It seemed the only teachers to like him were his Magical Engineering and Sound Magic professors. It was probably due to his earnestness while learning, his capability of holding a conversation on the topics, and his general fame/infamy possibly bringing more attention to those programs.

His professor for sound magic was a Mr. Shepard. The man was generally gruff, and had a hunting background. He had dark black hair, bright golden eyes, and a confident smile. He easily towered over Chris, but he never looked down on Chris.

He began, “I know most of you know the fundamentals already, as there is almost no other reason to join this class,” he glanced at Chris, “But I will go over some of the basic details. For example the different uses of sound magic. Can anyone tell me the two main uses of sound magic?”

A boy with a middling build, dark brown hair, and purple eyes spoke up, “The two main uses for sound magic are for stunning and for silencing your own presence.” The teacher smiled, “Good, I’m glad you guys know a bit about what you are learning. I see a few kids here that I recognize from the Hunter’s Association. I imagine most of you use the silencing effect for the sake of hunting,” A few of the other’s began nodding, and Chris took note of those who were capable of it. He also noticed that their practice field was much smaller, and a lot less clean than most of the other fields. It seems there was a hierarchy at this school for the type of magic you learn. ‘I’ll keep note of that I guess.’

Their first lesson consisted of a basic incantation for the silencing spell. Chris had already found a better one in his book, as well as knowing the fundamental concepts of the spell, but it took a lot of focus. He went along with class, excelling at the basic spell, and decided he would use the fundamental ways he learned his physical enhancement, by running it constantly, and use it the same way for sound magic.

His Magical Engineering course was run by Mrs. Hernyr. She was a short and slightly plump woman, wearing a bright purple suit. She was quite a bit older, probably around her 40’s or 50’s, but she had plenty of energy when it pertained to her topics. Her dark gray eyes would still glisten whenever she taught.

Chris entered the class almost silently, entering the room and sitting down at a station while his teacher’s back was turned. She turned around and was a bit shocked, “I didn’t think I heard anyone come in,” she was a bit flustered, “Class doesn’t start for another twenty minutes, why are you already here?” Chris smiled at her, “Because I wanted to ask you some questions about a design I am working on.”

She walked over, a bit curious as this was the boy who was number one in the freshman class, but also ready to give proper critiques. She looked down at the page. The design was for a mana infused sword, one that allowed for the draw of mana into the crystal, as well as an easy way to input or output mana through the hands holding it. The crystal design had jutting points to the surface, within the metal, and had a cushioning material to prevent impact damage to break it.

“Where might you have found this design?” She asked, as she had never seen such well thought out work for such a young student. Chris looked her in the eyes, “I made this entirely on my own, the sword in the design is actually based on my own sword, see?” He unsheathed the sword he carried on him. He wasn’t lying, it was an exact match down to the most minute of dents and warps on the sword.

That’s when she grew excited, “So you came up with this idea for your own sword? Could you break down your thought process on the design. Actually, is there any chance I could use this design in a future class as an example?” She couldn’t control her excitement for this prospective student.

Chris spent up to the start of class fervently discussing ideas, concepts, methods for manipulating the crystal, ways to protect it, etc. Once class began, she turned to the class, and called upon Chris to come to the front. “This young man right here will be my teaching assistant for this class. If I am not able to help you with a concept, idea, or assignment, feel free to ask him in my stead,” Chris began to blush nervously, looking at the teacher and she whispered, “I’ll allow you access to the lab whenever you need in return.”

“I will do my best for this class!” Chris turned the awkward situation around for himself. Lab access would mean he could work on any of the projects without incurring any costs to himself. Even if he had to answer silly questions, it was all worth it for what he wanted to make.

The rest of class was a simple lecture about very fundamental rules, some of which were not true, and to establish him as a knowledgeable figure, Mrs. Hernyr would ask him more complex questions than the material for Chris to answer. While many of the older students, especially those who are of a higher year, were a bit annoyed to have this very young boy take the position of teaching assistant, they couldn’t help but admit that he was qualified.

While they acknowledged his prowess, the resentment of certain people was still palpable. There were many there from trading families, hoping to establish the position of assistant to work on family product prototypes during their school year.

Chris was almost entirely unaware of the dynamic he was interfering with, both by choosing sound magic, and taking the assistant position in Magical Engineering. The news of this reached those of some of the upper classes, as anyone of any year could take level one of any elective course. This meant that not only did he upset the trader families, but also some of the upper class kids. For the next week word began to spread of this ten year old boy who managed to be the number one freshman, yet went into sound magic, and the teaching assistant for Magical Engineering before taking a single class.

Chris’ family was mostly forgotten about, so many older noble children began to think of an idea, to confront this boy when he was alone, and prove to themselves they were much better than some dirty little no influence commoner. After he finished his Magical Engineering class, he was asked a question by someone. The person claimed to have been working on a design, and to follow him, as he didn’t have it with him. He claimed to need Chris’ help with a part of it.