Chapter 76 - Surprise

Lily was feeling better than ever after collecting her spoils. Whatever had caused the strange fire gremlin had made it a ripe treasure trove for her advancement.

She had tried asking Arakil about it then and there, but he cautioned Lily to instead return home and discuss it later. Looking at how low the moon was, Lily agreed and realized it was far later than anticipated.

Wrapping her cloak around her, she began a brisk jog back to the city, praying she'd make it back before it got too light for the shadow cloak glyph to conceal her. She even ignored a slime or two on the way, as she didn't have the time to properly gather the spoils.

When she spotted the familiar gate, she let out a sigh of relief and slapped both glyphs on herself to activate them—silencing and enshrouding her in darkness.

While no longer jogging, she still walked briskly all the way until she was back safely in her room. She let out a massive sigh of relief and collapsed backward on the bed as the surge of adrenaline finally started to fade.

She tried to speak but was met with silence. Silently giggling to herself, she removed both glyphs and had their effects dissipate.

"We're home, Arakil," Lily whispered.

She retrieved the notebook from her breast pocket and placed it on the desk, where it nearly instantly returned to its diary size.

"So, now that we are safe, what was with that gremlin? Why did it have what looked like fire spells?" Lily asked with burning curiosity.

[My immediate guess would be it was fire-touched. Effectively, it was elementally aligned due to a recent environmental change. As for what that change was, I'd assume it could've been Rose who was spending significant portions of her time summoning forth endless flames.]

"Really? But Rose has been gone for what feels like ages," Lily replied. "And would that really be enough to affect gremlins? Do I need to worry about an Astral gremlin showing up?"

[No. I don't think you need to worry about a star-powered gremlin. From what I've deduced, Rose wasn't exactly the epitome of efficiency and would throw around copious amounts of fire-infused Mana. Monster spawning is not exactly an uncommon phenomenon, and unless it has changed drastically from my time, such cases of a rare spawn are few and far between. In fact, I'd go further to say you were fortunate to have such a serendipitous encounter.]

"I guess I used up all my luck in finding it," Lily sighed. "Because the amount of stars I was getting was abysmal. I don't think I've rolled so many ones before."

[You've really taken a liking to associating it with dice. I suppose it is an apt comparison.]

"It was Theo's idea," Lily answered. "He likes to play games of dice and said Starcluster reminded him of it. I have to admit I prefer it better than thinking that I failed to cast the spell correctly. Instead, I just rolled a one."

[And once you're ready for some of the later spells, you could even equate it to utilizing loaded dice.]

"Sounds fun! Although I don't think I'll mention that to Theo; he'd hate the idea of me cheating," Lily giggled.

[And yet, even with such boons, I failed to roll anything but zero. I'm glad you don't share my fate in that regard.]

"I can't even imagine. I'm excited to see what effects these other spells have on me, but honestly, I don't want to think about anything else until I've mastered my Nebula Veil. My Moonlight spell also needs more attention; I've been slacking on it for the more fun spells." Lily's determination to master her spells was palpable, her ambition and drive shining through her words.

[I'm glad to hear you've decided to focus more on what you have without my need to keep you grounded.]

"Thanks, although I will say it's not entirely my own judgment," Lily admitted. "I keep thinking of how effortlessly Rose could control fire. I need to be that good with what I have; otherwise, how else will I convince the examiners that it's my bloodline? Even though my Astral attunement has made it so, so much better, I feel like I can go further."

[I'm delighted to hear that. Although I will beg you to go to bed, or you will no doubt be utterly exhausted from tomorrow's activities. Again, splendid work tonight, I'm proud to call you my apprentice. Goodnight, Lily.]

Lily blushed furiously at the praise and nodded happily, "Goodnight, Arakil! Sweet dreams!"

***

Time marched on, and Lily continued her daily grind. She diligently attended her lessons, practiced with Theo when she could, and continued her work with Camilla whenever she had time.

Her Nebula Veil was showing great results and was continuing to exceed her expectations, and even Arakil's most treacherous alarms would fail to startle the cloak off of her.

Likewise, when training with Theo, she had managed to block or deflect all but the heaviest rocks he could launch by enhancing the cloak with multiple folded layers and giving it a slight surge of extra Mana.

The one idea Lily kept coming back to was using the starry cloak almost like a big hand, reminiscent of when she slapped the gremlin.

Richardus and Theo even convinced her to try using it as a grab, and she'd found moderate success lifting large but light objects like chairs.

Her other training with Arakil was still mainly focused on keeping her Mana Core passively spinning, and Lily finally gained a little ground in that regard. With rough estimates, Lily could keep it spinning unconsciously somewhere between one and two hours.

It was hard for her to judge because constantly checking on it meant she wasn't unconsciously allowing it to spin. Still, she felt like she'd made huge strides in it, and Arakil also praised her for it while reminding her that it was a long-term goal and that even her current results would see some benefits.

Then, one day, to her surprise, Camilla handed her a potion bottle with a mischievous grin on her face.

"What's this?" Lily asked curiously, tilting her head as she examined it.

"A Mana potion," Camilla snorted. "I guess you've been slacking on your alchemy training."

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Potion labels exist for a reason!" Lily protested, defending herself from the teasing before blinking a few times and realizing what Camilla said. "A Mana potion? What for? I thought I hadn't earned enough yet?"

