Chapter 318 318
After some time, the two finally arrived at their classroom. Fortunately, they were not late and still has a few minutes to spare before the class will officially start
The two went to their seats and waited for Assistant Instructor Terran Miles but he was not the only one that arrived. A familiar face accompanied him and that person is someone that is far stronger than him
Terran Miles is just an Assistant Instructor, which means that he is a mage in the 9th cycle of the Junior Rank. However, the person that accompanied him is an Instructor, a mage at the Senior Rank!
This Instructor is none other than Mage Feather, the Instructor that is responsible for Rezen's batch
Most classes are taught by Assistant Instructors but the Instructors and even the Headmaster herself also teach the academy's students. Having Mage Feather with Terran is not that big of a surprise
"Good morning, everyone. How was your first day of class?" Mage Feather asks with a knowing smirk
As of right now, the students find the class yesterday hard but is still not out of their expectations. Whether this kind of view remains for long is another question though
"Today, I'll be helping all of you with the crystal-breaking challenge. As all of you already know, what you need to train is your wisdom. Only with enough wisdom over magic and also yourselves could you have the chance to succeed. I believe all of you already realize that the challenge cannot be overcome just with raw power alone because of the limiters that you are wearing!"
Some of the students became excited at the fact that a Senior Mage will teach them. After all, students from poor backgrounds or even just average or slightly above average backgrounds might not have the chance to be taught by a Senior Mage
They are looking forward to learning from such a powerful mage
"Now, wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. I don't know how many times we must emphasize that word but we will continue repeating it until you understand its importance. Before I began, let me ask you. What is magic?" Mage Feather asked and she scanned the students with her eyes before clicking her fingers together
A small and harmless missile of mana formed and flew toward one of the students. "You, answer my question" she said to the male student that stood up to answer
"Magic is the supernatural phenomenon that mages create" The student gave an answer and Mage Feather nodded her head
"That's the very basic definition of magic. Magic is the supernatural phenomenon that a mage creates using their own or external power. Now, the second question is, what is the thing that fuels magic?"
Since the question was a basic one, the students raised their hands, wanting to answer
Mage Feather created another magic missile and it landed on Theon
"Magic needs mana as fuel!" He answered and Mage Feather nodded her head again
"Then the third question, if magic is the supernatural phenomenon and mana is the fuel to make that happen, what's the role of magic theories then?"
The first two questions were something that the student can easily answer but the third one was a bit harder. However, even then, all of these students are still geniuses. They only took a moment to think of an answer before they raise their hands again
Just like before, Mage Feather created a magic missile and this time it landed on the female mage that performed quite excellently on the admission test
"Magic theories pertain to our knowledge and wisdom about magic. These theories are what help us cast powerful magic at a low cost" the female student replied while hiding her face
This student was Paula, the mage that first destroyed the crystal balls back at the admission test. The one that her classmates are avoiding all because of her physical appearance that doesn't match their standards
She clearly has low self-esteem because of her appearance, which is why she's trying to cover her face. But even then, she is still a mage that has a strong drive to improve. She wants to perform as great as possible in the class
"Certainly, that's what most people think about magic theories or wisdom. It's a widely accepted answer. However, magic theories and wisdom are not limited to that!"
"Magic theories pertain to the knowledge we have about the mysteries of magic. It is these bits of knowledge that made it possible for us to communicate with the heavens or with the universe"
"In the short term, magic theories are something we learn and turn into our wisdom. It is this wisdom that some can argue is really what made magic possible and is something more important than mana!"
"Mana is extremely important to us mages. It is our magic's fuel source but without wisdom, we wouldn't even have something that is in need of this fuel. That's how important wisdom is!"
"Now, we will dive deeper into the mysteries of magic. Listen well"
Mage Feather didn't waste any time and she started teaching her students. Maybe it was because she is a Senior Mage or because the students wanted to receive the reward for the crystal-breaking challenge but the students are listening attentively to the class much more than yesterday
Some were even taking notes, treating the Instructor's words as the Holy Grail. That was especially true for the students that came from poorer backgrounds
——
"And that would be all for today's theory class but before I dismiss all of you, I have something to say first" Mage Feather said after a three hours lecture
The academy's lessons are pretty flexible and they don't have a formal curriculum that they are adhering to. The class can range from an hour to several hours depending on the discretion of the Assistant Instructor or Instructor
They just have a set of guidelines that they need to implement and the duration of each class was perfectly up to the Instructors
"If yesterday, you are asked to fly using your flying sticks in different durations but today, things are different. All of you are required to travel from this classroom to your next class using your flying sticks for the whole duration of the journey. Aside from that, the last two students that will arrive last to the next class are the ones that will receive today's punishment. That will be all, class, you are dismissed!"
With that, Mage Feather directly went out of the classroom. She is a Senior Mage and people like her need more time studying the mysteries of magic
If a Senior Mage still wants to improve themselves and reach a higher rank, they must devote their time to their cultivation
"Ehhh?"
"We have to do that?"
"This is annoying!"
"If only we don't have these bracelets, we can easily fly to the next class!"
The students groaned and complained as they find the bracelets really restricting. They are not used to having their strength limited like this
"Your theory was correct. Today was different than yesterday" Theon that went near Rezen said
If yesterday, the students only need to use the flying sticks for certain durations depending on their cultivation path and rank, and today, the whole journey to the next class must be traveled by flying. Aside from that, from one student it became two students that will be receiving the punishment
This is just the second day and the system already changes what more for the third, fourth, and so on days?
"Yeah, that's why we can't lower our guards. We must treat a second-rate academy seriously" Rezen replied and since none of them wanted to be one of the two students that will receive the punishment, they immediately started riding on their flying stick
Since there was a punishment involved, Rezen directly injected his mana into the main magic inscriptions of the flying stick again. This is not the time for his usual training since this was a race
Soon, Rezen floated in the air and his flying stick traveled slowly but surely. Even after just a day's worth of studying he already improved his speed quite a lot
He was still far from becoming one of the fastest in the class but this is already a great improvement
However, he soon realizes that his classmates were also faster than yesterday. He thought that from performing averagely, he could perform above average today but turns out he was incorrect
"No, I was too naive. These students are geniuses and they also have a sturdier foundation than me. My foundation might be better than theirs only when I was an Apprentice Mage thanks to the mysterious bananas and peaches but after entering this realm and reaching the Junior Rank, I don't have those cheats anymore"
"An entire day's worth of hard work is not enough to catch up to these natural geniuses. I must continue devoting myself to my studies while steadily increasing my talent!"