Chương 12: Chapter 13: The Arduous Path of Excellence

Jim sat in an abandoned corner of the large library attached to the academy. His expensive robes were being dirtied by a rickety, splintery, dusty old chair while his high-quality shoes scuffed on ground that no one had walked for millennia. On the table in front of him were laid out a large variety of ancient tomes holding forbidden knowledge almost impossible to decipher by anyone but the wisest of mages.

The second circle mage held up a hand, two mana rings spinning above his palm, both going in different directions. Suddenly they transformed, forming two arrowhead-shaped forms. His ability to cast two magic missiles had proven insufficient to graduate from Combat Magic 1 at any appreciable speed. His hexagonal shield had proven itself similarly underappreciated by the instructor last time, who had critiqued its immobility and the small amount of rather large hexagons.

A wave of his hand, and suddenly, two blue mana hexagons overlapping each other perfectly started spinning in different directions. Other than the shaping exercises necessary to cast the basic four, this was the extent of Jim's labour over the years, passed on from the future as it had been. The ability to cast two of the same spells at the same time, magic missile. The ability to cast the interlocking hexagons version of the basic mage shield.

He'd been delving into the tomes for hours now, and had found a way for himself to improve his combat efficacy. Naturally, the best way wasn't always the easiest way.

"Wherever man shirks from hardship, chaos is sown for future generations to resolve," he said dramatically. He could have brute-forced his way to increase the efficacy of his mage shield by increasing the number of plates or the rotational speed. He could have brute-forced the shaping exercises of magic missile to increase their speed and penetration power. But, a stronger shield or a stronger spear would have left him a one-dimensional fighter with only two options. Attack, or defend.

A second circle mage could cast two of the same spell. A fourth circle mage could cast four of the same spell. What did a third circle mage do then, that made them so special? They could cast three of the same spell, of course, but the reason why the academy set being a second circle as its minimum requirement for its graduates was that if they kept the students until the third circle, they'd extend the graduation by too long.

There was a significant divide between the second and third circle that had nothing to do with circles, in fact. It had all to do with the fact that, unlike a second circle mage, a third circle could cast two different spells at the same time. In other words, they could attack and defend in the same breath. The issue was, of course, that humanity's ability to multitask was severely limited.

Casting two different spells at the same time required first the ability to create two different mana shapes at the same time and have them move independently from each other. After all, it wouldn't do for a magic missile to not leave Jim because it was behaving like a shield, or for his shield to fly at his enemy because it thought it was a missile. A blue magic hexagon, a blue magic missile.

Jim tried summoning both at the same time, but the mana he'd tried to manifest simply lost its shape before dissipating itself into his surroundings. He tried again. And again. And again… After several more grueling attempts, he finally relented once drops of sweat appeared on his brow, threatening to ruin his effortless good looks with a hint of physical desperation. He leaned back in his chair, put down his arms and cracked his neck. Seven attempts. More than he'd ever practised something. He nodded seriously.

His resolve, now that he'd realised what was on the line. It almost frightened him…

"What are you doing?" a sharp voice suddenly said from the entrance to the little nook he was hiding in. Jim narrowed his eyes at the intruder. This was why he'd been trying to stay hidden. To fight the infection. The place might have been cursed, but those who willingly dwelled in its depths were even more so. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"The world is a cruel place, and thus we must learn to defend ourselves from its dangers," he said in a low voice. The blue-haired girl dressed in blue robes huffed at him, then unceremoniously walked up to his table and picked up the thin booklet he'd been reading." Combat Magic for Dummies?" Dew asked. Jim scrambled to grab the book back out of her hands, but she simply danced backwards with a mean smirk on her face.

"Give that back to me!" he demanded imperiously." The Dark Arts of Evisceration are not a book for you to trifle with." He continued grasping, but once Dew had gotten far away from him, he simply stayed in his chair and huffed. He was starting to get exhausted.

"Just because you call it something else doesn't suddenly make it so," Dew said in a huff.

"Anyway, I only came because I saw the blue light." She gave him an appraising look.

"I didn't expect you, of all people, to already be on the second circle. Trying on the third, from what I saw?" Jim narrowed his eyes at her as his mind whirled. His world had recently been upended. The headmaster was a murderer; dozens of others were in on the conspiracy, hunting after free-thinkers like himself, and Alice. Dew, the eternal boot-licker of the academy, would doubtlessly be in the headmaster's camp if she was in any.

