Alira sank into a soundless void. The void held her within its cold, unfeeling embrace, exerting a muted pressure on her to be as still as itself. The slight sting in her eyes and the water flowing into her ear canals weren’t quite pleasant or welcoming. The glooming sense of dread and seemingly bottomless abyss beneath her feet only made her want to jump out.

  She held herself back. Against her perception, she knew she was rather close to the surface, the air in her lungs preventing her from sinking any deeper. Surprisingly, Professor Sigor’s butterfly had followed her down, its violet hue radiating against the deep blue of the lake. It did make sense, though. After all, despite its appearance, it wasn’t actually a butterfly but a Spirit Familiar, which, as their name implied, were lost spirits of Staywes.

  Taking comfort in the fact that she could rush to the surface in a few strokes, Alira stopped holding her breath, letting it go with small bubbles leaving her. Alira focused on the streams of connection she had with the fruits above water, channeling the air around them to be exchanged with the water in contact with her face.

  The water disappeared as a large, round air bubble took its place. Alira hurried to take a lungful of air in one inhale before the remaining air shot up to the surface.

  It works!

  Alira grinned as the tightness in her chest disappeared with the fresh air she’d taken. Though she still had to time it correctly, and the window was small before the air rose above. Alira repeatedly exchanged for air until her hands began to wrinkle. By then, she had enough practice to not mess the timing up normally. Just enough to give her the confidence to dive deeper to confront a beast.

  I could use more confidence, actually...But I might catch a cold before that.

  With a few smooth kicks, Alira broke the surface with a gasp. She spotted Raine sitting on the bank of the lake, gazing at a distance. Water dripped down from her hair, which she was glad to have tied up in a neat bun at the back. Her fur added weight, slick and soaked. She now had a clue why most cats hated water.

  Alira swam toward him until it was swallow enough for her walk.

  “And I thought you got eaten by fish down there,” Raine said when she walked past her.

  Alira wrung her clothes just enough to stop them from dripping. She shook her tail and flicked her ears to get rid of excess water. Amid cool air that had her jaw trembling uncontrollably, Alira swiftly made it to the tree where she spotted a damp spot beneath the fruits. The casts had yet to wear off, but she climbed again to renew them just in case.

  “Why are you so obsessed with having whatever down there as your familiar? You didn’t look half as interested before the test began,” Raine frowned, his arms crossed as he watched her from beneath.

  “A Loch,” Alira replied only after she had placed another set of casts on a different bunch of fruits. Other than the fact that the Loches were ‘deer’ that were ‘much like her’, she honestly had no idea what a Loch could do, but her pride didn’t allow her to ask Xia about it. But since he, the Imperial Mage, recommended it and also with the benefit of doubt in effect, she assumed it was a good enough choice for a familiar.

  Alira didn’t know about any other options anyway. It was better than roaming around hoping to come across one. As a Spirit that hid so well, it should know a thing or two about keeping its contractor safe. Picking up a coin she had thrown up before, Alira carefully observed Raine’s reaction.

  Other than revenge and artifacts, Spirit Familiars were one of the things Raine had shown the slightest interest in. Unfortunately, she couldn’t read anything from his face, as hollow as a classroom during summer break.

  After a few moments, he gave a small nod that loosened her shoulders, which she hadn’t realized had grown tense.

  “And how are you so sure there’s one in the lake?” Raine asked.

  Alira flipped the coin and cast Position Exchange the moment it touched the ground, a step before Raine. “The voices told me so,” she shrugged, grabbing the pouch he’d been holding onto.

  “But you said you can’t see any vision.”

  “I didn’t say I can’t hear.” Alira shrugged. She didn’t really need him or them to completely understand how her abilities worked. If they were confused and unsure, that would just give more room for bullshits.

  “And you’re sure the voices didn’t come from things beneath our feet or above our heads,” Raine spat.

  “Yeah,” Alira confirmed. “It’s neither the devil nor the Outers. It’s something worse that walks on the surface.”

  { Touché. }

  Alira drew a Movement Bind on a blank sheet. She doubted she could keep the Loch under her cast for so long, but all she needed was a moment with it unmoving to cast a Position Exchange.

  The plan was to drive it out of its home again and again. A game of chicken where she’d win if it was annoyed enough to decide to form a contract with her. Spirit Familiars lived for thousands of years before they’d be redeemed. It’d just follow her around for what would be equivalent to a few days, then peace would return.

  More importantly, she needed to make sure no familiar were in the process.

  Alira placed about six coins scattered across an open space and memorized their position. A few steps away from a coin where the Loch should land would be another coin for her to land. She quickly informed Raine to stay off.

  Let’s do it, shall we?

  “You sure you can actually sense the Loch when we’re inside the lake?” Alira whispered.

  { Yeah. The one down there is still young and learning. It has yet to master its aptitudes. }

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Alira nodded. There was one last matter she had overlooked. Paper was convenient and easy to carry around, but it wasn’t much of a diving-friendly cast medium. She took a mental note to replace it with leather patches or the like. Since she had been banned from leaving the Academy, she would have to either hire someone to go buy some at Astrail or wait until the next time travelling merchants came to the Academy.

  The medium didn’t actually need to be in perfect condition. So long as the alchemic circle on it wasn’t distorted severely, it wouldn’t disturb the cast. Alira folded the sheets of paper tightly before shoving them into her mouth, wincing at the scent of preserved blood.

  Cards were useless, and the coin-throwing trick would be less effective underwater, but it should help her dodge when needed to. Alira secured the coin pouch onto her belt, pretending she couldn’t see Raine’s frown deepening as he watched her preparing to head back into the lake.

  He looked like he wanted to say something. Alira gave him a few seconds to do that, but he didn’t open his mouth.

  Whatever.

