The Mage's Limits: Mages of Martir Book #2 Read Online Free

any of the teachers noticed, they were probably not going to do anything about it. It was normal for graduates to expend more magical energy than normal during their graduation ceremony, so right now, at least, Darek was safe.
    Time to up my usage, Darek thought. And find out if I really can raise my limits.
    So Darek poured more energy through his wand. He could now almost see the outline of the Xocion statue in the ice block, though he doubted the others could. It would be the grandest Xocion statue anyone had ever made, grander even than the ice statues created by the great Xocionian mage Siar.
    It would be grand because Darek would break through the ceiling and reach new heights of magical power. And once he did, he would be far better equipped to defend Martir from Uron or anyone else who threatened his world and friends and family.
    The prospect of gaining more power excited Darek so much that he increased his magical output, despite being aware that the teachers might notice. Layers and chunks of ice kept getting shaved from the block, much faster than they normally did when he carved a statue from ice.
    Whether the others will notice or not, I have to keep doing it, Darek thought. Keep going, keep pouring energy, don't let up, especially don't let up long enough for the teachers to notice and stop you.
    As Darek thought that, he could not help but remember how powerless he had felt last year, when Uron had first appeared. Yet even before he had met Uron, Darek had felt just as powerless when facing Aorja Kitano, his former best friend who had tried to kill him and his other friend, Jiku, before she was defeated and shipped off to Rock Isle to rot with the other prisoners there.
    Darek had not seen Aorja in a year. He didn't even know if she was still alive or not. Nonetheless, just thinking about her made his blood boil. It slightly disturbed his concentration, causing him to accidentally move his wand to the left. That unintended movement cut through the ice's surface in a jagged way, which would have messed up Darek's attempt completely if he hadn't reasserted his control over his wand and forced it back to where it was supposed to be.
    No time to wonder about Aorja, Darek thought. She's long gone. I must focus on the present, not the past.
    He checked his energy levels again. Already, he had used up slightly more than half his energy. Granted, it was impossible to put a mage's magical energy supply into raw numbers, but Darek knew enough about his own magic levels to know that he had now gone past the halfway point.
    Most mages, in his situation, would have slowed their magical usage, maybe even stopped entirely. Then they would rest so they could recharge their energy levels. That was how afraid most mages were of going beyond the ceiling, giving up after only using half their power, despite how small that usage was in the grand scheme of things.
    Not Darek, though. Not today. Reaching the halfway point was good, but it was nothing worth bragging about. He would have to up his energy usage, and quickly, before the teachers noticed. He did not dare take his eyes off his ice block to see if the teachers had caught a clue yet, but sooner or later they would realize what he was trying to do, and he just couldn't allow that right now.
    By now, the ice block was perhaps halfway done. He could see Xocion's muscular arms and large chest, but no legs or head just yet. There was still so much to do, and he wasn't sure if he had enough energy to do it; nonetheless, he pushed further, pouring as much of his energy as he could into the block.
    His wand hand shook, but he forced it to steady. A shaky, unsteady wand hand was a clear sign to even amateur mages that another mage was reaching his or her limits. Darek was not going to let his body betray his plans, at least not until it was too late for anyone to stop him.
    It wasn't easy, though. The more magical energy he used, the more tired he got. His knees were getting weaker