I didn’t bother convincing the resting brute to follow me around, I knew it would be a wasted effort. For one, ‘heavier bodies require greater effort to put them in motion’ which is very true for Valka. Also, since I was planning on messing around in the artisan workshop anyway she would just be bored out of her mind.

So I’m walking alone across campus, relying only on my memory to find my way, taking my sweet time and thinking about all the brilliant ideas I could share or discuss. Oh, and I need to sign in to the Department, I forgot to do that the last time.

In the morning I threw a bunch of questions at Melana about inscriptions and the rules surrounding them when it comes to the tournament. I have to say I’m pretty satisfied with how the words of power are treated. Basically, other than the free-for-all you can bring a limited quantity of equipment with you. Including anything enchanted or ready to explode.

Nice… except I’ll probably partake in the one even where it’s all about a spontaneous engagement so besides armor and weapon you can’t bring much with you. That doesn’t mean you can’t make anything after the fight has already commenced.

Walking alone across campus dressed like every other student, all of them around my age feels… weird. It feels normal.

My life has been anything but normal ever since the Fist swooped in and kidnapped me, sort of. And although Bennett’s words from four years ago had been proven right time and times again already I just- I can’t… It still wasn’t right. I can’t remember the last week I didn’t ask myself what could’ve been…

I know that nothing the Fist did was out of pity or charity and at the end of the day we’re all just tools in our own way. Heck, if it wasn’t for Bennett, I might’ve ended up dead along with my parents. Am I thankful for how things turned out?

…

I guess. It’s not that bad. Especially here of all places, with a full stomach, outstanding weather, and opportunities all around.

While brewing over the grievances of the past I arrive at the black swan of the department buildings, built for functionality instead of looks. I follow the swarm of students, materials, and tools inside. This time I confidently approach the front desk and demand the attention of an older dwarf boy wearing an unsightly helmet of questionable use.

“Hey, I want to sign up.” I slap the study desk, careful not to destroy the nonexistent order of research papers on it.

He glances up and pulls a round lens away from his eye back to its place among the many adorning the helmet. “Need to take the test and discuss it with a professor of the-”

Another slap draws our attention to a small elderly figure standing at the far corner of the desk. “Sign this paperer you want, hm? Made your decision, you have. Good.” The same shriveled-up gnome smiles at me.

“But Master Nyrbert, she’s a Mage, we can’t just waive the usual test for her sake.” The dwarf protest, his budding beard ruffling up as he grumbles.

“Test take, she was. Supervise yesterday, I did. Motivated she is.” The gnome nods and walks back inside the workshop.

The dwarf begrudgingly takes the paper the professor left on the desk, grabs a quill, and looks back at me. “Name?”

“Elyssia.” I answer with a victorious grin. Finally, something goes smoothly.

Was it yesterday when the gnome kidnapped me that I was tested or did he just lie? I mean, my second Class is meant to create inscriptions, albeit only on paper, like a scribe. Whatever, I intend on steering away from this whole drawing and water-based crafting style anyway.

“Level?” Asks the dwarf and I have to blink a few times then use Identify to understand.

[Artisan lvl 71]

Oh, how cute, he probably only sees question marks.

I quickly answer all his questions and read through the paper before waving goodbye and entering the workshop. Unlike the last time, the place isn’t bustling with energy, heat, and ideas, instead, people stand frozen staring at a massive… barrel?

The complex piece of metal in question is like a thick barrel with wheels and tubes spiraling around it. It’s gleaming with crystals, and inscriptions, and magic, and many, many different compartments.

“Dear student, greenhorns and veterans!” A middle-aged dwarf walks up to the contraption and slaps it with gusto… for some reason. “The gnomes of the lonely north recently came up with a new toy of destruction after the losses they suffered during the last Crimson Disaster. A real menace and weapon of brilliance…and today we got our hands on one of those puppies.”

I’m starting to think I’ll like this place for one additional reason. Humans barely make up about half of all students, while at the same time, adults here such as gnomes and dwarves greatly bring down the average height.

“This thing is called a Stardust Cannon…” He hollers. Okay, cool name, do tell more! “And it fires liquified magic.” Declares the dwarf and we just… blink silently.

Does he mean water magic, or lava or something? Or magic like arcane? Arcane is basically less than gas and I can make it weirdly solid but liquid…

“I see you deliberating what this old fool could be babbling about.” He edges us on. I hate people holding back the juicy part. “We only know the basic principle since the gnomes made sure the cannon becomes useless junk once someone tries to reverse-engineer it. Becomes useless quickly and violently…”

That’s one way to protect your secrets. Zarah did grumble a lot about intellectual property and copycats because, realistically, laws alone can do very little once someone buys your product and learns your juicy tricks.

My attention quickly steers back to the dwarf as he continues his weapon display. “You load Hadron into this little beauty, then the crystals get superheated in these tubes, accelerated, liquified, and condensed. Then you fire and the energy in them is released. Sadly, we can’t display the light show to you anywhere within a day's travel of Sereban but believe me when I say… it’s devastating.”

