Soul of the Warrior

"Pull a string of mana out, and make it about a foot long," Master Feld said. "You can do it any length you want, but for the purpose of the exercise, we're only going to do a foot."

It was the second week of classes, and Master Feld was introducing the concept of compressing mana to the students of the second-year class. Reivyn had attended the class for the remaining two times the first week, and Master Feld had simply demonstrated each of the weaves for the various Elements and shown their increased strength versus the simple strings.

Reivyn hadn't had time to pick up all of the new weaves for Tier 2 Affinities, but with the simple demonstration and his Lattice Skill, he was already able to start practicing them. Master Feld had instructed the second-year students to practice on their main affinities first, and he had given pointers to everyone on how to increase the speed and efficiency of making the ropes.

"You can practice weaving the ropes for the Affinities you already know, and next week, after I introduce compression, I'll help you with the Tier 2 Affinity weaves."

Reivyn was looking forward to continuing his progress, but mana compression was also something he would need to learn soon, so he paid attention to the lecture and followed along with his own mana string.

"Compression isn't anything amazing or complicated," Master Feld continued. "The main determining Skill for Compression is Mana Manipulation, but Conjuration can also be a supplementary help. All you have to do is muster your will, and force the mana together. This is the simplest form of mana compression."

Master Feld materialized a Mana rope instantly next to the mana string, and Reivyn watched as the rope shrunk until it was the same size as the string.

"Once you're able to compress your ropes to match the same size as your strings quickly, you'll be ready for the next step: removing the empty space between the mana motes to allow for further compression. Simply squeezing the mana together leaves the little pockets of empty space in place, and so it can only take you so far.

"For now, practice on the strings. They will have less resistance to your compression efforts. Once you have enough confidence, you can move on to the ropes."

All of the students concentrated on their own Mana strings as Master Feld gave his lesson. Reivyn took control of the motes in a portion of the string. He tried to compress them together, but when one portion moved in, another portion of the string further away bulged out instead.

I understand why we're only using a foot of string, Reivyn thought as he rearranged his efforts. We have to compress the string from all sides at once, or it'll simply slip out of our grasp, like a squishy toy. Master Feld must have left that out on purpose for all of us to experience it firsthand.

Reivyn was aware that all of the other second-year students experienced the same thing he had just seen with his own string. He concentrated further and took complete control over the entire thing and pressed his will in on all sides at once. There was a bit of resistance to the forceful movement, but it wasn't anything he couldn't brush past with a little effort. He increased the pressure, and his Mana string shrunk to about two-thirds of its original size.

Reivyn pressed even harder, but the mana remained in place, unwilling to shrink any further. Hmm, I'm not able to compress it any further than this. If this was a Mana rope, I wouldn't be able to meet the minimum requirement of the same size as the string, much less in a quick speed.

A student raised their hand and Master Feld nodded for them to ask their question.

"Master Feld, how come I can't get it to compress any further? I feel that my Mana Manipulation Skill and willpower are strong enough to go further, but it isn't working. It seems like it's something that can't be fixed with just more practice."

"Excellent question," Master Feld replied. "The issue is speed. When you create the string of mana, the motes consisting of the string are basically just floating in an approximate position, and they're fluid and easy to move. Once you begin compressing the Mana, though, it begins to solidify in place. That doesn't mean you can't still manipulate the string as freely, because the motes become rigid to their internal structure.

"Practice is still the key, but you have to work towards getting faster. You only have a limited amount of time to compress the mana before it will become impossible, and then you would have to dismiss the Mana and start over if you fail to achieve the result you want."

"Thank you, Master Feld," the student said.

"Any more questions?" Master Feld looked around the room. "If not, we'll simply work on compressing the different weaves of the Basic Elements for the rest of the class period. This is just to introduce the concept to you, though, and we'll return to the Affinity ropes next class period. You're free to pursue any form of practice you choose, but the second semester is dedicated toward compression."

Life at the Academy during the first month was hectic and peaceful in equal measure. Reivyn found that he would have sporadic periods of time where he was super busy, and sometimes he could relax a bit as the teachers allowed time for consolidating their lessons. Reivyn found that even the non-magical classes had snippets of information useful for increasing his proficiency as a Caster, as they were all focused with Casters in mind.

