Just when I needed time to slow down, everything seemed to accelerate.

  The rest of the week went by in a blur. All my classes melded into one another until I could barely remember the difference between spellcasting and spellcrafting. Theory lectures blended with practical sessions.

  It didn't help that Lina was now fully focused on expedition preparations. All the time I would normally spend studying with her at the library was now spent alone, practicing magic barriers and missiles until my head hurt from concentration.

  The training made me exhausted, which made me go to sleep earlier, which made the next day come faster. A vicious cycle that was eating away at all my remaining time.

  The last lesson with Emberheart before the expedition was spent discussing my role and how to behave.

  "You'll be accompanying me as a research assistant," he explained, reviewing a checklist of supplies. "Your primary responsibility will be documentation. Writing down what we observe, recording measurements I give you, staying by my side to assist when necessary."

  "So basically the boring part of your work," I said.

  "Precisely." He looked up with a slight smile. "Though I imagine you'll find 'boring' preferable to 'life-threatening combat.'"

  "Yeah, I'm not complaining."

  "You'll also need to maintain awareness of your surroundings at all times," he continued, his tone becoming more serious. "The corruption is unpredictable. Even in seemingly safe areas, spatial distortions can occur without warning. If I tell you to move, you move immediately. Understood?"

  "Understood."

  It wasn't particularly thrilling work, but it was surely better than having to actually enter combat.

  Soon it was Friday evening. Tomorrow the expedition would start.

  I sat in my room making last preparations, packing and repacking my bag nervously. A few changes of clothes. Basic supplies. The enchanted notebook I was supposed to use for documentation.

  I picked up the notebook, turning it over in my hands. It was standard academy issue, leather-bound with blank pages.

  An idea popped into my head. A simple command I'd already tested before to great effect.

  I wrote carefully on the air: "This notebook will have perfect notes."

  I wasn't exactly sure how this would work. When I'd used a similar rule on Lina's notebook, I'd expected the notes to just materialize on the pages. Instead, the universe had taken the path of least resistance and enchanted her quill to write them automatically.

  It seemed like whatever rule I wrote, reality found the easiest way to make it true. Having a flying quill do the work was simpler than materializing text from nothing.

  I closed the notebook and stored it in my bag, then picked up the book Emberheart had given me.

  I was getting near the end now. The characters had progressed from doing simple spells to using incredibly complex advanced techniques.

  It gave me newfound appreciation for some of my professors. Professor Theron was just D-rank, yet he was skilled enough at theory to calculate the exact effects of a spell before casting it. And Professor Silvani could probably determine the exact amount of mana in a spell just by observing it.

  This really was the best place in this world to learn magic.

  I read for another hour before exhaustion finally caught up with me. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

  The next morning, I was woken up early by a knock on my door.

  "Kai, it's time," Emberheart's voice came from the other side.

  I scrambled out of bed, grabbed my pre-packed bag, and opened the door to find him waiting patiently in the hallway. He looked completely ready, dressed in practical traveling clothes instead of his usual professor's robes, still with his heavy coat.

  "Did you sleep well?" he asked as we started walking.

  "Define 'well,'" I muttered.

  He led me through routes I'd never taken before. We followed the path toward the main gate, but then took a turn I hadn't noticed existed. A side corridor that sloped downward slightly, leading to what looked like a service entrance.

  We emerged through a hidden door into the open air inside the academy walls.

  I could see the massive walls stretching into the distance, but what really caught my attention was the ship.

  It floated in the sky above a wooden platform, connected by a boarding ramp. The vessel was enormous, similar in design to old sailing ships, but clearly magical in nature. It had a single massive sail bearing the academy's crest.

  Most strikingly, there was no visible propulsion. It just floated, defying gravity through pure magical engineering.

  We climbed the stairs to the platform and crossed the boarding ramp onto the ship's deck.

  Everyone else had already arrived.

  The Prince and Mary stood at the right side, looking out toward the distant horizon where the walls ended. Aurelius had his arms crossed, his white uniform pristine as always. Mary stood slightly behind him, her expression calm and focused.

  Aurora was on the upper deck near the helm, surveying the assembled group with her usual composed expression. She wore practical armor instead of her academy uniform, a sword strapped to her side.

  Lina sat in a corner of the main deck, already writing notes in a small journal. She looked nervous but excited, occasionally glancing up at the ship's construction with obvious fascination.

