Chapter 7: Expertise

So sharp, the edges of the gems, cutting Galvin’s skin as his mother, Ziradith Herald, backhanded him across the face. “You arrogant little cretin! Do you know what you’ve done?!” Galvin fell back, hissing in pain and anger. “All the work I put into getting you engaged to that girl, you’ve ruined it!” Standing in the far corner of the room, the maid, one of many working in the Herald estate, winced from the sight. She too had received a strike like that from the duchess. However, she felt no sympathy, not after all the times Galvin had violated her. “Bad enough you couldn’t even marry into the main family! Do you have any idea of the humiliation you’ve brought on me!”

“It’s not my fault! He tricked me, and she was a whore! I’m the victim in this!”

Ziradith looked away in disgust. “Pathetic. You wagered your fiancée on a duel and got beaten! And Seraph saving you. I wish he was my son because then I’d have something to work with.”

“Just fix it!”

“Fix it? Are you out of your mind? No family will touch you now! Your only value is as livestock!”

“Well then tell me what I’m supposed to do!”

“What to do? You’re going to go back there and salvage this on your own.”

“I can’t go back there after what happened! I’m the laughingstock of the academy!”

“That’ll be the punishment for your stupidity, to wallow in the humiliation that you brought on yourself. Once you’re back, start challenging everyone to duels, and don’t you dare lose again. If they can’t respect you, at least make them fear you. And don’t go near Sophia or this Noah bastard. I don’t want you losing and shaming me any further. Do you understand?”

He glared at her, angrily huffing through his nose. “As you wish, Mother.”

“Now get out of my sight. I don’t even want to look at you, you disgusting rat.”

Once Galvin left, Ziradith turned and looked out the window at the snow-caked city of Colbrand. This manor was one of two, and the other within the Herald territory. Upper nobles like herself tended to keep second mansions like these for when traveling to and from the capital in their search for political and economic power. For Ziradith, it was a lifelong pursuit, forging and breaking alliances while scouring for weaknesses and resources to exploit. Her son’s blunder was a devastating blow to everything she had accomplished, but she would bounce back from this; she always did, no matter who had to suffer for it.

“Noah, over here!” Upon entering the mess hall, he heard himself being beckoned, but not by a familiar face. A female cadet was waving him over. “Come sit with us!”

“No, come sit over here!” another young woman hollered from the other side mess hall; she and all her eager-eyed friends.

Word had spread pretty quick of his evening with Sophia, and now numerous women were inviting him like sirens. It was a confusing sight for those unaware of the situation. Cadets from the barracks and middle dorms scoffed, thinking it all had to be lies and exaggerations. Those from the upper dorms, eyes dead from exhaustion, simply sighed as if to say, “yep, that’s just how it goes.”

“It seems you’ve accrued a fan club,” Alexis said dryly, standing by his side.

“Well yeah, I mean, come on.”

Sophia approached them with a nervous smile on her face. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Alexis replied, unsure of what else to say. All eyes were watching them, most aware of the existence of a love triangle, but no one understood the actual dynamics.

“You two take your seats. I’ll get us some food,” Noah said.

While walking towards the kitchen, he glanced to where the princes usually sat. Galvin wasn’t there. Had he fled the academy in shame? Noah could only hope. As he gathered breakfast, Alexis took her usual seat and Sophia borrowed Noah’s. Sophia took a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, reaching out to try and hold Alexis’s hands. “I did what I did to hurt Galvin and break free of him, but I didn’t want to hurt you too. I was ... I was desperate. I felt the horrible future suffocating me, and I was ready to do anything, just to create a little pocket of air.”

The act was not reciprocated, and it took all of Alexis’s strength to answer her. “I understand. When I was told I’d have to marry him, I was ready to bite my tongue and die. I know what that desperation feels like. I can’t judge you, knowing I would have done so much worse.”

“But can you forgive me?”

“I ... I need some time. The noises you made, the things you said, I didn’t want to know that you could make them. I didn’t want to discover you could be like that until ... it was you and I, making each other say those things.

