Capítulo 56: A New Lesson
After finishing his delicious lunch, Lith had one hour off. No one had approached his table, and that made him very happy.
He was very fond of his personal space, not to mention that he had no desire to waste time making small talk with a bunch of kids.
Despite his physical appearance, Lith's mind was that of an adult man, who had lived for almost forty years between his three lives.
Except for being hormonal due to his teenage body, and being addicted to oxygen, there was nothing he had in common with his classmates.
From that perspective, isolation was a blessing in disguise. If he spoke to no one, it was impossible for anyone to notice how different he was from his peers.
Lith and Solus had spent the time during their meal discussing the temporary lack of academy's class books. Both of them complained about the fact that the academy would only release the books after the first day of class, considering it unfair.
'It's such a pity.' Solus said. 'If we had them, we could already put them into Soluspedia, getting light years ahead of the other students. Instant knowledge!'
'Yeah, but I can understand the importance of this rule. Specializations are exclusives classes of the six big academies.
'If they just delivered them to the students' homes before the beginning of the year, their contents would be accessible to all the family members. This kind of knowledge can't be released without supervision.' Lith thought.
'And what about once the students get the opportunity to go back home, at the end of the trimester?' Solus asked.
Lith mentally shrugged and then he stood up from the chair, walking towards his room.
'By that time, they already have gained the status of students. According to what Linjos told us in his office, they are both protected and kept under surveillance. My guess is that books can't leave the academy's premises.
'The only things one can take out, are what they have learned or copied in their grimoire. If you love your family, you will not put them in danger by disclosing state secrets that could cost them their and your life.
'If you hate them, instead, the moment they try to coerce you, you just need to rat them out to get rid of them for good. It's a win-win situation.'
Once back in his room, Lith called his parents. He had left home only seven hours ago, yet the enthusiasm they greeted him with made it seem as if he had disappeared for years.
"My little baby!" Elina was on the verge of tears. "Are they treating you all right? Are you eating properly?"
"Yes, mom. Everything is fine." He lied through his teeth. "The Professors I met today were all amazing. My classmates are kinda stuck-up, but so far so good. Not to mention the food. I wish I could bring you some, it's just wonderful."
Contrary to his expectations, time flew by, and he was forced to leave Tista in a hurry, after giving her a consult about a patient of hers.
All the activities related to each year took place on their own floor.
The problem was that each floor was so big that getting lost or taking a long detour was pretty easy. In Lith's case, he had miscalculated the time he needed to reach the classroom.
Only when he heard the resounding gong that announced the beginning of the lessons, did he realize how long he had spent chatting.
'F*ck! The first thing I'm going to re-invent as soon as I become a Forgemaster, is a damn wristwatch. How the heck do people keep track of the time?'
Solus calculated that even if he jogged to his destination, Lith would have not made it in time, so he was forced to run. To avoid smelling on his first day, he used water magic to collect the sweat in his palm as soon as it formed, sending it straight in Solus' pocket dimension.
Despite his best efforts, he was the last one to arrive. Luckily, the professor in charge had yet to show up. According to the schedule, Lith would have met Professor Marth, the very same Marth that had created Blood Resonance magic.
It was a great opportunity for Lith to get his attention, and maybe, if the opportunity arose, to share some of his knowledge with Marth. Having one of the Light department's top experts as his backer, or even better as a mentor, could be a real game-changer.
'Be cool, and try not to sound desperate, old man.' Lith thought to himself.
'We have a full year ahead together, maybe even two. I need to play my cards right and keep my admission's score while improving my status. I don't give a damn about friends and the other students are useless.
'Allies, on the contrary, can help me keep my family safe from the likes of Duke Hestia and provide me with the resources I'll need to equip my own Forgemaster laboratory. I can't waste years grinding away for gold, I need time to travel and find the answer to my resurrection problem.'
The classroom was much smaller than the one for the mandatory lessons. It was a square room, with each side twelve meters (39 feet). In front of the chalkboard, there were three rows of desks, separated by small corridors.
