Really, just one spell, and this is it? Kal glanced across at the two geckos. Kal gut gargled at the thought.

  Necrotic Bite was a thing of nightmares. A bite that could tear through flesh and leave behind saliva that would spread out from the wound, infecting any flesh it touched and bringing with it necrosis that would fest and rot meat.

  The spell wasn’t just the gecko’s offense but a means of cooking and breaking down food that allowed them to eat just about anything. Then again, Kal didn’t know if it relied on a special stomach lining or acids to work.

  Unfortunately, he didn’t have much choice. This was the only Demonic spell he had available. Not learning it was equivalent to intentionally handicapping himself.

  Even if he chose not to use the Demonic spells he learned, knowing how their Mana Constellations worked would allow him to craft his own Demonic spells later. This was vital since Kal ultimately had a Demonic Core, and if he wanted to push his limits, he would need to make the most of it.

  “So, you want us to teach you or not, Bossman?” Wort flicked his moist orbs, waiting for a response.

  “Yeah, I do,” Kal swallowed. “I just needed a minute.”

  Hopefully, the necrotic saliva created by Necrotic Bite wouldn’t burn through his own jaw and throat, Kal prayed.

  “Alright, alright,” Bougie rubbed his scaly paws together. “Let’s get started.”

  “What in the endless planes,” Ellie muttered with a slack-jawed expression as she came to a halt at the mouth of the burrow’s chamber.

  Kal had just lunged forward, taking a bite straight out of the backside of a hog Wort and Bougie had caught and strung up as a meaty target.

  “Huh?” Kal turned, eyes widening, and fumbled to the floor as he missed a step.

  The raw bacon in his mouth had cooked through as it passed the magical saliva created by Necrotic Bite and didn’t taste half bad.

  Swallowing, he thought of something to say.

  “Did you just eat that?” Ellie said. “Kal, that’s freaking gross! What have you two done to him?” She swung around to face the geckos.

  “What?” Wort and Bougie shared a confused glance.

  “Why are you eating raw meat now? Are you turning into one of these… things?”

  “Dramatic much?” Bougie shrugged.

  “It’s not what it looks like,” Kal said, climbing back to his feet.

  It was what it looked like. Well, there was the spell, of course. But that wasn’t any easier to explain.

  Wait, just because I learned a Demonic spell doesn’t mean she needs to know about my Core, right? Kal was treading on thin ice with that thought. He hadn’t read anywhere about humans using Demonic spells. If all it took was being shown how by a fiendling, then some would surely know at least a few spells. It wasn’t like fiends and fiendlings had never been taken captive before.

  “Taking a bite straight out of a dead hog isn’t what it looks like?” Ellie crossed her arms, waiting for an explanation.

  “It’s a spell.”

  “A spell?”

  “Yeah… cooks the meat for me and helps me bite it off,” Kal shot a greasy grin.

  “Yeah, you gonna need to explain it a little better than that, Kal,” Ellie said, tapping her foot against the ground.

  Relenting, Kal explained Necrotic Bite.

  “Demonic?” Ellie bent her brow inquisitively. “Wait, you can learn Demonic spells? How is that even possible?”

  Damn it. I’ve gone and shoved my foot down my mouth with this one, haven’t I?

  Kal realized it was too late for lies. If he had said some half-truth, Ellie might not have understood the severity of what he was telling her and, in turn, would have told someone else. He still didn’t like the idea of trusting a fourteen-year-old girl with a life-or-death secret, but he felt his hands were tied.

  “Y-you Core is what?” Ellie’s lip tremored.

  “I’m still the same Kal. It's how I was able to save Arix.”

  Ellie went silent as he continued to explain everything. He detailed exactly what happened with Arix and how he fought back against the demon.

  “How is—how is any of the possible?” Ellie shook her head.

  “Not really sure,” Kal replied, a sense of relief settling over him as he could be honest with her. “It’s just how I’ve always been.”

  “What about the academy exams?”

  “I plan to take them. I spent years learning how to hide my Core as I grew up. During all those years that I knew magic—you know, when we were little—I was training it, getting better and better at hiding everything about my Core. I’m confident now that no one will know what I am. At least not without an invasive ritual spell.”

  “And what if someone does that?”

  “I can’t stay in Ebenshire living in fear, Ellie. I want to see the world. I want to see everything. If I don’t want my future limited, then I need to attend an academy and make the most of my gifts. If that comes with risks, then so be it.”

