Chapter 15: Spellcrafting and Selections

Sen hadn’t expected the faculty spell-crafting room to impress him as much as it did. It was on the third floor of the academy and required a special key to access. The key in his possession was a translucent, ghost-like material that only manifested physically for the two-hour period he had access to the room each week. It was Calabari’s way of ensuring he didn’t overstay his welcome. If the key turned translucent while he was still in the room, it would never work again. He’d leave ten or twenty seconds ahead of time to make sure that wasn’t a problem.

That, or he’d bend the key to his will. He’d see.

Truthfully, Sen did actually need time to craft more advanced spells; that hadn’t been a lie he’d just told the professor. Sen knew plenty of high-level magic, but he often preferred to use more common ones with his powerful maximizers. It allowed him to experiment more often, especially because in his time, the number of advanced spells was more limited. Now that he had access to more threads of magic, he wanted to explore how far he could push himself in the development of a new spell.

Initially, he’d thought about working on an advanced version of butterfly, but he quickly pushed that from his mind. He needed something new, something that could stand as a shining example of power. He needed a spell so potent that simply uttering its name would send his opponents scattering for the hills and make them beg for mercy. The threat of power was often more effective than using it. In fact, the rumors that had spread about him during his time often made it so he didn’t need to lift a finger to solve most of his issues. He simply needed to show his face, and the problems solved themselves. No one wanted to risk angering someone others called the God of Magic.

[How about something with fire? Everybody likes fire. Except for the people getting burned by it.]

Fire. Sen had seen how potent the fireball spell was under Maxima. A new high-level fire spell could be useful. But if he was going to do this, he was going to go all the way. “The wards in the room, are they sufficient for my full power?” he asked.

[Not the ones in place before, but Mori’s adjustments should hold. Worst-case scenario, Mori’s wards will consume themselves while preventing you from destroying the school, and you’ll need to have him reapply them next week.]

Sen nodded. Good enough. As long as he didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone. He withdrew three high-grade fire magic essence spheres and placed them in a triangle around himself. He focused on his mana, and the orbs thrummed as they resonated with his body. They slowly lifted into the air and rotated around him. Rather than absorbing them inside himself, he poured mana outward. Each of the three spheres erupted into flames around him.

His eyes opened, and an aura of flame came to life inside his pupils. He inhaled, all of his mana becoming the essence of fire itself. Fire. Ever-consuming, all-destroying, the world’s most natural of magic. He imagined a burning landscape in the distance. A sea of fire. He knelt and his hand hit the floor. The three spheres dissolved, melting into the ground and rapidly spreading all around him in every direction.

Mana rushed from his body like wind and spread the flames forward. When he spoke, the words echoed as if they came from the flames themselves.

“Tri-Infernal Hellscape!”

The world was awash in flames. The power of this spell was obvious as molten cracks spread along the ground around him and a searing heat filled the room. This was the type of spell that would leave an impression on his enemies.

And all of this was without a maximizer.

Mori’s wards dissolved in an instant, and the spell dissipated before it could expand and swallow the academy.

[Congratulations. This spell will certainly kill everyone from the rival academy, everyone from your academy, and every innocent bystander within a four or five-mile radius.]

Sen took a breath and closed his eyes. The new spell settled towards the top of the threads of magic. He’d made good progress today. Whether he would need it for the academy war or not, it was in his arsenal forever now, and he couldn’t wait to find an opponent worth using it on.

They waited in the academy’s courtyard for the official Academy War team to be announced. All potential competitors had been approached and had either accepted or rejected the offer. Though Sen couldn’t imagine under what circumstances someone would reject a chance like this. It was probably mostly intended to give the students a chance to negotiate, something he’d taken full advantage of.

Dean Withershade took a back seat at this ceremony. Professor Calabari was in charge of the Academy War team, so he would make the announcements today. Sen had a sneaking suspicion the list would be eerily similar to the top-ranking list. But there was always the chance Calabari surprised him.

The professor cleared his throat as he looked out at the student body. “The Academy War is a tradition upheld every year to honor the students and faculty that came before, the ones who paved the way and allowed us to create a safe haven for students from all over to come and learn about the beauty of magic. This year, Brightsail intends to stand and declare to the world that we are as mighty as ever. And so, I’m proud to announce the students who will carry our glorious name and make that declaration in just two short weeks.”

Sen already knew how this would go. When his name was called, he would go on stage and stand next to the others. Now all that was left was to see who his teammates would be.

“First up,” Calabari said. “Susanna Tower, fourth-year.” A woman with sky-blue eyes and long blonde hair that hung down to her waist stood. She wore her academy uniform, though she’d opted for a gold tie. She was popular based on the audience’s applause and shouting. Susanna didn’t move from where she stood; instead, a golden light grew from her body. She was using some kind of magic. From the aisle, a large golden hand grew from the ground. It leaned over and held its palm out for Susanna, who stepped gracefully onto it. The hand then transferred her from among the seats to the stage. She took her spot next to Professor Calabari and stood with her head held high.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“She favors creation magic. She’ll be a good teammate for you,” Milim whispered, nudging him. He hadn’t been able to keep the secret from his friends. Of course, when he said he had something to tell them, Orttha had kicked all the other students out and locked the library again, thinking it was about cults. When he realized it was about the Academy War coming up, he realized he’d jumped the spell. Sen waited until he’d let the other students back in to ask him a simple question about cults.

Orttha hadn’t thought it was as funny as Sen did.

“Our next competitor,” Calabari announced. “Girch Hammerrock, fourth-year!” A group of men grunted their support. Girch was a tall, heavyset man with arms that looked like they could crush heads. It was clear he hadn’t skipped out on the strength stat. If a dreadbeast saw Girch alone in the woods as a boy, it might’ve adopted him. Girch stood from his place in the third row. He crossed his arms and glared at the people in front of him. It didn’t take them long to get the memo. The students sitting in his way quickly lifted their chairs out of the way to form a path. When they were finished, he made his way to the stage and stood next to Susanna. He took up two or three times the space she did. She smiled at him. It seemed they were friends.

Professor Calabari seemed pleased with the reception so far. Sen wondered if his next pick would inspire the audience just as much. “Third, we have Snake!” Professor Calabari shouted.

Apparently not.

There were a handful of claps, but nothing like the previous two competitors. Even Susanna and Girch seemed less than amused as Snake made his way to the aisle. So he wasn’t popular even among his peers. Snake’s smug look said it all. He didn’t care if people were happy he’d been chosen or not. He muttered something, and a swarm of spectral green serpents appeared around his feet, slithering forward as he stepped. They left a purple, acid-like substance behind that melted the carpet in their wake. When he reached the stage to join the others, the snakes faded away.

Milim shrugged. It seemed she didn’t know much about either the boys joining him on the team.

Oliver perked up. “I can help with this one! His powers aren’t all that well known. He takes a lot of quests, but he prefers ones where killing is on the table. If a quest says dead or alive? Well, he doesn’t read past the first word. You should be careful around him. He has a short temper,” he warned.

Sen was surprised how much Oliver knew about the quest Snake took, but it was good information.