I tried experimenting with this constraint on my power, giving the nurse a ball of light of equal size to the first one I produced. This time, more concentration and focus were put into its conceptual ‘weight.’ It worked, for a good while, until the ball of light slipped my mind, and it disappeared.

  Some students who were responsible for producing flames for light decided to move further ahead or behind me, outside the range my light reached, so that there weren’t any overlapping ranges between their fire’s light and mine.

  The students who were leaning on the tunnel walls were now using their classmates as crutches. I didn’t know if the nurse designated human crutches or if these people volunteered. Not that it mattered. My role was to provide light for my section of the evacuation line.

  It was weird. I thought Imagination Manifestation would just make things happen if I wished for them, but it seemed more complicated than that, and I think I know why.

  Let’s say I’m in a room and there’s a door that’s out of reach. It could either be up high on a wall or on a platform not immediately accessible. To reach that door, I decided to make a set of stairs leading to it. I just imagine the set of stairs is there, and after the effort of making the stairs becomes an afterthought, or I simply forget about that line of thought, the stairs remain. The stairs are made of the same material as the walls and floor, and they fit the layout of the room.

  That’s because after I’ve finished imagining, the result remains. Same for the clothes I had first made, the small map, and a few things I’ve made that Mr. Blonde keeps. They’re a permanent, or physical construct, produced from my mind.

  Now, instead of stairs made of the same material as the walls and floor, they’re holographic and hard light, and instead of being supported by walls, they’re floating. Same intent, but different line of thought. I walk up 3 of those, looking down for each step I take. At the fourth stair, my focus shifts to the door I’m about to reach. I’m about to take my fourth step, but it doesn’t connect, and I end up falling. The holographic stairs disappeared because I produced something requiring constant focus, and I lost that focus when my attention shifted to something else.

  I wouldn’t say I can’t produce multiple balls of light and have them float above me. What I can’t do is maintain focus on those same balls of light while they’re in positions I can’t imagine while walking, watching my steps, my surroundings, and making sure I don’t bump into someone. The more factors I need to account for, the harder it is to maintain visualizations needing constant attention. It might be a different story if I knew the layout of the tunnel beforehand and imagined the balls moving back and forth on an imaginary path within the tunnel, but I still wouldn’t be able to account for people stopping, slowing down, or speeding up.

  Meaning I should keep my visualizations simple.

  After the small hiccup of checking the conditions of students who are on the verge of fainting, everyone else huddled up closer, meaning more people per radius of light. Being so close was certainly a bad idea in such a narrow space, but I couldn’t say anything against something that provided a sense of comfort, and the students were acting calmer than before.

  We continued down the tunnel. The struggling breaths of students became louder.

  I focused on the flickering light of the flame ahead of me. It waned. I leaned out a bit to see the status of that student. They seemed to be wobbling, but only slightly.

  Best not to take any chances.

  In my field of vision, I produced another ball of light and let it float above the student whose flame was waning. It’d be better if that student saved their strength for making it out of the tunnel. Actually, does casting magic contribute to exhaustion? I never properly considered the possibility, but exhausting their magic supply might be another reason why some students were on the verge of fainting. I’ll have to study that later.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Eventually, we made it into a big room. There, the healed patient’s group was standing patiently, with a few students of the group sound asleep, their chests rising and falling with their breathing. The groups following Mr. Blonde and his golden dragon entered moments after. Now, the entire evacuation party was here.

  Standing before us was a giant grey double door, significantly bigger than the large double door I saw at school, and noticeably taller than the height of the school from floor to ceiling.

  I tried looking for the symbol Mr. Blonde had shown me on the tunnel drawing, but to no avail, even after producing multiple balls of light in my field of vision to illuminate the entire thing.

  Is this our exit?

  Several other questions popped into my mind the moment I set my eyes on the door. Why was it there? Who built it? What significance did it have to the school? Is it hidden completely, or visible on the other side?

  I looked around, seeing if there was any indicator of a mechanism that could open the door. A button, lever, or pressure plate. The thing is, the door was the only other notable thing in the room apart from the tunnel we had just come from. It might just be me, but if I had such a giant and impressive-looking door, I’d use it to hide more than such a small tunnel. Perhaps a giant statue or something grander.

  So, how is this thing opened?

  I looked to Mr. Blonde, who seemed to be the most knowledgeable about secret doors and passages at the moment. He was scanning the room, looking for something, and had his golden dragon help with the search.

  Wait…

  I kept watching Mr. Blonde and his golden dragon.

  He searched the floor and nearby walls while the dragon searched closer to the cave’s ceiling. Eventually, he commanded his dragon to vanish.

  Then, he stopped, and… did nothing?

  I continued watching, but he didn’t take any meaningful actions from what I could tell. Eventually, he ended up standing by a wall, looking at nothing in particular.

  Alright.

  Either he knows, but can’t implement the solution, or he doesn’t and took us here for nothing.

  Just to be sure.

  I produced another clipboard, paper, and pencil before making my way towards him. When my lights had disappeared, I heard a few screams. I recreated some and let them levitate above the crowd, making sure they’re bright enough for everyone to see, before handing the clipboard to Mr. Blonde.

  He gave me a look of confusion, raising a brow, and I pointed to the giant door, making opening motions with my hands, before repeating the movements the students made to open the wall, revealing the secret tunnel we went through.

  The realization of what I meant dawned on him, and he handed me the clipboard without drawing on it before walking toward the door. I was confused, seeing that he had no intention of drawing, so I dissipated the clipboard, paper, and pencil.

  Mr. Blonde stood in front of the door, where it split down the middle, put his hands on it, and pushed.

  Huh?

  He was grunting, making the sounds you’d expect from a person trying really hard to push.

  Is he actually trying to force open the door with his strength alone? Not even boosting how much force he’s exerting with his golden particles and orbs?

  I looked at the crowd, and everyone seemed equally puzzled by Mr. Blonde’s actions, even the line leaders.

  Please, Mr. Blonde. You’re embarrassing yourself. My respect for you is lowering by the second.

  He stopped the second I had that thought. For a moment, I thought he had read my mind. He was panting. Did he seriously tire himself trying to force open that door? That thing’s massive!

  The owner of the Golden Dragon approached me, looking for something nearby. It wasn’t until he made a writing motion that it clicked that he wanted to draw, so I gave him the necessary materials. He went back to the spot he came from and started drawing. While I waited, I looked around the room to see how everyone else was doing. Some students were in a conversation, some were giving me curious looks, and some were either resting or helping someone rest. There was even someone sleeping on a girl’s thighs, and the owner of those thighs was rustling the sleeping person’s hair.

  I looked away when they looked at me.

  My eyes settled on Mr. Blonde holding the clipboard out to me, signaling that he was done. I took a look at his drawing.

  It depicted a single person pushing the door, except this person had a hand as big as the door in the drawing.

  I looked at him in confusion, and he nodded with a serious expression.

  What?

  Was this supposed to be the answer to our predicament?

  Ok. If he made his hands absurdly large, he’d done so already. Actually, wait, even if he could, would that be enough to push open the door on force alone?

  I walked up to the door and tapped it a few times on different spots. It was solid, hard, and dense. An absurdly large and heavy door that could supposedly be opened. I pushed on it, and it didn’t budge, even though Mr. Blonde had already demonstrated that.

  Is the only solution really a whole lot of force?

  I walked back, looking at the door. If Mr. Blonde didn’t have any available options to open it, then…

  Could I just imagine the doors opening?