Touch of Fate

Chapter 117: Penumbra

Mike walked into the center of the room, and spent some time examining his thoughts and emotions, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. Nothing stood out, but he sent a surge of healing magic through his whole body, hoping to eliminate any trace of foreign influence.

He felt the magic take hold on something in his right arm, eliminating whatever it was almost instantly. It happened so quickly, he didn't have a chance to really investigate it.

Scanning his arm visually, he didn't see anything unusual.

[Did that take care of it?] Somehow, he wasn't convinced.

The door opened dramatically, and Instructor Johnathan stalked in. While his facial expression was the same as always, Mike could tell by his body posture, he was agitated.

"Alright, showoff. Why don't you tell me what happened?" He uttered quietly.

Mike rubbed the back of his head, feeling a little ashamed. "Well sir, I got into an argument with Aine and lost control of my temper. While I didn't hurt her, she was quite scared."

The instructor sighed. "You really don't understand what you did? I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. I can tell you haven't had any formal training in magic."

"Sir, I don't quite follow."

"Do you remember seizing hold of Aine's magic and crushing it?" Johnathan asked.

Mike nodded, still confused.

"As an elemental mage, you need to know that we are different from other kinds of mages. We don't require chants to serve as our intermediaries primarily because we can directly wield mana with our will alone. But to do so, we have to invest our wills into the magic. Unfortunately, this does create a weakness that can be exploited by those with the skill to do so."

[Oh no....]

Johnathan started pacing while he gave his lecture. "Elemental mages with superior mana, great skill, and excellent timing can seize control of an opponents mana as it is formed into magic. While there are many things they can do at that point, up to an including turning the spell on its owner, one of the most difficult is to completely disperse the spell."

"What happens then?" Mike asked, dreading the answer.

"Since their will is invested in the mana when it is dispersed, the casters suffer a massive mental blow. The strength of which can range from a traumatic memory to complete destruction of their personality depending on how much they had invested at the time." The instructor replied coldly.

"Is she.....is Aine...." He struggled to squeeze the words out.

"You caught her spell near its completion. Most of her will had already returned. She's terrified, and will probably think twice before aggravating you again, but she'll be fine."

Mike heaved a sigh of relief, as the instructor continued.

"I hope you'll keep this in mind in the future. The next time some foolish noble irritates you, consider using some other method to teach them a lesson."

"I didn't...I mean I wasn't trying to..."

"Don't fret about it, showoff. From what her friend told me, the redhead was asking for a humbling. Hopefully, this will be a good learning experience for her. If she can't get past a little mental trauma, she has no business trying to be a mage."

Mike didn't know what to say about the apparently callous handling of the instructor's students. Some of that hesitance evidently showed on his face.

"You think I'm being cruel?" Johnathan asked with a slight grin.

"I'm not sure. Maybe."

The instructor laughed. "Let's say I have my reasons. Now, your little stunt with the fireball has been written off as a training exercise. Explosions are pretty common in the Magic Department after all."

Any trace of a smile disappeared as he rounded on Mike with a serious expression. "Don't think this means you are off the hook. Another incident with you losing your cool like this, and I will personally make it my mission to ensure that you are removed from the University. Understood?"

Mike offered the only acceptable answer. "Yes sir!"

"Good." He turned towards the door and yelled. "You may come in now!"

R'hakun, Kalith, and Quetin walked in hesitantly. They had evidently been waiting just outside during the conversation.

Once the four of them had gotten into line, Johnathan led them through a series of drills designed to enhance their control over their respective elements. While specific method varied from person to person, it mostly consisted of creating a small amount of that element via magic, and then manipulating it into a number of shapes.

After an hour or so, the instructor put a halt to the lesson and had the other three leave, holding Mike back.

Johnathan stared at the student for a moment before walking towards the back of the building, motioning him to follow. "You wanted to learn Dark Magic, right?"

"Yes sir!" Mike exclaimed. He'd experimented a little on his own, but didn't have any luck figuring it out. It felt slightly unnatural to him.

"Tell me. What is darkness to you?" Johnathan asked, as if reading his mind.

"The absence of light."

"True, and yet also false. Someone from the Science Department would likely agree with your assessment, but, as a practitioner myself, I can tell you that there is more to it."

He opened a storage closest revealing a dark chamber which contained a number of crates, chairs, training dummies, chalkboards and other academic paraphernalia. Johnathan motioned Mike forward.

"There is something about the dark that calls to primal aspects of the mind. Where other elements can be understood and commanded through intellect, darkness has to be felt." Leaving the door open, he walked away.

