“There are two types of mages in this world,” Professor Dwight said. “The first hires spell weavers and has their spells made for them. The latter craft their own, modifying their capabilities to suit whatever the situation demands.” He raised his hand, silencing a young student poking fun at war mages near the front of the room. “This isn’t a commentary on which type of mage is superior. They both have specialties and uses.
“Manipulation magic is the great equalizer in this regard. No one can sell you techniques or spells that suit your specific needs. Similarly, no matter how much you prepare, the slightest change to your circumstances might render your painfully designed spell needless. Manipulation mages focus on generalist spells because our magic is primarily intent-driven.” The professor listed bullet points on the chalkboard. “Creativity. Fluidity. Understanding.
“They’re the hallmarks of a decent Manipulation mage. You need to understand your medium inside and out. Be creative with its uses and applications. Finally, always remain fluid. Don’t get too stuck on a single thought or aspect.”
The professor waved to his assistant. The mage stepped forward and raised his hands. Water rose from the trough behind him. It narrowed into a cylindrical stream and flowed like a serpent, looping and dancing. The professor flicked his finger, and a trio of ceramic tiles rose off the desk, blocking the stream’s path. The stream solidified, losing its fluidity, and shot around in a straight line, bouncing off the many surfaces. It sped up until the water drilled through the floating squares.
More tiles rose. Some were ceramic, and others were metal heated to the point of glowing orange. The water returned to its more fluid, serpentine form. It weaved past heated squares but then compressed and shot in a straight line at the ceramic.
“This is, of course, a simplified demo,” the professor stated. “I hope it will help you grasp the basic concept.”
When the assistant returned the water to the troughs, a wave of murmurs spread through the lecture hall. Beginner Manipulation had a lot more students than Beginner Shaping. The mages didn’t just wear the dungeon studies or war magic departments’ emblems. Generalist students—like Aria—also attended the lecture. The versatile school of magic had its uses in combat, research, and a lot more.
Unlike the lecture halls for theory courses, the students sat at individual desks three feet away from one another. It gave them ample room to move around and cast spells without affecting their neighbors. The runes scratched into the floor resembled those in the university’s training room. Nox guessed they existed to limit or lessen the effects of a misfired spell.
Instead of listening to the professor, he focused all of his attention on the assistant. It was mostly introductory content, discussing upcoming course material. Nox used his arcane senses to study the movement of mana in his target, comparing it to his own and all the theoretical material he had read while studying Animation and Manipulation theory by himself.
The introductory lectures felt designed for amateurs. After two years at Woodson University and ascending to the rank of adept, he believed he could pick up such concepts with self-study. What he lacked was a focused and practiced subject to study. Lillin, or a mage with a traditional mana system and a primary focus on Manipulation, could’ve helped him. He specifically needed someone who didn’t conjure the subject of their spell to closely study the magic’s machinations without getting confused by other spells or essences. Unfortunately, Nox didn’t have many close friends who met the criteria.
During Nox’s observations, a curious occurrence popped out at Nox. It wasn’t the assistant’s ongoing Manipulation magic demonstrations but how his mana zone behaved during them. The mage’s spell penetrated the water and also contained in a mana cage. He had used the latter spellcasting technique when first developing his Shaping planet and developing his Crystallize Defense spell.
The mana cage twisted or uncoiled, altering the space inside. The water, in turn, lost or gained fluidity, respectively. It removed the need for Shaping the water and gave the spell the fluidity necessary for Manipulation magic. It wasn’t the technique that piqued Nox’s curiosity but how the assistant’s mana zone behaved while he used it. The dome swelled around where the cage was thickest. It almost appeared as if the technique was displacing the mana zone and making it larger.
No one knew what had caused it—the mana burn or developing a second star dedicated to spatial magic—but Nox’s mana zone had lost its stability. It wobbled like jelly, growing lumps, swelling, and deflating in areas. However, the overall volume remained the same. Nox’s observations told him that adapting the cages, and perhaps other Manipulation techniques, could help him mold his mana zone to meet his requirements. He imagined stretching it in one direction to extend his arcane reach. The possibility excited Nox, and he started experimenting straight away.
Much to his surprise, the mana born of his new star proved excellent at creating mana cages. It felt obvious as he thought about it. The technique focused on toying with the space and its contents within, after all.
Nox constructed two cages. One perfectly encompassed and contained his mana zone. The other swelled in front of him, displacing the space within the bubble and stretching the cage. He pushed the second to its limits until the first was at risk of collapsing. The exercise won him a stable zone, and it expanded by two feet on the side with the smaller cage.
“What are you grinning about, Sir Ratra?” Professor Dwight asked. He had finished the introductory part of the lecture and was going around checking on students trying their hand at Manipulation or discussing whether Manipulation was the discipline for them.
“I just figured out that I can Manipulate my mana zone,” he replied, grinning.
Stolen novel; please report.