He didn't know much about the Waterflower family, but they likely had their own goals.

"So you've come to spy on me," Jim said as he finally stood up, dramatically throwing out his arm to make his cloak whirl in the air behind him.

"Foul fiend, I don't know how you located me, but revealing yourself was a grave error, for you shall now face your doom." Dew stared at him with a blank face as Jim tried to stand intimidatingly in front of her.

"..."

"I work here," she eventually said, pointing to the small bronze lapel on her chest. Jim regretfully closed his eyes.

"So even this place has been compromised. The conspiracy's grasp is wide…"

"I came to tell you that you can't use magic in the library, it's against the rules," Dew continued unabated.

"Even if it's only shaping exercises," she huffed. It was now Jim's turn to return the blank stare…

"What do you mean?" he eventually asked. Dew simply stared at him with wide eyes, her free hand going to cover her mouth.

"Is thi- this your first time in the library?" she eventually asked.

"..." -/- Jim had been unsure on whom to trust ever since his own headmaster had first blown his head off. The second time hadn't really helped either. But, when, in the depths of despair, studying magic and trying to break through to the next level, Dew, of all people, had come to talk to him, he couldn't refuse. He looked forlornly at the arcane tomes as he shelved them back where he'd found them while the blue-haired girl babbled at him from behind.

"And I've been trying to break into the second circle for months now. I don't quite know how to do it," she said, as if anybody cared.

"But my family's focus on water magic keeps interrupting my efforts in the basic shaping exercises." Jim didn't really have a choice in listening to the girl, however, even if it took him away from his laborious task of improving his already impressive skills. After all, the most recent days had taught him that he could trust no one. This, by default, meant that he couldn't trust Dew either, not that he ever had. And if he couldn't trust her, then obviously he had to find out what she knew.

"The second circle isn't as problematic as the third, so I don't really know why you're struggling. You always seemed on top of classwork," he said diplomatically, sprinkling in a compliment, as they exited the library. It had turned out that it was closing for lunch break, which was why Dew had been going around to gather up the students. The girl glared at him and crossed her arms underneath her nonexistent chest.

"How did you do it then, if it's so easy?" she asked. Jim hummed thoughtfully and summoned a mana circle above his palm.

"The first mana circle is the same as the second one," he said as he made a second one appear.

"They have to spin, but in separate directions, so as to serve as a basis for two spells being used at the same time, but not necessarily doing the same thing." He spun one circle clockwise and the other counterclockwise.

"How to achieve this?" he asked rhetorically, before shrugging.

"I come from a merchant family, so perhaps we're taught mathematics more critically, but in my mind, I see the first circle's movement as the expression of a mathematical function. If I want the second circle to move in the opposite direction, I simply multiply the first function by -1, which reverses the trend." The circles in his palm blimped out as they came to a stop in front of the library. Dew narrowed her eyes and bit her lip.

"But, doesn't applying that principle mean that your two spells can only ever go in exactly opposite directions?" she asked. Jim shrugged. He'd never thought that far. All he'd known was that the two-circle exercise was necessary for graduation, so he'd learned it. That was that. The deal with his family meant that graduation and the occasional caravan travel would be fulfilling his duty to his family and thus privilege him to a life of luxury. He'd simply done what he'd had to do.

"The mana exercises are always just a proof of concept, from what I understand, a guiding light. If you can make it work, no matter how, your mana will then be able to replicate the movement instinctively. It's magic, literally. I can send missiles in whatever direction I want. I guess because I want it?" he finished with a question, tilting his head. The girl opposite him hung her head and rubbed at her temples, before suddenly perking up again.

"But your solution of multiplying by -1 won't work for a third circle. There are only positive and negative. Your solution isn't scalable!" she accused.

"I answered your question," Jim huffed.

"Fine," the girl admitted, "I guess you're right." She paused.

"Thank you."

"Now answer one of mine," Jim replied. Dew looked at him expectantly. Jim opened his mouth, before closing it, not knowing how to phrase it. He needed to find out the girl's allegiances. Was she in on the conspiracy? Was everyone?

"Have you…" He started with narrowed eyes, wondering if he should just be blunt.

"Have you and the headmaster ever participated in illicit activities together?" The last thing he saw that day was a closed fist accelerating towards his face.