Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 56. Essence Shaper

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Nox’s arms were tight the following morning. The discomfort felt focused around the banded scars on his forearm. Fresh tattoos stretched out on either side of it. They extended up his triceps and then met between the shoulder blades over the spine. Even though no Aether Ink covered the warped skin, the extensive design existed to bridge the three inches of damaged mana channels.

Nox’s stomach rumbled violently, and food awaited him on the dresser across the room. Lillin lay next to him, snoring. As Nox watched her, he felt a pang of guilt in his stomach. She often went above and beyond their contract’s perimeter and, recently, had only received neglect in return.

After coming to university, the time they spent together had reduced significantly. Nox dedicated all of his time to brewing, spell weaving, and training. Annabelle got most of his remaining attention. After years of social isolation, friends outside of Mou and a mimic excited Nox, and he let all the new people consume all of his capacity for social interaction.

Fortunately, Lillin didn’t seem to mind. Feeding had made her more human, and she now had the ability to bond with people genuinely. Despite knowing the truth about her, Pudge had welcomed her attempts at friendship, and Lillin spent most of her free time with him.

Slow, gentle shuffling got him out from under the covers without jostling the rickety bed. He scarfed down the cold meat and potato pies. Lillin had also left him some pickled vegetables, but Nox ignored them. His body craved stodge and protein, and he fulfilled its demands. The clawing discomfort in his comfort faded.

As soon as Nox finished eating, he sat cross-legged on the floor and resumed circulating mana through the new channels. His palm and fingertips tingled as the usually starved sections of his body’s magical circuit received larger quantities of arcane energy. For the first time in a long time, he felt whole. His system didn’t resist when he pulled mana away from the cloud surrounding his star and compressed it around the Shaping planetoid.

Usually, whole planets took days to form as young mages figured out the ins and outs of their spells. However, Nox had spent several days and sleepless nights on development. It wasn’t the first time he had attempted the process. He had analyzed his mistakes and put himself through torture to prepare himself. Nox refused to waste unnecessary time or let doubt and fear of failure slow him.

The mana cage technique occupied the current planetoid. First, Nox placed the Micro Shaping and Multi Shaping elements above it. Unlike previous attempts, the scripts didn’t dissolve as soon as he diverted his attention. Instead, they stuck to the temporary mana structure around the planetoid. Nox held his breath and counted down from five. Nothing changed. So, he added the Macro Shaping element and then began working on linking them all with connector lines, amplifying scripts, and the gates. Nox paused after every step, waiting for things to fall apart. Much to his relief, everything held together.

Nox’s heart rate increased. Hope and excitement filled him as the three-dimensional spell form held. The still unstable elements of the planet grew more solid as he added the supporting elements of the script. Nox successfully assembled everything, and the spellform held.

Crystallize Essence created a fist-sized piece of Slow essence. Next, he cast the newly assembled spellform in his mana system to turn a third of the crystal into an arrow. When Nox finished, he no longer had a planetoid surrounded by compressed gas but a complete planet. His lips spread into a wide grin, and he collapsed onto his back, sweating. A significant source of his stress and worry melted away in a heartbeat.

Unwilling to disturb his oldest friend, Nox slipped out of the room without making any more noise. Once the door was closed behind him, he abandoned all attempts to be stealthy and raced to his workshop. His shirt and coat still lay on the workstation. Nox excitedly fished the manameter out of the latter’s inner pocket.

Nox Ratra

Apprentice

Crystalize Essence | Essence Shaping

50/57 | 15/17

The planet’s focus was much more complicated than the device claimed, but he didn’t give it much thought. For days after Nox evolved his star, the manameter recognized its focus as Custom Slow. The displayed name didn’t matter. It was the numbers that interested Nox.

Creating a chunk of essence glass containing Slow used six units of mana. Shaping a third of it into an arrow consumed two more units. It was only Nox’s first use of the completed spell. As he got used to it, Nox imagined efficiency would only increase. He could use previously gathered essence glass and feed mana from his star into the planet during emergencies if needed. Overall, he felt excellent about the development and couldn’t wait to share it with the rest of the party.

It was still early in the morning. He heard no noises through the ceiling. So he spent a while longer experimenting with different premade essences. Creating an arrowhead drained a single unit of mana from the planet. So, instead of making arrows, he turned most of his stockpiled essence glass into the heads but gave them extra mass. Shaping it into a usable projectile only drained his planet by a single unit. Given enough time to prepare, Nox could foresee preparing and carrying an arsenal of different essences and then using minimal mana for devastating effect.

The crippled mana circuits kept Nox from walking the traditional route that most mages followed. He would never have the utility of Annabelle’s Danger Sense or the damage and control that came with Lillin’s gravity magic. However, with preparation, he could outdo both of them. Now that he had his Shaping planet sorted, defensive spells would become easier, too. He already had plans on how to evolve them and hoped Professor Lorenzo would approve and pass him.

The fifth-morning bell rang, and Nox felt too alert to go back to sleep. Feeling especially good about himself, Nox set out to spoil himself. The pies had satisfied Nox, but he still felt peckish. So, he went to the paupers’ cafeteria for more breakfast.

“Why are you up this early?” Alexander asked. The younger man found him waiting for the sausage and eggs stall to finish heating their stove.

Instead of answering, Nox held up a marble of pink essence glass and Shaped it into a cube. He couldn’t help but grin, feeling proud of how easily he had achieved the task.

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“I’m too excited to sleep,” Nox answered. “What about you?”

