“You’re not learning that spell,” Felicia’s disapproving tone shocked Valar out of his explanation. “It’s bad.”

  “What, Berserker Regeneration? I get that it’s situational and all, but I’ve thought it over. If I’m to learn body enhancement—an idea that you didn’t seem to disagree with—I should also learn something that works well in a pitched battle! Berserker Regeneration was the most potent option in the book!”

  “No, it just isn’t,” the blonde woman sighed. “This is what the faculty and tutors are for. I’ll help you understand the problem with that spell, alright?”

  Valar nodded hesitantly, not really ready to accept her words but still curious. “Go on…”

  “First, let me say that I’m not trying to prevent you from shaping yourself into a battle-oriented healer. You’re an adventurer already, so the body enhancement spells and the concept of self-healing you’ve been working on seem like sound ideas. They’re perhaps a bit frowned upon as a whole, but still, they’re sound. What I’m trying to say is…” Felicia frowned, then shrugged to herself. “I’ll just say it; you’re being a total idiot.”

  Hearing that from his tutor and therapist was quite a smack to Valar’s face, to say the least. He gaped, looking at Felicia with wide eyes. “Huh?”

  “You heard me. You’re being an idiot!”

  “But… but it’s a healing spell meant for battle, and it’s really potent,” he muttered. “What’s wrong with it? I don’t get it.”

  Felicia let out a bellowing sigh. “In terms of spells in general, how restrictive is Berserker regeneration?”

  “It’s definitely restrictive, but for my purposes, it should be great, right?” Valar asked, although the question sounded more like he was asking it from himself. “Right?”

  “Explain the spell to me. Be sure to be specific about it too…”

  He nodded, starting to recount the spell’s details from memory. “Berserker Regeneration is a bronze rank self-healing spell meant to be utilized in life-or-death battles-.”

  “Stop,” Felicia raised her hand to stop him. “Your problem lies in that very sentence.”

  Oh… “The life-or-death part? What’s wrong with that?”

  Felicia raised one delicate eyebrow. “You cannot ascertain what’s wrong with a spell restriction that makes you unable to use your spell if you’re not in a life-or-death fight?”

  “But isn’t every fight ‘life-or-death’, at least adventuring-wise?”

  “No. That’s why it’s specified in the first place. Didn’t you read the section on restrictions at the start of the book?”

  “The… introduction?” Valar cringed. “I thought it was just some jargon like every introductory chapter ever…”

  “In a spell compendium? No.”

  “Shit.”

  As it turned out, Berserker Regeneration would’ve been an absolutely horrible choice for Valar to start out bronze rank with. That was a result of its singular restriction of having to be in the middle of a ‘life-or-death’ fight.

  Now, when spell compendiums described the spells within, the words used weren’t full of fluff and filler like storybooks read to children. Instead, every single word was important. If Healing Palm was described to be a spell that originated from the user’s palm, it really meant it. The spell was cast from the palm… not the finger, not the wrist, not the hand and not the big toe.

  So when Berserker Regeneration described the restriction as being embroiled in a life-or-death battle, it didn’t mean just any fight. Valar would have to be embroiled in a bloodbath where his life was at true risk, fighting against overwhelming odds or balancing on the knife’s edge. And that wasn’t all…

  “What counts as being ‘embroiled in a fight’?” Felicia asked.

  “I don’t know, a melee?”

  “So you can’t use the spell while you're escaping, you can’t use the spell when you’re forced to take cover and you can’t use the spell if you’re not fighting against enemies that you consider life-threatening.”

  That brought an idea into Valar’s mind. “What if I brainwashed myself to think that an iron-.”

  “Not brainwash… The decision on if the enemy is deadly comes from your soul.”

  “Abyss…”

  …

  Being an excellent tutor, Felicia was kind enough to accompany Valar to the bronze rank section of the academy library. Luckily, she was technically a student even if she wasn’t attending classes—a fact that Valar would have to remember once he finished his studies—so she could come to the library with him.

  Livira was there to welcome them both in, although she was quite a bit more reserved towards Felicia. Maybe she doesn’t like Felicia’s aura being so locked-down…

  Still, the old mage let both of them in, wishing them a happy stay. She also informed them that the book Valar had used to research spells was still on shelf AB, row 42. ‘Healing at bronze rank: Tips and tricks to become a healer your team will cherish!’ was laying where he had left it, so he picked it up and continued to the sofas with Felicia.

  When they finally sat down and scrolled to the page where Berserker Regeneration was described—runes, visualizations, effects and all—Valar frowned. “It really does mention ‘life-or-death’ quite a bit. I’m a bit scared to ask, but can I reach anywhere near the potency of this spell with less restrictive options?”

  “That depends,” Felicia flipped the page, landing on a spell that was similarly aimed at combat. Rapid Regeneration is somewhat close, but it’s a fair bit more complex than Berserker Regeneration. It’s less limiting, as it only requires you to ‘be in a threatening situation’, but it doesn’t reach the same level of potency compared to the ease of casting. How did you end up picking Berserker Regeneration in the first place?”

