Controlling Destiny - 17 Casting Fire

The disappearance of madam Mavris suspiciously did not affect many people.

It seemed as if few people even noticed her disappearance. It was not uncommon for Mavris to go into seclusion for long durations of time.

Of course, select elders were aware of the truth, and they helped spread simple rumors that Mavris had simply gone on a journey of self-discovery.

Any further issues were promptly dealt with and soon no one would remember madam Mavris much.

Headmaster Magmus sat in his office with a strangely calm expression.

However, despite his appearance, he was sad inside. Dried tear stains stuck to his face and his eyes were slightly red and swollen.

He had known madam Mavris for over 200 years, and during that time they had grown to become close friends despite their differences.

And now, Mavris was gone. Of course, he knew why as he was the one who ended her.

And yet despite this Magmus was still sad. He did not want things to have gone this way. Unfortunately, it is not up to the individual to control their destinies.

Magmus was an old man, and he had gone through many hardships. He knew that despite what he wanted to do, reality was often disappointing.

Unfortunately, for the sake of progress, sometimes some things had to be done. As such, there would be losses along the way.

Magmus sipped his tea calmly before standing up. With a wave of his hand, the redness in his eyes disappeared and his unkempt hair brushed itself.

Now that his appearance was fixed again, Magmus walked out of his office with more confidence. [There’s still a lot more work to be done.] he grimly thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Ultrix was looking at his three books with great excitement. [Gosh, who would’ve thought a book with such a stupid sounding title would be so enlightening?] Ultrix thought to himself.

After reading a few pages from the book on patience, Ultrix found it easier to not only control his emotions but also to control his magic affinity.

Taking in a deep breath, Ultrix focused on the energy that was circulating within his body and snapped his fingers lightly.

Instantly, small fireballs danced within his palm glowing with energy.

[This is so much easier than before!] Ultrix was ecstatic. With just a few minutes of practice, he had drastically improved his technique.

Now, instead of simply creating sparks, he could simultaneously manipulate 3 to 4 small fireballs in his palm.

However, as soon as the fireballs left his palm, they would promptly snuff out.

[What a shame,] Ultrix thought slightly disappointed. [It seems as if I still need to have a means of feeding my fireballs enough energy that they can at least survive long enough when out of my range.]

It was the same as a fire that rages in a forest. Once there are no more trees to keep feeding the fire, the fire would naturally die out. Similarly, as soon as the fireballs left Ultrix’s hand, there was no more direct supply of magicule energy to supply them.

Nevermind that then, Ultrix thought with some disappointment. He still had yet to read the guide to unlocking magicule meridians. [Hopefully, this book will give me some deeper insights on how to control my affinity even better.]

Skimming through the book’s contents briefly, Ultrix’s eyes locked onto a chapter about sustainable energy sources.

[Bingo!] Ultrix thought with excitement. Flipping to the chapter, Ultrix’s body began to tremble with excitement as he read the chapter.

Although the use was to sustain magic circles for longer durations of time, this kind of logic could also be applied to mobile runics as well, prolonging their duration.

Ultrix thought of the runic circles put on wagons for faster speed, and realized that they probably had to take their energy from somewhere to keep turning. Similarly, he could apply a magicule converter into his fireball formula to keep them ignited.

Reading further into the chapter, Ultrix found what he was looking for. “Drawing magicules from the air to sustain longevity.”

[Of course!] Ultrix slapped his forehead in self-embarrassment. [Just like how I could use the magicules to draw runic circles, similarly, I can probably create a runic within the fireball that does the same thing.]

Reading up on the chapter, Ultrix realized that to accumulate more magicule energies, one could create artifacts that could safely contain the energy.

Just like how a jug can contain liquids, similarly, a runic artifact can contain magicules.

However, there was no information on how to create a runic artifact out of fire. All of the ones that the chapter covered were only created with rare gems that had a natural affinity towards the magicules that they collected.

Thinking about the physics that would be involved with such a project, Ultrix felt his head start to throb. He was never quite the mathematical type of person anyway, and this kind of thinking tended to make him feel like he was losing brain cells.

Regardless, he had to try. [Well, better try and get nothing than to not try and actually get nothing,] Ultrix thought to himself.

Reading up more on the concepts, Ultrix got to work.

Elsewhere, a figure in a dark robe was whispering into a token artifact.

“Are you sure she was finished?” a voice came out from the token.

“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes,” the figure said shakily.

“Well, that’s a shame, I was hoping that we could have used her more.”

The figure took a deep breath before asking, “should we still go on with the infiltration operation?”

“Of course,” the token replied. “However, I have to remind you that you are our last chance at this, Luzith.”

“Do not botch this operation.”

Luzith’s face was completely emotionless. “I understand,” she said quietly into the token before shattering it.

And then, she disappeared within the walls once more.