Yordi led me to the side of one of the supply wagons, away from Jonas's piercing gaze, and handed me a folded set of clothes.They were simple, but made from fabric infinitely better than the rags I was wearing — a dark wool tunic, sturdy trousers, and soft leather boots.As I changed, awkwardly trying not to aggravate the sensitivity of my freshly healed shoulder, she stood guard, her expression a mixture of pity and an unspoken warning.
"Lady Reza… she recognizes value when she sees it," Yordi said quietly, without looking at me."She can be… difficult, but her word is law. Try not to disappoint her, boy."
Those words, meant as advice, sounded more like a sentence. I was not a protégé; I was an investment. An asset to be assessed.With the new clothes — which fit me with surprising precision — I felt less like a refugee and more like recently acquired property.
Jonas cast me one last distrustful look before nodding toward the main carriage. I took a deep breath, the cold air filling my lungs one last time before I stepped into what felt like the golden cage of the spider.
The door opened with a silent motion, and I entered.
The interior was the complete opposite of the fiery chaos I'd come from. It was a sanctuary of silent, sterile luxury. Dark blue velvet seats, polished wood that gleamed even in the dim light, and silver details that caught the snowy glow from outside. There wasn't a single personal item, no forgotten book or shawl tossed aside. It was a space as beautiful and expressionless as its owner.
Reza sat on the other side, perfectly still, with a steaming cup of tea in a saucer beside her. She did not invite me to sit; she merely observed as I settled into the opposite seat, the silence in the carriage heavier than any battle cry.
"Has the pain from mana exhaustion passed?" she asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the quiet.
I was caught off guard. "The… pain?"
"When a mage depletes their reserves, the void causes a neural backlash. A sharp pain. Unpleasant," she explained, as if reciting a symptom from a book. "You felt it. Has it passed?"
I nodded, startled by the accuracy of her description. "Yes. Now it's just… a tingling."
"That means your reserves are empty. Useless to me at the moment," she stated, with the same emotion one might use to comment on the weather. She extended her hand, and in her palm lay a pale blue, faceted crystal, pulsing with a soft inner light. "Take it."
Hesitant, I did. The moment my fingers touched the crystal, a warm current of energy flowed into me. It was an incredible sensation, like drinking fresh water after days of thirst. The fatigue in my bones, the tingling in my nerves — all began to fade, replaced by renewed vitality. In my vision, a new notification appeared, far more welcome than the last.
[Mana Level Restored: 100%]
"Mana Crystal," Reza said, answering my unspoken question. "A luxury you will learn to value. Now, I want to see why the Rector wasted an invitation on you."
It was a test. My heart quickened.
She picked up her teacup, lightly blowing across the surface. "This tea is too hot. Cool it."
I looked at the cup. Cool it? How? I couldn't conjure ice. My magic didn't create matter; it bent rules. Baelen's Arcane Theory came rushing to the front of my mind. Heat transfer. Thermodynamics. Thermal energy doesn't disappear; it moves. I needed to accelerate the dissipation of the cup's heat into the surrounding air.
I closed my eyes for a second, focusing. I extended my hand — not toward the cup, but toward the space around it. I visualized the energy, the water molecules in the hot liquid vibrating furiously. Then, I bent the rule. I forced the thermal conductivity of the air within a few centimeters of the porcelain to increase drastically.
A faint, pale blue glow shimmered at my fingertips. The steam rising from the cup abruptly diminished, as if sucked away. There was no sound, no wind — only a subtle shift in reality.
I opened my eyes. Reza was watching me, her face still a mask of neutrality. She raised the cup to her lips and took a sip.
"...Interesting," she murmured, setting the cup back onto the saucer with a soft click. "Raw control, but with an instinct for correct application. There is potential."
She leaned back, her violet eyes fixing on the snowy landscape passing by the window. The test was over. For now.
The carriage continued its journey in heavy silence. I had passed the first assessment. I had proven my worth as an asset. The crystal in my pocket was warm — a tangible reminder of the power now flowing through my veins. But the cold realization that I was merely a tool being calibrated by my new mistress was deeper than ever.
The journey to Lumina Academy had, indeed, begun.