Chapter 5

He scratched at his beard with an annoyed expression.

"Seven-o-clock? Who in their right mind wants to attend a lesson at seven in the morning?"

In the fangled corridor was, wearing a crisp brown jacket with a white undershirt and a green bowtie, a teacher staring at his new schedule. A wooden charm hung out from his chest pocket with 'Rekter' inscribed on it. The schedules for students were carved in Dousala wooden screens for easy reference and the schedules for teachers were placed on a mist screen. Both of those common objects, plain as they appeared to be, were enchanted to update regularly.

Students usually did their homework or research on the table, which meant they could refer to the screen easily. Teachers could see the mist screen whenever they walked in and out of the hundred and thirty-five degree angled corridors to their rooms. Essentially, it was easy for information to be transmitted since the timetables were found on objects that were interacted with on a daily basis.

But most lessons did not start as early as seven. Six was a time for breakfast and half-past six for prayers and piety. Depending on the student and the type of magic they studied, as well as the gods they worshipped, their prayers could vary drastically from a moment-long silent prayer to a large-scale ritual that would require hours. Therefore, lessons usually started at nine to cater to the students in the normal stream curriculum.

Yet he had lessons with a single student at seven on both Wednesdays and Thursdays which invalidated that custom.

R: (You can't be serious. I'll have to consult Bertund about this tomorrow.)

Rekter pondered over his newly-updated schedule.

R: (I really don't want to wake up this early in the morning just to entertain this. It's for a single student, too... I'm used to not eating breakfast, but a schedule like that practically screams that they're forcing me to wake up early for these two days.)

He scratched his head rhythmically, formulating a plan of action for the new conundrum. The student's unique requirements offered various hints – In practice, the students to fill those roles were ones with a very selective range of spells or ones who simply disliked others' company.

R: (Or it could be that this particular student has a tendency to disrupt conducive learning. So it's my turn to take these kinds of problem children, huh? The best idea I can come up with now is to give a crash course for this kid's class. If I can make this kid study at the rate of a few lessons at a time I'd have more time to myself.)

There was nothing saying that the teaching schedule had to be confined to a singular subject or lesson a day. If the students showed promise, they could simply attend and participate in a test immediately to prove their mettle on the spot. Rekter's eyelids sunk and his brows furrowed as he tried to manipulate fact as best as he could.

R: (I should be careful so they don't catch me using 解.)

After reviewing the schedules of the other teachers that may expose the ploy, Rekter headed towards his room and brushed the dust off of his clothes. Unlike the students who shared a singular tank of water to bathe with at the dormitory bathing space, teachers had access to personal bathrooms with water that could be scented to the teacher's preference.

For the most part, hygiene was the main factor to consider. There were also teachers who required the use of medicinal baths to cleanse their bodies properly. Rekter wasn't one of them, but the Selkpine-scented water was a luxury few could enjoy. He grabbed a towel hanging from a rack on the wardrobe and headed to his bathroom, thoroughly savoring the bliss of being a teacher in the academy.

*** ***

The clicking of hard leather soles on the floor could be heard from outside the classroom. Rekter wanted to set up the room before the lesson began, but when he opened the door he quickly realized someone was already inside.

The boy had disheveled charcoal black hair covering his head thickly. He was in school uniform and he looked about eleven or twelve years old. He was also clutching a large piece of cloth- Or rather, a makeshift bag in his hands tightly, and his shifty eyes coupled with the scrunched shoulders made him look nervous and edgy.

R: "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The boy turned his head over to look at Rekter slowly in a very stiff manner.

K: "I... I'm Ka-... Ka-Katachi. Kotsuba Katachi."

R: "And what business do you have here?"

The child quivered a bit, hesitant to reply.

K: "I'm... I'm here for a lesson at seven, but it's... It's kind of dark in here."

The signs indicated that he was foreign to the lighting system, unaware that a symbol had to be drawn on the wall-mounted panel to activate Soltak's magic. That summed up to a definitive conclusion – He's the student Rekter was assigned to teach, and a new student to boot.

R: (I was expecting someone more vulgar. Some mouse-like pipsqueak he turned out to be.) "Look over here. You can draw this symbol on the mounted panel to switch the light on, and this one to switch it off."

Rekter switched the mead to his left hand and demonstrated the actions to the boy. Strangely enough, Katachi seemed to be easily fascinated by the panel on the wall.

R: "Let me introduce myself. I am Rekter Bluo. I specialize in Sha'koth spells and magic related to the trickster legend. As you can see I'm dressed as Yurvik, one of Sha'koth's many impersonators. I will be your teacher for this class. So, since my schedule doesn't say anything about what I'm supposed to teach you, why don't you introduce yourself as well?"

Teacher schedules did not divulge the lessons conducted on the first day to encourage ice-breaking between the teachers and students. Other than that, depending on the nature of the course selected teachers were either to conduct a lecture on a specific topic or assist in study sessions for the children to do their own research. With that said, the arrangement of the lessons was not for them to decide.

The administrative department had the final say regarding the personnel to accommodate the respective students. But from that alone, it was quite easy to gauge the lesson based on various factors like time, the number of students, the location as well as the orientation of the classroom which the lesson was held in; to name a few of the many hints. Should one be perceptive enough, everything could be manipulated to one's advantage... At least, to a certain degree.

The boy looked away for a little bit and replied diffidently.

K: "I... I am Kotsuba Katachi, and I'm ten this, this, this year. I, I came to Sage Raufid's to... To... Learn more about the... The 'Curse Words'."

