I held my hand out over the shirt I had laid out on my bed, holding a small clay cup full of powdered silver. There wasn't much in there since even exchanging directly for silver coins by weight, I still was saving most of my money for creating a handful of additional spellglyphs, nuggets of teleportation alloy, and components. Still I'd exchanged fifteen silver for the powder, so it wasn't nothing either.

A low chant rolled through the room as I continued to work on the improve quality spell. It was a tricky bit of ether shaping, straining even my personal limits, and it honestly reminded me of the first time that I'd ever cast the lifeberry spell.

This was my third attempt, and I was just glad that casting the spell incorrectly didn't consume the component. The incantation continued, lasting a full thirty minutes as I reshaped the ether four times more, but with the sheer amount of concentration it took to command the complex magic, the time flew.

Before I knew it, I was nearing the end of the chant, and tightened my focus further. I slammed the butt of the staff into the ground twice, raised the volume of the words of power, and tipped the silver dust over the uniform.

And this time, ether flowed out of me, and into the uniform.

I might not be able to use blood price, since the spell's artificial components only hung around for a short while, but I still had one trick up my sleeve. As the ether drained from my pool, I reached for my fire, and fed it up the channel and into my spell. There was an immediate increase in light, as my uniform began glowing, and then it erupted into a flash of light.

As the spell came to an end, I blinked to clear my vision, then picked up the new uniform. After arriving here and getting them from the university, they had been the nicest thing I had owned, even though they weren't exactly fancy – I'd just been desperately poor.

Now, though… the fabric of the button down was thicker, the cloak as well. The pants weren't thicker, but they were softer while also feeling more durable. The stitching had grown tighter, and I thought the base material might have changed, though I wasn't sure. I was neither a tailor nor an enchanter, after all.

Before, my clothes had probably been worth around eighty to a hundred silver, when you took everything together. With the addition of the fifteen silver worth of dust, they should have been worth a little bit more, but not much.

Through the application of my dragonfire to amplify the spell, it seemed more like they'd be worth two hundred silver, maybe even more. Clothes could be hard to pin down at times, as some things cost far more than they should for a reason well beyond my comprehension.

Either way, it had been a massive leap in quality, far more than what the components should have provided.

And just in time, too. I wiped my brow slightly, though I hadn't actually been sweating. The homework of improving a uniform was due in class tomorrow… Speaking of which…

I glanced at the painting, where it showed the moon high in the sky.

Yeah, it was time for bed. Then I'd be off to turn in my work first thing in the morning...

"Welcome back, and congratulations to those of you who mastered arcane seal, locate object, and improve quality," professor Silverbark said, his almost always calm smile radiating surety. "Please bring your improved uniforms to the front of the class, so I can check them over with ethersight. For those of you who weren't able to complete the last spell in time, don't despair. Keep practicing, and you may be able to make some points back on the final exam."

I got in line, just as he'd said, and we began shifting through one by one. When he spotted mine, he raised an eyebrow curiously, and I just grinned, while Seren spat contented sparks on my shoulder.

Once everyone's work – or lack thereof – had been checked, professor Silverbark flicked his wand to animate the chalk, and began writing out new spells on the board.

"For the final chapter of our class, we will be going over some of the third circle spells that every wizard worth their salt should know. We're going to begin with the general dispel. I know that for many of you, this will be the most complex spell you've ever cast, as you're required to adjust many parts of the spell's array while casting. Don't be afraid, however – it's not as bad as it seems at first glance."

He went on to describe how the spell worked in essentially the same manner as a much longer to cast but more ether efficient counterspell, with the cost scaling depending on how much dispelling the magic had to do, and I played with Seren on my shoulder as he talked, only tuning back in when he said something that was actually new to me.

"One particularly useful application of dispel magic is the fact that it is cross-disciplinarian. While not as effective against things like divinities or psychic power, it can still work on them, at least to an extent, similar to how the note of negation can be used to wipe away our spells."

Now that was worth knowing. I wouldn't be able to use the spell in my duel against Gerhard, since it required a full ten minutes to cast, but I was absolutely going to bear it in mind for the future. If I didn't win the duel, maybe it could be useful as a part of escaping the family again?

The board erased itself, and five spells were drawn out. All of them were third circle, but they were fairly simple, at least when compared to some of the complexities I'd seen in abjuration or transmutation. They were much closer to conjure lesser storm.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"You do not need to master or even learn all of these spells, but I do expect you to reach mastery with at least one of them. Often these are called the five basic elemental attack spells: fireball, aquatic torrent, earth eruption, air expansion, or force pulse. Though, if you are a specialist in another type of magic, such as lightning or ice, I will also accept lightning bolt or frostbite. Come speak to me if you're looking for something like that. As for these five, each one has their advantages and disadvantages."

He tapped the fireball spell, then the torrent, then eruption, and so on, making his way down the list.

"Fireball is deadly and destructive, but also large and too unwieldy to use in tight groups or when you need finesse. Aquatic torrent can be used in non-combat situations, but when pressurized into attack, can only strike a single target. Earth eruption is excellent at destroying objects and even small buildings, but many nimble creatures can survive it just fine. Air expansion is excellent at knocking people and things around, but not excellent at killing something dangerous – like a demon. And force pulse is powerful and can be used in and out of combat, but is released through a punch and has a highly limited range."

