"Ah, proactive? I like it." Teacher Diane's lips curved. "Everything in this college is study material. Take the curse afflicting you. It's dark magic—something very few get to learn, even among teachers." She clapped her hands, her words as much for him as for the silent students. "Tell us your idea for dispelling it."
Adam's eyes lingered on the other students. They now glared at him as if he would speak blasphemy. For a moment, he remained silent, amused by how their hands tightened around the corners of their desks. Then he nodded at Diane.
"The key should lie in how the body recognises its new form as its original," he started, tucking his fingers around his chin. "First, let me explain how I see the curse. It has two parts: chains and locks. The chains transform, while the locks prevent modifications. To reach the chains, I'd have to destroy the locks. But how?"
Diane leaned forward, smile sharpening. "I'm sure you've thought about it. Go on."
"Not that much, to be honest. I'm not foolish enough to believe I can unmake the curse of a magus in twenty-four hours. If it lasted longer, though." Adam scratched the back of his head, but his voice grew somber. "I would focus on why it does what it does and how? Only after getting these answers would I slowly, meticulously work my way to loosen the locks."
The weight of the students' glares intensified. He knew what they thought: your answer is as good as no answer. Yet, Diane's shifting posture suggested otherwise.
She crossed her arms over her chest, tapping her finger on her right cheek thoughtfully. "Loosen, you say?" She eventually tilted her head, her voice sounding more like probing than denying. "Why not blast them open as most would have?"
The students nodded, agreeing that blasting the curse was the fastest way to dispel it.
Not Adam.
"Most are fools. Magic isn't about gambling on uncertain methods, but finding the most proper one." He shrugged heavily. "Who knows? Perhaps, the locks might burst if they're not handled carefully. Even if they don't, what if the chains have barbs deeply lodged into my cells? Curses are malignant by nature—you've said it yourself. Now, I don't have a clear method, and I don't need one. I'd rather wait until it wears off on its own rather than put myself in unnecessary danger."
A student muttered about Adam's cowardice, followed by the others. Inaction couldn't be the correct answer. As whispers spread across the students, Jonathan begrudgingly nodded.
A nod mirroring Diane's fleeting smirk. "Those who believe weaker mages can dispel a magus' curse are indeed fools. Your best bet is to get help from another magus without delay. Good answer. For reminding the class that knowledge is what matters, that blind attempts are more dangerous than inaction, I'll reward you with thirty points."
Adam exhaled, feeling the silver sword that pierced the coiled black serpent on his chest warm up slightly. Realisation struck him. Of course, points were tracked. How would teachers know who had earned enough to visit the libraries if not? But it also meant the points he had lost were as much on the House as they were under his name. So with thirty points, he was now at minus two thousand and seventy.
A smile found its way on his lips. He was just starting.
"Knowledge is key. It is always," Diane continued, raising her hand in front of his face. "Watch well, students. Once you've learned enough, you can do this."
An icy shiver ran down Adam's spine as luminous mana hummed right before his eyes. His smile faltered, lips twitching, torn away from his thoughts. He tried to speak, but it was too late—Diane's magic seeped through his pores like water through a net.
He hated it—this feeling of being a puppet in the teachers' hands. His own mana was like water, while Diane's was mercury. Though it fell like a drop in the ocean, it was heavier, denser—better controlled. A tremor ran through his hands, fingers curling into impotent fists before going limp. He closed his eyes. Resistance was futile. He was too weak, an apprentice five tiers lower than a magus.
Slowly, he felt something that had nothing to do inside of him break, triggering a chain reaction. He could almost hear chains break before dissolving and being expelled. Dark gases began to drift from his skin, swirling around him, licking his skin as if trying to return inside. But Diane waved her palm, dispersing the gas like a bad scent as his body transformed.
Supple skin grew taut, muscles flourished like suppressed vines, and his jawbones shifted. Generous breasts gave way to a firm, broad chest, and long hair faded, leaving sky-blue locks fluttering above his eyes. Most importantly, he felt it. His missing limb. The little brother he had secretly grieved, even though he knew the separation wouldn't last, reemerged in all its glory.
Students gasped at the transformation at first. Then, the girls' gasps turned into embarrassed shrieks as Adam grabbed between his legs with a satisfied nod. It was back!
"Pervert!" a girl screamed, then another.
"That's exactly why Teacher Isolde punished him!"
"Please, Teacher Diane, don't let this menace roam free, or we won't find sleep."
The boys sneered, and Diane frowned.
"What are you doing?" she asked, bringing this shameful spectacle to an end by pulling his arm away.
"Just checking? Oh..." Adam tilted his head, his grin not fading. "I'm sure you can understand my delighted surprise after recovering my normal looks. It happened a little too fast, though. Perhaps a warning could prevent such reactions next time."
His words rang true in Diane's ears, and for a moment, she silently glared at him. Warn students? Since when?
A student voice broke through. Brad stood up, pointing at Adam. "You've heard him, teacher. He's already planning the next time, now that you've freed him prematurely!"
"Isolde won't settle for twenty-four hours next time." Diane pursed her lips. "Why do you think I've freed him?" It wasn't a question. "To show you a practical example, then question you about how I've done it." She let go of Adam's hand, gesturing to his desk with her head. "You want a warning? Here is one. Put your hand down there during my class, and you'll lose the hand for a month."
Adam nodded. "Won't happen. Thank you, though." Without another word, he sat at his desk, smirking at the hostile students.
Before they could burst in outrage, Diane clapped, the sound like a distant thunderclap. Parchments ruffled, and hair fluttered under the pressure.
"Enough." The single word calmed everyone down instantly. With silence restored, she continued. "Now, who has anything useful to say about how I dispelled the curse?" Silence lingered as the only answer.
Typical of students. They hadn't paid attention to the movement of her mana, how she had used light to dissolve darkness where it was the weakest. Then, like a house of cards, the curse crumbled on its own. It was surgical work, control on a cellular level.
Her eyes snapped to Adam. If the others had been too busy gasping, he should have felt what had happened in his own body. So, why wasn't he raising his hand?
Gone was the wisdom she had appreciated earlier. Adam was flexing his limbs, tensing his arms, and cracking his knuckles, his only interest seemingly his own body. She turned to the other students, sighing wearily. "Take notes. We'll talk about how to stop curses before they can afflict you after."
Adam continued to feign interest in his body, but the moment she faced the other side of the class, his gaze sharpened. Of course, he had felt how she had unmade the curse. But knowing and doing were different things. Without flawless control, her method was impracticable. The best solution was and would remain to avoid being cursed in the first place.
Until she explained how, the red feathered quill interested him much more.
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AN: Another long chapter!