Chương 131: Professors

"Damion, it is time for lunch," Elicia call out to him.

"Um, should I wear one of these uniforms?" Damion called back. He was never good with outfits and all the uniforms looked the same, but he did not know if there was a protocol involved for this lunch. Before Damion could even consider what Elicia's answer might be, the young woman walked right into his room. He had dumped all his belongings on his bed earlier and while he had put quite a few things away, his bed was still cluttered with items causing Elicia to wrinkle her nose when she saw the mess.

Elicia saw Damion standing shirtless in front of his closet looking at the uniforms and paused for a moment before approaching him. She did not say anything, but Damion thought he saw her cheeks flush as she walked past him and took the uniform on the far right out the closest and hand it to him. Damion noticed this uniform was slightly different than the others. The difference was not in the design or the colors, but in the materials. The one Elicia handed him was a much higher quality material.

All the uniforms consisted of a blazer, slacks, and white shirt with a black tie. On right breast of the blazer was the crest of Silver Spire Magic Academy, which consisted of a circular seal with the image of the Silver Spire in the middle with a raging fire on right and a torrent of water on the left. Around the edge of the seal were glyphs that Damion recognized as the ancient language and translated roughly to Silver Spire Magic Academy.

"This is the uniform to wear on formal occasions," Elicia told Damion.

"Is there anything different about this uniform other than the material?" Damion asked. The uniform Elicia handed him was made of some type of silk while the others were either a wool or a cotton blend, Damion was not quite sure which.

"No. Just finer materials. Hurry up and get dressed, the professors will hold it against you if you are late." Elicia walked out of Damion's bedroom while he hurriedly dressed. Once he thought he was ready he stepped out of his bedroom only to have Elicia straighten his tie and smooth the lines of his blazer. After she was satisfied he was presentable, Elicia led him to the central tower of the academy. Taking him through luxurious halls filled with portraits of people.

Damion was able to read a few of the plaques labeling the portraits and guessed they were either famous alumni or prestigious teachers of the school, but he did not recognize any of the names. When they finally reached their destination, Elicia held the door open for him and Damion entered the dining hall to see a single large table in the middle of the enormous hall. At it sat the Headmaster, Mage Teft, and the other professors that had greeted him on his arrival.

Standing a few paces behind each of them were people dressed like Elicia, their attendants, Damion surmised. There was one chair open at the table, between the Headmaster and Mage Teft. Damion tried to control the sudden nervousness he was feeling, but he was not having much success. After walking around the table and taking his seat, Damion realized he had lost track of Elicia, but when he looked at the other attendants in the room he understood she was probably standing behind him.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Don't worry Damion, most meals are not this formal," Mage Teft reassured Damion as food was being brought out to the table.

"Just special occasions?"

"Precisely, it is not every day we get to meet someone with the potential to surpass S Rank," one of the professors smirked. Damion did not know what subject this particular professor taught, but he had a feeling he would not like his class.

"Won't it be every day now that I am a student here?" Damion shot back as casually as he could. He had a feeling he was supposed to be present himself as a model student, but he did not like being mocked and the words slipped out before he could stop himself. Several of the professors let out chuckles, including the Headmaster. But the one who laughed the hardest was the one who had spoken.

"Fire! I like it," the professor said between his laughter.

"Too bad you won't be in any of my classes."

"I won't be?" Damion questioned.

"Professor Moretti teaches the basic and advanced combat classes," Mage Teft explained.

"Since you are already a D Rank mage and have completed numerous missions and dungeon runs, there would be little you could learn in his class."

"What classes will I be taking?" Damion asked.

"You'll be taking an advanced magic theory class that combines Magic Theory 101 and Advanced Magical Theory. You know bits and pieces from both classes, so the special class will round out your knowledge. I will be your instructor there.

"Professor Martin," as Mage Teft said his name a burly man with close cut hair raised his glass towards Damion.

"Teaches Beastology, and you will join the first-year students in his class.

"You will also be taking Magic Materials and their Uses and Magic Plants and Their Effects with Professor Heinrick." This time it was a short man with green hair that raised his glass.

"You will also take Study of the Ancient Language with Professor Toole, who is not here with us today," Mage Teft said with a bit of frustration in her voice.

"And finally, you will take Thaumaturgy with Professor Holden."

"Thaumaturgy?" Damion questioned, not familiar with the term.

"The practical applications of your magic. Not everything has to be about fighting Ferocious and Demonic Beasts." Professor Holden interjected. He was, a tall skinny man that, even sitting, was a head taller than everyone else at the table.

"If you spent more time fighting beasts then maybe you would not still be a B Rank," laughed Professor Moretti.

"I'm quite happy where I am thank you," Professor Holden said pointedly. The conversation quickly devolved into bickering and small conversations between the various professors. Damion had only been introduced to less than half the people at the table, but he supposed he would learn the names of the others in time. Repeating the names of his six classes in his head, Damion committed each to memory.

He had a rough idea of what each class would teach him and wanted to ask his professors questions, but he found himself for the most part ignored.

"Are they always like this?" Damion whispered to Mage Teft.

"Only when they gather together for more than a few minutes. Each of them believes their subject is the most important, which of course is a good trait to have when teaching a subject, but it makes for poor table manners."

"How long are my classes?"

"Your Magic Theory class will be an hour and a half every day, while the others are an hour long. Don't expect to be able to work ahead in any of these classes either. These classes won't be as easy as primary school was for you."

"I'll be sure to study hard," Damion said eager to get started. Primary school was easy for him because the only subject where he was really learning something new was history, and even then the books he read growing up filled in a lot of that knowledge as well. Damion knew here at Silver Spire Magic Academy he was going to have to study hard to do well, but he was looking forward to it.