Chương 39: The Academy - 3

'Love,' it turned out, was a strong word. One he didn't feel matched what happened between them: not with her lecturing at the pace of a cheetah and he struggling to keep up. Several times, HE asked her to slow down. She did slow, but that sometimes presented its own issues, since she then had the habit of slowing down too much and simplifying things too much; after a couple of hours, he and she found a good middle ground, but he didn't think either of them were happy with the pace.

He thought the middle-pace was still a tad too fast and no doubt she thought it agonizingly slow. Still, they roughed it out. After two or maybe three hours, she looked at the clock on the wall and yawned.

"I am sorry, Lance, but I think we should call it there for the night. If you still would like some help with the part of the homework we didn't get to, we can meet again tomorrow." Lance didn't need to ponder her offer any before replying.

"Um, that is all right, but I will work on it myself tonight. I won't ever improve if I have my tutors hold my hand the entire time, right?" The woman smiled.

"That is right! And healing magic in particular is iffy to understand theoretically. Practice makes the dense theory much easier to swallow. Something about how it connects in the mind. If you want a pro-tip, though, know this: the magic we are practicing now is low-level, generic stuff. Both of these healing incantations are general use enough that they will work on fruits and vegetables, or even a slab of meat.

If you want to know how you're doing and if you're doing it correctly, simply cut into a fruit, or whatever, and try to heal it. If the healing takes, then you're on the right track!" He made a mental note of the fruit-healing connection.

"Thank you! I hadn't heard that before, so that will be great for the night I have planned! Thank you, madam...? Wait, I never caught your name."

"Oh, my? Did I really not introduce myself? How un-ladylike of me. My name is Pen Vic."

"Penn Vic? Nice to meet you, madam! Thank you for your help tonight. Until the next class, then! Goodbye!" he bowed and was about to leave when she made a yelping sound. He turned to see what the matter was, but her face was white.

"Penn?" She only waved a shaky finger to the wall.

"Do you see that?" Lance looked to the wall but saw nothing unique. He shrugged.

"Sorry. Just wall." Penn took a couple of steps toward him.

"I'm sorry for my erratic behavior. I have... Gods, how to I describe it? It's like I am super-sensitive to noises and movement. I swear I can sometimes see people through walls, even rats, at times, as they skitter through a building. It's so weird. They are, like, all golden and highlighted, as if a spotlight had been thrown to them and they were the most special rat in the world!" Her story was a strange one.

"I supposed you have already checked your head with a doctor to ensure it is not a mental malady which afflicts you?" She shook her head.

"I have, yes. The doctor could find nothing. He said I might visit a priest of Cannabus, but all of the local priests are busy." Lance shook his head, now, though in the opposite direction.

"Are you System blessed, milady?"

"I am, but only on a trial basis. I have yet to prove my worth to our esteemed patron. I fear I might miss my chance, and my system will be revoked. It's been on my mind without rest!" Penn Vic looked like she was on the verge of crying. He comforted her to the best of his abilities, but once again reminded himself of how his power resided in his System Hack, not in his power to comfort the disturbed. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Hearing her speak did give him an idea.

"Penn? What you've described sounds like a System incantation. When I incant [Search], the System highlights information for me in much the way you've described, as a golden spotlight. Have you bought any skills, lately, from the Holy Shop?"

"No! I only have the one unallocated Boon Point. I am saving my Boon Points for a [Moderate Healing Boost] passive boon. Why do you ask?"

"I... don't know. Just the similarities, I guess. Could you open your menu for me? What do you see?" Penn Vic shrugged but complied and opened her HUD. She listed all the benign things, her name, level, and so on. Her words caught in her throat, however, when she listed her skills.

"I-I don't believe it. I have an 'In Progress' tab I do not remember seeing before and under that tab is a skill called [All Seeing]. I've never heard of this Skill before, Lance. I'm scared!" Respectfully and with her consent, Lance hugged the frightened young lady.

"There is nothing to be afraid of, Penn! This is a profound thing that's happened. That Skill must be a gift from our Patron himself! The golden shimmering, the wall vision, are merely the moments when you've unknowingly activated that Skill. Please, try the skill now, attempt to see through the walls!" She took a deep breath and focused. Her eyes bulged and they looked like they were to pop out of their sockets, but after a protracted session of her mimicking a bug, she yelped, "I did it, I did it!

I saw beyond the walls on purpose! So many rats! Holy crap! Forgive my language, but crap-on-a-hat, that was a lot of rats!" Lance laughed.

"It's an old building, so I am not surprised. Methinks the academy could spare a coin or two more in the pest extermination department, eh?"

"For sure!" she laughed as hearty as a crowd who came to listen to a comedic bard.

"Lance, thank you for tonight. I... feel at peace now in a way I haven't felt since this 'Skill' unknowingly began to activate. I do wonder what it's trigger was, but oh well. I am so pleased to know that I haven't been going insane. Please allow me the honor of checking over your homework tomorrow before class. Least I can do to pay you back." He assented. Having an experienced mind confirm or correct his work would be useful for such a point heavy assignment.

"Very well. I will see you an hour before class. Until then, Penn!" Lance returned to his dorm room and changed into his sleep wear. It was already evening and he had, still, a significant amount of homework to do. Strangely, though, or not perhaps, considering his stamina level, but he wasn't even remotely tired. He made himself a snack before he began his homework and reflected on the day's events. In short, he had a productive return to campus. Lance got going on his homework right after his reflections.

The fruit trick Penn Vic told him helped immensely. Whenever he got stuck, he made minor adjustments until the healing took effect on the fruit, bearing his correct path. Before he knew otherwise, the night had passed, and his homework finished. Despite the evening's labor and him not getting a wink of sleep, Lance still did not feel tired. A little haggard, maybe, but tired? Nah. He could continue all day, easily.

And so, he did: Lance spent the day reading tomes in the library, practicing his sword skills, and attending classes. In the blink of an eye, the morning had passed and it was time for his afternoon magic-healing course. He remembered he had agreed to meet Penn before class to go over homework, so he left and went straight to the library's third floor basement, where he and she had agreed to meet. He took a seat and waited for her. And waited. And waited... And waited... Until, finally, it was time to go to class.

"Where on earth was she?" he mused.

"She seemed too primp and proper to stand me up. Oh well. Takes all kinds. I'm sure she'll be at the exit to apologize to me when class is done." He went to class and found his seat. He forgot about Penn Vic for the entire class. He thought class had gone too well, too peaceful, until understanding blasted into his mind — Penn was absent. When class dismissed and she was not at the exit, he wondered what happened to her; perhaps she had come down sick?

Or maybe she was so stricken with her new Skill, they spent the day in wanderlust using it to reveal the secrets of the universe? Or maybe she had a social event she could not escape from? Any of the three hypotheticals seemed just as likely in his esteem. In fact, Lance had not believed anything was amiss until he returned to his dorm.

He closed his door and saw on the floor a piece of paper: he opened the paper and saw letters, cut out from books, and arranged piecemeal into sentences, read: "We have your girlfriend. If you wish to see her again, come to the deepest part of the library with 100 Gold Coins. ALONE."