“Can class, anybody tell me what a spell is, Anybody?” Professor Fabian asked the class. The students in question mostly glared back at the professor in indignation as they pulled out their writing supplies. This had become the trend for their morning class period and they knew better than to try to answer.

“No takers?” Fabian was crestfallen that his students had already learned to avoid his hamhanded machinations, but powered on anyway. “A spell is the act of channeling the power of a sigil through a runic array to create an effect. It remains true from the simplest effect of moving a pebble to moving a mountain. All spells are the same.”

He placed a cup of water on the lecture, then he went over the chalkboard and wrote the sigil for water with three simple runes that connected to it. “This is Evaporation. It is a simple Water spell that makes water go from liquid to gaseous state. Seems simple enough right?” Many people nodded as they wrote down the spell. His hand glowed blue and Jack could make out hazy shapes that didn’t resemblethose on the board at all before the water turned into Mist.

“What did I just do class?”

One kid thought the question was a trick, so he answered. “You Evaporated the water!”

Fabian crossed his arms in the sign of negation. “Wrong! This was not the spell Evaporation (Water). The spell has that I used just has a similar effect.” Then he drew a similar spell on the board with an Air sigil as the focus. “This spell is also called Evaporation(Air). What does this tell you?”

A student raised a hand and was selected. “That mist is both Air and Water by nature?”

“Yes, that is true. This is why I started with the two-component Sigils first, but can anybody think of another way to change the water in the cup into a gaseous form?.” He waited for a minute but no one responded. A few people had their faces scrunched up in thought. Fabian noticed this and called on a boy in the middle. “Do you know how to turn the water in this cup into gas?”

The boy was petrified to be put on the spot. “Ugh, you could get it hot with that Heat sigil you showed us… Professor.”

“Yes, excellent! Any form of fire or heat can be used to evaporate water.” he wrote down a slightly more complicated spell with the Heat sigil. “Since you have given me such fine examples I will put down another. This is Vaporize. It is a Light spell that utilizes focused sunlight to vaporize water.” He wrote down a significantly more complicated spell. It had a structure that Jack had yet to see. At least a dozen interlocking runes were used.

“Does anybody see the pattern yet?” No one answered, loudly. Fabian pressed on. “Everything is connected. Most Magi believe that certain sigils are more powerful than others due to their inherent traits, but see all the different ways one can do a task most believe to be a simple Water cantrip. With enough know-how and ingenuity, one can do anything with any individual sigil. You can turn sand into glass with light, or illuminate a room with Lightning. Anything is possible, do not limit yourself on things like spell forms or ranks. As you progress as a Magi, simple spells will become more instinctive and will no longer require runes to focus and the elemental attributes you have access to will increase, this will make mindless focus on a single element harmful to your future development. Now let's continue where we left off yesterday.”

Fabian led the class through the routine question and answer section of class. Jack had overheard surprise from several others at the lack of homework Fabian assigned, that was until yesterday. The professor had made it clear through his constant questioning that, while he hadn’t assigned any work, he fully expected them to put in the time studying. The questions he tasked them were merciless, covering even things that hadn’t been discussed in class. When one student called him out on it, Fabian just shrugged and pointed in the direction of the library.

“If you do not enjoy my class, then you are free to partake in individual study. I am sure you will be completely prepared to take the exams at the end of the semester.” After that, Jack had noted an increase in the number textbooks on the desks of his classmates.

...

Time flew by as Jack applied himself to his core classes. Soon enough, lunch passed as well, signaling the beginning of his new elective, basic enchantment.

The bell rang and the professor started to yell at everyone to settle down and pick a station. This took a bit due to the cramped quarters. The stations, metal desks with a rack of complicated metal implements and a flat workspace, we're strewn haphazardly around the room with no attention made to either row or aisle.

“Welcome to basic enchantments, my name is Professor Esotericus. Today you are going to create your very first magical item.” There was a murmur and a few gasps in reaction to the news. Jack couldn't blame them. What kind of mother would name their child Esotericus? Even thinking it made him want to snicker.

Esotericus was a mild-mannered man with soft features and a bit of ponch. His beady eyes examined the students one by one as he read the roll from a parchment. Since none of the other professors bothered with so much as a headcount, he must be taking the initiative to memorize the names of his students. Jack decided to forgive his mother for her naming skills in lew of her sons thought fullness.

