Dexter

It took another day to finish the seal for the autoclave. I'd thought about making an exact mold for the rim, but I quickly realized I could just make a big disk and cut out the part I didn't need. Fortunately, the stove was big enough to hold the unvulcanized sap. A few pieces from a rotting chair meant I had a makeshift compass to draw out a circle for the sap itself. Once the mold was well underway, I flipped through the second volume of the Metallurgy and Materials book and found the entry on quartz. I carefully read through the pages and found the necessary information; thankfully it had a paragraph on the synthetic variety. All that was left to do was suspend the seed crystal. I let out a curse as I read the entry again. Platinum Wire. “Of Fucking Course, I Need A Metal That Doesn't Exist Here. After All That Effort, Of Course, Something Like This Just Fucks Me! Calm down, deep breath, in and out. It could just be a suggestion. It could work with a different kind of metal. If I really wanted to, I could probably see if one of the books lists this thermal expansion index. At best, I have something that works just as well. At worst, I make do with what I got.”

I let out a sigh as I turned and reached for the chemistry book, quickly going through the index to find the entry on thermal expansion. I found it and began reading through the equations and index list of various metals. I quickly settled on the nickel; I had a small spool of it in my electrical kit and I was pretty sure the orcs could find some if they started prospecting for it. “The only disadvantage is the susceptibility of it to acidic solutions. Then again I doubt the acid they gave me is that strong. I could probably manage a couple of months with the wire, especially considering I only have the thicker variety left. All that's left is to set it up.” I then turned back to the enchanted stove and began working, carefully balancing the equations to make sure I wasn't about to overdo any key detail of the autoclave. After another few hours, I finished prepping the cauldron and began preparing the first batch. I choose the largest crystal from the bin and strung the nickel wire through it, draining the last bit of power from my cordless drill in the process. “I'll need to use a hand drill for future batches, at least until I replicate the battery and find a source of power. I should try and find out how much energy that lightning stone actually makes.” I finished up my apparatus and began adding crystals to the cauldron. They would serve as material for the new crystal. The material dissolving from them and hopefully collecting on the one I’d suspend above. I lowered the lid on top once I was done and began using what remained of the disassembled chair to clamp the lip on top. I sat down with a sigh as I finished tightening the vise clamps onto the rim and reached down to set the temperature the stove would be maintaining for the next month. With the entire process complete, I sat back and waited. …. “I just realized how long this is probably going to take. … Oh well, might as well study up on some spells.”

Suddenly, Amelia was looking over my shoulder, causing me to jump when I noticed her. “Jesus, don't do that.” I sighed.

Amelia grinned slightly as she straightened and examined the completed stove carefully. “You done with the quartz thing?” She asked.

I sighed and nodded as I gestured at the completed construction, running through the theory of it one more time. “As done as I can be without knowing the exact temperature. I'll probably have to open this tomorrow to make sure I'm not melting the seed crystal.”

Amelia nodded as she glanced at my car. “You sure you don't have some sort of thermometer lying around?”

I let out an aggravated sigh as I shook my head. “Gee, if only I'd have thought of that,” I said, a little angrily. I only now realized I was exhausted. “Unfortunately, the only time you need a thermometer for a car is making sure your engine isn't fucking overheating. Which is already built into the car, so it's not even something I can use on anything else. So excuse me if I already know that I don't have a thermometer.” The last bit of my words carried a bit of venom that I'd been keeping down for the last couple of days. Amelia took a step back as she stared at me, shocked. I let out a defeated sigh as I vigorously rubbed my head. “I'm sorry. I've just been a bit aggravated for the last couple of days. The ceremony was a welcome distraction, but it's far from the catharsis I need.”

Amelia paused, then sighed, rubbing her head gently. “It's okay. You didn't mean anything by it. You're just a little high strung. Just about anyone can see that.”

I nodded as I let out another sigh and stared at the impromptu autoclave. “I'll probably go for a jog after this; let off some steam.” I sighed, stifling the last of my aggression. “Besides, I still want to train up my stamina. We still have a long way to go in terms of magic.”

