When the bell rang, the class had only covered five of the sigils. Professor Fabian would write out the sigil and explain the various components. That actually didn’t take long but then he started to show the various ways one could alter the sigil to make different ones. So for each of the five sigils he was supposed to show them he created three or four offshoot sigils.

The basic sigils they had covered were Fire, Earth, Water, Air and Thunder. What interested Jack were the three Fire sigils he had learned. They were Char, Heat and Smelt. Each one had a different purpose and effect. Char was an aggressive flame that turned everything to ash. It had two black bars that crossed at the bottom that were reminiscent of charcoal. Heat was control over warmth, it could turn an ice box into a sauna. It had three red, wavy marks that you could find on your space heater. Smelt was one of the preferred sigils for blacksmiths and refiners for it focused on exothermic reactions with a catalyst. Change through being exposed to flame. It had a silver trapezoid in the center. All of them sounded fantastic to him.

He had made a ham-handed effort to make notes before realizing that writing like this was hard. Hard decisions had to be made, so he settled for just scribbling down the sigils and a one word description.

The bell had just rung, announcing the end of first period. Conflict raged in his mind. Magic enthralled him in a way that nothing on earth had. That was a dark place with shades of grey. This world, on the other hand, was full of radiance and color. It was intoxicating to the jaded young man. So he decided to do something impulsive instead of packing up to move on.

The spell model for his fireball came to mind. It was a mix of a central sigil and these smaller symbols his master had shown him. These were not nearly as complex as the symbols on his signature spell but still took his full concentration to make. The sigil determined the source the spell drew from, whereas the interlocked shapes gave it form and function.The focus in the center of the Fireball spell was a simple Fire sigil. Jack replaced it with the Char sigil. Then he lowered the power output rune and pointed it at the remains of the wooden mannequin. A red ball with black tips solidified between his fingers. When it was fully formed, It was about the size of a golf ball. It flew from his hands and made a crackling noise upon impact. Instantly, the entire mannequin started to turn black, before collapsing into smaller briquettes.

Everyone turned from where they were putting their supplies away, to see the devastation. No one spoke for a moment as they took it in. Then Professor Fabian appeared from the chalk board where he was erasing the sigils he had drawn. A hand reached into the smoldering flames and took out one of the briquettes. He sniffed it for a second, pondered on the smell, and decided it was a good idea to lick it. No, Jack did not know why he did that. Everyone shivered or gagged in response.

Fabian disappeared before appearing hunched over on top of Jack’s table. “Come with me!” He ordered.

Pigheadedness replaced his sense of wonder at having made a new spell. “Why should I professor? I have somewhere I have to be in a few minutes.”

The older man narrowed his eyes and he seemed to turn serious for the first time. “Because what you just did was impossible for a mere Magi to accomplish and I want to know why.”

Virtus interjected himself between them. “Professor, as his bodyguard I am going to have to insi-“

Fabian interrupted him with a sweep of his hand. “Shut it Ferrum, as a professor I outrank you both as a professional and socially so do not try to pull rank on me. Also, you are not about to go running to daddy. I hear you two still haven’t made up after you ran off to join the military.”

If Jack had a ruler at that moment, he would have measured the gape of Virtus’ mouth, it was quite spectacular. Fabian turned back to him, eyes burning. “Student, I need to know how you just did that. It will dramatically improve my research. If you need incentive then I can help you get access to several academy resources.”

“What kind of resources?” Jack asked suspiciously.

Fabian threw his hands in the air. “Were you born in a barn boy? Magical resources are the academy's specialty. We have facilities and opportunities that don’t exist anywhere else.”

Jack finally realized that he had just met the first person in this world that did not know who he was. “I was born in a different world. Excuse me if I don’t know everything about this place, it’s my first day here.” He turned to pick up his papers before realizing that he had no backpack. Now that he thought about it, not a single one of the noble brats had one either. How did they gather up their notes then?

A very loud silence reminded Jack that a very unstable man was squatting on a desk, right behind him. He rotated smoothly back to notice a dark look on the professors face. “What do you mean you ‘were born in a different world’.” The man actually used finger quotations for the last part.

Virtus had apparently worked up enough courage to speak again and responded with formal intonation. “Professor, this is the Adjudicator, Jack Hearth. He was summoned to this world yesterday morning by the imperial princess.”

Fabian's face froze in slack jawed amazement before he keeled over backwards and landed a complete lack of any dignity. He must have forgotten to keep his balance. Jack mused idly. It was a few seconds before Fabian got up. Most of that time was spent staring at the ceiling and babbling too softly for them to hear.

With trepidation, he carefully stood up and examined him. It got to the point that Jack wondered if he was talking to a madman when Fabian finally spoke up completely off topic. “I notice that you lack a way to carry your supplies. If you come answer my questions then I will give you a bag of holding.”

Excitement boiled Jack’s blood. He kept it off his face though, that would weaken his position. “Is that the kind of bag that is bigger on the inside?”

The professor put his lecturing tone back on. “A bag of holding, or spatial bag as most call it, is made by a Spatial Magi to hold a small dimension inside of it. Whatever you put into it weighs nothing. So will you accompany me to my office?”

It was then that Jack felt a small tug on his waistband. When he turned to see who it was, he found Aster with her bag already packed and ready to leave. “Jack, could you go with me instead?” Her face turned red from embarrassment. “I have no idea where our next class is and I need you.” By the end she had completely buried her face in her hands. This broke his heart in ways he just didn’t understand.

Jack sighed in relief at having a legitimate reason not to go with this man. That last question tripped his creep alarm. “Sorry professor, you will just have to schedule a time after school to meet up. Virtus could you lead the way?”

He bowed slightly. “It would be an honor to guide you to your destination Adjudicator.” Jack thought that was laying it on just a bit too thick but couldn’t blame him. Favian had a thick skull.

“Excellent!” He looked at his syllabus. “Our next class is basic runes with professor Ferrum.”

The austere guardsman paled at the mention of where they were going. Professor Fabian just laughed at him. “Guess you are running off to daddy after all. That makes the wait completely worth it. Be back at this spot at five Jack.”

“Yes professor.” He replied before leading the others through the throng of students that were trickling in for the second period, and out the doors.