“During this semester we are going to cover runic enchantments. Though I guess some of you will be back tomorrow for my mana forging class as well… Anyways the goal for today is to create a personal hand warmer. Everyone grab a metal puck from the main supply table.”

Everyone filed over to a long table full of metal pucks about the size of a palm and some red mana crystals. Jack allowed Virtus to select a puck for him since the guardsman seemed to know a lot about metal. Once people were settled, the professor handed out a wooden plate with a rune cut out of it to everyone.

“Since none of you have ever made an enchantment before, I have provided something of a cheat sheet to assist you in today’s activity. I will only be doing this once. In the future I expect each of you to carve the runes free hand, or to create your own cheat sheets, it is up to you. Now, on to the matter at hand, this plate has two interconnected runes on it. These, when carved into a piece of metal and infused with mana will create a slow-acting effect. One of these pucks will produce a comfortable amount of heat for up to eight hours, very useful for staying warm in the winter and cost effective. I want each of you to carve this design into the center of your puck. Once everyone is finished, we can move on to the second phase.”

He demonstrated by carving out the runes on his own puck with a metal knife that glowed like an arc welder wherever it made contact with the puck. The demonstration finished, he bade everyone start carving.

Jack examined and mentally categorized the tools he had on hand. He had a few carving knives of various sizes, those he put to his left on the the workstation. There was what looked like a more familiar rotating engraver. Since he didn’t want his hand to explode, or something else equally unpleasant, he left it alone. The other tools were things like clamps, files, and levels, which were not very useful in this situation, he took one of each off the rack and placed them to his right, just in case.

Jack grasped a long-handled knife. It was shaped like an exact knife one finds in an art supply store, only there was no slot mechanism to replace the blade.The runic inscription was focused on the point of the blade, so he hoped that he could avoid affecting the enchantment if he kept only touching the wooden handle. It worked, sorta. He managed to not suck up the mana inside but it was like holding his breath the whole time. It took constant focus. All the while the same mantra played over and over in his thoughts, ‘knives are friends, not food’!

The actual carving was easy. The tracer was so exact that a child could do it. Just put the blade in the slot and follow the lines. Five minutes later Jack was finished carving the runes. He placed down the knife wearily. Keeping his inner magic vacuum cleaner in check was taxing. Though he felt that he could last longer with practice.

“Here, let me.” Virtus some for the first time after Jack placed the knife down.

Virtus reached over and placed an index finger on the puck and closed his eyes. The lines he had just carved, evened out till it was impossible to tell that it had been carved by human hands. Not a single blemish or scratch remained on the surface. That explains why both he and his father seem to be obsessed with metal, he realized. It must be their foundational element.

“By now you should all be done with the initial carving stage. Now, I want each of you to come up and grab at least two petty fire crystals. They have all been measured and have a capacity of five spell power, which is the smallest available unit these crystals can possess and still be usable. This enchantment stays active for one hour per unit spell power. So to make it useful for a day, you will need more crystals.”

“Aren’t those expensive or something? Should we really be just grabbing them?” Jack asked Virtus quietly.

“Did you not hear the professor? Petty mana crystals are next to useless for any practical purpose. As such, they are most commonly used by novice enchanters crafting basic magical tools like this,” he indicated the puck on the table in front of them. “Worry not about expenses. Your...benefactor has already prepared an adequate sum for your educational expenses.”

“Ugh, on a scale from loaf of bread to a mansion, just how valuable are they?” Jack was getting frustrated with his lack of economical awareness. This weekend, a visit to the marketplace, grocery store, or whatever kind of store people used around here, was going to happen. Even if he had to drag Virtus kicking and screaming.

“Hmm, that is an arbitrary comparison. A single petty mana crystal is worth between twenty to thirty loaves of bread. Does that satisfy you?”

“It’s a start.”

“Then you should grab a handful before they are all gone.”

Jack swiveled, only to note that the pile that seemed quite large a second ago had a large crevice in it now. He marched over without delay and reached over a student's shoulder to grab a handful. Power shot down his arm like an i.v. of straight espresso and the good drugs your dentist gives you during a root canal. He jerked the arm back on instinct, knocking the student over in the process.

“Hey, WATCH IT!” the student, a young girl, snarled up at him. Her head was down as she tried desperately to put her uniform back together and regain her modesty.

