Chapter 36: Drowsy
Felix Sythias’s POV:
I felt groggy. I had stayed up half the night trying to get my magic to work on that damned cylinder. In retrospect, it was a total waste of time. It wasn’t that I didn’t make progress. I did, but it was so painfully little it might as well have been nothing. Instead of pushing the mana twenty-five percent through, I could now barely do thirty. And of that progress, half my time had been spent on that last percent.
At least the parts in between attempts weren't a waste. I read the Basic Lightning Magic textbook and I now knew more about lightning and electricity than I did before. Alex also kept me company, even though he was clearly tired. I wasn’t sure if he did it for me, or because he just wanted to read, but I appreciated his presence either way.
He leaned against me now, his eyes closed. He looked exhausted, and I wasn’t sure if he was asleep or not. The professor was about to start, though, so I nudged him. He blinked a few times, yawned, and looked up at me.
“Time to wake up,” I told him.
“Wasn’t sleeping,” he mumbled back while rubbing his eyes. He stretched once and got out his textbook. He opened it upside down and looked at it in confusion before turning it around.
“We really shouldn’t have stayed up that late,” he said with a sigh.
“Sorry,” I said. “At least we can sleep in tomorrow, since it’s the weekend. You had nothing planned, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “I could’ve gone to bed any time I wanted to, and I don’t have any plans. Why? Did you have any—”
“Alright, enough!” professor Hobold yelled, interrupting us and all the other chattering students. “I know it’s almost the weekend, but we still have a class to do. Please, for the Earth Below, shut up and open your textbook to page nineteen.”
I shot Alex a sheepish grin, promised to tell him later, then opened my book. The rest of the class went about as expected, and the professor was pleasantly surprised at mine and Alex's contribution to the homework assignment. The entire class had to figure out all the things that defined lightning mana as lightning mana. There were a lot of answers like ‘tingly’, ‘shocking’, and ‘painful’. There were better answers, too, but most students had focused on how it felt to them rather than the ideas behind it. When we were done, those students looked a lot more thoughtfully at their cubes, which had probably been the point.
After that, we moved on to theory and it was fascinating. It also confirmed a lot of what I had learned last night and filled in the gaps in what I hadn’t quite yet understood. I now felt one step closer to figuring out the cube.
I just hoped that I wouldn’t run into any blocks like I did with Unconventional Casting Media. There was always the chance that learning new types of mana simply wasn’t something I could do. I made a note to make sure I kept practicing my newly found manipulation techniques, just in case.
The class was over all too soon, and Alex and I walked into the hallways. Our next classrooms were close to each other, so we walked there together.
“You wanted to ask me something about the weekend?” Alex asked.
“Right! I was planning to go shopping in the main shopping district and was wondering if you wanted to come. I figured you would need some new clothes, anyway, since some of yours aren’t in the best state anymore.”
He grimaced. “I’m aware, you don’t need to remind me,” he said. “I don’t have any money to spare on clothes, though, so I think I’ll just stay back—but I hope you have fun.”
“Oh,” I said, “I can loan you some money if that’s the problem.”
He smiled at me. “That’s sweet, but we both know I have no way to repay you. I’m already living in your room, eating your food, using your notebooks and pens, and I still owe you for that restaurant. Thanks for the offer, but I owe you too much already. And before you ask me to come along anyway, I don’t want to come and just watch you buy things; that wouldn’t be fun for either of us.”
I shook my head. “I already told you, you don’t owe me anything.”
“I do, and I’ll pay you back as soon as I have a job,” he said. I was about to protest, but he stopped me. “Can we please not argue about this? You’re not going to convince me otherwise.”
I sighed. “Alright. How's that going, by the way?”
He facepalmed. “Oh, right, I totally forgot. I was planning on looking for a job this weekend, so I wouldn’t have been able to come, anyway.”
“Can’t you just come with me to look for openings, then?”
