Chapter 655: A day as Himself

Chapter 655: A day as Himself

Im going the best I could, Fatun grumbled. Its bad enough we took this shortcut. The death rate along here is thirty percent.

Itll be fine. Dallion tapped the hilt of his harpsisword.

Im counting on that. Whats the good in earning a huge profit if Im not there to enjoy it?

I hear you.

So far, they had been extremely lucky. There hadnt been a single Star spawn creature the entire trip. If things continued like this, they would be at their destination in half a day, safe and sound. And then Dallion would finally see Euryale again.

Keep on driving. Ill check the cargo.

Right. Ill yell if something pops up.

Carefully, Dallion moved to the back of the wagon. Wooden crates were everywhere, each with a mark of a waxing blue moon. Dallion opened one. Rows of orange crossbow bolts lined the crates. They looked normal to the naked eye, yet Dallion knew that they werent just boltsthey were rockets. Six of them were enough to destroy a fortress. With this amount, one could easily wipe out a noble from existence. The question was which noble was going to bite the dust.

Everything okay back there? Fatun asked.

Looks like. Dallion placed his hand on the top of a crate. All fine on your end?

Not sure. Clouds are gathering. Its too far to tell if theyre aiming for us.

Keep on going. If we run, theyll just chase us. Maybe theyll take us for ordinary merchants.

Ordinary merchants, the driver repeated. I used to be that once, before you got me involved in this. Too late to back out now. He laughed.

Dallion glanced towards the front. Only a crack of the sky was visible, but enough for him to see the threat Fatun spoke about. Dozens of clouds were forming, all converging on a single point. An army of furies was gathering.Visitt novelbin(.)co/m for the latest updates

I should never had built the rockets, Dallion whispered.

Light flooded the room, shining through Dallions eyelids. Out of habit, he split into instances, all of them jumping out of bed. Several went for the harpsisword, others looked around to assess the situation.

Less than a second was necessary for Dallion to see that he was in no danger. A few more for him to remember where he was.

Better get ready, dear boy, Nil said. Arriving late on the first day is poor form.

Dallions instances faded away, leaving only one.

How much times left?

Half an hourthe standard to get up and ready.

That was way more than Dallion needed. The first thing he did was go through his exercise routine. Thanks to his body and reaction traits, that took him a neat five minutes, rest included. Done, he washed up, made use of the magical toilet, then got dressed.

Will you guys be fine on your own? Dallion asked his weapons as he tucked the Nox dagger in his right boot.

Dont worry, the armadil shield said. This is supposed to be the safest place there is. No one would dare attack the Mage Academy.

Ruby, you want to come along or stay here?

The shardfly remained on the ceiling motionless.

The fact that youve awakened with the magic trait already means youre able to see it in the world around you. Its very important to keep in mind that not everyone is like that. In fact, the great majority of people are unable to see magic at all.

This was the point at which gasps, and whispers would emerge. Since the fury was still controlling the air within the auditorium, none were heard.

And it doesnt stop there. We, as mages, also have the ability to sense magic in other ways, and most importantly, to touch it. That is why

Dallion raised his arm. No one had said that this was the way to ask a questionor that questions could be asked at all while a mage was speakingbut he had the sense that things couldnt be that different from Earth.

Err The instructor paused. It was as if hed seen Dallion for the first time. Is something the matter?

Sense in what way? Dallion asked. Unlike the rest of the class, his voice was allowed to be heard. Is it like sound? Smell? Taste?

Interesting question. The furys eyes narrowed. Its neither of those things. And I strongly advise you not to try. Its more like a sensation when you get near. Its one of those things you need to feel to get used to. As a matter of fact

Threads of magic went up his right arm, thought his fingers and into the air. From there they spread, moving like a serpent along the rows of the auditorium.

This is what a basic thread of magic feels like. The fury said. Try touching it.

Half the children slowly moved their fingers close to the thread. A few tried to lick it instead with devastating results. Magic, for all intents and purposes, felt like electricity mixed with jelly. It wasnt strong enough to cause any serious pain, just a tingly sensation. It also made Dallions hair stand on edge.

In past ages, magic was called aether. The word remains in use today. It has been claimed that referring to it in such fashion is important to distinguish it from the trait. Whether thats true, youll learn when you become apprentices. The only reason Im telling you is in case you find it while reading literature.

Dallion grabbed the thread tightly and pulled it towards him. It presented no resistance. However, when he let it go, it instantly sprung back to its previous position, like a rubber band.

The truth is that both the magic that you see and your trait are the same. Your magic trait determines the magic within you. The more you increase your trait level, the more magic youll have. Is everything clear so far?

The children looked at each other. Judging by the confusion emanating from everyone, Dallion knew that it was wishful thinking.

Well get to that later, the fury sighed. Everyone, let go of the thread.

Before they could comply, he cut off the source at the tip of his finger, causing everything in the room to fizzle out.

As mages, you have the ability to use magic to manipulate the elements, cast spells, and a few other things. All of that requires magic. Now, that magic can come from within you, as youve seen, or from the surrounding world.

A boy with raven black hair in the second row raised his arm.

Yes? the fury pointed at him.

Does that mean that we can cast spells even if were a very low level?

Dallion looked over his shoulder at the direction of the boy. That was a rather good question, and definitely not one he thought a child would come up with.

I thought you said I was the only exception, Nil?

If youd paid attention, youd have seen that echoes were the only thing not specified on your registration sheet. The children of nobles had plenty of instructor echoes to give them advice. I would say that someone wants to make sure youre not hogging all the instructors attention.

For a while, yes. However, you need to be very lucky to find a large magic source in the spot youre fighting. And even if you do, there isnt anything you can do that someone with a higher level trait could. The only difference would be that theyll be better at it.

The fury drew a pattern in the air. Once finished, the pattern transformed into a pouch. As he opened it, small purple glowing cubes flew through the air, stopping on the desk in front of each child.

These are magic cubes, the apprentice said. Sometimes referred to by their arcane name aether cubes. What well be doing today is drawing magic from the cube into the air, then putting it back in again.

Finally, something useful, Dallion thought. It wasnt muchmore like the first letters of the alphabetbut it was something. Also, something told him that it might be a bit more difficult than the fury was letting on.