Cass found herself enjoying her life, even though she was aware that she should not be. She should mind that Hall owned her, but she didn’t. The first time she had called him master, she had giggled at his pleased reaction. Of course, Cass was then punished for disrespect, but she did not mind it, she felt she deserved it.

Cass thought back to some of the people under the various gang bosses and thugs, who seemed to enjoy their place even though they were beaten and abused. She had never understood them before, and she knew that there was something wrong with her that she could now.

But she was fed and warm, she was receiving education and she had her own room and bed. Cass had never been better off, and Hall, for all his cruelty could be kind too. The voice that was screaming in horror inside of her grew quieter every day, and if it wasn’t for Maurice speaking to her at each meal, it probably would have faded away altogether.

Maurice was closest Cass had ever had to a mother, and Cass could feel her concern and worry every time they spoke. Cass wondered if this is what love for a family member felt like, and with Maurice imploring her not to sink further, Cass could never quite let that voice inside her go away.

Still, Cass knew that she had feelings for Hall as well. For all of his cruelty and manipulation, he had stopped belittling her. He had recognized that she had potential, and rewarded her for trying to reach that potential and only punished her when she disappointed. He was not fair, but ultimately, Cass respected him. Even liked him, for that matter, Cass knew Maurice worried that Cass liked Hall too much.

She could not say that Maurice was wrong.

Still, Hall could be kind. As a reward for her studies, she was granted her own study time each day. She had to report to Hall about her studies each week, but she was free to pursue her own curiosity and even free to move around the castle within reason.

Cass found herself drawn to the subject of glyphs, the one on her back had changed her life, and she found them fascinating overall. There were many mysteries surrounding them, for example, why they worked.

Magic items used what essentially was crystallized systems which when powered by mana, would produce an effect. Mages in general either used systems in nature or created them from scratch to work magic.

But glyphs were circles filled with shapes and symbols in specific orders. The symbols were part of a language, but no one was sure what the language was or how it became linked to magic. Some mages theorized that somewhere there was a gigantic magic item that regulated glyphs, others thought that the language was the language of the Gods and was the building blocks of life itself, but no one really knew.

Also, there were ‘forbidden’ glyphs. The Absorption Glyph on Cass’s back was an example of that kind. These glyphs invariably killed the one they were applied to, but that did not stop mages from trying. In addition to the Absorption Glyph, other lethal glyphs included Memory Glyphs and Thinking Glyphs, and the most lethal, ironically, was the Life Glyph. The Life Glyph actually caused the one it was applied to burst into flames and turn to ash within seconds…

No one was entirely sure why those glyphs failed, except for the Absorption Glyph. Records indicate that it caused feedback with itself and caused the user to burn up due to problems with the rate of transfer of mana from the glyph to the body. The book noted that this death was considered to be one of the most painful deaths known to man.

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Cass agreed with that, the pain was absolutely unbearable.

It was getting dark outside, so Cass poured a bit of magic into her hand to form a ball of light and set it in the air above her desk. The more she read, the more she enjoyed reading, and learning how to create light had ruined her sleep. Hall had laughed at the dark circles under her eyes, happily surprised by her desire to learn. Still, the mistakes she made when tired got her punished, and he told her it was a reminder that she needed to take care of herself to be able to do as she was required.

Looking at the sparkling orb hanging in the air, Cass sat back for a moment, considering the text. Why was Cass an exception to the rule that these glyphs killed? For that matter, how were these glyphs created if they killed everyone they were applied to? Someone had figured it out in the past, and Cass herself was proof that at least one of them was possible.

Thinking back to the day she had received her tattoo, she considered that the empty feeling inside her and her attempt to ‘pour’ magic into it had likely been her unconsciously using magic. She had pulled the excess mana from the glyph and placed it somewhere within her, where it had likely overflowed and leaked from her as the glyph continued to pull mana from the air.

She had asked Hall about this, but he had no answers for her. He had never heard of such a thing before, and said that she should do her own research. To help her, Cass was given access to the mage library, though she was always accompanied by a guard.

Cass devoured book after book and as she was sitting in her room that night, she had an idea. Jumping up, she went to the guards outside and asked them to bring her to Hall. She would likely be punished for waking up her Master, but she was too excited to care. If her theory was right, it would be possible for non-mages to have the Absorption Glyph placed on them with the proper precautions…

Hall’s door opened, revealing the shirtless Hall in a rather grumpy mood. “This had better be important Cass.” He said, glaring blearily down at her.

Cass was rather distracted for a second, she had not expected a mage to have muscles like that… What was she thinking! She shook her head to clear it, before excitedly speaking about her idea about glyphs.

“Master, I was reading about glyphs and I realized something. The problem with the Absorption Glyph is not that the glyph is flawed, but that humans are. It simply draws mana faster than it can be absorbed by the body.”

“That is correct, but what is your point?” Hall said impatiently.

“I survived because I unconsciously pulled mana from the glyph, creating a system inside myself that keeps the mana under control.” Cass had no idea how she had done this, but it was the only way she could be standing here now. “And it occured to me, my collar can inhibit my magic right? So Magic Tools can be made that inhibit mana itself.”

“That is also correct,” Hall had woken up slightly, and now was a bit intrigued. He could vaguely see where Cass was going with this.

“In other words, if a Tool was implanted into a person along with the glyph, the tool could regulate the magic inside the body acting as a buffer between the glyph and the host!”

Hall stood silent for a second, then began to laugh. “Brilliant! Absolutely Brilliant! That might just work, Cass your thinking is nothing short of amazing!”

Cass blushed, embarrassed but elated at the same time. “Thank you Master, but I don’t deserve that much praise.”

“Ha! Mages have spent decades, no centuries on this issue!” Hall exclaimed, putting his hands on Cass’s shoulders and pulling her towards him. “I cannot believe no one thought of this before… It is both simple and brilliant, but the thought process that considers glyphs and tools to be linkable… No mage with proper education would think of it, but given how you have been taught…”

Cass’s face was now bright red, why had he pulled her closer? She had mostly given up worrying about her happiness to be praised, but being this close to Hall, in this situation. She did not know what she was feeling…

Hall let go of her, and she was more disappointed than relieved. “We will have to test this in the morning, and,” He smiled grandly at her. “We will have to think of a suitable reward for you.”

“Thank you Master,” Cass bowed, partially just to hide her bright red face and the happiness she felt.