  That was an easy question. “I compared different spells based on simplicity, potency and efficiency. Berserker Regeneration seemed like the best option, maximizing all those aspects while being still usable where I wanted to use it. After talking with you, it doesn’t seem like the best option, after all.”

  “Don’t worry,” Felicia said, keeping her voice deliberately low in order to avoid the librarian’s ire. “That’s a somewhat common pitfall, and it’s often stopped by tutoring or further lessons. By the way, you really should attend a lecture or two; they’re great.”

  She turned back to the page for the overly restrictive spell and pointed at the rune formation. “Originally, I said that the spell was bad, but that’s an overexaggeration. What I meant is that it’s highly specific. In fact, I think you should think about learning it once you are able to use all of your core spells for bronze rank. It’s just that currently, if you learn only Berserker Regeneration for self-healing, you’ll end up in a situation where you needed self-healing, but your only spell wouldn’t let you do it at all. Having used Lesser Restoration many times already, you must be aware of how much spells that are able to heal others suck compared to self-healing ones.”

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  “So what you’re saying is that I should start with a broader set of spells that I add to after I start adventuring again?”

  “My advice as your tutor would be to stay at the academy for longer, but as I’m also your therapist, I won’t suggest that. I do have a question, though.”

  “Shoot.”

  “What is your goal with life magic?”

  It was a good question…

  There were lots of things that Valar wanted from life magic. He wanted to be able to heal his and his teammates injuries, he wanted to be able to help others, and he wanted to strengthen himself. But what is my goal? What’s the end point?

  An insidious, burning pain in his very core reminded Valar of its existence. The wound in his soul pulsated with a silent intensity, causing waves of sensation to echo through his whole being.

  In answer to Felicia’s pertinent question, he just pointed at his chest, getting a nod from the woman. He wasn’t stupid enough to blurt out anything related to his soul wound in such a public setting, and she knew that as well.

  “Good. Let’s try to focus on that end goal first and foremost. The core spells you choose should be able to help you pave a way to that destination, be it through adventuring or any other profession, alright?”

  “Alright.”

  …

  With the ‘new’ end goal in mind, Valar’s spell choices became a bit more complex. His current choices for a core skillset weren’t wrong, per say, but they could be brought more in line with his goals and ways of getting to those goals—those ways being mostly about adventuring with team Cookie Sandwich.

  “I can’t really comment on the body enhancement spells, as they are as far from my specialty as anything can be,” Felicia mused. “Aspect of the Tortoise seems like an obvious pick, but from the other two… Just pick the one that feels more suitable, I guess?”

  “What about the healing ones?”

  That got a small grin out of the bronze ranker. Her blue eyes glinted in the light of the lamp on their desk. “For that… You’re pretty close with professor Elaine, right?”

  Not really sure what the woman was getting at, Valar nodded slowly. ”You could say so. Why?”

  “All of these spells are ‘publicly’ available ones, at least if you consider the students of all the academies. Why don’t we go ask her if you could get access to the ones that aren’t?”

  An expression of pure disbelief spread on Valar’s face. “That was an option?”

  “Officially, no…” Felicia giggled, getting an angry stare from Livira in return. She lowered her voice to the barest whisper, her tone full of jest. “But I’m not here to be an official or a faculty member, but your tutor. As a tutor, I’m going to use every tool at my disposal to prepare you for life outside the academy… even if that means that we go and ask Elaine for sensitive information on classified spells.”

  Maybe some reconsideration on his spell choices was good, after all.

  …

  “What, you want better healing spells for bronze rankers?” Elaine asked, leaning against the door of her office.

  If one thing was clear to see, it was that the professor of life magic was bone tired. Her robe was disheveled, her eyes had dark rings around them and the scent of black tea—a drink for the weary and the sleepy—radiated out from her office. The office itself was as messy as always, and the floor was filled with random study papers and the like. The trashcan was full of spent tea leaves once more, although it had been emptied between Valar’s infrequent visits.

  “Yeah,” he nodded. “Felicia suggested that we should ask you since I wouldn’t lose anything from just asking.

  Elaine scratched the back of her head, combing some of her tangled hair with her fingers. “Hmm… I think I can get you access to Edict: Restoration for a single target healing spell, if I ask nicely. I could also just give it to you, but considering the sheer illegality of the action, I’m pretty sure I shouldn’t.”

  “Huh, I thought that this discussion would be much harder.” Valar mumbled. “We were preparing all kinds of arguments and stuff to make you agree, but you’re just giving me a spell like that?”

  The professor sighed deeply. “Look, I’m kind of against classifying spells in the first place, as it’s a form of control against the general public. Besides, the edict spells are only a half-secret, and they’re given out to promising adventurers or soldiers constantly. I’ll need to talk to a person or two, but if I lean on your survival of the expedition to Ronaheim forest and fast progress, I’m pretty sure they’ll just give the spellform to you, alright?”

