Chương 23: Bread Winner

Their next appointment was in the lecture hall. Unsurprisingly, the professor was none other than Wonka himself.

The previous Turner turned Shepherd was by far the best candidate to educate the herders who were soon to be on the field.

Wonka greeted Lilo with a smile as he took his seat near the front and Chalant sat beside him.

The two brother's red hair stood out from the rest of the students and their golden eyes glistened in the suns lights that spilled from the skylight windows up above.

The lecture hall was small but the ceilings were tall, making the room feel vast and spacious.

There were about one hundred herders, all wearing the same uniform but with differing belts.

It seemed that everyone, regardless or rank or class, took the same learning course. Or at least, they all congregated here at the beginning of the day.

There was one student in particular with the most engraving on their belt and the most carefree expression on their bored face.

Lemon, the tall brunet little sister of the beautiful Miss Pepper, sat in the farthest corner of the room, with her legs crossed, propped up on her desk and the solved fidget cube in her hands.

Nobody else would have noticed it, but Lilo was able to make out the subtle proud smirk on her face as she held the solved puzzle.

Lilo looked down at his own belt and brushed his hand across the smooth surface. He was eager to earn the badges and accelerate above his competition.

He ran his hands along the meshy fabric of his tunic. It was a unique tunic. Most of the civilians wore a standard tunic.

Ones that did not have an undergarment to cover the breeze that would freely blow between one's ass cheeks.

The traditional kind that was similar to a bath robe more than a dignified outfit.

But it seemed that anyone of a herder rank and above wore undergarments that were akin to pants. This allowed them to be flexible without the worry of flashing anyone their jewels.

It was still odd to always be barefoot. Lilo did not understand why that was the societal norm, but his confusion did not last long; because Wonka was in the middle of his lesson on magic.

He wrote terms with his orange chalk on the blue chalk board: Chi, Mana, Casting.

"Can anyone explain what each of these mean to the new students?" Wonka looked out at the crowd of young herders.

To Lilo's surprise, his brother's arm shot up with eager anticipation. Wonka gave a nod of approval.

"Chi is the magic source that your body produces. Mana is the magic source that is around you. And casting is when one manipulates said magic sources." Chalant's answer was methodical and precise.

A proud grin creased Chalant's lips as Wonka applauded his answer.

"Correct. Those are the simple principles of magic, and although shepherds do not use magic as their main resource, you are each expected to know the basics in order to aid you in our dangerous field." Wonka exclaimed as he continued writing on the blue board.

Lilo appreciated this worlds color aesthetics. The traditional green chalk board with white chalk on earth was not pleasing to look at and would often cause him to fall asleep during his days in school.

This new color combination of orange chalk on a blue chalk board was very pleasing to the eye and captivating to derive information from.

Wonka continued his lecture:

"Kite riders are our experts in magic and they wield it to create the fabric of our society as well as rule the skies. We wield it to communicate and access our surroundings."

"There are five areas within our body that is capable of casting: Your hands, your feet, your mind, your heart, and lastly your core."

"Your abdomen is where all of your chi is stored, and it is the most lethal and sacred part of your body."

"Guard it with your life, because it depends on it. It is your source of life and the absence of it spells death."

"Chi is much more potent than mana because it come from within. Any external source of fuel for magic will be less potent but much more useful as it is less risky to tamper with."

"There is mana everywhere: within the nature all around you, the air the breath, the light you see, the ground you stand on."

'But we stand on clouds though...'

As if to answer his thoughts directly, Wonka turned to Lilo as he continued to explain:

"The cloud tiles we have built our society on were built by kite riders for any commoner to cast with the chi in their feet."

"Mana is much more preferred and plentiful to use but for those that do not practice magic, it is second nature for them to use their chi; therefore we've all been accustomed to using it when maneuvering within our citadel."

Lilo began floating. No literally, he began to rise from his chair as gravity seemingly began to disappear. The feeling of falling was deep at the pit of his stomach and he flailed about as he tried to regain balance.

The class erupted in laughter as Wonka's forehead glowed from mana concentration as he casted magic to cause Lilo to rise out to the ceiling for a demonstration.

"Manipulating clouds is a simple casting that anyone can do, and using your chi to do so is not risky because of how little it demands."

"But if you would like to do something like this:"

Lilo began flying around the room at high speeds, being tossed and turned against his will; as his vision blurred and tears brimmed his eyes from vertigo.

"Using mana will be much more valuable for an extended amount of time or for a large task such as telekinesis."

"Maybe you want to move a craver out of harms way. Or perhaps directly into harms way to use as a meat shield. Being able to utilize magic in this way can prove to be very useful when shepherding cravers."

Lilo was gently placed back into his seat as the class settled out of laughter. His face was blushed from embarrassment and his forehead was drenched in sweat.

'Dammit, I'm a grown ass man. Don't let this silly demo manipulate how you feel.'