Chapter 5
And thus became my routine. Four hours of tutoring with Lensis, followed by four hours of tutoring with Joseiah, followed by one hour with Dean Pernel. Then I spent all night in the library, studying what I learned that day, reviewing old material, and doing casting dexterity exercises.
The extra time was an advantage, but becoming undead didn’t change how my brain worked. I could only focus for so long and retain so much. I put in the effort, but that effort wasn’t boundless.
By the fourth day, I started to feel myself fall behind. If I couldn’t survive two weeks of tutoring, I had very little chance of making it through five years of rigorous study and training.
Byron was certain three extra points in intelligence would make a world of difference, but class wasn’t in session yet, so the campus was mostly deserted. Other girls were around, sure. I had no reason to talk with any of them, however. Byron insisted I hit on every girl I saw, and I disagreed.
Even in his world, that had to be kind of creepy. When the semester began, I didn’t want it to start with talk of how much of a weirdo the new scholarship kid was.
“What do I have to do to clear 100 Will points with just Lensis?” I asked Byron early one morning in the library.
“Make her cum. That’s worth 100 Will points on its own.”
“I was hoping you’d give me more practical advice.”
“At the very least, she needs to touch and be touched. Kiss her. Feel her up. Get her to blow you.”
“You say these things like I’m picking something in a system menu. The real world is more complicated.”
“I grant you that your world’s culture is different from mine, but you are a viceroy. You aren’t a lovesick little boy hoping to find true love. You are the prize. You are the forbidden delight. Embrace what you are. Behave like a true viceroy.”
“That’s easy to say.”
“I made all the same arguments to my teacher. When I followed her advice, though, I got what I wanted. Take my direction. You’ll see.”
“I’m telling you. This world is different.”
“You have given me a great deal of time to observe the women in your world. They may dress and speak differently, but what they desire is the same.”
Not wanting to continue the argument, I shifted my focus back to studying and practicing. Byron didn’t push the issue, and I was thankful for that.
Later that day, as I neared the end of my session with Lensis, I understood why he stopped trying to convince me. I floundered the whole four hours, trying to find an angle to move things further along with my goth girl tutor, and felt as if I never found my footing.
“Fine,” I said in my mind. “Tell me what to do.”
“Thank you. I will prove my value.”
From there, I followed Byron’s commands and parroted his words.
“You should meet me for a walk tonight,” I said.
Lensis looked up from our exercises for balancing electrons, protons, and neutrons. “Should I now? Why is that?”
“You deserve a night to relax, and you’d have an excuse to wow me with your plant magic.”
“What do you get out of this?”
“Time with you.”
“Are you hitting on me, David?”
“Very badly, apparently. If you’re just noticing now, I’ve been way too subtle.”
“You’re not subtle,” Lensis countered, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Good. I wasn’t trying to be.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship, so it would just be hanging out.”
“Hanging out was all I was looking for.”
She stared at me for a moment, her green eyes searching mine. “All right. I’ll meet you tonight and show you the gardens.”
In the hour between my session with Lensis and my session with Joseiah, I asked Byron, “How the hell did you do that?”
“She has been interested in you from the beginning. I did nothing more than act on it.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple.”
“Tell me, what would you have said without my words?”
“‘Hey, do you want to go out with me sometime?’”
“That lacks confidence and decisiveness. You are a viceroy. You are a leader, a source of power for the women lucky enough to taste your cock. Leaders do not hesitate. They are not unsure of themselves. They pick a path and commit to it. Your approach is filled with fear, like you’re already bracing for her to reject you. ”
“Because she could.”
“A rejection only has power if you give it power. If she declined my invitation, I would have continued my life unbothered. Do not give her, or anyone, that power over your confidence. Not every oyster has a pearl, but if you lament your misfortune every empty shell you will never find a pearl.”
“You’re not understanding. It’s embarrassing to get shut down by a hot girl. I would look like an idiot.”
“You are an undead with two rare classes. Failure for men like us is as simple as losing a game of cards. You lose sometimes, so shuffle the deck and play again. The player who dwells on the loss, who won’t play another round for fear of losing, will never have the chance to win.”
“My life isn’t a game.”
“Only because you’re too scared to play.”
“Fuck you.”
