With the connection between Magnus and the ice flower modification severed, it didn't take long for the spirits to start breaking down the massive ice formation. Still, it would have taken too long to disappear on its own, so Ithra sped up the process. She used an Anti-Magic Spell, causing the mana formation of the spell to fall apart instantly. The ice turned back to its natural form, filling the air and sky with particles of compressed mana that slowly faded, becoming part of the world's natural flow of mana.
Magnus floated down to the ground once the ice had vanished. He glanced over at where Sylas and Syrna had been frozen. Both were walking toward him, their bodies still shivering slightly. Aura could handle temperature changes, as long as it was just normal heat or cold, but when paired with magic, even knights could get chills.
"Are you two okay?" Magnus asked, watching them stop in front of him. Syrna rubbed her arms, while Sylas held himself to fight off the chill.
"Su... Sure, we're fine. It's just... so cold," Syrna said, her sarcasm weak as her body and aura worked together to handle the chill.
"Seriously, that was like a thousand tons of ice. Did you really have to experiment on us with that spell?"
"It was my first time using Adept-level magic to that degree. I didn't know its full capabilities," Magnus replied, which only made Syrna groan in annoyance.
"I suppose that means our plans of fighting you once we hit the Adept-level are out the window now," Sylas added. They had known they wouldn't win, even with Magnus handicapping himself, but it had been even more one-sided than they'd expected. Sylas was sure that if Magnus hadn't been 'experimenting'—as he called it—and had actually tried to defeat them with magic, the match would have ended even faster.
"Being strong is the main reason Luden brought me into his faction," Magnus explained. Though he supposed it was more about a mix of strength, talent, and the fact that he didn't have the same aspirations as most of the other students.
"Yeah, which is exactly why people are calling you the Maskborne Prodigy these days," Syrna spat, and Magnus glanced at her, curious behind his mask.
"The Maskborne Prodigy?" he asked, prompting Sylas to elaborate.
"Well, you never take off your mask, and you're the most prodigiously talented student in Takerth Academy's history. No first-year student has ever reached the Pseudo-Master level this quickly. It's completely abnormal."
"Hmm," Magnus responded without comment, just noting it down as an interesting fact. He'd long since accepted that his ability to combine the Command Console with this world's magic was something most people wouldn't be able to understand without seeing him as an anomaly.
"Have you three finished chatting? Others are still waiting for you to leave." All three of them jumped slightly, looking to their right to see Ithra, who had teleported onto the field without warning, standing there with her hands behind her back.
"Oh, right," Syrna muttered, glancing around at the spectator area. A bunch of students were still watching, many still in shock and talking amongst themselves about what had just happened. Others had left the moment the match ended, eager to spread the word about the fight. But a few, especially the mages, looked pumped up or inspired by what they'd seen and were eager to challenge someone to a duel of their own.
"I do have to get going. I'll see you two later," Magnus said, turning and heading toward one of the field exits.
"And like always, he's going to disappear after doing something insane..." Syrna sighed, while Sylas nodded in agreement, heading toward the opposite exit with Syrna following close behind.
Ithra stood there for a moment, watching Magnus disappear into the distance. Her thoughts wandered.
It's only a matter of time before he hits the Master level if his progress is any indication. If that happens, we should start preparing for the potential rise of a new Archmage in the near future. Assuming he survives that long... People, the Headmistress keeps an eye on, do tend to disappear...
=====================================•=====================================
Magnus made his way up to his floor of the dorm building, his mask already removed in secret as he slipped back into the role of Magnus. When he reached his dorm room door and opened it using his Sigilbrand, he was greeted by the sight of Celia sitting on the couch in front of the long table. She was reading what looked like a letter with a look of fascination. In front of her, there was a pot of tea, a plate of cookies, and the empty bag that had once held them.
"Ooh, you got more of those cookies?" Magnus said, rubbing his hands together as he approached the table, grabbed one, and plopped down onto the couch.
"Did you just grab the last chocolate cookie?" Celia asked, looking up from the letter in her hand and toward the plate of cookies.
"Uh..." Magnus, mid-bite, glanced down at the deep brown cookie in his mouth.
Taking it out of his mouth, he complained, "I mean, you already ate all the other chocolate ones."
