What was that supposed to mean? Rai had to... make notes??

He’d... never done that before. Rai turned to Sin as Miss Lillia kept talking about the exam details. He whispered, “How do I take notes?”

Sin stared at him. She didn’t know how to react, “The fuck? Just write?”

Rai blinked.

Sin had betrayed him. In his time of need, the one person who would know how to help him had forsaken him. It was a true defeat. Rai had no other choice. He raised his hand again.

"Sigh. What now, Rai?” Lillia was exasperated. Rai was in the class for a whole two minutes before she was already tired of him.

Rai tilted his head a touch, “How do I make notes?”

Sin's head creaked as she turned to look at her friend. Are you really this stupid?

The class started giggling amongst themselves. Some were making comments about Rai’s looks making up for his lack of a brain. Some even mentioned him being a country bumpkin.

Lillia was so tired that she’d begun slouching. She simply exhaled. How did I get here. What choices did I make to have to end up here, teaching this prodigy how to use a pen... “Rai... Just watch. Don’t worry about writing, just watch and try to remember it all, alright?”

Rai just smiled and lowered his hand, “Yes ma’am.”

Sin was staring daggers into the side of Rai’s face. It was so intense that she’d almost begun drooling. How is he so hot and so stupid at the same time. Huh? Hot? Sin’s face started heating up. She shook her head and focused on Miss Lillia.

Lillia decided not to entertain anymore distractions from the class, and begun what would be her demonstration. “Okay, I will now begin.”

She stepped down from the podium and called forth a small ball from her spatial storage.

Lillia placed the ball on a table just to the side of the podium. “I want you all to memorise the incantation and its components. Take careful note of the way my voice speaks the word. How you cast your incantations often plays a large factor in how well you execute your spell. Take care to maintain a consistent mana flow through your body as you cast this spell. It won’t work if you aren’t doing at least that much.”

Eh? Consistent mana flow while casting a spell? That's completely different to how spells are normally cast though... Sin pondered as Miss Lillia explained what the class needed to take note of when she cast the spell. It appeared that most of the other students also realised the implications of her words.

Murmurs among the students began. One boy raised his hand and called for the teacher’s attention. She gave it. “Miss, how are we supposed to cast the spell if we don’t speed up our mana flow?”

Lillia smiled, “I’m glad you were paying attention. Ahem. This spell is not a typical combat spell. It wasn’t designed to be used in combat, nor was it designed to be used in high pressure situations. In fact, it was designed to be used by people who don’t have well developed mana channels.” She placed a finger on her chin. “Though, I suppose that you could create an entirely new telekinesis spell that doesn’t operate on those foundations. But at that point you’d be creating a whole new spell.”

The boy lowered his hand, “Thank you for the answer.” He spoke these words, but not one student in the group could actually figure out how the spell would work from her answer.

Rai had an inkling, but even he couldn’t fully grasp the concept of a spell like what she was describing.

Lillia continued the demonstration. “Watch, and listen carefully now.”

She aimed her right hand at the ball which rested on the table. Rai made sure to try to memorise everything, including how Miss Lillia’s hand was open, with her fingers in a kind of claw shape.

At first, she simply closed her eyes. Then blue motes of mana began flying around her. Her eyes opened, now glowing a cool yet soft blue.

Levitate.

Her voice was serene, but somehow carried an authority unlike anything Rai had ever seen before. A blue hue appeared around the ball’s shape.

It began floating.

The ball wisped throughout the room, following wherever Lillia’s eyes demanded it to go, acting as she willed it. After a minute of commanding the ball to do different things, Lillia called the ball to hover beside her. She closed her eyes.

The hue subsided and the ball fell to the ground. As it rolled back towards Lillia’s feet, she turned back to the class with a bead of sweat on her forehead. “Any questions?”

Amy looked at Lina, whose mouth was agape in awe. They’d never seen such an awesome spell before, all the two of them wanted to do was to try and cast it themselves. Amy blurted out, “Can we start trying now!?”

