the fact that he had actually told her he thought they were friends early on, and he had been exceedingly patient with her many gaffes.

He was the first one, other than Lyra, to check on her after she had passed out, and his mother had made her a gorgeous, expensive robe.

"I don't want you leaving me, Maus." For some reason, the statement caused Maus to stumble. He stepped on the hem of his robe and fell, his wand smacking into his forehead. When he looked up, his face turned the color of the tomato soup he had had for dinner.

"Are you okay?" Arielle asked.

"Y-ye-yes." His stutter was back in full force.

"J-j-just give me a m-m-minute."

"Okay." Arielle started counting down in her head, but Maus got up far before the minute was up, and they went back to work. She left him with key pointers about Vacu and ensured he'd perfected the new spell she'd created for him, which was just like [Air Slice], but it had the Vacu orbs on the outside. She'd called it [Dark Slice].

"This is harder to control than [Air Slice]," she said.

"So you will have to hold it still and be confident; otherwise Vacu will escape you." He nodded.

"And stand up straight," she said. His back snapped up, and he grinned at her.

"I'll be fine."

"I hope so." She checked the clock at the other side of the wall, noting, "It's almost time for my spell casting trial. I won't be able to witness your fight."

"I'll imagine that you're there." She nodded and patted his shoulder before she continued out the door, heading to the Luxarium. She waited outside Professor Valeria's office until it was precisely her appointment time, upon which she knocked on the door.

"Come in," Valeria said, and Arielle walked in to find her poring over a scroll. The professor glanced up.

"Arielle. Right on time as always." She got out of her seat and led Ari through the adjoining door to the spell-casting classroom. Arielle observed the empty desks, recalling how large the room had seemed the first day she'd arrived. It didn't seem so anymore.

"I've noticed Arielle," Valeria started.

"That your system level is quite low for someone of your caliber. You should be knocking on the doors of adept by now. Is there a reason you're not advancing quickly?"

"Yes." Arielle thought of a quick lie.

"I sometimes forget to add the spells I cast to my Grimoire."

"You forget?"

"Yes."

"Meaning that you can cast multiple spells as well as you do without the grimoire?"

"Not as well," she responded carefully.

"But well enough that I get by."

"I see." She stared at Arielle strangely.

"Typically, I would now call out ten spells of varying difficulties and have you cast them for me. But I think we're beyond that already. Instead, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss something with you."

"What is it?"

"First, I must ask a question. Why did you accept me as your mentor?" This was much easier than her first question.

"Your office is organized, and you are very knowledgeable. You give good advice, and you answer questions very thoroughly, without rolling your eyes."

"Did you have teachers roll their eyes at you before?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Often. One teacher in my old schoolhouse told me that I irritated her when I asked a lot of questions. She said I was a disrespectful know-it-all."

"Then she was a lazy idiot who had no business teaching young minds," Valeria said heatedly, making Arielle blink.

"Sorry," Valeria amended.

"She should not have said that to you. It is not disrespectful to ask questions."

"Yes. I know that now." Her mother had also threatened to behead the woman if she said anything like that to Arielle again. Valeria smiled.

"Are those the only reasons you wanted to work with me?"

"I think so."

"Okay. Let me be honest with you as well. I will admit that I did have ulterior motives for selecting you as my mentee. Specifically, I saw how skilled you were and thought that by being your mentor, I could raise my family's standing in our arcane society. I also wanted the prestige of being known as a mentor of the next powerful Archmage, and the honor that brings. But it's more than that now. Over time, Arielle, I've really grown fond of you." Ari smiled warmly.

"I have grown fond of you, too, Professor Valeria." Valeria seemed pleased.

"I also recognize how naive I was in thinking I could be your mentor. Very soon, you will surpass me in knowledge and capability, if you haven't already. You are not only skilled, but you are also incredibly intelligent, and soon, I will have nothing left to teach you. However, I was hoping we could learn more together."

"What do you mean?"

"In your third year, I will teach your class about the Forgotten Spells. Spells lost to time and the abyss. Some of them are totems of bloodlines that are no longer with us. My family and I, along with other scholars, have tried valiantly for years to recover these spells with varying success. I was hoping you could help me join them. If you would like to remain anonymous, that's not a problem. I respect that and will keep your involvement a secret, while ensuring you receive the financial gains of your labor."

"That sounds like an exciting opportunity," Arielle said. She was so tempted to say 'yes,' but she knew she had to be sensible here.

"But I'm not sure I can take it." While she would be more than happy to research lost spells, she didn't know if she would have the time, and she wasn't sure if it would bring her more publicity that Elric would not approve of.

"Of course," Valeria inclined her head.

"However, if you change your mind, I'll be happy to have you." Arielle nodded."So... no test today?"

"No. Unless you want a test–""Yes, please." She was already here, and it felt wrong not to have a test when everyone else was having one. She, too, would like a big shiny star on her transcript. Valeria smiled fondly.

"Of course," she said.

