novelraw Chapter 58 : Lessons in Fire
Chapter 58 : Lessons in Fire
Selene’s POV
The forest was quiet after the hunt. Only smoke rose where beasts had been. Iris sat on a fallen log, panting, her staff trembling in her hands.
“You’re holding your wrist wrong,” I said.
She blinked up at me. “…Huh?”
I crouched, adjusting the angle of her grip. “Like this. Magic isn’t about force—it’s about flow. You’re pushing too hard, so your spell fractures.”
Her face went red. “I-I… I thought I was doing it right.”
I stepped back, arms folded. “Do it again.”
She closed her eyes, gathering mana, whispering the incantation. A flicker of flame appeared above her palm—small, weak, unstable.
I sighed. “Stop.”
Her shoulders slumped. “…At the academy, I was considered one of the top students in my year.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
I stared at her deadpan. “…If that’s what the academy calls a top student… then the Empire is already doomed.”
Her face paled. “W-what?”
I froze, realizing what I’d said aloud. I turned away quickly, my cloak hiding my expression. “…Forget that.”
Rooga could shape fire without words before he could read. Compared to him…
I bit down on the thought. Don’t compare. Not here.
“…Tell me, Selene,” Iris said after a pause, her voice softer. “Why didn’t you join the Magician Council? With your reputation… you’d be above all of them.”
I let out a quiet laugh, though it had no humor. “The Council? Hmph. That’s nothing more than old men sharpening their blades and calling it wisdom.”
Her eyes widened. “You think so too?”
I glanced back. “Too?”
She nodded quickly, her grip tightening on her staff. “At the academy, they taught us spells to kill. To break armies, to scorch fields. But never once did they teach us how to save. To heal. To build. It always felt… wrong.”
Her voice trembled, but the conviction in her eyes was real.
I looked at her, really looked at her. A child who still thought magic could be more than a weapon.
I exhaled. “…Most of the Council are survivors of the last Emperor’s wars. Henroad raised them on blood. That stain doesn’t wash off easily.”
She bit her lip, staring down at her staff.
For a moment, silence hung between us.
“…Then teach me,” she whispered. “Teach me how to use magic to save. Not just destroy.”
I said nothing. But deep inside, I felt a flicker of something I hadn’t felt since the battlefield years ago.