I shuffled home at a snail's pace. I learned that a whole month had passed. A whole month had passed since that ritual went wrong.
As the lone survivor of a demon summoning, my classmates begged me to tell them what happened. They seemed so apathetic, only curious about what kind of magic was used. Their intent was to replicate the magic used by the demon. They could care less that three of us had died.
Because of the incident, I almost failed my third year. I had to take an extra course just to receive a passing grade. Luckily I had studied hard enough to pass. Otherwise I would have had to drop out. They didn't allow repeats in mage school.
I went back to being a quiet bookworm my last year. I passed my class, though my previous year weighed heavily on my overall grade. I barely scraped by with an average grade. Neither great nor terrible. Just sub par.
I didn't even show up for my graduation ceremony. I just picked up my diploma and left. What was supposed to be a grand ceremony of ascension to the rank of Magic Squire was wasted. Instead, I sat at home in my large house and slurped the soup my Uncle Rue taught me to make.
"At least I learned how to perfect the soup now,"I muttered. It wasn't as spicy as it once was. It had a kick to it, but I learned to add more actual meat to the recipe. It absorbed the herbs so the broth wasn't as hot. It was a deviation from Uncle Rue's recipe, but it served its purpose.
As you recall at the beginning of this story, I told you I got a below average spellbook. Remember, before I trauma dumped all over these pages? Yeah, the good times. Let's get back to those!
Since I was no longer a Magic Novice, I would go on as a Magic Squire. That meant my understanding of magic had been proven and that I was ready to cast actual spells.
Still, I wouldn't be able to cast high tier spells, but I never wanted to. I would forever be happy as a Squire with the weakest spells for the rest of my life.
But, since you're reading this, you probably know that I surpassed that.
The spell in my flimsy spellbook would make me invulnerable to flames. I could survive burning flames with the quick casting of a spell. All I had to do was weave the mana around me into a charm over my heart. It was an upright triangle with a bold circle inside the triangle. The circle had a horizontal line drawn through it, the symbol of the body. The triangle resembled fire.
I didn't get to use my spell for a while. It isn't everyday that someone needs to walk through fire. In fact, it took a whole year after my ascension to Magic Squire for me to even have to use it in combat. And, gods, did I need it.