novelraw Chapter 192: A Small Smile
Chapter 192: A Small Smile
By the end of the fourth day, only a handful of students were still alive.
Not literally, of course, though at this point, some of them probably wished they were dead.
The first-year section of the Academy had gone silent, and no, not the peaceful kind of silent, but the "everyone is too deep in their own personal Hell" kind of silent.
Faces were pale, eyes were bloodshot, and heads drooped.
Every conversation had been reduced to a mumble, a grunt, or a dead, exhausted wave.
By the fifth night, the ones still going after the crown weren’t even "awake" anymore. They were surviving on quick naps and that shaky, delusional courage unique to people who had not slept for more than seventy hours.
Sure, Runebearers were supposed to need less sleep, but against this assignment?
Their brains were frying like eggs on a hot stone.
Aurelia and Merlin were the worst among them.
They weren’t even trying to hide it anymore, life completely sucked out of them.
But, of course, they still pushed through it.
Pride alone kept them upright.
Because every time they passed another first-year with that same exhausted determination in their eyes, it lit their competitive spirit right back on fire.
They wanted to win.
More specifically, they wanted to win for Ignotus.
Even though none of them had seen him for days, they knew he’d long since finished the entire thing. They could practically picture him strolling around campus, maybe napping under a tree’s shade, living his best damned life while everyone else suffered.
They would finish, and they would make him proud.
No one else was going to beat them!
Days crawled by before, finally, the last night arrived.
To the brave and stupid few, it came all too quickly.
To the rest, it came in what felt like an eternity.
Which, unfortunately, wasn’t much of a difference when your brain stopped functioning three days ago.
By the Academy’s curfew, with the deadline right behind it, only three students had remained.
Aurelia, Merlin... and Lykos.
Yes, Lykos. Despite what Merlin had confidently assumed earlier in the week, Lykos had not drawn the Rune on the third day. The wolf had stayed with them, practicing in silence.
Gaia and Ulv had drawn theirs earlier that same day.
Lykos went sometime after them.
Merlin went next, leaving only Aurelia.
But as the final few minutes approached... Aurelia was nowhere to be seen.
Until the final minute, when she finally appeared at John’s office door.
The hallway was empty and quiet, with most instructors having already gone home.
Even the torches lighting the corridor flickered tiredly, as if they too were exhausted.
Aurelia took a deep breath to steady herself when all of a sudden, the office door opened.
A figure stepped out, a very familiar one.
’Ignotus...?’
She froze up, and her mouth opened.
"..."
Nothing came out.
Ignotus gave her a lazy little smile.
"They’ve all done well. I know you’ll do too."
After giving her incredibly rare encouragement, he casually walked off.
Aurelia didn’t dare believe it, but a small, involuntary smile tugged at her lips anyway.
"Stupid Ignotus."
She ran a hand through her messy hair, flicking off some loose feathers. Her wings gave a reflexive flap to straighten themselves, and she squared her shoulders.
With that, she walked inside.
John’s office was neat and calm, in that overly organized way only a strict professor with too much free time could achieve.
"Good evening, Priest Aurelia."
He greeted, glancing up from his paperwork, his glasses faintly reflecting the lamplight.
"Cutting it close, aren’t we?"
She silently nodded, making him chuckle softly.
"I expected nothing less. Honestly, I thought you’d be among the last few to submit, but not the very last."
Aurelia stared at him for a second and then quietly admitted:
"I needed to be the best."
"Mm. Well, I’m glad you’re here now. I almost failed you, you know."
He gestured casually towards a mat on the ground.
"Go on, draw within your Soul."
Aurelia inhaled deeply and sat cross-legged.
She closed her eyes, centered her flow, and began.
John watched her with a small, knowing smile.
The moment she started, he already knew that she understood it.
She had pushed herself to the most extreme of limits, but she had learned.
Divinity flowed out of her body confidently. A few hiccups here and there, but still, her form lined up, her Divinity aligned, and the spell’s output smoothened with every stroke.
Maybe it was Ignotus’s acknowledgment; maybe it was her own desperation.
Or maybe it was both, but either way, within less than a minute, she finished the final lines, drawn with a smoothness she’d never experienced before.
The feeling was exhilarating, like she was on cloud nine.
But then, before she could internally celebrate, the spell leaving her finally came to form.
She stiffened, not understanding what was happening, and silently watched as it floated high up in the air.
A shimmering wall made itself known.
Aurelia jolted, her breath caught by the sight.
The wall was weak and barely visible, simply a jumble of different colored whites. But even then, or perhaps because of it, this wall became one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.
It was as if it were the clearest of shimmering glass, reflecting light in a million different ways, causing a kaleidoscope of colors to appear, some even forming unique rainbows.
"...beautiful."
No, "beautiful" didn’t even begin to describe it.
If the Rune itself was art, then this... this was the gallery where the art was born.
Slowly, the wall began to dissipate, but Aurelia, wanting to keep it alive for a little while longer, instinctively released a burst of her Divinity to stabilize it.
Nothing happened; it was useless.
Right, this wasn’t an actual Rune; it was only a really well-made replica that she had mimicked in her Soul, using extremely precise movements of Divinity in its depths.
That was when John finally nodded, obviously pleased with her performance.
"Nicely done; you’ve discovered the little secret he made. I’m proud of you."
Trying to remain unfazed, she stepped back.
"Thank you."
John returned to reading his paperwork, flipping through it casually.
"I look forward to seeing what this yields for you. Good work."
Aurelia lingered for a moment, staring at the dissipating fragments of shimmering air.
She couldn’t help but think of Ignotus again.
A small smile crept back onto her face.
There was satisfaction in her smile.
Pride in how she performed, and just a little bit of relief.
It seemed her efforts bore fruit after all.