He shook his head. “I want to look closer to our dorm first. The shopping district is almost an hour away, and that’s way too far to walk each afternoon.”
“Fair.”
We talked about his options until we had to split up, walking at a slow pace since we had the time. He went to his Magic 101 class while I went to Advanced Elementalism. I just hoped the class wasn’t as fruitless as last time.
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Alex Sandclaw’s POV:
With my thoughts, I reached inside my body to just above my groin and below my navel, where a pale bluish organ sat. At least, that is what the drawings of it looked like. In my mind, it was just a colorless sphere of rhythmically pulsating energy—my mana-pool.
I had to use the siphon and watch how it extracted the mana from my pool. The goal of the exercise was getting a better understanding of how my pool worked. Next class we’d actually start on getting the mana out ourselves. I couldn’t wait until then. Watching the core like this was dull and the invasive feeling of the siphon left me feeling sick. It was gladly just temporary.
I watched as the siphon’s metaphysical probe crept up to the sphere’s border—the ‘probe’ didn’t really have a shape, but it was easier to understand if I pretended it did—and I watched as it punctured through, sending a rush of that awful invasive feeling coursing through my body. Then it sucked some mana out, creating that uncomfortable feeling of something forcefully being drained. It didn’t hurt, but stars, it was unpleasant. It was like the worlds’ creepiest, most horrible needle. I hated it.
I yawned and lost focus—again—and missed the ending. Damn. This was the ninth time in the last half hour. The entire process lasted less than a second and was so easy to miss. I had to focus, but I was tired, so fucking tired. I took a deep breath and shook my head to clear my mind again.
Breathing in a steady rhythm, I guided my mind through my body. I imagined I went in through the mouth, down my throat, and to my lungs, where I passed into the bloodstream—the biology classes were already paying off. I yawned and followed the blood, imagining I was going through mesmerizing turns and twists as I went towards my heart. My breathing deepened, and my mind slowed as I fell into the right mindset.
I reached my heart and took a moment to listen to its imaginary thumping. In my mind, it was the exact same sound as Felix’s heart; steady, loud, powerful, and above all, relaxing. My breathing slowed further and my thoughts drifted to that comfortable night when I fell asleep in Felix’s arms, listening to that powerful rhythm thumping steadily onwards. My head slumped slightly forwards as I remembered how his strong arms wrapped around me, and then my mind went blank.
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Someone shook my shoulder, prodding me awake. With effort, I lifted my head from the table, and looked up at the person. They were all blurry, and I rubbed my eyes to clear my vision. It was professor Sesharan. She looked down at me through her glasses, her elderly face scrunched up in concern.
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“Are you alright, Alex?” she asked in a soft tone.
My mind was still a little foggy, but I was aware enough to answer the question.
“Sorry professor, I’m just tired. I didn’t get much sleep last night, I spent too much time reading. I just couldn’t put the book down.”
She smiled at me. “Believe me, I know the feeling. I had my fair share of classes I slept through when I was your age for that exact reason. I’ll let you off easy this time, but please, don’t let it happen again. A healthy sleep schedule is important.”
I nodded at her, the quick movement making me dizzy. “I promise professor. And I’ll do my best to stay awake from now on.”
She shook her head. “You’ll do no such thing, young man. I’m sending you back to your room so you can sleep. You’re not going to learn much in this state, anyway. Now then, get going.”
I thanked her and packed my stuff into my bag, which I slung over my shoulder. I trudged out of the classroom and made my way home through the pretty parks and over the slightly terrifying bridges. Once there, I ran into another issue: the door was locked and Felix had the key.
I couldn’t even go to my own room, since my key was in our room with the rest of my stuff. Wait, it was Felix’s room, though. When did I start calling it our room? But it was, wasn’t it? Even Felix called it our room. I wondered who started with that, me or him.