“I am so sorry!” Jack called as he held out his empty hand awkwardly. The hand hung off to the side because he was busy looming the other direction, but the girl jerked the arm closer before she used it like a lever to get up.

“Just don’t do it again!”

“I won’t, I promise.” Jack retreated back to his desk with his tail tucked between his legs. It was only then that he noticed that the crystals in his hand were dun. He tossed them onto the table in disgust. This was starting to become a serious problem. He couldn’t do anything involving magic without breaking things.

Professor Esotericus chose that moment to pipe up with the next set of instructions. “Everyone pull out your mana imbuer, it looks like this. Does everyone see it, yes? Good.” He held aloft a strange contraption that looked like a magnifying glass that underwent a steampunk makeover.

“Place the glass on top of your metal puck. Do not worry about breaking it, the glass is sturdy enough to withstand a tier-three spell, dropping it will not leave so much as a scratch. Now place your petty Fire crystals on top of the glass like so. Finally, there is a small switch on the handle, flip it up to imbue the puck with the mana from the crystals. at the count of three—three, two, one, flip?”

...

Pain!

Jack shook his head in bewilderment. Why was he kneeling? Blood surged in his ears as he retched. Why was he reaching? It was so hard to think. He was...nauseous? Yes, that was it, he was nauseous. Why was he nauseous? Jack wiped his mouth and looked around for the source of his woes. This room was familiar, it was on the tip of his tongue. The basic enchantment classroom, that was it.

Jack blindly reached up to a couter top for support. Slice, there was a tugging sensation where his hand made contact, followed by a sensory impulse that he recognized as bodily harm. Crimson liquid dripped from the countertop a few seconds later. A blurry figure took up his field of view, followed by the feeling of being lifted to a standing position.

The world chose that moment to snap into focus like an old tube tv that got replaced by one with 4k resolution. Sound once more became intelligible, thought flowed without obstruction, and Jack was once more back behind the wheel. He felt horrible.

“Jack, Jack, can you hear me?” Virtus asked him. He’d been the one to pick him up and support him.

“Ugh, what happened?” he’d been asking that question a lot recently.

“You suddenly collapsed after the professor instructed the class to use their mana imbuer’s. You have been starting at the floor and dry heaving for almost a minute.”

“Oh, I feel someone took put my liver and played catch with it, then returned it after a bender.”

“Sounds horrible.” Virus replied diplomatically. His charge was rambling incoherently and it was pushing him to the edge.

“I only felt like this when one of you magi cast a spell on me. The tool...things must have released tainted mana into the air.”

It was at this moment that professor Esotericus pushed through the circle of onlookers and approached the pair. He held a roll of bandages in his hand. “Let me treat your hand.”

“What? Oh, would you look at that, I'm bleeding.” Jack held his lacerated arm aloft for the professor's ministrations. Curiosity, or sheer preservation instinct, take your pick, caused him to examine his work station for the cause of his injury. The scene before him was a bit shocking. The table looked like it had been the center of a miniature explosion. The place where the mana imbues had lain was the epicenter. The puck was embedded a few centimeters into the metal surface and furrows where streams of molten metal had flown stretched over the edges. Jack had cut himself on one such edge.

“How did this happen?”

It was Esotericus that answered. His eyes darted over to the mess fleetingly before returning to the task of first aid. “The equipment overloaded and the Fire mana was vented into the environment instead of the puck. I am truly sorry for this tragic failure on my part. It seems that my precautions are not enough to guarantee my student's safety. After class, I will go over each piece of equipment personally to guarantee their condition.”

“Stop apologizing, ” Jack interjected before the professor could wind himself up more. “The equipment failure was most likely my doing. Most magic items behave strangely around me.”

“Truly?”

“Yes, I have a tendency to eat any mana I come into contact with. It takes mental effort to not do so. The problem lies with my inability to use your fancy tools without destroying them.”

“Hmm, that is worrisome news.” Esotericus mulled over the info he had been given after trying off the bandage and straightening to his full height.

“Yeah, but I think that I can do it without your fancy magnifying glass. I learned the spell Imbue(fire). Can that be used to empower the puck?”

“Haha, that is a very old-fashioned form of enchanting. No one uses it anymore due to the elemental limitations, but in hindsight, I can see it being a necessary evil in your case. Go ahead and pick another empty station and start over from the beginning. I will check on you in a bit after I address the class,” with that he returned to the podium to show off the functions of the heating puck.