NOVEL SIMPLE 55. Unto the Trial of Wit (IV)
"No, no -- it won't work. I know that it won't." I gesture towards the me in front of me, and then let my hands run up to rub my eyes. "I understand that mana extends from the soul, but how does that realistically help me? To heat air, it would require -- I don't know.. Infusing the mana into the air itself?"
The other me reaches underneath her hat, scratching her head. She looks exhausted, dark bags underneath her eyes. "But if you could learn how heat is generated, would that not allow you to make flames more easily?" She takes a deep breath as she lowers her hat once again, "Bear with me." She lifts a hand, and mana spews out of her hand in a thin, wisplike cone. It's about the size of my body. "This is ten mana, stretched about as thin as you can currently manage, yes?"
I nod.
"When you healed Adeline, you sort of infused the mana into her flesh. Those sutures integrated and the skin was healed. Should it not then be a similar process with integrating into the air?" She clenches her hand into a fist, and I watch on as the mana in the air begins to ripple. The air almost becomes shiny and shimmery in response to her magic.
"I-is that.."
"It's heat, but without fire -- it seems to dissipate quickly, though. It's enough that it could probably scald someone a fair bit, but--"
"But I'm trying to increase efficiency, not invent new spells.."
"Exactly, yes." Within another few seconds, the shimmering in the air disappears, along with any traces of the mana used. "This spell is useful, I'm certain of it -- but it doesn't fill the exact role of [Flame Generation], at least not directly."
I take a deep breath, "But its principles could be used to increase the efficiency of [Flame Generation], no? Somehow, at least -- I can't imagine that it wouldn't be useful.."
My other self looks at me with eyes full of delirium -- I really do fear for her, has she been sleeping enough? A small smile parts her lips, "In a roundabout way, I think that it's helped me uncover the problem with the current [Flame Generation] method, yes!" She claps her hands together, and then licks her dry lips, "As it stands, you're spewing out all of the requisite mana at once -- but it isn't all being efficiently converted into fire at once."
I think back to every time I've cast the spell. She's right -- there's always a fair bit of mana that gets left over. It burns eventually, but it takes its time, and it may not even contribute very well to the spell itself by the time its set alight. "So, what are you suggesting?"
"It's simple -- or, well.. Not simple at all, really. It's quite complicated and it may even be beyond what-"
"Please."
She extends her palm out once more, "With one thin strand of mana, generate heat! The goal is to only let out as much mana as this one stream can heat and ignite at once. Like so-" Mana emerges from her hand. At first, a thin wisp that makes the air shimmer. More mana shoots out, and a gout of flame roars from her hand, the primed mana igniting easily.
I watch as she lets out a small yelp, hand reeling back. The flames kiss the brim of her hat before she can finally bring the spell to a standstill. "Gods.. This is going to be a tricky one."
The size of the fire was smaller than the current [Flame Generation], but the process could easily be scaled up. At the very least, it seemed to be a lot more concentrated than the previous iteration -- it was more efficient. I bite my tongue as my other self looks at me, holding back laughter from the sight of her singed eyebrows. "S-so.. Um.. How much mana did that cost you?"
"Mana cost?" She looks at me, slightly confused. "This is all speculative, you know? A dream."
I hear a small voice prodding at the back of my head, but I pay it no mind. It's discarded subconsciously.
"A dream? W-wait, I'm.. I'm theorizing spells in a dream? Could I not-"
"You have more than your fair share of strange dreams. We both know this." She sighs, "You really should wake up, there's no time to waste here."
That was kind of in-tune with the voice I heard before...
"Wake up-"
"A-ah.. Please wake up, my friend!"
I open my eyes with a start, and feel two hands retreat from my shoulders. I'm still at the desk I was reading at, On the Intricacies of Light is still open in front of me, about a hundred pages remaining. Cress, the humble librarian of this place, woke me up from my rest.
It was embarrassing to have fallen asleep at the desk, but had I also broken some sort of rule of this establishment?