"One more thing. Professor Llywyd plans to investigate your background more deeply, thanks to your success with Lyra's spell. She has friends in High Water, and she will likely be sending them to Fenway to ask about you." Arielle stiffened, her eyes widening. Annoyance pulsed at the betrayal. Llywyd had promised to let this go.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm not accusing you of hiding anything," Professor Valeria said carefully.

"But if you were to be hiding something, then you should ensure that it's well-hidden." Arielle hesitated, not knowing quite how to respond to that, but eventually she executed a bow.

"Thank you."'" No, Arielle. Thank you." The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Once Arielle was done with her trial, which took all of sixty seconds, she rushed back to the duelling halls to see if she could catch the Maus' trial. Unfortunately, she appeared right in time to see Maus' body being flung over the line by none other than Fiodor Antigones. Her heart stopped. Oh no. She knew it. She'd just had a bad feeling that Maus would face Antigones.

Professor Graham clapped to mark the end of the fight as Arielle rushed over to Maus, who was picking himself off the ground.

"You both fought well," Graham said.

"But I think it was quite clear from the beginning who the winner would be. Fiodor, you have worked on your agility, and it shows. Maus, I would also like to commend your bravery and your rapid improvement. This is not a fight I would have put together myself, but since you chose it, I can do nothing but respect you for that."

"You chose to fight Antigones?" Ari stopped right in front of Maus, her voice bouncing off the walls. Graham ignored them, calling for the next fighters. Maus nodded.

"I was called first, and I challenged Antigones."

"Why would you do that?" Arielle's voice was quieter to match Maus'.

"You said yourself that there was a good chance you would lose."

"I know," he said.

"But your words gave me hope, and I guess I thought I had gotten stronger than I was."

"You have." Arielle wished she had been here on time to dissuade instead of taking a pointless test.

"But battling the Antigones Lightweb was a whole other beast."

"I snapped his Lightweb, actually."

"You did?"

"Yes, it was incredible. The look on his face..." Maus chortled.

"I'll remember it for the rest of my life. I have no regrets, even if I have to go home at the end of the trial." Arielle shook her head. She didn't understand what Maus was so happy about. He had risked himself unnecessarily, picking the hardest battle he could. Arielle was more than a little upset at him.

"Why?" she asked.

"Why would you risk it?"

"Because…" he seemed to struggle with articulating a reason until he finally said, "Because I needed to do it. Facing Antigone was the thing I was most scared of, which meant that it was the thing I had to do. Lyra's battle inspired me, and your words gave me hope. Maybe a little too much hope." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"All's not lost," he said.

"Graham told me that I fight well. They say he considers other factors, and he marked things down, so maybe…" He trailed off.

"Things are supposed to get much harder after severance. I thought that if I couldn't face my fear now, if I couldn't beat Fiodor after how hard I worked, then maybe I wouldn't be able to face what is to come. Maybe it was better to suppress my cores here and now rather than wait for it to become painful." Why suppress cores at all, Ari thought, but that wasn't a question for Maus. It was a question for a being much higher up. Their conversation was interrupted when Fiodor Antigones walked over.

He hesitated at the side of the circle, looking between Arielle and Maus. His eyes lingered on her for a second, his expression unreadable.

"I'm guessing she taught you the spell to use against my web?" Maus nodded slowly, staring at the boy.

"Yes, she did." His body shifted into an almost defensive stance.

"My father will want to know more about that spell," Antigones said to Ari.

"He will probably corner you at the Iverson Ball."

"Who said I would be at the Iverson ball?"

"Lord Wesley has been telling everyone who will listen." Arielle frowned. She hadn't made up her mind yet on that. Lord Wesley seemed fond of deciding things for people. Antigones turned to Maus.

"That was a good fight. We should do it again if you stay."

"Of course," Maus beamed, seeming starstruck, his earlier defensiveness forgotten. He kept smiling even after Antigones walked away, but Arielle did not smile with him. She was still irritated and wondered how she would solve this problem, but nothing came to mind. She blew her breath out. Maybe she could talk to the dean on Maus's behalf. After all, if she were to be an asset to him, she might as well use whatever privileges that entailed. Arielle got to the dean's office right as he was leaving. He smiled.

"Arielle. Just the person I wanted to see. Step into my office for a moment, let's talk." Ari nodded. She walked in and took a seat while the Dean took the seat opposite her.

"I'll go first," he said.

"I wanted to ask you a very important question." She nodded, impatiently, because she wanted to talk about the Maus issue.

"Your fight with Selena," he said.

"How did that come about?" It took Arielle a few seconds to recall exactly what he was talking about.

"I went there to apologize for inadvertently insulting her," she said.

"She asked me to help her with a stealth exercise, and it sounded fun, so I agreed."

"I see. And when she nearly stabbed you, how did you feel?" She thought back to the dagger. She shrugged.

"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought." He raised an eyebrow.

"That's interesting. Most people in your shoes would have been clamoring for some kind of retribution."

"I don't think she truly wanted to hurt me badly."

"Why not?"

"Because... she said it was just a game. She was losing, and perhaps she got frustrated, but that was all." The Dean raised an eyebrow.

"And you believe her just because she said so?"

"Yes."

"Are you aware that humans lie?"