It could comfortably accommodate up to fifty students, yet according to Solus, there were only twenty-six students attending, Lith included. He occupied the closest spot to the chalkboard, sitting near the other students.
When they threw a mean glare at him, he just took out the Ballot, forcing them to shut up and mind their own business. After what had happened that morning, they didn't dare move away from him.
Also because doing that would mean getting even farther from the chalkboard and the Professor. The floor was flat, making it hard to see through all the heads in front of them already.
The man who walked into the room was outstanding in his own way. He was quite short, barely over 1.55 meters (5'1") tall, and at least sixty years old.
The top of his head was completely bald, the hair he had left on the sides was snow-white and so was his waxed handlebar mustache. His belly was so big that it made it hard to guess if he was larger than he was high.
That, together with his pure white robe, made him resemble a real-life Humpty Dumpty.
"Hello, dear students. I'm Professor Vastor, and I'll guide you through your first steps in the light magic Master healer course."
Not everyone was as ignorant as Lith, most of them already knew what Professor Marth looked like. Before Professor Vastor could finish his introduction, the class was filled with saddened groans.
His disgruntled expression to such reaction expressed clearly how angered he was by that blatant lack of respect.
"I'm very sorry to disappoint you, but as you should have predicted, Professor Marth can't waste his precious time with the likes of you. The whole light magic research department rests on his shoulders, so you'll have to settle for me.
"Words cannot express how it saddens me to notice that even country bumpkins have more manners than the high and mighty nobles."
He wasn't referring to just Lith, but to all the students that thanks to their poor background had failed to recognize him and looked at him with admiration despite his funny appearance.
"I have good news and bad news for all of you. The good news is that we won't spend two hours in this class. I just need to explain to you the differences between tier three and four of healing magic. After that, we will move into the academy's hospital.
"There we will do some trial rounds of our resident patients, giving you the chance to meet both Professor Marth and Professor Manohar, if we are lucky enough."
The class exploded in cheers and applauses.
'What the heck?' Lith thought. 'Where do they think we are, at a stadium? Back on Earth, my college professors would have skinned them alive for such behavior.'
Vastor had a very Earth-like expression at the moment, his hands were trembling with rage, his nostrils dilated at every breath.
"The bad news…" He continued, cutting them short.
"…is that it means I will start evaluating you all right off the bat. Even today's rounds will help us to test your skills, separating the gold from shiny trash."
The room fell silent, most of the students in the first row had lost all their enthusiasm. Some were having stomach cramps due to nervousness, others seemed on the verge of puking.
It wasn't at all as they had imagined their first day of specialization would be.
Professor Vastor was delighted by the result of his speech, curling his mustache with a sadistic grin on his face.
"Let's not waste any more time. I'm sure you can't wait to stop listening to my gibberish and become real healers like your hero, Professor Marth."
'Man, I don't need tier four magic to diagnose Professor Vastor with a really bad case of 'Envy syndrome'. Being so petty at his age is really sad.' Solus said.
'Yeah. Happens when you lose your throne to someone younger and more talented. I feel the same way.' Lith replied, thinking about how lucky his classmates were to be born with cyan mana cores, without having to work hard for years to reach that level.
"First of all, who can tell me what the greatest limitations of tiers one to three of light magic are?"
Lith raised his hand, but so did everyone else. Vastor chose one of them at random to answer.
"You, with the snob face. Feel free to share with the class." He said pointing to a girl with shoulder-length black hair in the first row.
"Professor, my name is actually…"
"I don't care." Vastor cut her short.
"I expect at least half of you to drop out within the first six months. I won't bother remembering your names."
Most faces turned red with anger, while Lith was inwardly smiling.
When compared to most nobles he had encountered in the past, Professor Vastor was really polite. At least he didn't discriminate, he treated everyone like cr*p.
