Mark of the Fool
Chapter 663: Limits

The spell array seemed to loom off the page like a monstrous demon lord.

Every twist in the diagram resembled claws, clenched to tear Alex’s mind apart. Every sharp curve was like salivating fangs gaping wide to devour him whole. And the centre of the diagram?

Seemed to grin like the Face of the Fool, smirking and mocking him in silent malice.

Alex rubbed his eyes, trying to banish the illusions...if that’s what they were. Was he seeing them because he was running himself ragged? He couldn’t tell.

What he did know with certainty was that he had faced real beasts and demons. Hundreds of them. No spell array was going to frighten him.

And so Alex stood tall and cracked his neck.

His knuckles came next.

Then, he dove into the spell once again.

He pushed through days of mental strain and the Mark’s persistent interference, guiding himself through scores of images. His mind wasn’t spared, it was attacked from all sides, but he pushed back, iron will, meditation techniques, and the power of the Traveller keeping him focused.

Fight though he might, his mana still ran wild, flying out of control, his teeth clenching as he struggled in vain to control it. He cut the spell. Time to record his progress.

Summon Shadow Demon. 2nd attempt. Progress: 5%.

Alex sat for a moment, simply visualising the spell array; mentally tracing the magic circuitry, noting sections where he’d made mistakes.

After taking stock, he tried again.

Summon Shadow Demon 3rd attempt. Progress: 8%.

He pulled back, his heart pounding in his chest, glancing at Professor Mangal. The older wizard was giving him a puzzled look, but he turned away.

‘I know I can do this,’ he thought, mentally tracing every conjoined magic circuit. ‘And if I break through to sixth-tier right now, Professor Mangal will really put in a good word for me when the church tries to take me. I have to do this.’

Inside, a part of him knew that wasn’t his entire reason; there was pride urging him on for sure, as well as desperation.

But mostly?

It was because he knew he was capable of it.

He could do it.

With some more effort.

The determined young wizard took a deep breath, grounded himself, and tried again.

This time he went further, anticipating less familiar sections of the magic circuits. It was like learning where the pitfalls and hazards of an unfamiliar forest trail lay, he was remembering them, starting to compensate for them.

All the while, the Traveller’s power supported him, and he drew on it. Thanks to Hannah’s energy, sections of the array were actually easy to move through now.

Though, the Mark was still resisting with everything it had.

Alex steeled himself, vowing it wouldn’t win and pushed harder, moving through the spell array in increments, pushing out his mana until suddenly, he lost control and cut the spell. That was better.

Summon Shadow Demon 4th attempt. Progress: 17%

‘I’ve got to be careful when I reach the section linking the first and second magic circuits, that part’s tricky,’ he thought, writing down a few potential tactics. He’d learned a lot from the Mark so far; a lot about what not to do.

‘Alright, here we go.’

He plunged into the storm again, straining his will as the Mark bombarded him. It was taking its toll on his mind, and if that continued much longer, he’d get sloppy and lose concentration.

He had to keep pushing, looking for that breakthrough. Suddenly, his perseverance was rewarded and he hit a section of the circuit that the Traveller’s power finished on its own. His progress suddenly leapt forward. Behind him, Professor Mangal gasped.

Alex rapidly finished the second circuit.

Then the third.

At the fourth, he felt the spell array begin to fray; he couldn’t keep a handle on it if he kept pushing, so with a growl of frustration, he dropped the spell.

Summon Shadow Demon 5th attempt. Progress: 64%.

He took a quick glance at the timekeeper.

Half an hour more.

‘Come on, Alex, you can do this,’ he encouraged himself, writing down more strategies to get past the Mark’s pitfalls. ‘You have this. You can get through it. 31% after five tries is fantastic. Now, let’s try again.’

Again, he fought the Mark, guiding himself through the spell.

‘You’ve almost got the spell arrays, now focus on the connections between,’ he decided.

The strain was wearing on him. He was pouring sweat. His hands were shaking. His mouth felt as dry as the Barrens of Kravernus.

“It’s worth it,” he murmured as he finished the fifth component circuit.

Once again, he cut the spell.

Summon Shadow Demon 6th attempt. Progress: 87%

His seventh attempt was a disaster, he abruptly stopped the spell when a mistake he’d made almost triggered a mana reversal and wrecked his mana pool.

Time was ticking by. Professor Mangal would have to go soon.

His hands were shaking, but he tried again.

Summon Shadow Demon 8th attempt. Progress: 94%

“Better,” he said out loud. “You can do this. You can do this.”

His head was throbbing, it felt like someone had spent the better part of the last 90 minutes pounding on it with a bat.

But he was close.

So close.

“Alex,” Professor Mangal started.

He glanced at the time. Ten minutes left.

“Just a bit more,” he said, throwing himself back into the spell.

It was gruelling; his entire body was shaking. His head felt like it was being used as a drum.

But, he pressed forward, pushing past where he’d last stopped.

More of the magic circuit formed…

…until…

…the circuitry burned to life.

Magic reached from the material world, contacting the Hells.

Space ruptured within the summoning circle.

Light seemed to dim.

And a horned, demonic blot of darkness unfolded from a point in space within the summoning circle, a creature that frayed the nerve from merely gazing at it was revealed. Two eyes that seemed to burn like embers looked out on the room from the demon’s face as it silently glared at the one who had summoned it.

Panting, Alex collapsed on all fours, fighting the urge to empty his stomach of his most recent meals.