  Mira stood near the center of the deck, gesturing animatedly while talking to another student I didn't recognize. She seemed completely at ease, grinning widely at something.

  Nico was there too, leaning against the railing in his full black outfit and mask. And beside him stood a girl I'd never seen before. She had light red hair pulled back in a practical braid, freckles scattered across her pale face, and a serious expression that made her seem older than she probably was.

  But what really caught my attention was the creature at her side.

  It looked like a fox, but made entirely of flowing blue mana. Two tails swished behind it, leaving trails of sparkling blue particles in the air. The whole creature seemed to be partially intangible, its form shifting slightly like water, and it floated a few inches off the deck.

  Emberheart headed toward the upper deck to speak with Aurora, leaving me to my own devices. I made my way over to Lina.

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  "Hey, nervous?" I asked, sitting down beside her.

  She jumped slightly, then laughed when she saw it was me. "Yeah, a bit." She closed her notebook and looked at me properly. "I still can't believe we made it in. I mean, every other student here is at minimum A-rank."

  "Hard to believe," I agreed, glancing around at the assembled group. When I really thought about it, I never would have guessed I'd be part of an expedition like this. Two weeks ago I was just trying to survive my first day.

  "Are you scared?" Lina asked quietly.

  "Terrified," I admitted. "But also kind of curious? I've heard so much about the corruption. Part of me wants to actually see what it is."

  "Me too," she said, some of her enthusiasm returning. "I mean, yes, it's dangerous. But getting to study active enchantments in a corrupted environment? That's the kind of research opportunity most people don't get until they're graduate students."

  "You'll do great," I said. "You've been preparing all week."

  "Thanks." She smiled, then glanced at my bag. "Did you remember to bring the documentation notebook?"

  "Got it right here." I patted the bag. "All ready to write down whatever Emberheart tells me to."

  "Good. Professor Theron gave me like three different notebooks with specialized paper that's supposed to resist corruption better. I'm probably overthinking it, but better safe than sorry, right?"

  "Definitely better safe."

  We talked for a few more minutes about what we'd packed, what the schedule might be like, how long we'd actually be gone. The nervous energy in both of us made the conversation easy, words flowing without much thought.

  I glanced over at the girl with the fox creature again. It was still floating beside her, those two tails swishing lazily. The creature's glowing eyes seemed to drift in my direction for a moment before looking away.

  "Hey, do you know who that is?" I asked Lina, nodding toward them. "The one with the red hair?"

  "No... never seen her before," Lina said, following my gaze.

  "Huh. And the fox thing with her?"

  "No idea. Some kind of summoned creature maybe?" Lina shrugged. "I've never seen anything like it before."

  I stood up. "I'm gonna go ask about it."

  "Okay, just... be polite?" Lina said, giving me a slightly worried look.

  I waved off her concern and walked over to where Anya stood with Nico.

  She didn't seem to notice me approaching at first, her eyes closed in what looked like serious meditation. I was beginning to reconsider when she spoke.

  "Your movement is so clumsy even the birds in the sky can hear you."

  Great start.

  "Hey," I said, trying to sound friendly despite that. "That's a really cool pet you've got there. What is it?"

  The temperature around me seemed to drop several degrees.

  "Pet?" Her eyes opened, and her voice was flat, but I could hear the offense in it.

  "Uh, yeah? I mean, it's clearly magical, so I figured—"

  "Serin is not a pet," she cut me off sharply. "She's a mana spirit. A highly intelligent magical creature who chooses to accompany me. She's not summoned, not bound, and certainly not owned."

  "Oh." I felt my face heat up. "Sorry, I didn't know—"

  "Mana spirits are sentient beings," she said, her tone sharp but educational. Like a teacher correcting a mistake. "Calling her a pet is insulting to both of us."

  "Right. Yeah. I get it now." I really did feel like an idiot. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed."

  She studied me for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then, before she could say anything else, Aurora's voice rang out across the deck.

  "Everyone, attention please."

  The conversations died down immediately. All eyes turned to the upper deck where she stood. I gave Anya an apologetic nod and quickly made my way back to where Lina was sitting.

  "So," Lina said quietly as I sat down. "How'd that go?"

  "Apparently it's not a pet."

  "Ah."

  "Yeah."

  "We'll be departing shortly," Aurora announced, her voice clear and authoritative without being loud. "Our destination for today is one of the villages affected by the corruption. We'll try to establish a base camp there and begin preliminary surveys."

