Player 0.4 [You have died.] [Reset in progress.]

Damn it.

My gaze snapped toward Professor Sullivan, standing below. Fortunately, he was oblivious to my shadow’s movement. His attention was fixed upward, toward the area around me, his expression thoughtful.

​I scanned the air. I couldn’t see my classmates, but I could sense a faint presence suspended above the clearing beside me. It was more of a feeling of something being there, rather than seeing their actual silhouettes.

​And if that was the case… It’s only a matter of time before they notice. If they hadn’t already.

​I focused on my body lying below and pictured myself diving downward.

​“Ah—!”

​I gasped as my eyes, my physical eyes, which felt so heavy in comparison to my previous floating self, flew open, to gaze at the beautiful blue sky. The sudden weight of my body crashed back into me, heavy and clumsy compared to the effortless state I’d just left behind.

​My breathing steadied slowly, but the adrenaline refused to fade. My heart continued pounding, as if I’d sprinted somewhere, even though my physical body had been lying peacefully in the grass.

​I pushed myself up just enough to glance at the ground beside me.

​My shadow lay flat. The outline was clean. No wobble to the edges. It was stable and without any writhing.

​Whatever had stirred it before was gone, subdued by the re-entry of my physical body.

​“Continue to remain relaxed,” Professor Sullivan said evenly, his voice carrying across the clearing. “No sudden movements.”

​As he spoke, his gaze flicked toward me. He nodded in acknowledgement that I was awake again, but there was no hint that he might have caught sight of anything unusual.

​“Now focus on moving, careful not to get too close to the forest edge.” Professor Sullivan returned to guiding the rest of the class.

​I turned my attention upward once again, but the presence of my fellow students was no longer evident at all. My eyes gazed only into the open air, without a flicker of anything other than being there.

​I squinted.

​No, there was something there if I really focused. Not my eyes or ears. But a whole other innate sense. But it was beginning to give me a headache, like trying to focus on an object that was moving constantly closer and farther away repeatedly.

​I sighed.

​[[ Apophis, are you there? ]]

​~Yes, Master, I’ve remained by your side this whole time.

​[[ What happened? My shadow went berserk. ]]

​~It would appear that the stabilizing effect was not your physical form—and not the lingering Chaos bound to your ring—but rather your innate self. Your soul.

​His tone sharpened with interest.

​~It’s a rather curious state. Most intriguing.

​Whatever intrigue the snake had found in my situation, I found it significantly less fascinating.

​The implication was clear enough: I couldn’t leave my body again without triggering a reaction. And next time, I might not be able to rein it back in so easily.

​What then?

​I ran a finger across the shadow beside my thigh. My finger technically felt only grass, but that other sense that I didn’t quite understand registered something else. It felt as if my finger was moving through a fog. Or if I squinted this sense to its limit, it felt as if my finger was running through thick oil.

​The shadow quivered where I touched it with this new sense. I quickly pulled my hand back. My eyes scanned the field; someone might have seen it move.

​I exhaled slowly.

​I’ll need to experiment with this later, in private.

​“Alright,” Professor Sullivan said, his relaxing voice carrying across the clearing. “Let’s conclude the exercise. Everyone, slowly and carefully, return to your bodies.”

​His gaze lingered on me as he continued speaking.

​“Do not rush the process,” he added. “Sudden re-entry places unnecessary stress on the body.”

​I nodded back, showing that I understood him.

​Around me, the students began to stir.

“Remain still,” Professor Sullivan instructed. “Keep your eyes closed. Re-align with your physical form—start with your fingers and toes. Feel them. Move them slowly. Take your time.”

I watched as my classmates followed his guidance, their limbs twitching and stretching to varying degrees.

I smiled.

The whole process reminded me of the monks once again.

I blinked, evaluating Professor Sullivan in a new light as he walked around the lying students, continuing to instruct them in a calm, even voice.

This professor had seen right through the Pull Tab necklaces’ invisibility ability, just like the monks and Apophis could. It shouldn’t have been surprising that the techniques he used might also be similar to those in my realm.

“Now,” he said, once the last of the students had fully settled back into their bodies, “as you regain full consciousness, you may open your eyes. Roll onto whichever side feels comfortable. Then sit up.”

