Beckoning Fates, page 16
“I would first like you all to imagine a scenario. Imagine a world where everyone could read everyone’s mind. The fleeting thoughts that can make even the purest man seem perverse or the kindest woman seem cruel are all laid out in the open for others to read. I believe such a world would be home to the best mages ever known.” The class waited, confused, for the professor to make his point, but he moved on.
“I’ll come back to this later, but for now: Why do conjurers and even augmenters chant spells? It is not the words that invoke the spell or technique. Rather, the words influence the caster’s consciousness, filling his mind with the correct ‘suggestion,’ if you will, which molds the mana into the desired spell.” The sound of everyone furiously scribbling in their notebooks filled the room.
Professor Mayner was a great speaker and knew how to keep the class engaged with the material he taught.
“To give a rather humorous example, if I were to say to a girl who liked me, ‘I have always loved you,’ you can bet there would be some sort of reaction from her. The ‘incantation’—which was ‘I have always loved you’—triggers the response, or the ‘spell,’ from her, whether that is blushing, crying, a smile, et cetera.” Several classmates chuckled while some elbowed their friends jokingly at the metaphor, but I winced.
“All in all, if the caster can control his consciousness to mold the mana into his desired spell, then incantations can be greatly shortened—or they might not even be needed at all. The reason augmenters don’t need to focus so much on chanting is because the spells they cast almost always directly involve the use of their own body. Conjurers, on the other hand, cast much more precise and complicated spells, where such incantations help to protect against a stray thought or distraction, which can entirely change the results of the intended spell. For example, instead of placing a fire shield in front of an ally, one might accidentally ignite a conflagration which consumes the ally.
“This is why I said that if there was a world where everyone could read each other’s minds, that world would also have the greatest of magicians. Why? Because they would have absolute control over their thoughts.”
Although the professor was a great lecturer, I wasn’t able to focus. My mind kept shifting back to Tess and her parting words.
Hiding my insecurities with my confidence…
Was that what I was doing? Was I using the fact that I was a lot better at magic than everyone else as an excuse to avoid confronting what I was actually bad at?
Perhaps I was being a hypocrite. I was going on about how I couldn’t see Tess as anything more than a child, but I was actually the one who needed to grow up, at least in a certain sense. Building up my strengths didn’t make up for my weak points; it only made them that much more noticeable by comparison.
Tess was young. She was also innocent, but that didn’t mean she was ignorant. Maybe I was the ignorant one.
“Class is over! Have a great night, students. I shall see you all tomorrow.”
As I walked back to my dorm, my mind was all over the place, and I almost tripped over myself several times.
Damn it.
I changed direction and headed to where the student council dorms were. Moving as fast as my body would take me, I arrived at a building that was much fancier than my dorm hall.
Now how do I find Tess? It’s not like I can just shout out and call for her…
‘Papa, Mama is over there.’ Sylvie pointed with her paw, and without questioning, I ran in that direction.
“I’m telling you, I’m okay! Please, just let it go, Clive.” I heard Tess’s voice coming from the courtyard near the fountain.
“No! How dare that brat make you cry? I knew he would only cause trouble. His poor upbringing is definitely the cause. I can’t imagine why Director Goodsky even allowed the peasant into the academy—and as a disciplinary committee member, no less!” I could vaguely make out Clive’s thin frame holding Tess by her wrist.
When Clive saw me approaching, his face contorted into a scowl. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here? You dare try and meet with Princess Tessia after you’ve made her this unwell? If it were up to me, I’d kill you right now.”
Ignoring the thin, stern-looking vice president, I looked at Tess, who turned away. “Tess, can I have a moment of your time?”
“Are you ignoring me?” Clive roared as he grabbed my shoulder.
It was as if a fly was constantly buzzing around my ear, and I lost my patience. “Piss off,” I growled, bombarding him with mana as I had done with Lucas.
But I released a bit too much, and Clive was pushed back, stopping only after he tumbled into a nearby tree.
“You! What…” Clive was too flustered to produce anything more coherent.
“Stop. It’s not worth causing a scene over.” Tess stepped in between Clive and me and took my hand, leading me out of the courtyard.
I tried to keep up with her quick steps but I nearly tripped, my injured body worn out from the hurried march across campus.
“Hold on, Tess. We’re going too fast. I’m still hurt,” I managed to say between gasps.
“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Tess glanced back, her stern expression softening for just a second.
In an alley between the director’s office and the student council’s dorm, she finally stopped. After she let go of my hand, Tess took a step back and waited for me to catch my breath.
“Well? What do you want?” she asked, her gaze fierce.
“Tess. There were a lot of truths in what you said to me earlier. To a certain extent, I think I did know how you felt about me but I was always afraid to face it. Magic and fighting are so much simpler. The more you train, the better you get, and the better outcome you see. Emotions like this don’t work that way, especially for me.” I looked at Tess but her expression didn’t change.
“Maybe you think I was making excuses when I said we were too young, but that’s really how I feel. Maybe you think you’re ready and maybe you are, but I know I’m not. I understand that we’re close in age, but everyone matures at a different pace.” My mind worked furiously, trying to come up with the words to make Tess understand without telling her I didn’t feel right going out with her when I had a mental age over forty. “I care about you and I missed you when I came back home—I should’ve said this earlier and I’m sorry I didn’t, but I hope you don’t hate me for what I’m about to say.”
