Eugene’s group of cronies kept escalating their behaviour. Before he knew it, any time he was forced to take a break, he’d run into them. First, it was only Marvin, but soon Irene joined in. Even some of the lackeys who used to torment him back when he worked in the dining hall started taunting him.

  Felix was unbothered until they started messing with Henry while Felix was away. He’d learned about it after finding out that Marvin challenged him to a duel. It was the same time he learned that Henry was actually a badass.

  After their conversation about his affinity, Felix had stopped thinking about when he finished. If he were aiming to be a mage, it wouldn’t matter after all. That was the wrong way to think about it. Henry might have been clumsy, but while other people had dawdled at the start, Henry hadn’t.

  While Eugene’s group was pretending to be bigshots, Henry trained. While they spent their days trying to put Felix down, Henry trained. Even when they eventually started putting in effort, Henry didn’t stop.

  When Marvin challenged him, it wasn’t even a fight. Henry didn’t have to cast a single spell or even reveal his affinity. Henry had broken through his physical limits months before they did. Even as clumsy as he was, he was able to handily beat Marvin.

  After the match, no one had the guts to hassle Henry.

  That didn’t mean they’d back off. In the coming months, he’d declined duels from Irene, Marvin, and a constant stream of lackeys. While he could probably have beaten some of them, he didn’t want to tip his hand. Not that it deterred them much, his refusal to fight wasn’t seen as dedication. It was seen as fear.

  Even Henry eventually challenged Felix. Though it wasn’t out of malice. Instead, Henry had started preparing to challenge his final gate.

  They ended up having several friendly spars, and while Felix outclassed him in skills by far, it ended quickly when Henry brought the full power of his physique to bear. He didn’t even need to use any of his spells to wipe the floor with Felix.

  It was what Felix had expected, but it was still frustrating, worse yet, word somehow leaked about their fights. It became clear to everyone that Felix had fallen behind. Soon, he was flooded with challenges from people trying to look good by taking him down. Most of them he’d only known in passing from serving them food.

  Apparently, his fight with Eugene had left quite the impression.

  Felix ignored it all.

  He threw himself into the Ways and kept facing every challenge available. He cut down his trips out of the Ways to be as few and short as he could manage. Eventually, his efforts paid off as he earned himself a third spell.

  Perfect Image, on its own, was rather unimpressive. It allowed Felix to take in every detail of an object. When he channelled the spell, his mind would take in every detail of the moment. He’d be able to perfectly remember everything his eyes saw, everything he heard or smelled, touched or experienced. Initially, it was unimpressive, but with some training, Felix managed to reduce the strain of casting it by focusing on only one sense.

  After he managed that, he figured out how to cast it alongside Memory Garden. For the first time, Felix discovered a spell synergy. He could use Perfect Image to flip through a book, and an exact copy of the book would appear in his garden. Not a plant, mind you, the actual book would appear. He wouldn’t immediately know what the book said. He’d still need to take the time to ‘read’ the book.

  What made the ability so powerful was that Felix wasn’t limited to his reading speed in the real world. When he meditated and entered his garden, he could turn the entire force of his mind towards the singular goal of memorising the book.

  What used to be an intensive process of channelling the spell while slowly reading the book, trying to remember every line, turned into a couple of minutes to scan the book into his memory and a few more to consume its content.

  Within a week, Felix had finished every book in the library, and his once sparse garden had turned into something that made even the Crossroad’s garden look small.

  With no use for all the books he’d scanned after he’d added their contents to the garden, he started a new hobby.

  In quiet corners of his garden, you could find sofas, tables, benches or even statues assembled from the useless tomes. He could discard them if he wanted to, or even just shunt them off into a corner of his mind where they wouldn’t bother him, but he found a strange satisfaction in using them to decorate his space.

  In the moments between gates, when he’d lie on the path and channel his recovery spell, he’d be in his garden building things. It was surprisingly effective at relieving stress.

  Unfortunately, Felix didn’t have long to experiment with his newfound spell. As the end of the year grew close, a new fervour spread through the Crossroad. Few people knew of Lara and Aster’s quiet departure, so when the first person cleared the final gate, it caused an uproar.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  For the first time, a real Traveller had risen from their ranks. Overnight, he’d gone from a humble fellow aspirant, diligently training, to becoming something of a celebrity. While Felix didn’t personally know him, Henry did.

  It’d been a fellow magi who sometimes swapped pointers with Henry.

  Within a week, the second person crossed the threshold, and soon the trickle became a flood as more and more people passed. Each one added to the pressure that piled on Felix.

  “Still nothing.”