Amelia grinned at the thought before turning to move back to the spellbook she'd been reading. “That's probably a good idea. Just don't overdo yourself.” She warned as she sat back in front of her texts.

I nodded as I made one more minor adjustment to the stove. “This should be finished in a couple of weeks, assuming the temperature is correct. It sucks that they don't have an official temperature scale, then I might be able to more reliably make some of the materials I need. . . It can't hurt to check the car one last time, just to be sure.” I stood and stretched as I made my way over to the car. A thin layer of dust had collected on the surface. It wasn’t good at all that it was just sitting here. I was tempted to try turning it over just to check if the battery was still good. I decided against it though. No point in it anyway. I wasn’t about to spend time fixing a car I’d never get to use. It was nice and all, but the quarter tank of gas would only get me so far. No, I needed to build my own method of transport. Preferably one that was compatible with the system I was already familiar with.

I opened each door and began combing through the various pouches and compartments for any sort of thermometer. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The only thing I learned was the compressor hidden in the rear of the car had developed a leak and was now empty. “At least I have a pressure gauge. I can eventually disassemble it to see how it works and make another one out of what the orcs have, though that might take some time. Scratch that, that would take an exorbitant amount of time. Especially making one that was as accurate as the one I had.”

I let out a sigh as I closed the last door and began moving toward the barn door. “I'll see you in a bit,” I said, walking past Amelia. She continued to stare intently at the book as she waved goodbye. I took a few more steps towards the door before faltering, a fragmented memory suddenly sticking in my mind. A low powered display sat in a black and red space, measurements for Fahrenheit and Celsius flashing on the screen. I closed my eyes as I realized I recently saw the device in question and was now desperately trying to recall where I'd seen it. I remembered the smell of metal and oil accompanying the sight. I turned to my tool bucket as the memory solidified and I remembered where I'd seen it. “I'm going to feel like a really big asshole if it's there.” I thought as I walked over. I only had to sift through the bucket for a few minutes before pulling out the device I was looking for. A tiny LCD screen greeted me as I opened my hands. I could feel a metal rod folded into the underside, blackened slightly from the smoky air it had undoubtedly measured.

I let out a curse as I turned to Amelia. “I feel like a giant asshole,” I said, holding up the device.

She looked up from her book and turned to me, confused. “Why is-” She stopped as she saw the device and immediately stood to walk over and examine it. “Is that a thermometer?” She asked curiously.

I nodded as I lowered the device and flipped the prod out from underneath, demonstrating its functionality. “I think my uncle left it in the bucket when he borrowed some of my dad's tools. He had a smoke out a couple of months ago and probably forgot about this one when he returned them.”

Amelia gently picked up the thermometer and examined it. “Lucky you.” She remarked. “If it weren't for him, you probably wouldn't have this.”

I nodded as she handed it back to me and I moved back over to the stove. “I certainly lucked into this one. At least now I've got a more accurate measurement of the stove. I could even write a scale on the side of the knob when I have the chance.” Amelia nodded as she moved back over to her spellbook and I crouched beside the stove, continuing to work. I spent another half an hour adjusting the knob, zeroing in on the exact temperature I needed for the autoclave. Finally, I was done and I was heading out the door again, psyching myself up for the arduous journey I was preparing for myself. “Weapon for the orcs. Unite the tribes. Prepare to move out, head to Adympia, then conquer it. After that . . . maybe find a way home.” I glanced down at my digital watch. The date it displayed said it was early February. “About a week before Megan's and Steven’s birthday. She'll be starting high school in a few months. I wonder how they're doing. They're probably still looking for me. Hell, knowing them, they'll be searching the roads themselves. Nathan would probably hack my phone history and find out exactly where I went missing. They wouldn't give up easily either. They'll be searching for me for the next couple of months.” I let out a sigh as I glanced around. I'd started to walk down the hill, forgoing the jog I'd set out to complete. I shook my head as I focused on the present and what I needed to do. “I can worry about them later; once I learn how to get back. If there's a way to get here, there's almost definitely a way to get back.” I let out another sigh then started breathing rhythmically with my steps as I began jogging down the hill. My heart started to beat faster as I continued running, the wind blowing past my face and ground crunching beneath my feet before I reached the cobblestone streets. I continued to jog as I tried to devise a weapon for the orcs, designs constructing and then discarding themselves as they wandered through my mind. The sun continued its slow path along the sky as the innumerable ideas came and went, each discarded design slowly adding to the aggravation I was trying to dispel. I wasn’t good at this stuff.

