Barbara had taught him on three other occasions, but the extent of what she was prepared to teach him was limited for now. Her lessons about magic were primarily about general knowledge of the craft. Kael learned that there were many different traditions of using mana. It was generally accepted, Barbara had said, that there was no ‘best’ way to use mana but that all approaches had advantages and disadvantages. Pressed for an example, she had presented him with a problem: “Imagine you are alone in a dark cave and need light. Assume that whatever you think of is possible to accomplish with magic. How many ways can you think of to illuminate the cave?”

At first, Kael had struggled to understand the point of the question. You just make light with magic right? If you could summon fire, what stops you from making a ball of light? She kept on prodding him to think of other ways for a few minutes before he gave up after giving her everything he could imagine. From there, she began to change the parameters of the scenario. You are in a group. The cave is small. You have to summon light, quickly. He slowly began to understand what she wanted to tell him. While a ball of fire might be good for a wide-open cave, it would burn through the oxygen in a small one quickly. There were also issues with the heat or possible flammability of the surroundings. On the other hand, fire, at least according to Barbara, was easier to summon and control than pure light, making it far easier and faster to use. It could also warm you in the cold or melt snow and cook food. Then she began to explain some of the more common methods of utilizing magic.

Some used their mana as fuel for runes or enchantments, making the casting extremely fast and leaving the caster free to do something else. There were ways to incorporate modern technology, using mana as some kind of substitute for electricity. Some used the elements directly, bending them to their will. Others studied formulas and gestures to transform their own mana into whatever effect they wanted. There were ways to empower the physical abilities of oneself or others, healing magic, enchanting, summoning spirits or creatures. They all came with their own limitations and requirements for the user. In the end, Barbara told him, there were many ways to accomplish a goal, and his time at school would hopefully help him find HIS way.

Three weeks had passed ever since their first trip down to the training rooms, and Kael finally began to settle in. With Martin still in the end phase of the year-end tests, he had focused most of his time on his work and training. It had only been just yesterday that Edward had found him proficient enough in prep-work to begin the next phase of his training. Under strict supervision, he had taken over a few easy tasks, such as preparing salads, soups, or appetizers. There was still no real cooking involved. Regardless, Kael was happy with his progress.

After work, he would make use of the gym. He kept to the machines after he had almost knocked himself out with one of the training weapons once. The magical side was left unused for the moment since he was still deepening his mana pool. He had asked Barbara about it during one of their lessons, but she only said that he would learn about them in school. After the gym, he would shower and return to his room. From there, he had a few hours of free time that he spent either reading, observing Edward as he cooked, or helping out with the service. That was also what he had in mind for today when, after he came back from his shower, his smartphone blinked, signifying a message.

Picking it up, he noticed that there were actually two notifications for missed messages. The first one was from Martin. All of the smilies and exclamation marks certainly spoke of his enthusiasm. Filtering out all of the... useful information from his friend's ramblings was a skill he was still learning, and it took him a moment to figure out what was going on. There were also some insults against certain teachers and subjects that Kael decided to ignore. Apparently, the exam period was over, and Martin had a lot of stress to let off. The rest was the usual. “Man, I haven't had any good food these days.” “Are you guys still serving that amazing fish? If only I could taste that again, it was divine.” “Let's do something! Get some drinks and a nice meal or something. I got like six weeks free now.”

Skipping over the rest of his subtle hints, he opened the other notification. It was also a text, but this one from someone he had not expected to write to him: “Andrea Brooks” Kael quickly tapped on the notification. When the screen switched to their conversation, he was greeted by many short text bubbles. Most of them were short texts like “Hello?!?!”, “You better answer when you get this.”, “C'mon, It’ll be fun!”, or “I’ll even let you drink!” Shaking his head, he scrolled up. Once he was past the emojis, playful threats, and enticements, he saw her initial, significantly longer, message.

“Heylo Kael! Hope you are doing well. You haven't forgotten me right? Still waiting for you to bring your friend over btw. Anyway, there is going to be a small event happening in three weeks, and it just so happens that I have nothing else to do, so… There is going to be music and food and a good time! You’ll be sixteen by then too so I can introduce you to some more adult entertainment, if you know what I mean. Wink, Wink, Nudge, Nudge! Write me! Bye now, and don't do anything I wouldn't do.”

Placing his phone back onto the table, he could not help but smile. “That might just be what we need Andrea. Sixteen huh? Maybe Martin wants to come too…”