The classroom was quieter that day, or perhaps that’s how it seemed to David, since he wasn’t really listening to Lady Greine. She was giving a lecture on the basics of spellcasting, but it was nothing he didn't already know.

  He had hoped to be an exemplary student for the first few days. Going beyond the requirements, but not so beyond as to be improbable.

  David thought Lady Greine acknowledged his efforts, initially, and pushed him to do better, but in the end, the topic of lessons changed before he could overcome her distractions.

  He couldn’t prove it, but he knew Polbran and the teenage nobles, Berthold and Filip, were receiving advanced guidance and special exercises.

  It’s fine.

  David sighed. His mind was still too occupied with the revelation Diana dropped on him.

  The Goddess.

  He had seen someone literally resurrect him, and that ‘Goddess’ was somehow dead? Or was that all an elaborate dream? Maybe what people believed was a lie?

  The thought of it was exhausting, with a myriad of ways one could interpret it.

  Around him, students were focusing mana in their eyes, trying to project small runes in the air. This was the current exercise: a first step in spellcasting.

  The sight was quite peculiar. David was the only one in the classroom with mana sight, which meant only he saw the dozen runes floating, and not just his own. It also meant he could get away with some experimentation without anyone knowing.

  He focused mana in his eyes, creating an intricate pattern. One that would be impossible for him to cast, but It was just an exercise, a way to pass the time and keep his mind from wandering.

  Each rune represented an intent of the caster, requiring a certain amount of mana to exert that intent as influence on the world. So, he started with a simple [fire] sigil, then added another, and another, covered in [float] on both sides, with [spread] tacked on… and soon he was trying to create an entire magic circle with dozens of elements.

  Though, this was just for fun, it should theoretically be castable. First, a massive infernal cloud would coalesce, then rain napalm on the world below. Of course, that would require incredible skill and mana reserves of a battalion of mages.

  The larger the magic circle became, the harder David had to focus and the more mana he had to utilize just to shape it. Soon, he started hearing whispers in his head again, faint at first, then growing louder the more mana he poured into his eyes.

  He couldn't make out the words, but they were there.

  Suddenly, a high-pitched scream distracted him, and he felt his concentration breaking. He quickly dispersed his mana, before it wrestled out of control.

  Ulima, one of the contracted commoner girls, was rolling on the ground, spewing bloody droplets from her eyes.

  She was screaming in panic, her hands trying to wipe the blood away, but it was just smearing her face.

  So that’s what Dolen meant by ‘your eyes might explode.’

  Her breathing was fast and shallow. Most people were pulling away from the girl, even Diana paled a tiny bit.

  David just watched, feeling a familiar detachment. The room was enchanted to calm rampaging mana so, though gruesome, the damage couldn’t have been that bad.

  Greine was by Ulima’s side in an instant. She uncorked a small vial and splashed it on the screaming girl’s face.

  The whispers had long left his ears and his focus was back on the here and now, but the unease remained.

  Carrying a literal monster, like the predator, in his body, was preferable to having Calland in his head.

  The refugee quarter buzzed around Sophie with worried whispers. It was a sound she was growing to dread, a stark contrast to the clatter of tools and the excited chatter that usually filled the lively space.

  Today, a small crowd of workers stood before her, their faces etched with a familiar mixture of respect and fear. They were simple folk, their hands calloused from years of honest work, and their speech a gentle slur of common tongue.

  But most importantly, each and every one of them had been through hell, just like her.

  "It's just... the talk, Sophie," one of them, a sharp eyed woman, named Meli, began, "Some witch was sayin' the weird blocks from the lord are... Well, they're magical. Like weapons."

  A stout man in his forties, chimed in with slurry words. "Methinks, If I was the big fat lord––', but a shorter man quickly interrupted him, eyeing Hito carefully.

  Multiple people started speaking at once, trying to get a word in.

  It was difficult to speak to an entire crowd at once. At least she had Hito in front of her, to secure at least some space for her to not feel crushed.

  Sophie's smile, usually so ready and bright, felt stiff on her face.

  Her handsome guard placed a hand on her shoulder, his touch light and reassuring, yet firm.

  "It's madness, people," Hito said, "You know Sophie. She would never work with him, if Lord Romuald wanted to hurt you. Didn’t she bring you new homes? Stable food supply? As long as she’s here, you have nothing to worry about."

