“Feil, Feil…”
…I heard someone calling out to me in a haggard, weak tone, and all three of us turned around.
A thin middle-aged man, his long white hair tied behind his head, was jogging along between the thick pillars of the open corridor. I could immediately tell he was a professor without looking at his face from his black-and-red conjurer’s robes he wore.
“Perfect timing. I was looking for you three.”
It was our high-order magic professor. He was also head professor of the first-year classes, the liaison for ranking matches, a guidance counselor for all sorts of things, and generally the point of contact for a lot of people.
We stopped and waited for him.
“We’ve decided the next schedule for ranking matches,” he said, “so I wanted to inform you three. It’ll be in three days, against Lulua’s team.”
We all shared a look at this sudden news. We weren’t exactly unfazed hearing that we were up against number two in our year.
“Well, regardless, take care not to injure yourself too wildly. Especially you, Feil. You have an appetite for the wild.”
At a glance, I could tell he’d run all this way even though he wasn’t in shape. He let out a tired sigh and then gave me a weak smile.
“I think your extempores and those bugs of yours will probably serve you well.”
Then he about-faced as if his work here was done.
Something occurred to me right then, though. “Sir, I wanted to ask you somethin’.”
When he turned around, I noticed a hint of delight that I’d called him back.
“A question? Very good. Oh, what diligent students you are. Your and Lulua’s teams are the only ones who actually seek me out with questions every now and then.”
“Um, it’s not about the lecture, though.”
“Gosh, then I suppose my hands are tied… I met my wife through a blind date, you see.”
“It’s not about romantic advice, either, sir,” I clarified. “Actually, I’m lookin’ for electromagic that isn’t physically draining to use.”
The professor looked like he’d been put on the spot for a second, but then he appeared relieved I was asking him a question about magic. He crossed his arms and seemed to be thinking about my question, then finally proposed, “You could throttle the output of a Thunderbolt spell?”
“I need it to use even less magic than that,” I explained. “It needs to consume very little and be precise to manipulate. Ideally, it’d also be able to take on multiple targets, if that’s possible.”
“Up to one of your schemes again? You’re essentially asking about the limitations of electromagic.”
I didn’t know how to reply. I could only give him an awkward smile now that he was wary of what I was planning.
“Please abandon the thought. Every time you come up with another wild scheme, you put the entire faculty council into chaos. Last time, when you tried to disrobe poor Sasha, the headmaster classified it as inventive so you skated by. Though, I can understand why you resorted to such methods. Sasha is very powerful, after all.”
Even though he was grumbling under his breath, we knew that he was supportive of us and had our best interests at heart. “So? What was it again? Electromagic that needs to be lightweight, easy to manipulate, and capable of multitargeted attacks?”
“Yes, sir. It only needs to be one hundredth as powerful as a normal Thunderbolt.”
“You’re looking for an awfully peculiar spell. I’m afraid I don’t have one in my repertoire that’s capable of that.”
“I see…”
“At times like these, an air elemental should do the trick. Electricity is within their jurisdiction. Even a young, weak air elemental can transmute electricity for you.”
“That’s the thing. It won’t work unless I’m the one castin’ it. It really wouldn’t work out with a third party in the mix—”
“Quite demanding, aren’t you? Just a moment.”
His arms still crossed, he turned up to look at the ceiling and started rocking lightly from front to back. Sometimes, he’d do this during lecture, too, and I’d come to recognize it as his thinking stance. Eventually, he stopped rocking, and our eyes met—his with deep creases at their corners as his slender, pale face took on a strangely persuasive power.
“Feil, do you know of Torrenos, the great arachnids?”
“I don’t believe so, sir.”
“They’re curious creatures that weave their webs from electricity. Now, when one of those buggers sets up, their web will last a whole summer.”
“It’s not that they’re weaving electrified spiderwebs?”
“Torrenos live within a ravine that’s used as a flight passage by dragons. It seems only dragons are able to pass through the nests—using their electrical resistance, you see—so the spiders weave using intangible electricity.”
I didn’t get what he was telling me—or rather, I did, but just the words and not the intent behind them, so I just answered with an “Uh-huh, I see.”
I was anxious for a moment before he continued. “Now, I just so happen to remember a tome named the Torrenoxion—after those great arachnids. There was a spell to conjure a large number of electrified threads, I do believe. However, the threads on their own were rather weak, so I thought it qualified as little more than a magic trick…and I don’t believe the tome itself is even in the Academy’s possession.”
And that was exactly the info I was looking for. In my excitement and reverence for the professor, the corners of my mouth lifted naturally, and I ended up rudely goggling his face as I grinned.
“Ha-ha-ha. Based on your expression, I’d say I’ve fulfilled my duty as an educator.”