Me, My Spirit, And I [Book 1 Complete]

The next day, when Lusha arrived for their written exam, the Headmaster was waiting. A desk had been set up in a nook of his office and Lusha was presented with a stack of papers.

"The main purpose of this exam is to test your basic knowledge in a wide variety of subjects, so that your class schedule can be tailored to your needs." Headmaster Finastra smiled. "Since you are a rather unusual student, I took the liberty of modifying the Magical Language test; it is far more advanced. Do you have any questions?"

"Is the test timed, and may I use my own writing implements?" Lusha was not going to use a quill unless it was an absolute requirement.

"I assume you wish to use a Shadow Pen?" Lusha nodded. "That is perfectly acceptable. They are becoming more common, but supplies are limited, this far east."

"I know the owner of the company, so I have plenty. Should you need it, I can pick up some as a gift this weekend." Lusha smiled a knowing smile.

Headmaster Finastra's eyes lit up briefly. "How about I write up a custom order for the Academy?"

"That shouldn't be a problem. Though it will depend on supplies on hand," Lusha replied in a professional tone.

"Excellent; I will get that done, or rather, have my secretary do that while you take your test." Headmaster Finastra paused. "You wouldn't happen to have a product list, would you?"

Lusha smiled and pulled a series of sheets from their Inventory. "I keep copies on me, just in case." He handed the oddly excited Headmaster the product lists, then turned to the test papers.

The Headmaster left without further word, and Lusha began going over the written exam. The first few pages were so basic as to make them pause, but the deeper they got in the stack, the more advanced the questions became.

With their Split Mind Skill and their relatively high Mind Stat for their age, most of the test was a breeze. History was a bit of a struggle as Lusha tended to space out when being tutored on those subjects. Mathematics was annoying, as the local methods were a bit convoluted and lacked the streamlined precision of modern Earth mathematics. The Language section actually resulted in Lusha correcting the test where a few questions weren't properly translated.

General knowledge led to more specialized questions about magic, Essence, and even the System itself. Like the general knowledge sections, these proved to be rather easy for Lusha. They may have only been rank 5, but their magical knowledge likely exceeded many who were many Ranks above them.

When Lusha finally reached the Magical Languages test, they chuckled softly to themselves. Rather than questions, there were just a series of spells, rituals, and enchantments that they had to decode and interpret. There was only one problem with this section of the test; Lusha didn't know how thorough they should be. They could of course provide full translations, but they knew for a fact that full translations of many of these terms did not exist.

Despite Lusha's innate abilities with languages, the Magical Languages test took them the longest amount of time. They had to carefully pick and choose how to translate things. Sometimes it was hard to know if a translation already existed, or if what they were writing would be a revelation to someone. In the end, they wrote two sets of answers. One with the complete translations and one with the limited translations. However, they gave complete and detailed interpretations of what each type of magical construct would do when used.

When they were finished, they looked around and saw that Headmaster Finastra was back at his desk. Gathering their work, they walked over and waited to be acknowledged.

Headmaster Finastra didn't look up from his own work. "Need a bathroom break? Or do you have a question?"

"Neither; I completed everything," Lusha replied with a curious head tilt.

There was a pause as the Headmaster stopped writing and looked up. "Finished? It has only been a few hours. You have up to a full 24 hours spread out over 3 days to finish that exam. The fastest anyone has ever done it is in 8 hours and 53 minutes."

Lusha looked between the Headmaster and the stack of papers in confusion. "Oh, I am ambidextrous and have a Split Mind Skill. I was writing on two sheets at once. Also, most of this was pretty basic information…" they trailed off at the look Headmaster Finastra was giving them.

"Mr. Aseraelis, I can understand how those abilities would help speed things up, but the thing is, the Magical Languages exam was meant to test the knowledge of a Professor. I couldn't have completed it that fast, and I am an Archmage!" Finastra appeared to be flustered.

"Actually, about the Magical Languages test. I have a question." Lusha sat down without asking for permission. "How dangerous would full translations of those spells, rituals, and enchantments be, if released?"

The Headmaster blinked in confusion at Lusha's question. "Full translations aren't possible. As you should know, our knowledge of all Magical Languages is incomplete and spotty at best." He sighed. "In fact, most mages don't actually know the meaning of the spells they use. They memorize the words, the intents, and the flows, but lack any true understanding of the language."

Lusha pursed their lips in thought and pulled a sheet of paper from the stack. It was one of the simplest spells they had been asked to translate and interpret. It conjured roughly one gallon of drinking water. The normally untranslatable part described the position, temperature, and other technical aspects of the spell; while what was typically known was just enough to figure out that the spell conjured a specific amount of drinkable water.

