Arc 1 Chapter 3: Stepping Stones

"Alright, class today; we'll be learning about the basics of Arcana." Mr. Suzuki would pull out a transparent sphere that shares the appearance of glass and yet wouldn't house any of its properties.

"This small orb that I have placed on the podium is called a 'Discovery Rune'; its primary purpose is to help an arcanist find their elemental affinity; there are five basic elements of arcana: Water, Fire, Earth, Wind, and Lightning." The Discover Rune would begin to make a faint humming sound as Mr.Suzuki would place his hand on the orb; it would soon display a bright, passionate flame that burns inside of the Discovery Rune.

"As you can see: my elemental affinity is fire. Even those who don't have an affinity to arcana will still have an element that lies dormant within the soul." Mr.Suzuki would say before taking his hand off the orb, causing the flame in the Discovery Rune to dissipate as if snuffed out by a gust of wind.

After the demonstration, Mr. Suzuki would walk around to the side of the podium, "Now then, let's have everyone attuned to their element, please come up to the podium one at a time," the teacher would suggest as all students; including Yukina, would stand up.

About twenty minutes later, it would finally be Yukina's turn to see what her elemental affinity was; her mind would be racing with thoughts about what elements she would have. She placed her hand on the Discovery Rune before closing her eyes; in the darkness of her mind, there was a vibrant blue spark that flickered before opening her eyes again.

Under her hand, the hyaloid orb displayed violent sparks of electricity. "So my element is lightning, huh..." Yukina would mutter to herself, staring at her hand in amazement before walking back to her seat. After the rest of the class had their elements revealed to them, the class ended, and Yukina would be strolling through the white walls and green marble floor hallway; gleefully while Akko was running in her direction.

"Yuki!" The hyperactive Vulpian exclaimed from the other end of the hall before finally catching up to Yukina and hugging her. "What didya get?" Akko would question Yukina while lifting her in the air like she was a doll.

"I'll tell you, but could you please put me down..." Akko was about five inches taller, standing at five feet four inches, while Yukina was at a measly four feet ten inches.

Akko would set Yukina back on her feet and wait for the reveal of her element. "My Element is lightning-" Her reveal was cut short by the Vulpian that's embosoming her.

"That's awesome; mine is fire!" Akko said as she released Yukina from the bear hug. "Anyways, I think we have our next class together." Akko would add while gesturing towards one of the doors in the hallway, which was hard to see due to the sea of students that flooded the hallway.

"Okay, let's go then before we're late."

The next class that Yukina and Akko would be sharing would be "Basics of Arcana Energy," more commonly known as BAE. They would enter into the door after pushing past the massive parade of Vulpian that would be occupying the hallways; since they were the last two to enter the classroom, the door behind them would shut, near the front of the class would be two empty desks, closer to the wall. Yukina would sit closest to the wall, Akko sitting next to her.

"Welcome, my name is Ms. Kojima, and now that all of you have learned what element that you have an affinity for, let us go over how arcane energy works." A turquoise-color-haired, ivory-skinned Vulpian woman would say from the front of the class standing behind the teacher podium. "Think of your bodies as containers and arcana as liquid: as you amass more arcane energy into your body, the stronger your spells and physical abilities will be. However, if you're body isn't properly trained to contain such an amount of arcana, the energy will spill out like a glass too small for a cup of water."

The teacher would explain gesturing an explosion. "Or that's what would hypothetically would happen..." Kojima would begin walking around the class between the spaces of the desk. "In reality, you wish it was that fast and painless...because what happens is much worse." Yukina would raise her hand as Kojima would turn to her and point at the curious arcanist. "Yes, Snow fox?" The blue-haired woman would respond to the raising of the student's hand.

"What exactly happens when your body is overloaded with arcana...wait, Snow fox?" the curious Vulpian would ask.

"Well, you're the only white-haired Vulpian in the entire school, and I'm glad you asked!" exclaimed the Vulpian.