Chương 11: The First Week

The second day at the Royal Arcane Academy began much earlier than I would have preferred. I had barely finished breakfast when someone knocked on my door. I already knew who it was.

"Leo!" I opened the door. Amon stood outside with his academy bag hanging from one shoulder.

"We're going to be late." I looked at the clock.

"We have thirty minutes."

"Exactly."

"Thirty minutes is not late."

"It will be."

"Why?"

"Because I haven't eaten." I stared at him.

"You woke me up because you're hungry?" He thought about it.

"Now that you mention it, yes." I closed the door.

"Wait!" Amon caught it before it shut.

"Come on." By the time we reached the dining hall, Alice and Masha were already there. Alice looked at Amon.

"You woke Leo up again, didn't you?"

"How did you know?"

"You always do." Masha placed a plate in front of me.

"I saved you breakfast."

"Thanks." Amon looked at her plate.

"You didn't save me anything?"

"You arrived ten minutes after everyone else."

"I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Looking for Leo."

"You knew where he lived." Amon paused.

"That wasn't the point." Alice laughed. I ate quietly while they argued. It was already becoming a routine. I didn't mind. Our first class was elemental theory. Professor Elena stood in front of a large magical board. Today, she wasn't explaining the basics. She wanted us to understand how elemental magic behaved in actual combat.

"Magic isn't simply a matter of knowing spells," she said.

"The same spell can produce completely different results depending on how you use it." She drew two circles.

"Suppose two Fire Mages cast the same technique." The first circle became bright red. The second became orange.

"The first mage releases the spell immediately." The second compresses the Mana before releasing it." She erased the circles.

"The second spell will usually have greater penetrating power." Amon leaned forward.

"Then why doesn't everyone compress their Mana?"

"Because compression requires greater control." Professor Elena looked directly at him.

"And because if you make a mistake…" She snapped her fingers. The magical circle on the board exploded. Amon's eyes widened.

"…the spell can explode before you release it." Several students laughed. Amon leaned back.

"I suddenly respect normal Fire Magic." The lesson became more complicated. We learned about Mana density. Casting speed. Range. Elemental resistance. Spell stability. I found myself enjoying the class. Magic had something that martial arts didn't. There were countless variables. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. A spell wasn't simply powerful or weak. Its effectiveness depended on timing, distance, surroundings, and the mage's control. That made it interesting.

I wrote several notes. Alice looked over.

"You're taking this seriously."

"Of course."

"You already know most of this."

"Knowing something and understanding it aren't the same." She considered that.

"That's a good point." Amon leaned forward from behind us.

"Can you explain why Fire beats Earth?" Masha turned around.

"It doesn't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're simplifying elemental interactions." Amon looked disappointed.

"I preferred my version." After elemental theory came magical mathematics. That class was less enjoyable. We spent almost an hour calculating Mana consumption. The instructor wrote a formula on the board. Several students stared at it as though it were an ancient curse. Amon whispered:"I hate this."

"You've been saying that for twenty minutes."

"I still mean it." Masha looked at his notebook.

"You haven't written anything."

"I've been thinking."

"You've drawn a dragon." Amon covered the page.

"It's a mathematical dragon." Alice looked over.

"It has wings."

"Advanced mathematics." I laughed. Even the student sitting in front of us turned around to hide his smile. The instructor eventually noticed.

"Amon." Amon froze.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Since you seem to have finished the exercise…" Amon looked at his completely empty notebook.

"…I would like you to solve question seven on the board." The entire class became quiet. Amon slowly stood. He walked toward the board. Five minutes later, he was still staring at the equation. Masha whispered:"Mathematical dragon." I covered my mouth. Our afternoon was more interesting. Professor Gareth took us to the combat grounds. Yesterday, he had tested our basic physical abilities. Today, he wanted to teach us how to combine magic with movement.

"Most beginner mages stand still when casting." He walked across the arena.

"That is a terrible habit." He suddenly threw a wooden dagger toward one of the training targets. The dagger struck the center.

"Your opponent won't politely wait while you prepare a spell." He looked at us.

"You need to move while casting." We were divided into pairs. Alice and I were assigned together. Amon ended up with Masha. The exercise was simple. One person would attack. The other had to evade while preparing a basic spell. Alice took the attacking position. I stood opposite her. She smiled.

"Ready?"

"Yes." She raised her hand. A beam of Light shot toward me. I stepped aside. Another followed. Then another. Her aim was precise. I moved around the arena while forming a Darkness spell. The spell required concentration. But I had spent years practicing movement while circulating Internal Energy. Compared to that, maintaining a small amount of Mana while moving wasn't particularly difficult. I released the spell. A dark sphere struck the ground beside Alice. She jumped back.

"That was close."

"That was the point." She smiled.

"Again." We repeated the exercise. Each time, Alice increased her speed. I increased mine. Neither of us wanted to lose. Eventually, Professor Gareth stopped us.

"Enough." We lowered our hands. He looked at us.

"Good." He turned toward the rest of the class.

