“Professor, I respectfully object to such a change in the lesson pn,” the Prefect girl raised her hand, much to my relief.

  “Oh?” Professor Sullivan raised a brow as he csped his hands together in front of him. “On what grounds, Helen?”

  Helen.

  I memorized the name and mentally added her to the list of people I liked.

  “I was present during the entrance exam,” Helen replied, her tone measured. “Unlike yourself. I personally witnessed Luca Frey’s mana core evaluation.”

  The rest of the students around the circur table gazed toward her, hanging on to her words.

  Helen folded her arms and leaned against the back of her chair. “Given that he has never utilized magic before, jumping directly into practical application—in an advanced course such as ours—would be most unwise.”

  I nodded along internally, basking in her every word.

  Yes, exactly. A voice of reason and responsibility. And my salvation.

  “Isn’t that why he’s wearing these?” Guillermo said casually.

  Before I could react, my right wrist lifted into the air against my will.

  I stared in slight horror at my elevated hand, which Guillermo had levitated using merely a wave of his index finger. The cuff caught the light, with the bck mana stones embedded across it, twinkling slightly.

  “These would cut him off well before he’d be able to bst anything into smithereens,” Guillermo added, giving me a cheerful smile.

  I did not return the smile.

  “Indeed,” Professor Sullivan said. “Now put Luca’s hand down. Gently. Guillermo, what did we say regarding levitating other students without their permission?”

  Guillermo winced, and my arm lowered, and I regained full control again.

  “Ah—right, sorry,” Guillermo apologized to the professor and then to me. “Sorry, Luca. You didn’t mind, right?”

  I’d have bucketed him as a bully, but his expression and the softness in his voice indicated he was genuine in his concern.

  “It’s fine,” I replied, but I immediately crossed my arms into a tight wrap across my chest, as if it might help prevent my hands from floating away again.

  “His mana core was literally off the charts,” Helen pressed. “You really believe those cuffs alone will stave off disaster?”

  “They will,” Paisley said from my left. She hadn’t raised her voice, but the cool confidence in her tone cut through the room, with every head swiveling to look at her. “My family had developed those cuffs over seven centuries ago, and there hasn’t been a single recorded incident in that time.”

  Guillermo nodded from my right.

  “There also hasn't been a single escape from the Glimver Dungeon ever since the Lister family took over matters there,” he commented.

  I gnced at Paisley, applying my new knowledge regarding her against her appearance. Her face was dotted with gold piercings—nose, brows, cheeks—several set with rubies, or perhaps mana-embedded stones. They caught the light faintly as she spoke and moved.

  I initially had taken her short hair and facial piercings as indications of someone at odds with the world. A rebel. But I was wrong. She and her family were the ones at the head, running the show. Including the prison I was nearly locked up in.

  She was not rebellious. She was merely eccentric. And luckily she seemed to be friendly towards me.

  My eyes gnced over at the other students, realizing they were likely from prominent, influential families as well, who could make my life very difficult if they so chose.

  “I do not question the Lister family’s craftsmanship,” Helen replied evenly, moving her two braids behind her shoulders. “However, per Professor Anakwad’s assessment, Luca Frey is a one-in-ten-thousand talent. The headmaster himself advised him to avoid spellwork entirely until control over mana could be confirmed.”

  Her eyes flicked to meet mine.

  “To go against that recommendation would be unwise,” she added.

  I took her cue to jump in.

  “That is true,” I said. “The headmaster did say that.”

  “But that creates a paradox, doesn’t it?” Professor Sullivan said with a pleasant expression.

  He looked around the table, his blue eyes bright and amused.

  “How can anyone ever hope to demonstrate control over mana,” he continued, “if they cannot ever practice exerting it? How can one ever grow without trying?”

  He met my eyes and gave me a wink.

  I groaned internally at the misconception that even this keen-eyed professor seemed to be under after my exam’s result. Yet I could not argue with his logic.

  “But—”

  “Helen,” Professor Sullivan cut in, his voice hardened now, though not raised. “I am fully aware of the exam results. And of the concerns raised afterward.”

  He pced both of his palms ft on the stone table. The runes etched into its stone surface shimmered faintly.

  “That,” he said, “is precisely why our cssroom is the perfect environment to help Luca in his training and to gain control.”

  A few students smiled and nodded at this.