Do you remember the first time we kissed? We were young, confused, had no idea what we were doing. I loved that feeling, the blind leading the blind. It was like a door to a whole new world had opened up for the two of us to discover, and the smallest step made our hearts race like we had run a mile. It was just us, holding hands and making those steps together. Now you’re so far ahead of me, and I’ve lost the chance to walk those steps for the first time with you.”

Sophia wiped away a tear. “I felt the same way. Going to Noah’s room was the hardest choice I ever made because I knew there were things that can only be experienced once, and I only ever wanted to experience them with you. I always dreamed of the night when we would finally be all alone, the two of us fumbling in the dark, every sensation being a new discovery.”

“Sophia...”

She smiled. “I think it’s rather fitting for us to talk about this. Last night, Noah told me something similar. He said that all I have to do is enjoy the moment, to focus on the present, and bask in all my feelings. He told me to savor them, the confusion, the excitement, the newness, the intensity. That’s what I will always do. I’ll savor every moment with you, every heart flutter and new experience. If you need time, then I’ll give you all the time you need, because after, I plan on spending my life with you, a lifetime of steps for us to take together. I’m not going anywhere.”

This time, it was Alexis’s turn to wipe away a tear, and she finally reached out and took Sophia’s hand. “And neither am I.”

Noah arrived with two trays filled with food just as Sophia finished healing Alexis’s hands. “So, who should I sit next to?”

“Here, take my seat,” Alexis said as she got to her feet.

She then walked around to the other side of the long table and sat down next to Sophia, putting a smile on her beautiful face. However, when Noah sat down across from her, that smile turned into a nervous blush. At that moment, memories of all the lewd things they did together were rushing through her mind. Steam was just about ready to shoot out of her ears as she recalled the two of them licking oil off each other’s naked bodies. Alexis wasn’t blind to the tension.

“I suppose it’s to be expected for things to be ... weird ... between you two.”

“It’ll pass,” Noah said nonchalantly, as though speaking about a brief snow flurry while reading a newspaper.

“You seem awfully calm about this.”

“I’ve had more than my share of mornings after and awkward breakfasts, but I’ll admit, this is a new twist.”

“Can you tell us more about what you said to me outside? Tell us who you really are.”

Sophia looked confused. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

“I’m sure you can understand that this is not the time or the place for that conversation. When the year is over, I’ll tell you both everything. Until then, all you need to know is that I’m a friend.”

“Can we trust you?”

“Can you? Yes. Should you? Only you can decide that.”

Noah had archery class that morning, and it went as he expected. Everyone was gossiping with hushed voices and shooting him with more weird glances than usual. A few female cadets came over when the teacher wasn’t looking, led by a neighbor from the upper dorms.

“Hello, Noah. You and I haven’t met before, but I’m—”

“Allison Crowberry, I know you. I can also guess what this is about.”

“My friends didn’t believe me when I told them about all the ruckus from last night, about how loud and ... long ... it was.”

Noah turned to her friends. “It would be ungentlemanly for me to kiss and tell, so I can’t provide many details. However, for the sake of Miss Crowberry’s good name, I can confirm that the descriptions of my pace and duration have not been embellished.”

“Maybe you could give me a demonstration sometime?”

Noah gave a modest chuckle, and before anything more could be said, the teacher started giving orders to the cadets. In a way, Noah was grateful that the conversation was stopped. He was still human enough to feel proud when women pursued him, but becoming a playboy in this time and place could prove dangerous. He was already an enemy of the princes, and it would be bad if more nobles started coming after him for screwing their daughters and fiancées at the academy. Besides, there was always the risk of secrets getting out.

When he went to the bathhouse, he was similarly the center of attention. He hoped to soak in peace, but numerous cadets kept approaching him, asking for details about his night with Sophia, but his lips were sealed.

“Well can you give us any advice? How do I make a woman moan like that?” one upper noble asked. Countless eyes were glued to him, awaiting an answer.