I spent the next couple of days studying with Amelia, reading through the books we'd gotten from the library, and preparing myself for the classes I'd be taking at the Institute. She even spent some time teaching me Spark and Numbness. Pretty soon, it was the day before classes at the Institute began. We were going through the book on combat magic again, the autoclave letting out a gentle rattling noise as it cooked on the enchanted stove. I let out a sigh as I finished the entry on elemental combat again and stretched in my chair. “What do you think?” Amelia suddenly asked, finally pulling herself from the book. She looked almost at home studying these arcane incantations. “Are we ready for classes?”

I continued stretching as I considered the question. “Without knowing exactly what they'll be talking about tomorrow, we should be ready. As we learn more it should get easier, but for right now there's not much need for concern. We’re prepared to receive however much information they’re ready to throw at us. I just hope they don’t give us something out of left field.”

Amelia let out a chuckle as she grinned at the thought. “I wouldn’t be too worried.” She said comfortingly. “I doubt they’d do that to us on our first day. We might know next to nothing about the subject right now, but that's going to change in the future. Besides, we might even be able to help them improve their spells. We have knowledge of our own, after all.”

I nodded as I glanced at the stacks upon stacks of books around us. Each book was the culmination of hundreds of hours of work and countless minds pooling their experiences to perfect the content. If anything could revolutionize the world, it would be here. I sighed as I turned back to the combat magic I was reading. Above all else, I wanted to be ready to fight. “We certainly have an advantage there,” I replied, absentmindedly listing off the advancements possible with this information. “Just the knowledge on how a car works could revolutionize the orc's world. To be fair, we're taught several of those mechanics in middle school. Just one of our books would help the orcs forward a couple of hundred years of development. It's hard to tell what we'd be able to come up with given enough time.”

Amelia chuckled as she turned the page and continued reading. “I'm honestly kind of curious what you'll come up with.” She remarked, catching me off guard. “With the way Jolagh talks, the orcs are excited about what an outsider can make. I know for a fact I don't possess the weapon development mentality, but I am curious as to what you might make.” I raised my eyebrows slightly as I felt my heart start to beat faster. “I hope I can deliver on the orcs' expectations. Otherwise, I'll need to conquer Adympia the long way, technological development.”

I heard the shifting of plastic beneath the table as Amelia's fingers worked diligently to scramble the cube I'd brought. I cleared my throat and gestured at it as I tried to change the subject. “You really know what you're doing with that. I doubt even my older brother would be able to solve it as fast as you.”

Amelia glanced down at the cube and nodded as she began solving it, the colors quickly shifting to the correct positions as she worked. “I bought a five-by-five version before I went to graduate school. . . I used to scramble it while I studied. . . Whenever I got bored of that I'd try to solve it. . . It would take me five to ten minutes to do it and then I'd get right back to studying.” She then turned and held out the finished cube, beaming wide. “This one is a lot easier in comparison.” She added. I nodded as she turned to glance at the autoclave. She pointed as she set the plastic cube down with a soft clack. “What about that? Are you sure it's working?”

I nodded as I glanced at the gently rattling pot. “I checked it the other day, the seed crystal has gone from murky to clear, meaning the silicon oxide is crystallizing on it. It should be about the size of a baseball in a month, what with all the crystals I put in. I even checked the equations again to be sure. We're well on our way to making synthetic quartz.”

