Reborn With a Magic System

"Are you insane!" Elicia shouted as she burst into Damion's room. "You can't practice magic inside a spatial construct!"

Damion quickly released his Ice Shield spell and retreated from Elicia in terror as she closed in on him with a wild look in her eyes.

"Don't. Do. That. Again." The young woman seethed before turning and leaving Damion's room to wonder how what he had been doing was so wrong.

After Damion regained his courage, he stuck his head out of his bedroom to look for Elicia. The young woman was back in the kitchen and was slicing vegetables with heavy chops of a knife. When Elicia noticed him, she turned her head giving him a glare that told Damion she needed more time to cool off, so he ducked back in his room and waited for dinner to be finished.

"Dinner is ready," Elicia called to Damion after a short time.

Slowly, Damion came out of his room, first checking to make sure she had put the knife away. He sat down at the table looking over the meal Elicia prepared. A salad along with a mix of fruit and what smelled to be fish. After taking a seat, he picked up his utensils, but right when he was about to take his first bite Damion noticed that Elicia was standing there watching him.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Damion asked.

During lunch Elicia had stood behind him while he ate with the professors. Then they had toured the grounds, Damion had not even considered that she might have been hungry. Now here he was about to eat dinner without knowing if Elicia had eaten anything since breakfast.

"I ate while preparing your meal," Elicia told him.

"Oh. Then will you explain why practicing magic in the dormitory is bad."

"As you know the dormitory has been enchanted with a spatial stretching enchantment. Such enchantments can be destabilized by excess mana. If the enchantments on the dormitory fail we will either be thrown out or crushed by the dormitory collapsing on itself."

"What about all the enchantments in the dorm? The lights? The kitchen appliances?"

"Everything in the dormitory is powered by the same mana gathering array that powers the dorm itself. And it keeps all the forces in balance. But if you start adding more mana into the air, the enchantments can't keep up and the balance can be broken."

"Where should I go to practice my magic then?"

"You are free to practice anywhere on the grounds. There are also practice rooms that have mana gathering arrays. The arrays help to saturate your core allowing you to more easily compress the mana in your core."

"I'm guessing these practice rooms cost points?" Damion asked.

"That would be a good guess. The practice rooms cost one point per hour."

Damion was not surprised to hear that the practice rooms cost points, just like the Repository and the battle simulator. Elicia had already told him how to earn points, but he was not sure if he would ever be able to earn enough points for him to afford everything he wanted. At least he would be able to use the battle simulator as a perk for being an elite student without paying. This led Damion to another thought.

"Other than the dorm, you, and the free time battle simulator, are there other benefits that come with being an elite student?"

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"Are those not enough?"

"Just curious."

"You get 10 points a week to spend how you please. I would recommend using them sparingly. You never know when you might need more points."

"Since classes don't start for a while, is it possible for me to take on a mission for the school to earn points?"

"No, missions are assigned by professors during classes and serve as an advanced form of homework. This isn't the Adventurer Association, you don't get to freely choose." Elicia did not have to think on this at all and while her answer was disappointing, it was not entirely unexpected. Damion would just have to wait to earn points or think of some other way to learn a tier 2 spell.

"Is there a place on the grounds that is good for practicing Ice magic?"

"The eastern side of the campus is typically where the Fire mages practice, while the western side is where the Water mages practice," Elicia informed him. "While not an exact match to your affinity, the ambient Water magic in the air from years of practice should still provide some aid."

Damion considered Elicia's suggestion as he ate the rest of his meal in silence. Once finished he went to his room and lay in bed trying to fall asleep. The events of the day flashed through his mind and he found himself wishing he could have shared today with his family. His father would have been fascinated by the architecture of Silver Spire and he could almost see his sister running through the pristine halls. Eventually, Damion fell asleep with tears running down his cheeks. He had no idea that Elicia had cracked open his door and watched him cry himself to sleep before slipping out of the dormitory.

"How did it go today?" Headmaster Sorin asked Elicia when she arrived in his office.

"Fine. The reports you provided on him were fairly accurate."

"Fairly?" Headmaster Sorin asked feeling annoyed that any information he had on the subject was incorrect.

"He is no longer a D Rank. He has reached C Rank."

"Truly? Seems you are gaining his trust if he has told you this already. This is excellent. We really must get him to join our family. It is a shame his family died in the beast wave. They would have been the perfect leverage. Older brothers will do anything to protect their little sisters."

"That hasn't always been my experience," Elicia snapped.

"I speak of commoners. But we are not that different. As nobles we are raised to always put the family first. That is what he would be doing, but it doesn't matter they are dead, unless you have reason to suspect otherwise."

"He's only had a short time to cope with his loss, but I can tell his grief is real. I catch him staring off into space. As long as he is occupied, he can focus, but the moment he stops, I can see him silently falling into grief."

"Then I will not order a search. I thought perhaps Teft might have moved them off the playing field to avoid someone using them as leverage. But if the boy's grief is real, then it seems unlikely."

"Why do I have to be his attendant? There are plenty of other women willing to take on this role," Elicia asked.

"Because you are my granddaughter. With the help of Teft, Mage Wells is prepared against falling into debt with the academy. But there are other ways to bind someone.

"It is an open secret that elite students have a tendency to… become fond of their attendants. With his recent loss it should be easy to manipulate his emotions and gain his trust. If you can rope him into the family it would mean a great deal to the elders. Plus, as his wife you would be guaranteed a place of honor."

"I would rather enter into an arranged marriage with one of the other noble families. At least everything would be out in the open then. I don't like this sneaking around and plotting," Elicia told her grandfather.

"We have had this argument before. You will do as you are told. If you do not like the arrangements I have made for you, you are free to leave Silver Spire and I will find another to fill your place. As you said, there are plenty of others."

"What if he doesn't like me?"

"He is a young man and you are a beautiful young woman. Help him forget the pain from losing his family. Let him rely on you. A young man's heart is easily captured."

"The report you gave me on him said he was close to a young woman from Erythraean Academy, Arica Miller."

"They went on several missions, but by all accounts they are just friends."

"Friends with years of history," Elicia scoffed.

"They met when he was only 15 years old. I would think she sees him as nothing more than a friend or perhaps a younger brother."

"It matters how he sees her."

"If you are not up to the task of capturing his heart just say so," Headmaster Sorin said firmly, dismissing any further arguments Elicia had been trying to formulate.

"I will do as you ask grandfather," Elicia said defeated.