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26 - Class Tests and Deadrooms
🕑 Added 2025-02-14 10:38:02 +0000 UTCAuthor's Note: A few name changes occur in this chapter which I will retroactively also change in prior chapters.
Mrs. Webber (History and Politics teacher) is now Mrs. Partridge
Trixie (girl who sits in front of Lexie and argued with Dewie about gnomes) is now Mya.
Sorry for any confusion. I'm terrible at coming up with names and sometimes two characters have names that are too close for comfort. Thanks for reading.
***
“Okay, class. Time’s up.”
The questions on the screen immediately vanished just as Lexie finished writing the last word of her final answer.
Her stomach sank. Regret spread sharply.
She hadn't had time to go back and review her answers and that sucked. But she tried not to panic. She was pretty sure she’d gotten all the questions right, even though that last one was tricky, asking about the three kingdoms of Lost which she was distantly related to some Korean History.
History and Politics was the last test of the day, and even though Lexie enjoyed the class, it still tripped her up with the names and dates of everything.
For the last few weeks before this, Lexie had studied like crazy for these mid-terms. Luckily she was used to sleeping late, and Aiden was too busy to realize that she often woke up at midnight to keep studying. But she was nervous because she hadn't devoted a hundred percent of her time to class work like she usually would. She was still doing her mana shaping exercises and her black hole exercises and striving to do more individual research on cards.
She'd started with the basics, searching up what she could find on the NET. Aiden was correct that cards were the very first type of magic the system created for humans to battle against the Guardians. Through many years of battle, the magic evolved to runes then spells, and finally unbound magic. Other artifacts like wands and potions came later with the advent of magical technology.
But Lexie also discovered that there was a fourth kind of card that Aiden forgot to mention. The Land Card. Years ago, when humans first started using card magic, and before they could access the Guardian's mana, the Fae allowed them to tap into magical wells on their Fae planet. Human used land cards to do this, creating a link to siphon the magic from the designated wells.
But after humans captured the Guardian's magic and mana spread through the atmosphere, land cards became obsolete. They were finally discontinued by Card Developers after the fae disconnected the cards from their wells. One could probably still find them in some vintage shops, but there were collector's items and served no use beyond that.
Another thing Lexie learned was that, while the Torad corporation had market monopoly and the highest government backing, they were not the only company that created cards. There were others like, the Crimson Card company, Joseph McReach Card Company, and the whimsically named Gilded Promises Card Company (although that last one tended to focus more on tarot cards which worked by a different set of rules than regular cards).
While each deck emblazoned the company logo on their descriptions, the individual [Developers] of the decks were kept largely a secret. There was no information on the [Developer], or even any of the scholars or mages that worked on the card. It was odd. Lexie assumed they would want praise for such a thing.
But then it also reminded her of what Aiden said, about [Researchers] being locked in a dark room studying algorithms endlessly. A tiny bit of apprehension swam through Lexie's mind. She wasn't having second thoughts about being a [Researcher] per se...but perhaps she needed to find out more about that lifestyle before she committed herself to it.
If only she knew any [Researchers] she could ask.
“I wanna throw up,” Mya muttered distracting Lexie from her thoughts. The girl was resting her head on the desk and groaning. "Stupid number 9."
It took Lexie a second to realize Mya was talking about the test. Well, mostly the entire class was, although none of them looked as forlorn as Mya.
Lexie felt bad for the girl and she could also very much relate. Typically she had that nausea after tests she wasn't sure about or hadn’t prepared adequately for, like this one. But for some reason, the nausea wasn't present today. Despite how unsure she was of her grade, she was more relaxed than usual. Maybe because she was in a video game? Or maybe because Aiden assured her that he didn't care how she did on the test, as long as she was happy with herself.
It had warmed Lexie's heart to hear him say that and it was a sweet sentiment, but she didn't plan on failing this or any other tests. She wasn't evolved enough from her past self to not attach her grades to her self-esteem, regardless of whether Aiden pressured her to or not.
Plus there was still that whisper at the back of her mind telling her that maybe Aiden was lying. Maybe he was just trying to be nice, but if he ever saw a giant F on her paper, then he would be disappointed and turn into her parents, accusing her of being a failure.
She shuddered at the thought of disappointing him, now feeling a little sick too.
“Alright, guys." Mrs. Partridge said. "How was it?”
There was a general grumble of discontent in the class, which made Lexie feel a little better. If everyone else found it difficult too, then she was probably on the right track. Maybe they would grade on a curve.
