B4 - Chapter 40 - Stone Shapers

The next day came, and the students were now relatively free to do whatever they wanted before the big day tomorrow, within reason, of course. Some chose to go shopping, others wanted to watch more crafting, and some decided to roam around and see where the winds took them.

For Lily, she wanted to see if she could find Theo since she knew there was no chance he was taking part in the duels. Even getting him to throw rocks at her was a challenge, since he much preferred building with his earth magic. Since Tresnia was pretty much the only one with construction mages, Theo had no competition to take part in, although there were two magic artistry competitions for second years and above.

If Theo's sculptures had gotten any better, he might get a chance to show off next year in the creation artistry competition, which focused on using magic to create something relatively permanent. Earth mages and even ice mages usually took part, but sometimes strange things happened when bloodlines got involved, like crystal, metal, or even magma.

The other magical artistry competition was a presentation, where you tried to put on a performance that dazzled everyone for a moment. Fire mages launched fireworks, illusionists created enchanting scenes, and so on. This one had much more variety, since anyone could enter as long as they could somehow captivate the audience. Lily even wondered if Lotte should try entering this one next year, using her poisonous snake projections to put on some kind of dance-like performance.

Would it count as cheating if I just showed up and summoned my Nebula Veil? Lily thought, giggling to herself.

Other than Theo, Lily still hoped she could find Camilla here, and that she had successfully brought Margit with her. It was a bit of a long shot, but she really hoped the old witch had managed to pull some strings.

When Lily told Rose her plans, she immediately joined in and set everything else aside. Lotte initially looked like she wanted to join in as well, but maybe she thought Rose deserved some time alone with Lily, and she ultimately chose to accompany Hana on her shopping spree instead.

With that, the pair left the inn and began exploring, their first objective finding a Tresnia professor to ask about Theo or Camilla. Lily felt like kicking herself for not asking James about Theo yesterday, but it had somehow slipped her mind amid all the weirdness and staring competitions.

Naturally, Lily told Rose about the Cetacia girl, and she half expected her to fly off in a jealous rage, but that oddly didn't happen at all. It seemed Rose knew Lily would draw plenty of attention on this trip, both for her overwhelming cuteness and her remarkable display of magic.

Of course, putting the two together and letting them roam the city made them a magnet for attention, since Rose was pretty much a celebrity herself. The only thing that saved them from a barrage of pestering was Rose emitting what could only be described as a "don't disturb me" aura, and only a few were brave enough to risk it.

Thankfully, they weren't disturbing the girls too much, mostly just handing Rose invitations from some noble family, which she took and promptly burnt when they were out of sight. As Rose had said before, she couldn't accept any more invitations without letting a tangled web of nobles and their interests fall on her, which was the last thing she wanted. It was clear to Lily, though, that Rose was very tempted to go against her better judgment for the hope of some delicious food.

I wonder if Tresnia has a restaurant at the same level as the Velvet Hearth. Maybe I can ask Hana to poke around and try to book us a table after our rounds are over? I'm sure Rose would love that.

The pair found a few Tresnia professors, but when they asked about Theo, they had no idea. Unlike Regarth, which seemed to run a relatively tight ship, Tresnia operated more like a sprawling business, and it had an almost absurd number of staff. So they started asking to see first-year professors, hoping that one of them could point them in the right direction.

It took up most of the morning, but they eventually got directions to where the construction mages were taught, and they also found a professor who knew Theo. At first, the professor was hesitant about why two girls from Regarth were seeking their student, but when they explained they had all come from the same orphanage, their attitudes thankfully changed.

Finally, they were led to a sectioned-off area where they could feel an almost constant tremor as they approached. This was where the earth mages were taught, and to avoid disturbing the peace, it was a bit out of the way, since nobody liked the ground constantly shaking as they built up and then tore it down once the lesson was over.

When they arrived, a lesson was in progress, so they were told by the helpful professor to sit on a nearby bench and wait until it was over. They both agreed and thanked him for his help, and after a wave goodbye, he left to go about his business.

