NOVEL NEXT Chapter 97: I have done some digging into your personal life
Celine led Fabrisse around the curve of the refectory's outer wall, past a decorative barrier of climbing ferns enchanted to hum softly when brushed, and into a semi-private study alcove nestled between two tall bookcases. Technically part of the refectory's library annex, it was just secluded enough to muffle voices but still open enough not to count as 'alone.' The round window behind them framed the arched bridge outside, where someone was currently juggling teacups with levitation runes.
Fabrisse took the seat opposite her but didn't settle. His eyes traced the curve of the window behind them, noted the distance to the nearest corridor junction, clocked two other students whispering over a textbook nearby, and made a mental note of the alcove's modest shielding enchantment. It looked like basic audio distortion with no locking spells.
If he needed to leave, he could do so in under four seconds without even brushing the table. Not that he expected to. Celine wasn't a threat. At worst, she was an unstoppable conversational tide, flooding into places you'd thought walled off. He'd never heard of her doing anything truly cruel.
He tucked his satchel a little closer to his side and folded his arms.
Celine, already sitting sideways with one elbow propped on the table, leaned forward with bright eyes and zero sense of personal boundaries. "I sent the girls home for you! Aren't you glad? We were about to drill you at least ten more questions until we had enough sauce to whip up an article about the Synod's latest power couple."
"Wait, what—"
"But in return, you gotta answer a few question I know you have the answer to. Actually, I have done some digging into your personal life."
". . . Digging?" Fabrisse responded really, really slowly.
"I've been looking into your . . . past," Celine said, her voice dropping an octave. "The hours you spend picking up stone samples in the nearby cave, and the way you measure the angle of a falling leaf just to calculate its aetheric resonance."
Fabrisse's fork twitched in his fingers. He tried to keep his face neutral, but his stomach betrayed him with an unpleasant churn.
"And then," she continued, leaning closer, letting the shadow from the round window carve sharp angles across her face, "your interactions with instructants. The total number of Practical sessions you have skipped. The others don't see it, but I do. Oh, I do. I have come to the conclusion that . . ."
She's just speaking nonsense, but why do I feel so . . . nervous?
Celine jabbed the tip of her pen at him like delivering a verdict. "You, Sir, are a nerd."
"What?"
"Me too!" Celine clapped, and suddenly her voice was cheerful again. "I am a nerd! I love artifacts! That's why I went into Stone, so I can go into Crystal and studied crystallized artifacts! You have to tell me about the Eidralith! Pretty please please please!"
The word hit him with all the subtlety of a trebuchet. Pride, horror, and embarrassment all tangled together, and he had no immediate response other than to feel the alcove shrink around him.
I have never seen anyone so overjoyed at proclaiming themselves a nerd.
"So—Eidralith resonance. I know the Archmagi must've told you not to talk about it, but they didn't say I couldn't ask, right?" she said, flashing an impish grin before barreling on. "I've been digging into historical artifacts with overlapping ethereal signature decay—stuff like the Glass Compass Array, the Wounded Oracle, even that one weird harp they keep locked under salt in the West Wing—you know the one? It hums grief."
Fabrisse stared at her. Wait. The bonus objective failed. Did she try to jot down my emotional resonance earlier, or did she try to figure out if there's any hidden resonance when I interacted with the Eidralith?
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To his knowledge, interacting with the Eidralith shouldn't leave any trace. He'd never seen himself leave any aetheric sparks after picking options or choosing quests. But there was much he didn't know that people who'd studied more like Celine could simply have access to.
"I've been very interested in the inner workings of the Eidralith, and by extension, your progress!" Celine, undeterred by his stare, leaned further in, her voice dropping just enough to qualify as 'conspiratorial.' "So I've been working off this theory. What if it links to your soul or responds to your thoughts? I knew historical binders with the Eidralith were able to cast spells so easily. Maybe it allows you to skip intent and mnemonics entirely? Do you know Archmagus Croleh was the first person to be able to utilize Lightning Thaumaturgy and Silk Thaumaturgy? Maybe it gives them affinity with entirely new elements?"
Fabrisse raised an eyebrow.
"So? Am I right?"
"No," he said.
"Ugh. How wrong?"
"Completely."
"Not even a little bit?"
"Not even close."
Celine tilted her head. "You're not just saying that to throw me off, right?"
"Well . . ."
Celine pouted. "You shut that theory down immediately, which means it was dumb, not dangerous. But when I said something closer before, you hesitated justttt a little. So maybe that one was near the mark—" She flopped back in her chair with a groan, took out her notes, and laid them out on the table. "How about this? I'll tell you what I know, and then you tell me what you know. Deal?"
Fabrisse didn't answer.
She opened a folder anyway. "So. I found this in the sealed archive. Most people think the Eidralith is some kind of divine gift or just a one-off relic, but that's not the whole story. Turns out, it's made from the same material as the Origin Stones." The Origin Stones were the asteroids that first fell into the Realms and spread aether everywhere.
That actually got Fabrisse to sit up straight. She saw his reaction and grinned.
"Early research suggests whoever binds with the Eidralith gains some kind of direct access to the source of aether," she added. "They just don't know what kind of access, or what it actually does."
Well, that makes sense and doesn't make sense at the same time. The system doesn't give me any aether, but it does give me a way to 'access' it through improving my resonance, among other things.
Fabrisse leaned forward, interested. "What else did they say?"
Celine immediately sat back and wagged a finger at him. "Nuh-uh. I gave you something. Your turn."
"Fine. Something for something." He tapped his fingers once as he thought to himself, I don't have to give her actual information, do I? There's no way she can confirm it. Celine seemed like a genuinely nice girl if you could look past her nosiness, but he had to prioritize protecting himself. And she would be the last person he trusted with a secret. "The Eidralith is a storage. It gathers excess aether whenever I over-channel and save it for later." That should explain why I was able to cast better spells.
Celine whipped out her pen and started scribbling like mad in the corner of her notebook.
"Go on," she said as she scribbled.
He didn't.
After a beat, she looked up and frowned at him. "Wait—how do you tap into that extra aether? Does it give it to you automatically when your pool runs short? Do you feel any resonance?"
Fabrisse gestured vaguely next to her temple.
"That's all I can say," he replied.
She stared. "That's all you will say."
"Uh . . . can I go now?" He rubbed his shoulder.
Celine glanced at her glyphwatch and made a face. "Mmm . . . five more minutes? I just need to check something in the archive room real quick." She was already halfway out of her seat before he could answer. "Don't touch anything," she added, pointing at him as she backed toward the door. "I'll know."
He leaned back, staring after her. "Okay." Then he lowered his voice, "I'm not in a rush. Not like anyone's waiting for me."
"Liene might!" Celine called cheerfully, and then she was gone.
With nothing to do, he decided to check out his Mastery distribution now. He should have only 2 Earth Thaumaturgy points, but 5 would be enough to unlock a new spell.
He did.
His recent gains had been crazy. It only took him two weeks to gain half a level, and while he had been more diligent during that time, it was very likely that the Eidralith had enabled exponential growth one way or another.
But as he opened his Mastery allocation, he was met with a grim reminder.