Blood Curse Academia - Orientation

Chapter XIX (19)- Enchantment Rituals

He handed Professor Kateshi a note written by Roba. She didn’t even bother to look at it as she continued on with her lecture about simplifying complex instructions and avoiding paradoxes.

Kizu sat down in the nearest empty seat. He wondered if Basil was hiding somewhere in plain sight, or if he was still passed out in their room. Looking through the assembled students yielded no answers. Basil could look like anyone.

He did spot Finn, though. His brother looked surly and irritable. Even more so than usual. Kizu stifled the deep irritation he felt towards him and focused on Kateshi’s lesson. However, Professor Kateshi gave them a short break in the middle of the lesson to talk amongst themselves about countering unintended effects of enchantments. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kizu took a deep breath, steadying himself, and moved seats next to his younger brother. He hated this. The crone had beaten confrontation out of him. But, unless he wanted his brother to continue with his current behavior, he needed to get this conversation over with.

Nobody else sat in either seat next to Finn, so Kizu sat down right beside him.

“Hello, Finn.”

Finn didn’t respond. He continued to glower down at his extensive notes.

“We need to talk,” Kizu tried to keep his tone steady and not show his nervousness. “I just spent two nights in prison because of you.”

“You were supposed to be out after a single night,” Finn muttered. “Not my fault the constables can’t do their job.”

“It literally is your fault. You told them to arrest me. What is your problem? Is this all because I made you piss yourself when we first met?” Perhaps reminding Finn of that wasn’t the right move, but Kizu didn’t care. “Or did I do something to you as a child? I’m sorry, but I barely even remember you.”

“Of course you barely remember me!” Finn snapped back. “You and Anna are practically clones. Same empty platitudes. Same self-righteous carelessness. Now you’re even the heir aren’t you? Taking over her spot just when I thought I was free. You two even look the same.”

Kizu blinked. He hadn’t expected their sister to be dragged into this. He was about to press Finn for more details about what had happened to her, but Kateshi started the lesson back up. And Finn refused to acknowledge his existence so long as the professor spoke.

When the bell finally dismissed them, Finn stood and finally looked at Kizu. There was something buried in those dark eyes that Kizu couldn’t decipher.

“I’m…sorry I got you arrested,” he said through clenched teeth. “It was a stupid decision. Just leave me alone and I won’t do anything like that again.”

Kizu didn’t think his brother meant that as a threat, but he couldn’t be certain. Before he could say anything else, Finn left.

As the class filed out, Kizu lingered. Any issues with Finn at least seemed to be put on hold for a minute. That was likely the most productive conversation he’d ever had with his brother. So, he decided to switch problems.

The wooden box of enchanted items weighed heavily on his mind. He debated on how much he could ask Kateshi without giving anything away. Before he could fully decide, the professor looked over her shoulder at him and sighed.

“Yes, Kaga? Is this about your tardy slip?”

“No, I wanted to ask you how to identify enchantments.”

“Outside studies? I suppose that’s commendable, but I have to get up to the medical wing for a student examination. If you want to discuss something, let’s walk and talk.”

Kizu followed her out of the room’s painting and down the hallway.

“There are many different methods to identify an enchantment,” Kateshi launched into a speech. “As you advance, you’ll notice the similarities in how an object feels compared to things you have enchanted in the past. Your spellsense will recognize the patterns. This is the most common means of identification; however, also easily the least accurate. Mages fall back on this gut feeling because it takes little to no effort on their part. Simply put, it’s lazy.”

“But there are better ways?” Kizu asked, dodging around a few students loitering in the hall.

“Of course. The most clear identification is when glyphs are in use. Researching and identifying a glyph requires very little effort. But because of how easily it can be tracked, almost no purposefully cursed item will have a glyph. There are, of course, divination rituals that you can perform which will pinpoint the exact magical properties of the enchantment in question. But they still likely will require trial and error to pinpoint. Then there’s other divination spells which are an option for uncovering information about the creator. With a strong enough spell, you can almost always trace its creator. Every mage leaves their own personalized residue on every spell cast.”

Kizu immediately filed that information away. His parents had mentioned Anna had enchanted his bedroom back in the capital. Maybe on his next visit he could use those enchantments to track her.

“And finally,” Professor Kateshi said, “Every experienced enchanter knows a few direct spells that can identify arcane properties. Though some are more situational than others. An enchanted castle, for example, will be too large for some spells to target, while a thimble might be too small to detect with another spell. And that’s not to mention living curses. Those require a different approach altogether - at that point, you’d be entering the realm of Rejuvenation and Restoration.”

