19 – Blink

An initial murmur rumbled through the class. Someone whispered, “So fast.”

Was it?

Was it too fast?

Were they impressed, or did she need to turn down the speed to appear less abnormal?

It was hard to tell how unusual this was from Professor Valeria’s expression. After the initial eye flare, it rested back into its placidity, even as she commented, “Very good. Since you’re so quick, we’ll move on to the second spell. [Lightbeam].”

Ari knew that one, too. It was like the first, but with added Massa and a tiny Calor chain tacked on at the end of the Massa ring. The Calor was what gave the beam its force, however minor it was.

It was a Tier 4, but it looked similar enough to the spell she’d already made that she wished she could just shift around the essences and make additions rather than remaking the whole spell.

As a matter of fact, why couldn’t she?

She frowned as her mind drifted. That would save her so much essence. It was essentially what the Phasewalkers did, except hers would be on a much smaller scale.

Elric had said he couldn’t teach her that.

Could she learn it on her own?

“Arielle?” Professor Valeria called. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes.” She terminated her first spell and said, “[Lightbeam].”

This time, she slowed the essences, holding them back with her cores so they wouldn’t immediately rush into shape.

The spell took three seconds to come together rather than its usual fraction of a second.

The students were still impressed.

“Wow,” someone said.

“You’re good,” another concurred, and Ari blushed, pleased. This was good.

Impressing people was one of the core tenets for getting them to want to befriend you.

“Yes,” Professor Valeria said. “You are quite talented. But if you thought I would let you get by with only your core-dominant spells, you’re sadly mistaken. I believe in only allowing my students to progress when they have a balanced core.” She ran a scanning glance across the class. “As Ascendants, it’s easy to get complacent and only focus on what you are already good at. But we must be adept at even our weaknesses. So, Arielle, the next thing you’re going to do is a [Blink] spell.”

Oh no.

She didn’t know that one.

That must have been one of the spells she didn’t get to.

“It’s good you don’t know it,” Professor Valeria said, reading the hesitation in Ari’s expression. “Because we now get to test your rapid calculation skills. I will give you a minute to figure it out. It’s an instant speed spell so I assume you know the core essences?”

She nodded. Vacu and Calor most probably. Maybe Massa for stability. It had to be at least a Tier 3 spell, but it couldn’t be too complex a pattern, and likely only one or two stages.

But Ari thought about possible double bonds that might be involved and had a moment of panic.

What if she got it wrong?

She hated getting things wrong in class. Hated it.

Just thinking about it made her feel itchy with discomfort.

“Can you demonstrate for me, please?” she asked.

Professor Valeria seemed puzzled. “You want a demonstration, rather than using the time to calculate?”

She bit her lip and nodded. This felt like cheating. It was cheating. Ari did not often like to cheat, but if it was between cheating and failing…

“I just need to understand exactly how the spell works,” she said. “I’ve never seen it done before, so I’m not sure.”

“You’ve never seen a [Blink] Spell?” Her eyebrows lowered. “Did you grow up under a rock?”

“No. I grew up in a stilt house in Fenway Basin.”

Professor Valeria’s eyes widened. “You’re a Mossborne.”

She nodded. She thought it would be obvious from the name, but perhaps there was another group of people who called themselves things like Blacksoil.

“How is she here if she’s a Mossborne?” one of the other students asked.

Ari’s eyes strayed to the ceiling, but she jerked them back down. “I was adopted by Mossbornes. I don’t know my real parents.”

“Oh, I see,” Professor Valeria. “In that case, I apologize for my earlier rock comment, and I can indeed show you the spell, although it will deduct some seconds from your final time.” She took her wand out of her robe pocket, and waved it in the air. “[Blink].”

Ari focused on the shape.

There was a Vacu swirl for reduction of something, and the swirl was thick enough that it essentially resembled a black hole. Did that mean void?

Perhaps.

Calor for speed. Massa for stability. She also added a tiny Luxa-Massa interwoven circle at both ends, likely for targeting both the beginning position and the ending position of the spell.

Ari thought that was likely to ensure that she only got as far as a specific distance.

Four essences. A Tier 4.

Professor Valeria flashed forward by three meters, nearly touching the doorway. She maintained her stiff-backed posture, the wind resistance never blowing back her robes or even a single strand of hair.

It was a little unnatural, and Ari thought maybe the added Luxa-Massa hanging off wasn’t just for distance but for stability as well. Professor Valeria wanted to be in the same position at the beginning of the journey as she was at the end.

Without wasting time, Ari began to scribble the spell form on her scroll as Professor Valeria spun.

“Blink is a very interesting spell, in that, it gives you some flexibility. There are multiple ways to get to the same result, but it usually takes students one or two tries to get it right. I will allow for that in this case, and if you would like a hint, I can–”

“Done.” Ari had wasted some time pretending to think before she drew the spell form. She said the spell and waved her wand, forming the exact shape.

Without warning, it jolted her forward.

Massa kept her stable with perfect posture, everything in place as she came to a screeching stop.

She found herself standing next to the professor near the doorway.

Professor Valeria’s jaw had dropped.

Ari blinked at her as she brushed her hair back. “Did I do something wrong?”

The professor glanced at Arielle’s miniscroll, then back at Arielle. Without a word, she took the mini-scroll from her hand. She frowned at it, her eyes scanning the document as though searching for an error.

“This spell script…” she glanced up. “Have you seen it before?”

“Perhaps,” Ari responded woodenly. “Maybe in a spell book.”

“This isn’t in any spell book.” Her eyes raked the page again, picking it apart. “Your time was too fast. You only had to think about it for ten seconds. You completed the script and the spell within fourteen seconds. That’s an incredible preparation speed, highly unusual for an apprentice who was raised in Fenway. Which leads me to believe that you already knew the spell and you were feigning ignorance.”

Ari wasn’t confident in her lying skills, so she simply remained silent.

“When did you learn to use magic?” Valeria asked.

Not knowing how to answer, she shrugged.

This book’s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“That’s not an answer, Ms. Blacksoil.”

“My essence affinity was discovered a few days ago.”

“A few days? It’s impossible to develop such casting speed and control in just a few days. Were you doing any guided meditation before that?”

She nodded.

“I see. That makes sense then. Who was your tutor?”

Ari really didn’t want to answer. Professor Valeria wasn’t letting it go, so she shook her head.

“Again, not an answer, Ms. Blacksoil.”

“No one,” she finally said.

The Professor paused and eyed her owlishly. “You had no tutor.”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“Since I was young. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time was guided meditation. I just did it for fun.”

“Fun?” That seemed to confuse her even more. “You find guided meditation fun?”

“Yes.”

“There must not be much else to do in Fenway,” a student commented, making someone giggle.

Ari didn’t respond.

“How about spellwork?” Professor Valeria said. “How long have you been doing that on your own?”

“Not that long,” she said. “Most of my training was yesterday.”

That seemed to stump her again. She glanced at the scroll, then back at Arielle, and didn’t know what to say.