At the same time as when the lecturer stopped talking, she also finished drawing the magic circle on the black board, making one last mark so as to close the outer border up.
Despite being so big it spanned from the very top to the ledge on the bottom of the board, it wasn’t incredibly detailed nor complex, at least not to the extent I was left completely lost at what exactly the characters meant or which part of the magic circle did what.
Even with the two weeks of lessons and rudimentary knowledge of alchemy I consequently gained, I was able to decipher the magic circle as being a hardening spell that lasted for approximately ten minutes.
“First of all,” she stated, “Sketch this design on one of the sheets of paper provided. The diameter of the outer circle should end up being approximately twelve inches long, so using that as a reference, draw a stencil which you will later follow on the goblin’s skin.”
Closing the leather notebook with which I was previously taking notes, I reached for a sheet of the incredibly thin paper, first beginning by measuring and sketching a one foot by one foot square, before subsequently inscribing a circle using the sketched square.
Sticking one tongue out, I carefully measured the relative proportions of the inner parts of the magic circle using my pen, and within thirty minutes, I was pretty much finished.
I held the finished sketch out to the air, comparing what I drew to what was shown on the blackboard. I found that mine was incredibly close to the model provided, though as that judgment was made from the perspective of a complete and utter amateur, me, it was probably useless.
Sighing in dejection, I leaned over, beginning to stare at those below me who were still drawing, before,
“If you’re done,” the lecturer suddenly shouted, in the process startling those who were still working, “Place the thin sheet of paper over the sheet of treated goblin skin. Take the needle marked with the number twelve and follow the design you drew, making sure that while you’re cutting slightly in, you’re not completely going through the goblin skin.”
Doing as she instructed, I inspected each of the needles, before picking number twelve out, and holding it like a pencil, I began to cut through the sheet of paper and slightly into the goblin skin.
Half expecting the paper to just tear, I made my first line, only to find that the paper cut incredibly easily, allowing for a good amount of precision, akin to a piece of clay I was able to mold and shape as I so desired.
Smiling to myself, I absentmindedly continued, finishing cutting the magic circle into the goblin’s skin within ten minutes.
Peeling the piece of paper off, I inspected my handiwork. I probably could’ve gotten done even faster, but I aimed to make all of my cuts of uniform depth so I took my sweet time.
Finished, I looked to those around me, wanting to see how I compared to others, and to my surprise, I realized that I was the first person done, with most other people still drawing, while those who weren’t were cutting magic circles that even from where I sat and with my low skill level, I could see were poorly done, with shaky, uneven lines and designs of incorrect proportions relative to each other.
Though, that was most likely my hubris talking. It was always better to underestimate my capabilities and occasionally surpass those expectations, rather than to overestimate and always underdeliver on what I expected from myself.
Even so, it was an undeniable fact I was finished, having completed everything instructed of me, so I just yawned, before resting my head on the desk and blankly staring out at the clock on the wall.
“If you’re done cutting,” the lecturer began once again, thirty minutes having passed since I had finished, “Take the needle marked six, and unscrew the lid of your goblins blood. After that, dip your needle inside, where you will then, again, follow the magic circle, making sure that the amount of blood applied to each crevice is as close to each other as you can possibly get it. When you’re done, bring it up to me, and I’ll activate it. The person who I deem to have done the best job will get one thousand points.”
Half paying attention, as I heard the last part of her words, I shot up, a proverbial fire being lit under me. Even if my end product was complete and utter garbage and I didn’t get the thousand points, I’d prefer that to if I didn’t try at all.
Immediately unscrewing the container of goblin blood, I dipped the six needle inside, before running it throughout the cut magic circle.
The blood running low, I removed the tip of the needle, about to apply more, when I stopped, the realization coming over me that my heart was seemingly beating 120 times per minute and my muscles were strained to the point that I could see the blue colored veins under the skin of my forearm.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Breathing deeply in from my nostrils, I forcibly calmed myself down. Just like a sword, I couldn't be overly tense, as that wouldn’t make me strong, only brittle. I had to have a certain amount of flexibility, else at even the first sign of resistance, I would shatter and break.
I continued etching with the needle tipped with blood, and before I knew it, I had finished and was walking up to the lecturer, newly created artifact in hand.
Being the first person to walk up to have my creation judged, I naturally drew the gazes of all those in class, with approximately five hundred pairs of eyes being planted on me at the exact same time.
Though, admittedly, I didn’t feel particularly stressed.