Amelia nodded as she looked back at the book and resumed reading. “That's good to hear. It means we'll have access to manastones aplenty when mass production starts. From what I read on spell construction we might even be able to anchor spells to particular stones. It would mean we'd only have to give the stone a bit of mana to cast a spell. It's probably what Brokil did to that staff.” I nodded as I leaned over and began reading the entry on casting magic in quick succession. “That sounds pretty useful. I'll have to read about that later. Hell, I could probably just make a spell and anchor it to a manastone. Not everyone would be able to use it, but if it's powerful enough that wouldn't exactly matter.” I began stroking my chin as I continued to read with Amelia well into the night, preparing ourselves for the classes ahead.

Amelia and I walked down the street, binders full of paper in each of our arms, and a bundle of books riding in my backpack. I let out a sigh as I stared at the Institute entrance, the ugly building hiding the labyrinth of rooms within. Amelia turned to me as we paused in front of the entrance. “Should we have checked where our classes were. Garahk did give us the same classes, except for the two you wanted to learn early. It might have been a good idea to know where they are.”

I shrugged as I started walking forward. “It doesn't matter now. Besides, they're not even all on the same day. They have it spread out throughout the week. Plus, it says the classes don't start till late morning.” I glanced at my watch. 8:43 “I estimate another hour before the first class starts. That should give us enough time to scout out all the classrooms we'll be going to, including the two we have separately.” I glanced down at the schedule as I pushed open the front door. “One of them is on . . Motday, Woodsday, and Freeday. The other is on Touday and Thosday.” I let out a sigh as I looked around the entrance hall. “It's going to be a pain to remember these days. At least it's a seven day week; we can think of them like our days of the week.”

Amelia nodded as she looked down at her schedule. “Well, let's go find the rooms. Late morning or not, we still need to find out where they're teaching Basic Magic.”

I nodded as I reached back and pulled a roll of parchment out of my backpack. I unfurled it and revealed the rough map that had been included in the invitation. It currently showed the layout of the first floor of the Institute, rooms outlined and labeled accordingly. “I think it's on the second floor,” I suggested, unfurling the map more and looking at the image above the first floor. A squarish ring greeted me, black dots surrounding it and bleeding onto the ring. I let out a sigh as I scrutinized the image. “This is the upper hall,” I confirmed. “We should be able to get there by going up those stairs.” Amelia nodded as she turned and started climbing the stairs. I followed her as I continued to study the dots lining the square ring. “I don't even know what these are supposed to mark. Some of these are probably really small classrooms, the rest are too close together to even be rooms. You'd expect a place like this to have a better informational layout.” I looked up as we arrived at the sitting room at the top of the steps and walked through the doorway at the other end, stepping into the middle of a long hallway that ended in a bend on either end. Doors lined the hallway. Some had a comfortable amount of room between them while others so close together I was surprised there was a room there at all. I looked down at the room number again and let out a sigh. “Right, orcish numerals. I need to get them to change that. If the Institute adopts Arabic, it'll be easier to get the rest of the city to follow.” I turned and followed Amelia as she started walking down the hall. I turned as I noticed a few doors had different colored lights leaking out from underneath. Blues, greens, and even purples seemed to litter the halls, as scattered about the doors as the doors were about the hall.

Suddenly, Amelia stopped in front of a door, blue light seeping from the cracks in the doorframe. To its left was another doorway, so close that their frames were practically touching. I let out a sigh as I squinted at the label on the right. Room ╲╲╲│ I nodded as I looked up at the door again. “This is it, Basic Magic class.” I then looked down at the schedule again. “Should we look for the others?” I asked.

Amelia shook her head as she stared at the door. “I don't know how there's even a wall between these rooms.” She remarked, ignoring my question entirely. “Never have I seen two doors this close together that weren't part of the same room.”

I looked back up and stared at the frames. “Maybe they are,” I suggested. “Maybe they added this door because that one wasn't big enough. This is Basic Magic. They probably need to get a bunch of students into the room.”

Amelia shook her head as she pointed at the other door. “The label over there says Room thirty-three. Plus, there aren't any lights coming through the door.”

