Arcane Exfil

Two weeks passed like a breeze in the trance of newfound freedom. Their magical studies deepened under Lady Verna, who made regular trips from the castle to OTAC. Individual talents began to show – and so did the hard limits of projection magic. A spell that could melt steel at point-blank range diffused to barely singe wood at fifty meters. No wonder people resorted to throwing fireballs instead of spawning them next to their targets.

Their work with barriers proved more promising. Simple shields evolved into persistent constructs that held without constant attention, though the initial mana cost made them think twice about duration. The possibilities were obvious: temporary platforms, personal shields, instant fortifications. Not ideal for sustained operations, of course. Earth magic could accomplish the same feats at a fraction of the mana cost. But when the situation called for subtlety over efficiency, barriers had their place.

Their enhancement magic had moved past brute-force applications as they learned to target muscle groups rather than relying on wholesale reinforcement. They all moved like anime characters now, but Miles had taken to it with particular enthusiasm. Honestly, he probably just wanted to throw hands with demons. Not the optimal approach, but after that ambush on day one… Cole could see the appeal.

As for Mack, he’d made a full recovery. Better than full, actually. His mana rating had stabilized at Level 18 after last week’s test – a solid six levels above Cole's capacity. Moving into the house seemed to have done him good as well. No lingering effects from the coma, no complications from his physical rehab, which turned out just as he’d expected.

Just the same old Mack, now with an apparently permanent boost to his magical potential. Whether the gap represented his natural ceiling or if it was just some quirk of recovery... well. Cole was happy for him nonetheless.

It seemed like Mack would be one-upping them on everything for the foreseeable future, until Ethan found his niche in glyph design. Most students could pick up the individual runes easily, but not the architecture. For Cole, arranging runes inside a glyph was like writing code. But Ethan?

He must’ve seen them differently, given how naturally he took to chaining the runes together. Within days he was laying out sequences that made Lady Verna question his sanity. Then again, most sane people wouldn’t choose to deal with bombs for a living.

Then came the classroom content. OTAC's classification system divided demons into two broad categories: humanoids and monsters. Humanoids posed the greatest strategic threat – from the lowly imps all the way up to the dreaded Archfiends. Each type had its own Level rating, though Cole had noticed the instructors seemed hesitant to discuss the upper bounds. Goblins averaged around Level 5, while standard orcs operated at Level 10. The Mimic that had infiltrated OTAC as a Slayer Captain had tested at Level 13 before being discovered.

Monster-types like the Nevskors followed similar conventions, though their Level 10 rating meant something different than an orc’s. They traded versatility for raw physical power – a Nevskor could shrug off hits that would flatten an orc, but they were predictable, bound by instinct. A higher level humanoid typically meant more adaptability. A higher level monster, on the other hand, would just be a stronger version of its base nature.