First Lesson

"The monk had lived all his life in seclusion, so no one could have forseen that Bedrick's invasion would stir up such a powerful figure. I ask you all, what is it that Bedrick did wrong?"

"He wasn't strong enough." The boy who mocked me earlier responded with a grin.

"Wrong." The professor shut him down mercilessly.

"Ugh." The boy scowled and sat back.

"The correct answer, and the point of this lecture, is humility."

"Humility?" I mumbled.

"Several religions preach about humility to this day. The belief that one shouldn't look down on others, shouldn't criticize due to different perspectives, shouldn't believe they are always right. Some have faith that one shouldn't do those things simply because they are bad, or injust. And that might be right."

She paused for a moment.

"But since their inception, mages have always looked at things in a pragmatic way, so leaving things up to something as arbitrary as justice wasn't enough to convince every one of them. However, leaving it as is could lead up to more King Bedricks, to more abuse of power, and to more losses due to carelessness. Therefore, the ancient mages came up with a very important tenet: humility.

To always keep in mind that there is someone stronger than you. There may be crouching tigers and hidden dragons on a seemigly unassuming little village. That's the origin of a Mage's Humility, and it is manifestated in the courtesy of addressing a mage as Lord, or Lady, to this day."

So that's where that came from... And that test, Sky Above The Sky, how interesting...

"As magic developed, mages noticed how important for their self-growth it was to be humble, and it has since grown in meaning. A mage who can't acknowledge their own flaws will grow at a much slower pace than the others. Humility is not only significant, it's a paramount characteristic for any mage to possess. Remember this well."

Interesting indeed. I wonder if I will have to keep addressing every mage as Lord or Lady.

Fatima's speech dampened the youthful mood of the whole class. 

"Professor Fatima, can we start practicing our magic now?" A voice I recognized asked.

"...No, Erick. The lesson isn't finished. But I will get there, rest assured."

I looked in his direction, and caught a glimpse of Nephelia Buffett raising her eyes at her brother in exasperation.

"Right, right, I'll wait patienly. Can I use the restroom, though?" He said as he stood up, not even waiting for an answer.

"...Yes, Erick, you may. Also, none of you are children anymore, you don't have to ask if you want to use the restroom."

Since I was seated on the first seat from the hallway, he passed really close to me, on my right side. Seeing me, he grinned, and gave me a hearty slap in the back.

"Good to see you." He whispered and left.

I squinted a little. He was certainly... a character. 

"Like your enthusiastic colleage anticipated, I will now explain about magic and mages themselves." Fatima resumed her lecture.

That was the part I was most excited about.

"Magic, putting it simply, is the manifestation of the interaction that happens between a mage's will and the universe due to attunement, or creation of conscience, as some put it."

Okay... What?

"The higher a mage's attunement, the higher the potential of its will to cause dark energy interactions, the source of a mage's magic."

Eh? Dark energy? Attunement? I should probably take notes.

"There are 8 Ranks of mages, that go from 1 to 8. You are all non-mages, since you can't even create the simplest of interactions. An apprentice mage is a mage of the 1st and 2nd Rank, while an official mage is a mage who reached Rank 3. We call those at the 5th and 6th Rank high mages, and those at the 7th and 8th archmages."

A-ha...

"You all have to reach Rank 1 during the next semester, or you will be kicked out of the Academy. Once you reach Rank 1 you can start taking the Rank 2 courses, that last for at most 3 years from the moment you break through to Rank 1. The same happens for Rank 3, as you would have at most 7 years to break through from Rank 2 to Rank 3."

A student suddenly raised her hand.

"What Rank is Principal Zachary at?"

The professor looked at her and answered hesitatingly.

"The Principal should be at the 6th Rank."

"And what about you, Lady Fatima?"

 "It is considered rude to ask someone's Rank outright, Josephine. Keeping your strength a secret is vital to protect yourselves."

"But wouldn't a stronger mage be able to tell what Rank you are?"

"Not always. But I can at least tell you that the majority of your professors are Rank 4."

"You included?"

"Yes." Fatima answered with gritted teeth.

I was a bit lost at the moment, but decided to continue listening quietly.

"Proceeding with the lesson...

Your primary object, even more than tests and garnering Contribution Points, should be to increase your Rank, as it has a very strong correlation with the strength of a mage. I'll now teach you how to reach Rank 1, so pay close attention to my words." 

Contribution Points? What were those?

"The power of mages comes from understanding the universe." She said, and I nodded. "Meaning that, by understanding the ways of the universe, we can increase our attunement to it. And increasing our attunement means that, in a way, we can become a part of it: we can control mana."

Oh!