Camilla rubbed her chin and snickered, "Mmm… Yes, perhaps. However, considering the occasion, I'm willing to give you an interest-free loan on this one."

"Considering the occasion?" Lily repeated.

She tried racking her brain to determine if today had any significant meaning; it wasn't her birthday, anniversary, or any kind of holiday or event that she could think of. Lily sighed defeatedly and turned to Camilla.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Camilla gave a smug chuckle before answering, "Well… A little birdie might have informed me that the magic examinations are happening next week."

Lily gasped, "How do you know? Even Instructor Richardus said he wouldn't let us know until the day before."

"I guess he underestimated the power of my gossip network," Camilla replied confidently with a grin plastered on her face. "And nobody told me to keep it a secret, so it's not my problem. In fact, it's rather lucky that someone I know from Tresnia just so happens to be one of the examiners this year."

"I don't want any special treatment!" Lily immediately refuted. "I need to get in on my own merits, or they won't take me seriously."

"Girl… After all we've been through, do you really think I'd do something like that to you?" Camilla asked, skirting the line between genuine disappointment and feigned outrage. "I've told them nothing about you. I don't think anyone but myself, Oz, and the orphanage knows about you."

"Oh…" Lily mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"In fact, I can't wait to hear all about it! I bet it will be quite the surprise," Camilla said, followed by her signature cackle. "I bet those examiners will wonder what rock we've been hiding you under all this time. It will be hilarious !"

Lily didn't entirely agree but decided to let the old woman have her fun. She just hoped whatever examiner Camilla planned on teasing after the fact wouldn't impact her test results.

"So… This potion is for me?" Lily asked, scrutinizing the bottle with her eyes and hands.

"No, it's for your big dragon sister," Camilla snorted sarcastically. "Of course, it's for you, you silly bunny! I still don't have the foggiest idea of what you need them for or what you are doing, but don't think I haven't noticed your rather unusual Mana growth."

Lily gulped, "I… Uh…"

"Hush, girl," Camilla demanded. "I'm not asking you to explain anything. Sure, I'll admit I am curious, but at the end of the day, it doesn't concern me. Keep your secrets; I've certainly kept plenty of mine. Secrets are worth their weight in gold and rapidly lose their value each time they are shared."

Huh… That kinda does make sense, even with Camilla's twisted view of the world.

"Thank you," Lily replied, gently hugging the small bottle. "This really means a lot to me. I'm sure it'll give me the boost I need to pass with flying colors."

Camilla snorted, "I think you could already pass with flying colors. But I suppose that is from a Tresnia point of view. Who knows what Regarth or one of the hoity-toity big schools will say. Regardless, I think you'll knock their socks off!"

Lily blushed again and nodded happily, blinking rapidly to stop her moistening eyes from forming happy tears.

Camilla, perhaps ever the master of digging things out, gave Lily a soft hug and pat on the shoulder.

***

Lily sat, legs crossed, on her wooden gathering array. Thanks to the enchantments applied to it, it still looked better than new despite its usage both indoors and outdoors.

"Less than a week left," Lily muttered.

She gingerly fidgeted the Mana potion bottle in her hands.

"I'll be ready!" she declared with confidence.

Guiding her thumb to the cork, she flicked it off, brought the bottle to her lips in one smooth motion, and downed the concoction.

The familiar rooty licorice flavor was in her mouth again, although she detected a hint of unknown spiciness to it this time.

Ever the worrier, she at first thought that perhaps Camilla had made a small mistake in the concoction, but when she felt the energy flooding her body, she doubted that was the reason.

Lily quickly entered her meditative trance, and her suspicions were confirmed—this was a more potent potion than earlier ones!

That crafty old bat. She acts like such a witch, but she's honestly a big old sweetheart.

As Lily smiled happily, she formed tight spirals to gather and refine the abundant Mana. If she had to guesstimate, she was somewhere around the ballpark of a 33% increase in potency while still using the same primary ingredients.

Lily had no idea what catalyst she must have used to enhance the potion. Still, she figured she would have plenty of time to quiz Camilla for answers after her examination and before her eventual departure.

Hopefully, to Regarth.

As Lily sat in meditative silence, she was already thinking about what she still needed to refine and practice to ensure she aced the examination.

***

A few days later, at the end of one of Richardus' lessons, he cleared his throat loudly to grab everyone's attention.

"Listen closely, everyone. I have an important announcement to make," Richardus said clearly and precisely. "Tomorrow, we will be hosting the magical examinations."

Cheers erupted from the class. Some students shared nervous glances, but it seemed like the majority was looking forward to it.

"For those of you who don't know, I'll remind you that this isn't your only chance," Richardus continued explaining. "Unless you've already accepted an entrance letter, you are permitted to retake the second test. Likewise, if you failed to get into the second test the last time, you can try again this time."

The class was nodding along. Clearly, some of them were going to retake it, hopefully improving their chances. Lily had no such desires. She needed to blow right through it on the first try and catch up to Rose.

She glanced at Theo, who seemed rather indifferent about it. He'd already accepted his school and had no desire to change his mind. Lily had to admit that between Theo going there and Camilla's recommendations, she had a few times considered Tresnia.

Theo noticed her glance and gave her a smile and thumbs up.

Lily smiled back and resumed paying attention to the instructor, who was now explaining where it would be taking place.

No. She was going to get into Regarth. She wanted to be an adventurer.