A secret garden (1)

My training was not going very well, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sustain the spell for long enough. I attempted to maintain a simple magical light using constant magic, but it drained an enormous amount of energy. I had to find a way to cast spells, or there would be no place for me in this faculty.

While failures on the practical front haunted me, I decided to keep an eye on the mysterious blonde. She moved around the Academy very discreetly, and it was nearly impossible to encounter her between classes. If she weren't a mage, I would have assumed she was an assassin. The chance to introduce myself seemed distant.

During the second lecture, as lunchtime approached, the teacher was droning on with a very melancholic voice about the history of magic.

"As it is known, our world is adjacent to the world of spirits, four realms, and four kinds of spirits: the realm of elements, the realm of angels, the realm of demons, and the realm of the deceased."

The teacher was drawing some diagrams, which he found plausible, though most of the attendees were already familiar with these stories. Noble mages were taught about this from childhood, while common folks like me only heard about it in rural tales.

"The worlds of spirits are connected to us through portals, which are normally closed. Only one person born once every few centuries can open them, and that person is called the Summoner."

I began to notice from the corner of my eye that some classmates were starting to yawn and doze off.

"All humans have a propensity for magic in their blood, but they can only use it by forming a connection with spirits. A person who forms such a bond - a contract - becomes a Contractor and the founder of a magical lineage. All of their children and close relatives in the future will also be linked to that spirit and gain the ability to use its magic."

If only he provided specific examples or made the lecture less primitive, it might have been more interesting.

"Thus, magic is passed down through generations, creating noble magical houses. However, with each generation, the magic weakens, and after a thousand years, many magical houses cease to exist. But with the birth of each new Summoner, paths to the spirits are reopened, and noble houses extend the power of their contracts. Most of you are somehow linked to some spirit."

Already, most of the audience was peacefully dozing during the pre-lunch drowsiness. Even the haughty sorceress was peacefully napping with her eyes closed instead of paying attention to the tedious lecture.

"Remember, your magic may fade, but it can awaken again with even greater strength in your descendants. So, do not be disheartened if you cannot rival the power of your great ancestors."

Finally, the teacher concluded his lecture, and the students began to stretch lazily, except for one... Maintaining her perfect posture, she peacefully dozed off at the back of the class, and this was my chance to approach her.

Alas, before I could do anything, the overly compassionate class representative intervened, and a foreboding feeling started to grip my throat as she approached the sorceress.

"Miss Katrina, the class is already over," Feris reached out to gently wake the sleeping beauty, and then something unexpected happened.

"Mm," the sorceress began to wake up on her own and was startled by the approaching girl, "STOP!"

Katrina raised her hands in front of her, and at that moment, a lightning bolt flashed between her and the class representative. From my position, it was evident that she hadn't intended to cast any spell, and the lightning likely escaped accidentally. However, from the front rows, it looked as if she had intentionally struck the girl.

The discharge threw Feris against the wall, and it even slightly singed the tips of her hair. Her classmates rushed to help her.

"What have you done?!" Without allowing any explanation, the classmates shielded the class representative from the sorceress.

"I'm sorry," but without even trying to defend herself, Katrina fled.

Something about this didn't sit right with me. It seemed unlikely she would strike lightning just like that. But I couldn't prove otherwise at the moment.

Since then, everyone started avoiding Katrina. Even if someone tried to talk to her occasionally before, now they made a conscious effort to stay as far away from her as possible. Not much had changed, except that Feris started sporting a short hairstyle. She had to cut off the singed hair.

Perhaps I was the last one who wanted to talk to her, and preferably before the guild selection began.

After careful observation, I noticed that she used secret passages that existed in almost every classroom or corridor, and these passages were quite unusual. Once, I attempted to follow her, but behind the concealed door, there was a spacious corridor with numerous doors. Apparently, someone had taken the trouble to create a magical space connecting different points in the building during the Academy's construction. However, not knowing which door to enter, I couldn't follow the sorceress. I had to catch her in some secluded place. I never found where she lived, so the only option was to find where she disappeared during lunchtime.

She never stayed in the classroom during the lunch break, nor was she in any of the cafeterias, and I hadn't encountered her on the benches outside. I doubted she ran off to the neighboring town, which meant she must have been staying in some hidden place within the Academy. And such a place did exist.

The main academic building was rectangular with a beautiful garden in the center. The garden was covered with a glass roof, and there was no door leading to it from the first floor. Even the windows facing the courtyard were only accessible starting from the third floor. Nevertheless, beautiful well-kept flowers always grew in the garden, and a sprawling tree stood in the center. That meant someone was taking care of the garden, and there had to be a way to get in. There were plenty of legends about it, claiming that if one managed to enter, they would gain immense power, and if they spent time there with their beloved, they would be bound together forever. But I was merely curious about how to get inside.

Indeed, during the beginning of the lunch break, I spotted a disheveled golden bush swiftly gliding under the tree's canopy. Apparently, a magical passage led there.

And soon enough, an opportunity presented itself for me to enter that garden.

I didn't know which door led there, but nobody had canceled the windows on the upper floors. I waited for the moment when the last class before the break was held in the classroom with windows facing the courtyard, and when it happened, Katrina was on the upper floor. It was always hot in the classroom due to its proximity to the roof, so students preferred to have lunch outside. Only a couple of the laziest ones stayed in the classroom.

