"What is it?" Soltair asked, peering over my shoulder. I leaned back to give him a better view, but there was no way he could read any of it. Spellbooks weren't exactly his forte, after all.
"To begin with, the spell's way too complicated and tries to cover way too many functions. Second, there seems to be a few pages missing."
Although we spoke in quiet voices, Thron immediately perked up. He must have enhanced senses when it comes to the library…
"Someone damaged a book?" the librarian asked, seeming to appear at my side in an instant. "Show me."
I thumbed through the pages, stopping every so often to reveal the scraps of paper close to the binding. Thron's expression darkened further with every instance, and I couldn't help look back by the time we reached the end. A dangerous tension filled the air and the librarian gave off a pressure none less intimidating than the Pope's.
"Who dares…" Thron grit his teeth, unable to finish the sentence.
Soltair placed a hand on my shoulder, eyes filled with concern. "Can you still learn the spell?"
"I'm afraid it's impossible, but… no, that's too much."
"What is it?"
I tentatively lifted a page, reading through the runes and chant. Although the spell had effectively been destroyed, many parts of it were whole. It might be possible to reconstruct certain portions of the spell. If that were the case, the partial spell would probably only be the second or third-circle, at most. In my excitement, I realized Soltair was looking at me, patiently waiting for an answer.
"Oh, sorry. What did you need me to learn this spell for?" I asked, feeling a bit sheepish.
He laughed and patted me on the shoulder. "I was hoping you'd be able to link our souls, so I could share some of my resistance with you. I overheard one of the priests mention this spell once, and thought it was worth a shot."
I took a short breath, hardly able to contain my excitement. "Just an ability? Thron, I'd like to take this book for a little while."
"But it's damaged, isn't it?" Thron asked with a small frown. "I guess if it's you. Bring it back soon so I can investigate the wretch who ripped the pages out."
I left my thanks floating in the air behind and rushed to the magic lift. SOltair followed behind, looking just as confused as Thron, but there wasn't time to explain. The duel was almost upon us. Soltair's room was closest, and I was completely out of breath by the time we arrived. Soltair looked as calm and collected as always and gave me a few seconds to breathe before saying anything.
"What's your plan?"
"Just be still for a bit. This won't take long. probably"
After brushing him off, I opened the book and scanned through the spell again. After finding what I was looking for, I memorized the runes and chant, skipping over the part that was missing.
"Here goes nothing," I muttered.
As I began to cast, the glowing runes manifested in several magic circles. The total reached three, but they looked like a drunk's mouth after a bar fight and were missing runes all over. I released the spell and felt a strange sensation settle over me, grabbing at my soul. As the target of the spell, Soltair also shivered and looked at me with wide eyes, but I ignored him. Even if it went wrong, there was little a third-circle spell could do to his soul given his resistances.
Violent coughs ripped through my body as the spell broke, and magical backlash forced through my soul. Soltair sprung forward and grabbed me, helping me into a chair before my trembling legs gave out.
"Xiviyah!" he cried. He brushed my lips with his fingers, and I was startled to see them come away stained with blood.
"I-I'm fine. It's just a little feedback." I said, coughing again, "It shouldn't take but a few tries to get it right. Are you alright?"
"No, it's too dangerous! What were you thinking, casting an incomplete spell like that? Indomitable Will negates soul damage beneath seventh-circle right now, but I don't think you can handle much more."
I pushed him off and raised my hand, casting again. I knew what the runes were supposed to look like now, so I disregarded the chant and crafted the spell exactly as before. Instead of resolving it, I held it there and began condensing new runes and omitting the holes within the magic circles. It was like I was solving a complex puzzle by painting some of the pieces white and drawing new lines on them. Still, my study of magic and the natural talents I had gave me some confidence, and I completed the first version within a few minutes.
The spell failed again, and the backlash was even worse. But that only meant the spell got closer to completion, and was able to gather more magic. Soltair sat beside me, nails biting his palms, as I cast several more times. His handkerchief, which he continually dabbed my lips with, was wet with blood, but I didn't stop. I would gladly take even the full power of the slave crest than be separated from Soltair. This little bit was nothing.
I cringed at the seventh cast, but the expected feedback never came. My soul shivered as I felt a line being drawn to Soltair, more intimate and solid than the small sense of the Slave Crest.
"Is it done?" Soltair asked.
"I think so. Do you feel the connection? Focus on that line and will whatever ability you want through it. If things work as intended, I should-"
I gasped Soltair's eyes closed and a frigid chill swept through the line and into my soul. "T-too much!" The power scraped against me like a river against sand, eroding my already weekend will.
"I can't," he said quickly, grabbing me. "I can't stop it!"
Fortunately, the power dwindled after a while, and my soul stabilized. It was still there, rustling restlessly, but I was no longer in danger. "I think the spell needs some finetuning," I muttered, wiping away the sweat from my brow. "But this should work. What did you send over?"
"My heroic fortitude ability. I guess it was a bit too much for you to handle. Can you build safeguards into the spell?"
I shook my head. "Probably, but I don't have the time or knowledge to do that right now. How soon is the duel?"
"We have about ten minutes. Let's come up with a plan, then get over there before we're declared absent and disqualified."
"Okay. I'm going to lie down for a bit, but I'm listening."
Well, that was mostly true, but I kind of dozed off halfway through his explanation. I was exhausted and in no way ready for a duel, but I was ready. My mana had grown considerably, so even casting "Link Ability," as I dubbed the new spell, back to back only consumed about half of it. If I survived here till tomorrow, I was definitely going to check out the fourth-circle spells.
"Alright, let's get going," Soltair said all too soon. "We have a duel to win."