"This is the full translation of the Water Sphere spell. It includes the technical details and mathematical underpinnings of the spell, and the full interpretation of what it will do," Lusha said as they handed the sheet of paper to the Headmaster.

Bemused, the Headmaster started reading. As he looked over Lusha's response and the spell, his eyebrows drew together in concentration before shooting up towards his hairline in surprise. With a quickly barked word in the Lingua Arcana, the sheet of paper went up in a puff of fire and smoke.

"Do not share that with anyone else," Headmaster Finastra said in a hushed voice. "I am familiar with some of the parts that you translated that are outside of the common lexicon, but only from secret libraries and rare books." He shook his head in wonder. "I have never seen a full spell translation. Even one could revolutionize the field of Spellcrafting."

Lusha gave another curious head tilt. "Is that a bad thing, though? Spreading knowledge is typically a good idea, is it not?"

Finastra shook his head. "One of the benefits of everyone working from the same knowledge base and with rote spells is that you can predict what other people can do." He waved at the dissipating smoke. "With that, customized and unknown spells become possible. The chaos that would cause…" He sighed. "The world is not ready for that."

With a nod Lusha indicated that they understood. "So you don't want to see the full translations of the rest?"

The sheer greed that shone from the Headmaster's eyes gave Lusha pause. "Of course I do, any mage would, but…" the Headmaster sighed loudly, "I shouldn't; be very careful with sharing how much you know with anyone, Lusha. If I were a less ethical individual I would lock you in a room translating spells for the rest of your days. I am actually tempted to do so!" He then sighed more softly. "But I won't. Now, do you have more acceptable translations, or did you only do the full ones?"

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With a bit of shuffling Lusha removed the full translations from the exam papers and handed the rest to Headmaster Finastra. The remaining paper floated from their hands and was silently banished from the Physical Plane.

Lusha's casual display of Banishing magic caught the Headmaster's attention. "Did you really just Banish those papers? Without a spell?"

"Yes. Before the incident that locked me out of most Skills, I had Material Mastery, or more accurately Shada did; but the distinction is a bit academic now." They said this without pride or a bragging tone. Lusha spoke as if having a Master Skill before the age of 13 wasn't a big deal.

Headmaster Finastra just shook his head. "Will wonders never cease. I will grade your exam, come back tomorrow for your practicals; though it seems rather redundant at this point."

"I will see you tomorrow then, Headmaster Finastra," Lusha said politely, before taking their leave.

—

The next day, Lusha met the Headmaster in his office before being guided to a training yard inside the Headmaster's palace.

"The Practical Exam is mainly to determine your level of physical fitness, combat proficiency, and basic Essence abilities." Headmaster Finastra said cheerfully. "I don't expect you to have any issues."

Things started out with mundane physical exercises. Running, jumping, weight lifting, and even basic acrobatics via an obstacle course. Lusha had no problems with any of these; they did more strenuous workouts each morning as part of their regular training regime.

"Well done; it seems that despite your magical talents, you haven't neglected your physical fitness at all." Finastra said while taking a few notes. "Do you know how to use Essence for physical enhancement?" When Lusha nodded Finastra continued. "Excellent, please run through the same exercises, but use any Essence techniques you know."

Lusha decided showing off was acceptable, and not only used Essence to enhance their body, but some internal Shapeshifting to give themselves more of an edge. This time, their performance was remarkably better. They were faster, stronger, and glided through the obstacle course as if it were no more challenging than taking a stroll. They were panting and somewhat exhausted by the end, but smiled up at the surprised look on the Headmaster's face.

"Excellent performance. Though it looks like you don't have the stamina or Essence to keep going. We will take a break."

Lusha just nodded and went to sit down to recover.

—

"The next part of the practical exams is physical combat proficiency. Please select the weapons of your choice and fight against the training golems. Remember to only use your body, not your Essence. I need to get a baseline for your unenhanced abilities," Headmaster Finastra said.

Lusha nodded. They quickly found a short sword and dagger combo that suited their fighting style. With a deep breath, they squared off with one of the training golems and began to fight. With their left hand and dagger they defended while using the short sword in their right hand to attack. The golem seemed to have been set to easy mode, so Lusha had no trouble defeating it.

"Again, excellent, but it looks like I set it too low." With a few magical commands, Headmaster Finastra reset the golem. "Now try moderate difficulty."

Doing as instructed, Lusha squared off against the golem once more. This time, beating the golem took more effort. They had to dodge more and rely on their innate agility to achieve victory.

