Sin was right. Rai had no clue.

Rai furrowed his eyebrows. How on Zenith is the spell supposed to work? To him, telekinesis had no right working as Miss Lillia described. It was far too out of the ordinary compared to how spells typically worked... but so was Antithesis.

Rai looked at the factors that went into crafting a spell, breaking it down into small parts. First and foremost was the mana flow that was the underlying foundation for every spell. According to Miss Lillia, telekinesis didn’t require any change in mana flow, even though it was a spell that was maintained rather than shot off. The other main factor in spellcrafting was the attribute associated with each spell. A fire spell would utilise mana with the same attributes as natural fire, for example.

So how did any of this apply to telekinesis? Rai couldn’t figure it out. From what he understood, the spell was supposed to work without following any of the basic rules of spellcrafting.

There must be something I'm missing. There has to be!

Rai thought back to Antithesis, and how it started off as a blank spell with a simple counter-clockwise mana flow. The only difference is that it has to have enough mana to overwhelm the target spell. Antithesis didn’t have any mana attributes either. It just manifested in the form of black lightning whenever Rai used it.

Rai thought about how Antithesis often didn't work exactly as he intended it to. There was always some kind of deviation from what he willed... In fact, most spells lacked the component of will in their function...

If telekinesis goes against what I understand of spellcrafting then... is it intent? Is intent the key factor?

Rai called Miss Lillia. She begrudgingly made her way over.

“What is it?”

There was clearly zero patience in her voice.

“Is it intent?”

She blinked blankly at him.

“Pahahaha!” After a moment, she calmed down, “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you. I’m surprised that you’ve already figured out half of the puzzle without even trying the spell.”

Phew. Rai breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad I figured at least that much out. I really wish I could test it out.” He said.

“I think you... might be able to.”

“WHAT?!” Rai shouted.

Everyone heard him. Fortunately for Rai, everyone was already used to his shenanigans after his return and very few people actually paid him any attention.

“You don’t need to shout. And, besides... it’s just a theory. Maybe if you avoid using the same mana attributes that you’re used to, your mana channels won’t ache so much. So, avoid lightning for the time being.”

“Since when were you-”

“Don’t say another word. You’re a student, so I’m obligated to help you. It’s that simple.”

Rai smiled. He thought that Miss Lillia just acted like she hated him but secretly wanted to support him. Rai started to make his way down to an empty table near Sin, Amy, and Lina.

“Thank you for your advice!” He said as he walked.

Amy was practically bouncing on the spot when she noticed Rai walk over.

“Hey! What’re you doin’ here?” She asked him.

Rai pointed to the empty table beside them.

“Can I use that one? I think I can try the spell.”

“Oh, sure! I think it’s okay.”

“Thanks!”

Rai started preparing himself to practice the spell at that table.

Amy prodded Sin in her side.

“Ow. That wasn’t very-” She looked at Amy, then saw Rai behind her at the table beside them. “What is he...”

Sin walked over to Rai’s table with a fake smile on her face.

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“Hello there Mr. I-literally-died. Why don’t we get you back to those seats up there? It’s not good to wander when you’re lost.”

“Well, Miss Lillia figured out a way for me to possibly use mana right now. Even though it wouldn’t be all that familiar since it’s not with lightning.”

“Huh?” It hit her. “Oh! Well, huh. That’s great! As long as you don’t hurt yourself in the process... I’m watching you...”

“I promise to try not to hurt myself.”

“... Try again.”

“... I promise not to hurt myself.”

“That’s better!”

Rai breathed a sigh of relief. Sin was always so dominant whenever she wanted her way.

In a way, he liked that part of her. A lot.

Sin returned to her table, and continued thinking about the spell.

Rai was doing the same. Part of him wanted to try the spell now, but he knew that he didn’t have a full understanding of it. Trying the spell now would cause him to develop bad habits that would be hard to shed once he fully understood how telekinesis worked.

He looked around at all of the other students trying to make the spell work. None of them were even close to making the ball move. Aren't they trying too hard? The other students were stressing and straining as they tried to cast the spell. During the demonstration, Miss Lillia didn’t stress or strain once. She actually looked quite relaxed when she did it.

That meant they were missing something else. Rai'd learned from Miss Lillia that he’d figured out part of the puzzle.

Intent.

Intent is what shapes the spell, and for a spell like this that bucks the traditions of spellcrafting, intent is what would grant its function.