I shrugged as I looked back down at the schedule. “Then there's probably a couple of boards in between the doors. They do have to house two hundred and fifty people here. They probably need to cut a few spatial corners.”

It was Amelia's turn to shrug, but she quickly followed it up by reaching for the door handle. “There's only one way to find out.” She said, pulling open the door and stepping through. I chose to stay outside, re-reading the schedule and trying to extrapolate where each of the rooms would be. “╲╲│, that should be further down this way.╲╲╲│╲ . . . that should be right over there. The courtyard is definitely downstairs.” “Dexter” I looked up as Amelia's calls pulled me out of my thoughts. She was grinning and gesturing for me to follow her into the room, head poking out from the left side of the frame. “Check this out.” I looked at her skeptically then followed her into the room. I looked around in amazement as I stepped into a massive lecture hall, impossibly large compared to the hallway outside. The room was lined with old desks, similar to what you'd find in a medieval scribing room. A dozen or so gently glowing orbs floated about the room, lighting the area around where people were. Several orcs were even sitting farther down the room, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for their class to start. I turned to Amelia as she gestured at the wall within. “Wait, wall?” I stared in disbelief at the four feet of wall before it turned into a corner. I ran my hand along the surface just to be sure. “That's not supposed to happen.” I turned and rushed back out the door, checking to make sure the door really was there on the other side. I continued to stare in confusion as the door seemed to stare back.

I re-entered the room and stared at the barren stretch of wall. “That just isn't possible,” I muttered.

Amelia nodded as she glanced at the orcs further into the room. “Unless you use magic.” She suggested slyly.

I paused then nodded as I followed her gaze down to the orcs. They were scattered about the front of the room, each desk loaded with their own books, either textbook or notebook I couldn't really tell. They were sitting in the chairs and on desks in ways you'd expect students to sit, sometimes shifting to get into a more comfortable position. They all wore the same fluffy shawls that mages wore, those these seemed a bit rougher than others. I squinted slightly as I realized they looked about as old as the orcs that had entered the Arena with me. “You've got a point,” I remarked, turning back to Amelia. “They must have some kind of magic expansion spell. Should we ask them?” I pointed down towards the students. They were beginning to notice us.

Amelia glanced down at them then shrugged. “They might know about it, they might not. It all depends on what class they're in.” I nodded as I scrutinized the orcs. They hadn't quite noticed us, a few were glancing in our direction, but hadn't notified the other.

I shrugged as I turned to Amelia. “There's only one way to find out.” I then turned to the others and shouted. “Which Class Is This For?”

They all turned to me as Amelia grimaced and tried to hide her face. A few of them glanced at each other, but one of them spoke up loud and clear. “This Is Basic Magic Class. You Might Want To Find Your Seats. He Will Be Here Shortly.”

Amelia and I turned to stare at him, confused. “I Thought That Wasn't Until Late Morning,” I asked. “It’s only … nine o’clock.”

The orc nodded as he gestured for us to hurry. “It Is Late Morning. The Class Starts Soon.”

I turned to Amelia, realizing our schedule had been off. “We better take our seats.” She nodded as she hurried down the room. We took our seats and waited for the class to start. “What do we know about the teacher?” I asked curiously, turning to Amelia.

Amelia shrugged as she opened her binder and began reading from the paper within. “Only that his name is Orakh. The schedule doesn't tell us anything else.”

I nodded as I glanced around the room. “Well, we better be ready for anything. Good, Bad, even the annoying. I've improved their image of humans, but there's no telling who has a positive outlook on us and who doesn't.” Amelia nodded as she closed the binder and looked up and we began the wait. After thirty minutes, and a few more orcs filling the room, murmuring along the way, the teacher finally entered through the door and began walking to the front of the room. A satchel was draped across his torso, old leather straining from the tomes within.

