The Final Preparations

Fran came to the Night Sky Reading Club, whose clubroom she hadn't visited again since that one time.

She pushed the door open and saw Lai sitting at the front desk. She walked over and greeted her.

"Hey, Lai."

Lai had spotted her a while ago and was a little confused about why she'd come back.

"Hi, Fran... What are you doing here?"

Fran smiled.

"I'm a member of the Night Sky Reading Club. What's wrong with stopping by?"

The corner of Lai's mouth twitched. She replied helplessly,

"Fine. Just tell me what you came here for. Are you looking for someone, or are you quitting the club?"

As far as Lai was concerned, those were the only two reasons Fran might come by.

"I'm here to exchange for some spells."

"???"

Lai's face was covered in question marks. She didn't quite understand what Fran meant.

"Wait, you're in the Sword Chant School. Why would you come here to exchange for our spells?"

"When did I join the Sword Chant School? Who said that?"

Lai looked puzzled and slowly explained,

"Your story's already spread everywhere. There's a first-year apprentice named Fran who beat John in Swordsmanship Class, even though he's been teaching that class for six years."

"People are saying you're going to cut in line and take this year's apprentice exam..."

"Uh, it's all rumors. Didn't Bela tell you?"

"Hasn't Bela already joined the Sword Chant School? She's been so busy these past few days that I can't find her anywhere. I thought you were the same."

Fran could only correct her.

"I didn't take John's recommendation. I just want to see what the other schools are like, so I came to look at their spells."

"Oh!" Lai's eyes lit up with interest.

"Are you going to join the Astrology School? As it happens, I've had some inspiration lately. We can go in together."

"No, I want to look at the spells first. Show me the ones I can exchange for."

Only then did Lai hand Fran the list of spells. Fran took the paper and looked it over. There were only three spells on it.

The first was a spell called [Astrology Orb]. It was very unusual: based on the current astrological conditions, you summoned one of dozens of variations. If the stars were aligned, it dealt heavy damage; if not, it might not deal any damage at all.

The second was the [Adjustment Method]. If you often looked at the stars but suddenly couldn't sense anything, this spell adjusted you so that you could sense the stars again.

Neither of those seemed useful to her. She felt her sensitivity to the stars was already maxed out. Although she hadn't seen the future a second time yet, whenever she used divination, she didn't even have to calculate—the answer came to her directly.

When she saw the last spell, she could barely hold herself back from the moment she laid eyes on it. She pointed at it and said,

"I want this one!"

Lai took a look and smiled.

"Are you sure? Almost everyone here curses this thing after exchanging for it."

Fran was a little confused.

"[Divination Art]. What's wrong with it? It says it can foretell what's about to happen."

"It says that, but this thing is just too hard to use."

"It can foretell what's about to happen. That description isn't wrong. The problem is that its predictions are a little... abstract."

"According to Haya, you actually have to imagine how the next event will unfold. The more detailed and accurate your imagination is, the further the spell will extend it on its own."

"But if your imagination is wrong, it won't work at all, no matter how much you try."

Fran understood some of that, but there were still parts she didn't get.

"Explain a little more. I don't quite understand."

"Let me give you an example. Say you've noticed that I always step through the door with my left foot. You decide to use the Divination Art to predict what happens next."

"After using it, you see me trip. Then, when I go through the door, I really do trip. You're pleased with yourself and decide to keep using the spell."

"But your predictions don't always come true after that. Sometimes someone crosses the threshold with me, or walks toward me from the other side. Those things keep your prediction from coming true."

"Then one time you notice that I trip again, with nothing else around to interfere, but you still didn't predict it."

"That probably means you didn't imagine whether my left foot would hit the threshold or clear it. You also got the distance between my foot and the threshold wrong."

"Got it? In theory, as long as you know what's going to happen next, the Divination Art can extrapolate what happens after that."

"Really, we can only see a little way into the future. Predicting things far ahead, like a prophecy, is impossible, because it's hard to imagine what'll happen that far down the line."

Fran gradually understood. She took out a Gold Coin and handed it to Lai.

"I'll buy it. Find this spell for me."

Lai swallowed. One Gold Coin was an enormous amount for an apprentice like her. She really wished it belonged to her.

Just then, Haya, the president of the Night Sky Reading Club, came downstairs. She glanced at the silver sheet for the Divination Art that Lai had taken out from under the desk and immediately understood what had happened.

"You want to buy the Divination Art?"

Fran nodded.

"This is actually a prerequisite for the Prophecy Art. If you can really master it, you can come to the Astrology School."

"I'll think about it. I'm still trying to decide which school to join."

Fran returned to the dormitory and imagined the future scene she'd seen. She gazed out at the night sky, and then an image appeared before her eyes.

It showed what happened after Fran killed Richter. She buried them right there, and even had an iron shovel with her.

After burying them all, she watched herself walk away with ease, without the slightest trace of anxiety or fear on her face.

So she could just bury them? That was it?

The image continued until she followed her own perspective to a gate at Cuilan Academy. Now she knew where she'd killed Richter.

Then the scene went dark, and she returned to reality. She felt exhausted, and a sharp pain throbbed in her head.

Looks like predicting too far into the future has side effects too, Fran thought, clutching her head.

But why was it fine to bury them in that spot? The version of herself in the future looked so carefree, as if she knew nothing would go wrong.

Did I join a school and get protection?

Fran shook her head. She didn't really want to join a school just yet. She knew that each school had its own spells, but joining one would only let her access those spells. With her game panel, she wouldn't be able to make full use of everything.

Returning to her earlier question, why had she simply buried them and left?

A bold guess suddenly occurred to her. Could it be that I've already predicted my future self happily burying the bodies? Even though I don't know why, I just have to do it, and that's why I look so happy...

No, maybe there was something special about that patch of ground. She didn't think she was that thoughtless.