He felt good. His mind was clearer even than it had been right after taking Calisto’s potion. Standing up, he noticed that the last aches and pains from his injuries were finally gone. In his old life, cuts and stabs like he’d received would still twinge a bit even months afterwards, but now he felt nothing at all. His [Scarred, but Healing] had shot up again now that he was completely healed, all the way to 240% increased healing speed. That alone wouldn’t explain how nice he felt. Jeffrey’s gift hadn’t just been a good night’s sleep, it had been a healing sleep.
Davi and Jeffrey had been planning on leaving at first light, which meant that they were already gone. He wished he’d been there to say good-bye. Or maybe it was better this way. He didn’t know how to do good-byes.
He realized with a start that Lumina was still sitting on the blanket, right next to where he was now standing and exactly where she had been when he fell asleep.
“Whoa! You startled me. Did you sleep here, too?”
“Oh, goodness me, no. I retired and returned. Here.” She handed him a little tube of salve, which he took. “For the bites.”
Right, he’d slept outdoors on a blanket. Maybe back home it would’ve been fine, but this place was covered with insects, and they’d had an entire town to snack on. Although, he didn’t have as many mosquito bites as he would’ve expected. He counted seven, but that was it.
She brushed off her skirts and stood, and they started walking as he applied the salve. The worst was a big swollen bite right under his eye. He dotted that with the salve first, and then moved to the others. By the time he’d reached all of them, the bite on his face had already deflated and felt even with the rest of his skin.
“Nice stuff. Calisto’s work?”
“Yes. It’s nice to have an [Alchemist] here. I don’t know if I’d say if Calisto is a talent worth what Hogg invested in him, but the convenience of having your potion work done at home more than makes up for it. He asked if he could observe your Language lessons, and I allowed it, assuming you have no objections.”
“None,” said Brin.
“Good. Have no fear; I won’t allow him to be a bother.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Myra. She was peering around the sleeping forms as if looking for someone. When she saw Brin watching, she jolted and then stepped back to walk away.
“Oh, come on. She’s not going to bite!” Brin called after her.
“I’m not?” Lumina murmured.
“Please don’t,” Brin whispered back.
“Oh, very well.”
Myra visibly steeled herself, squared her shoulders, and then marched up to meet Lumina and Brin. She curtsied formally. “Your Radiance. Brin.”
“Well met, child.” Lumina nodded.
“Hey,” said Brin.
Myra straightened, and her eyes darted from side to side. “Have you seen Zilly?”
“No. Why?”
She frowned in worry. “I think she might’ve snuck away with Kevim and the rest. They told her she couldn’t come, but I’m worried she followed them anyway.”
“That sounds like Zilly.” Brin found himself scanning the scattered townspeople as if she might suddenly appear. “Hold on. Last time I saw her she had an arm in a sling and three broken ribs. Did Jeffrey’s song really heal people that well?”
“No,” said Myra. “She really shouldn’t be traveling.”
“Sancta Solia, OK, I’ll ask Hogg. Maybe there’s someone he can send after her.”
Myra’s shoulders slumped. “Thanks.”
“Zilly, hm? I know that name from Brin’s letters. Which means you must be Myra.”
“Yes, Your Radiance, if it pleases Your Radiance. Might I add that I apologize terribly for–”
Lumina seemed amused by Myra’s formality, and smiled warmly. “Never fear, young miss, I feel no sense of antagonism towards your person. In fact, you might say that I’m quite sympathetic to your situation.”
“Thank you, Your Radiance,” said Myra. She said it all calmly and evenly, with perfect poise. Myra had been taught to talk to important people; she’d been raised in this world and she was ready for it. Honestly, this back and forth made Brin feel like the outsider.
Brin noticed Lumina’s eyes flickered back and forth between him and Myra, and then her face switched to casual indifference. He recognized that look; it was what she wore when she was trying to hide some sort of scheme.
“You know, [Weaver] is a Class that takes quite nicely to the Language. Seeing as how I’m already tutoring Brin on such things, why don’t you come along as well?”
“Oh, no, Your Radiance, I couldn’t possibly–”
“Couldn’t possibly refuse? I agree. Tomorrow we’ll begin at the start of the second shift,” said Lumina.
Myra didn’t move a muscle on her face, but she visibly paled. “Thank you, Your Radiance.”
“Lumina will do. See you then.” She sauntered away before Myra could respond, and Brin followed her.
“Why’d you do that?” Brin asked.
“Because it pleased me to do so,” said Lumina.