  Helen scanned the room, taking in the css's temperature. She sighed, giving in.

  “…Very well,” she said at st.

  Ah. There goes my one hope.

  I sank slightly into my seat.

  “Now,” Professor Sullivan said brightly, his smile widening, “let us take a trip to Hollow Calm Forest.”

  And before anyone could offer any words of approval or disapproval, the circur table we were sitting at, lurched into a spin. The room twisted into motion, the stone walls, the windows and the navy blue banners with the school mascot all smearing into blurs of color. Above, the grey ceiling dissolved into a brilliant blue.

  I continued staring upward as the spinning slowed, anticipating a nausea that never came.

  Above us stretched a bright blue sky without a cloud in sight. Around the circur perimeter rose towering green pines, bordering the clearing we were in from all sides.

  I lowered my head and turned to look around us.

  We were sitting in a green meadow. Small yellow and purple flowers dotted the ground. Red butterflies fluttered through the warm summer air, drifting from one flower to the next.

  The bright view was contrasted sharply against the giant pines at the edge of the clearing. Thick dark red trunks, almost as wide as the tower we were originally in, surrounded the space. And beyond them, only darkness could be found.

  I shivered.

  The darkness and stillness within reminded me of the Humton Forest, though the pine trees did not appear corrupted. They and the inner forest were nonetheless very intimidating.

  ~Master, the fly was unable to follow us here.

  At least there was that good news.

  “Ah, it’s been a while since we’ve come here,” Guillermo excimed, already standing up and stretching out his arms, as if he were warming up for something.

  “Professor,” Paisley said, her thumb pointing in my direction, remaining seated, “wouldn’t it be too dangerous to bring him into the forest? He might die.”

  I appreciated her concern. And felt my own concern skyrocket at my current circumstance.

  “Oh, no,” Professor Sullivan stated, standing up from the stone table, which oddly seemed to fit into the ndscape about as much as it fit the tower’s cssroom. “We will not be entering the forest. That is not the purpose of us teleporting here today.”

  “It’s to avoid mana fluctuation,” the boy with the bowl cut hair said, adjusting the rim of his thick white gsses. “The forest will absorb anything that exceeds the acceptable threshold of this clearing.”

  “Ah!”

  “That makes sense.”

  “Right, of course.”

  The others nodded and murmured in understanding.

  I sighed.

  I seemed to be the only one who didn’t understand what was going on. And, for once, there was no reason to pretend otherwise. It would have been unreasonable for me to know. So instead of bluffing, I raised my hand slightly.

  “Professor, this is my first lesson of Advanced Life Essence Theory,” I said. “So I’m a bit lost. What are we pnning on doing here exactly?”

  Professor Sullivan’s smile widened.

  “As you already know,” he began, walking around the table until he stopped beside my chair, “life essence is the core of our being. The soul. It is what powers the mana core.”

  He gestured vaguely at the clearing around us.

  “When something dies, the soul disappears as well. Or so is the old-school of thinking.” He paused. “However, something that is capable of powering a mana core and in turn producing spectacur magic—how could it simply vanish into nothing?”

  ~Oho… Apophis hissed from my shoulder in amusement.

  “My theory,” Professor Sullivan continued, “and the guiding principle of this course, is that when the physical body expires, life essence does not fade like the embers of a dying fire.”

  He moved his right hand, as if following something fluttering away into the sky.

  “Instead, it moves on. To another dimension. To possess a new vessel. And that we can exert a certain level of control over this process.”

  ~That is not merely a theory, Apophis murmured. That is reality.

  My ears perked up at the snake’s commentary.

  “As evidence,” Sullivan went on, “it is possible—under extreme circumstances—to partially separate one’s soul from the body. Accounts of out-of-body experiences appear throughout recorded history, usually when someone stands at death’s threshold.”

  He met my gaze.

  “But approaching the cliff of death is not a requirement.”

  The professor’s smile returned.

  “With the proper technique—one designed by yours truly—it is possible to safely split oneself from the mortal body.”

  “…That’s what we’ll be practicing?” I asked carefully, gazing up at him, standing to my right.

  “Yes,” Professor Sullivan replied.

  I frowned. “Then why here?”

  “To prevent your soul from drifting off,” Professor Sullivan replied and then pointed toward the bowl-cut guy. “Aariz—you began expining initially. Care to expin to Luca the additional mechanics of this area?”