He was relatively tall, dark ponytail swaying as he walked along the desks, brown eyes scanning the room as he went. “Good morning class, I expect you all read the required material. I also hope your family time went well.” He faltered as he spotted me and Amelia. He let out a sigh as he closed the gap between him and the front of the room and placed his satchel on the large desk there. “Of course, I should have expected you two. For those somehow yet uninformed, both our outsider friends seem to have an ability for the arcane arts. They have been given special permission by Elder Mother Garahk to learn at the institute, dropping in halfway through the year. If you want my personal opinion, they should have had to wait for the new year, if not for the new cycle to begin. But, since I have no say in the matter, here they are. I will assume you two have read the supplementary material and will jump into today's lesson. You will, of course, be responsible for the homework that we have done up until today. I will also have you schedule supplementary examinations to ensure you are not trailing behind the others.” I felt my face twitch as he finished shitting on our presence. “Of course, we get a teacher that already doesn't like us. I just hope not everyone is like that.” “Now then, we shall begin. Who can tell me the mana cost ratio of instant transportation spells?” Several people raised their hands, including me and Amelia. He looked at us skeptically. “You two? What could you possibly know about such a spell?”

The entire class turned to us. Amelia looked around a little uneasily while I tried to answer confidently. I remember going over a bit of it last night with Amelia. “That . .um . actually depends on the circumstances, sir. I-If you want a short-range teleport it's one for every five yards. If you want a long-range one it's one for . . every quarter mile. I also read that distance can be complicated by factoring in something called a beacon. Which, depending on the quality of it, is supposed to make that distance two to tenfold. So, if you don't mind me asking, could you clarify the scenario you're using?”

The room was silent as I finished speaking. Orakh's distaste had turned to curiosity. “How do you know of beacons? Their mere existence is not covered in our material. Where could you have learned about it?”

I shrugged and gestured towards my backpack near my feet as I explained. “I read about it from a different book. One I borrowed from the library.” I explained simply.

Orakh looked confused for a minute, then understanding flashed across his face. “Which one- . . . Ah, Utility For Beginners?” He asked in response. I nodded. Orakh then turned and started pacing along the front of the room. “Am I correct in assuming you have read a majority of this text?”

I thought for a minute then shook my head. “Not a majority.” I clarified. “I’ve skimmed a lot of the text and tried to keep a note on the more interesting techniques though.”

Orakh nodded understandingly as he glanced towards Amelia. “What of you?” He asked. “Have you read supplementary material?”

Amelia hesitated for a moment then nodded. “For the most part, yeah.” She replied. “I couldn’t finish it all, but I could get the basics of many of the concepts.”

Orakh nodded as he glanced between the two of us, almost lost in thought. He finally nodded as he stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Then would you consider demonstrating this knowledge for us? A little Quiz if you will. I am genuinely curious as to how much you already know.”

I glanced at Amelia hesitantly as she shrugged. “The hell is this guy playing at?” “I guess we could do that.” I finally admitted, turning back to Orakh. “Though I hesitate because I'm not sure how much this would reflect on my marks.”

Orakh nodded and reached into his satchel again, pulling out two blank sheets of parchment. He then pulled out an inkwell and set it on the table on top of the pages. A brief moment of gesturing and a quick incantation later, he placed his hand on the two sheets. Ink appeared to materialize on the surface as the inkwell let out a harmonic hum. Orakh then removed the inkwell from the pages and examined the two sheets of lines he had created. With a quick nod, he turned and handed each of the pages to me and Amelia. “I will not mark you for this.” He said, a grin still plastered on his face. “I merely wish to know how much you learned by yourself. If I let you go today I might lose this opportunity because of some of the other classes you have been given.” I nodded as I looked down at the page in my hand. It was laid out like a quiz, blanks denoting places where we were supposed to fill in the information. The first question that stuck out to me was number seven. “What is the most common way for mages to signal over a long distance?” I looked up just in time to see Orakh gesturing again and causing a series of orcish numerals to appear above his palm. “We shall give the outsiders a few moments to complete your examinations. As for the rest of you, read the entry on enchantment, and answer these questions at the end of the chapter. I will expect them by the end of the week.”

