"Really? Maybe. I'm not really into that kind of stuff," I scratched the back of my head. "I'm not a girl..."
"If you want, I can show you how everything works here after class," Naryshkin offered. "Or do you have any plans?"
"No, I'm completely free until dinner."
"Then let's do it after school, near the Pacific Ocean."
"Agreed."
After saying goodbye to Leshka, I went to class and forgot about him for a while. I remembered only after I found myself in my room. I threw my backpack with my books in the corner, fell onto my bed, and then it was like an electric shock.
Damn it! We agreed to meet! I put on jeans and a T-shirt, clipped the energy sword sheath to my belt, and ran to the lake in the park, which they called the Pacific Ocean here.
Along the way, I caught students staring at me, and some even pointed at me. Today, this was happening almost constantly. On every corner, all you could hear was:
"There he went..."
"Temnikov..."
"That boy..."
"I summoned a skeleton!"
They're just driving me crazy! It's like I've performed some kind of miracle. It's a normal thing, isn't it? What's so hard to ask for?
I found Naryshkin near the lake. He was standing on the shore and throwing small pieces of something orange to the ducks.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
"I'm feeding the ducks, here you go," he said, holding out his hand and pouring me some food. "Boiled carrots."
"In our park they usually crumble bread..."
"They usually crumble the bread everywhere, but they can't have this," he said and threw the rest of the carrot into the water.
"I see," I said, following his lead. "Where shall we start? Gromov already showed me a few things... The gym, the greenhouses, and he showed me the lake, too..."
"Come on, come on, he's the Professor of the Dark Arts," Leshka smiled. "What interesting things will he show you? Come on, I'll show you the ruins of the old academic building and the abandoned classroom dorms. The classrooms used to live separately from each other, can you imagine? The heavenly classrooms in their own dorm, the dark ones in their own..."
Meanwhile, he and I were walking from the lake through the park, and I noticed we'd turned onto paths Roman Artemovich hadn't taken me along. And anyway, there were fewer people here.
Incidentally, when I started walking with Naryshkin, they started pointing fingers at me less often. We turned onto another path that hadn't been cleared in ages, and I remembered what I wanted to ask him.
"I saw two badges on your uniform; a skull and a hand," I said.
"Of course, I'm a dualist," he replied. "Are you out of your league, Temnikov? Oh, right, how would you know? Your family has only ever dabbled in alchemy... Just don't take offense, if I do."
"Well, I'm not offended."
"I'm a Naryshkin, Max... We're a very ancient family, possessing two Gifts. We've done special service to the Russian Empire, by the way," he announced pompously.
"And what does this mean?"
"In what sense?"
"Well, these 'special services to the empire'?"
"A lot of things... I have a princely title, for example," he replied. "Also, one of our family members was a black magician under Emperor Alexander, and that's a right that generations earn. Of course, there are all sorts of privileges for that..."
"How many black magicians are there under the Emperor?"
"Six, Max, even a child knows that," Leshka stopped at that moment and winked at me. "So, have you decided to become a black magician too?"
"We'll see. Maybe I'll think about it."
"Hah! He'll think about it," Naryshkin slapped his thigh. "Are you nuts? What do you mean, think about it? People spend generations working their guts out to get there, and you know how they get in? And he'll think about it... Well, you're a jerk, of course..."
"And what class are you if you have two Gifts?" I interrupted him.
"It's considered both. There aren't many of us here, you could count them on two hands. But I mostly go to the Dark Arts room; that side is stronger for us," he replied. "Actually, later you'll just have to choose one and stick with it. The main thing is to keep it until fourth year."
"Why until the fourth?"
"Then special subjects begin, you won't be able to change your mind."
"Ah."
At that moment, I saw something resembling a ruined castle. Just like in the pictures! There were even a couple of towers sticking out, and there was a wall, like a real fortress. Wow!
"Look at those cool ruins there!"
"I told you so."
"Let's run and have a look!"
I rushed forward and at that moment a powerful gust of wind hit me in the back, and a soft trill was heard in the air, as if someone was ringing a bell.
The air around us filled with bright, multicolored sparks, flying around like dust. Breathing became easy and pleasant. I took a deep breath, then another... Oh, how wonderful! I can literally feel the strength filling me from within.
"How cool, Leshka! Can you feel it?"
"Max, a magical storm is starting, we need to get to the dorm," he said, looking around.
So that's what it is... I've only read about it and heard about it on TV...
"I don't really feel like it... It doesn't seem dangerous... Quite the opposite..."
"Temnikov, are you stupid? Do you want to end up in the Distortion? Let's get out of here before it's too late."
At that moment, several bolts of lightning struck near us simultaneously, and a white glow about three meters high appeared directly in front of us, rising from the ground. It felt as if someone had ripped open the space in front of us, and a bright light was now shining from it.
"Oh, my God," Naryshkin groaned. "I told you so."