Chapter 23

Fear, disdain, contempt. Just about every negative emotion you could imagine. This is what I saw behind their stares. My heart rate tripled, as my grandmother's words ran through my mind again.

'They will kill you.'

Did I really think the other students would just be alright with me? No, of course not. I spent several weeks with Kaiden, and he never seemed to warm up to me. So where did that leave us? Were they all going to try and kill me? Or would it just be endless resent?

I was a fool for believing my status as 'the only save Kura sorcerer' would mean anything. The way they saw it, I was a shortcut to an early retirement. Death if they were unlucky. No amount of assurance could erase that.

As my eyes darted around the room, I found three faces free of the animosity that gripped my peers. The first was Nicolaus. Sitting right next to me, it wasn't hard to tell what he was thinking. With a look of intrigue on his face, he whispered, "Well, it seems you're quite interesting yourself, Caius."

The next stare was one I didn't know how to feel about. It was the girl from the lobby, the one that I seemed to be drawn to. Athanasia Glacies. She had that smile again. The one that just screamed mischief. Her eyes looked almost as interested as Nicolaus'.

The third face was that of Magister Corvus'. It was not one of suspicion or hate. Just... contemplation.

I was surprised. Max and Val had mentioned that his limp was caused by a Kura accident. Would he not be biased towards my element?

But no. He was just thinking. And no matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out what those thoughts were. He took a glance at the parchment in front of him, and then quickly scanned across the classroom.

"Well, I believe that brings introductions to an end." He looked like he was about to continue, but he was interrupted.

A boy who looked about my height stood up. He had dark eyes and long, coppery hair that was pulled back into a very loose bun, several loose strands falling down to his shoulders. He had a calculating gaze.

I didn't remember him from introductions, but he struck me as a wizard. None of that mattered, though. His words are what mattered.

'I am very sorry, Magister, but you can not expect us to be near this... this... abomination of magic." Now it was his turn to be shut up early. Just as he was about to say more, the room got cold. Dark.

Now, it would be fair to say Magister Corvus' stare was disdainful. His face seemed almost plain, but it managed to express a number of emotions that can't be put into words.

The hairs on my neck stood up. A wave of dread passed over the classroom. His stare, his very presence shut the young man up.

"You will not speak out of turn in my classroom. You will not question the choices of the association. That is the same as questioning the Emperor himself." Magister Corvus' voice was calm, but forceful.

The cadence of his speech implied much more than he actually spoke. This kind of behavior would not be tolerated.

The student who had spoken out was now sitting again. Magister Corvus turned his head towards me. "I am aware that some of you may be uncomfortable with Mr. Withide's presence. There is no need for that. As I have already stated, he will pose no threat to any of you, it is why he is here."

"I would like to return to my teaching now. Today is our first day, and we have much to cover. Today, we are going to be discussing basic usage of mana. How it can be manipulated to suit your purposes."

Magister Corvus went on to explain mana strengthening and mana usage. Strengthening was a process of using mana to give a bust of strength to a desired body part. It could make your legs push harder or your arms punch faster.

Mana strengthening, for the most part, is the only thing the three types of mages have in common. It is something all magical creatures have in common. He explained the specifics, but a basic understanding is that mana is able to flow through circuits that follow our blood vessels, reaching every part of the body.

Mana can be moved down these circuits to achieve a brief burst of power. The ability to use mana strengthening to it's fullest, and most efficiently, is what separates a good mage from an extraordinary mage.

Understanding mana strengthening was a very difficult process, and it would take years for a beginner to become truly proficient, and if a beginner ever wanted to achieve something, proficiency is what they would need.

Magister Corvus then went on to contrast this with mana expenditure. A slight misnomer - as both mana strengthening and mana expenditure expended mana - but the name regardless. This was specific to the mage.

It was how a wizard would cast spells, how a sorcerer would manifest their elements, and how a warlock would invoke the powers of their patron. Proficiency in mana expenditure was something that could not be taught, as each mage was different in their expenditure. Wizards and warlocks of the same patron would be similar, but still unique. At most, they could receive advice about how a similar mage learned their expenditure.

After elaborating on the differences between the two, and their importance, Magister Corvus left us with two pieces of information.

"We will have competency tests tomorrow, to see what you are and are not capable of, so make sure to get some rest for that. On Wednesday, we have our first assignment. There is a ghoul nest not far from Theria. We are to clear it. We are now done, feel free to leave."

With that, Magister Corvus started packing his things. I sat still, a bit bewildered by what he had just said. A mission, already? Killing ghouls, I've never done anything like that. What was I supposed to do?

"I suppose you and I have quite a few fun topics to speak about, don't we?" Nicolaus brought me back to reality. "Caius, my friend, I am going out to the southern plaza for dinner tonight. Would you like to join me? It will be on me, of course."

I was stunned he wasn't treating me like a wild animal, let alone offering to buy me dinner, "Are you sure? I might end up killing you, or something."

"The Magister said I have nothing to worry about, and besides, we are already friends. I will stop by your dorm as the sun is setting. Which room is yours?"