A shuffling of paper accompanied Orakh announcement as I glanced towards Amelia. She was already working diligently on her page, her face an expression of concentration. I looked down to my page in kind as I let out a sigh. I began work as I started from question number one. “Who is credited for the creation of the Nocturnal Sight.” I let out a sigh as I cast my mind about.

In total, there were twenty questions on the given sheet of paper. In turn, Orakh gave me and Amelia about twenty minutes to complete the page. At the end of the time, he stood up in front of the class and clapped his hand, drawing everyone’s attention. “I believe that is enough time.” He said, extending his hand for the paper. Amelia and I handed our pages back and Orakh inspected them closely. He nodded along as he read each question and the response we gave for each of them. All in all, I felt like I did okay. Not fantastic, but well enough, considering I hadn’t heard of magic at the beginning of the year. Orakh finally nodded as he looked between me and Amelia. “I would not consider this the pinnacle of work,” he admitted. “However, considering the two of you were self-educated in these matters, I believe this is far more than I could have hoped for. Excellent work.”

I felt myself grin from ear to ear at the praise. “I’m glad we didn’t disappoint,” I said happily.

Orakh nodded as he examined one of the pages closely. “I commend you, in particular, for this rather detailed response.” He said, turning to Amelia. “I would almost think you had memorized the book’s description of worm venom.”

Amelia grinned and brushed her hair back nervously. “I’ve been told I have a great memory.” She replied sheepishly.

Orakh nodded as he looked down at the pair of pages again, reading them carefully. He stood there for a minute, then turned to address the class again. “Never let it be said that I do not recognize intellectual effort. It would seem our outsider friends have put a great deal into learning magic beforehand. As such, we will continue where we left off and forego the summary I had planned for after the respite.” A small groan filled the classroom. “Now now, if these outsiders are able to learn the material on their own I do not see why you cannot as well. Now then, Let us begin.” He tossed the pieces of parchment and they glided expertly into his satchel. Orakh then turned and gestured with his hand, causing a solid cube to appear beside him. He began his lecture in earnest and the cube morphed, showing images and diagrams as he spoke. I glanced at Amelia and grinned. She grinned back as she opened the binder and began jotting down notes. I followed suit as Orakh continued his lecture.

I honestly don't know what I was expecting from my first magic class. Beyond the little demonstration Orakh had me and Amelia do, he just lectured about the mana cost ratios for various spells and the subsequent cost for each modification, images twisting a morphing as he spoke. It was really extensive and I’m glad I had Amelia to help me go over the material later. With one last gesture, the solid cube beside Orakh vanished and he moved back behind his desk. “You will learn all about this in Spell Construction. So for now, all you need to remember is the various effects of each modification. And with that, I have reached the end of my lecture.” The sound of stuffing books and paper filled the rooms as the students began to file out of class. Me, Amelia, and a few others remained seated as Orakh continued speaking for a short while. “I will expect you all to read up on Conjuration for next class. Until next time.” He then turned to Amelia and me poignantly. “Ensure that you two catch up on the homework I have given out. It should be noted in your syllabus.” We both nodded as we finally closed our binders, beginning to pack our things away.

Amelia and I turned to each other as she tied her satchel shut. “That was certainly interesting.” She said, practically relieved.

I sighed as I finished zipping my books into my bag and slinging it over my shoulders. “It seems magic requires a lot more information than we initially thought,” I remarked, a bit dissatisfied with the idea. “I didn't think the costs would compound so much. I guess not everyone can make it through with a magic discount.”

Amelia nodded as we stood began making our way out of the room. “It's to be expected. Whatever we come up with has probably been thought up before. Our only advantage is our fresh knowledge of the world. Though that cost thing is definitely going to be an obstacle to overcome.”

I nodded as I reached into my backpack and pulled out my schedule. “Well, we better head to the next class. Our last one today is separate, so I guess we'll meet back at the barn once that's done.”

Amelia nodded as we moved along the hall to our next class. “Sounds like a plan.” She confirmed. I nodded as I glanced at the labels on the doors, searching for the one that would lead us to the next lecture. “One class down, only a few thousand more to go.”