The Day Before

The air was thick with the acrid smell of burnt wood and slightly charred earth. Lucinda stood in the center of a courtyard, her eyes closed in concentration as she focused on the task.

She could feel the Mana pulsing through her body.

Lucinda visualized the Tier 3 spell in her mind, a complex matrix that required incredible finesse to execute properly. She ground her teeth, taking slow, deep breaths as she manipulated the Mana to fuel the spell. Suddenly, her purple eyes opened and sparkled with intensity.

“[Flame Whip],” Lucinda spoke.

As she said the words, a serpentine whip made entirely of flame slowly materialized in her hand. It was partially translucent, the orange and red flickering light of the flames dancing along its length. With a graceful twist of her arm, she uncoiled the whip, testing its weight and balance.

Lucinda aimed at the mannequin that stood ten feet away, and with a swift movement, she tried striking it with the whip.

She let out a fierce yell as she swung the whip at the mannequin. The flames made contact, and the dummy was engulfed in fire. But as quickly as the flames had appeared, the spell disintegrated, and the blaze flickered out, leaving the mannequin with only a few scorch marks.

Lucinda let out a yelp of frustration: the spell was not stable enough and needed more work.

As she prepared herself to try again, she heard a feminine voice calling her name from behind.

“Lucinda, honey, how’s the spell progressing?”

She turned to her mother, who had probably just finished her [Waitress] shift.

Lucinda's mother smiled at her with a mixture of pride and concern. Lucinda had always been gifted in the art of magic. Still, her mother worried about her daughter's dedication to the craft, especially since Lucinda had decided to pursue her training alone, without the guidance of a master.

"It's not quite there yet," Lucinda replied, frustration still evident in her voice. "I need to work on the stability of the spell. It keeps fizzling out."

Her mother nodded, vaguely understanding the challenge of mastering such a hard spell. "You've been at it for hours, honey. Maybe it's time to take a break and come back to it later."

Lucinda considered her mother's advice, then sighed and nodded.

Lucinda was aware of the immense expectations placed upon her and the sacrifices her parents had made to support her. They had put together every penny they had to cover the academy's minimum fees. They were hopeful that she would secure a scholarship from an Archmage. But despite her obstacles, Lucinda remained unwavering in her determination to get into the Nine Towers and come out of it powerful and rich. With a resolute glint in her eyes, she turned back to the mannequin, thinking of how to refine her spell.

However, in a moment of hesitation, her determination faltered.

Joey hadn’t gone to work for two days in a row after he was assaulted. Maybe he’s not...

Lucinda shook her head violently.

Focus.

She couldn’t afford to worry about the cute Human who wanted nothing to do with magic. He had stated clearly that he wanted a life that had nothing but being a baker going for it.

She bit her lower lip.

She couldn't waste her time on him.

But...

“Are you tired, or are you consuming your ears again? Do you want me to make some food? I found a good deal at Happy Bakery on their new bread. That lady, Flaminia, said she knows you when I went over to update the inn's orders.”

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Her mother's words made her cringe.

“Mom, please. Don’t... yes, okay. Make some food. It’s fine. Just leave me alone for a second.”

“Ok,” she heard her mother sigh. Lucinda felt frustrated with herself; she was rude to her mother for no real reason.

“But have you heard about the Human? They say there's one working for Happy Bakery,” Lucinda’s mother said.

Damn it.

Lucinda forcefully blew some air through her scrunched lips and walked back inside the house.

“I’m a bit distracted. Let’s eat something—I’ll help you.”

It didn’t make sense for her to waste Mana when her head was somewhere else.

“So, have you heard about him?” They entered the humble house situated in the North of Amorium, in one of the working-class quarters.

Lucinda shrugged, not replying to her mother. But unfortunately, parents often used truth stones with their children, considering their offspring not worthy of any real civil rights.

“Imagine that,” her mother said, tying her hair before chopping some vegetables. “I don’t know what this city will become if Humans are making our food. What if the guy decides to poison the bread? Do you have any idea how many people could die from that? But if he was a [Poison Master], that Flaminia wouldn’t have hired him, right?”