The History of Magic Class was more of a primer on all of the different permutations of Caster Class that were available in Tier 2 and Tier 3. He had already seen almost all of the ones in Tier 2 from his own Class Page, but there were several Caster Classes and specialties that he hadn't seen in the list that the class went over.

There is actually a long list of Lifestyle Classes that are technically considered Caster Classes. There are Classes like Mana Gardener, Stone Shaper, or Mana Speaker. The Mana Gardener focuses on cultivating plants with their magical abilities, and it's apparently a highly sought-after profession in the higher Tier Regions as they can greatly complement Alchemists.

Stone Shapers are artists for the most part, but they can also be useful for mining natural resources. The architecture and decorations that can be found in The Capital have a hand from such people, though it's not found much of anywhere else in the Tier 1 kingdom. Such professions are more widespread in the higher Regions where Mana is more abundant. They're also integral for resource hunting parties going into the wilderness, as they're much more efficient at finding and retrieving rare metals.

The Mana Speaker can also be utilitarian or artistic in execution. Many bards and singers actually have the Tier 2 Class Mana Speaker as their foundation. They're also useful to armies and leaders because they can choose the path of long-distance communication.

I've already determined my own path, but it's good to know what else is out there.

The Basic Mana Theory Class was instruction on the different Mana Skills. Reivyn once more found that his Skill Levels were considerably further along than the rest of the Novices, but that was only in terms of raw numbers. The teachers had a lot of different methods to better utilize the Skills for better efficiency, and Reivyn soaked the knowledge up like a sponge.

My higher Levels just represent my ability to enforce my will and raw power. It's also helping me master the tips and tricks more easily. I'm sure mom would have eventually taught me these lessons as well, but we just didn't have enough time to go more in-depth like this, what with the fundamentals and Martial Skills we were focused on and everything that's happened in life.

Reivyn's roommates didn't have as high of numbers as he did, but he found that they had mostly already gained some proficiency in the techniques before attending the Academy. Reivyn wasn't jealous of their mastery levels, and he was confident he could catch up and pass them with due time and effort. They didn't spend a lot of time working on Martial Skills like I did when I was younger, so they obviously had more time to branch out into different aspects of practicing their Mana Skills.

Introduction to Philosophy was exactly what it sounded like, but it introduced the different philosophies that had evolved over time with a bent towards looking at it from a Caster's perspective. This particular class was the least useful for Reivyn, but he understood the reasoning behind having to learn the information. It would serve him well in the future to not be ignorant of the different schools of thought.

The Elective that Reivyn had chosen was Etiquette. This wasn't just a simple course on how to properly interact with others in various situations, but it also included such things as dancing, calligraphy, and music. It wasn't as in-depth as those individual classes would be all on their own, but it gave Reivyn an opportunity to practice several of his Skills. He was finally able to Level up his Piano Skill above 0 after all of these years of having it sit there in his Status with no change.

The real reason he had chosen the broad Etiquette Class over a more specialized one, though, was that it actually had lessons in how to use his tessen for its actual purpose as a fan. A fan was a popular item for nobles and affluent people to carry around, and an entire language had been built around their use in different settings.

Reivyn began walking around with his tessen out and using it everywhere he went. His roommates had laughed at him at first, but after seeing the look in the eyes of several girls that witnessed Reivyn using his fan the laughter had stopped right away. Now all four of the roommates carried a fan with them at all times. Reivyn wasn't stingy in teaching his friends what he learned about the topic.

"I feel like it's easier to give a more refined appearance," Trick said as the group of youngsters walked through the campus. "I subconsciously want to move in a more fluid manner, and it's starting to come as second nature to use the fan in everyday interactions."

Trick smiled at a group of passing girls as the four friends walked along the pathway. The girls blushed and quickened their steps at the attention, and Trick chuckled to himself.

The four boys walked in unison, their hands holding the open fans with their arms crossed in front of them. They all had the larger tessen version of the fans after Reivyn had convinced them to go for something more sturdy than just a regular fan. Each of them had chosen one with a different design on it, so they each had a unique flavor to his aesthetic.

"Leave it up to Trick to solely focus on trying to look good to the girls," Vane snickered.

"Hey, you started learning to use the fans for the same reason as me," Trick pouted. "You laughed at Reivyn, too, until you saw what the girls thought about it."

