Chương 87: Book 2 Chapter 39 - Magic Tutors

The next few weeks passed without incident while Dustin was gone. Kiara didn't make the trip to Portish herself. Even though she could cover the distance in a couple of hours by foot, it would end up turning into an all-day affair, and as curious as she was to talk to Victor about the sword he had given her, she didn't want to spend that much time on the road. Kiara continued attending her intermediate sword class, where she was currently ranked third.

The two students above her were both two of the top students from the previous semester, who had beaten her in spars early on when the new semester started. They were both teaching the beginner's class as often as possible as well, hoping to earn their spot in the advanced class this semester. Kiara had continued improving with her left handed forms, and finally mastered them as well. She was about as good with her left hand as she was with her right, and she alternated which hand she sparred with every other day.

Her general mastery of the sword forms was improving as well. With Henry in the advanced class now, she didn't get to watch him spar anymore, so she couldn't be certain, but she felt like she had probably polished her sword mastery to the same level as him now. Handel still occasionally appeared during her after-class practice sessions, and sparred with her, continuing to offer tips and guidance.

His mastery of the sword forms was still a step above her own, but even that gap seemed small enough now to overcome with additional practice. He frequently complimented her on her fast and continued improvements. Similar to how there were different levels of optimization with mastery of sword forms, Kiara felt that she had mastered using the terrain to her advantage, but was still learning small improvements by watching Olga.

Kiara's level of competence in other areas more than made up for that small gap now though, and she had beaten Olga in their most recent spar six points to two. Olga, the same as the previous semester, never taught in the beginner's class, and so her ranking on the leaderboard didn't accurately reflect her skill level compared to the rest of the class. Now that she had mastered left handed sword forms, and her awareness of the terrain was up to speed, Handel had her start practicing dual wielding.

She had gotten her first taste of it while fighting the bandits outside her parents' village, but there was an additional layer to it that she hadn't anticipated. Beyond just holding two swords and knowing how to engage with either of them in the sword forms she had mastered, Handel showed her that there were other, new ways to approach things while dual wielding. New sword forms, almost, that took advantage of both blades simultaneously in a single duel.

The dual-wielding forms weren't entirely new forms, but more like the modifications that Kiara had practiced on the sword forms she already knew. As such, she was picking them up quite quickly. She hadn't lost a spar since she began using both swords in class. She was still occasionally able to slip into that super focused flow state during a spar where she was able to intuit her opponents next moves as if they were a certainty, but not very often.

For one thing, her spars didn't usually last long enough for her to find that rhythm, and it wasn't something she could just turn on and off yet. For another thing, she was focused on practicing her dual-wielding right now, and her opponents didn't push her hard enough for her to need that level of focus to where her mind entered that flow state.

The other students had seemed concerned at first that she was using two weapons, feeling like she was cheating, but Handel had personally assured everyone that it was perfectly acceptable. A few of the other students had started carrying a second sword as well during the spars, but they didn't know how to use it effectively yet, so they quickly abandoned it.

The only time she still saw them use two swords was when sparring with her, and even then they only used the second sword as a type of shield from her second blade. Not that it helped them much. She had begun not only winning her spars, but was doing so without being hit at all in response. The only people that still landed a hit on her were the top few students in the class, but even then the hits were minor, and only when she slipped up. She was winning those spars now.

Dustin returned after a few weeks with two new people, both of them private magical instructors that he had hired in Portish. It was late when they arrived, and they all sat down for dinner. One was a woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties, although Zoey had hinted that once someone reached tier 3 or 4, looks could be wildly deceiving as life expectancies grew exponentially longer.

The woman's medium-length blond hair bounced in tight curls when she moved, she wore bright red lipstick, and she carried herself with a very no-nonsense attitude. The other tutor was an old man, completely bald, with a long white beard and an honest-to-goodness tall, pointy, wizard hat that he took off during dinner. Apparently those types of hats had been rather fashionable when he was younger. Kiara had the good sense not to ask him how long it had been since he was 'younger'.

Dustin introduced them both to Kiara, and they were both very polite and formal throughout the meal. They had all had a long day of riding, well three days of it actually, so after dinner the instructors were shown to their rooms where they could rest. The following day, they met with her and Dustin to discuss the need that House Yountal had of them. The woman introduced herself as Zita Vellentine, a tier 3 mage, born and raised in Portish.

She had attended the Portish Magical Institute herself and had focused on the teaching aspect after graduation, learning to help guide young people through their first magical experiences. She came across as very haughty, but Kiara couldn't tell if that was just her way of compensating for deficiencies in other areas. The old man introduced himself as well. His name was Belliston Montreal Ventrillion, a name that Kiara was sure she would forget by the next day.

He was very articulate and well-spoken, but everything he said and did was layered with a grandfatherly calm and an affectionate twinkle in his eye. He had apparently taught magic when he was younger at the Portish Magical Institute, but had retired 'some time ago'. He said he had found himself growing bored in recent decades, and needed something to occupy his time.

He said the teaching methods at the institute had changed quite a bit over time, but that his methods were perfectly suitable for helping guide new mages through their journey. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Kiara didn't doubt it. For all she knew, he might have taught some of the current professors at the institute. Or maybe even the people that were professors when the current professors were attending the institute.

Belliston didn't volunteer what tier he was, but Kiara's [Magical Sense 3] clocked him in as a tier 3.

"So," Zita said to Kiara after their short introductions, "are you the young scion that will be receiving magical training?" She glanced sideways at Belliston.

"I still don't see why you hired two of us, our teaching styles are likely to conflict." Belliston stroked his beard but said nothing in reply. Kiara shook her head.