  The workers shifted, wanting to appear grateful, but their fear remained. She could feel their dependence on her, a heavy mantle of responsibility that settled on her shoulders.

  They expected a promise from her, something more solid than a guard's well-rehearsed assurances. But she couldn't give them empty promises. She had to know for sure.

  "Thank you, Hito," she said, her voice sterner than usual. "I appreciate your support."

  She turned back to the workers, her eyes searching each of their faces. "I promise you all this," she said, her voice clear and firm. "I am certain the lord is acting in your good interest. I will speak to people of knowledge, and I will have a definitive answer for you. If there is even the slightest worry, we will ask the Lord to change his designs."

  They trusted her word and seemed mollified, their tense shoulders relaxing.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  That her words had such an impact… It filled her with pride. It filled her with fear.

  With a final nod, they dispersed, returning to their work with a renewed, if tentative, sense of purpose. Sophie watched them go, her jaw tight.

  She headed toward Aura’s workshop. The new one. If anyone could give a professional, unbiased analysis of the city lord’s designs, it was her. She would then bring that information to Bert, so his sharp eyes could analyze the potential for danger.

  Sophie had to be certain. Her people were counting on her.

  Aura sat at the simple wooden table, picking at a plate of lukewarm stew she had bought from a housewife downstairs. The last rays of the sun bled through the grimy window, painting the small room in a hazy, golden light.

  The food was bland, but it was filling, and for that, she was grateful. It had been a long day, a whirlwind of appointments and errands.

  Between the first day at her new job and helping Sophie inspect the suspicious building blocks, she was exhausted.

  Ki-Elico’s walls had always been considered impregnable, just like other barrier cities. To think Lord Romuald wanted to embed the foundations of new districts with further defenses…

  It was impossible to guess the extent of the whole design by just looking at disconnected parts. If Sophie wanted clarity, she had to take the matter to the city lord herself.

  Would she be alright? Aura’s old teacher, now archmage of the academy and the lord of the city, was one of the worst people to go against in a spar of wits.

  Well, she was an adult now. A capable one.

  Aura still had other things to do, and being tired was not an excuse for leaving important matters unattended.

  And for once, the challenge before her had been a pleasant one–Finding a new home for their family. With both her and Bert having stable jobs and citizenship status, they could finally move out of the refugee quarter and start earning an income more adequate to their skills.

  Maybe we could even save a little…

  The thought of a new home brought a smile to her lips. She imagined a house, with two separate bedrooms and a nice garden, somewhere Marco could train and the whole family could relax.

  She took a deep breath, letting the vision of a sun-drenched garden fill her mind.

  Well, let’s not get too hopeful.

  Just then, the door creaked open, and Marco entered, his face flushed with excitement. He was holding a piece of parchment, his eyes sparkling with an almost frantic energy.

  "Mom!" he said, his voice a little breathless, as if he had run up the stairs. "We got it! The permit! We can start working in the academy labs!"

  “That’s… That’s great, Marco.” Aura's heart leaped into her throat, making her voice weaker than she’d like. A wave of emotions, hot and cold, crashed over her at once. “I’m glad the old rules and forms still work.”

  Excitement and a deep, professional curiosity, warred with a cold, creeping fear. After all, It was a place of immense risk, where her true identity could be exposed at any time.

  “Well, not exactly,” Marco admitted, a little uncomfortable. “The initial request was denied. I asked a friend I’ve met in my class for help.”

  Friend?

  “I’m glad you’re more forward about these things.” Aura caressed his head. “I hope it wasn’t anything risky this time?”

  “No!” Marco replied a bit too fast. “I’m never doing something like that again.”

  Between the claws and his previous endeavors… Well, if he said so, then he must have been convinced of it.

  We’ll be mostly working there at night and my looks have changed… The odds are in our favor.

  Aura sighed, putting her own worries aside. Looking for a house would have to wait until the next day.

  “I’m glad to hear that,” Aura started to pick up her things. “Let’s go there straight away, shall we?”

  The doors of the academy felt like a portal to a world of nostalgia.

