Chapter 18: First Day of Classes (2)

The rest of the class was spent in silence, with me eventually giving up on trying to understand the content of the book and simply dozing off. I reaffirmed my belief that I would have to come here alone to study the basics. Jahi didn't seem to mind the silence, as she was to engrossed in the book, nodding and humming in appreciation every once in awhile.

Eventually the Baron stood up, bowing slightly in Jahi's direction, before leaving. Jahi was still nose deep in the book, so I leaned into her, closing my eyes. Enjoying her warmth and scent, the time passed quickly, my mind blank.

Shaking me slightly, I opened my eyes to see Jahi smirking at me. She pointed back towards the table, where a pale woman in a black sleeveless dress stood, looking at us. Looking at her, I noticed that her arms were tattooed. A snake wound around her left arm, while her right was covered in runes and symbols. Her green eyes were slitted like a snakes, and her long black hair reached her waist.

"Finally awake? Good. Let's get started. Lady Jahi, do you know anything about magic?"

Jahi shook her head, causing the woman, Arch Mage Kolia, to sigh.

"Very well. Let us start with what makes up magic. Mana, which is something your core will produce. Initially, when you are just starting off, your mana is pure; it has no element. However, the more you use and create more mana, the more it turns from just mana to elemental mana. This can take anywhere from a few months to a few years. Mana, either in its pure state or in its elemental state, is the fuel for magic. What gives magic its shape are runes. By creating a sequence of runes you are shaping your mana into something. For example..."

Slowly tracing a small sequence of runes in the air, Arch Mage Kolia's eyes flashed green, and a small sphere of wind appeared. Floating above her palm, she let us watch as it spun, before grabbing it.

"That sequence, the wind rune and the circle rune, creates a sphere of wind. Replace wind with any element, and you would, obviously, get a sphere of that element. This is a basic spell, seeing as it is only two runes. However, if you add, say, a power rune or a speed rune, you create a more complex sequence, which requires more mana."

Jahi nodded, before asking "Then what about the large spells? How would you have the time to create the sequence, for say, a spell like 'Vulcan's Breath'?"

Chuckling, Arch Mage Kolia replied "Once you master a sequence, you are capable of combining the runes into one, like this."

Saying so, she slowly drew a circle before drawing four straight lines through it. Another sphere of wind appeared.

Seeing this, I hesitantly raised my hand. Seeing her nod at me, I asked "Um... I have two questions. First, what is stopping someone from combining the runes right away? Also, what would you do if you were trying to use combination magic, like the Countess?"

Arch Mage Kolia nodded again, before answering. "The reason you can't just combine the runes right away is because each rune in a sequence requires a certain amount of mana. Yes, you could just use a large amount of mana and force the activation, but at that point you are wasting a large amount of mana. So, everyone recommends learning how much mana is needed in each rune before combining. Now, for combination magic, you have to find another balance, specifically the balance between the two elements you are using. The Countess had to practice individually with both wind and fire before she could use lightning magic. Each element has two runes, one set being the lines and the other set being triangles. I recommend, if either of you has combination magic, to use one element in one set and the other in the opposite set. For instance, I am a lightning mage, so I use the four straight lines for air, while using the triangle for fire."

She drew each individually in the air, the four lines, a blank up triangle, and finally a sphere. A ball of crackling lightning appeared in her hand.

"Alright, so now we are going to look into the support runes. These are the circle rune, the power rune, speed rune, and so on. These are the meat of the sequence, since they are universal. You can always add a shape or form to an element, as well as adding extra power or speed. Conversely, you can take those away from something. For instance, lightning and wind are naturally fast; earth and metal are slow. So if you want to create something more... solid with lightning or wind, or make something more fluid with earth and metal, you add those runes. Here, these are going to be your workbooks. I am going to give you the task of creating sequences, and when you are done I will check it. So, time to show you the runes."

After handing us the books, she started using her mana to trace the runes in the air, explaining what they were and how to use them. I furiously scribbled down notes, making sure I knew how to write the inverse of each, their uses, and so on.

An hour passed, and after learning some of the basic runes, specifically 12 and their opposites, totaling 24, along with the two sets of four elemental runes, as well as light/dark and space/time, makes 36 runes.

"Now that you know what the runes are, let's talk about how to create a sequence. For basic spells this is simple; the elemental rune followed by shape runes, which are a kind of support rune, with support runes after that. Usually this is something like: Wind, Circle, Power, Dense. Those last two can be switched however you want, but it needs to be an element first, then the shape of said element. So, I want you both to create the sequence for a small, dense fire sphere."

Nodding, Jahi and I turned towards our books. I started with the blank up triangle, followed by a circle. Next was a down arrow for size, followed by a X with a diamond in the center which was filled in for density.

Showing the book to Arch Mage Kolia, she looked between Jahi's and my own, before nodding. "Now, any idea on how to make this into a combination rune?"

Pursing my lips, I looked between the runes. Drawing the circle inside the triangle, I bisected the triangle with down arrow, before inserting the X into the circle. Showing Arch Mage Kolia, she looked slightly surprised. "Yeah, that's... almost perfect actually. The dense rune is allowed to spill out of the fire rune, so you could have made it larger. Makes it quicker and easier to create."