“I’m worried that you got a bad impression from my letters. Last time I got one out was when I still couldn’t stand Myra, but we’ve made peace since then. If you just invited her to mess with her, I wish you wouldn’t,” said Brin.
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I meant what I said. I’m already teaching you, so what’s one person more? Is there anyone else you’d like to bring in?”
“My friend Davi, only he just left,” said Brin.
“Davi. Ah, he must’ve been the large lad on stage last night. I remember him from your letters as well. Anyone else? Any other girlfriends?”
Brin stumbled on a big pothole on the ground. One that no one else could see; he definitely hadn’t tripped on his own feet. Looking at Lumina, her expression was back to casual indifference.
“Ok, first off, Zilly and Myra are just friends who happen to be girls. Not girlfriends.”
“Of course. That Myra, though, she’s pretty cute, don’t you think?” Lumina said in a conspiratorial whisper.
“Like I said! Just friends!”
“Yes, yes,” said Lumina, her amusement breaking through the mask. “Not to worry, Brin, I am a particularly artful hand in matters like this. Maybe I’ll have Hogg pick out a few more students. To make it seem more natural and less like a date?”
“That’s good because it won’t be a date,” Brin said firmly. “Besides, if Calisto is already going to be there it already won’t seem like that.”
“True. Perhaps I shouldn’t have accepted his request so easily,”
Brin sighed. “Calisto is fine! Please don’t make it weird.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Lumina said with a twinkle in her eye that he definitely didn’t like the look of.
They walked in silence for a bit, before he heard quick footsteps behind him. He turned to see Chamylla dashing up the street behind them. He blinked, but yes, it really was her. The elderly [Enchantress] had her skirts clutched in her hands so that she’d be able to sprint without tripping over them.
She landed in front of Brin and Lumina in a low curtsey, very low–it ended with both palms on the ground. Lumina nodded at the display as if it were completely expected.
Head still bowed, Chamylla said, “Apologies for the interruption, Your Most High and Revered Radiance. I heard from Calisto that he’ll be allowed to join your lessons. Please let me join as well. I am a level 49 [Enchantress].”
“Raising up the next generation is one thing, but this is quite another. Perhaps if you were thirty years younger, I would say you were promising. As it is, I can only call you a moderate success.” Lumina tapped her chin. “Very well. You may listen but not speak. If the children don’t require my attention, I may deign to give you direct guidance, but I won’t make a guarantee.”
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“That is most generous of you. Thank you, my Lady Radiance,” said Chamylla. She didn’t raise her head before Lumina turned and strode away.
A ways down the street, and with no more interruptions, Brin asked, “Does it ever feel weird to have people bowing to you like that?”
“It did at first. I’m not actually a lady, you know. Or, I am, but that’s a technicality of rank; I don’t have noble blood. At first, I took it upon myself to remind everyone of that at every opportunity. I felt it lacked humility to let people talk up to me like that. Now, though, I generally don’t bother. If she persists then I will correct her, but for the most part I allow people to do as they like, as long as it doesn’t stray into rudeness.”
“Fair enough,” Brin said noncommittally. He thought he might be sick if people started bowing to him and calling him Your Most Dazzling Luminescence, or whatever high-ranking [Illusionists] were called. But it’s not like Lumina asked people to talk to her like that–more like she didn’t care one way or another. That might be the only way to stay sane.
Once they were out of the town walls and into the forest, one of Hogg’s mirror images came out from behind a tree and fell along beside them.
“Oh, Hogg, good. Everyone is saying Zilly tried to sneak out. Any way you could track her down and make sure she doesn’t get eaten by a bear?” asked Brin.
“We don’t have bears around here. She's going to get eaten by a giant spider,” said Hogg.
“Even better.”
“I’ll find her.”
Suddenly, the eyes on Hogg’s mirror image doubled in size and then erupted out of his skull, followed by hundreds more. The eyes all flew into the air, fanning out in different directions.
Brin gagged. “Oh gross. That looks disgusting when they aren’t invisible.”
Lumina pressed a handkerchief up to her face. “Warn us next time you do that.”
Hogg laughed.
“Seriously, that’s going on the long list of things that will give me nightmares. Not on the front of the list, but nowhere near the back either,” said Brin.
“It was neat, though, right? Hard Light can do some pretty weird stuff when I’m not paying attention,” said Hogg.
When neither of them cared to comment on that, Hogg cleared his throat and said, “Anyways, I’m here. Tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Brin asked, worried.
Lumina frowned at Hogg. “Very well, but first… <Summon the Flame that Burns Itself>”
Brin braced for pain, and then it hit. The words slammed into his mind, but the expected pain was a drizzle where he’d expected a hurricane. It was like someone shouting near his ear. Very annoying, but not really that painful.
