Exams
He got out your grip and started drawing out another magic circle. His eyes were in a trance, completely immersed in drawing it out. This time he drew an incomplete circle with a horizontal line in the middle.
“What’s that going to do?” You asked. You briefly recalled the many different symbols and shapes going into different magical circles with different effects but you didn’t seem to recognize this one.
“Mana detection. Allows the caster to detect any spells in the area. By right, it's a virtually useless spell with how small the range is. Five meters in radius from the circle. Even a person could detect ten meters if they tried,” A bright light was shot from the stick, spinning around the circle. Even as it encountered the gap, it still continued circling around. Faster than before.
“But with this,” Just by standing next to it, you could tell it's stronger. You touched the circle, detecting spells cast from a kilometer away. He broke the circle, wiping it from the snow. Lucas huffed with glee, “Due to its incomplete structure, it forces the user to expend all of its mana to completely cast it.”
Ah, that explained how Alice casted her final spell. But you wondered what if you put another spell in between the gap? Or what if you put the same spell? Would it become recursive? If only you knew how to do conditional branching.
“Thank you so much Lucas, I wouldn’t have found this out without you!” You thanked him before giving him a little peck on the cheek. It was on instinct and you had no regrets doing it.
His eyes widened, pressing against the kiss. Fully red now, he muttered out, “Same time tomorrow?”
You nodded as you waved him goodbye.
For the coming days, the two of you started experimenting with the various circles. You found out how to create the standard electrical operators: AND, OR and NOT with conditional branching. This is through layering the mana detection circle, allowing you to implement complex logic.
That wasn’t the only thing that you learnt. You found out more about Lewis and how he was just like you, an illegitimate child of a count. He was about to give up on magic, switching to the alchemy track before meeting you. It touched your heart how much of an impact you made.
And you didn’t try to hide it.
On the day of the exam, each student was given five minutes to perform three spells in a row that will last a minute.
“Alice Sans!” The examiner called out your name. Others began snickering behind your backs while Lucas gave a reassuring smile. You calmed yourself down, this will be a piece of cake.
You quickly drew out a simple menu system where you would activate the three spells vocally. Then, you drew out the various circles from light to crystallization.
Finally, you finished the structure in a minute. You casted the spell and with great vigor, you called out, “Light!”
Your spell shone brightly. Examiners were impressed with them raising their eyebrows. The other students were mixed in their reactions; some were furious at your new circles while others were shocked at its complexity.
As you finished your spells, the other students' spellcasting looked mediocre at best. They glared at you for outperforming them.
“Lucas Lake!” Lucas yawned before waving at you. You soon realize, he was a little cocky after mastering the various aspects.
Like a peacock, he boasted his talent through a mixture of recursive and layered spells. As he casted it, the orb of light turned into a burning ember before he summoned a mini golem. His friends looked astonished from his performance as he smirked at you.
The examination came to an end with both of you scoring first. Professors started to bombard you with questions, trying to find out these new types of circles. You pushed back, explaining that you have a date to catch.
As you met up with Lucas, he said, “I don’t think I repaid you for that kiss.”
“Oh you surely didn’t,” He pulled you close to him, giving a passionate kiss on your lips. Within the pleasure, a third tail grew out of your body, covering the passionate scene.
Once the kiss ended, he tilted his head, “Want to continue our celebration at my place?”
“I would love that,” You answered, leaning against his sturdy body.
Written by lim2357 on 02 February 2025
The end (for now)