Celia raised a finger, waving it back and forth.
"Actually, no, I didn't. I went to grab those cookies with Tola, and she ended up eating two because she paid for them, and I forgot my coin pouch. Then, when we got to the academy entrance, the guys started begging me for some, so they split about five of them. Meaning that's the last chocolate cookie."
"So in the end, you were too nice to ask anyone to save you some of the chocolate ones, and now I'm suffering for it?" Magnus summarized. Celia opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out.
"Okay, fine, yes, but still. At least split it with me, I bought those!" Celia protested.
"Well, actually, Tola bought them, so..." Magnus clicked his tongue, waving the chocolate cookie around. Celia narrowed her eyes, staring him down. If looks could speak, Magnus was sure Celia would be calling him every name in the book.
"Alright, alright, relax. I was joking," Magnus chuckled, looking at the chocolate cookie in his hand for a moment before glancing at Celia.
"Hold out your hand for me." She raised an eyebrow, slightly confused, but put the letter down on the table and held out both her hands.
Magnus raised one of his fingers, waving it through the air like a magic wand.
"Alakazam!" With a point, a chocolate cookie, exactly like the one in Magnus's hand, appeared directly in Celia's. She paused, staring at the cookie in her hand before her eyes went wide with shock.
"You- Wait- What!?" She held up the chocolate cookie, eyes flickering between it and the one Magnus had, then bit into it. It tasted just like the ones from the store.
"Okay, you have to explain this," Celia said after swallowing the bite of cookie.
"Would you believe me if I told you there's a cookie spell I learned since being officially labeled as an Adept-level mage?" Magnus asked, and Celia looked like she was actually considering it for a moment.
"Oh my gosh, I'm fucking with you, Celia," Magnus said, laughing out loud, which made Celia's face of deep thought turn into embarrassment. She pouted and glared at him.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist, but seriously, I did learn how to create things out of nothing," Magnus admitted so casually that Celia couldn't tell if he was joking again or not.
"Are- Are you being serious this time?" She asked.
Magnus grinned and nodded.
"Yup, look." He waved his finger again, pointing at an empty spot on the table in front of them.
"Apple," he said, and an apple appeared out of thin air. But he didn't stop there. Looking at the empty space next to the apple, he did it again, conjuring something new this time.
"Lollipop." Magnus wasn't sure if this would work, considering he was going purely off memory from his time back on Earth, but to his surprise, the moment he said it, a strawberry-flavored lollipop wrapped in plastic appeared on the table next to the apple.
Magnus's grin grew as he kept going, "Let's see, Ginger Ale, Chips, Ink Pen, Controller, Smartphone."
With each wave of his finger, something new appeared on the table in front of him. By the time he was done, Celia's expression seemed utterly broken as she stared at the items, unable to recognize most of them.
Magnus, on the other hand, reached for the smartphone he had created, holding it in his hand. It looked just like the one he had back on Earth, though when he pressed the power button, nothing happened. The screen stayed dark.
"So it doesn't come fully charged. Damn," Magnus muttered, putting the smartphone away in his storage ring before turning back to Celia. By now, her chocolate cookie had fallen into her lap as she looked between the items on the table and Magnus.
"You... you can really create things?" She asked, as if needing one final confirmation.
"Yeah, though I haven't really experimented with it much. I didn't think I'd be able to create all of this," Magnus replied, gesturing to the table full of objects. As Celia was still in shock, he reached for the can of Ginger Ale he'd conjured, noticing it was actually cold, despite him not visualizing any condensation or signs of chill.
"Interesting," Magnus muttered, cracking it open with a satisfying hiss, followed by the light bubbling sound. He took a sip, feeling the carbonation tingle and sting against his tongue, pulling away only after a second gulp and letting out a satisfied sigh.
"Oh man, it's been forever since I've tasted this. It's like nostalgia for my mouth. Here, Celia, you should try some," Magnus offered.
Celia snapped out of her daze, eyeing the can as if it were some kind of alien object. After a moment of hesitation, she reached out, grabbed it, and was surprised by its coldness, eyeing it up and down.
"What is this? I don't think I've ever seen a language like this before," Celia remarked, looking at the odd words and phrases on the can. She'd heard Magnus speak English before, when there was no translation for what he wanted to say, but she didn't understand the language, and she certainly couldn't read it.
