After class ended, Alex didn't even try to find Tessa. Right now, only two things occupied his mind—training and revenge. Everything else felt distant and irrelevant.
He had an hour before his next class, and he intended to use every second of it to continue constructing his spell.
He already had a name: Spiked Water Arrow. A dark joke, maybe, but fitting. The difficulty, however, was anything but humorous. Placing multiple elemental nodes inside a single magic circle was infuriatingly complex, and each failed schematic reminded him how little he truly knew.
For a while, Alex had believed he possessed a natural talent for spell creation. This spell, though, humbled him day after day, breaking that confidence down, but he kept going at it — his determination fueled by anger.
The hour passed faster than he liked. The next class—Magic Creation—was actually perfect timing. If anyone could help him understand what he was doing wrong, it was Fabian.
Alex paid closer attention than usual during the lecture. Fabian always had something new, something insightful to teach. When class finally wrapped up, Alex approached him immediately.
"Teacher, can I ask you a question about spell crafting?"
Fabian raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Alex's questions were never trivial — Fabian held him in unusually high regard because of it.
"Of course," he said.
"I'm trying to create a spell using two elements," Alex began, "but I can't seem to balance the nodes. Every time I think I've got it, the theory collapses when I revise my calculations. I can't figure out why I can't make a two-element spell work."
Fabian chuckled lightly. "That's because I never taught you how."
Alex blinked. "Huh?"
"As of now, everything you've learned applies only to single-element spells. Multi-element spellcraft is reserved for university-level courses." His eyes gleamed with a mix of mischief and pride. "Crafting multi-element spells is like going from drawing in two dimensions to sculpting in three."
He motioned for Alex's notebook. "Show me your drafts."
Alex complied and handed over the notebook where he had his drafts.
"'Spiked Water Arrow,' huh?" Fabian grinned widely. "Quite the dark name."
The amusement in his voice was unmistakable—Fabian loved creativity in spellcraft, especially the dangerous kind, and Alex seemed full of such ideas.
"As I suspected," he continued, flipping through the pages, "your spell fails for exactly the reasons I mentioned."
He pointed to several nodes and circle interactions.
"To combine two or more elements, you must stop treating the spell as one structure. They're two spells, Alex—two frameworks you fuse into a stronger spell. That's why you start your math well, then your calculations explode."
He tapped the parchment again.
"You either draw a circle within another circle, balancing inner and outer nodes, and then balance them together, or you connect separate circles with mana bridges. But remember—each additional element makes calculations exponentially harder. That's why spells with many elements are rarer."
Fabian's grin stretched into something borderline devilish.
"But they are also far more powerful."
Alex nodded vigorously, finally seeing the flaw in his approach.
'So that's why everything kept collapsing… I was thinking in two dimensions, not three. Looks like I'll be making another trip to the library.'
"Thank you, teacher," Alex said.
He turned to leave, but Fabian called out again.
"Oh, and Alex—since you're using wind mana, you can enhance the water's penetrative ability with wind compression. It'll make your arrow significantly more lethal."
Alex paused mid-step. Slowly, he looked back at Fabian and nodded once.
"I'll keep it in mind."
A dark chuckle followed him as he closed the classroom door.
He had two hours before Anatomy. Time enough to refine his spell. Alex found a quiet spot under a large tree and immediately immersed himself in schematics and mental simulations.
He was so absorbed that even the usual noble insults couldn't reach him. The only person capable of breaking his focus was Tessa, who did so without effort.
"Hey, long time no see. You didn't tell me you were back," she said as she approached.
Alex jolted slightly, then relaxed."Sorry. I just returned today, and I've been busy working on a new spell."
Alex has been so absorbed that he didn't notice her approaching him at all
"Oh? A new spell?" Her eyes brightened. Tessa adored watching his creative process.
She leaned in to look.
"'Spiked Water Arrow'? Alex… that sounds like an assassination spell."
Alex snapped the notebook shut a little faster than he intended."It's based on the salamander I fought during midterms. A spell meant to help me fight stronger opponents."
It was a misdirection — he indeed intended to use it as an assassination spell, but the midterms gave him a nice excuse.
Tessa squinted her eyes, noticing something off, but she let it go with a small nod. "Want to head to Anatomy together?"
"Sure." Alex and Tessa shared that class, and it seemed that it was almost time, so he agreed
Anatomy had taken on an entirely new purpose for Alex. Understanding the human body wasn't just about healing people—it also revealed vulnerabilities, pressure points, pathways where poison could spread fastest. Every diagram, every muscle map, every circulatory route sharpened his ideas.
Afterward came Alchemy. A useless class for him—at least officially. He sat in the back and crafted his own potions. Not poisons; those would raise suspicion. But vitality draughts, stamina restoratives, mana tonics—anything he could produce quietly.
Marivel, the teacher, barely acknowledged commoners anyway. So Alex could move undisturbed.
When class ended, he headed straight for home. Tessa eventually caught up to him.
"Hey, where are you going?" she asked. Alex was acting strange, distant.
"Home. I need to keep working on the spell. I'll talk to you later."
He sped up before she could respond.
"Oh… okay," she murmured, left behind as he disappeared down the road.
'Maybe he'll go back to normal after a few days,' she thought.
But she couldn't have been more wrong.
Alex's descent had already begun—and his self-punishing training was only starting.