Rainbow?

"Now, class, I want you to take note of the process of magic. It is quite simple, but it will be test material, so don't get it wrong." The teacher started the lecture, and my attention was entirely focused on her. If there was one thing that I was interested in when coming to this world, it was definitely the magic.

"As you know, we evolved to use magic, and the result is a magical core that resides in our body. It comes in the form of a crystal, and it is believed that depending on your affinity with an element, the colour will vary. We do not know if one colour is better than the other, let alone how to check without ripping it out of our body. However, by extracting the cores from passed-away magic users, we are able to somewhat understand what they may mean.

"Now before you start getting ideas in your head, removing the magical core from a living person will result in death, and any damage that may occur will be regenerated by the ambient mana." Hearing the initial explanation, I became extremely worried that I would lose my ability to use magic, but the fact that it results in death was comforting.

Unless someone intended to murder me, there was no way that magic could be taken away from me.

"Moving on to the specific colours, they are generally self-explanatory. Generally, a fire mage had red cores, and a water mage had blue cores. There have been cases of mixed colours signifying the use of multiple elements; in your textbook, there will be a list of all known elements, so do take note of that."

"I also was half lying before that there was no way to check; there is actually a way, but only you yourself can see it. We have made it a rule that you are obliged not to tell us; hence, unless you reveal the colour, we would have to rip out the core." The teacher's grin, paired with what she just said, gave quite the crazy doctor vibe. It was unsettling, although I wanted to learn how to see my core.

"Don't worry, I won't be taking anyone's core." The teacher clearly noticed most of the students were freaked out, which seemed to be the reaction she wanted.

"Ahem, now you must be wondering how we check. Well, it's rather simple; like you would have done in homeroom, you need to feel the magic that is swirling inside of you, but instead of trying to manipulate this energy, you try to visualise it in your head."

"It may seem odd that you are just thinking of an image, but the magic inside you will do its thing and present to you the colour of the core."

All the students, including me, closed their eyes and followed the teacher's instructions. It didn't take long for students to gasp and whisper excitedly about what they saw.

As for me, it took a while, but suddenly my mind was filled with a bright yellow. It made sense as I had yellow flames, but then the yellow began to morph into a rainbow? I wasn't quite sure how to describe it, but it was like every possible colour, as if I were on one serious trip.

I quickly opened my eyes, confused about what I just saw. If I based it on the teacher's logic, then it would mean I could use every element, but it doesn't explain why it went from yellow to every colour. Granted, my existence is special, which could be why, but there was still the question of what does it mean?

The teacher, though, locked eyes on me, noticing my confusion, which wasn't good. If I mentioned I saw a rainbow of colours, then I might be held up as some genius, making me a larger target for people.

I quickly turned back to my neutral face, hoping the teacher wouldn't approach me at all about it later.

"It looks like everyone has seen it; now it's up to you who you tell, but if you were struggling to know what kind of magic you have or can do, now you know." The teacher smiled, as no one seemed to have any issues seeing their core.

[I bet the peasant didn't even get a colour.]

[I can't say that, apparently, she shot a fireball bigger than anyone in her class.]

[Oops, but I bet that was just her trying to show off.]

As per usual, there were some remarks about me, which at this point were getting ridiculous. It made me want to scream and tell them how wrong they are, but oh well, there's not much I can do in class.

"Now, let me explain how magic comes to be—how we manifest the elements within the palm of our hands. But before I do, does anyone want to explain it for me?" Opening it up to the class, a couple of hands rose, wanting to answer.

"Yes, sir, in the front."

"The magic in our cores that we shoot out causes a reaction with the ambient mana, and due to the colour of our core signifying our element, that element will appear." The student gave a rather sound explanation, and the teacher even nodded, confirming what he said.

"Correct, the magic that is within our cores is different from the ambient mana. Remember, the mana in the air is the spark, while the mana in our cores is the fuel. This reminds me that the mana in our core is not infinite and you can run out, so be mindful when using magic. Of course it can be trained, and over time the reserve in you will grow."

"The only limit to your magic is your imagination and, of course, the limits of your core."

"When we release mana, it transforms into whatever we imagine. There is no logical explanation as to why this energy bends to our will, but people say magic is with the soul, so what we think will influence it greatly."

"I must warn you, though, that as per the regulations of the school, there are some forbidden magics that should never be used. You of course need the affinity with the magic, so don't even try it."

"First we have time magic; never mess with time, as manipulating it is like using your bare hands to stop a river. It's a bad idea, and you will most likely die alongside the entire universe. Next is curse magic or black magic; it goes by many names, but this is taboo magic that requires a sacrifice in order to be cast."

"Of course, I won't tell you what or how, but if you see anything cult-related or magic circles that are written in pure black, immediately report it."

Hearing the warnings about magic made me wonder if I was the subject of time magic. The apple I ate supposedly came off the legendary tree, so surely it has enough magical power to overcome the river of time.

'This is way too big to think about for now.' I wanted to question everything about my situation, but now it felt like I was entering the quantum levels of understanding needed to explain it.

I could say it was just time magic and the big tree made it possible, but I wanted to know the finer details as it may be a way to get back to my original world. It was highly unlikely, but there was no harm in investigating.

'Oh well, let's just keep listening for now; the teacher might say something that will give me a hint.'

*

The teacher continued the lecture, talking about the inner workings of the body and the specific details of how elements come to form. There wasn't too much more useful information as she went over the basics, which were pretty self-explanatory to me.

It was still interesting to hear, and I couldn't help but relate it back to a lot of books I read. It definitely made me feel nostalgic for the kind of entertainment I had lost, but being able to immerse myself in class and experience firsthand what I have was a feeling I never knew I wanted.

However, reality would smack me in the face as I would adjust in my seat, and my ribs would ache in pain, reminding me of what happened during the break.

'Yep, maybe going back to my old world sounds like a better plan than staying here.' Knowing time magic exists, there was definitely hope of getting back, but I had no idea if I would even live long enough to figure out how.

*

"Class dismissed." *Clap* *Clap*

As the teacher closed the class, the bells rang, signifying the end of the day. It felt good to finally be done with the day, and I knew I couldn't wait to get home.

'It will be nice to come home and see my mother; at least I will have some peace away from this hell.'