“Where can I learn an identification spell? Can you teach me one?”

The professor glanced at him and frowned, as if just now remembering who she was rambling to.

“If you have a specific object in mind, you likely will want to research rituals. There are books in the library for all sorts of niche enchantments.” She listed the section and rows to look in before she shooed him away without a word of goodbye.

Kizu had gleaned more than enough information to move forward. He was still lost in thought when he entered the astronomy tower.

“Where were you yesterday?” Harvey asked as he took his seat. “You didn’t show up in History F.”

“Family problems, sorry. Nothing to worry about now, but it was a bit of a hassle to deal with. It should hopefully be over.”

“Rough. Well, what are you doing this weekend? You want to go do something?”

Kizu stifled a laugh. “You hoping to use Mort at another party as a conversation starter? Come on Harvey, just talk to a girl if you’re interested in her.”

“I thought you didn’t want to give me advice,” Harvey muttered.

“Welcome, all,” Professor Grove said, bobbing into the room. The lights dimmed all around them.

“Besides,” Harvey whispered, “That’s not what I wanted to ask. I’m going to the combat test at the end of the weekend.”

“Combat test?”

“At the end of every week, you can retake any of your placement tests to rise in the rankings. It won’t change your class for the semester, but it can help for future semesters. Unlike the original test though, this time you get to compete with people actually at your level. Just you and your opponent, facing-off. If you win, you rise in the rankings. If you lose…well, obviously you fall.”

It reminded him of competitions set up in the Hon Basin by the witch covens. They liked to send their apprentices at one another. Usually in far more subtle and horrible ways than just fighting head to head. Kizu had only ever been targeted once. A rival of the crone instructed her apprentice to send him into a paranoid madness through his dreams. He hadn’t even known it was happening at the time. The crone had discovered the shrunken head being used before it took root in his dreams. She had killed and eaten her rival’s apprentice the next day. He only knew as much because she offered him a piece of the girl’s thigh. Apparently, death was a pretty common result of the competitions. He hadn’t expected something like that here where everything seemed so sanitized.

“It sounds a bit brutal,” Kizu said slowly. He assumed there must be more to this. Unless he completely misjudged the world outside the Hon Basin. “Students just go and beat each other up for points?”

Harvey waved away his concern. “Nah, it’s completely safe. Participation is voluntary and it’s only to first blood, so the moment someone gets hurt, the show’s over. You can also always verbally forfeit or walk out the ring. Plus, all of the top Rejuvenation and Restoration students are there on standby. I don’t think anyone’s been seriously injured in ages.”

Kizu supposed they’d need to get some practical experience sooner or later. He still thought it was eerily similar to something the crone might do. Though, at least they weren’t eating one another. While he considered it, the ceiling lit up with stars.

“The combat tests are open viewing for all students,” Harvey continued quietly, so as not to interrupt the lecture. “They’re by far the most competitive of the tests - my cousin told me so.”

“Emilia?” Kizu asked. His heart beat slightly faster.

“Different cousin.”

“Oh.”

“So?” he hissed. “Will you come?”

“Sure, why not. My schedule is clear.”

Kizu tried to pay attention to Professor Grove’s lecture after that, but had so many different thoughts bouncing around in his head that he struggled to focus. It was frustrating, because he genuinely liked this class. Professor Grove was knowledgeable and very clear in her lessons. But he ended up just staring up at the stars overhead while he tried to clear his mind.

Here, it was easy to pretend to be back at the basin, at the top of a tall tree that loomed over the jungle and provided a clear view of the stars on a cloudless night. He could practically feel the cool breeze that would cut straight through the humidity on lucky nights. If he listened closely, he could hear the sounds of the jungle. The chirping of insects, the hooting of owls, and the occasional howl of a monkey.

For years, he had longed for his old life back. He had wanted nothing more than to be back in society. To be back with people his age. But now that he had that, it was all so complicated. Nothing was ever clear anymore. He felt so out of his depth. He missed the simplicity of the basin.

At the same time, he couldn’t help but admit to himself that he also sort of loved it at the academy. There was knowledge everywhere he looked. He had learned more in the last couple weeks than the crone had divulged in the last half a year. It was overwhelming, but simultaneously invigorating. He felt himself progressing at a pace faster than ever before.

The end of class came sooner than he wanted, breaking him from his trance.

He and Harvey ate lunch together in the cafeteria. The Tainted boy tore into a hunk of meat, scarfing it down with gusto. He never even attempted to use the utensils. As he ate, he told Kizu more about the combat test and who would be competing that week.

