Chapter 29: Spells and Student Councils

Sen sat alone in his room, staring at the tome in hand. It was the high-grade spell tome he’d received as a reward for the second round in the Academy War from his special class. He had high hopes for it, especially since it was a high-grade spell. Though he wouldn’t be able to unleash its full power in a space like this. 

The tome looked like a large textbook with a white cover and black script. But it was largely for show. He wouldn’t need to read it, only embrace it to learn the magic spell hidden within. The aura coming off the book hinted at its properties. Translucent flames fluttered around the edges of the text, but the book remained undamaged. 

He ran his fingers along the ethereal flames, but they didn’t harm him. “Perhaps an illusion spell?” he thought aloud. 

[There is a simple way to find out.]

Sen sighed at Tutor. “I traveled a thousand years into the future to study magic, of course I’m going to enjoy the process a bit.” 

A high-grade spell tome was like a birthday present you knew would be really good. No matter what its application, it would have its uses. Even if the spell was for highly specific scenarios, or could only be used within certain environments, there were several modifiers that could help him overcome any possible limitations. Sometimes, that was half the fun.

[Any day now...]

Sen relented. If anything, he was curious too. He opened the tome, and the ethereal flames rushed toward him. 

[Spectral Simulacrum - A spell that allows the user to control ghostly representations to target an opponent’s mind and body.]

That was vague, but vague was often good when it came to magic. It left room for the magician to interpret its uses creatively. He held a hand up toward the far wall of his room. 

“Spectral Simulacrum!” 

A spectral fire blasted forward and smashed into the wall. The wards Mori had placed around the room quickly absorbed it, and the spell dissipated. 

“Interesting. Let’s try something else.” This time he gave the spell a different form to take on. “Spectral Simulacrum,” he said. 

The outlines of Mori and Ilm appeared before him. Each of them looked like a black outline of themselves with white fire blazing on their edges. They looked at each other and then at him. 

[Did you just…target yourself with your own spell? You realize how bad an idea that is, right?]

Sen nodded to the two beings, and they rushed forward, each aiming a fist at him. Their hands passed through either side of Sen’s chest and went through without stopping. They were ghosts after all; they couldn’t physically touch him. 

However, he felt the impact on his body where they’d struck. More importantly, the attack had disrupted the flow of his mana. Of course, since that had affected his spell, the two figures he’d conjured had essentially destroyed themselves. But they were always going to be temporary. This spell was useful, and he could already imagine several situations where it would serve him well. 

Sen nodded. It had potential. He’d have to try it on an opponent when he got the chance. Luckily, there would be no shortage of students wanting to duel now that he was ranked twenty-fifth in the school. And that was to his benefit.

He wanted to get his hands on the prize for hitting rank twenty or below. The minor artifact collection hadn’t opened yet. Students who reached rank twenty before it did would have the opportunity to choose one minor artifact each from the school’s lesser artifact collection. For many students, this would be the first opportunity they had to have an artifact of their own. If Sen were being honest, he normally wouldn’t bother with lower-level artifacts. But the artifacts of this time were more powerful, and his class came with opportunities to upgrade them. That made each of them even more valuable. 

He’d lost a great deal of sleep thinking of the artifacts he’d sacrificed to come to this time. Some of them would be unrivaled in terms of power and scope with just a single upgrade. But coming to this time had been worth the price he paid, and he always came to the same conclusion. He wouldn’t have had the chance to upgrade any artifacts if he hadn’t sacrificed his previous collection.

Climbing the ranks wasn’t too hard. At least it shouldn’t be for someone like him. Dueling students ranked higher than you, taking on quests, and generally advancing the reputation of Bright Sail Academy were the most straightforward ways to accumulate points and gain ranking. Since Sen and his allies needed to train, they could knock out two opponents with one spell. 

The door guardian growled, and Sen turned to look. A moment later, someone knocked.

He gestured for the door to open, and it did. Swinging open with a creak. To Sen’s surprise, it was Oliver. 

“Oliver,” he said, standing up. “How can I help you?” he asked.

Oliver looked around slowly, as if he expected others to be around. Sen couldn’t tell if Oliver was more nervous or relieved that the two of them were alone. “Um, well, I don’t know if you know this, but I serve on the student council. I’m one of three secretaries. Dean Withershade asked us to help him deliver prizes to the eligible students now that it’s time.”

Sen nodded. He’d expected he’d receive news already. Apparently, the first prizes weren’t handed out until after the annual academy war.

“You’re eligible for two of the prizes. First, I’ve brought a list of the professors from the school. All instructors are on it, from first-year to fourth-year instructors. The classes they teach, areas in which they have expertise, and personal interests are all listed here. But I can help make some recommendations if you want!”

“Alright.” Sen nodded. “Go for it.” 

Oliver pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose and brushed a blonde bang out of his face. “Well, it depends on what you’re looking for. Your magic is amazing, of course, and you already have a wider range of spells than most, but if you wanted to feedback, Professor Ladia is great at helping students refine techniques further!”