"Be that as it may," Vane replied, his chin held high, "I've since evolved to learning the more nuanced uses of the fan."

"Oh? Enlighten me, great fan master, on the different nuances," Trick said.

"Well, for one, it doesn't just work on the girls," Vane nodded to some passing friends as he spoke. They gave him a respectful nod in return. "It seems to enhance the feelings of goodwill that the Charisma stat brings. Also," Vane used the fan for its original purpose and waved it in front of his face, "it can be used to keep you cool."

"Wow," Trick said, a look of shock on his face, "that's quite the nuance. How did you ever figure those things out all on your own?" The four boys laughed.

"There's something you might not have realized," Reivyn said, bringing their attention to him. "The tessen can be used as a focus for your Casting. Observe!"

Reivyn activated his Elemental Weapon Skill, and the tessen in his hand was surrounded by fire. He waved his arm about and let the fires extend during the motion, creating an arch of fire with the fan's outline. It got thick or thin depending on how Reivyn twisted his wrist as he moved it about. His three friends watched in fascination at the display.

"This is a Class Skill: Elemental Weapon," Reivyn said once the display was over, "but I got it independently from my Class. You guys could do the same thing. This is one of the reasons I took so much effort to convince you to get a tessen instead of a typical fan."

"Getting a Class Skill outside of the Class?" Tom said, dumbstruck. "We all know it's possible, but do you have any idea how hard that is?"

"What do you mean?" Reivyn asked. "I got it on the first try." Tom threw his hands in the air, and Vane and Trick shook their heads.

"That's not how it's supposed to work!" Tom shouted. "You're supposed to have to understand the Skill on a fundamental Level to unlock it as a general Class Skill. Have you made any of your Class Skills open for any Class Skill slot?"

"Yeah," Reivyn said. "One other one. I have Charge unlocked."

"Really?" Tom was taken aback for a moment before he continued. "And what was the Skill Level before you unlocked it? And what did you have to do to do so? It should have been the same for your Elemental Weapon Skill, but you say you got it right away?"

Reivyn frowned at the comment. Maybe it has something to do with my Mythic Skill and its Level? From the sound of it, it shouldn't have been so easy to get the Skill. I wonder why Melissa or Larissa didn't say anything.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Reivyn said. "You can still use the tessen as a focus to practice your spells regardless of whether or not you choose to work on getting a Class Skill out of it. You could also probably modify it with the Mana stones found in staves and other implements Casters use as a focus."

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea," Vane said, looking at his tessen. "I think I'll do that."

"Is nobody else concerned about the ludicrous statement Reivyn just mentioned?!" Tom said, pulling his hair in frustration.

"Nah, everyone has their own specialties and chances," Trick said. "He just said it was based on a weapon, and he's already told us he was a Martial Class beforehand. His Skill with his weapon probably did the heavy lifting."

"I guess that makes sense," Tom said, looking mollified. "Still, that's pretty incredible. I bet that Skill will come in handy in any sparring matches you have in the future."

"I thought so, too," Reivyn chuckled. "I can also do this!" Reivyn activated his Mana Shield Skill, and with a small effort of willpower, he transferred the shielding ability to his Elemental Weapon as his "element" and did the same thing he did previously with the fire, but he made a shield arch out of his tessen.

"It uses less mana than to have it running through the Mana Shield Skill this way, and I can manipulate the shape easier, as well." Reivyn was proud of his ability to do so. It was something he had worked on in his off-time since gaining both of the Skills.

"Alright, Showoff," Tom said, resuming his air of refinement. "Let's save it for later. We got places to be."

The last thing that caused a flurry of being busy for Reivyn during the first month was preparing to test out of the Basic Political Science Class. He decided to wait until the second week, so he could get a better feel of what would be expected out of him.

After listening for the first week and inquiring from Seamus who had already taken the class, he learned that the class was less about getting the right answers as it was about showing an understanding of the responsibilities of those in positions of power.

"The test consists of open scenarios that you'll have to provide a solution to, and your grade is determined by how well you can explain your decision," Seamus told him. "In fact, the questions usually don't even have an actual right answer. You'll be given situations that have multiple solutions with multiple drawbacks. The questions won't be the same, so I can't tell you what they'll be, but they shouldn't be difficult as long as you keep the fundamental rule in mind."