"It is clear you had an excellent trainer."

"He was a real demon," Lusha quipped.

Headmaster Finastra just smiled knowingly. "Your physical combat skills are high for your age and experience. I will reset the golem again. This time, you are permitted to use Essence for physical enhancement. No spells or casting please."

With a sigh of relief that they didn't have to limit themselves, Lusha began using Essence and Shapeshifting to enhance their body. There was a noticeable increase in their speed, flexibility, and reaction times, but the golem was going all out and Lusha was hard pressed to get a strike in. In the end, the match was called a draw when Lusha couldn't keep going.

"It appears that many introductory classes will prove too limited for you." Headmaster Finastra jotted down some notes. "We will take another break and then move on to the rest of the practical tests."

–

"This part of the practical involves how well you can use Essence both in and out of combat." Finastra gestured to a table with several objects. "On the table are a series of small weights ranging from just an ounce, up to several pounds. The goal is to lift each weight as smoothly as possible."

Lusha looked at the Headmaster and then at the table before shrugging. With a flex of will each object rose into the air smoothly. They just held them all a foot or so above the table and then looked at the Headmaster for further instructions.

"Ah, well I see. I had already forgotten you were skilled with psychokinetic manipulation. Having you use Essence to lift things seems a bit too elementary." Headmaster Finastra smirked before saying. "Show me what you can actually do."

With a nod, Lusha began to psychokinetically juggle the weights. Shada had more than a decade without hands to perfect his psychokinetic abilities, so Lusha was able to make the weights dance. Weights formed loops, figure eights, waves, and other more complex patterns before Lusha smoothly returned them to the table without a sound.

Headmaster Finastra just shook his head with a smile. "I see that we should just move on to something more difficult. What is the most complex piece of magic you know?"

"That is actually difficult to answer. Especially since you didn't specify whether or not you meant manual casting, Spellcasting, Enchanting, or Ritual magic." Lusha hummed for a moment, then turned and began drawing in the sand of the training area.

Headmaster Finastra watched as Lusha began creating an unknown ritual. "What are you doing?"

Lusha didn't glance up as they spoke. "I have been working on a project for when I return to my barony. I suspect that building defenses will be a top priority." They gestured at the ritual spellwork. "Shada has been working with the various researchers at the Shadow Company on new materials. This ritual will create a small amount of new material."

"I see. What kind of material is it? How is it related to building defenses?" Finastra asked.

"It is a new type of stone that is relatively indestructible. I say relatively, because everything has a failure point." Lusha filled the circles and words in with a crystalline red dust.

"Do you always carry ritual supplies in your inventory?"

"Yes; you never know when you will have a chance to experiment." After the dust came several smaller items to act as both ingredients and catalysts. "I hope you don't mind losing a bit of sand and dirt from the training area. The ritual will use it to create the new stone."

"By all means, use what you need. My curiosity is piqued already."

It took Lusha several minutes to create the proper ritual circles and include the necessary words in multiple magical languages. After double checking everything against the notes they had in their Inventory, they stood up and nodded in satisfaction. They lifted both hands above the circle and channeled a trickle of Essence into the red dust, which seemed to melt and fuse.

With the ritual circle set, Lusha began to intone words in the Lingua Arcana, Infernal, and Celestial. The various objects in the ritual rose, including several Essence Crystals. Power flowed as Lusha continued to chant and direct the Essence hither and yon. The sand and dust of the training area moved as if pushed by an unseen wind. It was drawn to the center of the ritual where other ingredients had already been turned into the finest powders.

The ritual glowed brighter and the materials swirled rapidly before suddenly collapsing inward. This continued for several minutes before Lusha stopped, the circle stilled, and a solid cube of iridescent black stone with a mirror like finish plopped unceremoniously into the sand. Lusha's body slumped in place.

"I have so many questions. Was that transmutation magic? Why use three languages in one ritual? Can I pick up the cube?" Headmaster Finastra asked in a rush, once the ritual was completed.

"Transmutation? Not at all, just transfiguration." Lusha shuddered at the thought of messing with things on an atomic rather than molecular level. "As for the languages…you know how certain spells are more efficient or easier depending on the language?" Headmaster Finastra nodded. "Well, I used the Lingua Arcana for the overall structure, but for the destructive parts Infernal is the best choice, while Celestial works best during the recreation part."

"Ah, that is an interesting way to use the main strengths of those languages. Is it safe to touch?"

"Sorry; yes, please go ahead. Test it however you like. I call it Shadow Stone." Lusha's smile was somewhat self-deprecating, due to their unimaginative naming choices.