Almark held his right hand up and focused on the image of a small flame sitting between his palm and the air. He gathered the mana circulating through him in his right hand, trying to materialize it as a small flame. And then, to hold that flame in place, so it wouldn’t go out…
Crackle.
A small flame popped up above Almark’s hand. It wavered unsteadily, faintly, but a small ball of flame was undoubtedly glowing on his palm.
“I did it… It worked.”
All the meditation he’d done for days must have paid off. He’d pulled it off faster than he expected. Almark looked up, searching for Illmis, but he was giving advice to another student and wasn’t looking in his direction.
I cast my first spell.
Almark gazed tenderly at the small flame.
But suddenly, the flame wavered violently. Almark felt like the flame in his palm was stirring maliciously, like all the mana in his body was being sucked up into the flame.
Huh? What’s going on…?
The instant Almark grew flustered, the flame in his hand exploded in size, forming a pillar of flame that shot up to the ceiling. Almark shouted with surprise from the sudden change, but he couldn’t see anything beyond the growing fire.
Norish and Lilty screamed. Tohrk shouted angrily. Almark heard Wendy call his name, her voice pained. But amid all the fuss, Illmis’s voice alone reached Almark’s ears with strange clarity.
“I told you, didn’t I?”
Feeling as if every bit of strength had been squeezed out of his body, Almark fell unconscious.
When Almark came to, he was in the schoolhouse infirmary.
He sat up and looked around. He wasn’t in any pain, and examining his right hand, there weren’t any burns on it. He looked out the window and saw the sun was still hanging high in the sky.
How long had he been out? Even during his journey, Almark had never fainted and been that defenseless. Letting your consciousness slip meant inviting death, after all.
I really messed up…
Almark sighed and held his right hand up to the window. What happened back there? The flame had surged up like it had a will of its own, and he felt like his mana was instantly drained. Almark tried to get out of bed, but a spell of dizziness overcame him. His body felt limp.
“You shouldn’t walk yet,” a sudden voice said.
Almark turned around in surprise. Illmis stood with his back to the wall, watching the boy. Almark was probably too drained to have noticed. He didn’t have any visible wounds, but his body must have taken more damage than he realized.
“You released the majority of your mana. You should lie down for a while longer.”
Illmis slowly approached Almark. Had he been there the whole time?
“Professor Illmis… What happened to me?” Almark asked, still sitting up.
“You tried to use an illumination spell, right?”
“Yes, I did.”
Illmis shook his head. “That wasn’t an illumination spell. It’s called Dragon’s Flame, a destructive bit of magic that burns one’s enemies to ashes.”
“Dragon’s Flame… Burns the enemy to ashes…” Almark repeated the words and, recalling his classmates’ screams before passing out, felt a chill run down his spine. “What happened to everyone in class?”
“…No one’s hurt. The mana in your body wasn’t fully manifested, so the fire burned out quickly.”
“Really…? That’s good…” Almark sighed in relief.
Illmis peered into his face. “Why do you think that happened?”
“…I don’t know. I’ve been doing lots of meditation, and I thought I’d conjured a mental image of an illumination spell. I kept imagining a little flame. Not a big one, let alone one from a dragon. I wasn’t trying to destroy anything, so where did this come from?”
“Dragon’s Flame is a spell we recommend students learn when they’re old enough for the advanced division,” Illmis said. “It’s not particularly complicated; even intermediate students can cast it. However…” Illmis paused for a moment. “It consumes a large amount of mana. Dragon’s Flame can be life-threatening if cast by a child whose body isn’t fully developed.”
“Oh. So that’s why…” Almark understood why he’d fainted. As the fire had surged, it consumed all his mana. “Even though I hadn’t mastered meditation, I linked my mana to something really strong.”
“Exactly.” Illmis nodded. “I told you before, you’re too smart. You instantly comprehend whatever you take in, and then you interpret and use it. But you didn’t fully comprehend this spell.”
“…I see.”
He’d heard Illmis’s voice right before losing consciousness.
“I told you, didn’t I?”
This was what Illmis had meant. Almark’s mental conjuring of illumination magic was one he came up with on his own, and it ended up triggering a completely different spell. Illmis was right, and Almark was ashamed that he was conceited enough to have thought he knew better.
Illmis got to his feet and prodded Almark to lie back down. “The healer, Professor Selia, will be here soon with medicine for you. Take it and then head back to the dorms once you get a bit more rest. Don’t practice meditation today or tomorrow. Just convalesce in your room and try to recover your mana.”
