Ellis scanned the empty hallway as Orrin approached. He looked like a rabbit about to make a run for it, wiping his hands on his pants in a nervous gesture.

Orrin held his palms up in a placating manner. He kept his voice quiet and calm as he asked, “What does it look like, Ellis?”

He pushed down the devastation at finding someone he’d begun to see as a friend spying on him. Orrin heard rumors in the cafeteria daily about fights and people being caught performing some extracurricular espionage but thought his own relative anonymity would keep him clear of the spy games the different houses and aristocrats played at the school.

The young man’s shoulders drooped. “It looks like I’m leaving your room after messing up your room and going through your things. I promise Casimir, I would never do that. The door was ajar when I came up to my room and I knocked. I called out for you and opened the door when nobody answered. I didn’t put it there. I was about to go report it and find you.”

Orrin was never so happy for [Dimension Hole] as he was right now. He didn’t know if he believed Ellis but there was nothing in his room to be stolen or found. He kept Annabella’s Relic in his storage, along with the few other precious items he kept secreted away. “Nobody was inside?”

Tears brimmed in Ellis’s eyes as he shook his head. “I swear. It wasn’t me.”

“Wait,” Orrin paused as Ellis’s words caught up with him. “What did you find in there?”

Ellis finally lost his composure and ran down the hall. Orrin let him go. He’d been caught red-handed at the door. If Orrin, as Casimir, made a formal report about someone breaking into his dorm room, there wasn’t anywhere the boy could go unless he gave up his chance to attend the school.

Orrin opened the door and entered.

His desk was upside down in the center of the room, each drawer removed and smashed to pieces. The knife used to tear the mattress to pieces stuck from the nearest banister of the bedframe, feathers coating the room from the once-plush pillow. The chest that Orrin didn’t use was opened.

The mess from his room being turned inside out wasn’t bad. The item that spooked Ellis was another matter.

The drapes were drawn and Orrin’s window was open. A rope hung from the bar atop the window. It swung taut in the breeze, the end tied off around the neck of a dead animal. It was half-skinned, the blood still leaking into a puddle on the floor below. The near-silent drip of blood caught his eye, a tiny splash of red jumping from the puddle on the ground, hitting the yellow wall under the window.

“Casimir?”

Orrin pulled his eyes away from the gruesome sight to find Professor Graem squatting above him. He couldn’t remember sitting down against the wall in his room.

“Let’s get you out of here,” the man spoke with a gentle voice, his eyes betraying his concern. “We’ll get this cleaned up.”

Orrin took the proffered hand and pulled himself up. Belatedly, he realized he was late to class. He wasn’t one to skip classes.

“I have to get to class.”

Graem kept his hand on Orrin’s shoulder as they walked out of the room, his staff clicking on the ground. He gestured and three men in guard uniforms moved in. Orrin saw a few faces sneaking peaks out of doorways. Curious students looking for ammunition in the newest rumor.

“I’ll talk with your teacher. You’re in shock.”

Orrin let himself slip into [Mind Bastion]. He analyzed his situation logically. There was no reason he should be in shock. He’d been through much worse in his time in Dey. This wasn’t anything to break down about. He’d killed people, fought monsters, been kidnapped, and lived with lies that could end his and his friend’s lives for months now.

“I’m not a [Healer] but I know a good one if you want to talk with somebody,” Graem continued talking but Orrin stopped listening. The anxious and racing thoughts subsided as he cast [Calm Mind].

“I’m fine now, thank you.” Orrin slipped out of Graem’s grip and stopped on the stairs. “Ellis said the door was already open when he got there. I thought the doors were magically locked to our mana, right?”

Graem sighed and sat on the steps. He tapped his staff on the ground and Orrin felt a bubble of air encompass them.

“Ellis Glevrasker? He’s the one who notified us of the incident,” Graem said, shaking his head. “Casimir, those doors can be bypassed by anyone with half-decent mana manipulation skills. I’m less worried with the how and more worried about the why.”

A flask appeared in his hands and the professor took a long swig before offering the handle to Orrin. “Did you piss somebody off in the first week?”

Orrin considered taking the drink for longer than he wanted to admit but shook his head. “I don’t think so. I’ve been trying to be friendly. I won a match in Battle Class but I don’t think Hugo would do something like this.” He snapped his fingers. “I turned down an advance from some girl. Her aunt is a judge or something. I don’t remember her name. We only met at orientation.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A door below opened and two women climbed the stairs towards them. They stopped talking when they saw Professor Graem sitting on the steps talking with Orrin. He made a shooing motion and they retreated the way they’d come.

“Neither of those are reasons to skin a possum in your room,” Graem said when the door closed again. “Did you tell anyone the reason you’re here?”

Orrin rolled his eyes. “I’m not an idiot.”

“We will try to figure out who did it but the chances of finding the culprit are low. If you don’t have any idea who it could be, we don’t have a lot of clues to go on.” He put the flask back in his pocket and stood, grabbing his staff. “I’ll have your things moved to another room as soon as we’re done investigating. Do you want one in a different wing?”

The smart thing to do would be to leave the school completely and never return. Someone wanted to send a message. Orrin didn’t care to find out what the message was. Unfortunately, that wasn’t a choice.

