The spar with Ren does not go as expected. He is much more distracted than I even thought and almost takes a hit. That little slipup blows away any distraction that has taken hold, and he figuratively wipes the floor with me. Okay, it was literally. Can't I retain some of my dignity? As I am brushing fine sand off my clothes, I resign myself and embrace the literal.

With my favorite hall master somewhat pacified, I spend the rest of my day relaxing at home.

The next day is spent with Erysis and Nexen. Just some friends being friends.

And the day after that is dedicated to a couple of delves.

Finally, on the fourth day, I receive a brief summons back to the Academy. No additional information provided.

***

I attempt a knock on Archmage Elisa's door, but this time, I am not met by an instantaneous reply. Instead, I get a subdued invitation in.

I open the door and greet her, "Good morning, Archmage Elisa."

"Hello, Lucius. I have some news." She offers me a seat with a distracted gesture. "I was not able to find anything material, and I have tried everything." There are some sparks of frustration in her tone. She realizes and quickly clears her throat. "Apologies. I did not think there would be so little." She flicks her wrist and her desk is cleared of everything. With that, so is my optimism. "I know... All the libraries I scoured and all the academics I hounded, none had knowledge of even something remotely similar. Never has there been a case where a person had absolutely no mana senses. Limited, yes. But total? Simply impossible. Or I would have thought so were you not currently in my presence." She sighs, tempering rising elation back into reserved frustration. "But that does not mean we will be giving up. If there is no data for us to work with, we will have to make our own." My resignation subsides a bit. "How determined are you to see results?"

"I'll do anything."

"Good." She stands up. "Follow me." She starts heading for the door, and I trail behind her.

"Where are we going, Archmage Elisa?"

She points down. "The basement."

"Basement?"

She chuckles. "Sorry, that's what we call it. We are going to an underground chamber under campus."

"What are we going to do there?"

"I have prepared a few experiments we can try. Do not worry. Were there to be any mishaps, I am exemplary at healing magic." I gulp a bit, but my character resolves himself and finally matches her steps.

We descend lower and lower, until we reach an arena carved inside the earth. The space is practically crackling with enchantments, the protective wards visible even to me. The chamber is divided into multiple sections with their own smaller, and even more powerful, enchantments. We take up a free one and the archmage instructs me to warm up.

After a few minutes, she speaks up, "That should be enough. Are you feeling in optimal condition?"

I make a few final stretches. "All good."

"Perfect. First, I will try to saturate you with various buff spells."

"I've had buffs before."

"That is to be expected. How strong would you say?" I simply shrug my shoulders, an uncertain expression on my face. "Right... The aim of the experiment is to saturate you so much that your mana field is affected. Possibly, the destabilization and intrusion upon your field might be able to... jostle something loose. I'll make them as intense and as short as I feasibly can. That should reduce risk to a minimum. Ready?" I brace myself. "Here we go." She levels a hand at me, and a soft light envelops my form.

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Alert. Unknown external force detected. Well, this is new. My perception has been improved. My own perception. Archmage Elisa just overclocked my core. The change is utterly insignificant, but the discovery is still fascinating. Before I can even study the phenomenon, it recedes. Not like I would have found anything, but still... Spoilsport.

I look around and blink a few times. "That was strange."

"Any changes, Lucius?" I shake my head. "Hmm." She starts looking at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. Soon after, she looks at me. "Failure, then. Second, direct mana field interference utilizing a physical attack."

"Uhm..."

She waves her hand and smiles. "A simple levitation spell. Studying the reaction your mana field has to the magic will be a secondary objective. Brace yourself."

I take up a sturdy stance. "Ready."

She lifts her hand slowly, and my body follows the movement, levitating in the air, but just a bit of the ground.

She barely stammers out, the spell taking immense concentration and power, "A-Anything?"

"...No."

The archmage exhales and lets the spell fizzle out, gently lowering me down.

She starts looking at the ground again, kicking at nothing from time to time. "Some good news at least, your mana field reacted as expected, making a sustained attack near impossible. While still in an entirely passive state, it would seem that everything is working correctly—or as correctly as we can tell—you are just having trouble with the control aspect. Number three, mana supply interference. I will attempt to directly transfer some of my supply to you. Try to feel the flow, or the resistance." She approaches me and extends her hand. I reciprocate and she grasps it tight. My character is too disheartened and only blushes a little bit at the contact. "Here goes."

We clasp hands for a few seconds, and Archmage Elisa lets me go. I was not able to observe anything changing, not even any radiation.

I sigh. "I'm sorry..."

She is brushing her hand through her hair, staring at my own. The elf lowers her arm, pulling out a potion out of nothing. "Four." She shakes the small bottle full of clear liquid. As she hands the potion to me, she continues, "Drink up."

I take the offered concoction. "What is it?"

"Something custom I commissioned. Its main effect being mana field strengthening. Secondary effects include—mana field destabilization and mana restoration. Even the strongest potions won't majorly change the properties of your mana field, but mixing some opposite effects might be disruptive enough to trigger a reaction."

I shrug my shoulders, uncork the glass bottle, and drink the liquid in a single gulp. Hmm, tastes sweet. How thoughtful.

"I don't think it worked," I say.

The elf takes back the bottle. She starts tossing it in her hand. Occasionally, it freezes in the air and drops down much slower than it should. After a final catch, the bottle is replaced with a small metal tool and a mana crystal.

"Number five." She clenches her hand around the two items. When she opens it again, the mana crystal is gone, and the compact branding iron has a subtle sheen to it. "Weak regeneration enchantment. It will consume itself in a few seconds. I tested it out on myself yesterday. When I employed a numbing spell to the area, there was no pain. But if you are un—"

"It's okay, Archmage."

She smiles at me. "Maybe the enchantment will react differently with your mana field compared to a spell."

I nod and extend my arm again. The elf uses one hand to cast something. I soft glow envelops the back of my palm. In her other hand, the circular brand heats up to a dull red. She presses the metal against my glowing skin for a moment. When she lifts it up, the burn fades away almost immediately.

"At least it didn't hurt," I say, forcing a smile.

The brand is stored away. Archmage Elisa thinks for a moment, then she says, "One final thing we can try." She looks around and decides something just then. "Not here."

"Archmage?"

"The next experiment uses magic that is, to put it lightly... frowned upon. Best to perform it in a more private environment. Are you comfortable with that?"

"Yes," I answer with conviction.

"We can use my house." We start walking and she laughs softly to herself. "You probably shouldn't follow strangers to isolated locations, so good thing we already know each other, right?" I give her an awkward chuckle back. Good effort.

The moment we cross the enchanted boundary of the underground chamber, my next step brings me in front of a short metal gate. Now this is what I am talking about, none of that flashy, epilepsy-inducing teleportation, just a clean transition.

The elf pushes the gate open and beckons me inside the courtyard of her home. I start entering the modest grounds, circling an equally modest house, and observe a temporary resistance when I cross the gate. The short walk to her home produces another dozen of the same sensation. The strongest one follows when she opens the front door and I step in. I should change the designation from 'modest house' to 'bunker'. If those were the defensive enchantments I felt, I wonder how many others I missed.

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