When Fantasy Glitches

Practically all the students watching the Live Examination weren't there just for entertainment, but to size up their competition and find ways to improve themselves. Rather than a passive audience, they were more like a panel of critics ready to scrutinize every detail.

That's what made the genuine applause after Blair and Fardeir's match slightly surprising. They were now in the eighth round, and except for the first and second matches, most had been predictable and rather dull, especially those involving mages. However, Blair's lineage magic combined with Fardeir's intensive use of fire elementrix magic had made their fight fairly interesting.

As Blair casually acknowledged the crowd's reaction from the field, Fardeir, still somewhat disheartened from his first-round loss, looked up in surprise at the applause from the unaligned students. He hadn't expected any reaction from anyone; after all, he wasn't affiliated with any faction. Nevertheless, a faint smile crossed Fardeir's face as he shrugged and headed towards one of the field exits.

Well, I guess there's always the next examination. Not like I would have won anyway, not with that monster here.

As the crowd began to gear down and the academy staff prepared to repair the arena's field once more, the aforementioned 'monster' stood up to leave, catching the attention of Luden's Faction.

"Leaving already?" Luden inquired, glancing over at Magnus and Celia. Magnus nodded in response.

"Yeah, I think I've seen everything I wanted to see. Plus, I have some things I need to take care of." Both of those things were true. Thanks to how long Fardeir and Blair's match lasted, Magnus had gotten plenty of time to observe the phenomenon of mana transmuting itself into fire. And now that that information has been successfully archived and added to the [Library of Babel,.

Previously, he had the ability to generate, edit, and employ mana construct and water-elementrix spells, and now fire-elementrix spells have been added to the mix. Still, despite these advancements, Magnus knew his words didn't really fool anyone. All of them could easily tell what state Celia was in, even though she was trying to act normal. None of them needed to ask why, but no one mentioned it either. Seraline and the twins just offered a casual goodbye.

"Well, you two, take care. I'll be sure to let you know if anything interesting happens in the remaining time we get to chat with Magnus." Picking up on what he meant, Magnus nodded in response before turning to leave with Celia in tow. As they made their way towards the nearest exit, a thought couldn't help but churn around in Magnus's mind.

He could understand why Luden was so unfazed by Blair's family business; he got the feeling that Luden would work hand in hand with the devil himself as long as it was beneficial and meant closing in on his goal. But he didn't understand why the twins hated Blair so much.

They're from a noble family, so I'm sure the two of them have seen their fair share of slaves before. Hell, nearly half the students in the dorm have one or more with them. But with the way they act around Blair, it feels personal.

After thinking about it for another moment, Magnus decided to think about it later and let out a small sigh. Hearing that, Celia looked back at him with a disheartened expression.

"I'm sorry we had to leave early because of me." Magnus was taken aback by Celia's sudden apology. It dawned on him that she thought he was disappointed about leaving. He shook his head.

"I'm not sighing because of that; I was just thinking about something. Besides, leaving early means I have more time to work on a few things before my next match."

Listening to him, Celia tilted her head and asked, "What do you mean?"

Magnus rubbed his chin for a moment before answering, "Watching all those matches made me want to reevaluate a few things. I'm still confident I can win, but seeing all those unique abilities made me feel like I could be putting the tools I have to better use if I thought a bit more creatively."

"Well, if you say so, but what about your arm? Is it really okay?" Celia asked with a worried look. She hadn't had a chance to check on Magnus after his match, but she saw now that he didn't have a single scrape or bruise on him. It didn't look as if he had gone through an intense fight at all.

"Hmm, my arm? Yeah, it's fine. Actually, somehow it feels even better than before, when it was nearly cut off, if that makes any sense. It was painful as hell, though." Magnus seemed nonchalant about it, which lightened Celia's mood, and she chuckled in response.

"Hehe, yeah, I can only imagine. I didn't even know you could heal yourself like that." The two continued chatting as they walked back to the dorm building. The first round of the Live Examination would continue for a couple more hours, so the corridors were quiet as they entered the dorm building, with Vira, as always, greeting them at the reception desk when she saw them heading up to Magnus's room.

The moment they got inside, Celia said she was going to lie down on the couch for a bit, leaving Magnus to his own devices. He was fine with that, given everything on his mind. He was very serious when he mentioned to Celia that he had been thinking about something important.

I've come up with about two solid ideas on how I could use the Knockout Brick. It's the only glitch I've found, but I haven't had much chance to experiment with it, so I can't guarantee my ideas would actually work. And I definitely can't experiment with it now.

Magnus wasn't oblivious to how strange his abilities must have seemed to everyone who watched his match, nor to the reactions of the various professors and academy staff. He already knew he was being monitored at the academy, but now he had no doubts he would be watched even more closely. If he wanted to do anything, he needed a way to get some privacy.

Even if I stick to my deal with Luden and win us the Live Examination, I can't imagine setting up a magically fortified and protected house as a quick and easy process. But waiting that long would be annoying, especially considering all the different things I could be doing now.

Magnus tossed his mask onto his desk before plopping down on his bed. Ideas came and went until he was left with the most obvious one.

I suppose I could ask Eveline. She's likely an Archmage, a level beyond even the Master-level, which means she would definitely have a way to help me avoid getting spied on by the academy. But at the same time, there's no guarantee she wouldn't spy on me herself.

There was no way Eveline wouldn't go crazy if she learned about the existence of the Kncokout Brick. She might just be interested in studying it, or she could use Magnus himself. One terrifying thing about the Knockout Brick was that anyone using it could knock out the same entity over and over again. This meant that if you could automate the brick hitting someone through some kind of contraption or magic, you could technically keep someone knocked out forever.

An ability like that was way too dangerous, which was just another reason Magnus wanted a safe place to store and study it.