Orrin closed his eyes to think. He could hear his mom’s tired voice repeating her favorite saying, When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. He hated that mantra but his mom would say it every time he had a shitty day. Orrin joked with Daniel once that his mom had the saying wrong after a shitty day of school. When life gives you lemons, throw those lemons at your enemies.

“Can I stay in the same room?”

Graem’s teeth showed as his face split into a vulpine smile. “What do you have in mind?”

Orrin went to Surviving Spell Attacks even though he was late and Graem advised against it. He was nearly an hour late after discussing his plan with Graem but he wanted to apologize to Professor Hugh and maybe catch some of the lecture.

He was surprised to see an active demonstration happening.

“Attack the candle, not the person. How many times must I repeat this,” Professor Hugh yelled as he bodily tossed one of the students up the narrow stair path between the tables. “Who is next? You at the door… you are late.”

The man in his forties dusted his robes as he stood up and pointed at Professor Hugh in anger. “You made a mistake doing that, orc.”

Hugh smiled toothily. “Please. Attack me.”

Orrin thought the man might actually do it but a quick glance at the dozens of students in the auditorium stole his confidence. He pushed by Orrin muttering as he left.

“Come down. You can go next.”

Orrin turned from watching the man rush down the hallway to see the thirty-ish remaining students staring at him, including Rhys and Iona. “I’m sorry I’m late, Professor. There was… I was detained by Professor Graem.”

“Not interested. Your turn.”

Orrin had no choice to but walk down the stairs. He’d turned off [Mind Bastion] with ease. The skill responded to his wishes without much of a fight with his higher level but Orrin knew it was all too easy to rely on it. He wanted to fall into the cold logical feeling again instead of having the warm eyes of everyone in the class on him.

“You stand there. Attack my candle. Defend your own.” Hugh stood tall behind one stool, making it seem smaller than it was.

Two small stools sat on opposite ends of the teaching area, with a thick candle stuck to the seat of each one. A box of matches sat near Orrin’s side, while Professor Hugh’s candle was aflame already. He moved around to the back of the chair and glanced askance at Hugh.

“Light the candle. Any spell to attack.”

Orrin rubbed his eyes. Maybe Graem was right and he should have skipped class. He’d come looking for theory and math to distract him from what just happened. Orrin was not in the mood for whatever this was.

“Do I just have to blow out your candle? Is that the test?”

Hugh grinned. “Easy, right?”

Orrin used the match and cupped his hand to let the wick catch. His mind still raced with ideas of who could have done that to his room. Was it a threat or a cover for trying to steal something? If someone knew Annabella had lent him a Relic, maybe that was the goal? Or maybe someone knew he was a spy for her and wanted to find generic correspondence?

The candle flitted to life.

“You first.”

Orrin liked this class. Professor Hugh taught in a manner that Orrin got. Lectures and information he could write down to study more later on his own. This demonstration shit was the opposite of that.

He threw a blast of [Gust] at the candle. Hugh snapped his fingers and a spark of lightning jumped from his hand. Orrin couldn’t see what happened but the blast of air brushed the chalkboard.

Hugh rerouted his attack.

“Notice how air magic responds to lightning shields,” Hugh turned and talked to the class. “Air magic moves along direct paths. Lightning is ever-moving. Direct hit against moving target redirects away. How much stronger should his attack be to break minor lightning shield?”

Surprisingly, Iona raised her hand to answer. Hugh nodded in her direction.

“Casimir would need to compress the air by a magnitude of three to bypass the inherent weakness against lightning.”

“Correct. Two point eight to be precise. Try again. I will use same level defense.”

Rhys smiled and patted Iona’s shoulder.

Orrin’s first spell cost 10 MP. Using Hugh’s instructions, he rounded up the next attack to 30 MP.

The lightning shield shattered as Orrin’s [Gust] burst against the candle. The flame went out.

“Questions?”

Orrin raised his hand, waiting for the orc to notice. The eyes of the class were on him again. “If I cast three spells at ten mana instead, would that be different than a single thirty mana blast?”

Iona whispered something to Rhys as Professor Hugh chuckled. “Do you have mana left to try?”

Orrin smirked and nodded. Hugh held the wick of the candle between two fingers. When he removed his hand, the flame was back.

Orrin’s first spell hit the lightning shield and ricocheted into the class. It almost hit a woman sitting in the front row, but a larger lightning shield caught it. His second spell fizzled against the roof. The third broke through and guttered the fire again.

“Results?” Hugh asked, looking to the class for the answer again.

Orrin hated to admit the exercise was better than he’d thought.

“It works the same,” said a main with short dark hair, sitting in the back of the room. “Except it’s more dangerous for everyone around you.”

He got a few scattered chuckles.

Hugh clapped his massive hands once to regain everyone’s attention. “In battle, he still kills enemies but might kill comrades with extra deflected attacks. This is why we learn. Better to take down the enemy with one attack than risk hurting friends.”

Professor Hugh dismissed Orrin and called another student. Everyone took multiple turns defending the candle, as well as attacking. Orrin learned a lot but the smell of copper never left his nose.