Eventually, Ravina left the study, the newly enchanted bag slung over her shoulder. The weightlessness of it was still a novelty, and she found herself absently spinning it in her hand as she walked. She made her way back to the librarian’s desk. As she handed back the wooden key, she hesitated for a moment before asking, “Excuse me but, have you heard about spatial magic before?”
“Spatial magic?” The librarian accepted the key with both hands, her delicate fingers brushing against Ravina’s for a brief moment. She tilted her head at the term, her brow furrowing slightly in thought. “I don’t believe I have…”
Suddenly, the librarian’s eyes turned sharp—sharper than Ravina had ever seen before. For one horrifying second, Ravina glimpsed real intelligence behind those beautiful green eyes, a depth of knowledge and awareness that was far beyond what she had ever perceived. It was as if the librarian had pierced through her with a gaze that could see straight into her soul. The intensity of it sent a shiver down Ravina’s spine, her breath catching in her throat as fear gripped her, deep and primal. But then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone, blinked away in the next flutter of the librarian’s long lashes, leaving Ravina to wonder if she had imagined it. She shivered and not just from the dampness of her clothes.
“No, I don’t think I have,” the librarian repeated, as if the moment of sharpness had never occurred. “What… what is it?”
“Oh, you know… bigger on the inside?” Ravina tried to explain, her voice a little shaky as she attempted to brush off the strange encounter.
“Why would something be bigger on the inside?” The librarian’s question was innocent enough, but there was an odd pause. As she asked, she glanced down at herself, her gaze lingering on her sizable bosom. Ravina quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment at the unintended implication.
“You know what, never mind,” Ravina stammered, waving a hand as if to dismiss the entire conversation. “Just something I’m working on for the finals.”
“Oh… good,” the librarian responded, her voice softening into its usual gentle tone. “I look forward to it.” she smiled as brightly as ever. Yet the light of this second sun no longer reached Ravina.
With that encouragement, Ravina left with a soft smile and a quiet “Thanks.” She first made her way to the manor, eager to change out of her damp clothes, drenched in sweat from crafting the bag. The cool air clung to her skin, and she shivered slightly as she moved quickly through the streets. Once she was in dry clothes, the warmth of fresh fabric against her skin brought a sense of relief. Unfortunately it also brought a bit of tiredness so she stepped quickly in an effort to reenergize herself.
She made her way downtown, walking fast passing many faces but staring straight ahead as she just made her way through the crowd and she was just walking fast… ahem. Soon enough, she reached the towns guild, the creak of the wooden door greeting her as she stepped inside. With the faint aroma of freshly brewed tea in the air Ravina found herself thinking about food. She also found the guild’s leader sitting at the reception desk as always.
“Morning, Sam!” Ravina greeted her cheerfully, glancing around for any sign of Ralf but finding none. “How are you doing today?”
“Eh, who cares,” Sam replied with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Hey, why are you here? It’s raid day. Shouldn’t you be out there raiding?”
“Oh, not you too,” Ravina sighed, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, we’re going to raid. I just needed to get a few things.” She lifted the bag in her hand, its weightless form still a source of pride.
“Aww, couldn’t get a bag from us? I thought you hired out the little munchkin for that,” Sam said, her tone teasing as a smirk played on her lips.
“Ralf?” Ravina lifted an eyebrow at the guildmaster’s cavalier attitude.
“Yeah, that one.”
“Well, he was only able to get a tiny one, so I figured I’d just make one myself,” Ravina explained, her voice carrying a hint of smugness.
“Ha, good one,” Sam chuckled, clearly not taking her seriously.
“Hey, it’s true. Take a look.” Ravina tossed the bag onto the desk, the leather landing with a soft thud. Sam eyed it skeptically at first but couldn’t resist picking it up.
“Come on,” Ravina encouraged, leaning forward slightly as she watched Sam’s reaction.
“Wow,” Sam’s eyes went wide as she lifted the bag, testing its weight—or lack thereof. “Damn, you sure this isn’t one of ours?”
“Nice try, but I just made that,” Ravina said with a satisfied grin, crossing her arms. “I still have the receipt for the original bag.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“Huh, you really made it then? Interesting,” Sam mused, her expression shifting to one of genuine curiosity as she examined the bag more closely.
“What’s interesting?” a voice called out from behind Ravina, and she turned to see Ralf had entered the guild soon after her.
“What’s interesting is that I told you to meet me here, and you’ve kept me waiting,” Ravina replied, narrowing her eyes at him.
Ralf shrugged nonchalantly. “Well, you said a few hours and took way longer than that.”
Ravina took the bag from Sam. “Whatever, here,” she said, tossing the bag to Ralf. “Return that purse you brought and use this.” she tried to hide her smile but it crept up as she beamed at him waiting for his reaction.