“Alright, alright, settle down. No need for that. I know it’s not an easy subject but it’s necessary to understand our history and our relations with the other districts and planets.”
“But most of us aren’t even going to be [Heroes], or go to other planets, Mrs. P," a girl at the back whined. “Why do we even need to know all that stuff?”
Mrs. Partridge smiled indulgently. “Amy, there’s such a thing as knowledge for knowledge's sake. Meaning that sometimes it's just good to know things without having an immediate reason to.”
“That’s bullcrap, Mrs. P," Bennie said. “Last week, you told me I couldn’t do stuff like hit Abernathy for no reason, but I have to learn things for no reason?”
Mrs. P pretended she didn’t hear him and addressed the rest of the class. “Okay, guys. How about now that the exam is over, we go over a few things that confused you? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to make us do it anyway,” Xena mumbled and Bennie chortled. Lexie smirked at Xena, and the other girl met her gaze and then narrowed her eyes. Lexie only smiled wider.
Xena had been grumpy ever since Lexie told her that she'd met Top Dog. She'd said she didn't believe her at first, but after Lexie's smug retelling of the encounter–with some minor embellishments of course, like Top Dog giving her a fist bump and a wink–Xena had glared at her so hard that she'd thought the top of her head would pop off.
And now, whenever they crossed paths, Lexie brought it up as much as she could.
“Xena." Mrs. Patridge's smile brightened at having caught a prey. “Since you’re so talkative today, how about you start? What’s a question that tripped you up?”
Xena's face heated a little as everyone turned to look at her.
Lexie thought Xena would give some pithy answer, but then her expression actually turned thoughtful.
“I don’t understand why there’s a difference between the Knights and the King’s Knights," she said. "Shouldn't they be the same things? Why are they under different branches of government?”
“Oh, excellent question. Does anyone have an answer? Mya?”
“Knights are a class of fighters that are trained in both magic and melee,” the girl answered promptly. “The King’s Knights aren’t actually Knights. They’re not fighters, they’re elite investigators who used to work for the monarchy back when we had one. The name just kinda carried over from then and that’s why they’re still called that even today."
“Excellent explanation, Mya. And with that, you’ve earned yourself a question. What is the one thing you really want to ask?”
Mya sighed her frustration. “The Fae. They use like five hundred different systems of government on their planet. Doesn’t that get confusing?”
“Perhaps. But can you think of a reason why they need all that?”
“Because they have a diverse ecosystem,” Abernathy answered. “They’re not like humans where we’re more or less the same. They have lots of different sentient species occupying their planet, each with their own governments like Dark Fae, Light Fae–”
“And the spooky demon King!’
“Bennie!” Mrs. P. said sharply, her gaze instantly reprimanding. “You know we don’t use that kind of derogatory language in this classroom.”
“Sorry, Mrs. P. I didn’t mean it in a de-gog-atory way. It’s just that Demon King sounds way cooler than ‘Lord of the Eldritch’.”
She sighed. “In any case, it’s offensive and you won’t use it again. Right?”
Bennie nodded but his irreverent smile reappeared when Mrs. P. turned away. That told Lexie he had every intention of using it again.
“In any case, Abernathy, you're completely correct. Now you get to ask a question from the test. ”
Abernathy shrugged. “I don’t really have a question to ask.”
“Show off,” Boyle muttered and Abernathy grinned at him in response.
“I have one,” Lexie raised her hand. “The Elementals. Why are they so important?”
Veronica’s head snapped toward Lexie, glaring as though she’d said something offensive. But Lexie ignored her and kept staring at Mrs. P. “I mean I know they’re unbound magic users and very powerful, but there are tons of other powerful unbound magic users. And a bunch of special classes like Necromancers or Shifters. And the Noble House of Ryand who are basically powerful Paladins, right? And the church controls all the healers and [Saintesses] who I would say are also very powerful. But they’re not regarded on the same level as the Elementals.”
Mrs. Partridge thought about it. "You have a point there Lexie,” she said. Then she glanced around. “Well, anyone?”
There was quiet. But that might also be because Veronica didn’t seem pleased with the line of conversation and was glaring around as if daring anyone to say the wrong thing.
When no one else spoke up, she rolled her eyes and said, “It’s because the Elementals were chosen.”
“By who?”