Rekter's face paled.

R: (He already introduced himself earlier. He's meek and cowardly in nature, but how could a child so timid even talk about the Words of Power so openly?) "Did you just say 'Curse Words'?"

The boy nodded briefly and turned his head away immediately after.

R: (Unbelievable. A boy his age actually knows the true name of the Words of Power.)

Rekter gulped his mead down and put the cup aside. His expression turned grave as he quietly cursed the administrative staff for their antics.

R: (Damn it. Teaching a Word of Power is as good as suicide. Don't they know that?) "Okay. But before we begin our lessons, I would like to scope out how much you already know and then we can work from there. Is that all right?"

K: (So he's gauging me from the get-go, huh?) "O- Okay..."

R: (He seems to lack confidence... I should be careful. If he truly knows the Words of Power and he's just feigning his stupidity, then this will turn out really unpleasant. That seems really unlikely though.)

K: (Let's try something generic, like how I used 'Curse Words' on purpose just now.) "Uhm... To- To start with, the Words of Power are originally called 'Curse Words'. But... But during the hunt for them, the name sounded too... too- too ominous, so they changed the name to one more suitable."

The stammering act was docile and convincing at the same time. As expected of a child who lived his life in fear and seclusion, Katachi could pull off the act without a hitch.

K: "But its true name is a Curse Word, but, but-but-but knowing it in... In the mind is enough. Knowing it is called the Curse Words is enough for it to activate its true potential and heighten its precedence levels, or so... Or so the book says."

The boy trailed off, looking down so much his head was almost detachable. Rekter stared at the boy in astonishment.

R: (To even know the term 'precedence levels'... Simple kid 'just learning' about the Words of Power, as if. Are they serious? He could potentially be just as good, if not better than I am.) "Where did you learn of this, boy?"

K: (I don't think he'll buy the story immediately, but just maybe... Let's see how he reacts.) "There... There is a library at the church near... near my house, I often hid there and took it as a secret spot. I stumbled upon the bamboo book by pure accident, honest! But then... But then, there was this yellow glow inside the book and the next thing I knew, this... This thing was on my hand..."

R: (Seriously? He picked one up by sheer chance?)

Rekter considered and weighed the possibilities of his recount.

K: "... Mister Rekter?" (Good. He seems distracted. This is a good chance.)

R: (This boy found a Word of Power inside a bamboo book?... Then, whoever was reading the book probably had that Word of Power on him before he was killed and it must have slipped into the book. But if that's the case, where and when was this person killed? Why did nobody else take the Word of Power inside the book? Was he killed with the intent to take his word, or by other means? How did this boy stumble upon the book?)

Rekter thought long and hard on the subject, furrowing his brows.

R: (Had the bamboo book always laid there on some crate or the floor, just waiting for someone to pick it up? Was that library in the church never used again because someone died there?... But, what if he's lying? What if this kid knows exactly what he's doing and he's trying to eke out my sympathy?)

But the suspicion was short-lived.

R: (No, no. That can't be. He has flitting eyes, his fingers are tense and his lips are apart even though his jaw's closed properly. His actions are quite shy and his hands are unstable, which means he's passive by nature. There's no way he's actually that evil to have murdered the actual owner of the Word of Power and claimed it for his own. How would a kid do that anyway, even if the Scholar were asleep? He must have picked it up or something.)

K: "... Mister Rekter."

R: "Ah, apologies. I'm fine. So, you learned quite a lot about the Words of Power already, huh."

The boy sheepishly nodded.

R: (One final push. Any sign of animosity, and I'll take him out right here.) "Let's try something more practical. I want you to use that Word of Power on my cup over there. I'm going to try and understand how much you know about this magic in a practical."

The boy silently nodded and looked over at the cup. The words 固定 formed on the cup, and the 固 slowly faded away.

R: (定?... So that's his character. He didn't even hesitate when I told him to reveal his word, so he's clearly on the gullible side. Good. This is a good chance for me to scope out his abilities! 溶解! Dissolve object – Cup!)

A faint whisper echoed in the back of Rekter's head and the words 溶解 formed on top of the cup as well. Both words faded off at the same time in less than a second.

R: (What!?!... His precedence level is equal to my own!?)

Rekter stared at the boy with a dumbfounded look printed upon his face.

*** ***

K: (He didn't notice it. That's good.)

Katachi waved the teacher goodbye. With a few breathless gasps, Rekter dismissed the one-student class.

R: "You already know more than enough... You don't even need to attend any of these lessons. You pass with flying colors. The class is dismissed."

With a determined frown on his face, Rekter left the classroom. At the very least, he didn't seem to notice the little trick Katachi pulled. With the only subject he signed up for aborted by the teacher voluntarily he had free time to spare. It was only a quarter after seven, yet to optimize that freedom from henceforth was the real challenge.

K: (I'm surprised it worked as well as it did. He dropped his guard after I placed my 定 immediately, so he was probably worried that I was scheming or something. It's his oversight for not realizing my own interest in scoping out his Precedence Level.)

There was plenty of time to spend in the school, but what was the point of idling in a place where children busied themselves learning something easy? In that sense, it was not abnormal to see some of the students about, forsaking lessons and devoting themselves to their personal study of magic instead.

K: (Bael is usually at the library around this time... I guess I should start by tidying the place a little bit.)

Katachi grabbed a tiny duster and found a stepladder in a nearby closet. With only one thought in mind, he walked onward in the magically enchanted halls.

K: (Let's clean the area and learn the school's layout. Take me to a janitor's closet.)