Reinvigorating

As it turned out, Silad had not invited anyone else besides the two. Nero would have preferred it if more of the group joined, but since it was Silas' plan, he did not comment. Over the past few days, Silas had improved tremendously in terms of self confidence, and had actually begun talking to others - though mostly he talked to Vanessa. Today he had a slight nervous energy about him, but considering it was the first time he was inviting his friends home, it made sense.

"Can you tell how much use out of this I can still get?" Nero asked as he showed Silas his Enhanced learning card.

Meeting expectations, Silas has awoken a passive ability which would, apparently, help him tremendously in card making. Like Nero, his ability was an amalgamation of both his parents abilities, which was that all of his senses automatically translated data mathematically, in extreme detail.

Although Nero did not ask about his ability, as that was considered very private, Silas shared anyway, and in great detail.

Nero observed him carefully as he took the card from him. He could see how Silas rubbed the card slightly with his thumb, feeling its texture and grain. He looked at the card from all sides, though to anyone else it would seem as if he was only giving it a casual look.

But Nero knew that for Silas, a casual glance was all he needed to learn all its dimensions in exact detail. He could even tell the things others would not be able to determine from a simple glance, such as the integrity of the spell model within the card based on the thickness or fraying of the card.

"I'd say two more uses," Silas said as he waved the card next to his ear, as if listening for some unexpected sound.

"Good enough."

More of the gang gathered. The two brothers, Maverick and Hansel, as well as the girls came in, eventually followed by Harold and Wendy. Every single one of them noticed the oddity that was Nero without his food, but he did not give an answer to why he was not eating. He only smiled.

Halfway through everyone else's lunch, Mrs. Aedile arrived with a tray in hand and placed it in front of Nero, attracting everyone's attention.

A thick, juicy steak sat in the centre of his plate, steam still rising from, wafting an absolutely delectable aroma. On the side was a serving of mashed potatoes covered in mushroom sauce, with stir fried vegetables on the side as well. There was also a massive mug of some kind of juice, though Nero could not identify it immediately by the sight or smell.

Compared to his usual servings, it seemed small, but the incredible smell it was giving off satisfied Nero regardless.

"I knew it! Mrs. Aedile is in love with Nero!" Harold exclaimed with a look of intense jealousy in his eyes.

"It's my dreamy blue eyes," Nero said gloatingly as he grabbed his knife and fork. Without any delay he immediately began his meal. When the knife cut through the steak in one go he was not surprised, nor was he taken aback by the taste of butter coating his well seasoned meat. He was especially not surprised when, upon swallowing, he immediately felt a familiar warmth in his belly. It was aether, permeating through his body.

He expected nothing less from this coupon saved for only the best.

If he were a true foodie, then the divine experience that was this meal would be enough to motivate him to continue being the best in his class. Truthfully speaking, after eating, he was motivated to continue getting his hands on these kinds of meals. But it was more because of how quickly he felt his physical exhaustion leaving his body, rather than the experience itself.

He had a feeling that he could, no, that he needed to go training after this to burn off some of his energy.

He had eaten so fast that he completely forgot about the juice. Without pause he grabbed the mug and chugged it one go. More than the mild, pulpy sweetness of the juice, Nero enjoyed the immediate relief he felt upon drinking it, instead of feeling heavy. If he had to guess, he would say that the role of the juice was to help him digest the meat.

Thoroughly satisfied, and feeling reinvigorated, Nero left the cafeteria under the envious gazes of his friends and made his way to his card crafting class.

He had learnt a lot from this class, including the fact that the overly chatty teacher was actually too qualified to be teaching a new student like him. Gabriel was the one who shared that interesting piece of information with him.

He did not know why she was teaching him, but she was extremely demanding of him in terms of what he had to learn, but similarly was building an incredibly solid foundation for him. That was perfect for Nero, since hardwork was the thing he was least afraid of.

Just before he stepped into her class, Nero took out his Enhanced learning, and channelled some aether into it activating it. He felt the simple, free flowing aether turn into something more complex inside the card.

Now, after weeks of practice, he'd noticed many things about using cards. First was that its effect was not immediate, and that each card took varying amounts of time to cast the spell. Enhanced learning, for example, only took about a couple of seconds.

The second thing he noticed was how incomprehensible the changes aether underwent in the card felt to him. It was his aether, and he was still connected to it. He could even feel it undergo a change and turn into something else while inside the card, but he could not figure out exactly what that was or how it was happening.

Then he felt the spell in the card activate. The spell, which he had lost control of now, took hold of his brain and began enhancing it. He had learnt that he could resist this hold, if he so wished. He also learnt the difference between spells that worked automatically, and spells that he needed to control.

It had to be noted that controlling a spell was infinitely more difficult than controlling the aether it was made from. It was only now, weeks later, that he realised how unreal his application of spells had been in the temple on his very first day. But that crucial experience under pressure had also benefited him endlessly.

He stepped in the class to the familiar sight of his teacher reading some kind of book. The sound of his footsteps alerted her to his arrival, and her expression immediately changed as if she had been anticipating their class.

"Oh good, Nero. You're here. We're going to have to rush our class today as I have a commitment. Last time, we were discussing the various kinds of materials that can be used to support spell effects related to temperature, and more specifically, the effect of cooling. You seem to be following along well enough, so we're going to move to the next natural step in card crafting.

"Tell me, Nero, what is the difference between a spell model, and a spell recipe? Don't waste your breath, I'll just tell you. A spell model is what is contained inside a card once it is completed. A spell recipe is the sequence of layering materials and treatment which end up crafting that spell model. But have you ever wondered where those spell models come from? Or do you think card crafters just try different things until they stumble upon a recipe that works?

"The answer, Nero, is that spell models already exist in nature. We are just recreating them through our recipes. Often, the major part of the model comes from one main ingredient in a spell recipe. In the case of innate cards, that main material is your innate ability. But what about other situations? Have you ever wondered what would happen if you used a cursed item as the main material to craft a card? What do you think would happen?

"Don't answer, I'll just tell you…"