“By the Fae. When the Fae helped the Great Developers to incorporate a magic system on Earth, they needed to test the effect of unbound magic on humans. The Elementals were one of the few brave ones to step forward and volunteer and were chosen as the bravest of the bunch. As such they were given the best magic of all. The magic of creation.”
Lexie blinked. "Creation magic?"
"You don't know what that is?" Veronica smirked. "Guess you're not so smart after all."
"Now Veronica–" Mrs. P protested.
“Most magic isn’t creative. It’s just basically using mana to change something into something else. But that wouldn't be enough to keep the Guardians away, and so Fae asked for human volunteers with whom they could experiment more powerful magic forms. A few people volunteered, and most of them died, but the Elementals survived, meaning they were ultimately chosen as beings that could create mana out of nothing. A strong elemental can create fire, air, or water, or light, or shadows or earth even in a mana deprived-society. The only other creatures who could do that were the old Guardians."
Ah. So that's why people treat Elementals like they're gods.
“I think I get it now," Lexie said, and Veronica looked smug about it.
“Veronica kind of touched on it,” Mrs P. continued. “But Lexie do you remember the six elemental families and their names?
She nodded. “Firebringers, Skysoarers, Wavelost, Lightlark, Shadowsbane, Groundsmage.”
“Amazing. Good job, Lexie.”
Lexie beamed.
“They should take Lightlark out of that list,” Abernathy commented. “No one has seen a Lightlark on earth for years.”
“That’s because they’re all on Planet Fae," Mrs. P said.
“Yeah, that's what they’re saying but for all we know they’re probably all dead.”
“They’re not dead,” Veronica said. “Lightlarks are necessary on Planet Fae and that's why they get snagged up there quickly. The Fae gives our government a boatload of concessions so they can use Lightlark heroes on their planet. It's why all the Lightlarks have pretty much moved there. Plus, Mom tells me that the Fae treat Lightlarks like royalty because of their skill.”
“Right." Abernathy sounded skeptical. "But they’re probably also experimenting on them. Or they have them plugged up to a machine that siphons out all their mana.”
"That’s not true."
"Then how come they rarely come back to earth?"
"Um, have you seen the Fae Planets?" Veronica challenged. "If you went there you wouldn’t come back to Earth either!"
"I bet they're being mind-controlled," Chris said.
"Or the demon king has taken over their bodies, stripped them of their souls, and is wearing their flesh as jewelry."
"Bennie."
"Sorry, Ms. P. I meant to say the Lord of the Eldritch took over their bodies, stripped them of their souls and is wearing their flesh as jewelry."
The conversation soon devolved into more theories on what really happened to the Lightlarks and whether or not they were secret human sacrifices for the Lord of the Eldritch. Then the bell went off and everyone was allowed to go home.
Lexie, of course, didn't go home.
She had more work to do today.
She had two stops to make. The first was to the Elicart Stadium to place another bet. She had won big on the Kane match, getting nearly four thousand credits from it. She'd almost had a small heart attack when she woke up and found the money deposited in her account and then she'd done a silent jig around her room.
She was rich!
Well, not rich but at least richer than she was previously.
She was already thinking of what to use the money on. Deadrooms and maybe more books on pathways. She wanted to get Aiden something nice too but she didn't know how to do it without him getting suspicious about where she got the money from.
Anyway, she would figure it out later.
But after that win, she'd placed two more bets, winning modest amounts each time.
And now she was off to place another one.
She left school, took the bus to the Elicart stadium and approached the booth. The teller, Miles, was waiting for her, and he grinned when she came.
After she’d won that Kane the Mundane bet, he’d seemed to lose the initial suspicious attitude he had with her. He also no longer asked her where her dad was and never asked to see the betting forms either. He was overall nicer to her, and it made Lexie wonder if tellers got a cut of the wins from whoever's bet they'd entered.
“Hey kid,” he said. “Got another wager for me?”
“Yeah,” Lexie responded. “Dad wants to wager on TechnocRat.”
“Ah, he’s a popular one.”
She nodded. The technomage was the newest member of TD’s team and like the other two members, he was quickly making a name for himself through the circuit. He wasn't a powerful fighter being as small as he was but he was wiley and resourceful.
“Alright," Miles said. "How much?”
“Two hundred.” Despite her first big win, Lexie still liked to bet conservatively around that mark. She didn't want to lose it all at once, and would much rather make small wins than risk large losses.
“Gotcha," he said as he processed the odds. “But your dad knows that even if the Rat wins, he’s not going to get as much money as the last three times right? Especially that first one?"
