I woke the next morning to Fortuna gently batting at my nose with an outstretched paw. Laying in my bed for a few minutes, I sighed before sitting up and rubbing my temples with one hand. The throbbing pain I had felt in my Channels the night before had faded completely, though I still had a mild headache. I had skipped my usual treatments before bed, but I knew better than to skip them again today and so prepared my usual ash weed tea before my bath with star mint, leaving me with the usual miserable side-effects.

Returning to my bedroom, I felt some curiosity at how effective the previous day training in Cortos’ sanctum had proved and decided to delicately test the results. I gently began pulling one mote of Mana down my left arm’s Channel and noticed with shock that I felt almost none of the uncomfortable pressure I was used to experiencing. I had hoped to see faster growth, but this was far beyond what I had expected after just a single day.

Even after progressing to tempering with larger amounts of Mana and continuing with my supplements, a single mote still caused me some discomfort. I was expecting to take months to develop my body enough to safely handle the Aether in my Core. If one day could cause this sort of improvement, how far would I go with one week, or one month of consistent usage? Casting spells had just gone from a distant dream, to achievable within a few weeks of training.

Of course, I still felt dread when thinking of using Cortos’ chamber again. The previous night had been horrible, and I doubted it would get much better anytime soon. Presumably, Cortos intended it to bring a Mage up to comparable levels of durability to a Master or Archmagi, and even if it did speed that process I was likely years from reaching that point. Not that I had much of a choice about using his circle. I simply did not have the time to take the more pleasant methods, though I may prefer that path.

Glancing at the window, I realized it was nearly time for me to head down to meet Sig, and if I took much longer here I would be late. The last time I had done that, Sig had kept me an extra half hour to “make up” for disrespectfully delaying him. Even if Cortos’ sanctums did help me stave off an early death, I still intended to continue my physical training. Making for the door, I paused and turned to Fortuna who was examining me curiously.

“If I leave you here, will you be fine by yourself?” I said, raising an eyebrow.

Fortuna curled up in a ball on one chair, yawning broadly before closing his eyes in response. I chuckled a little, before closing the door and making my way down to meet Sig.

When I arrived, Sig was already stretching and moving his body through warm up exercises.

Looking over at me, he smiled and said “Took you long enough, I was starting to think you’d run off on me. I’m still hoping to make something of you, so that would be a real shame.”

I laughed a little at his words and began moving through my own warm up, paying careful attention as I did so for any signs of injury from the previous night. Strangely, my body felt better than it had in weeks and I wondered if it was a side-effect of the healing in Cortos’ enchantment or a sign that my body had already been experiencing damage from my natural Aether.

Sig looked over at me in curiosity, before shrugging and starting our routines. The next hour still left me unsure if my accelerated tempering was responsible for my refreshed body, or if Sig’s unusual training was finally yielding benefits. Both were possible, but I needed more experience to make sure.

I continued to marvel at Sig’s impossible levels of grace and coordination, which cemented the need to learn as much of his techniques as possible. My interest was likely a remnant of the legends about heroic warriors I read when I was still a child, but the idea of mastering my body was deeply appealing. Of course, I still moved like a half-blind child and struggled to complete each workout, but I could be patient.

When I finished with Sig and returned to my room, I found Fortuna waiting for me quietly with a bored expression. It did not take much guessing to determine that he expected me to return to the sanctum for another round of tempering. Even with the incredible results from just one day, I still was dreading that hour but delaying too long would not make it any easier in the end. Leaning down for Fortuna to leap onto my shoulder, I focused on the ring and imagined returning to the sanctum.

Feeling another mixture of dizziness and all-encompassing pressure, I was once again underground in Cortos’ vault. When I walked into the main room, I found that the entire place was much cleaner and more brightly lit than I had left it. While cobwebs and a musty smell had been present last time, now it looked completely clean and I detected a faint smell of pine needles, as if I was standing in a forest. The crystals shone brightly, and reflected clear green light across the room.

I had been far more interested in returning to my room and getting rest last night, but now felt like a good chance to explore the rest of Cortos’ workshop. His journal noted that he had built several stations for general magic practice. I did my best to convince myself it was out of curiosity and not an attempt to stave off tempering as long as possible, but only half succeeded.

One section of his lab I assumed was dedicated to alchemy. I could see various knives, vials, what appeared to be several types of ovens and many other tools I had never seen before arranged neatly along a long, rectangular bench. Underneath the flat surface were dozens of drawers with blank labels, that I assumed were used to store completed products or alchemical reagents.