“I’m seeing this, but I can’t believe it…” Professor Mangal murmured, taking a step toward the summoning circle. “Yet there it is in the flesh, a shadow demon, right here in its full glory. It shows no sign of fleeing to its home plane, no sign of breaking free of your spell, or having the ability to leave the circle without your command.”

Alex was silent, except for the wheezing he was doing trying to catch his breath.

He looked at the timekeeper on the wall and grimaced.

A single minute remained.

He knew he was in no condition to try the other two spells.

“Professor…I’m sorry…I failed…” his voice rasped.

“Failed?” Mangal looked bewildered. “What are you saying? You have done what many wizards cannot do even after graduation, or ever.”

“But, the other two…spells,” he choked out.

She waved him off. “I am not so cruel as to not give you credit after you’ve tried so hard...and succeeded, with even one sixth-tier spell. Do you still wish to try the other two?”

“Yes,” he said emphatically.

“Wonderful, I have always admired your spirit. But I am not going to let a student destroy themselves just because their body and mind cannot keep up with their will. You get some rest. Do you have classes later?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Then I would like you to meet me in this Cell at ten o’clock, after my last class. Then—if you are in a proper state—I will allow you to try your hand at the other two spells. You will have until an hour past midnight. Does that sound fair?”

“I’ll need to…rearrange some things with my business partner, but yes, that sounds fair,” Alex’s voice was weak.

“Good. Professor Hak tells me you have improved your slumber with blood magic. Use it; that is the only reason I am letting you try this tonight. And, I will not have you coming to me in any condition other than perfectly rested and healthy. Understand?”

“I…do,” Alex said, finally feeling his mind and body settling.

“Very good,” she said, picking up the three spell-guides. “Rest. I will see you back here at ten o’clock.”

With that, she uttered a teleportation spell and vanished.

Groaning, Alex let himself fall onto his back, catching his breath on the stone floor. “By the Traveller, if that was the easiest spell of the three, then Hannah help me,” he said out loud.

Nearby, Bubbles sloshed up to him and gently sprayed his face with mist.

“T—Thanks little guy,” he muttered weakly. “Alright. Alright. I need to think about this…”

Slowly, he pushed himself up until he was seated cross-legged on the floor, reflecting on what had just happened.

A sinking feeling stirred in his belly.

“This…this is my limit,” he spoke the words aloud, acknowledging them as fact, the hard truth of them stinging him.

But, he couldn’t hide from them.

Through the last two years, he’d adapted, learning how to make use of the Mark, how to exploit it to become a better and more precise wizard. He would have never believed he’d ever say this the night he turned eighteen, but he gained a lot from it, even though it also brought devastating frustrations for him to deal with.

After guiding himself through so many tiers of spells—especially summoning spells with help from the Traveller’s power—he’d thought he could progress all the way to ninth-tier with meditation techniques, experience, and enough willpower.

However, he’d expected there’d always be certain things he wouldn’t be able to do.

He had no experience with divinity, and had no interest in trying it; the Mark might break something in his mind, or he might do something that would damage his very soul, like Kelda had. Then there was combat; no matter how much hate or willpower coursed through him, he couldn’t react violently or even aggressively to either man or monster. Not without consequences so devastating, he’d be left helpless; perfect prey for any enemy to quickly pick off.

These were the hard limitations that he’d accepted long ago.

But all the while, he’d taken comfort in one thing; no matter how hard it was, he still had his spellcraft. True, the Mark would help him with alchemy, allowing him to make and use all manner of wonderful magical items…but when he first imagined himself as a wizard, he’d imagined himself casting spells.

And he’d been able to cast spells in ways even wizards decades older than him had trouble with. With the Traveller’s power, he’d become an extraordinary summoner.

But, he was now facing a wall far different from all the others he’d overcome in his journey through spellcraft.

The way the Mark resisted was as devastating as when he’d taken the First Apostle’s arm; no amount of wishing, hoping or willpower would be able to overcome it when it was pushing back that desperately.

Which could mean only one thing.

“I might be able to get better with sixth-tier spells, but they’re going to leave me half-broken when I use them,” Alex voiced his deepest fears. “I won’t be able to use them in combat…or for most things. I’m going to confirm that after I get some rest and try those two other spells tonight…but if sixth-tier is this hard, then seventh-tier is definitely beyond reach.”

He imagined what it must have been like for Kelda—a warrior—to realise she would never hold a sword again. Never be able to use the skill she’d spent her young life developing. Never be able to defend herself.

“Now I’m in the same boat,” he said.

He thought about the vast, staggering power wielded by Baelin and his cabal in Cretalikon. Theirs was the magic that made true legends and changed the course of history. Alex had thought that—one day—such power would belong to him.

He still had alchemy; he did have power.

But, that power would always come—at least for the better part—from tools. And tools could always be taken from him, lost, or destroyed.

“And how the hell am I to face the Ravener with my friends if I have to keep dealing with this?” He gestured to the Mark in frustration. “Alright. I really have to find a way to undo this…some way…”

For a moment, a terrible thought occurred to him.

What if he was wrong about the Irtyshenan Empire?

What if everyone was? What if Kelda’s hidden stronghold was elsewhere in the universe, forever lost now that her soul was gone. What if he wandered the empire for months just to find nothing?

Then when the final battle came, if his staff was taken and his potions broken…

…no matter how long he lived, he would know that he would always have an anchor weighing him down.

“I’ll find Kelda’s stronghold,” he promised himself. “I’ll find a way, no matter what it takes. But, for now, I’ve got to give up on 7th-tier. Let’s see if I can manage those other two spells for sixth.”