Guillermo sat up with an enormous yawn. “I nearly fell asleep there.”

Helen stretched her arms overhead. “You did. You were even snoring.”

Guillermo burst out laughing, entirely humored and without a tinge of embarrassment. “Did I really?” He looked to the professor for confirmation.

“It’s normal,” Professor Sullivan replied. “Your life essence was returning and reconnecting to your physical body. The state of reunion closely resembles the one when we sleep.”

“That gives a whole new meaning to ‘asleep like the dead,’” Guillermo said as he stood up.

“Indeed,” Professor Sullican replied. “Now, let’s return to our class and debrief on what you experienced.”

We took our seats around the circular table, and after a brief, familiar whirl, the forest dissolved. Stone walls snapped back into place around us, and we were once again in the tower classroom.

To my immense relief, neither Professor Sullivan nor the other students bothered lingering on the fact that I’d returned to my body early. And more importantly, my shadow did not come up in the discussion.

This was largely thanks to Guillermo, Helen, and another boy hogging the discussion, leaving no time for analysis of anyone else’s experiences. Specifically, my own.

“Luca,” Professor Sullivan said as the class wrapped up, effortlessly undoing that relief. “A quick word after.”

My shoulders stiffened while I waited for the class to clear out, leaving us alone.

Fortunately, he only wanted to reiterate to me the importance of returning to the body slowly, to avoid potential mana blockages or a state of temporary paralysis.

“Understood,” I replied. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Good,” he replied cheerfully. “We’ll have another opportunity to practice during next week’s lesson.”

That did nothing to ease my nerves.

I slung my book bag over my shoulder and made my way down the winding tower staircase, my thoughts spiraling as tightly as the steps beneath my feet. Dropping the class wasn’t an option, given that my enrollment in it hinged on Professor Sullivan’s support.

If I fell and broke a leg, would that be sufficient enough to skip next week’s class?

I slowed, staring down the remaining steps, briefly imagining what throwing myself down them might feel like.

I sighed, waving away the ridiculous thought.

I finished the descent and stepped out of the tower, with warm sunlight pressing against my face.

“You have something attached to you.”

I turned toward the familiar voice.

Paisley Lister leaned against the stone wall near the entrance, her arms crossed. Sunlight caught on the numerous gold piercings across her face, each one glinting faintly in the sunshine. She was alone. It was evident she had been waiting for me.

“What do you mean?” I asked, playing dumb.

Strictly speaking, she wasn’t wrong. I had two beings attached to me. Three—maybe two and a half—if one counted my access to the Game screens.

She didn’t smile.

“That,” Paisley said, pointing down toward the ground. “I saw your shadow move during the exercise.”

Ah, damn it.

“I happen to be quite familiar with elemental familiars,” she continued calmly. “My father is contracted to a Tier One wind elemental. And my major is in Elemental Familiar Studies.” She paused, studying me. “But I’ve never heard of a shadow elemental. That’s what it is, though. Isn’t it?”

I felt a smile tug on the corners of my mouth.

It was a misconception. But a very opportune one.

I had no idea what elementals actually were. But if Paisley believed the thing clinging to me was an elemental familiar, who was I to correct her? It wasn’t like I understood it either. It was once a phoenix egg but was corrupted by dead mana to such an extent that it had hatched into this thing, instead of a flaming bird.

For all I knew, this was exactly what a shadow elemental looked like.

“Maybe.” I shrugged.

Paisley frowned. The piercings along her brow drew together slightly.

“Maybe?” she repeated.

I shifted to lean against the stone wall beside her, angling us toward the same view of the courtyard instead of standing face-to-face. It was a deliberate move to make the conversation less confrontational and more friendly.

“As you already know, I have never utilized physical magic,” I began to explain. “And while I am knowledgeable enough to have passed the exam, there is much I do not know.”

Paisley didn’t interrupt and waited for me to continue.

“That,” I gestured toward my feet, “is something I’m trying to learn more about. It attached itself to me after evading a dangerous situation and has remained attached ever since. But so far it hasn’t provided the kind of assistance you’d expect from a typical elemental.”