[Master, perhaps we can head to the library and look for some kind of contractual magic?]

Hearing Basker's sudden proposal, Magnus placed a hand on his chin, his face lighting up.

Huh, that's actually a really good idea. Nice work, Basker. Truly, having two minds in one body has endless benefits.

With Celia asleep on the couch, Magnus decided now was the perfect time. Heading out again, he quickly made his way to the library. Like the dorm building, it was mostly empty, except for a few students who either weren't interested in the Live Examination or were at the Adept-level and couldn't participate in the first place.

Looking at the walls of well-ordered books that stretched so high they nearly touched the roof, Magnus immediately headed to the second floor. Although the number of books he's read from the library doesn't even equate to a fraction of what is actually available, he has wandered the library countless times at this point. That meant, with his nearly perfect memory, he had a clear image of nearly every book's title.

Quickly searching through his mind as he made his way up the stairs, Magnus started mentally picking out books he remembered that had titles that could suit his needs.

Let's see: four books on the third aisle of the second floor, another six on the seventh aisle, and those two books I saw on the third floor once.

Sweeping the library up and down, Magnus ended up collecting a total of around forty different books and setting them all down on a table on the third floor. It was actually the same table where he had met Luden to talk about the spell catalyst. Magnus had to admit that Luden knew how to pick the perfect reading spot.

"Alright, I should be able to finish all these by the time the Live Examination ends." Without wasting any time, Magnus sat down and started reading through the various books, his eyes darting across the pages so fast that it seemed hard to believe he was comprehending everything. An hour passed in a flash.

Oh, there are different levels of spirits? I didn't know that. It looks like you can even make contracts with someone's intelligence. It's not what I'm looking for, but I should remember to come back to this book later.

With that thought, Magnus put the book aside and moved on. It was surprising just how many different forms of contracts existed, whether with other entities or even with yourself in some cases. It was all enlightening, but still not exactly what Magnus was looking for. It was only after another four hours had passed that he finally got a hit.

This is it, Spectral Magic! It looks like it's a form of magic that interferes with and manipulates things that exist in the spiritual realm. And what do you know? They even directly mention that there are various forms of soul-binding spells—exactly what we were looking for, Bakser.

[That's wonderful, Master, and it seemed like we found it at the perfect time as well.]

Magnus nodded as he stood up and walked over to the railing on the third floor, looking down to the first floor and the library entrance. The number of students had increased, and through the library windows, Magnus could see it was starting to get dark outside.

It looks like the first round of the Live Examination finally ended a little while ago. That means she should be back inside the library by now.

Having found what he needed, there was no point in waiting. After putting all the books back in their proper places, Magnus headed to one of the doors at the end of the library aisle. Before going through, he looked up and spoke.

"Eveline, if you're watching, which I know you are, I want to talk to you privately. Oh, and I'd prefer not to fall on my face walking through this time." Without waiting for a response, Magnus stepped forward, grabbed the door knob, and walked through the door. This time around, he felt his foot land firmly on solid ground as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting.

"Ah, good, so you did hear me," Magnus remarked upon finding himself back in what he assumed to be Eveline's room. As for the woman herself, she was standing near one of the various desks lining the walls, reading the book perched open on top of it.

"Of course, how could I ignore a request from one of my favorite people?" Eveline replied with a quirky grin, casting a fervent glance at Magnus.

"You know, I always knew you were powerful, but watching your match surprised even me. Your pure destructive capability and control already rival that of a Master. You just need more variety in your spells," Eveline said, smiling as she approached Magnus.

"Tell me, how did you reach such a high level so quickly? I've been watching you, and you hardly train. All I see you do is study and experiment with your abilities occasionally. Does your ability improve with your knowledge? If that's the case, if I filled your brain with-" Sensing she was already becoming unhinged, Magnus raised his hand.

"Ok, stop, stop. Look, you can ask all the questions you want if you do something for me first," Magnus said, emphasizing the word "if," which widened Eveline's grin.

"Oh? I see, I see, very well. You're at that age, so I suppose I-"

"No. Just, no," Magnus interjected bluntly, cutting off Eveline with a deadpan expression. There was a brief silence before Magnus sighed and began to explain.

"Look, I agreed to work with you, but I can't trust you completely. So, I did some digging and found out that Spectral Magic can create soul bonds." Eveline seemed to anticipate where Magnus was heading and responded with just one word.

"Okay."

The answer caught Magnus off guard. He frowned and said, "Okay? What do you mean, okay? I haven't even said what I want yet."

Eveline looked at him as if he had cracked a joke before replying.

"Perhaps, but it's quite clear. You want to form a soul-binding contract with me, preventing me from betraying you or disclosing your abilities to anyone else in the future, right? I'm fine with that." She said it all with a perfect smile, stunning Magnus momentarily until he remembered who he was dealing with. Eveline was utterly obsessed with knowledge, willing to sacrifice anything to obtain it.

Even binding her own soul seemed like a minor sacrifice in her eyes. Still, Magnus couldn't shake the feeling that it was all too easy.

"You're serious? Soul-binding contracts are a big deal, aren't they? Can Archmages heal their souls if they break them? Is that why you're agreeing so readily?" Eveline looked somewhat surprised by the question, shaking her head.

"Of course not; how could the soul be so easily healed? You do know about the Aspects of Being, right?" She asked, to which Magnus nodded, recalling them quickly.

"Yeah, body, mind, and soul, right?"

"Indeed, however, did you know that they also correlate to our understanding of our world?" Eveline asked, with Magnus showing a semi-lost expression in response.

"What do you mean by that, exactly?" Seeing that his interest had been piqued, Eveline's eyes narrowed.

"I'm talking about the divisions of our reality."