"Yes, but she has no reason to lie to me."

"What if she wanted to seriously injure you?" he said.

"What if she wanted to kill you?"

"Then I suppose I'd be dead." She said it with little to no emotional affect, merely blinking at the Professor whose expression was also unreadable.

"And how does that make you feel?" She thought about it.

"Nothing," she said.

"But again, I don't think Selena would have hurt me."

"Forget Selena. What if it had been... say, a troll... trying to kill you? How would you feel?" She thought about the last troll she faced and said, "It depends. As I said, I would either subdue it or, if I can't, I would kill it."

"But how would you feel afterward?"

"Well, that depends on how wasteful the death is."

"What if it killed you?"

"Unlikely. I can beat them." It slipped out before she could stop herself, and she bit her lip.

"I mean, with proper training, of course." The Dean didn't say anything for a long time after that. He simply stared at her, with that unreadable look.

"Can I talk about my problems now?" she said.

"Please," he said. She told him about Maus' conundrum, pointing out how well he's been doing recently and how fast he's learned. She concluded by saying, "I will agree to be your asset if you allow Maus to stay."

"Really?" A smile quirked at the side of his lips.

"It's that easy?" She nodded.

"Yes."

"You'd sell your soul for a friend?" She thought about it and nodded.

"Yes." His smile dipped.

"Well, as admirable as that is, it's not quite how it works. And I don't extract such grievous oaths from children." He stood.

"You should speak to Professor Graham about that. I have to go now."

"But..." Arielle didn't have anything else to say. Dean Octavius left quickly, and she was left outside of his office gritting her teeth. Darn. She also tried to talk to Graham, but he was busy with the duels, and once they were done, he headed off, saying he had something very important to do.

"We can talk tomorrow," he told her. So Ari had to wait until tomorrow. By then, she had rehearsed and refined her argument in front of Lyra. She would start by bringing up Maus' rapid improvement, stating that it would be in the academy's best interest to let him improve even more because, at the rate he was going, he would end up a Master just ten to twenty years after graduation.

Lyra also told Arielle to offer to participate in the interschool tournament so that Maus would get another chance to fight a more sensible candidate. Lyra thought that would be an adequate bribe, and Ari agreed. The next day, however, Graham shot her down before she was even done making the offer.

"No," he said. Arielle deflated.

"Why?"

"I tend not to blackmail my students for my own personal gain, Arielle. And besides, if you join the tournament despite not wanting to, you're going to half-ass the fights, and you will lose. It's more than just skill and raw power that matters here. You need to want to be there." Arielle swallowed.

"I didn't say I didn't want to be in the tournament."

"So you do want to join?" His eyes twinkled as he faced her.

"In that case, there's no need for a deal, is there?" Drat. He had caught her. Why was it so hard to bribe anyone at this school?

"We'll discuss more later. The duels are about to begin." The hall was starting to fill up with students, more students than had been there the day before. It wasn't just first years and second years. A few third-years who happened to be on campus streamed in too. Arielle didn't know why. She didn't notice people watching her in anticipation, nor did she notice the eyes of the other combatants straying toward her as Graham summoned them forward to their fight.

They each breathed a sigh of relief whenever her name wasn't called after theirs. Arielle didn't pay attention to any of the duels before hers because she was still anxious to talk to Graham about Maus's second chance. She organized a different argument in her head, one that involved offering him gold for his cooperation. This bribe would be better, right? He liked gold, didn't he?

"Arielle," Graham announced after what seemed like forever of watching fights she did not care about.

"Your turn." She finally shot forward, and another first-year who had been standing outside the circle paled. Graham caught her eye and said, "Do not worry, Jane. You will not be fighting her." Jane exhaled audibly, and her friend giggled.

"In fact," he continued.

"It would be unfair of me to pair up Arielle with anyone in this class, knowing fully well what she's capable of. And I'm sure your third years are here to see if the rumors are true. I assure you, they are. Family day should have shown you that."

"So she passes automatically?" someone asked. Arielle frowned. She didn't want to pass automatically. She wanted to be tested like everyone else.

"She could," he said.

"She has won 4/4 of her last duels. In fact, she has won every single duel since she's been here, and that is a feat rivalled by only one other person I've taught. She doesn't need to succeed at this duel to pass the class. However, if she does succeed, she will receive one special prize."

"What prize?" Someone else asked.

"A point that she can give to anyone else in this class, saving them from a failing grade." That triggered a round of murmuring, a growing din. Arielle's eyes widened. That was it. She could use that to help Maus.

"I'll do it," Ari said.

"Not so fast," Graham countered.

"You don't even know what the challenge is."

"I don't care. I'll do it." Some people laughed, and even Graham smiled, although his eyes glittered with something more than mirth. They held menace.

"You might want to reconsider after you learn more about the challenge," he said.

"It's in two phases. The first phase is that you will be fighting against one of the most adaptable, undefeated fighters in the history of the Golden Glove tournament. A man from a tribe of ancient hunters who are very good at taking down more powerful prey. A man who has been observing your movements since the day you got here and knows exactly how to beat you."

"Who?" He grinned.

"Me."