Lillia smiled, “Of course! Come, there will be a ball for each of you.” She snapped her fingers, causing an array of tables to appear from spatial storage. Once more she snapped her fingers, causing a ball like the one she was using to appear on each of the tables. “Pick a table and start practicing! Ask me for help if you need it. Oh! And before I forget, you should try to learn telekinesis by the end of the week and showcase it during your appraisals. If you can earn at least an epic tier ranking on it, then you will earn the right to a magic tome from the headmaster's private study. I guarantee that there will be tomes in that collection that will be useful to all of you.” She grinned.

At first there was silence as the students registered Lillia's words. Then there was a boom in happy voices. Sin was grinning. She might have been one of the headmaster's two mentees, but neither her nor Rai had access to his study. The tomes in there would probably contain techniques that would supplement both of their arsenals well.

Rai felt the same. Even though he couldn't use mana right now, he felt motivated to at least understand telekinesis to a high level. Rai still had another book he had to read, from the old hobo, but he still hadn't found the time to sit down and read it.

Sin turned to Rai, “Don’t worry, we can practice together when you’re able to use mana without it hurting again.”

Rai found solace in Sin's unconditional support for him, “Thanks. You’ll smash it!”

Sin shot him a goofy grin, then turned to join Amy and Lina near their tables.

Rai smiled to himself as he watched Sin walk over to the twins. She's really... awesome.

Lillia loathed the idea of talking to the boy, but she thought that she should check on Rai. She walked over after making sure that everyone was starting off alright. “You okay?” Her voice was sincere, Rai could tell at least that much.

He raised an eyebrow in concern. “Are you okay? I thought you hated me...”

Lillia nodded profusely, “I do. But you’re still my student, so I should at the very least check if you’re okay.”

Rai smiled. “Phew. That’s a relief. I thought you’d gone crazy for a moment.” He chuckled, “I’m fine. I just can’t use... a certain technique right now or my whole body feels like it’s on fire.”

Lillia looked up at him as he sat in the stands. She saw how he looked over the whole class, watching in envy as they all tried and failed at casting the spell. In a way, Lillia felt like she could empathise with Rai right now. She knew all too well what it was like, not being able to do what you want because of something out of your control.

It was suffocating, “... I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

Rai blinked at her, multiple times in the same second, “... You really have gone crazy.”

She chuckled, “It was just a moment of weakness, I assure you.”

He smiled, “That’s more like the Miss Lillia I know.”

Sin spent some time replaying the demonstration in her mind before she even tried casting the spell. Like Rai, she memorised all of the little things. The intonation of Miss Lillia’s voice as she casted the spell. The way her hand was shaped. Even down to the amount of emphasis on each syllable in the incantation. But she still couldn’t grasp why this spell even worked in the first place.

Amy popped her head into Sin’s view, “Whatcha doin?”

Sin sighed, “I can’t figure it out. Telekinesis doesn’t make any sense, why does it work without an accelerated mana flow like literally every other spell. Look around, no one else can do it yet.”

Amy scanned the room. All she could see was students struggling and straining to cast the spell. “Well... We don’t get it either. It's only been a few minutes since we started too. Maybe Rai knows? He is a monster at these kinds of things after all.”

Sin shook her head, “I can’t rely on him for everything. That’s not fair to either of us. I should be able to figure this out, or I don’t deserve to call myself a mage.” Her words lit a fire under Amy and Lina’s asses. The two of them had simply coasted their way through their own schooling program on the Isle of Chimes. They’d never been motivated enough to push themselves like Sindyl.

Amy somehow puffed smoke through her nostrils like a bull. “You’re right! I’ll work harder and harder!!” Her energy levels kept rising.

Sin was somewhat jealous of Amy’s uncanny ability to generate energy, but she was grateful that she’d made such an energetic friend. Despite her words earlier, she looked at Rai from where she sat. He looks so bored... There’s no way he’s already figured the spell out... right?

Right?