What the hell is he talking about? They use a solid material and then melt it till it’s liquid to… extract the gaseous energy by overheating it. This makes no-

[The general Skill [Savant] has reached lvl 89.]

Magical Plasma. They are making magical plasma and by destroying the structure of the Hadron they are able to extract all the energy inside it instantly. Instead of gradually drawing mana from its core they use it all... Brilliant.

“The principles driving the reaction are beyond our comprehension and likely even the gnomes merely just stumbled upon this phenomenon on accident. But that does not stop this beauty from unleashing hell.” The dwarf chortles and walks away from the ‘toy’. “Sadly that’s all about the Stardust Cannon. We brought it to awaken the creativity in all of you for our next project.”

Wait, what?

So, let me be clear… they brought a weapon this exciting so we could look at it? That’s like presenting me the chocolate before telling me I can’t have it. To hell with your project let me tear that cannon apart, I don’t even care if it explodes.

“We want you to create various launching systems using any element or method you could think of. Let your imagination run free and present your idea by the end of this week!” The dwarf issues the task that sparks the fire of creativity in many young eyes. “I’ll also-”

Someone taps my elbow and when looking over I see the old gnome, Professor Nyrbert standing next to me. “Your purpose different. Using inscriptions for combat you want. You don’t want to build things yes? Or do you?”

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I hate how I almost replied talking the same way he does.

“I mean… It’s interesting. And I have thought of some small gadgets I could use in actual situations.” I answer, interested in both but unable to decide.

“Uh, like a deployable illusion?” A random girl asks from beside me.

“No, it should be something like a flamethrower boobie trap.” A boy chimes in.

“I have a mobile cover made. Can you help test it?” Someone else shouts from a few people back.

And the suggestions keep on coming. The subject shifts from me and the project to small portable gadgets and live weapon testing. All the young artisan minds spin with the attention span of a dumb newborn puppy, shifting from distant ideas to direct use.

“Don’t be so alarmed, it’s rare we get someone with actual combat abilities.” The dwarf who just popped up beside me shakes his head. “We tried to coerce the people of the other departments into lending us a hand but after a certain incident…” The dwarf who just popped up beside me shakes his head. “Good to have you here.”

Incident, huh?

“By rare do you mean… I’m the only one, aren’t I?” I ask just to make sure.

Silence…

Silence usually means yes.

***

“... so this way it creates an optical illusion, heat signal, minimal sound, and even a magical signal.” I summarize the drawing in front of me.

There are eleven other students surrounding the table as we work together on the same project. The snap group project came out of nowhere as ideas kept getting thrown around and… well, here we are.

“Then you’ll have to find a way to make it face upward and stay stable, otherwise the light magic will fuck the entire thing up. The moment it tilts or the ground trembles it’s all over.” One of them points out a serious flaw.

“What about giving it stabilizing legs? Maybe shape it like a disk instead of a ball. Like a spider perhaps.” Another proposes.

I’ve never imagined I’d say this even in my wildest dreams but I… I enjoy this. Being surrounded by people and hearing them talk…

“The mana supply will be an issue though. Maybe if-”

“Okay hermits, scram and eat something before you shrivel up at that table!” The dwarf stomps over to us and grabs the quill out of my hand. “You’ve been sitting here for five hours now. Lunchtime is already over.”

Huh? No way my stomach failed to notify me, this never happened before.

“Then in the afternoon-” I try to set up the next brainstorming event.

“No afternoon!” The dwarf puts his foot down. “Lectures start tomorrow and I’d advise you to visit the library for the relevant books for all your lessons before others beat you to it, there are only so many copies.” He rolls up the blueprint and hands it to me. “Work on the assignment if you can’t find anything else to busy yourself. The idea won’t go bad just because you put it on the shelf, it matures. Now scram!” He shoos us away. “Damn kids want to burn themselves out on the first day.” He grumbles as we stand up from the table we were glued to.

We leave begrudgingly, going our separate ways.

I wouldn’t say I made new friends, I don’t even know any of their names, nevertheless, I look forward to working with them again. Even though none of us have a similar mindset, like Val and me, we are kindred spirits. Our different points of view make sure we don’t overlook anything but our interests align.

So food… Checking up on the others, and library and sleep. Sounds good.

***

Returning to the dorms I pop into my room first to drop the drafts we made in the past too many hours. As it turns out, everyone can use time magic secretly… The same way our seemingly one-hour-long discussion quintupled without explanation.

Just as I’m about to head down to the cafeteria Valka bursts out of her room with a box in her hand.

“Finally, you’re back.” She goes to the small table in the kitchen. “Sit!” She commands me.

I have complicated feelings about how she said that, still, I comply. As I pull out the chair she places the box in front of me and hands me cutlery…

Things are getting interesting.