"Not me. I'm… receiving training somewhere else, I guess." She glanced at Dustin.

"Did Dustin not explain why you were both hired?" Zita pursed her lips.

"He did, he said that House Yountal needed private magical tutors to help teach magic at their estate in Easton. I assumed that meant young scions of the house, which you appear to be. But tell me, if you are already receiving instruction elsewhere, why hire us?" Her tone of voice made it seem as if she was looking down on everyone else around her, which irked Kiara somewhat. She tried not to let it get to her.

"Well, I'm not receiving magic training. I attend a swordfighting class here in Easton." Zita huffed.

"A rather poor substitute. Are you not interested in magic training, young lady?"

"Ah. Uh… no? I guess? It's not really important for me." Zita didn't give up the fight so easily.

"And what do your parents think of that attitutde? Are they not interested in you receiving the best instruction you can? What city does House Yountal hail from originally?" Kaira realized they had introduced her as Lady Shian Yountal, but hadn't specified that she was the head of the house and not her parents. Dustin coughed awkwardly from the side, but didn't step in to take the reins of the conversation.

"My parents are from uh… Poston." Zita shook her head.

"Never heard of it."

"That doesn't surprise me," Kiara replied.

"At any rate, I should probably make it clear that my parents aren't really in the picture here. I am the head of House Yountal, and Dustin hired you on my behalf." Belliston's eyes twinkled at the revelation as he continued stroking his beard. Zita's face went through a range of emotions: surprise, discomfort, confusion, and then finally settling back on haughty. She tilted her chin up as she spoke.

"So young! No wonder I have never heard of House Yountal before this." She sighed.

"A young house with no real prospects for the future… It won't look great on my resume, but for the price you're offering, I suppose I can teach your younger siblings a thing or two." She studied her nails as she finished. Kiara blinked a few times. Was this lady for real?

"Well," Kiara replied, "it's not for my siblings, per se. I want to teach my estate staff magic, anyone that hasn't had the chance before." Belliston's face became contemplative and interested, while Zita's grew more and more red as she strained to formulate a response.

"Wha.. why I never… In all my years… Preposterous! I would never teach magic to a group of commoners. To even think of it! I would be the laughing stock of all of Portish when word gets out. It would positively ruin my career! I refuse to be a part of this, and I demand compensation for this waste of my time." Kiara was having a hard time controlling her frustration at Zita's continued beration. She looked at Dustin for help. He was very interested in a loose thread on his pant leg, and refused to meet her gaze.

She turned back to Zita.

"Honestly, I would be thrilled to compensate you for your time and send you on your way. What amount would satisfy you?" Zita studied her for a moment, gauging just how much she could squeeze out of this deal.

"Well, my time spent riding here, just to be turned away the very next day is an affront to my character. I'll have to hire transportation and protection for the trip back to Portish. I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than thirty gold."

"Twenty," Kiara countered.

"Take it or leave it." Zita made a show of being outraged, but Kiara knew that twenty gold for a week of the woman's time was more than fair. Eventually Zita agreed to the price, after some more huffing and puffing, and Kiara handed her two platinum coins. The woman gathered her things and made a noisy exit, complaining the entire way out the door and through the yard. Belliston, who had been rather quiet the entire time, finally spoke up once her clamor had faded.

"The servants, eh?" Kiara sighed and nodded, turning to him.

"That's the plan, yes."

"I am not opposed to the idea," he said, "but I do want to manage expectations. There is a very real chance that many of them will not even develop a mana core to trigger their advance to tier 1. Those that do will likely not make it to tier 2. You might be wasting your money." Kiara smiled.

"So I've been told. However, to me it's not a waste. I've been led to believe that any exposure they have to ambient mana coursing through their body will likely have benefits for them even if they never develop a core. Am I understanding that right?" Belliston gave her a thoughtful nod.

"Hmm, yes, I believe they will. The benefits will be very minor, mind you, compared to what they would experience should they form a mana core."

"That's okay!" Kiara replied cheerfully.

"I think it's worth a shot." He studied her thoughtfully for another moment, still stroking his beard, before finally responding.

"Very well, take me to them!" Kiara's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Oh! Um, right now? They're all probably busy with their duties, for the most part. Perhaps we can have some kind of scheduled class every night that everyone is welcome to attend?" Belliston thought for a moment.

"Well, a nighttime class of general magic theory would be okay, but I will need extensive one-on-one time with each of the students in order to help them learn to feel the ambient magic and work on forming their core. That one-on-one time is imperative, and is the primary reason why only a few can afford to hire private magic tutors for their children. Perhaps you can provide me with a list of priority students that you'd like me to work with first, assuming you have such a list?" Kiara thought for a moment.

She honestly hadn't even announced this to the staff yet, other than alluding to it a few weeks ago in the house weapons tournament. She wasn't sure who would be interested, or who should have the priority in getting the first lessons with Belliston.

"Is there an age limit that we need to worry about?" she asked after a moment. Belliston waggled his hand.

"Yes and no. Noble houses tend to send their children to magic school only after they've reached the age of fourteen. Any younger than that, it's rare for someone to have developed their spiritual senses enough to interact with mana. There isn't an upper age limit though, as far as I'm aware." Okay, so none of the kids, then.

"Well, maybe we can hold our first class tonight, I can introduce you to everyone, and announce the opportunity. I'm sure once we know who is interested we can figure out the order they'll receive instruction in." Belliston smiled.

"Very well. In the meantime, might I retire to my room to rest? I'm afraid that woman who just left has given me quite the headache." Kiara stifled a laugh.

"Of course, Mr Ventrillion."

"Thank you, dear," he said, standing.

"Until tonight, then."