I walked toward Emberheart's study, feeling the weight of everyone staring at me.

  It didn't feel oppressive. It didn't feel unfair. It just felt right. For the first time, the attention I was getting was my own choice.

  When I got there, several students were loitering nearby, all of them clearly pretending to be there by coincidence. Some were examining the notice board that had been empty for weeks. Others were having suspiciously quiet conversations while glancing at the door.

  It seemed even my private study sessions weren't private anymore.

  Emberheart opened the door before I could knock. "Get in," he said simply, stepping aside to let me enter before closing the door firmly behind us.

  The warmth hit me immediately. His study was always comfortable, the air pleasantly warm without being stifling. Books lined the walls, and his desk was covered with papers and what looked like research materials on corruption theory.

  "It seems you're drawing even more attention," he said, moving toward his desk. His long dark red hair was tied back today, and he wore his usual heavy coat despite the warmth he generated. "Those aren't just ordinary students looking for gossip."

  "I might have drawn a bit of attention," I admitted.

  "Be careful." His tone was gentle but serious. "Not all attention is harmless."

  "I'll try."

  He studied me for a moment, then seemed to accept my answer. "Your performance at the expedition was adequate. You were able to conjure a decent enough barrier when threatened." He paused, and I could see something uncertain in his expression. "Though now that we're here, I have to ask: how did you make it retreat?"

  "I threatened it," I said honestly. "It's apparently a living being, as weird as that sounds. Even if I couldn't rule the corruption out of existence, it seemed to have some sense of self-preservation."

  "How do you know you can't rule the corruption out of existence?" Emberheart's question was casual, but I could tell he was paying close attention.

  He got me. How I knew that was one of my few remaining secrets. At least I had the technical response ready.

  "My rules use the world's mana. The mana that shapes reality. It's still mana at the end of the day, so it still generates corruption when used."

  "Interesting..." He seemed to be thinking deeply about this. "I don't think any mage has ever been capable of proving the theory of the world being made of mana, but it is widely accepted in theoretical circles." He smiled slightly, as if finding the situation amusing. "One measurement of your power would be able to advance magical theory knowledge by at least a few years."

  "I'm pretty sure I would just end up breaking magical theory," I responded, remembering what Lina had said about violating fundamental principles.

  "That is also a possibility." Emberheart spared a glance toward his table, where several books on advanced corruption theory were stacked. He seemed to deliberately shift his attention away from them, moving toward his tea set instead.

  "But going back to your training." He began preparing tea with practiced movements. "Since you can already perform basic forms and control your mana adequately, I believe it's time we started on the basics of spellcasting. Ideally you would have additional training on mana control before this, but things are advancing at quite a fast pace. We might need to cut some corners."

  "Awesome!" I couldn't keep the excitement out of my voice. Finally, I'd get to learn actual spells.

  He handed me a cup of tea, the warmth pleasant in my hands, then moved toward his table. He picked up a small drawing of a magic circle and handed it to me.

  "A magic circle is theoretically composed of three parts." He created a circle of mana in the air as he spoke, the energy glowing softly in the warm light of his study. "The first is the main circle, which you won't have any difficulty creating. It's less complicated than the magic you've already performed."

  He gestured to the floating circle. "As you read in your book, mages draw most magic circles by hand, the same way you do your writing. But you can also summon circles directly as long as you have enough practice with them."

  "Yeah, I learned about that in Reactive Spellcasting."

  "Good. For now we'll focus on drawing by hand." He started drawing inside the circle, forming a simple triangle. "The second part of the circle is called the designation. The form inside the circle. While the outer circle has no practical purpose beyond structure, the designation helps organize the magic's flow and intent."

  The triangle glowed slightly as he completed it. "This designation, for instance, serves well for quick casting but doesn't allow for many components, which is our third part."

  He drew a symbol inside the triangle.

  The circle glowed bright for a second, then transformed into a fireball and launched directly at me.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  I reflexively tried to defend myself, but the fireball simply dissipated in the air before reaching me, like it had hit an invisible wall.

  "As you can see, the effect is similar to a simple magic missile. But you can add far more complexity to achieve different results." He pointed to the drawing in my hand. "This circle will be your first task. The basics will be the same for any simple spell you want to cast. I can recommend some books later if you wish to study different spell types."

  I looked at the circle on the paper. It had more complex elements than a single triangle, with multiple symbols arranged in a specific pattern. But I felt confident.

  I drew the circle in the air with ease, my mana flowing naturally as I traced the pattern. I pointed toward a small target Emberheart indicated in the corner of the room. The circle formed, glowed with that same soft light, and the target seemed to be struck by something invisible. It rocked back slightly on its stand.

  Emberheart looked genuinely surprised. "You got it on the first try? I was expecting to spend the entire afternoon on fundamentals."