"Are you well, Candidate?" Cress is looking down at me with concerned eyes. "You seem to be quite exhausted."
"I'm just a bit tired is all, apologies.." I nod my head, head still trying to grasp at the dream that I had. I can't let it slip away from me. Integrating mana into the air, stretching the mana thin, igniting an emerging stream of mana with a smaller thread. I repeat the concepts so many times in my mind that I almost begin to say them aloud.
Cress pauses in place for a moment, but the concern doesn't fade, "I've seen many a scholar and student come through these doors. Still, I'm always quite baffled by the way their work goes." They point towards my stomach, "You know, you need food in order to think well -- same for water, my friend! Forcing your body and mind forward won't result in more than pointlessly exhausting yourself further."
"S-sorry, I.. I'm just in a rush to-"
"As hurried as the pace may be, there is always time to listen to your body's needs, my friend! If you do so, your tasks will surely only take half as long." Cress shakes their head, "In my homeland, the idea of not doing so was unspeakable..."
"I.." I sigh, and lift up in my chair, "I truly appreciate the thought, Cress.. I.. Haven't exactly brought food with me, though. And this place is no tavern."
"Ah!" Cress smiles. Frankly, it's strange to me that I can so easily recognize it as a smile. Perhaps it's the eyes. "Come with me!" They turn around, and begin to walk towards their desk. I follow suit.
Cress gets behind their desk, leaning down to reach underneath it for something. After pulling out one of the drawers, they retrieve something, and then place it on the desk. In front of me sits a short white box, about the size of a plate, seemingly made of some kind of paper or something similar. Red stripes go across the top.
"I always keep these on hand, just in case!" They push the box over to me. Upon further inspection, those stripes have small runes scrawled across them -- illegible to me.
"W-what is this, exactly?"
"It's a simple meal box. I will face some repercussions for helping you in this manner, but." They nod, "They will only be minor. I may get my pay docked for an hour, but.. It is well worth it! Especially to aid a Candidate."
For some reason I had thought that the boundaries for them being able to help me were more... Solidified? The only punishment they'll face is an hour of their pay being taken away?
I look the box over, eventually finding the place where I can loop my fingers over. With a lift, the box opens, its top only connected on one side as it folds out. The inside contains some kind of meat patty (very similar to the ground-steaks that Adeline and I made together), and some kind of red-thing and lettuce between two slices of bread. Along with that are some fried chunks of potatoes -- they look as if the potatoes were cut into eighths or more.
What shocks me most of all is a sudden wave of heat that rises up from the box. It's not an incredible amount, just enough to signal to me that the food within is hot. The smell alone is enough to make me salivate after a full day of subsisting off of visroot sap.
"I-is it really alright for me to have this? I.. Don't exactly have any coin or anything to make it up to you.."
"Coin?" They blink a few times at me, "No, no, my friend! The box, it-" They stop short, clearing their throat, "No, I have done enough- suffice to say, Candidate, it is quite alright. Enjoy the food. Just, please do eat far, far from the books!" They lay quite a bit of emphasis on that last bit.
I pick the box up at their direction. It's warm, but also strangely firm. I was expecting something more flimsy. As I hold it, I begin to pick up something else. There's an odd energy contained within, something inscrutable and alien. It's similar to magic, but it's not quite the same. I forget about that small mystery as I sit down at one of the desks near the one I sat at before, my hunger washes it all away.
Just as I thought, they were potatoes. Exceptionally salty, but not to the point of unpleasantness. A crisp exterior that gives way to a soft, fluffy inside. I'd not had food so wonderful since my time in Tirsollain. The meat and bread was just as pleasant, though I understood why Cress was so worried about the books as soon as I took a bite.
Juices from the patty flow freely, nearly getting all over my hands. The bread is soft and pillowy, and the red thing seems to be some kind of vegetable that tastes tangy and almost a little sweet -- there are also some bits of chopped onion hiding away in it.
It's strange, but the more I eat, the more I feel my head begin to clear up.
Maybe Cress has a point, after all.