“…Yes, sir.” Almark bit his lip. “I’m sorry for all the trouble, Professor.”
“You have talent, that much is certain.” Illmis stopped at the door and turned to look at Almark. “But colossal talent requires considerable discipline and determination to control. The other day, I said you don’t have much time left…” His tone turned serene. “I didn’t say that to rush you, though. Losing patience is the one thing you must not do. However, don’t just rest on your laurels, either. Stick to your training. You have power within you, and there is no reason you shouldn’t be able to control it.”
“…Yes, sir.”
All Almark could do now was believe in his teacher’s words.
Not long after Illmis left, the institute’s healer, Selia, entered with a bottle of medicine. As Almark slowly downed the liquid, it felt as if every drop filled his body with mana.
“You can go back to the dorm once you can walk without getting dizzy. I think Professor Illmis already told you, but no going out today and tomorrow. Stay in your room and rest,” Selia instructed before leaving.
After lying down for a while, Almark got out of bed. He didn’t feel dizzy anymore, so he decided to head out. Classes were about to wrap up.
I really shocked everyone in class today… I should apologize.
Tomorrow was Almark’s first day off, and Wendy and Morgan had said they’d take him to the bookshop to pick up his textbooks and show him around town. But now he’d have to cancel those plans. He was about to leave the infirmary with those thoughts on his mind when the door suddenly opened.
“Almark!” Wendy burst into the infirmary, followed by their other classmates. “Are you okay? Professor Fia said you’re going straight back to the dorm today, so I got worried!”
Wendy looked at Almark up and down. She took his right hand and rubbed it in her hands. Her smooth, pale fingers felt like silk over Almark’s skin.
“You’re not hurt. Thank goodness.” Wendy finally smiled.
“Thanks… I’m fine,” Almark said sheepishly.
The other students all expressed their relief.
“Don’t worry about me—I’m sorry, everyone. I couldn’t control the fire and I put you all in danger.” Almark hung his head, but everyone’s reactions surprised him.
“Hey, it’s no big deal. Stuff like that happens pretty often,” Nelson said bluntly. “We couldn’t control our illumination spells either, at first. Everybody kept getting burned or made huge fires. Let me tell you, it was chaos. Right, guys?”
The rest of the kids nodded.
“Yeah. Everyone messes up. Don’t let it bother you,” Morgan said.
“I lit Tohrk’s head on fire once…,” Lilty added, and they all burst out laughing.
“Yeah, that was crazy!” Nelson clapped his hands, amused. “You look pretty timid, Lilty, but sometimes you do the weirdest things.”
Once the group settled down, Norish muttered, “I’ve never seen someone make a flame that big, though,” as if she’d just remembered.
Everyone agreed.
“Yeah, Almark, you put on the biggest fireworks show in the institute’s history,” Morgan said, giving him a thumbs-up encouragingly.
“Thanks. I…I thought you guys would be angry.”
“Nah, we’re not. Everyone makes mistakes,” Nelson said.
“We cause each other trouble all the time,” Wendy added. “We’ve gotten a lot better at it now, but back when we were first-years… Remember?”
The kids cracked bemused smiles as they recalled those days.
“So you don’t have to be so stiff around us, Almark. I know Professor Illmis told you to focus on meditation right now for your supplementary classes, but if you need help, just say the word.”
“Thanks.”
Almark was genuinely grateful. After that, he told them it would be best to cancel tomorrow’s trip. Wendy, clearly disappointed, frowned and began talking about all the shops she had wanted to show him.
“I was gonna show you this great candy store,” Morgan said, looking very disappointed, too.
“You just wanted an excuse to check it out,” Nelson retorted, which made Morgan go a bit red.
“That’s not true! I was already gonna buy something there.”
Eventually, Nelson and Morgan promised Almark they’d pick up his books for him.
Everyone then said they had business in the classroom or in the woods and left, and Almark stepped out of the infirmary, chest full of warmth. He had made some good friends, indeed, and he didn’t want to betray their feelings.
He left the schoolhouse and returned to the dorms. On the way there, he ran into Leila. She must have been headed somewhere, because she was walking with swift steps.
“Oh, Leila, I’m sorry about—” Almark started to apologize, but she silenced him with a cold glare.
“Do you have any idea what you did?” Leila asked, her voice as icy as her expression. “Throwing around power you can’t control—what are you, some kind of ape?” She shot Almark a scornful look. “Your blunder ruined our class today, you know.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t have time for this,” Leila spat, her voice trembling with cold anger. “Please. Don’t ruin my lessons anymore.”
Having said her piece, Leila walked away.