  Valar went in for a clumsy bow. “Thank you so much, Elaine! I won’t forget this!”

  “Now, now,” she sighed. “Don’t bow to me. I’m just doing what the nation’s supposed to do in the first place. Unfortunately, the king disagrees with me on that, so we have to do things the hard way.”

  “What about other spells?” Felicia asked with an almost flippant tone. “Why stop at one?”

  “That… would be more difficult,” Elaine said, frowning deeply. “I’ll look into it, but it’s probably a dead end, alright?”

  “How so?”

  The brown-eyed life mage clicked her tongue. “The edict spells are better than other spells of their rank in some ways due to the extensive research that has gone into perfecting them. They are classified because they are better than most other spells. Other classified spells on the other hand… They are usually classified because they are dangerous. I’m pretty sure I can get you the edict spell, but I can promise you no more.”

  That was more than enough for Valar.

  “Thank you, Elaine.”

  “I’m glad I could help. Now, can I return to meditation? I’m pretty sure I only have a few months left until the final push!”

  Ascension sucks.

  …

  A couple days later, Valar woke up to a knock on his door. When he looked around, it was still dark outside. What could this be about?

  Still quite groggy, Valar pulled his robe from the floor beside his bed and strode to his door. When opening it, he expected maybe Zeke, maybe Elaine, but not the silver-haired man who greeted him.

  “Good morning, Valar. I heard you’d like to have one of the edict spells?” Viktor stood in the hallway, dressed in his grey mage’s robe, his emerald eyes glinting with energy that Valar just didn’t have this early in the morning.

  “Viktor?” he yawned, showing the man in. “I didn’t expect you to give me that spell. In fact, I didn’t expect you to be at my door in the first place.”

  “I was starting to feel a bit guilty about not seeing you for such a long time, especially when you consider the fact that I sponsored you to this academy in the first place,” the wind mage smiled. “Also, Elaine is meditating, so who would you have expected to give you the spell in the first place? The headmaster?”

  A flush rose on Valar’s cheeks, hopefully unseen by his sponsor. Considering Viktor’s rank, that was unlikely, however. “Kind of? I was told that the edict spells are classified by the kingdom, so I expected someone with authority.”

  “And you think that I, an onyx rank wind mage who belongs to academy faculty, don’t have authority on classified spells?” Viktor’s disbelief was clear in his tone, further worsening Valar’s embarrassment.

  “I didn’t think it through, okay?”

  Viktor started laughing. It didn’t stop for a while either, as the man’s mirth only seemed to increase as he cackled. It’s good that these rooms are pretty much soundproofed… Wait, how does knocking work? Whatever, it’s probably some magic stuff anyway.

  Eventually, after a long while, Viktor calmed down. He wiped at his eyes with a purple silk napkin and straightened himself back to his full height. “Sorry, sorry, I’m just messing with you. My life has been somewhat of a dreary mess these past months; please just bear with me.”

  “Oh, that’s okay,” Valar couldn’t completely hide his surprised tone. Viktor had basically never confided anything about his personal life to him, so when he did, it took some time to get used to the change. “Please let me know if I can help somehow. I’m in your debt for getting me into the academy in the first place.”

  “I don’t think you can help with the issues I’m experiencing, but thank you for the offer. Now, how has life been? I’m not sure if you realized it, but I was the one who flew you and your team out from Ronaheim, so I know it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, at the very least.”

  Oh, right, Eva mentioned that somebody brought us to the infirmary. It would make sense that Viktor was the one who retrieved us. “Oh, it was you?”

  Valar found himself bowing once again, although it felt weird to do to Viktor. It felt weird when I did it to Elaine as well. Maybe I should just stop. “Thank you so much for saving my team!”

  The wind mage placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him up with the strength of a mountain. “First of all, don’t bow to me. It feels weird. Second, you were the one who was most grievously injured. Third, you’re welcome; I’m glad I could be of help. Fourth… How do I say this? What happened in that clearing before I arrived… Don’t worry about it, okay?”

  “Do you mean the-.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Viktor’s voice cut through Valar’s question swiftly and mercilessly, holding a nervous edge to it. “I’ve got it handled…”

  Valar tried to ask for more information, but Viktor’s answers were short, succinct and unsatisfying. Each time he even tried to mention an aura, or gods forbid a dragon, the onyx ranker cut him off. Having to accept his defeat, Valar let the topic be.

  He knows something about the dragon, but why is he withholding the information from me? This is so frustrating!

  The pair chatted for a short while, but eventually, Viktor mentioned that he was in a bit of a rush to go to a ‘family meeting’. He pulled out a scroll of parchment from his robe, giving it to Valar.

  “Be sure to keep it only within your own dorm room, okay? While this is by no means a big state secret, it’s still classified and handed out to prospering talents. We wouldn’t want to attract the king’s ire, would we?”

  That scroll was never leaving Valar’s dorm. Period.