first-years, having slept through the entire journey to the school, but my annoying roommate was actively greeting everyone he saw. I guess I won’t judge him.
– Welcome all old and new students to the State Academy of Magic, Sorcery, and Witchcraft! Oh my! It was none other than Kazimir Vseslavsky, the famed director and, coincidentally, the most talentless mage of all times! How did I not recognize him at once! – Welcome to our alma mater! Eat, drink, rest! But remember, tomorrow we start our studies! continued the director. And not a single word about the impending planetary-scale catastrophe? Seriously? Though what else should I expect from Vseslavsky? Incompetence! A slight mental impulse – and the unfortunate director, hurrying to his table, finds his pants dropping. Oops! No underwear? How embarrassing… Wait. I caught the gaze of a stern old man at the teachers’ table. Did he notice the weaving? Impossible. Too subtle a stream of magic. Not every Guardian would discern it.
– Zheka, do you know who that teacher sitting to the right of the director is? I casually inquired of my noisy roommate.
– He’s a sorcery professor, I think, – my roommate replied cheerily, not stopping his enthusiastic consumption of rice porridge. – Why? Got an eye on him?
I snorted like a horse at my own joke, but the guy immediately received a not-so-gentle smack on the back of his head from the girl sitting next to him.
– Idiot, – she commented calmly. – Don’t mind him, he just doesn’t know how to behave properly…
Was she talking to me? Why was this girl standing up for me?
– I’m Asya, this goofball’s sister, – she continued. – And what’s your name? You’re his roommate, right?
– Seva, – I introduced myself modestly. – Yes, we’ll be sharing a room. And don’t worry, I’m not easily offended.
And I’m not one to hold grudges. I’ll get even and forget. A tiny weave of magic slipped unnoticed from the tip of my finger, hitting Zheka squarely in the forehead. Nothing serious, just a simple hairdressing charm with a delayed effect. He’ll learn not to laugh at me.
Asya, my roommate’s sister, was quite attractive. Long dark hair, a small nose, straight teeth… What was her name again? Asya, right? I should remember that. But what am I thinking? We’re on the brink of a global catastrophe, and I’m admiring girls. Still, there are quite a few attractive ones here. Especially in the senior years… Magic really does wonders!
But I didn’t like that sorcery professor one bit. He spent the whole evening trying to bore holes into me with his gaze. He should have been looking at his plate instead. Hanging his huge nose over the table and staring at the top of my head. No, this won’t do.
A few thin weavings, tied to a source and… nothing? What do you mean, nothing? For a moment, I stared in disbelief at the strange professor, and that was enough to catch his fleeting smirk. He had destroyed my spells! The nerve! Who was this guy?
Unfortunately, no answer came to my mental exclamation…
Chapter 2: Locked Away
As the first rays of the sun appeared over the horizon, I was awakened by a scream of despair. Opening my eyes reflexively, I rolled off the bed and pointed my staff ahead, ready to deflect the spells of an unknown enemy. However, the reality was more mundane, though no less amusing. My hairdressing spell from yesterday, with its delayed effect, had finally worked, turning my roommate’s thick hair into a green mohawk half a meter tall.
– Punk’s not dead! I cried out, unable to contain my laughter.
The funniest part about this spell was that it wasn’t so easy to remove. Even if you shaved off all the hair, the hairstyle would restore itself in about thirty minutes. Well, he wanted to be the center of attention, so I helped him!
– Did you do this? – Zheka roared. – How do I get rid of it?
– How should I know? – I lied with a senseless smile. – They haven’t taught us magic yet!
He’ll get used to it. People adapt to everything. He’ll walk around like this for a week or two and then accept it. The heavy toll of a bell echoed through the school. Time to get up. And what’s on the schedule today? They handed out those sheets yesterday, didn’t they… Ah, here they are! So, two classes of sorcery, magic theory, maganalysis, and an introduction to pharmaceutical alchemy. Not bad, I can live with that. I’ll also get to meet the sorcery professor.
The dining hall was shrouded in a thick silence. It seemed as if all the students were under a spell of sleepiness. What a feeble young generation, ashamed after just one night of revelry and drinking. They even discussed my new friend’s hairstyle with half-hearted enthusiasm. Pity, I had put effort into that.
What’s for breakfast? Pancakes and tea? That’s what I like. Especially with sour cream. But where is it? No sour cream? This is a mockery!
– Good morning! – Asya joined us.
She really is pretty. I wonder, is she already eighteen?
– What’s up with you? – the girl eyed her brother’s hairstyle suspiciously. – Have you gone mad?
– Leave me alone, – grumbled Zheka, devouring the pancakes. And I should take his example, considering the first class was starting in just a few minutes, and I really didn’t want to be late for the suspicious professor.
The sorcery professor’s office was, to put it mildly, unusual. Oak shelves lined the walls, filled with stuffed animals, inexplicable powders, and preserved organs of magical creatures. Although the heart on the top shelf looked suspiciously human… And the label on the jar, “cor humanum,” translates from Latin as “human heart.” Who is this guy?!
– Take your seats! – bellowed a voice from the teacher’s desk.
How did he get there? Did I not notice his arrival? Impossible! Judging by my classmates’ bewildered faces, they hadn’t seen him either. Some sort of mystique. Or magic?
– My name is Altair Ivanovich. Today’s topic is gravity-defying charms, or simply put, levitation. The levitation spell is one of the simplest in your curriculum. I will draw the weaving on the board; you just need to memorize it, visualize it, and fill it with power using your staff. Direct the weaving at something from your stationery. You probably don’t have the strength for anything more.
Altair Ivanovich? Is he joking? And what is he drawing? Why is the weaving enclosed in a circle? These aren’t levitation charms. Or… Wait. I’ve seen this before. That’s upper astral magic! Nobody has used it for thousands of years!
A soft pop sounded to my right, and the neighboring desk turned to dust. That’s why these charms were discontinued. The slightest mistake in weaving turns them into something destructive and deadly.
– Nothing serious. You’re just learning, – the teacher commented calmly. However, the tension in the classroom noticeably increased.
By the end of the class, only one desk remained intact – mine. I successfully pretended that I couldn’t do it, and Zheka was too upset with his mohawk to try anything. Better that way.
– Alright! – clapped Altair Ivanovich, clearly amused. – There’s nowhere left to write, so you’re all dismissed. See you on Friday!
Great. Just hope no one decides to practice in the common lounge. At this rate, there’ll be no furniture left.
– Vsevolod, I’d like you to stay behind!
Is he talking to me? What does he want from me? Interesting. I returned to my seat and patiently waited for my classmates to leave the gloomy auditorium.
– Ah, greetings, Guardian! – the sorcerer cheerfully announced –