“Hear me, viceroy. She is one of thousands. She isn’t unique. She isn’t special. This girl does not matter until you make her matter.”
“What if she tells her friends about how pathetic I was?”
“So don’t be pathetic. Do not lament your failure and beg her to reconsider. Move on, and leave her behind. Gods, I wish we could find a dungeon.”
“I know. I want the XP too.”
“No, for the perspective. Women are not to be feared. Save such emotions for real enemies, the things out to kill you and strip you of all you have. You talk of rejection like it’s a sword through your stomach, and I understand.
I thought like you, once. I didn’t get what I wanted or enjoy my life until I left that thinking behind. Spilling some blood would help.”
“That’s enough of the life coaching, thanks.”
“Very well. I ask only that you become a true observer of your own choices. Take note of what moves you closer to your goals.”
“Sure. Fine. Whatever. We need to get to our next session.”
My lessons with Joseiah went well as usual, and my time with Dean Pernel that day was all about pacts and contracts.
She rehashed a lot of what was in the reading she assigned, perhaps assuming I wouldn’t or didn’t read it, which was fair on her part.
If this were any other school, I definitely would not have done the reading.
In short, I learned several times over how big of a dumbass I was for tearing that fucking page. The general wisdom was that humans should never ever make those kinds of agreements because they universally ended in catastrophe.
Yeppp.
Byron didn’t comment at all. He had been quiet since our earlier conversation. He was proving his point, and me blowing it with Lensis later tonight would be the big finale. After that, I would have to admit I needed his help, that I wasn’t capable of doing this on my own.
Then, I could either take his advice and get the Will points, or I could be stubborn and fail out of wizard school because I was a massive idiot who really needed those 3 extra intelligence points.
I checked my progress:
Level 1
Viceroy, Tier 1 (16/100)
Silk Cleric, Tier 1 (0/100)
84 Will points to go before I gained my first level. That felt impossibly far away.
I met Lensis outside the library when I finished with the Dean.
The campus was lit by glowbugs, which were like fireflies but shone more brightly and with a longer pause between flickers.
That dimness exaggerated the contrast between her dark make up and her pale skin.
The deeper blacks made her eyes all the more alluring and intense.
“How was the Dean tonight?” Lensis asked as we started the walk across campus to the greenhouses.
“Tonight was why pacts and contracts are bad.”
“Oh, that speech. You’ll hear it a few more times in the next year because they really don’t want students messing that up. I don’t understand the coddling. Duh, of course you don’t commit to magic like that.”
“Right, of course,” I replied. “Duh.”
“And they act like we interact with fae on a regular basis. Some wizards never meet a fae their whole lives.”
“I can see the argument that meeting a fae once is enough to ruin your life, so the frequency isn’t that important.”
She stopped me with a finger in the chest. “You’re supposed to let the girl win the arguments, not make really good points.”
“...If?”
“If what?”
“You’re supposed to let the girl win the arguments, if…”
“You’re on a date.”
“You’re correct, and I was wrong,” I said. “Good to know that this is an official date.”
Lensis started walking again. “Clever, clever. Maybe you’re part fae.”
“What made you choose plant magic?” I asked.
“I’m one of those people who believes a person’s magic is a representation of who they are. I’ve always loved plants, and I have a knack for plant magic. It’s not the most romantic story, but I like where it ends up.”
Plant magic was a genre of magic that encompassed specific focuses like alchemy, herbalism, medicine, protection magic, farming magic, and druidry, to name a few.
“From the reading, it sounds like a pretty broad specialty,” I said. “Have you picked a focus?”
“Promise you won’t make fun of me.”
“Sorry. Contracts are bad. Can’t make that promise.”
Lensis sighed. “Fine. I’m a giant goth girl cliche and focus on deadly plants.”
“In your defense, it’s a pretty cool fucking focus no matter who you are.”
She rolled her eyes. “...Thanks.” She said it so softly that I didn’t know if she actually wanted me to hear it.
The Farrun greenhouses were several rows of glass buildings with iron frames and were shared by a range of programs who used plants in their practice.
The University did its best to separate programs into their own greenhouses, but enrollment was busy enough that students sometimes had to share.
That meant that even if you were growing garlic for your herbalism class, you had to be on the lookout for plants like leech lilies.
Surprise: They suck your blood. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that.