By the end of the class, everyone was thoroughly and completely bored. When professor Ferrum started, it seemed like they were going to learn a few runes and become master Magi as soon as they finished transcribing them all. Disillusionment quickly stepped in to take the place of ambition as the class progressed into a slogfest of magical minutia. Every single rune had half a dozen traits and requirements to use properly. Jack was starting to equate spell creation with creating a jigsaw puzzle by carving out the individual pieces before trying to fit them together. In other words, it was going to be hard.

It wasn’t unproductive for Jack though because one of the runes they had covered was a component rune of his Laying Down Burdens spell. It came as a shock to discover that each of the four corner geometries in the spell was multiple interlocking runes. Now that he knew what it did, casting the spell should be easier in the future.

Silently, he browsed through the glossary to find answers. Near the end was a section on compound runes. His eyes checked to make sure his departure from the curriculum had gone unnoticed. Wait, why do I even care if someone sees me reading the book. Years of public school education had taught him bad habits.

Compound runes were, as he thought, interlocked runes. They acted as a nexus in a spell or enchantment, allowing the caster to create specific effects. The compound runes in the book only used two or three runes in conjunction, then again, this was a novice primer. He needed a better book.

Class ended before he could finish reading the chapter, that was fine though. His next class was basic Fire manipulation. It was the class he most anticipated. After that class was lunchtime. Lillian had told him to just show up at the table they ate breakfast at and that she would take care of the food. That wasn’t a problem. No, the problem was that Aster and he were going their separate ways and it didn’t seem she was ready.

Of course, that was when Casper walked into the basic runes classroom. He quickly approached the trio and gave Aster a brotherly hug. He whispered something in her ear and she responded in kind.

After a bit, he straightened and turned to face… Virtus? This caught them all by surprise as the two had avoided speaking to one another so far today. “Thank you for helping my sister with her studies.” His voice sounded as if he was being strangled to death as he said it. It was true, Aster apparently couldn’t read. Virtus had been quietly reading out loud to her the entire class when she floundered enough for them to notice.

It seemed to be working in his favor because when his father noticed, all the dark glares suddenly went away and were replaced with ones filled with pride. Jack didn’t know what was going on exactly but if he had to guess, professor Ferrum wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

Casper continued speaking, only he spoke to Jack now. “I am taking Aster to her next few classes. For the rest of the day, she is going to learn to read, write, and local geography. Thank you for staying with her up to this point. She tells me these last few hours completely changed her worldview but she was able to continue because of your presence.”

Aster piped up next. “The gift you gave me, the first one. It made me feel smarter, so I could sorta understand what the teachers were saying.” She gave him the same dazzling smile she had given when peering into the Flame aster.

Jack shook his head. “I didn’t make you any better in any way. The spell I cast was designed to help people get free from restrictions and burdens so that they can live without restriction. You were always that smart, it’s just that you suffered significant mana pollution. It made you feel lethargic and slower.” He didn’t know for certain, but he thought that if she had just a bit more of that gunk, then maybe he could have made her stronger.

Casper and Virtus both looked shocked at this statement. Virtus spoke up first. “Are you telling me that you can cure mana pollution inside of a human body?”

Their extreme reaction put Jack on high alert and he decided to play on the side of caution where this ability was concerned. He could see himself being forcefully used as a sanitation device to scrub all the noble brats in this place clean if someone powerful found out about it. “I can do it but like I told you, just cleansing and healing Aster cost me all of the mana I had spent two days processing. If she had been a Magi my spell would have barely tickled her.”

Casper seemed to get the underlying point before Virtus and responded timely. “Relax, we are not about to go telling the nobility about what you can do. We would rather just not let them know anything about you at all.”

Jack smiled at those words, he knew Casper was a good guy. This act of discretion was the catalyst that took the two from mutual acquaintances to true friends.

Virtus on the other hand was torn. He had a duty to report everything to Laura but he was starting to both respect and admire this man whose life was in his hands. So he decided to compromise. “I promise not to say anything to anyone but princess Laura. She has your best interests in mind so I think that she will keep this secret to herself. Is this acceptable?”

“Yes, I think I can accept that. I was hoping to win over the princess as an ally anyways. My master told me to entrench myself into the empire's political system so that any of the more powerful Magi can’t off me when I start making waves. Oh, and I intend to make waves. In fact…” Jack broke off to ponder his immediate options. Classes ended at two, which meant that he had several hours to do his homework before meeting up with professor Fabian. “Tonight I would like to visit the orphan ward again. This time I would like to meet your benefactor Casper and get some real answers about what life in the Empire looks like.”

Caspers smile could have been used to power a lighthouse, it was so dazzling. “I would greatly appreciate you coming to see my benefactor. He is eagerly waiting to meet with you. That is if, pretty boy, here promises not to come along.” At this he hooked a thumb at Virtus, their apparent truce forgotten.

Virtus’ features darkened for a moment but he was too much a soldier to reply in kind. “I know who your benefactor is Casper and he is one of the few people that I feel confident can protect Jack. So, I will compromise by escorting him to your little alehouse and stand guard outside of his office. That is the most I can bend on this.”

Casper mulled over the offer. After a minute he responded. “I accept your conditions. Jack, do you have any problems with this arrangement?”

Jack waved away the question. “Nah, i’m good. This sounds like a good plan.” Everyone nodded and started to pack up. Virtus turned back once more to stare at his father's door before turning away. After all, they still had a class to get to.