Lexie nodded. With Kane's fight, the betting pool had been heavily uneven with most people thinking that he would lose. And Kane definitely would have lost, had Maverick not had his concussion problems. Even with Maverick's issues it was a close call, and Lexie was kind of sad to see the former champion lose. Either way, it worked out in her favor because she'd ended up three thousand, eight hundred and thirty-four credits richer because of the bet.
Her next stop was to the deadroom rental at the mall. She'd already made the reservation online, paying a little extra for the exclusive room.
Money does make everything easier, Lexie thought as she walked in with little effort, only scanning her thumbprint on a metallic door with runes traced on it.
After all, money was how Lexie had gotten into MIT in her last life. Her parents had spared no expense to get her the best tutors and books that money could buy. Lexie doubted she would have made it as far as she did without that.
Just like she knew the deadrooms were the key to breaking the record on the fastest activation time ever.
Except Lexie wasn't just aiming for a sub-fifteen anymore. She wanted a sub-five.
Minutes later, she was sitting in the booth, legs crisscrossed and lungs inhaling. There were different runes on the wall, some glowing black due to their mana-extracting components and others glowing gold containing mana. Holograms in front of Lexie directed her through the breathing exercises and told her what to do next. The goal was to draw the mana from the runes across from her, through a tunnel of air surrounded by deadspaces that were cast by the black runes lining the walls on both sides of her.
Lexie could feel the mana inside her, pressing tightly together as they tried to escape the mana-less void outside. She took a few minutes to practice her internal shaping–now made easier–getting a stronger feel of her internal limbs while she did it.
Then she finally moved on to practice pulling the mana from the golden runes seven feet away.
It was the hardest thing she'd ever done.
The mana actively refused to move as Lexie tugged. There was a very narrow path through the deadspace, directed by holographic arrows, which she was supposed to pull the mana through. That path wasn't a total deadspace itself and so it could technically be filled with mana. But the deadspace around it made everything harder, made the mana reluctant to move.
Lexie stopped trying to pull and instead attempted to shape the mana in the runes themselves. That was difficult too, but then she meditated and tried to form a link to just a single mana particle in the rune. Once she could get one of them, she was sure she would get a feel of the others.
Due to the dead space between them, there was no other mana in the atmosphere to focus on and that should make it slightly easier to find what she wanted.
Lexie tried to form the connection first without deep meditation, even though she knew it likely wouldn't work. Nevertheless, she wanted to test herself so she directed her mana cloud to her hand, held it out, and tried to use her internal mana to bond with the external particles and coax them closer. But they were too far away and she wasn't that good at mana control yet.
She took deep breaths, moving her mana from side to side, trying to coax the ambient mana inch by inch toward the path.
It didn't work. Which meant she had to go into deeper meditation.
Hopefully, she would do it in under an hour because that was how long she'd booked the room for.
Lexie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Felt her internal mana, but didn't bond to it, instead looking outwards. She felt the deadspace, the coldness of it making her feel bereft. She felt a hint of the mana particles across her, excited at her contact, scared to move because of the void surrounding them.
She moved her focus closer to them and went deeper until she could identify one of the particles, by smell and by taste.
She bonded with it.
With her conscious mind, she drew up a card, <Hustle and Shuffle>. She awakened some awareness of her internal mana back and visualized her internal particles trembling in fear at the deaspace surrounding her, trying to rush into her pathways to hide. She began to partially activate the card, feeling the mana rush in desperately. Upon complete activation, she called upon the external mana from the runes, straining her bond to coax it closer.
And closer. And closer.
As the mana moved out of the runes and into the air, she shaped it together so that nothing would touch the edges of the artificial tunnels created by the deadspace. This type of shaping was easier to do with external mana than it was with internal, maybe because there were less particles.
At around the midway point, the mana particles sped up, and began rushing towards her as the bond strengthened.
Lexie held on, felt it wehn the external mana moved into her correct pathway and she suddenly felt lighter.
Just in time too, an alarm told her that her time in the deadrooms was over.
She checked on her activation log. Activation time was 18 seconds. Not a bad start.
It would still take her a while before she could do it without deep meditation, but she was getting there. And she had money to spend. It was a good day. Now she just had to get back to school before Aiden arrived to pick her up.
She left the deadroom in high spirits.
She was close to another major breakthrough, she could feel it. It was only a matter of time.
And that time, could very well be tomorrow.
