Ugh, this sucks, I thought as I writhed beneath the covers of my bed.

I could still hear the pouring rain outside, but there was a distinct drip every few seconds, helping me keep track of time and the sleep I was no longer getting.

I closed my eyes again and held them shut for a few minutes before giving up and smacking the cold stone wall behind me with a balled fist. It had hundreds of individual scratchings, with names, dates, and carvings of all sorts that turned the plain granite wall into a grotesque canvas.

I’d even added some of my own over the years, though nowhere near as profane as some of the others.

Doesn’t look like I’m going to be getting much sleep tonight anyway. I should probably use this time to review my spell, just in case, I thought.

Even though Bernar was originally the one to help me create this spell, it still demanded a dangerous amount of mana. I couldn’t fault him for trying to teach me such a high-level spell, but the difference in abilities between us was staggering.

He is a fifth-stage all-caster, after all, I reminded myself.

I knew it would be devastating if used correctly, so I took the time to hone it as close to perfection as I could. I lay there, calculating and recalculating every movement to the single-digit degree, the amount of mana needed to condense the spell, how it would react with the ring's ward, and whether it would hold.

As time passed, I continued tossing and turning, probably more times than a dung-beetle would roll a turd-ball back to his home.

I absolutely hate waiting to try this out. Although if I go out and test it now, the lack of sleep is going to kick my ass and I'm sure the Master will pick up on the mana because of it, I sighed.

I decided against going outside and tugged on the woolen blanket I was using to keep warm in the cold night.

Gods above and below, it’s fucking cold in here and this new blanket is itchier than I thought it was going to be. I can’t seem to find a comfortable spot around my neck for it, I huffed, nearly giving up on the idea of sleep entirely.

The gray, cotton pajamas I wore to sleep also did little to stave off the cold, and what little hair I had on my limbs stood on end as gooseflesh riddled my skin, causing me to shiver.

Should I try that spell Roburn was using earlier this morning? It didn’t seem to do any damage to his gear, so it should be fine, right? I asked myself as my teeth chattered.

Roburn was another one of the synners who had graduated some years before that fateful night. He often liked to show off his abilities with mana-cloaks and masterful sword-casting techniques. Although I had never tried to cast a mana cloak before, I had read about them in the dark hours of the night.

Fuck it. I’m too cold to give a damn right now. What’s the worst that could happen? I shrugged as I peered through my memories to recall what it looked like.

My eyes darkened, coating my sclera in the black as I stretched out my hand to draw from the sphere in the sky. I knew I only needed a little and used my will to control the flow from the spiraling rings of light above me, even though I wasn’t fully attuned for just how much was actually needed.

That was mistake number one.

The tendrils wrapped around the tip of my finger, down my arm, and onto the rest of my body, encapsulating me in a cloud of mana. I severed my connection to the realm, and my awareness of the world lurched as my consciousness returned.

I could still feel the swirling cloud of mana around me, warming the air around my entire body like the heat of a small hearth.

Hmm, not quite there yet, I thought, drawing the mana in closer.

In truth, I was unsure of exactly what I was doing, but whatever it was seemed to be working, so I thought it would be alright.

Mistake number two.

I condensed the mana lining my entire body, creating a small barrier between myself and the blanket. I stupidly flicked my index finger against my thumb, as though I were lighting a flint and tinder kit. The result, which I hadn’t yet considered, sent sparks of mana from inside my palm towards the barrier.

Mistake number three.

As soon as the sparks touched the barrier, it began to burn like the coals at the end of a wood-fire’s life. However, instead of dying out, it quickly gained copious amounts of heat in such a short period of time that I could feel the heat coming through my pajamas.

Ah, there it is! The Fuckening has begun, I thought, accepting my inevitable death.

The heat from the barrier rapidly set the blanket ablaze, forcing the protective coating to disappear about as quickly as it was formed.

Shit, it was too hot! I can’t just lie here and die! I have to do something, I panicked, knowing I wouldn’t withstand the heat for much longer.

My eyes darkened again as I drew more mana to shield myself from the ever-intensifying heat. It surrounded me once more and acted as a shield between myself and the blanket. I tried to swat out the newborn flame with my hand, but to no avail. The fire engulfed the blanket, and I threw it to the floor beside my bed.

Shit, shit, shit! That was too close for comfort, I thought far too soon.

The fire spread onto my bed, and I began to panic even more so than before, given the fact that I’d just lit something on fire at an hour when he should not even have been awake. The fire spread as I desperately searched for a way to extinguish it.

This is probably the second worst idea I’ve had today, I sighed as I got out of bed, moving toward a piss bucket I’d noticed next to one of the other boys’ beds.

The smell quickly reached my nose as the bucket’s contents sloshed around when I picked it up. In a fruitless, last-ditch effort, I threw the piss in the bucket onto the blanket now fully engulfed in mana flame.

Mistake number four.

The evaporated piss quickly filled the room, making my eyes and nose sting with the stench.

Congrats, dumbass! You’ve made matters worse! Well, if I can’t stop the fire itself, I can at least prevent the others from dying in this hellish sauna, I coughed and mentally kicked myself for thinking that would work.

“Fire!” I shouted. After noticing my mistake, the three other young synners in the same dorm abruptly woke up and displayed little more than pure, unadulterated panic. The flame had now spread to the bases of their beds. The three were just as, maybe even less, experienced than I, prompting them to mimic my shout sporadically.

The fear in their eyes was real enough, for none of the three had ever seen a fire-based spell in such close proximity, as they would only begin to meddle in such matters the following year. The others desperately attempted to douse the flames with their blankets. However, since this was a mana flame, it quickly spread to their blankets and induced more panic.

Oooooh, this is bad. This is really bad, my eyes widened in realization of what I’d done. Bernar’s going to kill me, and there’s no telling what the Master will do. You're a fool, Thoma Fayren. You could probably have a more intelligent conversation with a fucking rock than with me, I felt my stomach churn, heavily influenced by the panicking trio.

The three boys were wailing, but I heard a distinctive command through their desperate cries. "Keep away from the door!" the voice shouted.

It was the Master.