I really had to get my own key if we kept this up. Which I wasn’t sure we would. I’d need to talk to him about what his plans were for the room. Later, though. I wasn’t going to ruin a perfectly good situation by reminding him I had my own room, too. It did make me feel a little bad to exploit his hospitality like this, though.
I tried turning the door handle to see if the door was maybe somehow still unlocked. The chances were practically zero, but trying didn’t cost me more than a second. Like I expected, it was locked. I sighed and turned around. There, right behind me, a woman stood. I flinched backwards and hit the door.
“Can I help you?” I asked, grimacing as I rubbed the back of my head.
The woman wore practical clothes and had her hair tied up in a bun. In one hand she held a key, and in the other a mop. A floating water bucket trailed behind her, though it wasn’t enchanted as far as I could see. She had a cold look in her eyes, but her face had a slight warm smile to it. Instinctively, I checked her level, and if I’d had skin, it would have gone pale.
[Level 407]
“No, but I can help you,” she said, shaking her head, then handed me the key. “I’m not supposed to actually do this, but I doubt the young master will mind.”
I took the key without thinking about it, then looked down at it, frowning. It was an exact replica of Felix’s key, down to the wing-motif on the handle. I looked back up at the woman, but she was already gone. I looked around the hallway, but she was nowhere in sight. What in the stars’ names? Was she the janitor? She certainly looked the part, but what was up with that level? Was that normal here? Level four-hundred janitors? I sighed and looked down at the key again. I guess she must have spotted me walking in without Felix. He had said the janitor was aware we were rooming together, after all.
I put the key in the lock, and it turned without issue. The door opened with a small click and swung open. I walked inside and immediately put the key on the table. It didn’t feel right for me to have it. This was ultimately still Felix’s room, despite how we both treated it, and he should have the final say on who had a key. He could decide what to did with it once he got back. I yawned. That was a matter for later, though. Right now I just wanted a few hours of sleep before I had to go out again.
I took all my clothes off, letting them drop beside the mattress. For a moment, I just stared at it. I really needed to move the bedframe over, I was getting a backache from it just lying on the ground. That was also a matter for later, though. I set an alarm and crawled into bed, pulling the covers over me. I fell asleep within seconds.
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I woke up to a loud thud. I sat up and looked at the clock. I still wasn’t used to this kind of clock, and it took me a moment to figure out what time it was. After some quick calculation, I determined I’d slept for a little under two hours. It wasn’t much, but I felt somewhat less tired, so I guess that would have to do.
I glanced at where the thud had come from. A cylinder lay by the wall. It had a big dent in it, and so did the wall. I looked around the room and spotted Felix glaring at the cylinder. After a moment, he looked at me and shot me a sheepish grin.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you,” he said.
“It’s fine. My alarm would’ve gone off in like ten minutes, anyway,” I said, rubbing some sleep out of my eyes. I glanced back at the cylinder. “You, uh, okay?”
He let out a deep breath. “I’m fine. Just fed up with the damned thing,” he said and walked over to it. “Fuck, now I’ll have to get a new one too.”
“It’s probably for the best,” I said. “At least now you can’t drive yourself insane practicing with it anymore.”
“I suppose you’re right. It’s just so frustrating. I can see that I’m making progress, but despite it, I’m still getting nowhere,” he said with a sigh, flopping down on the floor near my mattress. “Let’s talk about something different, though. Don’t we need to leave soon?”
“We have like thirty minutes left. I think I’ll take a quick shower first; do you mind if I use yours?”
He shook his head and explained to me how it worked. It was a normal shower basically, but blasted water from all sides instead of just letting it fall from above. That sounded good to me. I didn’t really need a shower, but I wanted to look my best for the meeting. I was nervous enough already without having to worry about the dullness of my scales.
