What followed was entirely uninteresting. Damien spent hours focused on the Ether, carving the wall away bit by bit. The churning destruction energy made quick work of the stone, and it didn’t take him too long to carve a rough hallway that led deeper into the mountain.

Damien continued onwards until he was certain that he’d passed their tiny bathroom, lighting the way with small circles of runes he drew on the wall with chalk. Time slipped away from the boy as he worked.

He was utterly engrossed in the menial task of carving away the stone. He carved relentlessly; all thoughts of the outside world long gone. Damien loved every moment of it. Pathetic.

If it hadn’t been for the magical carving tool, it would have taken years to cut through the stone. However, with his new powers, Damien created a small room before the day had ended. Henry remained silent throughout the entire day, only speaking up when Damien’s concentration faltered or if he made a mistake while using the Ether.

His hand finally dropped, his muscles strained and weary. Damien blinked, looking around the room as if he were coming out from a trance. It wasn’t large by any means. It was only slightly bigger than their bathroom, which wasn’t saying much. That being said, it was a room. The floor and walls were rough and uneven, but Damien didn’t care.

“Good job,” Henry said.

Damien waited a few moments, but his companion didn’t add anything else.

“That’s it?” Damien asked. “No snarky remark?”

“You’ll earn one soon enough,” Henry said. “Just take the compliment. You haven’t done anything particularly amazing, but it’s still good work for your first time casting magic.”

“Thank you,” Damien said, not replying immediately. After a few more moments, he added, “I couldn’t have done it on my own.”

“Of course you couldn’t,” Henry said with a smug laugh. “You’d still be waiting for your teacher if you didn’t have me.”

“And there it is,” Damien said, rolling his eyes. He yawned and his stomach rumbled loudly.

“How long have I been working?” Damien asked.

“I don’t know. Go look outside,” Henry said. “I didn’t leave while you were using magic. The last thing I want is you blowing yourself up on accident.”

“I think I can support that,” Damien agreed. He glanced down at his feet. Several inches of stone dust had accumulated on the ground, but none of it had gotten on him.

“I kept the debris off you,” Henry said. “And I still am. If you inhaled this, you’d be in for a bad time.”

“Could we get it out of the room somehow?” Damien asked.

“Sure. There’s a dozen ways I can do it, even with the meagre power you have access to right now. Give me control for a moment,” Henry said.

“Safely,” Damien added.

“Right then. A few less ways,” Henry said, sighing. “But still possible.”

“Five minutes,” Damien warned. Henry just grunted as Damien allowed him to commandeer his body.

A tendril of darkness unfurled from the ceiling. It reached down and Henry had Damien’s body grab it. The tendril lifted him into the air. At the same time, a pool of darkness spread across the ground.

The stone dirt vanished into it soundlessly. The darkness vanished and the tendril set Damien back down, disappearing into the shadows of the room.

“There. Nice and boring,” Henry said, giving Damien back control of his body.

“Thank you,” Damien said. His stomach rumbled again. This time, it was accompanied by a dull stomachache.

Damien walked back down the hallway he’d made. Sylph still wasn’t in the room, but the sun was already setting outside. He grabbed several coins from his travel pack and stuffed them into his pockets. Then he strode over to the ledge and looked down over the campus. It was cast in dull orange and pink hues.

“I wonder what she’s doing,” Damien said. “Wasn’t she just getting food?”

“Why do you care?” Henry replied. “Just go eat. If your stomach grumbles any louder, it might deafen me.”

Damien huffed and headed down the mountain towards the mess hall.

“Are you planning on buying food? You don’t have all that much money,” Henry said.

I don’t want to eat warm vomit.

“Food is food,” Henry said. “You could spend that money on getting stronger instead.”

Damien nearly missed a step. He ignored the amused glances that the other students sent his way and walked faster.

How? I didn’t think money would help me with magic, and I certainly don’t have enough to buy anything fancy.

“There should be some basic herbs that allow you to improve the rate at which you grow,” Henry said. “They’re quite common, so I doubt they’d be very expensive.”

You’re assuming they haven’t died off in the past five thousand years.

“I – well, yeah,” Henry said, sighing. “All the more reason for us to go to the library.”

I’m not spending that much time in the library. Figure out what you want to read and I’ll get it.

“You have no passion for learning,” Henry griped. “You’re a human! Shouldn’t you have creativity and curiosity?”

I do. For magic.

“Boring,” Henry decided, receding into the back of Damien’s mind and leaving him alone for the rest of his walk.

Damien arrived at the mess hall a short while later. He quickly brushed his hair, which had gotten sweaty and unruly while he’d been working, back with his hands before entering the building.

There were only three students in front of him in line this time. The mess hall itself looked quite empty. The majority of the tables were unoccupied aside from a few stray people eating their food silently.

Are you sure my magic will get stronger with those herbs?

“Yes. It will make you grow more powerful at a significant rate,” Henry said. “Even if some of them have died off, I’m sure a few are still around.”

Damien swallowed and gave a miniscule nod. The line moved forward until he was standing before the large woman who took the orders. She raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to speak.

“The free meal, please,” Damien said, fighting to keep the grimace off his face. “And yes, I’m sure.”