Capítulo 57: A New Lesson (2)
The black-haired girl was simply outraged. She belonged to one of the ancient noble families, admired and respected throughout the Griffon Kingdom. She had always been treated like a princess of royal blood, no one had ever dared disrespect her.
Now, not only did she have to endure all those harsh words, but she also had no way to bite back at Professor Vastor. Threatening a mage belonging to an academy, was like spitting towards the sky, it would always backfire.
All he had to do to put an end to her career as a healer was to give her a bad evaluation. Having five siblings and being at the bottom of the line of succession, magic was her only redeeming feature.
She could only swallow her pride and answer:
"The lower tiers of light magic have two insurmountable limits. The first being that light magic can only enhance the recovery of the patient. If they suffered from an excessive blood loss or are already on the verge of death, healing magic is useless.
"The second limit…"
"Okay, enough. Your turn, edgy face." He cut her short, pointing his finger at Lith.
"The second limit is that it cannot regrow lost body parts, be it organs or limbs. Clean cut fingers or extremities can be reattached, but only if well preserved and within an hour from the amputation."
"Correct and correct!" Vastor almost sounded disappointed.
"Now, who can tell me how, hypothetically, the first issue could be solved?" Everyone raised his hand, once again.
"You, with the pauper face." He said to a petite girl with long brown hair, sitting a few desks away from Lith. Because of her small and scrawny build, it was hard to imagine her being twelve year old, she barely looked like she was a day past eight.
Clearly, she had suffered from malnutrition for a long time. Lith's sixth sense told him that the academy's uniform was probably the first pretty clothes she had ever had.
With all the stress from her first day of academy, the threats and insults from Professor Vastor had been the last straw for her. When she tried to answer, only hiccups came out, she was fighting back her tears.
'What a d*ck.' Lith thought.
His hand instinctively played with the Ballot, but he didn't activate it. It was her problem, not his. She had done nothing for him when he had been bullied twice that morning, so Lith had no reason to bother helping her.
His movements, though, didn't escape Professor Vastor's eyes.
'Oh, for f*ck's sake! I had almost forgotten about the bum with the Ballot. If that thing is recording and he bothers reporting me to the Headmaster, I will be in deep sh*t.
'Linjos has made it crystal clear that professors' tough love is now considered bullying, and has tried more than once to fire me. He's just waiting for an excuse to replace me with one of his angry lackeys. Dammit, I'm too old to lose such a good job.'
"I'm so sorry, young miss. I didn't mean to offend you. There, there. Take your time before answering." His voice was suddenly all milk and honey, offering her a handkerchief from his chest pocket.
Despite her frail looks, she needed but a second to compose herself.
"The only way to do it…" she replied sniffling from time to time.
"…would be to somehow infuse the patient with an external source of life force. But that's impossible. I worked as a healer since I was six years old, I've tried countless spells and always failed.
"Light magic cannot create or pass energy, only nourish what is already there."
The whole class nodded.
'Heck if I know.' Lith thought. 'The only patients I have ever failed were those that arrived too late to be saved. Not even my true magic could transfuse life force.'
"Correct, young miss!" This time he sounded genuinely happy, the class was starting to think he suffered from severe mood swings.
"And don't worry, here at the light department we will fix your growth problem in a snap, you have my word." After making sure that he was out of the hole he had dug for himself, he resumed using his snarky tone.
"The little one is right, light magic cannot do it. No matter how talented the mage or how complex the spell, it's impossible. Yet tier four light magic can. Anyone want to take an educated guess?"
The classroom fell silent, no hand was raised.
Professor Vastor sneered at their ignorance, puffing out his chest.
"Oh, oh, oh! Seems you still have much to learn. But you have come to the right place. The answer is: it's only possible by mixing it with darkness magic"
"What?"
"How?"
"The f*ck?"
Professor Vastor ignored their shocked expression and the exclamations filling the classroom. He waved his hands in the air, generating with first magic a black and white circle identical to Earth's representation of Yin and Yang.