Taking the sheet of goblin skin from my hands, the lecturer began to closely inspect it using a small, pocket sized cylinder that presumably magnified what she was looking at.
“Good, consistent depth of cut … smooth, uniform coat of treated goblin blood applied,” she looked up, “Just based on how it looks, I can say, you did a good job. There are some things that could be improved upon, such as the overall flow of your lines, the proportions could be better, and the placement of the magic circle’s internals leave something to be desired.”
Putting the magnifying cylinder back in her pocket, she held the goblin leather with both hands, before briefly closing her eyes. The green blood soon began to glow a faint, light colored blue, before returning to normal.
“Look,” she continued speaking again, “If your magic circle was perfectly done, it would’ve caused the goblin leather to become harder, but still be somewhat pliable, so if I did this,” she waved the green skin this way and that, “it would wobble. Yours just stays stiff.”
She handed the goblin leather back to me,
“But for what I’m assuming is your first attempt at constructing a magic circle, nice job.”
As I walked back to my seat at the very back of the lecture hall, her words continually played in my mind. Despite her critiques being harsh and straight forward, I had to admit, that I noticeably had more pep in my step.
Of course, I derived no enjoyment from having my flaws be so plainly pointed out, as I wasn’t a masochist. I instead focused on the last part, where she said I did a good job.
It felt much better to be recognized than I expected.
Sitting back at my seat, I was momentarily lost on what I was supposed to do for the rest of class, before deciding to just copy the magic circle the professor had drawn on the blackboard to my notebook.
It certainly didn’t have the flashiest effect, but it wouldn’t hurt for me to know about it.
Making sure to devote more care and attention to the aspects of the magic circle she stated I was weaker in, I was about about halfway done when the words she was speaking dug their way inside my mind, disrupting my thoughts.
“...To be honest, this magic circle has nearly no redeeming qualities about it. The lines you’ve drawn are completely inconsistent with each other. Look ... here compared to here. Not only are the thickness of your cuts completely different from each other, but so is the depth. If I were to activate this magic circle, I think it’d genuinely run the risk of immediately breaking down and catching fire. Adding on to that, the coat of goblin’s blood is completely uneven, such that some parts will be disproportionally powered, while others…”
By the time she had finished, the boy she was so callously judging was left blinking back tears, and my jaw was left agape.
And she just continued like that, methodically tearing down each and everyone else who went up to her’s goblin leather artifacts, identifying what exactly made their creation shit, all the while doing so with the most calm, impartial tone imaginable.
In all, about thirty one people had gone up after me, with the most positive words that had come out of her mouth being that the created goblin artifact she was judging then could at the very least, be activated without immediately breaking down.
Finished cleaning and wiping down my needles with the dropper of alcohol and small square of fabric included in the small black case, I looked up to the clock on the wall, seeing that it was nearly 11:50, and class was about to end.
“Speaking candidly,” the professor calmly spoke, “The vast majority of your magic circles, including those of you who didn’t come up, were not very good. But that’s completely okay. I expected that to be the case, and at least now, when you look back on what you were once like, you can take pride in just how much progress you’ve made.
“I want each of you today to think back on what I pointed out was wrong with your goblin skin artifacts, and seek to improve on it. Take the remaining materials on your desk with you. I’ll be giving away extra sheets of the model paper, patches of goblin skin and containers of goblin’s blood until the end of next month. If you so choose, you can come up to me again within that time frame with your redone magic circle, to which I will then give you a commensurate amount of points depending on the quality.
“You are dismissed.”
Getting up, I took the provided supplies with me, before beginning to leave the lecture hall, the thought of what I was going to do for the rest of the day in my mind, when the lecturer suddenly pulled me aside.
“What’s your name?” she asked, as the last of the other students had finally funneled out of the lecture hall.
“Sol.”
“Sol…” she blankly rubbed her chin, before looking back up at me, “Good job with the goblin skin.”
Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a dull gray metal brick that was longer than it was wide, with one side of it being just a pane of glass. Tapping on the glass part a few times, she motioned for me to activate the point band on my wrist.
Doing as she directed, a white 30 quickly appeared on the surface, to which the professor immediately touched it with the metal apparatus in her hand.
Immediately afterwards, the 30 on my point band became a 1,030 and I looked up, shock plainly evident on my face.
The hints of a smile on the corners of her lips,
“My name is Dieskau,” the professor plainly stated, “I look forward to seeing your future development.”