He shook his head, but there was no lingering ache. No headache at all.
“What was the point of that?” asked Hogg.
“To demonstrate that while my methods may seem extreme at times, I do know what I’m doing,” said Lumina.
“It really wasn’t bad at all. Am I immune to mageburn now?”
“No,” said Lumina. “But you’re past the worst of it. We’ll practice at that intensity at least once a day for as long as I’m with you.”
“That’s incredible. I honestly feel fine,” said Brin.
“The hardest part will be remembering to do it,” Lumina said.
Hogg shook his head. “Fine. Now tell him the rest. We agreed, remember.”
Lumina sighed. “Hogg and I talked about your path forward, and I think it’s important that we adjust your schedule somewhat. At first, I intended to train you night and day, cramming as much knowledge as I could before something inevitably pulled me away from this place.”
“I know! And that’s what I wanted! Hogg, why did you talk her out of it? You know me. I work hard, but you know I’m not going to overdo it.”
“I know the exact opposite of that,” said Hogg.
Hogg was exaggerating. He knew how to pace himself, but he also knew how to double down when it was crunch time. He'd worked hard before System Day because there was a deadline. Now he wanted to learn as much as possible from Lumina because she wouldn't be here forever. And despite what she said, he could tell she didn't just want him to learn a little, she wanted him to excel.
Lumina saw him glaring at Hogg. “It’s not Hogg’s fault. We talked, and I agreed with him. I was acting as if… as if this were the only time that we’ll ever get this chance. As if I intend to leave and never see you again. That isn’t my intention at all. Any training that we don’t finish now can simply be resumed at a later date. I intend for this to be a lifelong relationship.”
“I believe you, but–”
“Let me tell you what we intend for you, and then see if you object,” said Lumina. “First, if we combine your levels with your Achievements, you’re doing quite well for your age. Even compared with the children of nobles, I wouldn’t say you’re behind. But looking only at your Class, the straight truth is that you’re not quite up to snuff. Normally, a crafter at level thirty would have much, much higher Skill levels than you. You leveled quickly, but you obtained your levels through combat. Not to disparage the difficulties you’ve been through, but if we only look at your Class then it’s clear you still have work to do.”
“It’s dangerous,” Hogg interjected. “People are going to overestimate you, rather than underestimate you. A fighting [Glasser] at level 30 should have stronger glass that hits harder. Not to mention working projectiles.”
“So rather than all-day lessons with me, we’d like you to continue your work as a Glasser as well,” said Lumina.
Brin couldn’t argue with that. That sounded like they wanted him to do more work instead of less, and he didn’t really want to abandon his glassmaking. He nodded.
“Also, your education must include more than only magic. You’ll need to learn history, culture, economics. A few more languages wouldn’t be amiss. Manners, how to dress, how to act around those of higher station. All the things that a mother would normally teach her son.”
“That’s a waste of your time. Anyone could teach me that stuff,” said Brin.
“But it’s important to me that I do it,” said Lumina. “Other than that, it’s important that you have breaks, time to rest, time to pursue recreation. Which brings me to your schedule. You’ll spend six hours per day studying with me. That will include magic and other topics. Four hours making glass. We’ll mark in around two hours for meals, since from now on we’ll all be observing every formality. Even you, Hogg.”
Hogg groaned.
“The rest of your time is yours. A young man shouldn’t be scheduled all day. Spend some time with your friends.”
Well, Davi was gone so that was four more hours of practice time. He could work with that.
“Lastly, you’ll spend eight hours per night in bed.”
“I can’t sleep for eight hours,” said Brin.
“You don’t have to sleep, but you do have to be in bed,” said Lumina.
Four to eight hours practicing illusion magic every night, got it. Sure, he would try to sleep if he could. And now that his mind was a bit clearer, decided that it would be a good idea to heed Calisto’s instructions about only taking the no-sleeping pills once a week. The last thing he wanted was to get potion sickness and lose access to them altogether. So yes, he’d try to sleep, but he wasn’t sure how much he’d be able to get. The nightmares after Travin’s Bog had been extreme, and he had a feeling that these ones were worse.
All-in-all, this wasn’t as bad as he’d feared. He still had hours of magic practice with Lumina each day, which was honestly more than he had any right to ask.
“I guess that works,” said Brin.
“Good. Then we can start. I don’t have it in mind to do any Language today. Rather, I’d like to address the first question you asked me. It’s time to… how did you phrase it? It’s time to learn to shoot glass bullets.”