Guessing what the instructor wanted, Mike entered the storeroom and closed the door, which he noticed had a fringe of some kind along the bottom edge. When it latched, the room was plunged into complete darkness.

[Well, if I need to feel darkness, I suppose I can't ask for a better place.]

He sat on the floor, and concentrated on his surroundings, trying to get a feel for it with his other senses. The dusty scent of age and disuse filled the air, and he could feel the cool stone floor beneath him. Strangely, the only sounds he could hear were his own heartbeat and breath.

[Is this place soundproofed somehow? Kind of reminds me of that realm I went to when I was reincarnating. Now that was a rough experience.]

After a long while, he found his mind wandering. It was hard to keep focusing on the dark, waiting for something to happen. He began to imagine that he could make out shapes in the gloom, as if he wasn't alone in the room. The shadows seemed to dance and twist at the edges of his vision.

He felt cold.

A presence seemed to descend on his surroundings. A looming other which threatened to smother him. He was having a hard time breathing, as if the very air had weight to it.

Mike knew intellectually that, when deprived of other sensory information, the human brain would attempt to supply it on its own. This, however, didn't feel like a hallucination.

For a moment he felt strangely connected with the darkness, as if it had become part of him, twining with him on some fundamental level.

As suddenly as it came, the feeling vanished. He opened his eyes. Apparently, he'd closed them at some point without realizing it.

Standing, he moved to the door and opened it. It seemed like he'd completed what he was supposed to, although he still didn't really understand it.

The piercing light from the room beyond caused him to squint.

"Did you feel it?" Johnathan's voice came from his left. Mike could see a vague outline of the instructor.

"I think I did."

The teacher simply nodded. "That sensitivity will fade in time, but for now, your eyes need time to adjust. Why don't you do about it, for now?"

Mike blinked at him for a second, before understanding his meaning. Recalling the feeling from the storeroom, he brought forth a veil of tangible shadow, which shaded his eyes from the light. He subconsciously drew on memories of his old life to create one of his greatest companions when suffering under similar circumstances.

The darkness formed into a pair of sunglasses, he is go-to method of preventing extra pain during a hangover.

Johnathan nodded approvingly. "An unusual application, but undoubtedly a useful one. I had intended on making you create a penumbra, which is what Dark Mages call an area of artificially lowered light, but this is good too. Not only do you protect your eyes directly, but you can hide your intentions more easily, allowing you to mislead an opponent."

"Thanks." Mike said a little guiltily, not sure if he should be taking credit for it.

"Anyway, we will call it a day here. I have another class to prepare for, and you have your own business to attend to." He nodded back towards the door. "I'll instruct you on the proper usage of dark magic starting tomorrow."

Mike saw Rebecca leaning against the wall near the building's entrance, her expression unreadable.

Sighing internally, he walked up to the woman. He wasn't sure what she wanted, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

Rebecca stood up straight when he got close, and fixed him with a determined look. "Um, I think we should talk about Aine."

Mike nodded. "Alright." He led the way outside, and found a good patch of grass under the shade of a tree to have the conversation.

She took a deep breath and let it out before bowing her head, "Please forgive her. She took things too far and nearly did something unforgivable. As her friend, I can only say that I'm truly sorry that I didn't do enough to stop her."

Mike was taken aback. "I should be the one apologizing....."

She looked back up at him and shook her head. "Please, don't finish that statement. Aine was in the wrong. As a noble, she should have known better than to try to attack you like that." She bit her lower lip. "Truth be told, she's not been in her right mind ever since her sister died. The grief has been getting to her."

[I'm not sure how to follow up on that.]

Rebecca paused for a moment, a look of consternation on her face. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that we are both very sorry for the incident, and we hope that you can find it in your heart to let this incident pass."

Something about the way she was talking bothered Mike, almost as if there was a hidden meaning to her words. She reminded him a little of a lawyer or a salesman from his old world, mixing truths and half-truths together to achieve a goal. However, he couldn't make heads or tails of her agenda. As far as he could tell, she was just interested in putting this whole thing behind them.

[Am I really that frightening? Or is it something else....]

Shaking his head, he dismissed the web of tangled thoughts, resolving to deal with this in the most basic manner. He smiled, "I have no problem putting this behind us, and starting again. Please let Aine know that I bear no ill will towards her."

Rebecca smiled back, nodding as if she confirmed something. "Thank you, Mike. I'll pass your words along."

She bowed again, and left.

[Why do I feel like I missed something there?]

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