“You could have woken me,” a stranger said, sitting down with a huff at their table. Kizu and Harvey both stared at him. He had the sleek black hair of someone from Hon, tied back in a bun. Kizu guessed his age was around his own, but couldn’t recall ever seeing him before in his life.

“Basil?” he guessed.

“Who else?” the young man asked brusquely. “You know, I completely missed Enchanting C because of you.”

“Eh, sorry, but I got called away by the headmaster.” As soon as he said the words, he regretted them.

“The headmaster?” Harvey asked, visibly perking up.

“Yeah, about that family stuff I mentioned earlier,” Kizu said, resigned. “Just an issue with my villa’s security enchantments. The wards accidentally kicked me out the other day.”

“Oof. And the headmaster himself had to get involved?”

“His administrator,” Kizu said. “I never actually saw the headmaster, technically. It was all just drama, probably not worth his time. It was a whole thing involving my younger brother.”

“After what happened with your sister, I’m surprised the headmaster doesn’t just kick both of you out and be done with your whole family.” Basil bit into an apple.

Kizu blinked. “Wait. You know what happened to my sister?”

Basil took another bite of his apple, in no hurry to answer. “Not exactly, but I dated her roommate’s sister for a while. Well, maybe dated is a strong word for it. She did have a remarkable set of legs. I wish I could get mine looking toned like that. It’s harder than you’d think.”

“Why do you want a woman’s legs?” Harvey asked, wrinkling his nose.

“I want every sort of leg.”

“Back up to my sister,” Kizu said. “What do you know about her?”

“Well.” Basil thought about it for a moment. “Back when I was seeing her roommate’s sister, I vividly recalled her telling me about how Kaga Anna was wrapped up in all sorts of family drama. Got kicked out of their villa in fifth year and had to go back to the dorms. A bit humiliating for such a rich kid. Then later that same year she just up and disappeared. She said it might have actually been expulsion, and apparently her sister wasn’t even supposed to say that much about it. It was all swept under the rug. Must have been a huge scandal. My money’s on a fling with the headmaster.”

“My sister didn’t date the headmaster,” Kizu dismissed dryly.

Basil shrugged, obviously not convinced.

“That’s all you know?” Kizu asked.

“Yeah.”

“By any chance, do you still talk to this girl? Do you know if she might have anything of my sister’s?” He knew it was a long shot.

“Oh, not at all. I mean, I could approach her, but if she found out it was me, I’d end up flayed and slow-roasted over a cook fire. She doesn’t think much of me these days. Anyway, I doubt her sister gave her anything.” He hesitated, thinking for a moment. “You know, actually, there is this other girl I was seeing for a while. A fourth year. She moved into her dorm and found it loaded up with random stuff from the previous year, used to whine about all the clutter and how difficult it was to get it thrown out. It was really odd, since the academy usually deep cleans everything out ahead of time. I didn’t think much of it when I heard, but I suppose it might have been your sister’s stuff. Bit of a long-shot, but matches up in the timeline well enough. If she got kicked out suddenly. Easy to see how it might have been overlooked with how hush-hush it all was.”

“Wait,” Harvey said skeptically. “So, you dated not only Kizu’s sister’s roommate’s sister, but also the girl who moved into their room the following year?”

Basil rolled his eyes. “It’s not that surprising. When the academy only has 800 students enrolled, that means I only have 799 options. Well, plus the people in town. Even still, it’s a small pool to choose from.”

“Seven hundred and ninety-nine is a small pool?” Harvey looked like his eyes might pop out of his head.

“I mean, I burned two different bridges at Emilia’s party a couple days back. And the semester hadn’t even started yet. It goes fast.”

“Regardless,” Kizu cut in, “Do you think you could ask if she kept anything from the room? I want to locate my sister with divination. It would help if I had something that used to belong to her.”

“Again, I think that’s a no-go. Not on speaking terms with her either. I, er, made the mistake of falling asleep near her. She’s horrified by me. I heard she actually wears silver rings and makes a point of shaking hands with everyone she talks to now. Extremely inconvenient.”

Kizu felt a small pang of pity for the boy.

Harvey looked completely lost. “Are you allergic to silver?”

“Deathly so,” Basil admitted solemnly. He ordered a bowl of rice and spicy chicken curry and began to eat. Kizu’s eyes watered just from his proximity to it.

“Well, maybe I could ask her about it. She might be willing to hand it over if it’s only junk.”

“What if I told you I had a better idea?” Basil leaned in close, conspiratorially. His breath was hot and reeked of spice. “What if, and hear me out - we just went and took it?”