  Felix stood before his final gate, his eyes sunken and his hair matted. He dropped his hand from the gate as he tried combing his fingers through his hair. The moment his fingers sunk into his matted locks he pulled them back looking at his hand in disgust.

  “I need to go take a shower again. Though Agrona will probably make me take a break.”

  He slowly passed through the trial, counting the paths he had left to complete. His progress was incredible. Only three paths remained unexplored among the countless ones he’d finished.

  He looked at them with scorn.

  “What are the odds I find the answer on one of you?”

  He looked down at his feet, expecting the stones to answer him, only to be met with silence.

  He let out a sigh.

  “Fine, I’m talking to myself again. I promised I’d head back if that happened. A day away from this mess might help.”

  While he felt pressure to keep going, it wasn’t as bad as the pressure he had around the halfway mark. Not because clearing the final gate was less important, it’s just that with only three paths left to clear, he was confident that he’d make it. If he cleared the paths and still felt he had no chance of passing the final gate, there would be nothing else he could do. No training or preparation would help if, after clearing the paths, he still felt certain death.

  Instead of leaving the Ways with a twist of thoughts to make it spit him out, he walked back. If he was going to take a day off, he might as well start it immediately. He sighed. His off days had become far less relaxing after the first people passed the final gate. Every person who passed made him feel as if his hopes were growing fainter and fainter. It wasn’t true. The number of people left didn’t change his chances. He just couldn’t shake the feeling.

  The one person he’d hope would pass hadn’t, and it left him feeling an ominous foreboding every time he left. If Eugene took the trial, he’d be barred from challenging him to a rematch. Felix couldn’t shake the feeling that the only reason he was waiting was so he could get his revenge. Especially since the last time he’d left, he found out that Marvin had already managed to pass.

  “Fine, fine, what will come will come. There’s no point in hiding here.”

  After grabbing his bag and tidying up a bit, he walked the rest of the way back to the gate and out the Ways. He grumbled at the small group of people who’d taken to hanging out around the gate, waiting to see if any new Travellers would emerge.

  Most of them recoiled from the sight of him. Some recoiled from the smell. One guy even turned on his heels and started running. Felix didn’t pay it any mind. He’d spent so long in the Ways that the people of the Crossroad felt like strangers. With the time dilation, he felt like he’d been grinding away at his path for years. It was impossible to know how long he’d actually spent in there, but after everything he’d gone through, strange looks didn’t bother him anymore.

  When he reached the dining hall, he was surprised by the change in atmosphere. A month ago, it was tense. Every time he entered, it felt like he needed to watch his back for any surprise attacks.

  Now it felt like the last week of the academy, and everyone was gearing up to celebrate the start of their vacation. People sat in small groups having animated discussions. He overheard a few talking about what they’d do when they got back home. Others made plans to meet up with their friends or go on trips to some of the holiday worlds.

  He even caught a snippet of a conversation about a pair of holiday resorts split by a floating river. A rustle in his Memory Garden immediately made the connection to ‘The basics of mana’ and its eccentric author. Catching the name of the planet in passing, he was surprised to note that it wasn’t mentioned in the original text. With a quick flex of his will, he cast the spell and added the name Raxus to the appropriate plant.

  In the span of a single breath, he’d cast the spell, memorised the word and let it go. The action had become so ingrained that he did it without conscious thought.

  The moment he dropped the spell, he felt a gaze from across the room. Agrona looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

  He gave her a sheepish smile and a little wave, half greeting and half apology. The sigh and shake of her head let him know that he was ok. She knew he struggled to adjust after returning, though she’d be sure to have a word with him if he kept doing it. No threats at least, she had a strange way of knowing when he’d spent too long in the Ways, and she’d let him understand it very well the few times he’d tried his luck.

  He didn’t overstay this time, though. She’d be annoyed at how close he pushed it, but with how close to the end they were, she wouldn’t give him too much grief about it.

  He didn’t bother going over. Agrona wouldn’t talk to him when he smelled the way he smelled. He’d have to get cleaned up before doing anything else.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. When he reached the bottom of the stairs that led up to their dorm rooms, Irene jumped in front of him. Her dramatic entrance was partially ruined when she grimaced with a look of disgust and immediately took a couple of steps back.

  She quickly collected herself and put on her iconic derisive look.

  “Eugene wants to talk to you.”

  I'm putting this at the end of the chapter so the people who don't read author's notes can see it. I've added a post on my Patreon asking for bonus chapter suggestions. If there's a part of the world or story you'd like me to dive deeper into, this is your chance to ask for it. I've made the post public so I believe you can comment without being a member. I'd love to hear your suggestions!

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