  "I don't know, it just felt natural. Like I knew I could do it." I tried to explain, but even to me it sounded vague.

  He studied me carefully for a long moment, his experienced eyes assessing. "Did something change? Did you create any new rules?"

  "No, nothing like that. I just..." I paused, trying to find the right words. "I feel more confident, I guess? I decided to take action and stop trying to hide all the time."

  "I see..." He was quiet for a moment, considering. "In that case, perhaps your feelings are influencing your mana. Since you feel confident, your mana is responding accordingly. There's a correlation between mental state and magical output."

  "That's a thing? So if I'm feeling sad, I'll make sad spells?"

  "That's one way of seeing it, yes. Though the difference becomes smaller as you become a better mage. My magic on a good day or a bad day is roughly the same. Experience and training create consistency."

  The door opened suddenly.

  Not a knock. Not even a warning. Just opened.

  The voice was immediately recognizable, theatrical and impossibly loud. "And of course, a truly great mage will make every day look like his best day!"

  Professor Silvani stood in the doorway. She walked forward with complete confidence, looking around the study as she closed the door behind her. "Kael, you really need to clean your study. How do you find anything in here?"

  Kael? Was that Emberheart's first name?

  "Professor Silvani..." Emberheart's voice was carefully controlled, though I felt the room become noticeably warmer. "What are you doing here?"

  "Come on, Kael, no need to be so thrilled to see me. What will your prodigy think?" She smiled at him, that same mischievous smile I'd seen in her classes.

  Emberheart didn't seem pleased. His hand was gripping the edge of his desk, and his expression had become more tense than I'd seen before. The temperature continued to rise slightly.

  "Please just state your business here."

  "Fine, fine." She waved her hand dismissively. "Tell me what the kid did during the expedition. Aldric won't even talk to me about it, and Greystar's been way happier than usual. Was it one of the cor—"

  "No." He cut her off sharply, which only made me more curious. "You know you're not authorized for that information."

  "And since when has that stopped us?" She approached his table, passing by me as if I wasn't even there. "Come on, it'll be one more secret for us to share."

  There was something in the way she said it, something almost playful, that made the air between them feel charged.

  I felt completely out of place, but I also didn't want to draw Silvani's attention by trying to leave.

  "You also know I won't tell you, so why are you really here?"

  "How rude!" She put a hand to her chest in mock offense. "Why do you assume I have hidden intentions? Can't I just be a hopeful colleague expecting a strong S-rank to help with her worries?"

  Emberheart refused to answer, just maintained his tense expression while looking at her.

  "Well, I tried." She smiled, an evil smile I knew too well from her classes. She turned toward me suddenly, her eyes landing on the drawing in my hand. "Two weeks of teaching and he's doing basic spells?" Her smile widened. "Interesting."

  "If you don't have anything else, you can leave." Emberheart's voice was blunt, almost cold despite the heat he was generating.

  "And at the tournament you didn't even know how to isolate your eyes with mana..." She was looking directly at me now, her eyes sharp and calculating. "And yet you beat Mary in combat without using mana."

  "Silvani." Emberheart's warning was clear.

  But she kept going, completely ignoring him. "You're not uncontrolled due to mana amount or raw strength. You simply don't know magic! Which means your power must be—"

  Emberheart touched her shoulder.

  She finally stopped. Looked at him. For just a moment, I saw her mana falter, saw something shift in her expression as she met his eyes. The message between them was wordless but absolutely clear.

  The room had become uncomfortably warm.

  "Sorry, Kael." Her voice was softer now, almost genuine. "The boy and the corruption are just such an interesting puzzle. I wouldn't be surprised if they're related somehow."

  She looked at him, something like an apology in her expression. He sighed and removed his hand from her shoulder, and I felt the temperature begin to drop slightly.

  She smiled again, back to her theatrical self. "It was nice talking to you. You should come to my study more often. I have lots of interesting research you'd be interested in." She looked at Emberheart with an expression I couldn't quite read, then started toward the door. "Bye!" She said to both of us, closing the door behind her with a flourish.

  Emberheart seemed to finally relax. His shoulders loosened, and the temperature in the room began returning to its normal comfortable warmth.

  I noticed I'd been tense too. Every interaction with Silvani felt somehow exhausting, like if you gave her even an inch she'd figure out your entire life story.

  "I'm sorry about that," Emberheart said quietly. "The discoveries we made about the corruption are being kept secret. Silvani hates not knowing something."

  "Yeah, I noticed."

  "Take the circle with you. Practice it until our next session." He returned to his desk, already reaching for one of his books. The dismissal was clear.

  I left the room in silence, carefully closing the door behind me.

  The temperature change hit me immediately.

  It was like I'd just stepped out of an oven. The hallway felt almost cold by comparison, and I realized just how hot his study had gotten during that conversation.