Lily and Rose both watched, somewhat eager to watch the construction mages at work. This hadn't been part of their tour, although since nobody seemed to mind them watching, it was excluded because they might have considered it boring instead of a secret. For most, it might have been boring, but Lily wanted to see if she could pick up any tidbits that might help her when doing her own construction via glyphs or inscriptions. As for Rose, she was just happy to spend time with Lily.

The construction itself was quite impressive, with the students working in teams on set tasks. One group used their magic to create a solid foundation, while another raised walls and set them in place. Lily expected them to raise them on the spot, but instead they built them away from the building, then levitated them over as a group and placed them in position.

This spell differed from the telekinesis or levitation spells she had seen, and Arakil specifically said it was a form of geokinesis. While it was limited to only moving rock and soil, it could move much larger volumes than a standard all-purpose spell for less Mana, and that was before the mage's affinities or aptitudes came into play.

However, this wasn't the only construction method on display; they also built walls similar to hers, raising them on the spot. They seemed to use a variety of methods, though Lily wasn't sure why they chose one over another unless the location had no viable stone to work with.

Once the building was complete, the professor seemed to evaluate it and say something to the students; then they needed to take it down, which was remarkably quick. In almost no time, the building they had put together was dismantled and flattened, being returned to the soil like it had never existed. After that, the teams swapped roles, and a new building was constructed.

"That's quite intensive work; they must be burning through a lot of Mana," Rose said, sounding impressed.

"I think that's why they work in teams, so they can reduce the burden as much as possible," Lily replied. "Although I don't even know how you work together on a spell, the closest I've gotten is having Lotte and Thomas supply Mana to my glyph."

"It's not easy; you need to be relatively on the same level, or be able to adjust your output to match. Because of that, I'll probably never be able to work with another fire mage."

"Yeah, I can't imagine you wanting to lower your output," Lily giggled.

During this second round of building, Lily paid closer attention to the students, hoping to pick Theo out from the bunch. He was especially big, so Lily thought it would be easy, but it seemed any demi with an earth bloodline tended to be larger than normal. Eventually, she found him among the group and started paying closer attention to his performance, even going so far as to watch with her Magesight.

It looks like Theo has been working extra hard on his control since I last saw him. I don't know what kind of training Tresnia put him through outside of this building relay, but it must have done the trick.

Lily was impressed by the growth she'd seen, and even Arakil complimented him, which, in her opinion, was worth its weight in gold. She pointed him out to Rose, and though it looked like she didn't recognize him, Lily managed to explain the growth she'd seen since they left the orphanage.

When the lesson ended, the Tresnia students finally noticed their two observers, and their confusion was evident. Lily could almost imagine them going, "Why are a Dragia and a Lagia watching us? Who are those girls?" or something like that, and that was when Theo finally looked their way and immediately ran over.

"Lily, is that you?" Theo asked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Do you know any other Lagia cute enough to be my sister?" Rose asked with a snort.

Theo flinched and then chuckled nervously. "Of course not. It's good to see you too, Rose."

Lily got up from her seat and went to give Theo a friendly hug, though from her perspective it was like hugging a tall tree.

"I can't believe you've gotten even taller! Can't you share some of that height with me?"

Theo awkwardly scratched his cheek. "Yeah, I've been having a bit of a growth spurt. I don't know if it's the food or what, but ever since I've come to Tresnia, it's been crazy."

"So unfair…" Lily pouted.

"You've grown too, though. I know you were definitely smaller," Theo replied. He looked like he wanted to pat her on the head, but when he saw Rose staring at him, he cautiously pulled his arm back.

A few others from Theo's class came over to ask what was going on, and after receiving the quick explanation that they were all from the same orphanage, they left, leaving the three to catch up. Theo tried to introduce a few of them to Lily, but with so many names and only just meeting them, she'd probably forget them by the time they saw each other again.

