“So.” Professor Kazurist folded his hands together as he inspected the sword. “Shamir. Arenya, I assume you’re the one responsible for his name?”

Arenya nodded. “Because he can cut through anything.”

She and Cartalis stood in Professor Kazurist’s office. Countless books lined the walls on brown wooden shelves, mostly massive tomes with names ranging from Practical Statistics in Electromagitechnical Construction to Flamescrolls: A Primer. They’d finished the field demonstrations of Shamir's mana blasts and channeling, and now were undergoing a close scrutiny of the details of his structure. Arenya had no idea how Cartalis could look so calm and collected as they were having something they’d worked so hard on analyzed by such an expert.

Professor Kauzrist grinned, and at least some of Arenya’s tension melted. “Clever. Who filled the channels?”

“Arenya did the first three,” said Cartalis, “and I did the other four. Channels four, eight, and twelve through sixteen are aesthetic and non-functional. Arenya insisted we have sixteen visible.”

Arenya handed Professor Kazurist one of her diagrams labelling each channel. “This is why I wanted sixteen. I was also hoping we could go back and add the rest later, when we’re more skilled.”

Kazurist’s smile vanished and Cartalis jolted. Arenya’s heart froze.

“Miss Azural, have you been dozing in class again? Adding additional channels to an already completed focus is very dangerous and should only be done by professionals.”

Arenya grimaced. “Well, the core of the focus is pretty small. I thought maybe it wouldn't be so dangerous then. And sixteen is a lot, but lots of talented people have gotten up to seventeen before, right? The dangerous limit is after eighteen, you said last week.”

“I see you have been paying attention after all," said Kazurist. “Still, I wouldn’t trust the materials in the laboratories you have access to. Speaking of which… Can you tell me which lab you were working on Shamir in?”

“Umm… The normal one on the third floor of Yesod Hall. Why?”

Kazurist steepled his fingers. “The truth, please.”

Silence reigned. Arenya and Cartalis looked at each other. Cartalis closed her eyes for a moment before speaking. “Some of the modifications I made myself I conducted in a different lab. I was attempting to straighten the channels, and -”

“You WHAT?” Professor Kazurist looked at the two of them aghast, eyes wide. “Tell me you didn’t fill it backwards.”

Arenya took a step back, blinking back tears. She’d never seen the professor like this.

“I didn’t try any backflow. I am well aware of the consequences. I had an idea that if we filled a bent channel beyond its standard limit and placed no mana into any others, the force would pressurize the metal and reshape it. I suspect it wouldn’t work with tungsten or steel without much finer control than I possess, but as Shamir is made of iron, I felt it would reshape without difficulty.” Cartalis, despite it all, cracked a self-satisfied smirk. "And I was right."

Professor Kazurist removed his spectacles and began to clean them. “I see… I’ve heard the idea discussed before, but most people aren’t willing to try it. Cartalis, did you tell Arenya the risks of overfilling a channel?”

Cartalis gulped and went pale. “I know what I am doing,” she said. “I knew how to keep the focus from exploding. At worst, I would have burst a channel and needed to reforge it.”

“Is that so. Do you care to tell Arenya the full story now?”

Cartalis sighed and turned to Arenya. “If I were sloppy and made mistakes, the overfilling could have caused Shamir to detonate… explosively. If I couldn’t have contained the explosion, it might -” She put a grand emphasis on that word - “have overwhelmed the third floor lab’s safety wards and, ahhh…”

“Killed you and anyone else within ten feet?” suggested Kazurist.

“Mayhaps with the slapdash, barely functional safety wards you provided!” Cartalis turned back to the professor.  “It is not my fault that I’m not allowed into the graduate rooms with the real equipment!”

Kazurist chuckled. “And now, the truth is revealed.” Kazurist replaced his spectacles. “Tell me, Cartalis, and tell me straight and true. Did you break into the graduate labs with their advanced wards in order to make these improvements?”

Cartalis hesitated… and then nodded.

Arenya took another step back, only to bump into the rear wall. “Why did you take such a risk to improve Shamir? He was fine before you straightened the channels! You were there when Zelzad and I were testing him!”

“Listen to your own words. He was fine,” said Cartalis. “Decent. How is he now?”

Arenya stopped for a moment. “… Excellent.”

“That’s why.” Cartalis looked behind her, hesitated. “I do not talk like this overmuch, but allow me to be personal for a moment. You poured much into this sword and his designs, and I know you did not grow up around focuses nor had the money to purchase one. I wanted to see you using something worthy. So I… took some calculated risks.”

Arenya felt tears welling up in her eyes again, though not for the same reason as before. She wrapped her arms around Cartalis. “Thank you, my friend. You really shouldn’t have done it. But thank you anyway.”

Kazurist politely looked away until the two of them let go, before proceeding. “Your work is good. The channels are mostly straight, though I can tell that your control wavered after the fifth one when straightening them. The initial filling was done extremely well, though, especially on the first three.” He looked pointedly at Arenya for a moment. “Aesthetically, it’s one of the best I have seen. Under normal circumstances, I would have you both an exemplary grade. However, under the circumstances of using illicit equipment…”

Arenya and Zelzad exchanged worried looks as Professor Kazurist paused for the longest three seconds Arenya had ever experienced.

“I will be penalizing Cartalis ten points. Arenya, you get ninety points. Cartalis, eighty.”

Arenya sighed in relief and noticed Cartalis doing the same. She knew Cartalis had been aiming for one hundred, but the punishment could have been much worse.

“Now, Cartalis. As punishment for illicit use of equipment, I am banning you from all school laboratories for one month, except under requirement by classes. Do you understand?”

Cartalis gasped. Arenya wasn’t sure, but it looked as though a small tear rolled down her cheek. “I understand, Professor.”

“At the end of this time period, you will write me a one-page essay on why you deserve access to the graduate laboratories with Arenya as your assistant.”

Cartalis froze. “Pardon?”

Kazurist laughed. “You attempted a rarely done method for altering focuses after their creation, did so successfully, and you think I am going to not let you continue your work? A few points and one month ban are enough of a slap on the wrist for the dean not to ask too many questions, but after that, I will need something to convince them that you deserve to continue your research. You are both excused.”

“Thank you, Professor!” Cartalis’ eagerness was palpable, and Arenya couldn’t help but wag her tail.

"Do any other undergraduate students have access to the graduate labs?" asked Arenya.

Kazurist nodded. "There are two others. It's not an honor we try to publicize, though, so forgive me for not saying their names."

A few moments of thanking and collecting themselves later, Arenya returned Shamir to his sheath and they left the room.

Just before they closed the door, they heard the voice of Professor Kazurist. “One last thing. Cartalis? Next time, wear gloves. We check for fingerprints.”

As soon as the door to the office closed behind them, both Arenya and Cartalis let out massive sighs of relief and all but collapsed to the floor. “That,” muttered Cartalis, “was perhaps more exciting than I anticipated.”

“Did you really sneak into the labs?” asked Arenya. “How did you do it?”

Cartalis let loose a brief chuckle. “I asked Zelzad for suggestions. She told me how to break the lock by kicking it.”

Arenya’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “And did you?”

“It seemed too crude. I melted it with acid instead.”