I kicked my blanket off of me and stood up, stretching as I did. Felix, shy as he was at times, quickly looked away, but I was distracted by my sore muscles so I paid him no mind. I decided then and there to move my bed frame here this weekend. I turned around to grab my towel, which I’d hung out to dry over a nearby chair, and walked into the shower. The shower was really nice, and I promised myself to just use this one in the future. Felix wouldn’t mind, anyway. I rinsed myself of dust and spent some time polishing my scales. Then I quickly dried off and stepped back out. I grabbed my clothes from where I’d dropped them and put them on.
“Ready to go?” I asked, and Felix turned back around. He nodded, so we left.
We walked along the paths, down to the old theater district. The sun was already low on the horizon and would be setting within the hour. Luckily, the paths were lit at night, so that wouldn’t be an issue. Soon we arrived at the district, and it was busy; it was a Friday night after all. I hardly noticed the crowd, though, since it parted to make space for Felix as we walked down the streets to the old yodeling competition building. That was where the meeting would be held, according to Felix. I thought it was strange they had a building dedicated to yodeling since I hadn’t actually seen someone yodeling yet. But considering the Academy's name, I figured that was just a matter of time.
As we got closer, the crowds thinned out until finally we were alone on the streets. The old building stood at the end of what had once been a busy street, but was now mostly abandoned. It felt strange. So far the campus had been nothing but beautiful. These buildings here weren’t exactly ugly, but they were lacking in maintenance: cracks and chipped paint an all too common sight. What a waste.
“Why is it so… abandoned here?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Who knows? It’s been that way for decades. People used to come here for the yodeling competitions, but they moved where it was held last year. People do still come here, though. It’s a popular hang-out spot for moody teenagers.”
As if to prove the point, we walked past an alleyway where a group of four teenagers sat around a small campfire, bottles in hand. With their dark clothing, they indeed looked moody. They waved at us as we walked by and I hesitantly waved back. At least they were friendly.
A few minutes later we were at the competition building. It was beautiful. With white pillars of smooth stone and sleek statues of barely clad people of all species holding each other's hands lining the walls, I found it difficult to understand why they moved the competition to a different building. Outside, on the steps, sat a lizardkin. He was of the water monitor type and by far the largest lizardkin I’d ever seen.
“Hugo!” Felix called out when we got close enough. The lizardkin, presumably Hugo, stood up and walked over to us. Once he was close, Felix introduced me. “This Alex, who I told you about last week.”
Hugo turned to me and extended his hand. I shook it. “Welcome. I’m Hugo and I lead this group. Most of the rest are already inside, why don’t you go ahead and join them? I’ll join you inside when everyone is here.”
I glanced at Felix nervously. Tension had been building in my chest all the way here, but it hadn’t quite hit me until now: this was really happening. I was going to go in there, with other people like me, and I would be telling them about myself. I wasn’t sure if I could actually do that. Was it too late to turn around and go back?
Felix must have noticed my hesitation and my expression, because he stepped towards me and put a calm talon on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” he told me, his voice soft and reassuring. “I trust Hugo, and you can trust him too. You’ll meet some amazing new people, and they’ll be sympathetic, I’m sure. Just trust me, okay? It’ll be fine.”
I nodded weakly, too nervous to speak, and he let me go, but not before enveloping me in a quick hug. He walked me to the entrance, and I felt like a little kid being led to his first day at class. I was glad he was here, though. I only wished he could come inside too, but the group was only meant for lizardkin. Besides, the point was for me to expand my support network and make new friends, not to lean on Felix even further. I’d been doing that too much already.
I took a deep breath and walked inside. The interior was large, and there were hundreds, if not thousands of seats set before a large stage. A sign hung on a pillar saying the meeting was to the left. I followed it, and the other signs, through a maze of hallways until I came upon a set of doors.
Next to the doors stood a group of three lizardkin, quietly talking amongst each other. I didn’t recognize two of them, but the vibrant green scales of the third person had all but been seared into my mind after our first quick meeting. He turned to face me.
“Alex?” Viggi asked. “What are you doing here?”