Trying not to draw attention, I tied a rope to the desks and headed towards the window. No one paid any attention as I quietly disappeared from the room.

From the seventh floor, it was quite a descent, but there were no closer options. I had descended to the fifth floor when the rope began to slip from my hands. Apparently, the desk to which I had tied it wasn't as reliable as I thought. Falling was still a long way down, and all I could do was push off the wall and hope for a soft landing on the tree branches.

At that moment, Katrina was peacefully nibbling on neatly packed sandwiches. She had grown accustomed to being in peaceful solitude, and it didn't bother her much. Although sometimes, she sighed heavily, daydreaming about what it would be like to have friends with whom she could spend time.

And on this day, just like the previous and the following, she didn't expect to see any significant changes in her life, but fate had different plans. The leisurely meal was interrupted by the loud cracking of branches and a couple of deafening blows. When she raised her eyes, an ominous figure in black clothing loomed above her.

"Heh-heh, hi," I found myself stuck somewhere on the lower branches, and it seemed I had startled my visit's target quite a bit.

"Bandit!" The girl jumped up abruptly, and lightning sparkled in her hands. "Robber! Murderer?"

The girl gave my black outfit a suspicious glance.

"No, nothing like that. I just wanted..."

"Don't try to confuse me!" She squinted disapprovingly. "I heard that killers study here. You decided to make a name for yourself by killing someone from the nobility. Well, that's hardly going to work for you. The moment you step on the ground, you'll turn into ashes."

I glanced at the ground, where electrical discharges spread out in rings from her feet. And her threats weren't exactly empty.

"I'm not a killer; I'm a student at the magic faculty. Look, I even have a blue robe."

"Yeah, sure. You decided to talk to me with your teeth, but you climbed down here from the window like some kind of criminal, and you expect me to suddenly believe you?"

"I sit in the same class with you, you could at least remember that."

"In the same class? Well, I believed you then."

"Yes, I'm telling the truth."

The girl cautiously circled around me and tilted her head to the side.

"Although I do recognize that familiar nape, I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"I sit right in front of you; if you don't have a particularly good memory for faces..."

"Really? Was there such a person? Yes, I sort of vaguely remember someone."

"Can I come down now?"

"No, I don't quite trust you yet. You might have intentionally sat closer to me. Who knows what evil deeds you have planned."

"So, I'm just going to hang here?"

"Yes, it's not a bad idea."

"Hey! Don't you have any better ideas?!"

"Well, while you hang there, you'll get tired, and when you eventually fall from exhaustion, I'll drag you to the rector, and let him decide what to do."

"You'll have to wait for a long time then."

"Well, what's the rush? I just finished lunch, and you probably haven't eaten yet! So hunger will do its job soon enough! Heh-heh," for some reason, the sorceress spoke with such pride and self-assurance as if she genuinely believed in it.

"And this could take a while. I could hang here for several days."

"You're lying to me," the girl looked at me skeptically.

"Why would I? A person can easily go without eating for several days, although their stomach will hurt, but passing out is still far off."

"Hmph, but I'll hold out longer."

"Well, I wouldn't be so sure about that. You're constantly using magic right now, and it consumes more energy than simply hanging from a tree. If someone is going to faint, it certainly won't be me."

"Hmm... Okay, maybe you're right," the girl relaxed a little, and the lightning on the ground began to fade. "You can come down, but don't get too comfortable. I can still kill you in an instant."

How encouraging. Unhooking the broken branches from my clothes, I jumped down to the ground.

"And what's next?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"If I'm bothering you so much, I can leave."

"Well, go ahead then."

"If you tell me where the exit is."

"Where you entered, there you'll leave."

I looked at the sheer wall with open windows on top, and my feeble little rope lying on the ground.

"I doubt I'll manage to climb back up there."

"Well, try."

"Don't make fun of me! I know you're hiding a secret passage somewhere around here that leads to other classrooms."

"So, you were indeed following me," Katrina squinted skeptically, and sparks on her fingers flickered with renewed intensity.

"Well, a little."

"And now you expect me to just let you go? I'm starting to believe you less and less."

She's quite persistent; breaking down her suspicion will be difficult.

"Mhm, and how am I supposed to dispel your suspicions?"

"It'll be tough, but I think I should conduct a little interrogation. And don't you dare lie!"

"Alright, but it seems unfair if only I have to answer. Maybe you could answer my questions too?"

"Why on earth should I answer you?"

"Well, otherwise, I won't talk. Then we'll be back in this dead-end situation, and we'll stand here until you faint, and who knows what I might do then."

"Then, before that happens, I'll zap you with lightning, and you won't be able to do anything."

"Or, we could have a peaceful conversation, and no one will get zapped."

"Hmm," Katrina pondered for a moment. Maybe she really wanted to zap me with lightning. "Alright, I'll answer a couple of questions, but nothing personal."

"Okay."

"So, who are you, and why did you come here?" It seemed she still didn't remember me.

"I'm Krito Vale, your classmate, in case you didn't recall. I sit in front of you."

"Hmm, was there really such a person? Well, maybe."

"Hey! You could at least remember your classmates!"

"You're right, I should have."

Why is she starting to annoy me a little?

"We actually met before the opening ceremony, you fell into the bushes."

"Wait, stop! I think I'm starting to remember, don't go on."

"Now it's my turn."