"The greatest legacy left to us from Magus Silverwing, is the knowledge that light and darkness magic are but one. They perpetually dance together in all things. When one pushes, the other pulls.
"When light steps forward, darkness steps backwards and vice versa. When they are in harmony life thrives, otherwise only death awaits. The key to tier four light magic is weaving them together.
"Dark magic takes the energy from the donor, while light magic allows it to enter the patient's body without a backlash. Balancing them is the key to success."
'F*ck me sideways!' Lith thought. 'How can I be so stupid? I read that goddamn book hundreds of times, I should have understood this years ago by myself. I wish I was more talented in magic, or at least smarter.'
'Hey, that's offensive!' Solus rebuked. 'I'm way smarter than you, and I have failed nonetheless. The real problem is that our approach to magic is too naïve. By my maker, I hate feeling so useless. If only I still had my memories…'
"Excuse me, Professor, I have a question." Snob face awoke them from their self -pity moment.
"If here at the White Griffon we mix light and dark magic together for healing, what's the difference between us and the Black Griffon? Can't they do the same?"
"The difference, dear snob face, lies in the purpose. Here at the White Griffon, we are proud of our light magic department, where we can cure almost everything.
"At the Black Griffon, they specialize in destroying things."
The rest of the hour Professor Vastor showed them again and again the simplest tier four light magic spell until everyone was capable of performing it.
The fastest students turned out to be young miss, an arrogant faced kid, snob face, and edgy face, in this order.
Lith had done his best. He needed to experience the spell with fake magic, before being able to reproduce and enhance it with true magic. Yet he ended up in fourth place.
After that, Professor Vastor opened a Warp Steps that brought them right outside the academy's hospital.
'Lith, by keeping the portal open for so long, the Professor gave me the time I needed to clear its mystery. The reason why the staff can create them with such ease is because of the ring with the academy's insignia they wear.
'The whole castle is a giant artifact, they simply use the rings to tap into its powers. If your uniform has so many functions, I can't even imagine what something as big and powerful as this building can do.'
Lith didn't reply, he just wondered how powerful Solus could be, compared to the academy, if she regained her old power. He had only found mentions of magic towers in fairy tales, and they were described as something unfathomable.
According to the lore, within their own magic tower, a mage was nigh omnipotent. But fairy tales also told about fairy godmothers, elves, sprites and happy endings, and he had yet to meet someone that took any of those things seriously.
When he had spoken about them with Nana, Lark and the Marchioness, they had all mocked him for his childish daydreams.
When the students entered through the double doors, they found it hard to believe to their eyes.
The academy's hospital ward would put any Earth's hospital to shame. The floors were able to self-clean, the beds would move and massage the patients' bodies to avoid bedsores, and they constantly monitored their vitals.
The air was fresh and clean, free from the smell of disinfectants that usually plagues these kinds of places. Everything looked more like out of a celebrity resort rather than a place where people went to die.
"What a marvel of magic!" Said the arrogant faced boy from before, a fifteen-year-old 1.65 meters (5'5") tall with red hair. "But I suppose it was to be expected, since you were the one designing the whole thing, Professor Vastor."
"Yurial, my boy!" Professor Vastor finally recognized him.
"Long time no see. How is your old man, Deirus? Being an archmage is a big burden, you must be ready to step in and help him as soon as possible."
"My dad is doing fine, thank you. I'll send him your regards. With your help I'm sure I will be able to keep the family tradition."
"But of course! Mage bloodlines are highly treasured here at the light department. I hope you'll show all those snotty nobles and poor commoners what a true magician is made of."
'I stand corrected.' Lith thought. 'He does discriminate, just not the way I am used to. He seems to be a sucker to magical families instead of noble ones. I guess not every Professor can be like Trasque or Nalear.'
Just thinking her name sent a warm feeling throughout his body that Lith hastily suppressed. He despised himself for his weak, hormonal body, wasting his precious time and energies on teenage delusions.
Lith could not afford any slip-ups, the trial round was about to begin, and he was determined to shine among his peers.
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