Noah took a deep breath. His plans for social invisibility had gone out the window on Day 1, and it had been downhill from there. With this, he was past the point of no return. ‘I might as well throw them a bone. Maybe this could be entertaining.’ “Ok, I’ll give you a test of your determination. Each of you, get a lemon or lime and cut it in half. Your challenge is to hollow out both halves of the lemon with your tongue. You can’t damage the skin at all or use your teeth in any way. As soon as you finish one, start another. A week from now, if you can do this in one sitting without having to rest, then I’ll start teaching you real techniques.”

He had never seen so many cadets sprint out of the baths at one time. After bathing, he headed to lunch, taking his seat with Sophia and Alexis.

“Why are so many men eating lemons?”

True to her words, almost a third of all the male cadets were sucking on the sour fruit, forsaking their own lunches for this trial. There was even a secondary line in the kitchen, with cadets asking the cooks for supply help and getting yelled at in response. The bitterness and exertion were making them grimace and rub their jaws, but to their credit, they weren’t giving up.

“Someone in the baths had black toes from scurvy, so everyone is anxious,” said Noah.

Alexis turned to Sophia, sitting quietly with a bright and sunny smile. She had been indescribably cheerful all morning, even skipping down the corridors like a giddy schoolgirl. She was still intoxicated by the endorphins from last night.

“How was class?”

“Oh, it was fine!”

“No one gave you ... any trouble, right?”

That smile became a blush. “No, no trouble!”

She thought back to all of the female cadets whispering to her earlier, asking for details about her sensual night. They wanted to know everything Noah had done to her, and every time she tried to retell it, embarrassment filled her, and she got lost in pleasant memories. She had been afraid of being ridiculed and scolded by her peers, and while there had been some hushed muttering and dirty looks shot her way, as Noah predicted, many women she encountered, having heard her voice echo through the night, were green with envy.

There was a tap on Noah’s shoulder, and he turned around to a male cadet. “Hey, Noah, is there a trick to this or something? Because I feel like my tongue is going to fall out.”

“All right, come here.” Noah then flicked his forehead. “That’s for your lack of manners. Do you not see me eating with friends here? This is not the time to have this conversation. Go sit back down and eat that lemon.”

As the cadet fled like a scared rabbit, Noah turned to Alexis, giving him the evil eye. “Oh Noah, for God’s sake. Please tell me this isn’t about last night.”

“Noooooo, it’s about strained mining rights between Uther and Vandheim and the socioeconomic impact of the volatile price of copper. Of course it’s about last night. A few cadets wanted to improve their skills, so I thought I would pass on some of my knowledge.” Alexis sighed and covered her face with her hands. “Consider it an act of charity. I’m doing this for all the poor women who will be marrying these guys in the future.”

“So what is the deal with the lemons? Is it kissing practice or something?”

“Well ... in a way.”

Next to Alexis, Sophia’s blush was so intense that her cheeks were the same color as her hair.

Unfortunately, Pandora’s Box had been opened, and Noah’s midday study session in his room was repeatedly interrupted by cadets seeking advice. After months of running laps and practicing with weapons until their hands bled, these so-called warriors were struggling to complete Noah’s challenge. Sitting at his desk, trying to read, even Noah found his patience tested by yet another knock on his door.

“If I open that door, it had better not be about lemons!” The knock continued, prompting Noah to sigh and answer it, finding himself facing Sir Elyot. “Ah, Professor, how can I help you?”

“Pardon me for interrupting your studies, but there is something you and I need to discuss.” He didn’t seem angry, but he was serious.

“Of course, please come in. Take a seat.” They sat down at the dining table, which was finally seeing use. “Can I offer you a cup of tea?”

“Thank you, but that won’t be necessary. I’m here because of the spell you used against Prince Galvin. If I remember correctly, you came to me and said that you couldn’t use any kind of magic, even runecraft. Would you care to explain?”

Noah had anticipated and dreaded this conversation, but there was no way around it. All he could do was minimize the damage and learn what he could.

“I discovered my abilities only recently. I don’t understand it myself, but I can’t cast actual magic, only imitations.”

“Imitations? What do you mean?”