  Ellie nodded thoughtfully.

  “You have to keep this a secret, Ellie. Only you and Arix know. And it absolutely needs to remain that way. My life depends on it.”

  “I know, Kal,” Ellie nodded. “Idiot. I can’t believe you trusted Arix and not me. We’ve been friends forever.”

  Kal could see the hurt in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional, Ellie. I kept this secret to just myself all these years. Arix only knows because I had no choice when I saved him. Even my parents don’t know.”

  Ellie shot forward, wrapping her arms around Kal and pulling him into a tight hug. “Your secret is safe, Kal. You don’t have to walk alone.” Her words quivered as if she was holding back sobs.

  “Thank you, Ellie.”

  The two of them sat like that for a long moment.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Ahh, you done with his?” Bougie said, creeping forward. “You mind if I take a bite? I’m kinda getting hungry.”

  “Way to ruin a moment,” Ellie said, releasing her grip.

  “Go for it, Bougie,” Kal said.

  “Look, Kal. I get it. I get why you kept it a secret. But I’m glad you finally told me.”

  *Munch*

  *Munch*

  Ellie turned to glare at Bougie.

  “What? I said I was hungry?” Bougie said, eating with his mouth open.

  “Can’t you eat with your mouth closed, at least?”

  “Hey Ellie, how is casting coming along anyway? The exams are going near now.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. Well, I’m getting pretty good at casting Soothe now. I even started practicing another spell called Shield. It’s super cool; it creates a circular barrier about this big,” she said, making a circle a little bigger than her torso with her hands.

  “A defensive spell, nice.”

  “Yeah,” Ellie nodded eagerly, seemingly forgetting all about her annoyance with Bouge. “The book said it can block most physical attacks and first and second circle spells when mastered.”

  “That is impressive,” Kal said.

  He, of course, knew what Shield was. Kal had read every book in Daedrik’s library, including the one he gave Ellie.

  Shield was strong but limited. It was great against physical attacks but not much different than a real metal shield. It was lighter, but it also consumed mana, unlike a shield. And against spells, it required additional mana to maintain, essentially trading mana for blocking spells. When Kal read about the spell, he dismissed it for these reasons, even before he learned that he couldn’t cast Divine magic. Dodging seemed a better use for mana since it could be turned into an offensive spell, and he wouldn’t get stuck exchanging mana against an attacker, essentially dooming himself if said attacker had more mana than he did.

  However, he wasn’t opposed to Ellie using it. Kal mightn’t have had any idea what their futures had in wait for them, but if he were to run into a dangerous situation with Ellie at his side, it was relieving to know that she had a means of protecting herself.

  “More importantly, though, you’re one hundred percent confident you can cast Soothe every time you attempt it?”

  Ellie nodded. “Yep. For sure.”

  “Good.”

  That was all basic mastery of a spell was considered. There were also high and grand mastery, which indicated someone’s efficiency over a spell. But if you could cast a spell with a 100% success rate, you were considered a master of it.

  Ellie made her hand glow a cooling green and ran it over Kal. Near instantly, he felt the strain in his muscles from constant training ease. It felt good.

  “Oh, that feels good, Ellie.”

  “Right? Pretty neat, huh?”

  “Sure is,” Kal agreed, his gaze falling on Arix.

  He was confident he could help Arix pass the exam if he were allowed to sit close enough to channel mana with him, but Kal couldn’t bank on that. At least with Ellie figuring out her own path to passing, he could focus all his energy on helping Arix.

  ***

  Academy exams weren't as simple as showing off first-circle casting and getting invited to study at an academy. The first circle casting was simply an aptitude eliminator, followed by a series of tests. These tests were changed for each examination, and scores were graded on a curve.

  Kal knew that he would have to get to work with Arix. Even if Arix managed to scrape through the exam, if he and Ellie excelled, they would likely qualify for academies at different tiers.

  He had put so much work into helping the kids learn magic; now, he considered them to be real friends. Kal just couldn’t imagine leaving either of them behind now. Not only that, but he had spent years stuck in a school for children. The last thing he wanted to do was go to some shoddy academy that had nothing to teach him. Kal would be better off skipping it entirely and beginning his adventure around the world if that were the only option.

  There was only one solution—to ensure that all three of them passed and did so well enough to join a top-tier academy together.