She glances into my room and huffs. “Judging by the bundle of doddle you returned with you were in the workshop,” I nod and hum. “Wasn’t hard to guess. I also went out to try out some ideas myself.” She says and I already know where this is going. “I had no problem signing up for the Culinary Lab as they call the kitchen and… it was fun. Turns out they elect an ingredient every day that you have to include in your dish and at lunch everyone presents their creation for people to taste.”

I so know where this is going and I no longer like it…

Don’t get me wrong, it’s good that she’s enthusiastic and found something to enjoy and she does really like food… However, her creativity far outshines her skills when it comes to cooking.

“Please tell me it wasn’t snails or something weird like that.” I look at her with puppy eyes, my hunger slowly retreating by the second.

“Don’t be silly, who would eat snails.” She giggles and opens the box. Thank the Gods... “Today’s ingredient was turtle neck.” Oh, fuck me… “I made some extra for you to try.”

This is the last time I allowed myself to be fooled. I’ve seen this culinary anarchist eat liver with jam before so I’m scared to even imagine what she had cooked up this time.

The contents of the box seem to be an arm-sized neck, cooked until it almost melts off the bone and some mashed potatoes. Where the hell did they even find a turtle that big? Then there are apple slices mixed into the potato and some small black berries I don’t recognize.

It looks… edible.

“Go on!” Valka watches me with a wide smile. “They said it was an amazing first attempt.”

That’s not a compliment you dense… urgh.

I stab the fork into the goop that is the side dish and it just… gets stuck there. I could come up with an excuse and slip away, like saying I already ate or I’m not hungry or I have to hurry back to the workshop, or anything really. It would only take a few words to escape and sneak down to the cafeteria where the real, good food is… There aren’t even words to make a comparison here.

And still, I won’t.

I can already tell there’s one thing this abomination of a meal has over our basic feed. Soul and passion. That’s two, but I think they are the same in this case. Valka made this with a smile on her face, she made it doing her best and she made this for me.

Gathering my resolve, I dig in, taking bite after bite to get this over with as fast as possible. The mashed potato is gooey and everything is drowning in salt but… it’s not that bad. The green apple works weirdly well with the sweet berries and the meat on the neck is just a bit too spicy.

“Slow down,” The chef giggles beside me as I stuff my face. “It won’t run anywhere.”

Yeah, there’s at least that much to it.

I keep up the pace and soothe my hunger in just minutes, leaving the box empty. Besides the bones that is.

To be entirely fair, I’ve had worse, I survived on just roasted meat and garbage in the forest, and Solermo. The critical Elyssia would rate this a three out of ten.

For reference, Mom’s cooking is five and Dad barely scrapes the bottom of six and a half on his best days.

Would I ever part with coins for this? No, absolutely not. Would I force it down my throat again if I had to?

I wipe my mouth and glance at Valka with her goofy smile and empty box in her embrace.

Yeah, I’d eat it any day.

“Thanks for the meal.” I do what’s right and down a few glasses of water for no particular reason.

“You’re very welcome.” Valka beams. “I’ll make lunch in the-”

“No,” I interrupt maybe a little too fast. “We should visit the library and prepare for tomorrow.” I quickly defuse the situation. “By the way, have you seen the others today?”

“Yeah, Adele accompanied me and Rona left for the workshop just an hour after you stormed out.” Val taps her chin while putting on her shoes.

“Should we look for the troublesome trio?” I ask because making the decision sounds too much of a hassle.

“Ehh.” Valka also refrains from giving a straight answer.

Looking for them will take time and their presence is like a coin flip. It’s either quite fun and useful or straight-up irritating. A three to two ratio.

“Leave it up to Luxandra. If we stumble into them then it was meant to be.” Valka proposes and I nod.

Leaving it up to luck is a decision I generally hate because the world literally hates me but employ way too often. It’s the lazy way.

***

To find the library we had to venture into the belly of the monstrosity that is the Academy building. The only structure larger than this colossus is the Imperial Palace we saw from afar. Unlike previous times, there were no portals opening left and right to solve all our issues because as it turns out, that function is reserved for the professors and staff.

We had to walk, and walk a lot.

Despite all this wandering we never caught sight of either Kayla, August or Victor which would’ve been nice since they could’ve probably guided us to our destination.

Walking, climbing stairs, getting lost, asking for directions, and a lot of cursing. After exploring most of the building we finally reached a massive corridor about halfway up the floors, leading to the unmistakable view of a library.

It’s incredible.

Most of my ire disappears as we enter the sanctuary of knowledge and I’m awed by the view yet again. The wall right across us is… well, not a wall but glass. Windows multiple stories tall in the absurdly massive library provide a great view over Sereban and the docks.

The shelves with the paths and bridges connecting to them form a veritable forest of books full of treehouses and alcoves. The type every kid dreams of.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Valka mutters without tearing her gaze away from the view.

“Stuff.” I reply mindlessly.

We’ll be here all night.