  She looked toward Aurelius and gave him a small nod, then stepped back toward the helm.

  The Prince moved to the center of the main deck, naturally drawing everyone's attention.

  "Listen carefully," he said, his voice carrying easily across the ship. "Mary and I will be acting as primary defense. This means you all stay behind me and in front of her at all times once we disembark. If you see anything unusual, you notify us immediately. If anything attacks, call for help and focus on survival until one of us arrives."

  His instructions were simple and direct. No arrogance, no posturing. He was completely focused on the mission, and it showed in his tone.

  He turned his back to us then, moving to the forward railing. The message was clear: briefing over, prepare yourselves.

  The ship lurched slightly as it began to move, magical propulsion engaging with a low hum. I grabbed the railing instinctively, but the movement smoothed out quickly. We started gliding forward, picking up speed faster than I'd expected.

  "This thing is fast..." I said, watching the academy walls begin to shrink behind us. From this height, I could see the full scale of the academy grounds. The massive central tower, the surrounding buildings, the training fields, all laid out in careful geometric patterns. It was beautiful in a way I'd never appreciated from the ground.

  "It's not a normal multi-spell matrix like regular flying ships," Lina said excitedly, clearly pleased to have something to explain. "This one uses two separate constructs that work together. One maintains flight and stability, the other provides propulsion."

  "So two engines instead of one?"

  "Exactly! And the propulsion construct is a simple one, which means you can just input more mana and the effects are predictable. Aurora could make us go much faster if she wanted to..."

  Emberheart, who had come back down from the upper deck, seemed to read my thoughts before I could voice them.

  "Yes Kai, theoretically if she were to channel her light mana into it, the ship could achieve extraordinary speeds. But..." He looked at Lina encouragingly.

  Her eyes lit up at being prompted. "But since it's two separate constructs, they're not perfectly integrated. If one accelerated much faster than the other could handle, it would just tear through. We'd probably watch Aurora fly away on a mana propulsion engine while the rest of us fell from a destroyed floating wreck."

  She laughed a bit at the mental image.

  "That's... terrifying," I said.

  "But fascinating!" Lina countered. "The engineering required to balance them must be incredible."

  I looked at Lina with new respect. We were in the same year, but sometimes it felt like she knew everything while I was still struggling with basics.

  Mira wandered over to our group, apparently having finished her conversation.

  "Hey! You two ready for this?" She grinned, completely unbothered by the idea of going into a corruption zone. "First expedition for both of you, right?"

  "First and probably last," I said.

  "Oh come on, it'll be fun! Well, maybe not 'fun' fun, but definitely interesting." She leaned against the railing beside us. "Plus you've got Professor Emberheart looking after you. That's basically the safest possible position to be in."

  "That's true," Lina said. "S-rank protection is about as good as it gets."

  "Exactly! Meanwhile I'm stuck with regular defense assignments." Mira didn't sound particularly concerned about it though. "But hey, at least we'll have stories to tell after this, right?"

  We talked for a while longer, Mira sharing stories about previous expeditions she'd heard about from older students. Some sounded exciting, others absolutely terrifying. She had a way of making even the dangerous parts sound like adventures rather than life-threatening situations.

  The time passed surprisingly quickly.

  "We're approaching the corruption boundary," Emberheart said quietly, moving to stand beside me at the railing.

  The ship began to slow.

  Aurora's voice rang out again. "We're here. This is your fallback point. If everything goes wrong and you become separated, return to this location. The ship will remain anchored here. If you arrive alone, you are authorized to use it to return to the academy and inform them."

  She said it almost casually, but the weight of the warning hung heavy in the air. The possibility that someone might need to retreat alone, that things could go that badly, made everything feel suddenly very real.

  Before I could fully process that thought, Aurora jumped from the deck.

  The Prince followed immediately, leaping down with similar ease. Mary went after him, then other students began descending one by one. Some jumped confidently, others more carefully, using magic to slow their falls.

  "Ready?" Emberheart asked.

  "Not really," I admitted.

  "Good. That means you're taking this seriously." He put a hand on my shoulder. "Stay close to me, do exactly as I say, and you'll be fine."

  Lina, Emberheart, and I went together, Emberheart using some kind of wind magic to cushion our landing. My feet touched corrupted ground, and I felt a strange tingle run up my legs. Not painful, but definitely wrong. Like the earth itself was sick.

  The expedition had begun.

  And I had absolutely no idea what we were about to find.