“Oi, don’t toss that at—wow, what! WHAT!” he shouted in disbelief, tossing the bag in the air a few times, catching it again and again with ease. “No, wait, what the hell,” he muttered, looking back at Ravina with wide eyes. “You did this? No way, you were hiding this in your room. That’s what happened—you commissioned a bag!”
“Nope, made it myself!” Ravina said with a satisfied grin.
“Well, count me impressed,” Sam said with a chuckle, leaning back in her chair. “By the way, you two better get going if you want to make it before sunset.”
“Ugh…” Ravina groaned, her shoulders slumping. “Do we really have to be there at the start of the raid? I mean, what even is a raid, anyway?” She rolled her eyes.
While Ralf was still stunned silent by the bag, inspecting it with a mixture of awe and disbelief, Ravina thought about the upcoming raid. Unfortunately she didn’t care. That was it—end of story. She didn’t need to go to the guild to get materials; the academy provided more than enough for their needs. In truth, the only reason she wanted to raid for her own materials was to play with magic. For over eight months, they had never done anything practical, and now here she was, clearing floors alone and making enchanted bags. There was merit in what she had learned, sure, but it was… boring. She let loose an audible chuckle as she realized that yeah, that was school.
“I mean, if you want to get into the lower levels, then yeah, you should go,” Sam replied to Ravina’s question she asked only in annoyance, thinking it was a legitimate question. With nothing better to do she answered. “A raid is a planned dive where multiple parties team up to clear the dungeon of all monster elements—every floor boss and creepy crawly that could crawl out in the event of a kýma tératos. Actually, you were the one who initiated it.” Sam knitted her brows as if just remembering that
“I was?” Ravina blinked, genuinely surprised.
“Yeah, you found a level 3 monster on the first floor, remember?” Sam reminded her.
“I did?” Ravina’s brow furrowed as she tried to recall the event.
“I… think? Didn’t you bring in a bunch of poisoned Ögar heads or something?” Sam pressed.
“Yeah, she did. And we found it on the ground,” Ralf chimed in. He kept up the lie that they had only stumbled upon the corpses and it wasn't Ravina who killed them herself. “Didn’t see who killed them, though.”
“Yeah, good thing too. I would hate to meet the person who could manage a level three alone,” Sam mused, eyeing Ravina with a sly smile. “Anyway, the long and short of it is that it’s supposed to prevent a fabled monster wave. Though, to be honest, I would have liked to see it—make something interesting happen in my 300 years.”
“Yes, because who cares about lives when boredom trumps all,” Ravina replied dryly.
“Oh please, the city’s got a fine wall and plenty of experienced guards, but… yeah, I get it. sorry” Sam sighed, waving her hand dismissively. “Anyway, go join the raid.”
Ravina and Ralf turned to leave, the heavy door of the guild creaking as they stepped outside. The cool evening air greeted them, a gentle breeze ruffling Ravina’s hair. As they walked down the cobbled street, Ravina glanced at Ralf, “Can we do it tomorrow?” she asked hesitantly, her voice softer than usual. She wasn’t sure why, but the thought of disappointing Ralf troubled her more than she expected. While he didnt have red hair he reminded her a little of---she bit the thought from her lip.
“Tomorrow? Sure, why not,” Ralf replied, his sudden change of attitude catching Ravina off guard. She blinked, surprised by how easily he agreed.
“You sure?” she asked, her tone uncertain as she studied his expression.
“Yeah, I mean, shit, you look terrible, so I can only assume you had a problem with making this,” he said, gesturing to the bag slung over her shoulder. “Shame about the cart fee, but holy shit, it’s an aposkevón bag that I don’t have to rent from the guild. And it didn’t cost me a single coin!” His face lit up with a gleeful smile, the excitement evident in his eyes.
“Alright,” Ravina replied, her voice softening. She didn’t have the heart to ask for the bag back, not just yet anyway. Besides, it cost her like 60 don and she drank more than that a day. “Huh, daddy raven is quite rich isn't he.” she remembered with a sad sigh. “Damn rich people.” she cursed. Ralf chose to ignore her insane mutterings while Ravina continued, speaking up to him. “Well, I’m going back to rest, so we’ll meet back here in…”
“Actually,” Ralf interrupted, “if you want, I can just go run with a few others?” He offered. “You don’t seem too interested in diving despite your clear skill.”
“Well…” Ravina hesitated. She didn’t really care for it. In the beginning, the challenge had seemed impossible, but with Arelia’s help she killed a monster. Then there was the thrill of being able to defeat an enemy, but even that had worn off quickly. Now, it wasn’t even like she was practicing magic; she was just fighting on pure instinct. That and that alone. “Yeah…”
“Alright, how’s this?” Ralf suggested, his voice brightening with enthusiasm. “I’ll hit up the raid with a few others, and we’ll talk after. Sound good?”
“Thanks, actually that works out,” Ravina said, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. “I might even figure out how to make a spatial magic bag in that time.”
“Ha,” Ralf laughed, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “Sure, looking forward to it.”