“Any other interruptions?” Iannaril asked with a brow raised.

After a few agonizing long seconds Ikaris realized he was talking to them. “Hmm, no. Although… Our sleeping roomates are missing.” He added as he couldn’t find the goblin and the four Dul natives in the room.

“I see… Come see me at the end of class. I’ll give you the proper schedule.” The Fae said in a knowing tone.

The six latecomers looked at their teacher differently. The teacher had already realized that it was Miss Kiwi’s fault.

Most of the class snickered when they learned that they had to share a dormitory. That meant their talent was D or lower. Wasn’t this class supposed to be all geniuses?

Elena really hated being next to the laughing stock, it was one step away from being their partner in crime. She tried her best to ignore their existence.

“Silence!” Iannaril declared, “What is this? I thought I was teaching a class of adults, not children!”

And there it is, partner in crime, Elena lamented. At the same time, she noticed a striking detail about the six latecomers sitting next to her: they were not wearing the required uniform.

‘No wonder, that they were so conspicuous compared to the others.’ The young woman nodded inwardly as she admired their custom-made clothes, which were certainly very expensive.

Ikaris and the others had also just become aware of this sartorial dissonance and Ellie anxiously mouthed, “We forgot to pick up our uniforms!”

“They’re supposed to be dropped off in our dorm, but they weren’t there yesterday when we stopped by. We just-” Kellam shrugged in a whisper. A warning look from Iannaril stopped him from going through with what he wanted to say.

“Sorry.” He apologized sheepishly as he pretended to pull out his textbooks.

“Your uniforms can wait. Don’t let it happen again in the future.” Iannaril closed the topic coolly, but Kellam and his companions got a chill.

Their illustrious teacher adjusted his robes and spoke. “Now, today is simply supposed to be an introduction to the academy for you first years, hence why it is the only class you have listed for the day. But, clearly, you all have enough energy and idiocy to require a change of plans. Listen well, you will later be quizzed on what I say next. Your first lecture begins now.”

Iannaril began to pace around the front of the class, his hands behind his back. “You all have come here to learn magic. Most of you think you’ve known about magic for a long time. You may even think you are prodigies because you were born with Apprentice Sorcerer status or attained Sorcerer status at a young age. Those who come from Ruling Houses may even have undergone rigorous training from early childhood, which explains your overconfidence, or even arrogance.

“So, first and foremost, what is magic? Anyone? No need to raise your hand, just say what you think.”

“A tool to bring our imagination to life?” A student said.

“Calling down rain from the sky?” Another pitched.

“Love?” a quiet voice peeped from the back.

Iannaril sighed.” The first answer was correct. Who said that?”

“I did, professor.” A young man raised a pale hand. His face was clean shaven, save for the stubble on his chin. His shoulder-length hair and eyes were disturbing. His right half was white, the other half black. He looked extremely tired, fine beads of sweat covering his forehead.

His clear eyes didn’t shy away, but stared straight at the professor.

Elena thought he was quite the handsome human. She realized she was staring and looked away. Ikaris, stared at the man without shame. He had read Ramiro’s file and knew that he was the youngest scion of House Gemini, the rivals of House Morgunis.

Although the boy was reputed to be weak and to have fallen ill often since birth, he was frighteningly rational and intelligent and his record said to be wary of him.

“Name,” Iannaril commanded.

“Retnuh Gemini,” The student answered.

Gemini? Elena’s eyes widened in recognition. She remembered that the member of House Goldforged with whom she had signed the contract had suggested that their house and House Gemini had a close business relationship.

“Ah, a Gemini. I should have guessed. Your answer is wrong of course, but the closest one to the truth.” The professor continued, “By definition, magic is the art of producing otherwise inexplicable phenomena by occult means. So first I want to inform you that most of the spells you have performed in your lifetime are not, because you are all capable of it and we, at least for my part, are able to explain it. Each spell requires energy of the highest quality that is drawn from your body, then amplified by your mind and Divine Spark. Although this process is not completely understood, it can be studied and can therefore be considered a science, even if the Confederation will claim otherwise. However, the Divine Spark is not always required to practice magic and you can even live without it. For commoners with limited magical talent, it can even be a blessing.

“Which brings me to my next point. There are three forms of magic.” Iannaril raised three fingers, “First, is elemental energy and it encompasses many things. Any species who can use this energy are known as elemental species. The majority of magical beings belong to an elemental species, and this also includes plants and many minerals and non-organic substances. The second type is acquired or inherited magic. This refers to the supernatural abilities that you and your descendants have developed or will develop as a result of the Sparks and spells you create. The third kind is called Divine or Origin magic, which are the unexplainable spells you produce through your Divine Spark. Regarding this last point, not all spells produced by a Divine Spark are inexplicable, but I’ll come back to that.”

“Moving on, elemental species all have a magical nature, for example, all Fae like me have the ability to absorb a certain type of elemental energy, without exception. This is not the case for humans for example, who must first develop a specific Secondary Spark to gain a given elemental affinity. The majority of them do not have the innate ability to absorb elemental energy. The few that do, are descendants of Sorcerers like most of you here.

“Now, you may be wondering what I mean by elemental energy and where it comes from? If you have one, you already realized it the day you awakened your first affinity after advancing one of your Sparks, but this world is saturated with energy. Before you awaken an affinity, you don’t realize that this elemental energy exists, but as soon as you can perceive it you realize that the world is brimming with it.”

It was not so obvious to Ellie and his other companions, but Ikaris had the System and firsthand experience in the matter. When he had awakened his affinity for Death and Dark Mana, he had indeed realized that the atmosphere was saturated with it. Especially at night.

“Naturally, the question is where does it come from?” Iannaril continued, suddenly pointing his finger at the students. “From you, the Sorcerers before you, and ultimately from Neia. If we could go way back in the history of this planet and experience the life of the first Sorcerer you would realize how lucky you are. Changing your destiny back then was not so easy. Who here practices fire magic?”

“I do.” A tall man, with black hair, and a self-important smile on his face raised his hand.

With his conceited attitude and his delicate orcish features, Danchun would have recognised him in a thousand. Caim Nezug!

“As expected from a Destruction Sorcerer from the House of Nezug.” Iannaril smiled. “Now, answer this question. Were you born with this affinity?”

“No…” Caim wasn’t happy with this question. It was as if he was being told that he lacked talent.

“Perfect. Now answer another question. What was the spell that allowed you to awaken this affinity for fire?”

The Dire High-Orc couldn’t quite figure out what the Sacred Magus was getting at, but after a short pause he said proudly,

“The Explosion Spell.”

Ikaris and the others sat up straight in their seats. What kind of freak learns this kind of spell first, let alone to the point of it being his first level 3 Spark? No wonder he became a Destruction Sorcerer so young. This Caim was not a good guy.

“Okay, last question.” Iannaril became serious. “Now that you perceive Fire Mana, can you cast fire spells without the aid of your Divine Spark?”

“I can. It took me a while to figure out the trick, but I can store this Fire Mana in my body and even become stronger and healthier because of it.”

“Sounds great, right?” Iannaril said suddenly. Turning to the other students, he declared darkly, “If you were the first Sorcerer in history, this Fire Mana wouldn’t exist.”