“I’ll demonstrate.” He got up from his chair and went to his desk, where he retrieved his grimoire. He opened it to a page and placed his hand on it, channeling his mana into a series of runes. “Water Orb.” The magic circle appeared around his hand, but that was all. “As you can see, the spell reacts to my mana and produces the magic circle but doesn’t fully activate.” As he spoke, he cast his clone spell, making it look like he was just brushing his hair out of his eyes. “However, I’ve found that if I snap my fingers and cast the spell, this happens.” He went through the motions and launched a liquid sphere from his hand like he was tossing a water balloon. It splashed on the table, and Sir Elyot instinctively tried to protect himself, only to realize he hadn’t been hit by any actual droplets.

“What is this?” he asked as he touched the water on the table but felt no moisture.

“Like I said, it’s an imitation. All of my spells have the look, sound, and even smell of real magic, but they don’t actually affect the world.” He flipped to another page. “Flame Jet.”

This time, a blast of fire was launched across the room, making Sir Elyot instinctively yelp, but he stopped when he realized the flames weren’t producing any heat. Noah sprayed the room, and while the fire stuck to whatever was hit and continued to burn, nothing was being charred or damaged in any way. Everything was on fire, but the air was as clear and cold as before. He ended the spell, and all the flames simply vanished without leaving a single speck of black on anything.

“So, can you offer any insight into this?”

“This ... this is ... I don’t even know what this is.”

“In all of my research, I have yet to find any runes that could correspond to this strange magic, nothing regarding illusions or the such. I can’t even get the magic circle to appear that would explain what it is.”

“I have never heard of a magic like this before, so it’s possible that the runes have yet to be discovered, or their meanings have been lost to time.”

“That information doesn’t help. I’ve tried channeling my mana into every rune I can find in the library, but there is no reaction at all.”

“Not necessarily. If runes in a spell will react when exposed to your mana, then runes corresponding to your magic will likewise react. It’s possible you simply didn’t see the reaction.”

“But why can’t I see them if I’m...”

He trailed off, struck by inspiration. When he was invisible, his vision was enhanced to let him see people’s mana like a thermal camera, though he couldn’t differentiate powers by level. All this time, he had assumed the only way he could improve the spell was by cultivating his mana so he could keep it going longer. Perhaps that was the wrong aspect he had been focusing on.

Before entering the academy, he fought members of an assassin tribe known as the Harajin and defeated them, earning knowledge of their invisibility technique. While the details and mechanics of the spell were disappointing, he remembered the Harajin mentioning a sort of “spiritual sense.” It was an ability they honed for use with their technique, letting them be aware of their surroundings even when all physical senses were nullified. If Noah trained his spiritual senses, his invisible state might let him see more than just mana. Maybe the runes were reacting, but they were invisible, even to him.

“Sir Elyot, what can you tell me about spiritual senses?”

“I think I see where you’re going. It’s a sixth sense, the ability to read the flow of mana around you. It’s a rare and difficult skill to acquire, even for mages. I know that Lady Zodiac is an expert on the subject. Both she and her...” He caught himself and trailed off, then tried to cover it up by clearing his throat.

“All right, I’ll talk to her next. Can I trust you not to tell anyone about this? My reputation is a bit tenuous at the moment, and news of weird magic could make me look bad.” It was a lie but a convincing one. It would be better to sound shallow rather than paranoid in this instance.

“As a knight of Uther, I can’t promise silence if you become the enemy of the country.”

“Fair enough.”

The conversation had to end there, as it was time for Noah’s next class, monster studies. It focused on killing various beasts and harvesting their corpses for valuable materials to make powerful potions, inks, and scrolls. There was little hands-on work despite the description, and most studying was done in the library. It was understandable. Monsters slain in the countryside and delivered to the academy would rot long before arriving, and capturing them alive wasn’t always feasible. It was easy enough to throw a net on a wolf and haul it in a cage, but it was hard to remain in the ‘take them alive’ mindset when fighting giant spiders.

After class, he went to the sword training field and found Valia there, watching over cadets using these hours to further train. Alexis was among them, as always. “Lady Zodiac, a moment of your time?”