I grinned, before turning to look at Jahi's. She had used the lines, so she had the circle on the outside, with four vertical squiggles going through it. The arrow went down the middle, and the X went through the entire thing.

Arch Mage Kolia nodded. "Again, it would work. The fire rune using lines can be separated into two sets, so you could have a space in the middle for the size rune. Still, it is quite good."

Grinning, Arch Mage Kolia kept giving us sequence after sequence, explaining where we messed up or where we could improve. Eventually time ran out, and I realized I had used quite a few pages of my notebook. After every sequence, I noted where the improvements could be made, as well as what the sequence would create. For example, we redid the first sequence; the small, dense fireball, but we added a speed rune, creating the spell many people loved in video games: Fireball.

The hour flew by, and I quite enjoyed creating the sequences, seeing how you could combine some parts to lessen the length of the sequence. Jahi seemed to share my enjoyment, as her eyes were shining. When we finished, Arch Mage Kolia was grinning ear to ear.

"Well, if you both keep this up, I think the year or two here will be quite enjoyable. Especially when you both awaken your cores. That's all for today, though. Go, eat and rest. You will probably crash soon; creating sequences can be quite draining on the mind. See you both tomorrow!"

I watched her exit the library, and turned towards Jahi. "That was so much fun! Sequences aren't as hard as I thought they'd be. I can't wait to awaken my core; I really want to use magic!"

Jahi smiled at my excitement, ruffling my ears. Leaning into her hand, she chuckled. "Yeah, I can't wait to use magic."

She grabbed my hand, dragging me back towards our room. Upon entering, thankfully the Marquess was just lounging on a couch, a book in hand. The Countess was on a separate couch, reading her own book. My mother was no where to be seen. Hearing us enter, they turned towards us, smiling. Thy stood up, each grabbing one of us. Sitting down again, the Marquess looked down at Jahi, smiling. The Countess rhythmically pet my head, making me smile.

"So, how were the classes?"

Hearing the Marquess, Jahi looked up. "Well, dance was... fun. Tiring, but enjoyable. History however, was boring. I already know all of that, so the Baron is going to create a new curriculum for me based solely on Culture and Politics, but I have a decent enough grasp on those as well. Also, he's quite annoying. He would glare at Kat while giving me a weird smile."

At that, both her parents chuckled. The Countess flicked her head, saying "Sure~ little Jahi knows all about the world. Kat, dear, make sure the little know-it-all pays attention."

I nodded, before grinning. "Magic class was so much fun! Arch Mage Kolia taught us about sequences, and she was so nice! Look, she even showed us how to write them!"

Saying so, I opened the book, holding it up so the Countess could see. She chuckled, ruffling my hair and saying "Good girl~"

The doors opened, and my mother came in, pushing a cart filled with plates. Placing them around the table, we all sat down, my mother and I pulling the seats back before seating ourselves.

The plates had a large slice of what looked like steak, beautifully brown on the outside but still slightly red on the inside. Next to the steak was a tomato salad, mixed together with some peppers. Finally, a large loaf of dark brown bread, which looked like a Sweet-Molasses Bread. The adults had a glass of wine, while Jahi and I just had water.

Mouth watering, I held myself back and slowly made my way through the meal, savoring every bite. The steak was tender and juicy, the salad sweet yet spicy, while the bread was nice and soft.

I looked over at Jahi, who decided to simply scarf the meal down, shaking my head. How could she not savor this amazing meal? Seeing my gaze, she smirked before stealing the cut. of steak, making a show of savoring it. I glared at her, making her smirk widen. Sighing, I slowly cut another portion, holding the fork out to her. The steak was large to a child, so I knew that unless I wanted to gain a couple pounds, I wasn't going to eat it all.

Jahi took the offered meat, smiling at me. I turned back to my plate, going from taking a bite to offering some to Jahi. Surprisingly, I didn't hear anything from the adults, so I looked up. Seeing them all savoring the meal, it made me realize something; Jahi doesn't appreciate good food.

Finishing the meal, we all made our way to the bath, where we all lounged around, enjoying the silence and warm water. Jahi and I left after the Marquess had 'woken up', saving ourselves from having to watch a live show.

When we got back to our room, I collapsed on the bed, tired. Jahi lay next to me, reading another book. Turning over, I closed my eyes.

[Daily Xp: 187.5]

[Level 6 (656.5/759)

[Reminder: You have one skill point. Would you like to use it now, or save it?]

'Mmm... save it. I think I want to learn as much as I can by only relying on myself for now.'

[Understood]

After that, I slowly fell asleep, my mind swarmed with the idea of creating more and more sequences.

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So, like I said last chapter, I was thinking of doing a time skip. Now I KNOW I am going to do one, and maybe some more. I will write about important events; Jahi's Core, Kat's Core, the 'New' schedule after they finish this, and so on. I have an area I want to get to, but still need to develop the characters.

Also, again, updates will be sporadic until next Monday, as I have family over.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

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