“Beginner Dungeon Combat. Remember?”

“I forget you’re not officially in our class. You might as well be after training with licensed delving teams.”

“I wish Professor Wolfhammer felt the same way. Caitlin is planning to fail the class this semester because she refuses to delve without me.”

“That’s a shame,” Nox replied. “I understand her, though. Given how some of the teams in class are, I wouldn’t join them without at least one person I can completely trust.”

“She could’ve joined you,” Alexander said. “You and Louis have the class's most well-rounded and well-coordinated parties. I bet she could contribute a lot to either group, but Caitlin refuses even to consider it.”

“There’s no rush, I suppose. If you get your license next semester, the pair of you are more than welcome to join us. It will bring the party to capacity.”

“I’d like that very much.”

“By the way. Do you know where I can find Dean Woodson? I can’t wait until tomorrow before showing her my progress.”

“Gram mostly teaches afternoon classes. She holds office hours from the eighth bell in the morning but arrives a bit earlier. If you show up half an hour before, you might just catch her with morning tea.”

Nox felt ravenous. After the sausage and eggs, he got himself a bowl of sliced summer melons and berries in yogurt. Even though the quantities were closer to Lillin’s norm than his, Nox’s body accepted it all. When he finished, it felt like his body still had room for more. He imagined the previous night’s purging, the physical and arcane trauma, and the developments in his mana system drained him of more than energy and essential nutrients.

Eventually, Alexander left to warm up for his class. Workers and other students with early morning commitments filed in, and the cafeteria grew crowded. Since Nox had money to spare and no commitments, he decided to spoil himself. Even though he was in his third month at Woodson University, Nox was yet to utilize the campus bath house. He hoped a good soak would ease his sore muscles.

Much to his disappointment, the facilities open to Nox didn’t compare to the parlor’s bath. It still cost him a gold coin, but they didn’t use the same alchemical brews in their water. Nox’s body took a handful of minutes to adjust to the scalding temperatures. His muscles relaxed and joints not long after. A sickly green hue painted the pale water, but Nox doubted the crushed herbs were more than aromatics.

Thoughts of home filled Nox as he idled in the water. He didn’t miss the Golden Isles. In fact, Nox never got his head around the concept of homesickness. The idea of nostalgia regarding a location felt alien to him. However, thoughts of Seventhday dinner with Mou, her husband, and their children tightened Nox’s chest. It was the one evening of the week when everyone got together to discuss life, recent accomplishments, and challenges. They told jokes, gossipped about other production houses, and cursed the queen.

Nox wished for such a meal where he could tell them about his arcane and alchemical accomplishments. He was sure they’d be proud of his new planet, Noxian Brews, and the budding romance with Annabelle. Mou and her daughter would especially press for details about the new woman in his life and then list all the issues and dangers of the fake engagement.

Then the seventh bell struck, snapping Nox out of his relaxed daze. He dried, dressed, and raced to the cafeteria for a handful of pastries before heading to the Department of Dungeon Studies. As luck would have it, he caught the dean on her way to her office.

“Is that a bribe, Master Ratra?” she asked, eyeing the greasy paper bag he carried. “I smell stone fruits and almonds.”

“Alexander told me plums were your favorite,” Nox answered. “I thought you might enjoy them with your tea.”

“Let me guess. You want to demonstrate your Shaping spell and perhaps pass the class?”

Nox nodded.

“Well, I’ve good news for you. Diya showed me your spellform over tea yesterday evening. Usually, it’s journeymen on their way to adept who use something so complex for their planet. The completion of such a project alone is enough to help you pass Beginner Essence Shaping. However, I’d love to see your planet in action.”

“Of course, Dean Woodson.” Nox held out the marble of crystallized fae fire essence he carried and called on the new spell imprinted inside his mana system. First, he Shaped the sphere into a cube, then a rhombus, followed by a pyramid, and finally an arrowhead. “The mana consumption stays low if I keep channeling the spell and go through multiple shapes.”

“That’s usually the case with channeled spells. Individual casts cost more than continuous use. That’ll change with mass and volume, of course, but I don’t see that being an immediate concern for you.”

“Thank you.” Relief washed over Nox. He had completed two courses in one fell swoop. Now, he had just over six weeks left to focus on his four remaining classes. Most would consider that still too much, but it was almost half the number of courses he had at the start of the semester. Next, he needed to win Professor Lorenzo’s approval and then complete whatever challenge Professor Wolfhammer set. Then he’d only need to deal with the two mandatory theory classes.

“I’d advise you to take Finesse Shaping next semester,” Dean Woodson said.

“Not Intermediate Essence Shaping?” Nox asked.

“Intermediate Essence Shaping is too broad for your purposes and builds more towards shaping large volumes. Given your chosen medium, it won’t benefit you until your star reaches adept and the Shaping planet has journeyman-level mana. Finesse Shaping focuses on the more delicate end of things. Say you wanted to create an arrow and with runes and spellforms etched into it, the course could help you achieve just that.”

Nox’s eyes widened as the possibilities dawned on him. “I could tailor arrows based on the essence type.”

“Precisely. Sonic arrows need not be explosions that destroy real estate and city infrastructure. With clever spell weaving and Finesse Shaping, you could turn it into a tool to stun large groups or cause more focused damage.”

“I need to look up all courses available to me before planning next semester’s curriculum, but that sounds excellent.”

“Good luck, Nox Ratra. The world needs more determined and creative mages like you.”

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