The Ascendant Wizard

Morena quickly made her way out of the basement and up the stairs. Only then did she allow herself to breathe a little easier. The corridor behind her had already returned to silence, and nothing followed her out of the lower third floor, but she still didn’t trust the place.

’What time is it?’

[Only one hour and seventeen minutes have passed.]

’Only? Then I’ll just drop the box off right away.’

She didn’t expect so little time to have passed. When she was searching around, it felt like hours, but perhaps it was just the place messing with her.

With that in mind, she decided to go to Verra right away so she could get her reward.

She continued upward, passing through the sealed archway again. The statue at the entrance scanned her badge and token as she crossed, but it did not stop her. Its stone eyes seemed to linger on the box for a moment, though Morena could not tell if that was real or if she was simply tired.

Either way, she quickly made her way up. Soon enough, she was amongst other Apprentices again, each of them going about their own things.

She made sure to hide the box under her clothing so no one would notice, and moved past everyone as quickly as possible.

By the time she reached Verra’s corridor, the aching of her head had eased slightly. The spell had been useful, more useful than she first expected, but repeated casting had drained her too quickly. She needed more mana and perhaps better control, but that would only increase with time.

When she reached Verra’s door, she knocked; only to be met with silence. Waiting a few more seconds, she knocked again.

She could hear what sounded like stumbling inside, as if something were moving about. Then Verra’s voice came in quickly.

"Enter."

Morena pushed the door open and stepped inside, scanning the room. She noticed that Verra was sitting at her desk, but she didn’t wear her usual clothing.

Instead, she wore what seemed like a nightgown that covered her body, lined with lace; it was the first time Morena had seen her in such a revealing form.

She tried to focus on her face, but it was difficult to keep her eyes from drifting. Though the second she took out the box, she noticed her eyes shift towards it.

"You actually got it."

Moving forward, she placed the box on the desk in front of her. As she did, her eyes drifted towards the short skirt of the nightgown.

"Uh. You sound surprised."

"I am. The last person I sent to collect it didn’t quite return."

That was much more honest than she expected; she was also surprised by her words.

"Wait, what? You didn’t mention this before."

"Well, I didn’t see the need to. After all, it would have just made you less likely to do it."

Verra did not touch the box right away. She looked over the silver bands first, then the faded mark on the lid. Her eyes moved carefully, checking every part of it before she finally reached out and placed one finger on the wood.

The moment she touched it, the box gave off a faint sound, almost like a low hum.

Verra’s gaze sharpened, and the sound vanished.

All Morena did was watch quietly as all this happened, until Verra turned to her.

"Did you open it?"

"No."

"Did anyone else see it?"

"I don’t think so. I did hide it."

"That’s good."

Verra took out a piece of dark cloth from her drawer and wrapped it around the box. Only after the box was covered did the uncomfortable feeling around it weaken slightly.

Watching Verra only made her more curious about what was inside the box to cause all this trouble.

"Are you actually going to tell me what it is?"

"Like I said, just some old material."

Morena just stared at her, and Verra shook her head.

"That answer has not changed."

"I just thought that risking my life for it would at least be worth knowing what’s in it."

"You risked your life for the reward that you’re getting. Is that not enough?"

Morena narrowed her eyes and then sighed.

"You’re right, but you could have at least said how troublesome it would be."

Verra leaned back slightly in her chair, her fingers resting on top of the covered box.

"What happened?"

Morena considered how much to say.

Lying entirely would be stupid. Verra had likely expected something, and if the room had records, then there was no point pretending nothing happened. But telling her everything was not necessary either.

"The door disappeared after I entered, and the room kept shifting around several times. There were voices; I even heard your voice down there. And the classroom appeared as you mentioned, there were diagrams on the board."

Verra nodded her head.

"Did you look at them? Those things are wrong and could cause more harm than benefits."

"I didn’t; they were too blurry to make out."

Of course, that was a lie; she did record it with the AI, but she had no intention of saying that. Hearing Verra’s take on the diagram made her more curious about them.

’More harm than benefits? So they have benefits?’

"Where did you find the box?"

"I found it after the room shifted a few more times. It was much harder to find than I thought; there were so many that looked just like it. Is there a specific reason all of them look the same?"

It seemed as if Verra didn’t know about all the boxes that looked the same, because she leaned forward when she heard it.

"There were multiple?"

"Yeah, but they were all slightly different. Then, after I found the box, the lights went out. Oh, and the dummies, there were a bunch of teaching dummies that tried to attack me."

Verra listened without interrupting, and when Morena finished, the woman smiled faintly.

"So you handled it better than expected. I was right to entrust the task to you then."

"Well, it worked out in the end, but it was still irritating."

Morena did not know whether to laugh or be annoyed, so she did neither.

Verra stood and walked toward one of the shelves behind her desk. She placed her hand against the side of the shelf, and a small compartment opened with a soft click. Inside were several thin books, each wrapped in pale gray cloth.

She took out three and placed them on the desk.

"Your reward."

Morena’s gaze moved to the books.

"These are the Mental spells?"

"Three 0-Circle Mental spells. Better than what you would find in the public Spell Hall, and more suited to someone with your affinity."

Verra tapped the first book.

"Mental Anchor. It helps stabilize focus and resist minor mental interference. While using it, it can also increase mental activity."

Then the second.

"Thought Needle. A weak offensive mental spell. It can disturb focus, interrupt casting, or cause a sharp mental sting if the target has no defense. It is not a killing spell, so do not get foolish ideas."

Then the third.

"Memory Mark. It allows you to place a temporary mental mark on something you have observed, and it can help you track that thing’s movement and location even if it’s far away. Of course, if you have enough mana."

Morena’s eyes lingered on the three books. They were each useful in their own way, nothing crazy, but they were 0-Circle spells after all.

Mental Anchor would help with situations like the storage room and possibly protect her from weaker mental tricks. Thought Needle would finally give her something that could be used against others, even if it was not lethal. Memory Mark would help her track things, and could be useful for searches.

Verra smiled as if she could see her thoughts.

"You may choose one."

"Only one?"

"That was the deal."

"And the reduced-cost access?"

"After you choose, I’ll allow you to purchase the others at half cost, and you can also buy other spells directly from me at reduced cost. That is already generous."

Morena looked at her.

"How much?"

"One hundred points each."

It was cheaper than the Tower but still very expensive. Morena currently did not have enough to buy each one, so she had to make the right choice.

Verra was definitely aware of that.

"You enjoy making people poor."

"I wouldn’t have even given such an offer if it were anyone else."

"What does that mean?"

"It means you have potential, and it would be a waste to see it go underused."

Morena’s gaze returned to the books.

A defensive spell, an offensive spell, or a utility spell.

Her current weakness was that she had no protection against mental tricks and no real offensive spell. But at the same time, her greatest advantage was information, and Memory Mark might combine well with the AI.

It was not an easy choice.

"Can I inspect the descriptions?"

"Descriptions, yes. Contents, no."

Verra pushed the three books closer.

"Take your time, but do not take too long. I still have things to do."

’Like sleep?’

Morena didn’t say that aloud and instead reached out and grabbed the first book.