Chapter 4: Magic Element
Click.
Albert closed his monocle and slid it into drawer. He was currently standing on the fourth floor in his personal office, which looked more like a library than an office. Behind him, on the desk, an envelope with the seal of the Willowheart family lay open.
The door to his office opened with a small knock, and someone stepped inside.
"So, how was it?" a male voice asked, devoid of emotion.
Albert turned and looked toward the newcomer. Sevile Ashford stood there in all his seriousness, his aura exuding an authority that naturally made people bow in front of him.
"You sure caught the news fast," Albert said with a chuckle.
He and Sevile had been friends since their academy days. It had already been fifteen years, but Sevile still wore the same stoic expression.
"Alright, alright. It was nothing—just some minor squabbles among the new students. Seems like they have a lot of fire," Albert added with an amused smile.
Sevile scrutinized his expression for a few moments, then opened his mouth.
"I guess I will have to teach them properly so they don't have even a second to think about other things."
"hoho , That Voltiar brat really won't have it easy. But the same can be said for Azek Willowheart as well."
Albert thought to himself and glanced toward the students outside then closed the curtains.
"Hmmm… but it seems Adrian was worried for nothing. I guess it's only natural, since the little guy has Willowheart blood in his veins,"
Albert thought with an amused smile. He gathered the books and the roll call roster and left his office, heading toward the first-floor, first-year lecture hall.
There was a noticeboard displaying class distributions and lecture halls. Soon, students began gathering for their first class.
Azek looked at the slip he had noted down:
Class A2 – Lecture Hall 3
He stood in front of the hall with the bold letters on display, silently observing people brushing past him before stepping inside. Chatter, light laughter, and slight nervousness filled the room as he found a seat in the middle of the lecture hall.
He wasn't too concerned with the looks around him and quietly sat down.
A person was already lying down with their head lowered, almost appearing asleep. But a slight movement of the eyelashes when Azek sat down gave them away.
Azek didn't bother to talk and quietly arranged his books, notepads, and writing tools.
Suddenly, he felt numerous gazes piercing him. He didn't know why, but the pressure on his shoulders multiplied severalfold.
Even the person beside him pretending to sleep sat up immediately.
Clack.
Professor Albert entered the classroom, and a sudden silence fell. Everyone stood in complete attention.
Professor Albert briefly glanced at the class.
"Sit down."
Roll call was called out, followed by a brief introduction.
"I am Professor Albert, a mage specializing in breaking down elemental mana execution techniques. I will be giving lectures on how to execute spells by channeling mana into elements.
"First of all, we will start with an affinity check. Come out when your name is called and place your hand on this crystal ball."
Professor Albert got straight to the point, calling out students one by one.
When Azek's name was called, he got up and placed his hand on the crystal ball.
"Channel your mana into the ball. It will fire back with the type you have the most affinity with,"
Albert explained in a monotonous voice.
Inside the crystal ball, a small lizard-like creature appeared.
Azek placed his hand on the ball and channeled his mana.
Only a thin thread of mana emerged from his fingers and entered the ball.
The lizard opened its mouth and fired back—a stone spear appeared.
"Earth affinity," Albert declared.
Earth element… Azek thought carefully.
Out of the four basic elements, earth was best suited for defensive magic.
There was a precedent in history: the first disciple of the Archmage had earth affinity.
He became the Tower Master after the Archmage's death and earned the title "Unbreakable Shield" for achieving the highest form of defense magic.
After everyone completed the affinity test, Albert formally started the class.
He introduced the four elements and explained mana channeling.
Mages began by controlling elemental mana, and as they gradually became adept, they moved on to spells and formulas without relying on elemental forms.
It was only a matter of practice and hard work to master elemental mana and eventually use mana independently of elements.
Azek took ceaseless notes throughout the class, having enough experience from his studies in the modern world. The rest of the class listened carefully, glancing at him occasionally, but he focused only on writing.
Before class ended, Professor Albert assigned a few books for reading, instructing students to grasp the basic theory by the next class.
He left without asking if anyone had questions.
Azek exhaled deeply, reviewing his notes.
He had already read two of the books Professor Albert recommended and understood one thing clearly:
He was in for serious work.
"Well, it's not the first time for me," he thought mockingly.
The second lecture focused on elemental mana-sensing theory.
In the afternoon, students were introduced to Professor Methilia, the instructor for practical magic classes.
Although students were eager for practical lessons, Methilia brushed them off, telling them to practice sensing mana within themselves more efficiently.
By the end of class, enthusiasm had clearly vanished.
Azek quietly sat, placing his hands on the stones in front of him and practiced emitting thin threads of mana.
He attempted it repeatedly, applying what he learned from Albert's lecture on commanding mana through elements.
Despite many tries, he still could not sense it fully by the end of class.
"Hmmm…" he thought, reviewing his notes. Then he remembered something.
In the biography of Archmage Asthian, there was a mention of his disciple, the first earth-elemental mage Caelrix Ashborne.
Caelrix had noted that while mana responds to command easily, conventional methods were not the only way.
Some methods were still undiscovered, and those discovered were inefficient, so they were discarded.
Azek pondered this repeatedly, and suddenly an idea came to him.
He took a deep breath and focused.
The mana circle is inside the heart, from where it follows veins throughout the body and exits through the most efficient pathway.
He placed his hands on the stones again, gently pushing mana through his fingertips.
With closed eyes, he first tried to sense the mana—the stones vibrated slightly.
He carefully pushed a thread of mana into the stones, sensing the small mana particles inside.
Once the mana thread reached a particle, he did not try to command it, but stayed beside it gently.
Slowly, the thread maneuvered around the particles without touching them.
He repeated the process until he fully familiarized himself with it.
Ring.
Professor Methilia ended the class, and all elemental mana in the classroom vanished immediately.
The Crown Prince had already made a small mana blade hovering in front of him. He had air affinity and adapted quickly.
As expected, it will not be easy to compare to their progress, Azek thought, and returned to the dorms.