The only sound was heavy breathing, slow and labored.
Now and then, fabric rustled as someone shifted, too drained to do much more than readjust their position.
Vell stood at the threshold of the great chamber, arms crossed, surveying the wreckage of their training.
The witches lay sprawled across couches, chairs, and even the floor, exhaustion draped over them like a thick blanket. A few had managed to pull actual blankets over themselves, but most hadn't bothered, too tired to care.
Sonder, who trained with them, seemed the least affected—but she was far more experienced than the others.
The air was still charged with magic, as they had spent all day training their control over their mana.
"I feel like a squashed grape," one of them mumbled, head tilted back against the arm of the couch.
Another groaned in agreement, face buried in a pillow. "I don't want to move ever again."
"Well, I'd hate for you all to waste away," Vell said, and saw an opportunity in this moment.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small cloth pouch, and loosened the strings.
A handful of glossy, blue spheres spilled into his palm. At first glance, they looked like simple marbles—smooth, round, and polished—but beneath their surface, a faint shimmer betrayed their true nature.
Condensed mana, refined even further.
At the soft rustling of movement, a few heads lifted sluggishly. In a nearby chair, the green witch curled in on herself, knees drawn to her chest. She eyed him wearily. "Are those…?"
"Yep. New and improved," Vell said, stepping forward. "I adjusted them just a bit. They dissolve slower, so the energy releases gradually. No sudden jolts. Also, they don't taste like floorboards anymore."
He held out his hand. A pause, then—slowly, sluggishly—the witches reached for them.
The first to try one was the witch on the couch, the one who had spoken earlier.
She rolled the candy on her tongue and exhaled deeply, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Another witch bit down on the candy and furrowed her brow. "This tastes like an orange."
Vell nodded. "Figured it'd be better than 'slightly bitter.' There's honey, watermelon, and all kinds of fruit. Hard to tell which is which, though, since they don't really look different from one another."
Sonder took one too. She didn't need it, but what child would refuse candy?
After all of them had their fill, the atmosphere shifted. Witches who had been too drained to move were now stirring, stretching, sitting up just a little straighter. The groaning and complaints faded, replaced by quiet sighs of relief.
Vell took in the sight with satisfaction.
A full day of training for an apprentice mage would leave them completely wrecked. But now?
"Well," he said, a smirk creeping into his voice, "since you're all feeling better… we can train even more."
A collective groan echoed through the room.