“You’re beating around the bush,” Tess responded, her expression softening.
“I can’t have a relationship with you right now,” I said firmly.
Tess raised a brow. “Right now?”
“Maybe when we’re older?” The statement came out sounding more like a question.
My childhood friend clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. “You say that like you think I’m going to wait for you. Anyway, I bet you just want to make time to find some other girl.”
My mind immediately pictured a thirteen-year-old me locking arms with a woman the same age as my mother, and I shook my head.
“I won’t be dating anyone anytime soon,” I reassured her.
“How do you know? How am I supposed to trust that you’re not going to go and fall for someone else even if I do wait for you? I’m not sure you’ve noticed but I can be really selfish. If you say all this now and then go out and carry on with some other girl…” Tess’s voice trailed off and she began to tremble. “I’d rather you just say you don’t see me as anything other than a friend than—”
I shut off my conscience for one second, long enough to manage a light peck on her lips. I suppressed the inner voice that screamed in disapproval and backed away from Tess, my face burning, truly feeling like a twelve-year-old boy in that moment.
“I hope this will buy me some time, because that’s about the limit of what I can do,” I said, unable to look Tess in the eye.
There was no reply, so I took a peek up—only to see Tess in a daze, her eyes glossed over as her middle and index fingers touched her lips.
“Tess?” I whispered.
She blinked and quickly removed her fingers from her lips. “Fine. But you’d better watch out—I’m pretty popular. If you make me wait too long, someone else is going to take me!”
“Deal.” I smiled in relief at finally sorting things out with Tess—then she suddenly went up on her toes and kissed me on the cheek.
I drew back, surprised. “Tess, I thought I said—”
“Don’t worry, stupid. That was just a thank-you for saving me in class last week.” She stuck out her tongue before turning around and running off into her dorm.
Sylvie, who had witnessed everything from atop my head, snickered.
Zip it, Sylv.
Letting out a deep breath, I walked back to my dorm. I wondered if Tess was willing to wait a few years—or even a decade—but I chose not to think about it any longer.
Tomorrow’s problems will be solved by tomorrow’s me.
61
My Team
TESSIA ERALITH
Arriving at my room, I jumped into bed, my hands covering my burning face, and gave soft shrieks of delight as I rolled back and forth across my sheets. I couldn’t stop giggling.
Art finally kissed me. He kissed me!
Unable to calm down, I wrapped myself in my blanket as I rolled around. The image of him leaning forward to kiss me filled my head, forcing my lips to curve up. It felt different than when I’d kissed him. I couldn’t quite explain it, but it was definitely a better feeling.
“I could get used to this…” I muttered aloud as I softly rubbed my lips. I rolled across my bed again in embarrassment as I replayed the event in my mind.
I began to imagine what our wedding would be like. I wanted it to be super pretty. I wonder how our kids would look? Arthur was good-looking and I wasn’t ugly either. It should be fine. But in order to have kids, we would need to…
I could almost feel steam coming out of my ears as I imagined it. I mean, I had learned about how babies were born from my home tutor but…
No, no no no—it’s too early! And besides, Arthur said he wanted me to give him some time. I wondered what he meant by that. Did he mean we were going to act like tonight never happened?
I didn’t want that. But if he did, was I allowed to get mad at him for it? Was I being too hard on him? I knew he had my best interests at heart, but I couldn’t be so wishy-washy about this.
What if another girl really did end up liking him, too, and he chose her? I was just a violent, spoiled girl, after all; why would he choose me?
The more I thought about it, the more disheartened I became. It’s okay, Tess, I told myself reassuringly. We’re both still really young. Even if it does take time, I’m sure it’ll work out eventually.
Gah! Stop discouraging yourself and let’s just sleep, Tess!
ARTHUR LEYWIN
I'd been getting used to having Sylvie wake me up. Usually a loud mental shout was enough to rouse me, but today she woke me up with a sharp bite on my nose.
"Kyu!"
I groaned as I sat up, rubbing my throbbing nose as Sylvie went back to sleep, her job complete. She seemed to be a lot more active at night, and she took frequent naps throughout the day.
After washing up, I looked at Elijah, still breathing loudly in his sleep while I had to wake up so early.
We couldn't have that now, could we?
“Good morning!” I slapped my sleeping roommate on his behind.
“Ah! What? Huh? What’s going on?” Apparently, the sudden impact made him panic—he immediately assumed a defensive position with his right hand straight out, ready to fire at his attacker.
“Nothing. Just saying good morning.” I shrugged, strapping the knife onto my disciplinary committee uniform.
“Ugh, I have another two hours before class starts. You woke me up just to say good morning?” Elijah groaned as he wrapped himself into a makeshift cocoon of blankets.
“Yup! I’m off to my first disciplinary committee meeting.”
I was taking one last look around to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything when Elijah popped his head out from the blanket.