Theo sat down, and the trio began talking, first reminiscing a little about the orphanage before moving on to the exciting things that had happened to them. Lily and Rose both had plenty of exciting things to say about the dungeon, which made Theo almost pale at what he heard.

"Isn't that dangerous? They just let you run around fighting monsters?"

"We have special Wards that recharge quickly and can block two hits," Lily explained. "They're powered up while inside the dungeon."

"Not only that, but we receive combat lessons on dodging, blocking, and so forth. It doubles as dueling lessons," Rose added.

Theo shook his head. "Gosh… That sounds too crazy for me. I'm really glad I stuck with Tresnia because there's been no fighting at all since I've got here."

"Really? Not even duels?" Rose asked.

"Nope. It's entirely optional. The majority of my lessons are for construction, but then I also have extra lessons for control, which usually involves sculpting."

"Does that mean you'll be taking part in the art competition next year?" Lily asked curiously. "Because your control has gotten so much better!"

"I'll have to see…" Theo replied, blushing a little. "I'm not really where I want to be, but at least I've stopped worrying about my rocks randomly exploding. Has Regarth managed to help your capacity problems?"

"In a manner of speaking…" Lily began to answer, realizing it had been a long time since they last spoke. Back then Lily had lamented her poor capacity, but now she was literally the top of her class in that regard, especially after her large moon suddenly turned into a tiny sun.

"They didn't put me in any special classes or anything like that, but with the dungeon right at my doorstep I've had plenty of opportunities to absorb monster essence and grow my Mana."

Theo gulped. "They just let you absorb monster essence? Aren't you worried about going crazy like Tim?"

"That's not really a problem for magical Demis," Rose answered. "For non-magical Demis, it changes their bodies, and combined with hormones and whatnot, it can make them go a bit moody if they aren't good enough."

Lily eyed Rose suspiciously, as she remembered a certain dragon doing some crazy things as well, even with magic. Then again, Dragia were different in that regard, since they reinforced their bodies and Mana with essence. Honestly, it felt like cheating, but when Lily thought of how absurd her Mana Core had proven to be, she realized she couldn't complain.

"I see… Maybe I should reconsider going on one of the dungeon field trips then," Theo mumbled. "I was worried about turning into Tim, so I had always turned it down."

"None of your teachers bothered explaining it to you?" Rose asked.

Theo chuckled awkwardly again. "Well… They did say it would be beneficial for me, but I always insisted, and kind of put my head in the sand. But the teachers always said my capacity was fine, so it wasn't something I needed to worry about just yet."

Lily thought about the other students and recalled that Theo definitely seemed to be less winded after the lesson than the others. She wasn't sure how many field trips he'd declined, but judging by his peers, he was probably still ahead of them.

The trio kept talking about school, magic, and, again, the orphanage. Lily was glad Theo seemed to have gained some much-needed confidence after coming to Tresnia, since he had always seemed even worse than she did back then.

"By the way, do you happen to know if Margit or Miss Camilla are coming?" Lily asked.

Theo shook his head. "Sorry, I haven't heard anything. But I'd love to see Margit again. I wish I had thought to invite her…"

Lily sighed and nodded. "Well, both Rose and I tried, so there's hope. Not to mention Miss Camilla is a graduate of Tresnia, and I asked her to bring Margit along as well."

"I'll ask around to see if anyone knows," Theo offered. "But by then you might have found them already, since I'm guessing you are taking part in tomorrow's alchemy competition?"

"No, I'm not in the alchemy competition," Lily denied.

"You're not…?" Theo asked, visibly confused.

"I'm in the dueling tournament," Lily answered with a tiny grin.

Theo's eyes widened in shock as he seemed to be reassessing Lily. "Wow… You've really changed a lot."

Rose snorted. "You should make sure to watch and see tomorrow; I bet Lily will take first place hands down."

Theo smiled and nodded. "I wasn't going to watch, but now I have to. I'll be secretly rooting for you."

Lily smiled back. "Thanks, Theo. Hopefully next year I can return the favor."