That last part was an educated guess. If her father’s elemental was something to boast about, there were clearly benefits to an elemental’s presence.

“Are you contracted to it?” She asked.

“No,” I replied. No point in lying there.

“Has it caused you trouble?” She inquired, her eyes narrowing.

“No trouble thus far,” I quickly replied.

Even if I was planning to subdue this shadow thing before returning to my own realm, there was little benefit in confiding this to the daughter whose family operated the infamous dungeon that I’d nearly been locked up in. And it was true that it hadn’t achieved anything nefarious to me thus far.

“Though it did seem troubled when my soul left my body,” I added.

At this, Paisley nodded immediately.

“That makes sense. Elementals are bound to their hosts. It probably thought you were dying.” She tilted her head sympathetically. “Your soul did leave your body, after all. Young and sensitive elementals are particularly susceptible. I warned my elemental ahead of time. And according to it, your elemental felt quite scared.”

Paisley gazed down at my shadow with a pitying look.

She couldn’t have been more wrong, as was further evident by the amused snickering of Apophis from my shoulder. But I wasn’t about to correct her.

It was far better for Paisley Lister to believe the thing attached to me was a young and overly sensitive elemental—than to realize it was something far more sinister.

I didn’t need her family armed with any additional reasons as to why I was a threat to society.

Still, two details she’d mentioned caught my attention.

“You have an elemental as well?” I asked. “And it could tell mine was scared?”

Paisley nodded.

A faint flash of lightning rippled across her face, jumping from one gold piercing to the next like a living thread. “This is Spark,” she said, introducing the elemental. “I contracted with him about a year ago. He’s a Tier Three elemental—very young. But also very rare.”

She flexed her right hand, and the lightning followed, running over the many gold rings on her fingers.

“There are only two other living mages who have one like him,” she added. Then, after a brief glance at my shadow, “Though he’s not nearly as rare as yours.”

“Spark told you my elemental was scared?” I inquired again, accepting and committing to the naming convention.

“Yes.” She let the lightning dance once more before it leapt and vanished into one of her small golden hoop earrings. “I saw its movement myself, but Spark heard it crying. He told me that your elemental was in great distress when you left your body.”

I blinked.

Crying?

I looked down at my shadow.

This thing? Really?

I hadn’t even considered the possibility that it could feel anything. Until now, I presumed it to have no consciousness at all; a mindless being corrupted beyond repair by dead mana, operating on instinct alone.

Apparently, I’d been wrong. And if Apophis hadn't mentioned it, it was likely he couldn’t communicate with it either. Or had not bothered to provide this information to me for whatever reason.

“How do you communicate with your elemental?” I asked carefully. “I’ve never spoken to mine.”

At this, Paisley smiled, as if it were precisely what she was waiting for.

“I’ll teach you everything I know,” she said. “In exchange, I want to study your shadow elemental.”

At this, I frowned.

The offer was tempting. But also dangerous. The risk of her discovering that what clung to me wasn’t an elemental at all—but something else entirely—wasn’t insignificant. Especially since her family ran that damned Glimver Dungeon, half the exam professors had been far too eager to toss me into.

But, as the saying goes, it's best to keep my friends close. And the people who could destroy me within a monitored distance.

Though admittedly, my friends and family were as far away as they could get. And it was a bit of a stretch to call Paisley an enemy. But she and her family most certainly posed a threat to my well-being.

“If you can teach me how to communicate with it,” I said slowly, “I’ll consider it.”

Paisley didn’t hesitate.

“It’s a deal.” She extended her hand, and I clasped it in a handshake.

That was when something cut across my vision.

A small black blur vanishing into the open air away from the tower.

I stiffened.

Was that...?

~Master, Apophis hissed, far too late. My apologies. I have only just noticed the shapeshifter's presence.

My fingers tightened slightly around Paisley’s hand, before I forced my hand to relax.

~Unfortunately, it is likely they overheard the entirety of your conversation.

My eyes focused on what little of the black blob I could still see, and I motioned my right finger, attempting to salvage what I could of the unfortunate situation.

[ Random Character in Progress for Carmilla Aleicard. ]

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