Chapter 9: This Professor Has Repressed Desire

Arthur woke to the sound of the second bell.

He sat up too fast, groaned, and dragged a hand down his face. The nights at the inn had caught up with him. Even after arriving at the academy he still felt the deep, pleasant ache in his muscles. He threw on his uniform, shoved the Eros Codex inside his coat, and ran.

The lecture halls formed a wide arc of pale stone and tall windows. By the time he found the correct door for Core Mana Mechanics the room was already packed. Only one seat remained open in the second row. Arthur slipped between desks and reached it just as the door at the front opened again.

A woman stepped inside.

She looked to be in her late twenties. Long silver-white hair tied loosely at the nape of her neck. Sharp ice-blue eyes. A tailored instructor’s coat that did nothing to hide the elegant lines of her figure. The temperature near the front of the room seemed to drop a degree when she entered.

Arthur was still standing beside the empty chair. Habit from the Fringe made him straighten and speak first.

"Good morning, Professor."

A few students nearby glanced at him. Then, one after another, the rest of the class rose to their feet as well. The woman paused, took in the sudden sea of standing students, and gave a small, almost tired wave of her hand.

"Sit. This is not the military. Formality is unnecessary here."

Everyone sat. Arthur took his seat. The professor placed a slim crystal slate on the desk and faced the room.

"I am Professor Selene Frost. Core Mana Mechanics is divided into four modules. I will be teaching the first: Mana Compression and Density."

She raised one hand. A sphere of pale blue mana formed above her palm, loose and cloud-like. With a small motion of her fingers the sphere shrank, growing brighter and tighter until it was no larger than a marble and hummed with pressure.

"Raw volume means nothing. A mountain of loose mana will shatter against a needle of properly compressed power. Density decides everything. If you cannot compress, you cannot fight. If you cannot maintain even pressure, you will destroy your own tools and possibly yourselves."

Mimi sat cross-legged on the corner of Arthur’s desk, invisible to everyone else, chin in her hands. She nodded along like a satisfied teacher.

"Activate Desire Sight," she whispered in his mind. "Focus on her. This one is interesting."

Arthur let the ability open for a few careful seconds.

Pink-gold mist clung to Selene Frost in thick, slow coils. The reading came clear and sharp.

[Repressed Desire: To be held with affection, not respect]

[Additional thought: Fantasizes about a sexual relationship with a student]

[Block: Position. Pride. Fear of losing control]

[Intensity: Low]

Arthur closed the ability before the volume of information could distract him. Mimi grinned.

"I heard she was a Genius of her generation. Could have walked straight into the Arcane Legion. Chose to teach instead, don’t know why All that power and she still wants someone to treat her like a woman instead of a title."

The lecture stayed purely theoretical. Selene explained inward pressure, the difference between packing mana and simply pushing it, and the way crystals reacted to unstable flow. She never once demonstrated a full spell. When the final chime sounded she set the slate down and looked across the room.

"Before you leave, I will ask two questions. Just to check if you were actually paying attention."

Her ice-blue eyes moved across the students and stopped on Arthur. For a fraction of a second something flickered behind them. She had noticed the steady way he watched her throughout the class. The focus. The absence of the usual nervous awe.

"You. Second row. If you possess a massive, mountain-sized pool of raw mana, and your opponent has a pool the size of a tea cup, why did their spell just pierce right through yours?"

Arthur met her gaze without flinching.

"Because raw volume without density is just loose mist. They compressed their small pool of mana into a hyper-dense needle. A hyper-compressed spell will always shatter a loose, unrefined wave of magic, no matter how large it is."

A few students turned to look at him. Selene’s expression did not change, but the pause before her next question was slightly longer than necessary.

"Second question. When channeling your unique magic into a standard academy Mana Crystal, what causes the crystal to fracture and explode?"

"An explosion occurs when the caster fails to maintain an even, inward pressure. If the mana flow fluctuates or expands outward too quickly instead of compressing tightly toward the center, the crystal’s structure destabilizes and shatters."

Silence held for a moment. Then Selene gave a single, small nod.

"Correct. Both of them. The rest of you will review the first three diagrams before tomorrow."

Chairs scraped. Students began filing out. Arthur remained seated long enough for the aisle to clear, then stood and approached the front desk. Selene was gathering her slate.

"Professor Frost. If I have further questions about compression, may I visit your office?"

She looked up. Genuine surprise crossed her face for the first time. Most first-years were still too intimidated to request private time with an instructor, especially one with her reputation. After a short pause she inclined her head.

"You may. Office hours are posted on the door. Do not waste my time."

"Understood. Thank you."

Arthur turned and left with the last of the students. Behind him Selene watched his back for a second longer than she intended, then exhaled quietly and collected the rest of her materials.

Mimi floated at Arthur’s shoulder, wings beating with open delight.

"You already asked for office access on day one. Bold. I like it. She noticed you. The mist around her got thicker the moment you stood up."

At the doorway Selene’s voice carried one last time across the emptying room.

"Next class will include practical training, so be prepared for that."

Arthur stepped into the corridor, the Eros Codex warm against his side, and allowed himself a thin smile.

The first page still held temporary Flame whose timing was slipping away fast.

The second page was still blank.