"And what would that fundamental rule be?" Reivyn asked.

"Make decisions based on how the nobility rule the kingdom: Provide opportunities to people without forcing them to do things against their will as much as possible, and mitigate the fallout for any time it's required."

"Like conscripting people," Reivyn said.

"Yeah, like that. You might be given a question about an invading force that outnumbers you, and that could be a solution. Conscription is considered acceptable as long as it's done through the System to reward the people conscripted. I hear that some countries don't engage their System capabilities for governing, and they just use threats. A situation like that doesn't provide any recompense to those affected, and it's illegal to do such a thing in our kingdom."

"Oh, I didn't know that," Reivyn said. "I thought conscription was an automatic thing recognized by the System."

"Nope. It's the same situation with the Academy and the almost impossible cases of people getting their Class altered to a Tier 3 one while in Tier 2," Seamus said. "There's a reason you have to graduate and can't just be declared to have done so. It takes someone using the System functions, and it's not the System acting in response to the situation."

Reivyn had taken the advice from Seamus, and he had gone to meet his parents over the weekend to get some insights from them to prepare for the test. On Monday, Reivyn had once again gone to Master Salrah's office after class and informed her he was prepared to test out the next class period. She had agreed, and the next period, Reivyn was escorted to a smaller, private room where he was supervised by a third-year to take the exam.

Reivyn looked through the test before beginning, and sure enough, it was filled with hypothetical situations that tested not just his understanding of the system of governance, but also his ethics.

Hmm, first question: There's a runaway carriage barreling down a narrow alley. The alley splits and can go toward two different alleys further ahead. Down the alley the carriage is headed towards, five pedestrians are in the way. Down the other alley, there's only one pedestrian. Any pedestrian in the way of the carriage will lose their life. Supposing you're only able to alter which alley the carriage travels down, what do you do?

Geez, this is a tough first question, Reivyn thought as he rubbed his temples. I thought Seamus said it would be pretty easy, and there won't be any right or wrong answers. Ok, well, I know what I would do in real life if I was unable to do anything else.

Reivyn wrote his answer down and explained his reasoning.

I wouldn't alter the course of the carriage. The five pedestrians in the way will lose their lives, but it will not be because of anything I have done. I have a clear conscience. If I decide to alter the course of the carriage, though, I will be directly responsible for the death of an innocent person. My actions would cause that person to die.

One might argue that it is moral to choose the lesser of two evils, but I reject that notion. The lesser of two evils is still evil. I have nothing to do with the carriage or the five pedestrians, so by not doing anything, I have not committed any evil. If I condemn someone to die, though, then I will have committed evil.

Reivyn was confident in his own personal morals and principles. He moved through the exam, answering each question in turn. Some required more contemplation than others, but most of them weren't nearly as complicated or geared toward testing his ethical reasoning as the very first question.

There were many different scenarios posed in the paper. Reivyn answered questions involving asking how he would go about increasing the availability of healers to a city, what to do with tax money, how to walk the line between getting enough tax revenue and keeping the people happy, and many others involving managing people and cities.

They don't expect us to actually go out and become rulers, but thinking about these questions could help any students become a better advisor to a lord or lady in the future. It also allows us to gain insight into the decisions made by the nobles, and why.

Reivyn turned the test over to the proctor with confidence. He was glad he was able to pick his parents' brains about the topic, as their insights definitely helped. I'll also have to thank Seamus some time. He didn't give me a lot of information, but what he did tell me helped out.

He found out on the last day of the week that he had passed the exam.

"I'm actually quite impressed with a lot of your answers," Master Salrah said. "You have a unique take on a lot of the issues, and you've shown that you have more than just a cursory understanding. I'll see you in the second-year class starting next week."

Reivyn's first month was a resounding success, and he ended up enrolled in two of the second-year classes. He continued to study and work on all of the different topics, as well as hold the study session with the other first-year students. They didn't meet every day, but the number of people who showed up slowly increased each time.

There were over 50 people seeking tutoring from Reivyn's study group by the end of the month, and almost all of them were actually serious about learning. Even Carri and her friends buckled down to focus solely on the practice after they lost hope of attracting his attention any further than just being friends learning together.

Reivyn even received a small, though not quite unexpected, surprise towards the end.

New Skill Unlocked!

Teaching (1)