A few days after I spoke to Leon, I retrieved my gold and dagger on my day off and made my way into the city for my weekly resupply trip. Over the month, I had gradually increased the number of crystals I filled each week, and with eight full stones ready to sell, I should have enough money for all that I needed.

Hannah was glad to see me, and I noted with interest that her shop was brighter, and the shelves appeared better stocked. When I inquired about the change, she had smiled in delight.

“Well, the past few weeks, I have had quite the busy little apprentice supplying me with crystals full of high-quality mana. Our deal has afforded me the funds to expand my business and resupply. I will have to remember to thank Thorpe for introducing us. Out of gratitude, I have a little present for you.”

She led me into the back of her store, and Hannah pulled out a small box before handing it to me. When I opened it, I found a thick black cloak clasped with a silver brooch shaped like a bird of some kind.

“It’s a travelers cloak, made of a waterproof, insulating material. We are still in the warm season, but winter is not that far away, and Volaris can get quite frigid. I have to make sure you don’t catch a cold and stop selling me crystals.” Hannah said, winking with a smile at the end.

I laughed and bowed my head before saying, “Thank you, Hannah. I appreciate the gift.”

Despite her joke, I suspected it was a gift of genuine appreciation. I knew she had gotten the better end of our deal, and if I was making nearly three gold for each crystal, she had likely made a small fortune already.

That realization brought with it an understanding of just how wealthy a noble family must be. After all, they could purchase dozens of these crystals and not bat an eye. Each family must have tens of thousands of gold coins in reserve, an unfathomable fortune in my eyes.

Stepping out of Hannah’s shop, I returned to the Upper District and made my way to Thorpe’s shop.

If I wanted to survive my trip into the Lower District, I would need several things. First on the list was a healing potion in case I ended up with a knife in my stomach again. I hoped to avoid a battle altogether, but it was impossible to predict how the situation would proceed, and it was better to prepare for the worst.

Thorpe was more than happy to sell me a mid-grade healing potion that would be able to seal up a knife wound. I also grabbed another vial of the numbing elixir I used in Espionage, just in case. The cost of both took more than half of the extra gold I had slowly been saving up.

My next stop was a blacksmiths shop, in search of some sort of armor. If money were not a problem, I would prefer to purchase the concealed armor I had seen in the store with Leon and Sophia. Unfortunately, I would need to settle for something cheaper.

The armorer recommended a thin, leather breastplate that could be worn over a shirt, noting that my small frame limited my choices. It would be bulky and restrictive, but I would prefer to be uncomfortable than end up with a knife in my gut. After he took my measurements and my payment, the armorer noted that it should be ready in ten days. Leaving his shop, I made my way to my final stop for the day, a clothing store.

In the past few weeks, I had debated whether or not to hide my face when I finally went to retrieve my ring, but I decided that anonymity would be better in the long run. If the thieves saw my face, I would bet they would give me back my possession rather than fight me. But it was not worth the risk of someone seeing my face before then.

However, during my training Girem had been sure to teach me the power of fear and a strong reputation. While I would be sure to hide my face, I could use a disguise and some choice words to cultivate an intimidating image. A demonstration of mana and some threats may be enough to get my ring back. After all, commoners were all terrified of magic, and that fear could be an excellent motivator.

With this in mind, I purchased a white, unmarked ceramic mask with two small holes for eyes. It was simple, but something about the blank, white surface, and the blackness of the eyes was unsettling. I hoped the effect would be even more effective in the dead of night.

While in this shop, I purchased a set of black clothing, including a good set of boots and a pair of dark leather gloves. These items, along with the cloak Hannah had given me, should disguise that I was still barely more than a child, hiding that I was wearing armor and carrying a weapon.

Returning to my room, I found Fortuna sleeping on the couch. When I approached, he opened one eye and stared at me with what appeared to be boredom.

“I have a plan to find Cortos’ ring, but I need you to lead me to it. You refused to lead me before, but I have worked myself to the bone since. What is your answer now?” I asked, crossing my arms and staring down at Fortuna.

For several minutes, he stared back at me, unmoving. I did not break eye contact, glaring at the animal, and ignoring the mild sense of fear in the back of my mind. I still had no idea what sort of creature Fortuna was, but if Cortos had chosen him to guard his sanctum, he must be dangerous.

Finally, I felt the strange feeling of another mind brushing against my own, and I heard Fortuna whisper into my consciousness.

Stronger. Good.

After he finished speaking, Fortuna closed his eyes and appeared to fall back asleep. That seemed to be as much of an answer that I would receive tonight. I shook my head before leaving my room, heading down to the forest on the outskirts of the Academy.

Without Cortos’ sanctum, I had to find somewhere else to think and practice my magic privately. My room was my first choice, but I often worried that the masters or even the Archmagi running the school might become aware of my actions. So, I often came down to the wooded area, where none of the other students seemed to wander.

Walking several hundred feet into the trees, I stopped and turned towards an unusually large oak.

I planned to use intimidation against the thieves, but I could not assume that would work. People did stupid things when they were afraid, and there was every possibility they would attempt to attack us. If a fight broke out, I needed to be able to defend myself with magic.

Taking a few steps back, I held out my left hand and began the chant, forming the image of an Arcane Bolt in my mine. The mana surged down my arm, bringing along a flash of pain. While it was less than it had been a month prior, the sensation was still noticeable.

