According to Annabella’s last message in the sending book, a victory on the elven war front was imminent in the next four days or at least something along those lines would be announced to the general public. Orrin sat on his bed, his feet hanging off the edge. He double-checked the sending book again but after his report to Annabella in the dungeon, no responses had appeared. He cleared the message and thought about what to write.
She risked my life and Rhys’s life for a chance to get her power back. Orrin hesitated with the stylus over the page. He made himself close the book and put it back in his storage. She planned for every scenario. Graem is scared enough that he’s telling me his inner thoughts in the hope it keeps the noose off his neck. I should keep her as uninformed as possible from here on out.
Graem’s offer to take the collar off might be his way out of this mess. The guards needed him to come to inspect the death of a student, even if she was a prisoner of the state for her supposed attempt to kill Rhys. Orrin would need to see if the man was serious about removing his collar. From what he remembered; Annabella paid him in information for his loyalty. Specifically, Graem had mentioned he wanted to make a list of all spells and skills.
Orrin had a slight advantage there. From what he’d learned from Madi, people’s access to the Store included only a few dozen stock options and then the specific spells or skills related to their class and level. Orrin’s Store list was extensive, outpacing even Daniel’s list… and he was a [Hero].
Whether that was due to Orrin’s class as a [Utility Warder] or something to do with his Administrator access, he didn’t know. The downside to giving more information to Graem was Orrin’s lack of knowledge regarding the world at large. He could accidentally give Graem the tools he needed to unlock some horrific spells.
The alternative was trusting that Annabella would honor her end of the bargain. From what he gathered, the Tonsa family was now back on Lady Sanerris’s side. Annabella thought she could get Maeve’s father to her side and the only remaining person that Orrin was supposed to befriend wasn’t even at the school anymore. In his opinion, he’d completed his mission. He flopped back in his bed and stared at the ceiling.
Orrin briefly thought about Willa, the woman who asked him on a date during orientation. The glamour that made him look so good and made people open up to him more had worked against him there. He’d tried to turn down her advances by playing oblivious and inviting along friends to their date. When she never followed up with him, Orrin thought the entire mess was behind him. He’d never suspected her of hiring someone to break into his room and leave a dead animal behind.
Who does that?
He rolled out of bed and checked that his windows were shut and locked. Using his still-increased strength, he bent the metal clasp so it wouldn’t open again. If I want fresh air, I’ll go outside.
Crawling back into his bed, Orrin checked in on the blinking notifications in his Status. [Increase Intelligence] was finally maxed out. His strength and dexterity buffs lagged behind but his first debuff had reached the next cap as well.
[Decrease Dexterity] (1,000/1,000) ! Upgrade available. 2 AP
[Increase Intelligence] (10,000/10,000) !
(2/4 Completed)
He had twenty-five ability points and felt rich. Putting aside his doubts, Orrin purchased the upgrade. It cost only two points, which was less than the three he’d spent so many months ago for the increase variant. He was interested to see what happened when all the increase buffs were maxed out.
Orrin completed his nightly ritual of using his entire mana pool to the point he could feel a headache coming. His morning block was a free period and Battle Class wouldn’t start until well over twelve hours from now. I’ll see how I feel when I wake up, Orrin thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.
Orrin missed Battle Class. He’d been pushing himself so hard that when he woke, the sun was already low in the sky. Through his window, he could see the group of students at the other end fighting but instead of joining them, Orrin listened to the crying out of his stomach and went in search of food instead.
In the cafeteria, a few students were grabbing an early dinner or between meals snack but the majority of the school was in class. He saw one or two familiar faces from around the school but nobody he knew well enough to eat with. He slapped a few pieces of meat and cheese between some toast, making something akin to a sandwich, and made his way back to his room.
Even without talking to anyone, Orrin felt the tension around the school as he walked through the hallways chewing. Graem was absent, with no call to talk. Extra guards were posted in the streets outside. Fewer people in the hallways and everyone talking in hushed and hurried whispers. Orrin swallowed the last bite of his dinner and locked the door behind him.
With classes tomorrow, the smart thing to do would be to hit the library or go through the Store again. Each time he searched for spells, Orrin would have an idea for a combination in [Merge] and have to stop himself from spending his points without thinking. Instead, he got comfortable on his bed and opened up [Way of the Water].
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[Way of the Water] 35% 7/20 completed.
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Orrin bowed to Styx upon entering. The fighting teacher made of water sloshed back at him and sat on the ground, as he had a few training sessions ago. He raised his hands and the familiar drop of water emerged between his palms.
“This again?” Orrin complained but sat down. Every time he increased the percentage of [Way of the Water], he gained a better understanding of the fighting style. It was still mostly a way to avoid damage but that meant it was perfect for him. He’d bitch about it but if Styx had him stand on his head for an hour in a waterfall, he knew he’d do it.
Styx waited until Orrin was comfortable and in place. Once he mirrored the watery figure in front of him, Orrin called his own non-magical water bead into being. Styx pulled his hands apart in a slow and exaggerated fashion and Orrin watched the small drop of water grow into a needle-thin line. Styx shoved his hands back and the line of water coalesced back into the drop of water.