“Manipulate your mana zone?” The professor raised an eyebrow. His eyes then widened as Nox demonstrated his discovery and used Mage Hand for a clear visual representation. “I’m aware of your predicament and mana system’s status, but I wasn’t aware you had an amorphous zone. Most mistake it for a disadvantage or have a large enough zone for it not to matter. I can see how it can be an advantage for someone with your limitations. Are you familiar with the concept of cages and their use?”
Nox nodded. “My aunt taught the technique while I was still an apprentice alchemist. It's essential for how we do things with the Slow and Galvanizing Touch cantrips. Mana cages proved useful when I first started here and was struggling with my first planet, too.”
“I’ll be honest, Sir Ratra. Your enrolment in the course surprised me.” Professor Dwight clicked his fingers, and a tile lifted off his desk and floated to him. A stack of papers sat on it. He leafed through them until he found a page with Nox’s name at the top of it. “I noticed you’ve completed Beginner Animation and only failed to complete Finesse Shaping because of the damage to your mana system. This course should be well within your capabilities. A good deal of the course material will involve the use and control of mana cages, and I’m afraid the lectures won’t be of much use to you.”
“What are you suggesting, professor?” Nox asked. “Should I drop Manipulation and focus on self-study?”
“Not at all. I think you still have much to learn, and advancing your knowledge of the discipline will be vital to solving your problem. Use everything you already know for a couple of weeks to design and demonstrate an adequate Manipulation spell. If it's adequate, I’ll switch you to the intermediate course.”
“Thank you, Professor. I appreciate the opportunity, but I don’t know how I’d go about doing that.” Nox showed the older man his manameter. He thought it best not to manifest the new version of Ratra’s Bow around his peers. People would see it once Advanced Dungeon Combat resumed, but he hoped to keep knowledge of it secret for the time being. “As you can see, most of my heavenly bodies are unusable, and my second star has a rune-less core. I can’t assemble an adequate spell for it until—”
“You forget that this is Beginner Manipulation. Overly scripted spells aren’t necessary for passing. Do the most with whatever you have. Besides, Professor Wolfhammer tells me you’ve been doing just fine in Advanced Dungeon Combat for the past couple of semesters. That’s no easy feat with your first star and half your planets not working. Adapt whatever you’ve been doing thus far to meet my parameters.”
“I’ll try my best.”
Nox didn’t know where to begin. He had spent the past two semesters relying on essences, Otis, and the basic Temporal Sphere spell. He demonstrated it for the professor, but though potent, they weren’t what Professor Dwight wanted. He left the introductory lecture scratching his head.
Before meeting his friends for lunch and then the first Advanced Dungeon Combat session, Nox visited the dungeon studies department’s administration office. They handed him his weekly schedule for the semester.
6th to 8th Bell
8th to 10th Bell
10th to 12th Bell
12th to 1st Bell
1st to 3rd Bell
3rd to 5th Bell
Firstday
Lunch
Advanced Dungeon Combat
Seconday
Advanced Mana Theory
Lunch
Intermediate Ward Crafting.
Thirday
Beginner Manipulation
Lunch
Advanced Dungeon Combat
Fourthday
Understanding Binary Systems
Lunch
Beginner Manipulation
Fifthday
Advanced Dungeon Combat
Sixthday
Break Day
Seventhday
Break Day
Having the first morning of every week off pleased Nox. Weekends were often busy for the Galleria, and he needed to stay up late every Seventhday night, taking care of administrative work. Mou and Sapna helped, of course, but they often required his input whenever making big or unusual purchases. After a year of smooth operation, the business could almost operate without his involvement. Yet he liked the idea of having a morning after the weekend rush to solve any issues calmly. He needed to get used to delegating tasks so he had more time for university work, personal research, and Aria. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done.
Initially, Nox didn’t have high expectations of Beginner Manipulation. He thought it would be mostly a waste of time and hoped to get some guidance regarding how to deal with his predicament. When going in, he expected extra attention from the professor. Spatial mages were rare. Binary star systems were even rarer. He was already a subject of discussion among academia-focused professors.
Now, after the first day, he had already made a key discovery and had the opportunity for more. Nox couldn’t be happier. After a year of study and arcane stagnation, it felt like he was finally making progress. He had more or less figured out the basics of the Temporal Sphere spell and developed a moon to accompany Otis’ planet, but that didn’t feel enough.
A year had passed with an adept star halfway to expert. He had hoped to develop at least one of two planets for it in that time. Thanks to Advanced Mana Theory and Understanding Binary Systems, he had a reasonably decent theoretical understanding of concepts but not much else. It felt like he was finally making worthwhile and notable progress.
“What are you grinning about?” Caitlin asked when he met his friends at the pauper’s cafeteria. They had already found seats and were halfway done eating their lunches.
“I think I can be more than just support again,” Nox said. “With Alexander almost at adept rank, this might just be the semester we get a genuine pass in Advanced Dungeon Combat.”
“We’ve already passed it,” Joey said. “I don’t know why the pair of you are so obsessive about it this whole thing.”
“A pass due to emergency privileges hardly counts,” Alexander said. “It’ll be fun. Grandmother taught me a bunch of new things. You’ll see.”