“Ah, Cadet Noah, of course.” Her cheerful demeanor set off alarms in Noah’s head. “Come with me,” she said, leading him away from everyone else. “I thought you said you wouldn’t put your hands on that girl,” she hissed once the two of them were out of earshot.

“I didn’t force her in any way, nor was she coerced by anyone else. She came to my room willingly, made her intentions known, and I obliged. She and I enjoyed a wonderful, consensual evening, and that’s all there is to it. Anyway, I wanted to ask you about spiritual senses. Sir Elyot said that you’re an expert on the subject.” He spoke fast and successfully veered her off the topic.

“Spirit senses? I wasn’t going to go over that until spring. What’s your interest?”

“It’s part of my magic research. How do I improve it?”

“Unfortunately, it’s not something you can practice here at the academy. The fastest way to train your spirit sense is to go through several near-death experiences. You become more sensitive to the presence of others, such as sensing an assassin sneaking up on you. Think of it as like mastering the feeling of being watched. The greatest warriors claimed to have felt it a few times in their lives, if only for a moment. It happens during the most intense battles against the worthiest foes, when you’re absolutely pushed to the brink and walk the razor’s edge.”

She pulled her sword from her sheath with inhuman speed and put it to his throat, receiving no reaction from him. Rather than being too fast for him to draw his own blade to counter, she knew Noah instead resisted the instinct, choosing not to retaliate. He saw it coming and knew she wouldn’t touch him.

“You stare them down, each of you waiting for the other to make their move. You both know that the next clash will decide who lives and who dies, and you honestly don’t know how it will end. Your mind is clear of all but the moment, and you feel everything like never before. The slightest breeze is like a splash of freezing rain, with every hair swaying like a tree in a hurricane. You can feel every single minute detail in the handle of your sword, and a snowflake falling on your outstretched blade is as loud as thunder. At that moment, you feel fate unraveling like a play.”

“So it’s like a monk skill, hyperawareness brought on by the stress and fear of intense battle.”

“Not necessarily. It can be honed with strict discipline. If you can learn to tune all other senses out, then your spirit sense will be brought to the forefront of your mind, but this is something that takes years to master.”

“I think I understand. Thank you, ma’am.”

“You’re welcome. Just try to stay out of trouble for once.”

“Believe me, I would love to. It’s just that CERTAIN PEOPLE insist on fighting me, which leads to far-reaching consequences.”

“Point taken, but you know what I mean. You could at least handle those consequences with honor and proper conduct.”

“I’m simply playing the game my way, without straying from the rules.”

After speaking to Valia, Noah headed for the mess hall for dinner, arriving there while Alexis and Sophia were still in the baths. Like before, numerous female cadets tried to invite him to sit with them. He was about to turn them down when an idea popped into his head, and he approached one of the groups of women.

“Good evening, ladies,” he said as he took a seat with them.

“Cadet Noah, so glad you could join us!” one girl said eagerly.

“Unfortunately, I can’t stay long. I just wanted to speak with you for a minute. I know what it is you’re interested in, but as you can imagine, the academy isn’t the place to talk about it. I invite you all to come to the Knight’s Sheath the weekend after next. I’m sure you’ve heard of it or know someone who has.”

“Isn’t that place a brothel?”

“It is, but more importantly, it’s a place off academy grounds, where I’ll be giving a special lecture there on all the things you want to know. I happen to be friends with the owner. Think of it as a fitting place for the sultry subject material I’ll be discussing. If there are any questions you’ve always wanted to ask but were too ashamed, such as about the human body, what happens between men and women, or how to achieve indescribable pleasure, I will answer them. I’ll also be extending this invitation to the male cadets. Quite frankly, it’s an education that all of you need and have been deprived of. It will be a speaking engagement, purely professional, like any other indoor class.

Think it over, and if you know anyone who would be interested in learning, bring them along, but be discreet, and it would be best to not wear your academy uniform. We wouldn’t want the teachers finding out about this, would we?”