“Did something good happen? You’re a little bit too happy. It’s unsettling.” Elijah squinted his slightly puffy eyes, though I couldn’t tell if he was studying me or just trying to focus his vision, since he wasn’t wearing his glasses.
“You’re just imagining things, Elijah,” I said with a light chuckle, quickly lacing my boots before heading toward the door.
“Suspicious…” he mumbled before succumbing to his body’s demands to go back to sleep.
Making sure no one was around, I jumped off the building, using wind augmentation to cushion my landing. Sylvie just floated down; she looked silly to me, with her oversized ears flopping against the wind.
She landed on top of my head with a soft plop, and I took some time to test my body out with some stretches. I couldn’t say I was in great condition, but the improvement since yesterday made me nod in satisfaction. It was times like these that I really felt the effects of going through the assimilation of Sylvia’s dragon will.
Which reminded me—I still had to help Tess with her assimilation. How was I supposed to act around her anyway? I couldn’t believe I’d kissed her yesterday.
Even in my past life, I’d never gone past the point of kissing, and it had always been the other party who had initiated even that. I’d never had an interest in falling in love—in fact, I feared love. I even avoided the prospect of unattached sexual relationships because I feared that the start of a physical relationship could lead to emotional attachments. I had secluded myself, focusing solely on my training except for the occasional public appearances and fights. I made sure there was no one I held in importance, no one who could be used as a tool against me.
What I’d learned most from this world wasn’t the magic or the fighting. No, this life had forced me to open up my calloused heart and allow people to matter to me. This also meant I had to be stronger than my past self, since I had people to protect this time.
Lost in my thoughts, I almost passed by the disciplinary committee’s meeting room. The DC had access to one of the bigger rooms in the academy so it could double as a training room. I was a bit late since I had woken up a little later than expected, but it wasn’t too loud so I hoped I wasn’t the last one there.
As I opened the door, Curtis flew past and crashed into the wall next to me with a thud.
“Still too weak.” I saw Theodore Maxwell’s disappointed face, his right fist raised.
“Ah, Arthur! You’re here!” Claire Bladeheart, who was closely watching the duel from the side, waved at me.
Curtis grunted from his position on the floor. “I can’t believe I still can’t land even a single hit on you, Theodore. Oh, hey Arthur.” He glanced up at me as he rubbed his back.
“Do you need help?” I offered my hand while Sylvie wagged her tail, but Curtis just shook his head.
“No, I’m okay. Besides, the duel isn’t over yet.”
Curtis grimaced as he got back to his feet and picked up his sword to resume the duel, and I took a seat next to Claire on one of the couches to watch them.
“Hah!” Curtis had augmented his sword in a blazing fire, and now he charged. Just as he was about to get in range of Theodore, he sidestepped, leaving a charred footstep behind before appearing on Theodore’s right.
Theodore reacted almost immediately, lifting his brawny right arm at an uncanny speed. “Fall!”
Curtis’s assault failed and he crumbled to his knees, his sword landing heavily on the ground in front of Theodore.
Theodore had a smirk on his face, but it soon vanished as he realized Curtis’s plan.
“Explode!” Curtis shouted in a strained voice.
The sword—which wasn’t burning, but glowing a dim red—shone brighter until finally flames exploded in all directions.
Claire peered into the smoke, apparently assuming both the sword and Theodore were there. I tapped her shoulder and gestured for her to look up.
Theodore was in the air, his arms a bit burned and steaming but otherwise unharmed. Using gravity magic on himself, he floated slowly down as he prepared his next spell.
Curtis was back on his feet with his sword in hand, also preparing another spell. Grawder was restlessly swinging his tail on the other side of the room.
“All right, I think it’s time to stop.” Claire stood up and clapped her hands, but neither one of the combatants seemed to even hear her speak. She sighed in exasperation. “Kai, care to help me?” Claire glanced back at the narrow-eyed, smiling man.
“Got it, Boss.” Kai’s sleeves covered his arms so I didn’t know what he had hidden, but with a swing of his arms, thin metal strings shot out toward Theodore and Curtis, forming a makeshift metal fence between them.
Even after augmenting my eyes, I couldn’t make out any specific elemental attribute in his skill, making me wonder exactly what he could do.
Both Curtis and Theodore abandoned their spells and turned their heads toward Kai in confusion.
“Boss’s orders. Let’s stop the duel now, shall we, gentlemen?” Kai’s smiling face remained unchanged as he retracted the strings back into his sleeves.
“What did Kai do just there?” I asked Claire, who was shaking her head at Curtis and Theodore.
“No one really knows. He keeps it a secret, and from what I can tell, there isn’t any specific elemental attribute in his mana when he uses his skills,” she responded.
“Have you taken an interest in me, Arthur?” Kai came up behind me, leaning his head forward past my shoulder so his smiling face was right next to mine.
“Hardly. Only a bit curious as to what you just did there. It didn’t seem like you were manipulating metal, or using sound to control the metal strings,” I said, pushing his face away.
“So cold. I’d tell you but, unfortunately, if I did, I’d have to kill you,” he replied nonchalantly.
I raised a brow. “Oh? Is that a threat?” I challenged.
Apparently realizing that the conversation was taking a turn for the worse, Claire butted in.
