Magic Life in the Empire

There was no accident this time, and Cyril peacefully arrived at the right station.

This was a popular street with a variety of stores everywhere. Many students were frequenting this place in their free time, owing to its proximity to the academy.

"You didn't eat anything after the lessons; come on, let's try something here." Rhamn was excited to be out here and pestered him to look around.

I am a bit hungry; I have time for a quick food break, agreeing to her demands. Cyril approached one of the food stalls nearby and casually bought some meat

"I didn't expect meat on a stick to taste so good, but next time let's go to a restaurant." She looked happy.

There was something she said that caught Cyril's attention. You can taste what I am eating?

"I suppose so; I can feel what you think of the food; it's an enjoyable process." At this point Cyril was not as unnerved by her reading his mind

I guess I am getting used to this; I'm not sure if it's a good thing. "Of course it's good."

After finishing his meal, he was ready to start moving when he heard someone calling his name nearby.

"Cyril, are you also taking a break?" It was Myra. She was dressed in casual attire. "Her again? Why is she everywhere we go?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to unwind a bit." How unlucky. "I am not here for long; we still have classes tomorrow after all." He tried to keep this conversation brief.

"That's true, but why don't we go together? It's more fun that way." Did she fall for me or something? Though he wouldn't admit it. Seeing a girl trying to approach him made Cyril feel good about himself.

"Sorry, maybe some other day; I still have something to do." Maybe it wouldn't be so bad; we do use the same weapon. "Don't say that; there is nothing fun to be had there; just tell her to get lost."

Hearing his words,, Myra was visibly disappointed. "Oh, I understand, but it's a deal; we must come here some other day."

After saying goodbye, Cyril finally set off to find the right clinic.

Following Edmund's directions, he soon arrived at some dark alley with scarcely anyone nearby.

"Is Edmund really trustworthy? This place doesn't look that safe." Yes, it's not a good first impression. It wasn't the cleanest place around, and being here made him think he was doing something shady.

At the end of the alley there was a shoddy sign on the building that said in bright red 'Happy Patient'; it didn't help in improving Cyril's opinion of the place, but he still entered the old doors of the clinic.

The entry room consisted of a bench placed in front of the door leading to another room; in there was a middle-aged man boredly reading some magazine.

Noticing a client coming in, he lazily raised his head. "Come in. What can I help you with?"

"I would like to have a health check-up. I've been seeing some hallucinations ever since I was caught up in that recent manarail incident." Cyril decided to tell as much as possible for better chances of finding help.

"Doesn't sound too difficult... Before we begin, can you explain further what exactly you are experiencing?" His calm demeanor gave Cyril hope.

"I started seeing a person; she can talk and seems just like a real human, but no one else reacts to her in any way. She is always around me; right now she is sitting on your desk listening to me with a smile on her face." With a straight face, he told his honest situation.

Hearing all that, the healer froze for a few seconds, then slowly looked at his desk and back at him. "You are not having a laugh here, right? My time is precious..."

"It's all true, please, you have to help me." He tried to sound as earnestly as possible.

"Alright, sit down in that chair; I'll see what I can do." His face still looked a bit skeptical. Thankfully, he didn't refuse.

The whole process lasted about 15 minutes; the healer tried all sorts of spells, trying to find out what could be wrong with the patient.

In the end, he silently stood in front of his desk, contemplating something, and this continued for a few minutes more.

"I'll be honest, I didn't find anything wrong at all, no curse, no charm, no illness, nothing. In fact, you are the healthiest person I've ever seen. I almost want to believe you are just lying to me."

"I am telling the truth; you must believe me!" Cyril was getting desperate at this point.

 He crossed his arms and leaned on his desk. "I get it, don't worry. Let's do this: I'll give you a prescription, and you will buy this potion; its effect is the calming of the mind; you'll be taking two sips per day during the course of a month. In the meantime I'll visit some mages I know; maybe they can tell me something. After a month you will come here again, and we'll see what happens from there."

Cyril was not exactly happy with this arrangement, but seeing him earnestly trying to help him, he didn't voice any displeasure and agreed with the plan.

After taking the prescription and putting it in his pocket, Cyril said his goodbyes and left the building.

"That guy essentially called you crazy; how dare he! I am telling you, there is nothing wrong; don't worry about it so much. That healer is just some alley quack who doesn't know what he is talking about..."

 He is a good person who really wants to help. He didn't even charge me for this, I should be grateful

The uncertainty of his condition made Cyril anxious, and Rhamn could feel that, so now she was trying to cheer him up by talking to him.

"Come on, let's not think about this; just go to the academy and have fun. Tomorrow will be our first practical lesson; aren't you excited?"

Cyril didn't mind this distraction. I am looking forward to it; it's a pity that the professor only allowed us to use a simple light spell.

"Because of safety concerns, I guess, it's still going to be fun." The whole road back, they talked about student life and other unimportant things.

...

"Good morning, Cyril." The next day began as usual with a greeting from Rhamn.

Good morning. The current situation still worried Cyril a little, but with no solution in sight, he decided to accept things as they are for this month.

After his usual morning routine, he went for the long-awaited spell-making class.

This lesson was taking place outside the castle in a dedicated field.

The professor confidently stood before the crowd, explaining some things before the practice began."... and so you must be careful when gathering mana from the outside. Ultimately, it's a foreign matter you are inviting into your body, and if your spell is not sufficiently well-crafted, it can cause some undesirable consequences. I will call you one by one,, and you will cast your first spell using the Arnot's pattern.."

The students were eager to try, and their spirits were not dampened by the professor's warning; after all, they are in class I for a reason.

Soon the first student began casting the spell under the professor's watch. He stretched out his hand forward, closed his eyes, and a circle of blue light filled with various shapes appeared on his palm.

It created a bright light that lasted for several seconds before he lost concentration and the spell broke apart. The spell was brief but successful.

"Not bad; memorize how it felt and keep working hard. Next..." The professor looked satisfied with this attempt, although it was hard to tell from his face.

It shouldn't be that hard, thought Cyril, mixing with the group. It was not long before his name was called.

Standing in front of everyone, he calmly cast the spell without much issue, and the resulting light was stable.

"Very good, you can stop. Looks like you have some talent. Next..." Cyril returned to his place, where Rhamn appeared and started congratulating him.

"That was perfect! Did you see how impressed the others were? And this is nothing to you; in the future, they will witness even more impressive stuff." Cyril felt that if she weren't so beautiful, her arrogance would be quite annoying.

"Thank you…" That wasn't a compliment...