Chapter 82: Hidden Magic

Cecilia Blackwood's POV

I don't like skipping class. Last time I missed Mr. Darlok's class was purely accidental.

So even though finding a way to suppress my power is important, I still need to attend class first.

Kane turned to me. "I'll walk you to the classroom first."

"Okay." The moment the word left my mouth, I suddenly realized something was wrong—because the next class wasn't Kane's special course!

"What do you mean 'walk me to the classroom first'? What about you? Aren't you going to class?"

Kane shook his head gently. "I'm not going. I'll stay here and continue helping you find a way to suppress your inner energy."

"Trust me, I'll definitely find it. I won't let you down."

I did trust Kane, but I couldn't agree. "No, you have to come to class with me first. I've already explained my reasons before."

Perhaps the class content wasn't important to Kane since he'd already mastered it, but skipping class would deduct points from his participation grade.

If he kept skipping, he might not even qualify to take the final exam!

Plus, most people at the academy already had opinions about Dark Mages—we couldn't give them any more ammunition.

Kane stood in place, showing no intention of following me.

Clearly, for him, sitting in a classroom was far less important than staying in the library—at least for now.

I put on a stern face. "Are you sure you won't come with me? If you don't listen to me this time, we'll go our separate ways from now on. No more going to class together!"

Of course I was bluffing, but it was effective.

We walked side by side toward the classroom. I'd long grown accustomed to the strange looks from people around us.

In fact, if those people stopped staring at us now, I'd find it oddly unsettling.

This class was Mr. Crom's, my favorite and most interesting course.

My mental power was already strong enough, so the class content and tests held no pressure for me.

Compared to Magical Power Studies, this class was pure salvation. Only in this class could I truly relax.

Most importantly, my spirit's appearance had changed.

It used to be just a blob of gooey jelly, not even taking proper form, but now I could make out a general outline.

It was a little girl. Though I couldn't see her face clearly, I could already imagine her final form—soft and sweet. I just didn't know if she'd turn pink in the end.

After class, Mr. Crom called me to his office. I thought he wanted me to continue improving my mental power, but that wasn't the case.

"Don't go to the secret chamber to improve your mental power for now."

My heart immediately leapt to my throat.

For now? How long was "for now"? Was this a roundabout way of refusing or giving up on me?

"Mr. Crom, are you... are you giving up on me? What did I do wrong?"

Crom slowly shook his head. "No, you've misunderstood. This isn't about giving up—I just want to give you enough time to adjust."

"Adjust?"

"Yes, I've heard about what happened in Magical Power Studies. Right now, what you need to resolve most is your magical power issue."

"Well, to be precise, it's your psychological issue. Once you've worked through that, we'll continue improving your mental power."

Those two sentences left me speechless.

In Mr. Crom's view, my refusal to release my power was simply a psychological problem, but the reality was far different...

"Mr. Crom, thank you for your consideration, but I can—"

Before I could finish, Crom raised his hand to interrupt. "You don't need to say anything. Rest well these next few days. Improving mental power isn't something that happens overnight anyway."

"In any case, you must believe in yourself. Confidence is essential for any course."

"Yes, sir."

Leaving Mr. Crom's office, my mood remained heavy because apart from Kane, I couldn't share my current helplessness with anyone.

The next second, Kane appeared from the end of the hallway, carrying food he'd just bought from the cafeteria.

"I've got the food. Eat something, then we'll go to the library."

I shook my head. "I'm not eating. I'm not really hungry."

"No, you have to eat." Though Kane's words were calm, they contained an unwavering firmness that left no room for refusal.

I had no choice but to comply.

On the way to the library, I couldn't help asking, "Will we be able to find a way to suppress my power?"

"We will." Kane answered without hesitation.

"Why are you so certain?"

"We will." Kane didn't give a direct answer—perhaps he was afraid I'd lose hope...

As the saying goes, what you fear most will come to pass. We searched from afternoon until late into the night, but still found no suitable spell.

Or rather, we found a few compatible spells, but their levels were far too low to suppress the witch power within me.

I let out a long sigh. "I don't think we need to keep looking. We won't find it."

"I've made up my mind. In tomorrow's Magical Power Studies class, I'll just release my witch power normally. Whatever happens, I'll accept it."

No one knew how much pressure I was under saying those words, but there was no changing things now.

Unless I could avoid Magical Power Studies indefinitely and accept failing the course.

And without breaking through Magical Power Studies, I couldn't learn advanced magic—that was even harder to accept!

"Come with me. I'll take you somewhere." Kane suddenly spoke.

I instinctively assumed he wanted to help me relax—maybe take me flying again or something.

"I appreciate the thought, but right now I just want to be alone."

Kane reached out and grasped my wrist. "Come with me."

Yes, his gesture of holding my hand had become quite natural, and I felt no resistance to it.

He first brought me to his dorm entrance, asking me to wait while he went inside. Then we headed to the hill behind campus.

Kane pulled out a manual from inside his coat. Four words were written on the cover: Concealment Magic.

Looking at the manual before me, I was puzzled. "Concealment Magic? How do you have something like this?"

"Every member of the Ashworth family has one." Kane explained.

"Every Dark Mage's power needs to be suppressed and hidden, so Concealment Magic became essential."

"However, since every Dark Mage's identity is already public, the concealment aspect has become meaningless."

"But I think this magic might be useful for you—I just don't know if you dare use it."

I frowned. "Dare to use it? What do you mean?"

"Concealment Magic is, after all, Dark Magic, so..." Though Kane didn't finish his sentence, I understood his meaning.

For everyone else, Dark Magic was an absolute taboo that must never be touched!

Because for everyone else, Dark Magic was an absolute line you didn't cross.