If function is granted by intent. Then what would potency be granted by? If the spell isn’t potent, then lifting anything would be impossible. The more potent it is, the more you could do with it. So, something other than traditional understandings of mana would have to fuel the spell’s potency.

Rai thought about the demonstration over and over again. It was almost like the ball was... listening to Miss Lillia. It was being dominated. It was just like how Sin always seemed to dominate over most of the things around her...

No way. It’s not that simple, is it?

Rai recalled the way his aunt talked about creativity being important to a mage. It was a foundational skill to understand a spell and cast it as it was designed, but it was far more important to morph a spell into something that’s unique to you. That's if you wanted to be a strong mage.

Let’s add a little flair then.

Rai stood on his table. It grabbed most people’s attention. They quickly realised that Rai was now on the field, so they watched him as he did whatever he was doing.

He sat down cross-legged on the tabletop.

Lina poked Sin.

“What’s he doing?” She asked her.

“No clue.” Sin replied.

Rai shut his eyes.

He probed the whole room with his mana, sending it out and allowing it to bounce off everything it could find. In a way, this was allowing him to create a mental image of the room that showed him where everything was.

The seals on his wrists were still limited to 5%, but even that 5% was heavy right now. Rai could just about handle it. With the pain in mind, Rai steeled himself to maintain a steady mana flow.

Rai saw all of the balls in the room through his closed eyes.

He commanded them.

Rise.

Some of them simply vibrated on the spot. Others rolled off their tables.

Once more, he riled himself and strengthened his willpower.

RISE!

The balls all rose.

Rai smirked.

He willed them to act as he imagined. All of the balls flew around him in a circular line. Then they zoomed around the room, dancing around just like the one Miss Lillia controlled in her demonstration. Rai wanted to do something more fun, but that was for when he could actually use lightning again.

He winced in pain.

Rai's mana channels were cramping up, so he commanded all of the balls to return to where they rested before.

They obeyed.

Rai opened his eyes. He only realised it afterwards, but his forehead was sweating. Before wiping it, he looked around at everyone staring at him with open mouths.

“What’s wrong?” Rai asked, to no one in particular.

He looked at Sin, who was just beaming at him. She looked happy. Lina and Amy both had excited expressions on their faces.

At least with his friends, there was a stark difference to most of the others who bore faces of envy or annoyance.

Lillia walked over to him, breaking the silence with her heels clacking along on the wooden flooring.

“Nothing’s wrong. Well done. Now get off the table.” Lillia said.

Rai took careful note of her expression. There was, for once, no frustration on her face. All Rai saw in her was a kind of joyfulness that he’d just seen in his friends.

Rai hopped off the table.

Lillia’s eye twitched, giving away her hidden anger.

“You’re excused for the rest of the lesson. Do as you will until lunch.”

“Damn, you really do hate me.”

“You’re free to leave.” Lillia held a wry smile at Rai.

“Alright alright, I’ll say bye to my friends and see you next time!”

“One can only hope.” She turned to the rest of the class, “Please carry on. Ignore all distractions.” Lillia glanced at Rai as she emphasised ‘distractions’.

Sin wanted to laugh so very much. Rai’d basically just been called a distraction. How could she not laugh at that? This time, however, she managed to hold in her giggles.

Rai saw Sin’s lips quivering. He could tell just how much she wanted to laugh at Miss Lillia’s words.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be able to laugh all you want at lunch.”

Sin just quietly nodded.

“Where will you meet us at lunch?” Amy asked him.

“No clue, guess I’ll just roam around and try to find you guys before you eat. Save me a seat, will you?”

“We will.” Lina said.

Rai smiled at her. He was already proud of the girl and her desire to grow. Rai pat her on the head, scrambling her hair.

“Thank you.” Rai said.

Lina’s face heated up.

Sin watched the way Rai patted Lina on the head. Hey... I want that too... She didn’t realise it, but she was also flushed.

Rai noticed. He thought he’d tease her a bit. Before he left, Rai turned to Sin. Rai softly pulled her head against his chest as he hugged her.

“See you at lunch. I’ll sit next to you.” He whispered over her head.

Sin found herself almost reaching for him when he left.

By this point, she was as furious as she was flustered.

“When did he become so mean?” Sin said to no one.

Some of the other girls in the class watched their interaction with jealousy plastered over their faces.

Rai’d left the room by this point, but he was still stood just outside.

“What do I do now?” He asked himself.

Sin returned her focus to the task at hand.