Lucinda rubbed her face.

“No? Hey, young lady, answer your mother!”

“Yes, yes. Stupid Humans shouldn’t come to Amorium,” Lucinda grumbled.

“Oooh, do you think there will be Humans at the Nine Towers Academy? I’ve heard that there are Hydras there! And that Dragon [Archmage]... Maybe you could get apprenticed to him, Lucinda.”

“Mom,” Lucinda felt a splitting headache mount – not from the Mana exhaustion but from her mother's inane questions. “I’ve already told you; I sent an application to [Archmage] Titus—he only takes Elven disciples, and he’s the one who taught Gaius, the guy everyone thinks will be the next [Archmage].”

Lucinda’s mother gave her a warm smile nonetheless. It didn’t matter how Lucinda responded; her mother always smiled at her. Sure, she could be stern sometimes, as all mothers. But mostly, she doted on her daughter. She was forty and still not even in her twenties, level-wise. Most of the people that had started at the same time as her had gone on to find better-paying jobs or even owned an inn at this point.

Valeria Ennia, instead, had a daughter. And sure, she only had a daughter, but what a daughter she had! Lucinda Ennia Persa, who earned her nickname from all of Amorium for how clear-headed she was about becoming a [Mage] at her age, was the talk of the entire city. There was nothing that made Valeria prouder than showing off her daughter. Even the Valerii had offered her to arrange a marriage into their family. But Lucinda refused to have anything to do with that.

The love of her daughter's life was magic, nothing else.

“Sweetheart, will you send us messages when you go to the academy?”

By now, this question must have been asked at least a thousand times, Lucinda reasoned. But she knew how much her parents cared about her, and she just couldn’t be mean to them when they asked silly questions like that.

“Yes, mom. I will obviously write to you and dad. I am not a street rat. I still have some common sense left in me, you know?”

Did she, though? If she did, why was she stuck thinking about the stupid Human so much? What was she even doing, huh? What was this recent obsession?

I need to practice. I need to study. I cannot afford any distractions.

And it was true. For all her talent was beyond this world, she had started much later than other prodigies, who would have gotten a head start at fourteen or fifteen. That was the ideal age to begin true magical education. It was rumored that some nobles started their children as young as nine.

But none of that mattered to Lucinda.

...

“Here you go, dear. Noodles, how you asked me to make them.”

Lucinda took a forkful of her mother's noodles flavored with a criminal amount of spice, as she had required. Still, the spice was not strong enough, and the burnt parts of the noodles were either too burnt or barely cooked.

Nonetheless, she downed the noodles without saying a word.

“Where did you get this recipe again?” Her mother asked.

“From a friend.”

“Well, this friend of yours doesn’t know much about cooking, does he? Or is it a she?”

“It’s... just an idiot. It’s fine. I’m not wasting my time on them. I have too much studying to do.”

...

Lucinda lay on her bed, looking at the ceiling. She felt some pain in her chest—mostly caused by the Mana exhaustion... mostly.

She got up from the bed, restless.

Shouldn’t I visit? He got hurt, the dumb Human, didn’t he? That...

Lucinda hissed.

But what am I, a [Healer]? And I go there to tell him what?

‘Hey, Joey, I came to check on you because...’

Because what, Lucinda, huh?

Because you want a little fling before going to the Nine Towers Academy? Because you want to waste your time on someone with zero interest in learning magic? Oh, and what good will that do to your career, miss?

Damn it!

Lucinda took her pillow and smashed it on the bed.

She took a deep breath, calming herself.

It’s just laziness. I don’t have an actual interest in Joey. I’m just trying to evade my responsibilities. Studying is getting harder and harder. Mastering a Tier 3 spell to impress an [Archmage] is complex. I’m just making excuses not to study. That's all. I need to double my efforts. I can’t let this occasion go like this.

Not after how hard I’ve worked.

Lucinda looked out of her bedroom window on the second floor. The moon hung up in the sky, full and beautiful. Shining down light into her purple eyes, the white lactescent disk speckled her pupils with fragments of moonlight.

And for a moment, her true emotions took over, making her sigh longingly.