  Aura had walked through them with her heart pounding in her chest, every nerve screaming that she was about to be discovered. She’d squeezed Marco’s hand tight, as she scanned every passing face, bracing herself for the moment a familiar eye would recognize her.

  But no one did.

  The only glances she received were fleeting looks of surprise and pity directed at the burn marks that marred her body. She was safe.

  Stepping into their newly assigned laboratory felt like coming home. It wasn’t much, just a small room made out of heavily enchanted bricks, with a magical light embedded into the ceiling and a few empty tables.

  How many years has it been?

  “Alright, Marco, let’s clean up,” She began by unwrapping the cloth she carried, revealing cleaning supplies and a few basic implements for measuring materials: a thick needle, a tiny hammer and a knife. “And then we’ll take a look at those claws of yours.”

  “Are you sure?” Marco questioned as he started scrubbing the tables. His voice was filled with so much anxiety it hurt to hear. “Aren’t you afraid of them?”

  Aura shuddered a little bit, thinking about his onyx monster parts, but she quickly steeled herself and rejected the visceral feeling. It wasn’t dishonesty, too, for the first thought wasn’t what determined a person, but the second one.

  And that, she was happy to express out loud. “They are a bit grim, aren’t they? She chuckled, “But they are a part of you, and I know you’d never harm me.”

  When they were done cleaning up, she sat Marco on a stool under the light and readied her tools.

  She took a deep breath. “Okay, I am ready. Make them appear as slowly as you can.”

  And under her careful eye, his nails started to first turn grey, then black. They started elongating, first taking shape of sharpened ovals.

  “Alright, that’s enough.” She took his hand and placed it against the table. “You poured mana into them to make them show up, right?”

  He nodded and she began to examine the claw under the lamplight, her mind already buzzing with questions. What was it made of? What gave it its magical properties?

  She could feel the faint mana coursing through the growths as she started to chip at them with the needle and the hammer. They were quite durable, but not impossibly so. Much less than she anticipated.

  Marco anxiously watched her for a moment, and quickly started fiddling.

  "Mom," he asked, his voice curious, as if he was trying to distract himself "Do you know any yellow-ish, acrid-smelling substances?"

  Aura glanced at him, her brow furrowed, as she collected scraps of the claws in a cloth. “Truegold would fit that description. I can’t think of anything else, though.”

  “It sounds really expensive and rare.” Marco said, a little dispirited. “How about white-ish crystals? Any that could nourish a field?”

  “I never heard of something like that,” Aura mused. “Where’s all that coming from? Are you deciphering some other ritual?”

  “Something like that.” He shrugged, and his claws jerked in her hand. “I read a convoluted script and I thought it described some materials. Nothing important.”

  “Well, if you figure something out, let me know,” She smiled. “I’ll gladly help you. For now, hold still. Could you make those claws a bit longer? I have a feeling their properties might change with more mana.”

  She turned back to her work, the mysterious conversation fading into the background.

  Truegold and some magical fertilizer mentioned on the same parchment? What a weird script that must be.

  The metal hatch clicked loudly as David locked the door to the laboratory. He had volunteered for a clean-up, so Aura could leave earlier and get some more sleep.

  Aside from being helpful, this has scored him some incredibly valuable alone time: time to think. He pressed his forehead lightly against the cold wall.

  Sulphur and saltpetre are unreachable. Gunpowder’s off the table.

  As a student of the academy, with a well-earning family, he finally had the plausible deniability and the resources to try and experiment with his knowledge back from earth.

  Despite the tired body and heavy eyelids, he showed some excitement to the empty halls of the academy.

  Only then he noticed that they weren’t all that empty. From the other side of the corridor, a short, petite, brown-haired woman was walking with a massive crate of ingredients. She glanced at him, then quickly opened one of the laboratories with an elbow and hurried inside.

  David shook his head in slight shock as he pulled out the academy-issued clock from his pouch. Though it lacked precision, the marker was well into the night.

  She’s only starting now? Crazy. Or am I just a slacker?

  David chuckled to himself as he walked home.

  Lectures, Zerik’s training and experiments with Aura… He was seriously starting to lack time.

  But it was all good. Though the days were sure to fly past him, it was all well spent.

  In preparation.

  After all, in about ten more months, the introductory period of the academy would be over and the time to decide his future would come.

  Well, David already had some ideas.