When I'd glanced over the syllabus at the beginning of the semester, I'd focused on aquatic torrent, and even hearing its downside… I was still on board with it. It would be useful in the duel, at least if my curses had anything to say about it, and it would be useful out of it.

And besides, I liked water. If I'd been able to pick my affinity magic, I probably would have picked something like abysswater or healing waters, or even plain old normal water. I still liked the water, and there was no reason for me to not pick it up.

"Our next spell is a ritual, and in my personal opinion, is the most useful ritual you will ever learn in your entire life," professor Silverbark said, pulling my attention back to him. "Etherius locker. This spell uses wood taken from a plane of Etherius to construct your own personalized demiplane. Do we have anyone with air-aligned bloodlines in class?"

There was a beat of silence, and he continued.

"Well, that makes things simpler. The plane the wood is from must be willing to hand over its power to the spell, or else the ritual fails. Our school sources wood from one of the planes of earth, as it tends towards neutrality, but there have been some instances of students with powerful air bloodlines finding it incompatible. As that's not a problem…"

He snapped his fingers, and chests appeared on the table. Each one looked to be roughly six feet tall, two feet wide, and two feet deep, making them just large enough for most people's staves to fit within comfortably. With all of them lined up in a row, they did look remarkably like a series of lockers.

"Each of these contains the ether crystals, herbs, powdered silver, copper, and gold, and the silk of a phase spider that is needed for the completion of the ritual once. After the ritual is completed, you should find it linked to your spirit, allowing you to easily summon and retrieve things from within. Ah, yes, question?"

"How does expanding the locker work? Does it need to be the same wood? Can I just chuck wood into it to expand it? Do I replace the boxes and get the old one back? Do I replace the locker and lose the old one forever? Do I need to do a ritual each time?"

"A fair question," professor Silverbark agreed with a nod. "Let me start with the last one: yes, you do need to perform the completed ritual each time. With the weight in ether crystal and other materials, it's going to run you a bit over fifteen hundred silver for each cast, so it isn't something to be done lightly for many. You cannot just lay planks of wood out in order to expand it, they must be crafted into a box shape, as it is the interior volume that is added, so long as the wood is at least an inch thick."

He paused, seemingly trying to recollect Kybar's other questions, then continued.

"It expands the space, it does not replace or swap them. The wood is actually consumed in the construction of the limited demiplane, it isn't physically there, so the type of wood doesn't matter in relation to one another, so long as both planes are willing to cede the wood's magic to you. When you cast the spell, you can restructure the total volume into a new shape, so long as you've emptied the locker. I believe that's all of them?"

"It is, thank you," Kybar said, nodding his bull-head, nose ring twitching.

"Wonderful. Then unless anyone else has any questions, I'll move onto our last spell? Good. Flyte is our final spell. Every wizard should be capable of flying, and this spell is how it's done. It is also, notably, the first spell in our class that can undergo the imbuement process."

There was a rustling, but he held up his hand, telling us to quiet down.

"Imbuement is when a spell can be cast normally, through the shaping of ether, but it can also be cast as a ritual through the use of assorted components. This allows the spell's effect to be permanently imbued into the object, and it is one of the few ways those without an artifice affinity can create permanent magical items."

"What about permanency?" I asked. One of the books I'd gotten had contained the spell, though I hadn't been able to copy it, as an older student had taken it.

"Permanency has a similar, albeit different effect. Rather than the spell itself containing the capability to be cast as a ritual, permanency is a ritual spell that is cast onto another object, akin to how a spell is stored within a spellglyph. That spell then becomes permanent. It does not work on all spells, but it's highly flexible, and can create permanent conjured structures, wards, guardians, and more."

"What are the requirements to imbue flyte magic into something?" Yushin asked from beside me. "And will you be providing the materials?"

"Unfortunately, we cannot provide enough materials for everyone to create a permanent flight spell," professor Silverbark said. "It needs either a broom, carpet, or a mortar and pestle sized for a giant as the base object to be enchanted. Then you need dried hyssop leaves, a freesia flower, a one carat ether crystal, and as much pixie dust as you can muster for the ritual."

"Does the object matter?" I asked.

"The size is inversely proportional to the speed and fine control, but proportional to the amount of weight it can support. Brooms are fast and nimble, but small and rarely carry more than one. Carpets can range in size, and thus power. A giant mortar and pestle is slow and bulky, but can carry a great deal."

"Doesn't the magic make it uncomfortable to sit on a broom for hours?" Kybar asked. "It seems impractical."

"As you'll see when we practice the flyte spell, the magic renders you weightless and lifts you slightly, while keeping you tethered to the item. The same is done with the imbuement, meaning no pressure is on your body from the narrow surface. Still, some have been known to sit sideways, or even surf on the broom. Whatever suits you best."

He paused, then snapped.

"One final thing. The quality of the object does also matter for how quickly it can conduct ether. This is true of most enchantments, imbued or affinity. If you'd like to learn a few more imbuing spells, make sure to take the followup to this course next year. Now, if we can turn our attention…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.