Can I Touch It for a Moment?
After checking the egg's reaction, Conien, who had been tailing Iris as she set off in search of the fire spirit, extended his hand.
"Here."
"Thanks. Pardon the intrusion."
After thanking Maness, who handed over the egg he'd been fiddling with, he carefully placed it on his palm.
"Hm."
"Feel anything special?"
Conien paused before answering the question, then yanked his hand away as a chilling sensation suddenly overwhelmed him. He snatched the falling egg with his other hand and hurriedly returned it to Maness.
"You startled me. What happened?"
"It rejects me."
"Rejects?"
Flexing and relaxing his hand to savor the lingering sensation from the egg, Conien explained plainly.
"It means it doesn't like anyone but its master."
"Hoo...."
Maness felt a swell of pride at the implication that it had already recognized its owner. Any worries about it not acknowledging him upon hatching vanished in an instant.
"A familiar's egg, right?"
"Yeah."
Conien, already briefed that it was related to a familiar, furrowed his brow in thought. The fact that he didn't even pry about where he'd gotten such a precious item showed he knew how to respect boundaries.
"Definitely different from spirits. Hatching from an egg, showing hostility like that just now."
Conien was spot on. Familiars were animals that operated on a whole different plane from spirits. This tiny egg—small enough to pinch between thumb and forefinger—housed a being from a realm beyond easy reach. It wasn't just about manipulating nature; familiars embodied symbolism itself, eternal creatures locked in an infinite cycle. There was a saying that their powers transcended magic, bordering on miracles. Just looking at the ones from the original story—they were monstrous. Somnium, which granted eternal slumber to the living. Dermos, which could enrich or wither everything it passed. Those two alone wielded authority that wasn't an exaggeration.
"More importantly, why do spirits fear familiars...."
Hiteri seemed to know the answer. He'd probably foreseen this unfolding. But since he'd insisted they experience it firsthand, he wanted them to figure it out through direct encounter. They couldn't just ask the spirits in front of them, either. Low-grade spirits couldn't communicate, and they bolted at the slightest hint of trouble.
"Why can't we see it!"
Maness wasn't the only one hitting a wall among the three. They'd scoured every inch for hundreds of paces, but not even a glimpse of anything fire-related.
"Someone must've already snatched them all. Should've moved faster!"
"...You think? They must be gathered somewhere."
"We saw wind and earth right away?"
"Those are everywhere."
In a field and forest like this, there was no such thing as a place without wind or earth. It was a perfectly logical deduction if you considered that.
"The water spirit we saw earlier was near a stream, too. Fire spirits are probably similar."
"Hm... Should we set the forest on fire, then?"
"You're insane."
Maness clicked his tongue at the bizarre suggestion. He had zero intention of rotting in the disciplinary room just to spot a spirit.
"Makes sense, but it's still odd."
Rubbing his chin, Conien spoke up.
"Sunlight symbolizes fire, too. You'd expect fire spirits in sunny spots, but not a single one."
"See? Someone got them all already!"
"...That's the least logical part."
As Maness watched Conien chide Iris, his mind raced. "Odd" meant something was influencing the area.
"Conien, can you scout for any natural presences around?"
A man who'd lived in unity with nature his whole life. He was the one to rely on here.
"Not sure I follow."
"Like how a mage senses mana."
Letting out a short hum, Conien nodded in understanding and selected a sturdy tree. In a few bounds, he scaled to the top, leaving the other two gaping in awe.
"Climbs trees better than most animals, huh?"
Maness agreed. With physical prowess closer to a beast than a human, it wasn't surprising—but watching those eerie movements up close was something else.
Soon, Conien landed lightly on the ground and brushed the leaves from his shoulders.
"Well?"
"Couldn't pinpoint a fire spirit, but something's there."
His expression was subtly conflicted.
"Quiet yet stormy, cool yet scorching like molten iron. Conflicting sensations clashing."
The two students exchanged glances after Conien described his impressions.
"So... what does that mean?"
"Beats me."
Maness shrugged it off. At least something was out there—Conien wouldn't strike out. But teasing him about it would be suicidal.
"No fire spirits nearby, then. How about grabbing a wind or earth one and calling it?"
His instincts screamed danger. Time to shift focus. Heading to whatever Conien sensed would be a rough path—his description alone was ominous.
"But something's there."
"Didn't you hear the viper prof? Don't go deep."