"Oh, it's the language of where I'm from. Originally, anyway. Just go ahead, try it," Magnus encouraged.
Celia was curious about what he meant by that, but she decided to try the drink first. She brought the can to her lips, tilted it, and felt something pour into her mouth. The moment the carbonation hit her, along with the odd bubbling sensation, she pulled the can back, her face scrunching up as if she had just bitten into a lemon or something sour. But after a second, as the taste lingered on her tongue and went down her throat, her expression softened.
"This is... really sweet. It feels like something's jumping in my mouth when I sip it, too." She stared at the can for a moment, then took another sip. Again, her face reacted, but her taste buds, untouched by the sugary goodness of modern soda, couldn't help but jump for joy. Before Magnus could even say anything, she had already downed the rest of the can.
"Wow, this is amazing! I've never tasted anything like this before!" She said, excitement lighting up her face as she turned her attention to the other things on the table.
"You want to try some of the other stuff?" Magnus asked, a smug look on his face. During the Netherwave Communion, Celia had introduced him to a bunch of new tastes he'd never even heard of. Now, he was going to return the favor. Plus, while food in this world was good, at least in the cafeteria, the one thing it was lacking was junk food. Aside from the occasional pastry Celia bought, Magnus hadn't come across any real snacks, like chips, to satisfy that craving. But now, that problem was gone.
And so, Magnus spent the next hour or so introducing Celia to the joys of things you could find at your local store. Which was why, afterwards, Celia could be found lying on the couch, her head resting on Magnus's lap and her legs dangling off the edge, completely crashed.
"I told you, you should have stopped after the second bag," Magnus said with a sad shake of his head.
"You did this to me..." Celia groaned, continuing to lie there as Magnus casually popped another potato chip into his mouth from the bag in his hand. With his enhanced body—whether it was his immune system or digestive ability—he could eat all the junk food he wanted without any problems.
After a while, Celia, starting to feel a bit better, asked, "Are you planning on going anywhere tomorrow after your classes?"
"Hmm, sort of. I plan on visiting your brother to have him make something, then making a quick stop at a friend's place if I can. Why?" Celia paused at the mention of her brother, then pointed at the letter she had been reading.
"A letter came in for you from that woman you bought clothes from... um..." Celia hesitated, trying to remember the name while still feeling like absolute crap.
"Hisel?" Magnus said, and Celia nodded.
"Yeah, her. She wants to meet with you at her store to discuss something about your business and clothes. I couldn't really follow it since I don't know much about fashion—that's more up Tola's alley," Celia explained.
"Oh, I nearly forgot about that. Hmm, alright, I guess I can visit her tomorrow after meeting with your brother," Magnus said, to which Celia raised a question.
"In that case, do you mind if Tola and I come along? She's been bugging me about going shopping lately, and I'm running out of excuses to say no."
Hearing that, Magnus was about to say yes, but hesitated, his frown deepening.
Instead, he said, "Are you sure that's a good idea? I know you've been going out on your own and you've been fine, but still, you might be put in danger if you head out with me."
Celia tilted her head back, meeting Magnus's gaze as he looked down at her, and she stared up at him.
Cracking a small smile, Celia said, "You're worried about me?"
Rolling his eyes, Magnus replied, his voice betraying the hint of annoyance at seeing her smile over his concern, "Of course I am. You got kidnapped last time, and I had to raid an entire human trafficking cell to find you."
Celia didn't respond right away. Her eyes fluttered as she took a deep breath and let out a sigh.
"Don't worry, after all that, Eveline's been looking out for me. I think she even cast some kind of magic on me, though she didn't tell me what it does." As she spoke, Celia sat up off of Magnus's lap, straightening her dress as she looked over at him.
"So, don't think about it too much, okay?" Staring at her, Magnus looked conflicted for a moment before finally nodding.
"Alright, fine. But if you get kidnapped again, I'm officially putting you on dorm arrest until I sort this whole Zeth situation out."
"Spend all my time in a luxury room while you make me stuff? Sounds like fun," Celia replied, causing Magnus to chuckle.
"You know, sometimes I forget you're supposed to be my maid."