Q: What creature has the most precious Spirit core?

A: Stonegorger.

- - -

I kind of liked the serenity of the academy library. Most of my time here was spent researching various kinds of things. Such as the twelve heroes, the book hadn’t gone deep into their existence. There were only some tidbits here and there, but the more I researched, the more I became bewildered.

It was as if someone did a fantastic job at erasing their existence from the pages of history, leaving behind only myths and legends of the past. The same was true for Saider, other than proclaiming them as the demon who wants the end of the world, there was almost nothing else.

Something very fishy here. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about any of that anytime soon. I have a couple of years in my hand, and in that time, I need to take everything I can get my hands on and find all the hero candidates. Hence the archive. I have been researching some locations for weeks now. Everything is ready now. All I need is to wait for the Night of Brilliance to approach.

Also, from the tidbits, I managed to get some information about some of the heroes' power. That was another important part the book lacked. Well, counting myself, I am sure about five more individuals, while I have suspicions about a few others. Like the girl sitting across from me, explaining the theories behind sympathetic communion.

“I told you to not force it,” Yeriel said, “the bond between the items is weak. You need to have a subtle touch to influence it.”

“I am subtle,” I said and at that very moment, as if trying to prove me wrong, the coin shook for the last time before the link between them broke. I let out a breath self-consciously and stared at the other coin in my palm, grudgingly.

“Really, Oscar.” Yeriel took both of the coins from me. “You call that a subtle touch. It's like you are trying to make a horse out of a pig. Look at this carefully.”

As Yeriel finished her phrase, one of the coins from her palm shot up, which looked nothing surprising from the outside to even most novice spirit practitioners. Anyone could lift or manipulate seemingly small objects with their spirit force—the heavier or more volatile the object was, the harder it was to manipulate them. A small silver coin was easy in that case.

But what Yeriel did was not some basic spirit energy manipulation. Peering carefully, I could hardly feel her using any spirit energy—it was all through the sympathetic link.

Lifting the coin into the air was only the beginning. At her command, the coin spun horizontally for a while, and as she arched her eyebrow at me, it stopped and started spinning vertically. It didn’t end there. The coin suddenly lurched at me at a frightening speed. I almost fell off the seat, but it stopped just before my forehead.

“That is some frightening level of control,” I praised, swallowing a breath. “Your talent is really wasted in healing.”

Yeriel collected back her coin and shot a curt glare at me. “You think fighting and killing are better than healing?” she asked, offended. “Of course you would think that. I was wrong to expect some--”

“No, no,” I cut her off before she could continue. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then what did you mean it for?”

I opened my mouth and closed it again, finding no words. “Sorry,” I apologised, at last.

Yeriel looked at me peculiarly. “Yasmine was right,” she muttered. “You certainly changed.”

“What?”

“You never apologised before. Even when it's your fault, you would just make up for it with something else.”

“Really?” I scoffed off and tried to change the topic. “So, your calling is healing, so why have you learned Communion and that too this deep?”

“Why do you fence every day even though you can make it up with a gun?” Yeriel asked instead.

“A gun certainly has its advantages, but it's overly limited in its power,” I said immediately and stopped, figuring out what she meant. “Oh, I got what you are trying to say.”

“Yes, even though sympathetic bonds don’t really have any practical values in healing, it's the best way to train your controls. Control is what differentiates a Sorcerer from a Magus. A Sorcerer can have great strength, but he will never have the subtle touch of a Magus.”

I nodded, agreeing entirely with her. “How long do you think it will take me to get to the level of your control?”

A thoughtful expression held her face, but before she could answer, someone else did in her place.

“I have been training for two whole years, and learned seven of the nine basic forms,” Althan, who was silent at his desk the whole time, cut in. He wouldn’t let it go when he could bite even a little. He continued with a snort of contempt. “I trained for 2 hours at least five days a week for the whole two years. What does that tell you?”

“That you’re slow?” I turned my head towards Althan and found him scowling at me. Seriously, what’s the problem with this fella? Can’t let us be without interrupting? As for the comment, it wasn’t entirely sarcastic. I was curious about it too. “Well?”

Althan snorted in return.

Well, I admit, that comment was mostly sarcastic. Shaking my head, I returned to Yeriel.

“I am not sure,” she answered, returning the coins to me. “There are a few factors into play, such as the relationship between the sympathetic items, the practitioner’s mindset and talent.”

“Well, these silver coins were supposedly made at the same time and released on the day of the current emperor’s coronation, and went through similar treatment before becoming sympathetic items.” I paid ten whole dynes for the five silver coins—twenty times higher than their actual price—just because they have some sympathetic connection between them.

The strength of a sympathetic bond is proportional to the relation between the sympathetic items. This was the first rule of thumb in sympathetic arts.

Sympathetic Communion is an art that uses the links between the two or more items to influence them. It isn’t about how magical they were, but it's about how great they were connected.

“You bought it?” Yeriel ran her palm in her hair to bring out her hairpin. Her black hair loosened on her back as she showed me the metallic hairpin—it has a sharp point, enough to stick it into someone's flesh. “Usually, most bought items tend to lose their sympathetic components. Some say it's about the emotional connection.”

The sharp hairpin then shot up in the air and danced along with Yeriel’s fingers. She made it do the spinning, twisting, turning, whatever else she did with the coins, but this time it appeared far more natural even though the hairpin weighed a few times more than the coins. I knew exactly what she was trying to convey.

“This hairpin has been with me for over a decade,” Yeriel explained. “My mother bought it for me. Later, your Aunt, Professor Rosalyn, helped me turn it to the other edge sharp and pointy to use as a self-defence item. You should find something like that too if you want to pursue this art to the fullest.”

I nodded, entirely understanding what Yeriel was saying. Actually, I knew full well about Yeriel’s hairpin—it was something she used to get herself free from a vampire in later parts of the story.

Even though these small sympathetic tools were just some minor tricks, it's very efficient in some crises. First, it took little to no spirit energy to manipulate, and secondly, it came with an unexpected surprise. When you have nothing in hand, sometimes these small tricks can save your life—just as it did for Yeriel.

Unfortunately, it was extremely hard, or time-consuming, to get sympathetic items like that. Yeriel’s hairpin was with her for decades. What do I have?

Abruptly, the pendulum clock rang, bringing me out of my musing.

“Crap! It's already five,” I muttered, standing up, collecting my things which were limited to a couple of books, a notebook, two fountain pens, and the coins.

“What's the rush?” Yeriel asked, bewildered at my sudden haste.

“It's the day,” I said, collecting back everything in the bag as a bright smile held my face. “It's the day we promised to contact each other.”

- - -