NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156: The First Class
That evening, Van, Sarah, and Xiel were shown to their shared quarters—a modest but clean room in the Tower's lowest level.
Sarah immediately began organizing Julia's belongings for the next day, while Xiel stood near the small garden… Indeed, each Apprentice Mage room seemed to have an empty garden…
Van guessed that this would be used by the Apprentices to grow their own plants or herbs for their Alchemy Subject or something similar.
"We will live here for at least five years, if Miss Julia is better than most Apprentices. However, it may take ten years if not…" Sarah suddenly said. "We should start getting used to this life."
Van didn't respond, but he looked at his Lens' analysis of his collar…
'It's still stuck… I need to start learning more about Magic Artifacts as well.' He mused.
His Ocularis Lens was definitely powerful, and he knew that it would be able to help him escape from the bindings of the collar someday.
However, the information that he gathered for the past few years was simply too basic and not enough to analyze the collar.
He needed advanced knowledge or books, so he could start breaking free from it…
'Well, I just have to be patient.'
***
On the next day, Julia attended her first day of classes.
Van, Sarah, and Xiel remained in the servants' quarters, where they were briefed by an elderly steward on their expected responsibilities.
"A servant's role is to ensure their master's focus remains solely on magic," the steward explained. "You will handle everything else."
Just like that, the steward listed the things that they must do for their masters.
The first was the Alchemy Preparation.
Once Julia started learning about alchemy, she didn't really have to do everything on her own. Grinding herbs, measuring reagents, and maintaining lab equipment for Julia's potion-making classes would be done by them.
The steward even kindly noted to them that mistakes could lead to explosions, so they had to be extra careful on this.
Aside from that, they could also provide Library Assistance to Julia.
Retrieving and returning borrowed Spellbooks before deadlines could be their tasks, since late returns incurred penalties in the form of Academy Points.
'Library, huh… That's good.' Van mused as he certainly hoped that Julia would borrow plenty of books.
No—Perhaps he could even persuade Julia to borrow various books for him. That would actually be a lot easier since he believed that Julia wouldn't be suspicious at all.
Next, the steward reminded them that they could be assigned to Beastkeeping. Well, in later years, Julia would be assigned a juvenile magic beast to nurture.
Feeding, grooming, and not getting eaten would fall to her servants.
"Whoa… Magic Beasts…" Sarah couldn't help but feel nervous and excited after hearing this.
It was the same for Xiel since he had only seen Magic Beasts as enemies and must be killed.
However, Magicians truly had a different way of handling things.
In any case, the steward continued to explain their possible tasks in the future. There was the Mana Crystal Charging, where servants with even minor aura could assist in recharging depleted training crystals. They had no idea how to do it, but they didn't ask.
They knew that once the time came, they would already be aware of it.
Next, there were the Duel Assistants.
During practical combat exams, servants acted as sparring partners or obstacle placers. They could be the ones taking care of dummies, removing them, or replacing them. It was a very straightforward task, and it would be one of their most common task once Julia started her practical training.
The three servants just nodded as the steward didn't stop to explain their tasks.
The old man was quite talkative, but they'd rather have a long explanation than a short one since they didn't want to make a mistake.
"Then, your tasks will involve Sanctum Cleaning. Julia will be exposed to various enchanted artifacts and obtain a lot of them if she continues to excel. That's natural. So, dusting them, monitoring their mana fluctuations, or if they could cause a problem, will also fall to your tasks." The steward then paused for a moment as he looked at the three before he continued.
"Lastly, you may also become a messenger for your master… Delivering scrolls between instructors, which sometimes included verbally memorized spells to prevent interception, can happen if necessary. However, in most cases, the simple delivery of letters to the post office or maybe even directly to people can happen, so do not be surprised by it."
"Awesome…"
Sarah's eyes were still gleaming at the prospect of handling magic beasts, while Xiel's expression remained unreadable.
Van, however, noted the most critical detail…
"And what of our own training?"
The steward smirked. "Ah. The Tower permits servants to use the Aura Training Grounds once a week. No magic, of course—but physical conditioning and weapon drills are allowed."
***
In the meantime, while her servants were all familiarizing themselves with their new tasks as servants, Julia hurried toward her first class.
The other apprentices—five in total—filed into the Hall of Foundations, a circular chamber lined with enchanted blackboards that shifted text on their own.
At the center stood Instructor Chavez. She seemed to be at the same level as Instructor Mio, as they had the same blue robes.
"Apprentices," She said to call everyone's attention…
"Magic is not talent. It is discipline. Today, you begin as equals—ignorant, but moldable."
Julia swallowed as she heard this.
Ignorant? She'd been practicing spells for years!
Nonetheless, she knew not to speak when an instructor was voicing out their opinions.
Just like that, she learned about her classmates as they introduced themselves, and soon, they started the first lesson.
It was Mana Theory & Breathing Techniques by Instructor Chavez herself. Well, she may only be a Second-Circle Mage, but she was more than qualified to teach a Zero-Circle Mage like them.
As a matter of fact, even Zero-Circle Magician could teach this class since they would only study by the book and with a few samples.
The only reason a Second-Circle Mage was needed was to better show the effect of practicing high-level Mana Breathing Technique on a low-level one.
"I know that you've studied at your homes already. You should know by now that mana is not just a tool that we can exploit all the time…" Instructor Chavez said as she paced before the blackboard, which now displayed a diagram of the human body's mana channels.
It seemed crude and lacked details about the channels, but it was enough to show that it was flowing through their bodies.
"You can think of it as a living current that only blessed people like us can control..."
He then snapped his fingers.
After doing this, a tiny flame sparked above his palm. She didn't have to chant or use incantations with her current level, but it was undoubtedly a spell familiar to them.
"This is a Zero-Circle 'Spark.' Most of you can do it. But can you tell me why it works?"
With this question, everyone went silent. After all, they felt that there was no need to fully understand the principle with such a simple spell that all mages could do.
Indeed, no one thought about why—they just did it.
At this time, Gian raised his hand. "Because we shape mana with intent?"
"Vague," Instructor Chavez said… "Julia Farrell. Explain."
Julia straightened as she heard her name...
Alas, there were only five of them, so it wasn't surprising to be called. Anyway, she could only recall the lessons she had with Renji and the Van's commentary most of the time when she was reviewing.
"Mana reacts to mental imagery as we chant the spell. The 'Spark' spell works because we trick mana into believing it's fire long enough to manifest."
Chavez paused at this explanation...
"Adequate. Now, demonstrate—but this time, slowly."
Julia inhaled as she chanted the Spark Spell incantation…
As she chanted this, she also visualized not just fire, but the moment before fire—the friction of heat, the dryness of kindling.... It was Van's idea to make it easier for her…
Just like that, her mana responded sluggishly, coiling in her palm before sputtering into a tiny flame.
"Mhmmm… Maintain it." Chavez said. This was a basic spell, and nothing was impressive. Nonetheless, she liked how stable the tiny flame was.
Just like that, she also asked the others to cast the spell and try to stabilize it. After some time, they then continued with some lessons about the Breathing Technique…
Needless to say, all five of them were using high-level Mana Breathing Technique due to their background, so there weren't a lot of things to discuss, and she just needed to teach them the discipline they needed to practice it daily.
Then, the other classes that Julia had to attend for the rest of the day included the Spellcasting Fundamentals, Alchemy & Ingredient Appraisal, Mana Barrier Training, and lastly, the Elemental Affinity Diagnostics, where they would find their affinity to Elemental Spells.