  Kal had read that The Kingdom of Lyssia had an estimated population of about twenty-five million; of that, about three million lived in the capital of Lorran. But the importance of Lorran was far more than just its population. It was the cultural and magical capital of the kingdom.

  Even though mages were estimated to be only about one in a thousand—on average—Lorran was estimated to be home to about fifteen thousand mages, meaning it was home to more than half of the kingdom’s mages, and about half of those mages were involved with the academies in one way or another, with most academies doubling government agencies and fulfilling all kinds of jobs throughout the kingdom.

  Because of this concentration of mages, all the best academies were in Lorran, except a few specialty academies, such as the Sablewatch Academy, located in the Ruby Waste, and specialized in training demon hunters.

  This all meant that if Arix ended up being sent to some backwater town with a second-grade academy churning out low-grade mage clerks, it would all be for nothing.

  Kal and Arix sat at one end of the burrow as Bougie and Wort watched while they gnawed on old bones.

  “So, Bossman, you making the boy one of your servants as well?”

  “Shut up, Bougie. Can’t you see they’re trying to concentrate?”

  “I was just asking.”

  “It’s fine,” Kal said without opening his eyes. “And no, I’m not making Arix my servant. Just helping him out a little.”

  “They kind of have a point, don’t they?” Arix said. “If I don’t have enough mana to cast spells without you…”

  “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, Arix,” Kal peeked from the corner of his eye across to the cross-legged boy.

  “No. I want to continue.”

  “Are you sure? You know I can’t guarantee you’ll ever have enough of your own mana to use magic without me. Especially not with your Corrupted Core.”

  “You really think I want to stay here in Ebenshire while you and Ellie go adventure the world?”

  “I–uh.”

  “No, Kal,” Arix firmly shook his head. “It’s too late for that. I want to be by you guys’ side. I feel like I’ve barely seen anything, and the thought of staying here is already far too boring to imagine. I need this just as much as you.”

  “Right,” Kal nodded. “Then let’s get to it. Up until now, I have been channeling my mana through you myself. It works well, but you’ll never have any independence like this. We need to level up. Figure out something better.”

  “Right,” Arix nodded.

  Kal wasn’t sure what he was doing, but if he was going to strengthen their bond or find an alternative method for Arix to get stronger, he would need to delve back into the boy’s Core.

  “Relax, Arix. I'm going to inspect your Core again.”

  “Go for it.”

  Kal hovered a hand over Arix, and in the blink of an eye, he delved with.

  He found himself in a paddock of perfect green grass. At its center was an apple tree, its fruits as plump and lush as he had ever seen.

  Slowly, Kal walked toward it and plucked a fruit from its bountiful branches.

  Sweet, slightly sour juice burst into his mouth as he bit into the apple, and suddenly, he could feel the branches and apples as if they were an extension of himself.

  He didn't know what to make of this place. It was nothing like his own inner sanctum.

  Lowering himself, Kal crossed his legs and hummed softly as he entered a meditative state.

  He wasn't sure how much time had passed when his eyes suddenly flung open, but something had changed.

  The apple had opened the door, but his meditation had anchored his presence to this place.

  Releasing his connection with Arix, Kal fell backward.

  “Hey, I thought you weren't making him a slave, Bossman?” Bougie said.

  “What happened?” Arix asked groggily, rubbing at his head.

  “Bossman completed his mana bond.”

  “Yeah,” Bougie nodded. “You're a true corrupted now.”

  “I'm a what?”

  “A corrupted,” Bougie shouted. “Like a demon slave. You're bound to Bossman's Core.”

  “So that's what I did,” Kal murmured.

  Kal hadn't intended to make a slave, but he could feel how much their bond had strengthened.

  It feels like… Let's test this.

  Kal channeled his mana into Arix and immediately felt his suspicions confirmed. His mana wasn't just dissipating as it would have been if Arix hadn't focused it straight into a spell.

  “Arix, I think we did it.”

  “Did what?” Arix asked, and the geckos shared a curious glance.

  “Check your Core.”

  Arix closed his eyes for barely a second before they flung open again.

  “I've got mana now?”

  “I can store mana within your core.”

  “You can do what?”

  “Isn't that just normal, Wort?”

  “I thought so,” Wort shrugged.

  “This means you're going to be able to pass the exam, Arix,” Kal said.

  Arix grinned. He was going to be able to keep up with them. But it shortly faded. He trusted Kal, but did this mean he was truly bound to him as some form of subservient minion?