"Notice what they did." Everyone watched.

"Neither of them stopped moving." He pointed toward me.

"Leo maintained his spell preparation while changing direction." Then Alice.

"Alice adjusted her attack based on his movement instead of repeatedly targeting the same location." He nodded.

"That is what practical magic looks like." Alice looked pleased. I was too. Across the arena, Amon wasn't doing as well. He had accidentally set part of his training robe on fire. Masha was trying to extinguish it.

"Stop moving!"

"I can't!"

"You're making it worse!"

"I know!" Professor Gareth walked over. He looked at Amon. Then at the burning cloth. Then at Masha.

"How?" Masha sighed.

"He lost control of the spell." Amon raised his hand.

"Technically, the spell lost control of me." Gareth stared at him.

"That's not better." Amon laughed. Even Professor Gareth smiled. After training, we were given the rest of the afternoon free. The four of us decided to explore the academy. It was much larger than we had initially realized. The main academic building connected to several specialized facilities. There was a potion laboratory. A magical engineering workshop. A large library. An indoor training hall. A medical center. A garden dedicated to magical plants. And, to Amon's great interest, a restaurant.

"You have to admit," he said, staring through the window.

"This place is amazing." Masha looked at him.

"You mean the restaurant?"

"Yes." Alice shook her head.

"Of course." We entered. The restaurant was crowded with students. We found a table near the window. Amon ordered enough food for several people. I stared at his plate.

"Are you expecting someone?"

"No."

"Then why so much?"

"I'm hungry." Masha sighed. Alice laughed. We spent the next hour talking about our classes. Amon complained about mathematics. Masha talked about the magical engineering club. Alice mentioned a Light Magic study group. Then she looked at me.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you joining a club?"

"I haven't decided."

"You should."

"Why?"

"Because you're always studying." Masha nodded.

"She's right." Amon pointed his fork at me.

"Join the combat club."

"I haven't seen it yet."

"Then let's go." I looked at him.

"Now?"

"Yes." Masha sighed.

"We're never going to finish eating, are we?"

"No." The combat club was located inside the academy's western training hall. When we entered, several students were practicing with wooden weapons. Some were using swords. Others spears. A few were training hand-to-hand combat. A senior student approached us.

"First years?"

"Yes," Amon said.

"Interested in joining?" Amon looked at me. I shrugged. The senior student smiled.

"You can participate in a trial match if you want." Amon immediately accepted.

"Of course." I laughed. He never changed. Amon's opponent was a second-year student. The older student used a spear. Amon chose a wooden sword. The match began. Amon attacked aggressively. The senior student blocked. The difference in experience became obvious quickly. Amon was strong. Very strong for his age. But the second-year student had better timing. He avoided Amon's attacks and countered whenever Amon left an opening. After several exchanges, Amon was disarmed.

The senior student pointed the spear toward his chest.

"Good strength." Amon frowned.

"But?"

"You rely too much on it." Amon looked at the sword lying on the ground. Then nodded.

"I'll fix that." The senior student smiled.

"Come back next week." Amon picked up his sword.

"I will." He didn't look disappointed. If anything, he looked excited. That was one of the things I liked about him. Losing didn't discourage him. It gave him something to work toward. As we left the training hall, Amon turned to me.

"Your turn."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't join the club."

"You can still fight."

"I'm tired."

"You don't look tired."

"I am." Alice looked at me.

"He's avoiding it." Masha nodded.

"I think so." Amon pointed at me.

"Exactly." I sighed.

"You people are annoying."

"That's not a no." Before I could respond, the senior student called from behind.

"Leo." I turned. He was standing near the entrance.

"I saw your match yesterday." I nodded.

"You have good fundamentals."

"Thank you."

"You should join." I considered it. The club could be useful. It would give me a reason to train publicly without raising questions.

"Maybe." He smiled.

"That's enough for now." The sun was already setting when we returned to the dormitories. I walked with Alice. Amon and Masha were ahead of us, arguing about whether Amon should change his fighting style. Alice was quiet for a while. Then she spoke.

"You're enjoying this." I looked at her.

"The academy?"

"Yes." I thought about it.

"I am." She smiled.

"Good." We continued walking. After a few moments, she said:"I was worried you wouldn't."

"Why?"

"You always seem so focused." She looked ahead.

"I thought you'd spend all your time studying."

"I probably will." She laughed.

"But I'll make time for other things."

"Like?" I looked at her.

"Friends." Her expression softened.

"Good answer." We continued walking. The academy lights came on around us as evening settled over the campus. For the first time since my reincarnation, I wasn't thinking about my previous life. I wasn't thinking about becoming the strongest. I wasn't thinking about the Demonic Sect. I wasn't thinking about revenge. I was thinking about tomorrow's classes. The combat club. Amon's inevitable rematch. Alice's Light Magic practice. Masha's engineering project.

And the simple question of what I wanted to eat for dinner. It was strange. But I liked it. My second life wasn't a mission. It was simply my life. And for now, that was enough. End of Chapter 11.