Sen nodded. An outside perspective could be useful, but he had other areas of interest for the moment. “The one-on-one session, would professors answer questions they might not normally answer in class?” Sen asked. He’d already seen how some professors kept certain knowledge to themselves. Like Professor Crosp when it came to the cults.

Oliver nodded fervently. “It’s a ranking reward, so it’s supposed to be valuable to the student. If there’s something you want to ask in private, this would be the time. The professors are supposed to ensure they reward Brightsail’s most capable students. They’re instructed to treat this as a reward, and most of them respect that.”

Sen nodded. Then this could be a good opportunity for him. He could always try to learn more about the Kingdom of Magic, Ragmar, and the cults. Sen had stopped attending History Class, and started going to a Magic Theory class instead. A lot of the concepts were based on his own work, but others had built upon it, and he found it useful. Mori had filled him in on numerous wars, events, and other important things from the past, but so far, not much of it had proven all that interesting. Disputes over territory didn’t interest Sen. He wanted to know more about Ragmar, and aside from the Fall of the Kingdom of Magic, Professor Crosp hadn’t returned to the topic since.

He noticed that the professor also had something particularly relevant on his list of interests. Magic beasts. It was possible he might be able to help Sen identify the magic egg he’d received as a reward after defeating the demon in the dungeon. So far, Tutor’s analysis had proved fruitless. Dean Withershade wasn’t easy to get access too and he would rather make an omelet of the egg than ask Professor Calabari about it. 

Sen thought of something. He didn’t want to spend a two-hour session only learning about history, but perhaps there was a way to make this prize more worthwhile. “Is it possible to split up the two hours I’ve been given and use part with one teacher and part with another?” he asked. 

“Yes, absolutely. You could have four thirty-minute sessions or twelve ten-minute sessions. Though…you might start wearing through Dean Withershade’s patience if you did that. I don’t think you’d get much value out of ten-minute sessions either. The professors will work with you, though. As I said, rank rewards are supposed to favor the student,” Oliver said. 

Normally he was a flustered, shy introvert of a boy, but when you got him talking about something he was knowledgeable about, it was like talking to a whole new person. Oliver didn’t seem shy at all. He was almost eager to share what he knew. Sen respected that, and it made him see the kid in a new light. 

“Tell me, Oliver, are there any professors with knowledge of forging?” He scanned the list, hoping to spot it. 

Oliver perked up. “Oh yes! Professor Sikar! He works with third and fourth-year students!” 

Sen recognized the name. He vaguely remembered someone named that at his entrance exam. A brown-skinned man with a strong jawline and a shaved head. “Really? Is he…good?” Sen asked.

“You saw Flamesaber during the Academy War, didn’t you?” Oliver asked.

Sen arched a brow. “Yes. It was an impressive weapon. But what does that have to do with Sikar?”

Oliver grinned. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now, but Alari’s father is a warlord. Well, when he commissioned her a weapon, he gathered experts from all over the world to consult on its creation. He wanted to make sure she had a weapon that could bring out her full potential. Professor Sikar was one of those people he gathered. I’ve heard Alari’s father took his opinions seriously. If you want to learn more about forging a magic weapon, you couldn’t find someone better to teach you. The more time you spend with him, the better.”

Sen nodded. “Alright, I’ll spend thirty minutes with Professor Crosp, and an hour with Professor Sikar.”

“I’ll let them know. You still have thirty minutes left. Are there any other professors you’d like to meet with?” Oliver asked.

Of course Sen wouldn’t waste a single second of his prize; on the contrary, he’d squeeze out extra time if he could. But for now, he wasn’t sure where they would be best spent. “Could I hold on to them for now? Pick a professor later?”

Oliver nodded. “Sure! But we do need to give the professors a heads-up. So I wouldn’t wait until the day before you want to meet with one. Anytime you want to schedule something, just come find me! I’m happy to help!” 

“Thank you, Oliver.” 

Oliver turned to walk out, but paused. “Oh! Almost forgot, here’s your key!” He pulled out a silver card and held it out to Sen.

“My key? To what exactly? Am I getting a new room or something?”

“Oh. Sorry. It’s a special access pass for your other reward. If you go to the library and hand this to the head librarian, Orttha, he’ll take you to the special library so you can pick out a tome. Unlike the minor artifact collection, they aren’t limited at all, so there’s no rush. But…he’ll probably close the library for it. So it would probably be better if you didn’t go during peak study hours. You’ll end up upsetting a lot of people that way, and Orttha kicks people out all the time, so it’s not like he needs much of an excuse.” 

Sen chuckled. “Thanks, Oliver.” 

Another new spell was in his future: time with a history expert, and time with someone with knowledge of weapon forging. That would allow him to really get the most out of the three high-grade weapon molds he’d gotten as a reward for the third round. This ranking system was turning out to be quite profitable for him. He’d have to make the most of it. There were still three prizes on the board, and he wanted as many as possible. Not to mention the fact that he had an outstanding quest to reach the top spot. He already knew the reward would be amazing. 

For now, he’d focus on his tutoring sessions, picking out a new spell, and rising through the ranks. He had two weeks before the minor artifact collection opened, and he’d be ready.