  With a deep inhale, Alira turned away. The water almost felt warm against her skin when she dipped back in, escaping from the cold, open air that had her shivering.

  { Oh, one more thing. Make sure you don’t lose sight of it once you’ve alerted it. If it actually tried to hide, I might not be able to locate it again. }

  Right. So, she just had one shot. No pressure or anything. Alira took one last breath, squeezed her eyes shut, and plunged into the water.

  Alira reopened her eyes only after she’d adjusted to the surroundings, glancing around to get a sense of direction.

  { Go deeper. I can’t feel it yet. }

  Xia said promptly, getting into role to act as her built-in GPS. Alira wished her mind didn’t briefly wander to where it did as she swam downward, kicking and shoving around still water.

  Swimming this late at night reminded her of the last road trip to a local beach she had gone on with her high school friends, whom she hadn’t seen since. She wouldn’t have been able to. This was obviously less magical without companies or diving gear.

  What would happen if I drowned?

  Alira couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting as she sank deeper down. The Bind would transfer the damages to her lungs, blood vessels, and whatever else would suffer from getting drowned, but that wouldn’t help as long as she remained underwater.

  Being immortal really didn’t sound so enviable if you were stuck in a perpetual stage of almost death.

  { Focus. }

  Xia’s sharp voice snapped her out of her trance. Alira took a breath before humming in response.

  { There’s a presence to your left. Watch out for large rocks and small hills. }

  The light from the butterfly could only penetrate through so much water, allowing her to see no more than her immediate surroundings. Alira jumped back as something slimy brushed her hand. She jerked her head toward it, assuming a defensive position, only to find some dark, lengthy plants swinging around.

  Looking at long blades of grass, Alira realized how jumpy she actually was and the reason why. She had been expecting fish and worse in this relatively deep lake, but had yet to see any at all. Not just in the lake, she had barely encountered any animals along the way in the forest.

  The mana density must have made it hard for normal animals to thrive. Something along the line might have been mentioned in the lectures she only half-listened to.

  { Get moving, sweetie. I wouldn’t mind hanging around all day, but you won’t get my undivided attention during the court I may or may not have to attend soon. }

  Rascal. That certainly wasn’t what they agreed on when Alira found out he’d been abusing her ‘healing’ power.

  He promised to wholeheartedly help me through the test, yet look at this little bastard bringing up his royal duties.

  “Hm hmm!” Alira replied. It was his fault for not telling her where to go like a proper navigator anyway. Xia only chuckled at that.

  { You’re already as close as you can get without getting noticed. To your right. Watch out for anything that could be a nest. }

  Hearing that, Alira filled her lungs with one large breath, holding it so that she won’t alert the beast with bubbling air. She squinted, trying to make out shapes under the light that was dangerously morphing towards a shade that could be called red. A tall, pointed structure stood under shadows that made it hard to tell whether the structure was a rock formation or tree trunks stacked up against each other. Maybe both. At the base was a deeper shadow that looked like an entrance.

  It was a nest if she had ever seen one.

  Keeping her movement as subtle as possible, Alira took measured strokes toward it. As she approached, she began to notice something extra on the lake floor amongst the thick muck of decaying logs and leaves. Grey objects that stood out from the green mat. Bones, large and small. Fish skeletons. A variety of small skulls. Some muddied feathers were sticking out as well.

  Alira blinked. The last time she checked, deer weren’t carnivores. Right? Surely, they must have fallen into the lake and drowned. Surely. Swallowing a lump in her throat, Alira placed her hand as light as a cat’s paw on the structure, creeping around it for a peek inside the opening.

  Despite being right in front of it, Alira couldn’t see anything past the shadows. Even the butterfly’s glow couldn’t seem to enter. She reached her hand carefully past the borders, ready to yank it back.

  Alira’s eyebrows rose. The feeling of wetness disappeared on her fingers once they entered. There’s no water inside.

  { What’s wrong? }

  “Hm hmmhm...” Alira replied the only way she could, but felt silly about it the next moment.

  { No surprise. Loches are strange creatures. For aquatic folks that live in water, they sure like to roam on land, too. }

  Oh, he actually understands what I said.

  “Hhm?” She tried again.

  Xia laughed. Whether at her attempts at communicating or at her cluelessness, Alira couldn’t tell.

  { Oh, did I forget to mention? Loches are Spatial Spirits. While their Spatial Magic isn’t as powerful as a Traveler’s, they’re quite creative in how they use it. }

  Xia’s voice had yet to stop ringing in her head when something shifted. Ripples stoked against her. Alira didn’t waste a move to kick her feet, shoving herself away from the nest’s entrance. Alira hadn’t registered what stirred the water when a huge wave washed over her, pushing everything away along with her.

  A muted thump smashed onto the lake floor, kicking up clouds of mud and clay to instantly muddying the water. Through her obscured view, Alira saw a large boulder that had appeared out of thin air, falling right onto the spot she’d been lingering mere seconds ago.

  It emerged a few feet above, directly on top of where her head had been. Portals.

  Alira’s eyes darted around, sharp on anything that could appear in the sandy shadow. She didn’t miss when an object materialized at the corner of her eyes. Alira reached, trying to swim out of the way, but the object was faster. Much faster.

  She only managed to turn her shoulder when a dense tree log slammed into her side. The force smashed her across the water until her back hit a rock with a muffled crack. The log had lost its momentum to the water, but it had done more than enough damage.

  Alira panicked, breathing in water. She quickly remembered to use Exchange to get the air she desperately needed. Alira bit her lips to distract herself from a larger pain. She bit until crimson red flooded the water before her eyes, keeping her mouth shut to prevent water from entering.

  Her hand trembled as she brought it to her side. The blinding pain promised a few broken ribs and bad bruising.