While I had already determined I was likely unsuited to become an alchemist, this station would still be useful for practicing my skills. I had noted several potions to attempt to learn, particularly a healing elixir and a potion that could replace sleep if prepared correctly. Beyond that, I doubted I would have the years of careful experimentation and study that were required to truly master the craft.

Moving further along, I found a similar bench to the alchemy station but with much different tools. The tools seemed closer to carving tools than I expected, mainly tiny chisels and hammers. I noticed with interest that the tips of several of these tools appeared hollow, similarly to the quills sometimes used for writing in the past. From my understanding, most forms of enchanting required a mixture of carved runes and infused Mana, which seemed consistent with how these tools appeared. The hollow point threw me off, but it seemed likely it was involved with imbuing the enchantments with Mana somehow.

The bookshelves were packed with tomes on every subject I could imagine, from spells and cultivation all the way to the biology of many magic beasts. I would need to study them closer, but I suspected most would be out of date compared to modern knowledge. After all, Cortos had been dead over a thousand years and magic had advanced a great deal since then. The real treasures were Cortos’ journal and his own inventions.

As I thought of it, I sighed and resolved that I had spent long enough delaying and procrastinating. Sitting and crossing my legs, I pushed down my fears and pulled on the enchantment again to begin tempering. It was just as miserable as the previous day, and I felt the same agony surging down my Channels from pure Aether pouring through my body. On the edge of my thoughts, I wondered if I could eventually extend the time beyond an hour, or if I would even be able to withstand it mentally.

After an hour passed and I finished tempering for the day, feeling the same deep aches as yesterday but mixed with some satisfaction. I still felt some worry that this sort of intensive training would eventually grate on me, but I would deal with that as it came. I gave a long stretch, ignoring the nausea that surged up from the sudden movement and moved back to the transportation room, teleporting back to the dormitories.

Back in my room, I grabbed a few large bags and began packing them with my supplements, books and disguise kit. While only a Master or another member of the Academy faculty could enter my room, I would prefer not to take the risk if possible. Instead of keeping restricted or suspicious materials in my room, I could keep them hidden in Cortos’ sanctum and only use them as needed.

I decided to make my way to a quiet corner in the Academy whenever I left a class as “Marcus” and use my ring to teleport to the sanctum rather than return to my personal room. I could then spend an hour tempering, before teleporting directly back to the Academy. That way I could avoid the chance of someone noticing two entirely different people leaving from my dorm room and raising suspicions about what I was actually up to in my free time. After feeling as if I forgot something, I remembered the vial containing the Draught of Awakening and retrieved that as well before returning to the sanctum.

When I returned to the sanctum and began storing my materials in appropriate locations, I saw Fortuna leap onto the bench next to me. He stared curiously at the supplies for a few seconds, before batting at the vial containing the Draught fiercely. I suppressed a gasp as the glass teetered on the edge of the table, close to falling to the ground.

“Careful Fortuna! That is important, not a toy.” I said, as I scooped up the vial and held it in my hands gingerly. The cat hissed and lashed out with one claw, catching my arm as I moved away from him and staring hungrily at the vial.

Feeling like an idiot after a moment, I remembered what little I knew about magic beasts. They usually required Mana to remain at peak strength, and would weaken and waste away if they were deprived of this energy for long enough. I was still unsure what kind of creature Fortuna was, but it was clear he was not a normal cat.

After a moment of hesitation, I walked over to the alchemy station and dug through the drawers until I found a small bowl. Tilting the vial upside down, the remaining few drops inside the glass slid down the sides before falling and forming a tiny puddle. Even as I sat it onto the table, Fortuna eagerly leaned forward and lapped up the liquid, before sitting on his haunches and closing his eyes.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a shimmer flowed along his body and Fortuna seemed to grow just a bit fuller. He was still a kitten, and a small one at that, but he appeared to be a little healthier than his formerly emaciated build. Opening his eyes, the feline stared at me for a moment, before nodding his head at me regally and jumping back to the ground.

Rubbing my now throbbing temples, I sighed at yet another problem appearing before me. Pushing my annoyance aside, I walked back to the bookshelves and pulled down one of the tomes on magic beasts, while pulling out a wiyote to snack on. There was still three days left until the semester started and I had plenty of tasks to fill that time. There was no time like the present.