The days passed quickly. Alec spent every moment of free time he had on condensing his mana. He even skipped out on his daily library visit. He still hadn't stored everything available to him in his [Reader], but he figured that the rest could wait until after he did something about his impending doom.
The only thing he was interested in reading was the spell formation for Scan, but Reina held off on giving it to him. It wasn't because she wanted to learn it before him and humble him a little, at least not officially.
Alec had already used Pebbleshot before condensing his magic circle. She did not want him trying anything stupid or getting distracted, not when two things hinged on him condensing his first circle.
Getting a hold of that Poem of Neverlasting Wisdom was sure to help someone as sharp as Alec shine even brighter.
It would also help him learn Scan even faster, so it didn't matter if he waited until after he condensed his magic circle to learn it. Reina couldn't risk Alec getting ahead of himself and trying to use a spell far above his means before he condensed it.
It was unlikely, but considering Alec's understandable desperation…
Before long, it was finally time.
Dark clouds rolled in over the horizon, plunging the Academy and the city of Gorao into early darkness. The sun hadn't even set, but making out colors was already difficult.
"I'm not gonna lie, you guys, this thunderstorm feels like it's going to be pretty intense," Maura said while crossing her arms and shuddering at the door to the rooftop terrace. It was mainly a place for teachers and senior students to relax and bask in the sunshine when they felt like it. Some even used it for minor experiments or cultivating plants.
But right now, Alec, Taryeon, Isidore, Erio, and Maura were the only souls and sources of organic matter anywhere near the open door. They were also the only ones opening a door or a window in the Academy.
Everyone else was smart enough to stay inside and admire the spectacle from the safety of the magically reinforced Academy.
"That's what I was hoping for!" Taryeon grinned excitedly.
"Good for you." Erio tapped Taryeon and double-checked the rope harness clinging to Taryeon's skin.
"I don't think I like that tone of yours, Erio."
"Don't worry. Once you get hit by lightning and go deaf, you won't need to hear it ever again."
"Erio…" Isidore looked at the slightly short beefcake with sharp eyes.
"What? I still think this is an utterly and ridiculously stupid idea."
"No. How did you know getting hit by lightning can make you lose your hearing?" Isidore asked with the same unreadable expression.
"Oh. I mean, thunder is loud as shit even from a distance. It has to be even louder from up close. Getting hit with lightning is as close as you can get to it. Thus, deafness."
"I see."
"Guys, I'm not going to go deaf just from a little lightning," Taryeon said lightheartedly.
"Maybe not a little. If you raise your eyes…" Alec said, pointing at the sky.
The dark thunderclouds were like a rug of dark wool pulled across the sky with sparks of static electricity bubbling and zipping across it. The blue and white streaks flitting across the sky looked tiny, almost cute, from a distance.
But the fact that the lightning was already showing its face even before it started escaping to the ground meant there was a lot of pent-up heavenly rage.
It didn't take a meteorologist to figure out that they wouldn't be getting a 'little' lightning.
Taryeon cleared his throat. His attempt at easing his worries had backfired, thanks to Alec's astute observation.
Right then, tiny pellets of water started hitting the roof around them. It was time.
Maura rubbed her arms to chase off the chill that swept in with the rain. Alec joined her inside.
Erio put a hand on Taryeon's shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes.
"Good luck."
"Thanks."
"Now, when you die, can I—"
Isidore smacked Erio on the back of his head and dragged him inside. He turned back and looked at Taryeon. He nodded. Taryeon returned the nod.
Maura closed the door behind him, pinching the rope attached to Taryeon's harness in place. Isidore couldn't relax without holding it as well, though.
Hopefully, they wouldn't need it.
But it didn't hurt taking a precaution when their friend was trying to provoke the heavens into smiting him.
Taryeon looked up at the sky for a few moments after his friends took shelter. The cold rain hit his face like kisses of ice. They sent a chill through his body and made his hair stand on end.
At the same time, he could feel his blood start to run hot with anticipation.
Taryeon closed his eyes, sat down cross-legged, and started to focus.
The flowing wisps of electricity coursing through his body picked up speed. He had mentally prepared for this step for a long time. He knew his condensation manual, Breath of the Lightning God, by heart.
His lightning mana zipped around his speed at an ever-increasing pace, bouncing from corner to corner like overstimulated flies trying to escape a jar. Eventually, his mana bounced around so quickly that it was impossible to see where it was. It looked like it covered his entire body.
It was almost impossible to control.
But Taryeon didn't need to exert perfect control. He needed to let some of it slip out.
Tiny blue sparks jumped off of Taryeon's body and fizzled out on the stone tiles of the terrace.
A moment later, the sky cracked open.
The drizzle turned into a skyfall. Rain poured down like someone had tipped a bucket of water over the edge of a table.
At the same time, the first lightning bolt came crashing down on the rooftop across the ground to where Taryeon was sitting.
For one second, the world was bathed in white light. The resounding boom that followed instantly robbed the world of light before any human eyes could adjust, returning the world back to the darkness from moments before.
Alec and the others flinched.
Taryeon was unmoved.
Instead, he focused on the electric hum filling the air with lightning and aether.
The lightning was looking for him. He wasn't hiding. The next one or the one after that would hit him. He had to be ready for it.