He got up to leave and was waved over by another group of women. He stopped by and gave them the same invitation, same with any men who approached, asking about the lemon trick. By the time Alexis arrived, his lecture was the subject of all the hushed gossip in the mess hall.

“Where’s Sophia?” Noah asked as they both took their seats.

“Still in the baths. Several women wanted to hear the details about last night, and she finally broke down and started telling them. I didn’t want to listen, so...”

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, I suppose it was nice seeing her so happy for a change.”

“Just wait. You’ll make her even happier in the future.”

Despite her glum mood just moments ago, a smile crossed her face. “While this isn’t how I wanted you to find out about she and I, I can’t deny that ... it’s really nice having someone I can talk to about this.”

“They say the weight of a secret is cut in half every time you tell someone about it.”

“It is certainly a relief.”

“I’m glad. Anyway, after dinner, could you help me in my room with something?”

Alexis raised her eyebrows. “Going to your room after dinner? Do you have any idea how many rumors are swirling around you and me already? Until last night, everyone thought we were practically engaged.”

“It’s magic training. You’re the only one I can trust with this.”

“What will I be doing?”

“Making sure I don’t die.”

After dinner, Alexis followed Noah into his room. Before doing anything else, he went to his desk, made a large ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign, stuck it to the outside of his door, and then locked it.

“This is starting to get sketchy,” said Alexis.

“For this, I need absolute focus. During the Red Revelries, I encountered warriors who could make themselves invisible, though the means and result were different from my own. They did it by slowing the flow of mana in their bodies, achieving a form of suspended animation in which light could not touch them, at the cost of all their bodily functions and senses being blocked off. Because their mana wasn’t flowing at all, they didn’t breathe, and their hearts didn’t beat, but even the process of death was halted. It was like they were freezing themselves.”

“And you want to try and mimic the technique?”

“In a way. When in this frozen state, they still had some awareness of what was happening around them thanks to their spiritual sense, probably their only means of awareness when all their physical senses were halted. When I use my invisibility, my spiritual sense is heightened, but I need to enhance it further. I’m thinking that if I use both techniques at once, I can fully grasp the sensation and become more aware of it.

I’m going to activate my magic and then meditate to try and slow my mana down as much as possible. I need you to monitor me to make sure I don’t end up accidentally killing myself.”

“You’re talking about stopping your heart and breathing while invisible. Don’t you think this is a little extreme?”

“The people I fought were able to use this technique while standing, meaning that it’s possible to retain muscle tension. All I need you to do is make sure my posture doesn’t break. If I blackout or worse, I’ll slump over, at which point I’ll need you to force-feed me this health potion and do whatever you can to wake me up. Just grab a book, sit with me for an hour, and keep checking to make sure I’m sitting upright.”

“Fine, but if anything goes wrong, we stop immediately, deal?”

“Deal.” Noah sat down on the floor in the full lotus position. He straightened his spine and made sure every part of his body was where it should be. “Memorize the height of my shoulders, and every couple of minutes, give a tap to make sure I’m still sitting correctly. Just do so gently. The whole point of this is to block out all physical sensation.”

“So no pulling up a chair and using you as a footrest. Got it.”

“Thank you. Wake me in an hour.” Noah then cast his magic and vanished into thin air. This was not his first time meditating with his spells active, as he often used it to train his ability to produce mana and maintain his spells longer.

Despite seeing it already, it still made Alexis flinch in surprise. It was unnerving how his presence completely disappeared, how alone she felt despite him sitting on the floor just a few feet away. She tiptoed over to his desk and looked for a book to read while waiting. He was studying a wide range of materials. She selected a history book and sat down on the floor beside Noah. She began to read while checking on Noah every few minutes, but it was getting harder to stay focused as time passed. She kept reading the same lines over and over without any of the information sticking.

The smell of Noah’s room was making her anxious. It stank of sex, something even a virgin like Alexis could instinctively recognize. After a whole day, the air was still thick with pheromones. She got up from the floor, feeling restless. She grabbed Noah’s desk chair and brought it over, trying once more to read, but still, she couldn’t relax. She considered sitting on the bed but feared the stains she might end up touching.