Orrin waited to make sure Styx wasn’t going to add another step before looking away. He felt bad that he hadn’t practiced with the summoned water outside of these trainings but without a clear purpose of what he was doing, Orrin didn’t understand the use.
Instead of beginning right away with the useless-looking exercise, Orrin recounted to Styx all that had happened. Talking to his best friend was an impossibility but at least Orrin had Styx to complain to.
“I feel bad that she’s probably dead but I can’t save everyone,” Orrin finished talking. The watery figure hadn’t moved an inch. “What? No advice?”
Styx’s shoulders moved such an infinitesimal amount that Orrin wasn’t sure if he actually shrugged or not. With a sigh, he tried to pull his hands apart like Styx only for the water drop to dissipate into nothing. Orrin pulled his lips tight and rolled his eyes at Styx. “Any advice on what to do?”
“BECOME.”
“Super helpful,” Orrin muttered. He summoned and retried multiple times. It didn’t matter how fast or slow he moved his hands; the water bead would evaporate as soon as it left the sweet spot directly between his palms. He spent an hour trying and getting more frustrated.
“I can already summon water and push it around,” Orrin said in a huff, standing and using [Water Reservoir] to splash the ground between himself and Styx.
His teacher didn’t respond but sat patiently as Orrin stomped around throwing a fit. He vented and screamed, letting out the frustration he’d kept bottled inside for the past few days. The entire hidden spy in a school of mages thing was not for him. This was some [Hero] shit. Speaking of that asshole, why hadn’t he come to rescue him already. Surely, Daniel knew where Orrin was by now. He used a few more spells, throwing magic into the walls of the training room.
After he spent his anger, Orrin collapsed back into the same spot and glared at Styx. “I’m not having a good day. Can you be a bit more specific?
“BECOME.”
Orrin closed his eyes and thought happy thoughts. Driving a [Ice Sword] through Styx wouldn’t kill him, right? He might have some weakness to ice magic. Professor Hugh’s lessons were clear that ice magic worked well against wat—
Orrin’s eyes shot open. He stared at his hands and summoned the drop. He ignored everything around him and let the magic around him flood his mind. Using the same techniques he had in class, Orrin felt for the water mana that had to be…
The water mana in the water…
It wasn’t water mana.
Orrin frowned. The drop of water that was suspended between his fingers wasn’t made of water mana like he’d thought. He’d known for a while that it was different since his collar blocked mana use in the past before Graem allowed him more access but what he felt now confused him. The bead of water felt like an extension of himself. The longer Orrin stared at it, the more he felt connected.
Orrin pulled his hands and instead of dropping, the ball expanded slightly for the briefest moment. In his excitement, Orrin took his eyes off the ball, literally, and it splashed on his crossed legs.
It took another twenty tries but eventually, Orrin could drag the water into a thread. He felt the achievement of progress but ignored it. “Styx, is the water part of me? Like my soul or something?”
“NO.”
Orrin scowled at Styx’s tone. He might as well have called him an idiot. It was a good guess. In the fantasy books he read on Earth, some types of magic used the soul to do extraordinary things. He didn’t know what Styx was teaching him but it was way ahead of anything he’d learned at magic school.
[Way of the Water] 40% 8/20 completed.
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“I’ll be back later,” Orrin promised. He’d spent only three hours in the skill’s simulation training. It was nearing nightfall and he was famished again. A quick trip to the cafeteria to refuel and he returned to his room. His lucky streak of avoiding anyone was holding.
Orrin sat cross-legged on his bed and retrieved the sending book from his inventory. His orders were to check in every night. He sent Annabella a bullshit question about what next steps he should take, expecting no response. His expectations were on point when he woke up the next day to no new update from his jailor.
He had Magical History and Surviving Spell Attacks but after taking a quick glance in Professor Quinn’s classroom and not seeing Rhys, Orrin skipped. He went to the library and made a beeline for the profession skills sections. An entire row of books dedicated to the different professions and related skills. The bookcases still underwent normal upkeep procedures but still gave off an abandoned atmosphere. Orrin found one book on alchemy and another on distillery and alcohol processing. With everything going on, this was his chance to look into another possibility of escaping without multiple eyes watching his every move.
When Orrin tried to use [Merge] once before, two of his skills gave the option of [Create Poison]. Despite his best searches, he couldn’t find books on the [Poisoner] class, which he’d hoped might point him in the right direction. Orrin could care less about poison. He could already use [Toxic Touch], which was an amazing if scary spell. What he wanted to find was something between an alchemy potion and poison. Orrin wanted to create acids.
He figured [Alchemy] was a good start but at twelve ability points, buying the skill outright was too expensive. The Store didn’t show a specific skill like [Acid-Maker] either. If he could create a new skill that combined the destroying nature of his [Toxic Touch] with say the ability to create alcohol, he might be able to break the collar enough to slip out of it.
Orrin settled into a corner of the room and began to read.