When the orb finished forming, I held it in place for a half-second before launching it at my target. Like in my first attempts, most of the energy seemed to be lost due to my terrible control, and the blast hit with a fraction of the force I expected. Still, it struck with enough power that I suspected it would fracture bones if it hit a human body.

Clenching and relaxing my hand to lessen the pain, I pondered what to do. I had set a deadline of three weeks at most to retrieve the ring, to ensure I had as much time as possible to prepare for the trip outside Ferris.

I could strengthen my channels more by then, but at best, I would be limited to two bolts for each arm. Not nearly enough to keep myself alive if a fight broke out.

And there was the problem of casting time and focus. I needed almost five full seconds to gather my mana, speak the incantation, focus my intent and release the spell. That was more than enough time for someone quick to knock me unconscious or worse.

When I first learned the basics of spell casting, I had felt that incantations were more of a limitation than anything. They were slow, cumbersome, and difficult to remember. Most mages relied upon them, but everything I learned about magic told me that intent and willpower was all that truly mattered with magic.

Holding up my right hand, I closed my eyes and focused as hard as possible on the idea of an Arcane Bolt launching from my palm and striking my target. With a migraine forming, I split my focus and held my intent in place while slowly pulling mana down my channels and into my palm.

If the first sphere was roughly formed and unstable, this one was little more than a cloud of energy in my palm. Mana escaped from my control in wisps despite my best efforts, and when I released the spell and launched it out, it struck with the same force as a gust of wind.

Swearing, I rubbed my forearm in an attempt to soothe the pain in my channels. Not only was the power pitiful, it had taken me at least thirty seconds to cast using just my willpower and control. Professor Merton had told us that it was an incredibly difficult skill to learn, but I had thought at the time that she was exaggerating.

Now I could see the immense amount of training and exercise needed to learn to control mana with willpower alone. I would have to put aside my dreams of casting silently for now, and focus on mastering Arcane Bolt as much as possible. If I was able to cast spells twenty to thirty times a day like every other apprentice, I might be able to improve my skill quickly, but my Aether was just too destructive.

Even though I had enough mana to cast a dozen times more than any other apprentice, my body and channels were just not durable enough to withstand the effects. An average apprentice could run their cores dry, casting, and improving their skills every day, which was not an option for me.

I sat on the grass and considered what to do next. If I cast the spell four times a day and focused on practicing my chants, I could trim the time to four, possibly even three seconds of casting. And I was sure if my control improved, the power would grow, and I could ensure each spell had enough strength to disable an attacker.

That could be useful, but I would be better off bringing along a spear and stabbing them through the chest. My blast was barely better than a club, and a spear would pierce right through skin and injure just as well, if not better. And it would not end with me unable to lift my arms without agony running through them.

As the image of a spear penetrating skin and muscle ran through my mind, I thought of something. My spell right now focused on blunt force, but what if I modified it to pierce instead? Could I create an altered form of Arcane Bolt that was overall more effective?

The biggest roadblocks to my control and casting speed was the amount of mana used. Aether had far more power than any other apprentice’s mana. If I gathered a fraction of the mana, and focused on improving my control as much as possible, I may be able to achieve similar strength with far higher speed.

Closing my eyes, I confirmed my channels were stressed but not to the point of injury. They should be able to withstand one more casting, particularly a weaker spell like the one I had planned.

Holding up my right hand again, I closed my eyes, but this time I instead pulled around one-third of the mana from my core. Extending my index and middle fingers from my closed hand, I pulled the energy down and focused it into a smaller orb.

The sphere that formed this time was smaller, though its brightness made details hard to make out. I narrowed my eyes and attempted to compress it as much as possible, smoothing out the sides and shrinking it down more. Holding it in place, I aimed at the tree and released my bolt, watching it fly forward faster than my previous attempts and slam into the side.

This time, the orb dug an inch into the bark, sending wooden fragments shooting into the air. Like the rest of my spells, most of the power dissipated as my control faltered after launching the bolt. Still, my modified version was much easier to control and, more importantly, I could cast it roughly three times as often.

The next time I had Spell-Casting, I would ask Professor Merton for exercises to improve my mana control. I would have to put off my dreams of silent casting until later, but increasing my command over Aether could have immediate benefits. If I could improve my Arcane Bolt, even more, I should be able to handle myself far better in a fight.

Glancing over at the mark in the tree left by my attack, I realized with a bit of nausea that I could kill someone if I struck them in the right spot with this spell. If I improved my power much more, it was almost a guarantee. My modified Arcane Bolt already carried greater penetrative force than the original, and I would bet a mastered version would leave a hole in a man’s torso.

I had initially set off changing my future, in the hopes of living a full life and stopping those invaders that would conquer Ferris. But I did not want to become a monster or slave in the process, like my original self had become.

What would it say about me if I slaughtered desperate men just for the crime of crossing my path? If I bent on my morals and became a murderer, how long until I became as apathetic as I had been in my visions?

Shaking my head, I pushed the thoughts to the side and resolved to consider the ramifications if, and when, the situation arose. If luck was on my side, I could retrieve the ring without a single bruise. And besides that, the fact that I still cared whether or not I was doing the right thing seemed promising.

Locking my eyes back onto the tree, I braced myself and prepared to cast Arcane Bolt again. I still had another five castings for tonight, and I wanted to make the most of my time. After all, I had finally found a way to fight using magic, and I had no intention of letting this newest discovery go to waste.