  The boy with the bowl cut, Aariz, apparently, adjusted his thick gsses and nodded.

  “This location is unique,” Aariz said. “The forest surrounding the clearing is saturated with mana. It is dense enough to act like a net.”

  He gestured with a pen toward the pines.

  “It softens mana usage and anchors life essence. Nothing inside this clearing can truly die. Every bde of grass, every insect, every flower—they’ve existed for thousands of years. As long as the evergreens have stood.”

  “Now, as for within the forest, that is another matter,” Professor Sullivan quickly added. “Which we’ll hold off entering until you are better adapted to protect yourself.”

  I studied the dark region.

  The Hollow Calm Forest felt like the inverse of the Humton Forest: overwhelming in living mana, rather than dead mana. And yet it was the same coin; both forests were evidently equally dangerous, though for vastly different reasons.

  My eyes veered downward, toward the shadow beneath me.

  I wonder how this thing will react if I enter the forest. Will I be rid of it? Or will it go haywire?

  For now, at least, the corrupted shadow creature had thankfully showcased no reaction to my unexpected teleportation to this clearing. It remained discreetly attached to my shadow.

  “The practice requires minimal mana usage, and with those cuffs and this area, there shouldn’t be any danger posed to you or the others,” Professor Sullivan expined to me.

  He moved around the table, producing a small vial and tipping its contents into his palm. One by one, he passed out what looked like red candy.

  “Swallow this whole,” he said. “It initiates the separation.”

  I stared down at the glossy candy resting in my hand. It looked harmless. But also somewhat suspicious.

  Professor Sullivan straightened and gestured toward the clearing.

  “Everyone, find a comfortable spot in the grass and lie down,” he instructed. "When your soul separates from the body, the physical body itself will go limp. A bad fall can make re-entry… unpleasant.”

  I swallowed the candy, which tasted slightly bitter, and found a patch of green grass to lie down on.

  Around me, flowers with colorful petals swayed gently. It felt peaceful. But a faux peacefulness, like the calm at the center of a violent storm.

  “Close your eyes, and rex your body. Ensure there are no distractions—adjust if there’s a weed poking into your side. Adjust your tie if it's too tight around your neck.”

  I obliged the professor’s instructions and shut my eyes.

  His footsteps and the occasional flutter of wings were the only notable sounds.

  “Focus on your breathing,” he said. “Acknowledge stray thoughts, then let them pass. Return your attention to your breath.”

  I felt a smile tug at my lips. This felt awfully simir to the practice I did with the monks. And just as lengthy.

  Isn’t this css only two hours long? How long have we been—

  I exhaled slowly and inhaled again, letting the thought drift away.

  “Good.”

  I sensed Professor Sullivan passing by, the word feeling directed at me in particur.

  “Continue breathing,” he said. “Now focus on your mana core. Feel its warmth. Its size.”

  I complied.

  “Now, expand your focus and feel the flow of any residual mana flowing through your veins.”

  I smirked inadvertently. There was so little mana flowing through me, it was ughable. It was like trying to focus on floating specks of dust.

  “Focus,” Professor Sullivan said quietly, from somewhere to my left.

  I rexed my face and refocused on what little mana I had.

  “Keep the flow moving,” he instructed, “but imagine it lifting. Floating. As light as a feather, but tethered to your body like a balloon held by a string.”

  I breathed in and out, picturing the sensation. Even my breath seemed to grow lighter and quieter. As though the world itself was slowly dimming.

  “Maintain that rexed state,” his voice continued, sounding distant now. “Breathe in and out. Focus on the flow of your mana.”

  The sound of his voice felt farther away.

  “And slowly,” he said, “ever so slowly… open your eyes.”

  I did. And the blue sky filled my vision again. But the view was off.

  The sky felt too close. The edges of towering pines hovered where they shouldn’t. I turned my head and realized I wasn’t looking at their trunks. I was at the same level as their branches.

  “Breathe,” Professor Sullivan said calmly. “Remain rexed.”

  I turned toward his voice and had to do a full pivot to do so.

  He stood below me, feet pnted firmly on the grass. Surrounding him were the other students, lying ft with their eyes closed.

  And among them y my own body.

  I was floating over myself. And to my horror, the shadow beneath me—no that thing—was trembling.

  AlekAundra