"We'll take responsibility."
"I don't gamble my life on maybes."
It wasn't his place to say, after risking a desert trip from the Library of Memories—but tagging along this far had already pushed his limits. His body was fatigue-overloaded. His unnaturally robust frame insisted it could keep going, but reason said stop. Professors' warnings were to be heeded.
"Majority vote, then."
To end the endless back-and-forth, Iris proposed a solution. Perfect for a trio.
"Hm."
Under their stares, Conien glanced between them. Both shot insistent glares fitting their personalities. But he wasn't one to bend, so he chose for himself.
"Curious, though."
"Right?!"
Maness drew the short straw again.
*
"Guys, I'm seriously gonna collapse."
"Almost there."
How many times had he said that? They'd been following Conien's relentless pace for ages, rounding the mountain base toward the ridge beyond. Maness let out a dying groan.
"You climbed mountains fine in last class. What's up?"
If you'd been through what I did last night, you'd be a corpse by now. He swallowed the rising retort. Couldn't explain if asked, anyway. Good thing the payoff matched the investment—leaving the library empty-handed would've brought tears of regret.
"Wait."
Thanks to Conien's forest savvy, they soon crested the ridge. But all that greeted them was a vast plain.
"Nothing here."
"Hm."
His eyes flashed.
"Something's veiled. Like that barrier before."
Plausible. A school would hide what students couldn't handle. Why not just remove it? He grumbled inwardly, but it was pointless. Snowrobe was where you lived with the annoyances.
"Keep going, see what turns up."
They'd come this far—had to see it through. Treasure or monster, something to balance the toil.
As they followed the base to the flats again, Conien ahead raised an arm to halt them. Cautiously advancing, his eyes widened briefly before he beckoned them over.
"This is...."
Reaching Conien's side revealed a new vista.
A massive lake dominated first sight—vast enough to take time crossing its center. Surrounding it, flowers bloomed across the field like a painting.
"Whoa... so beautiful."
Iris gawked in awe. The other two had no complaints; it was breathtaking enough to lose themselves in.
"So, now what?"
Maness broke the spell. Great scenery, but the goal mattered. Whatever Conien sensed—they'd endured for that.
"Seems around the lake."
Following Conien into the flower field, sweet scents and drifting petals stirred the senses.
"Hm."
At the lake's edge, Conien closed his eyes, attuning to nature, even dipping a hand in the water. Finishing his scan, he grew cautious.
"Ends here."
"Why?"
"Too deep. Even the toughest couldn't dive that far."
"Really?"
Maness sighed as Iris finally caught up, still admiring the view. Her personality meant no backing down easy. Not that he would, either—this was just an excuse.
"It's a magic school."
They'd followed Conien so far; now his turn. Like at the mountain before.
Dunking his hand in, Maness spread his mana wide to probe. It sank endlessly without finding what Conien described.
Mana won't detect it, huh.
But there was a harvest: two mana collisions. Scattering mana across the lake revealed linked points.
Teleportation magic. One at the bottom, one on a shallow wall.
"Gotta use teleportation magic."
"Teleportation?"
Iris perked up at the magic talk.
"Creates a flow between points. Common in port cities with seas—lets you travel effortlessly."
"All kinds of weird magic."
"Practical stuff."
Shaking water from his hand, Maness scanned around. Finding the method didn't solve it.
"Toward the bottom?"
"Yeah. From shallow to the depths."
"Suicide."
Conien shook his head. True. Diving unprepared was a straight path to drowning.
"Why the flower field, then?"
Maness plucked his pre-spotted flower. Conien recognized it.
"Dolphin flower?"
"Flowers clustered here for a reason. Someone's maintaining them."
"...Hidden on purpose."
"Dolphin flowers en masse would give it away."
Rarely recognized, though. Like teleportation, dolphin flowers were port staples. Chew the leaf for underwater breathing and body warmth. On land, mostly trade or research.
Seagreen paid off here. The port city Kyle would visit—info from there helped.
Tick.
Peeling a petal, Maness infused it with mana. A blue-glowing leaf appeared in his palm.
"Let's move."
Popping his leaf in his mouth, Maness offered mana-charged petals to the two.
"Could be risky."
"What could go wrong?"
His mumbled reply slurred around the leaf.
"Viper said he'd save us at death's door."
Conien took one with a helpless shrug at his grinning friend.