And that was why, if I couldn’t scour the fear from my mind, I needed to beat it through other means.
I needed to outsmart it.
And with that goal in mind, I began my next project.
I handed the four completed crystals over to Vellum.
“Oh, you’re still enrolled here? I thought you might have dropped out from shame a couple weeks ago, since these took you so long.”
I grinned. “Sorry to disappoint you, professor. I do have other things to keep me busy.”
That was about seventy percent an excuse, but a fraction of truth was good enough to keep the smile on my face.
She just shook her head. “And I suppose you’ll be wanting the mana out of these?”
“Yeah, and I’d like to see the extraction process, if you don’t mind.”
“Very well.” She nodded, laying out the crystals in a line on the table. She opened a drawer, reached in to withdraw something…
…and hit the first crystal in the line with a hammer.
The quartz casing exploded, chips flying everywhere.
As I gawked, Vellum took a deep breath, and then smashed the next one.
And the next. And the next.
At least the mana crystals themselves remained intact.
“Ah, much better.” She set the hammer down on the table amidst the quartz powder and debris.
I stared blankly. “I…thought you said I wasn’t supposed to damage the casing?”
“Of course not, dear. I enjoy doing it myself far too much to let you do it. Let an old woman bask in one of her few remaining joys in life, hmm?”
I sighed, taking a seat in the chair across from her. She was obviously having a little fun at my expense, but that was tolerable as long as I got the results.
I reached across the table and began to retrieve my hard-earned crystals. “Of course, professor. I would never want to deprive you of such simple pleasures. You wouldn’t happen to have any more practice crystals that I could use?”
“Oh, no, that was the last batch. You can buy them at some of the supply stores on campus, though. They’re cheap or I never would have given you any.”
“Right.” I rubbed my forehead, feeling the grit of powdered quartz dust that had stuck on my fingers when I picked up the mana crystals. “I’ll keep working on those, but I do have another question in the meantime.”
“Oh? Need some advice on how to woo a young lady, perhaps?”
I blinked. Where did she get these absurd ideas?
“No, Professor. A rune-related question, and I think you’re the only one here who might know the answer.”
“With those younger ladies, flattery will get you everywhere — but with me, Corin, you’re better off just keeping me entertained. I do hope this is an interesting question?”
I nodded. “Is it possible to use runes to perform mathematical calculations?”
She steepled her fingers. “That is an interesting question. If you’re thinking about making a magical device to make it easier to perform math in class, however, I’m afraid that the designs required are quite complex — and most common methods are patented, so it’s not something you could easily make and sell.”
Huh. I hadn’t been thinking of something of that level of complexity, but it was good information to have. “Nothing quite like that. Basically, I’m going to have a divination rune that checks for a value, and then I need to run it through an equation and display the resulting number on a surface. I found the runes for the first step, and I think I know how to make the number display, but I couldn’t find anything on the middle part.”
Vellum leaned back in her chair. “That’s not terribly difficult. You want to run the number through the exact same equation every time?”
I scratched my chin. “Yeah. I think so? I’m pretty sure the underlying equation stays stable, but I admit I haven’t dug into it very deeply yet.”
For the first time in my recollection, Vellum looked stymied. I felt a pang of victory — I think I’d actually managed to confuse her.
“Whatever is this for?”
I tapped the attunement mark on my forehead. “You know people go to the Divinatory periodically to learn how much mana they can use safely from each part of their body?”
She waved a hand dismissively. “Important for students, certainly. Most advanced attuned learn to evaluate that by feel.”
“But that’s a flawed approach.” It was a bit of a provocative statement, but I was confident. “Even experts sometimes push themselves beyond their limits, sometimes without realizing it, and suffer permanently for it.”
Fortunately, she didn’t seem offended — just contemplative. “And you think you can solve this by…”
“Every time that I’ve gone to the Divinatory, they’ve cast a single spell to check each part of my body — then scribbled down some math and given me the result. I think they’re checking the total amount of mana flowing through each area, then running it through a simple formula to tell me how much is safe to use. I could make items that do that.”
“What’s the point? Making a permanent item like that would mean spending a significant amount of money on a service that’s inexpensive or free. It’s not worth saving a few minutes.”
I shook my head. “That’s not the point of the device — it’s just the first part. We have it measure the user’s mana at rest and store that number, and then make it visible on a surface. Then, we have it actively monitor the user’s mana, tracking how their current mana compares to the first number. We show a second number — the amount of remaining mana the wearer can still spend safely — next to the maximum value.”
Vellum lifted a hand to her chin, twisting her lips. “It could be done. You’d want to display it as a fraction — something like ten mana left out of twenty — to make it useful. But I don’t know if I like it. It could make the wearer rely on the device, rather than their own judgment.”
I shrugged at that. “If nothing else, it might help keep someone cognizant of the small mana uses that they aren’t aware of from day-to-day activities. I still have no idea how rapidly using my attunement drains my mana, for example. How long can I use it safely? I have no idea — none of my books talk about it.”
“That’s something they should have explained in your first weeks of class. You probably just weren’t paying attention.”
“Maybe, but I doubt I’m the only one. And when someone knows dozens of spells, and they’re in the middle of the tower, can you honestly say they’re tracking their mana usage accurately?”
She shook her head. “No, they’re probably not, but I’m not certain taking the time to check a device would be beneficial. You’d have to press it against whichever section of the body you want to measure, then look at wherever you’re displaying the numbers — not necessarily practical in a fight.”
“I was thinking something wearable, like a pocket watch on a chain. You could just grab it out of the pocket, press it to your hand or forehead or whatever, and then look at the number. I agree that might still be too dangerous in the middle of a fight, but maybe between two rooms? I don’t know about you, but I think I’d find that information valuable.”
“Perhaps. But you must understand that people develop a degree of pride about being able to keep track of their own mana. I’m not sure adults would value a device that makes them look incapable. I don’t know how you’d market it.”