Our first class over, we had a break before the next followed. I used the time to get a brief glimpse into my memory stone. A topic overview appeared in my head, showing the different topics I had access to. General information would do for now.

Ah, there. The class schedule. Scanning it, I found out what classes we would have for the rest of the day. Reading the names, I groaned. My next lesson would be about familiar fighting. Nothing better than to dump my already bad image even further down the gutter.

I didn’t want to show my brother, yet Olivia wouldn’t have much chances in a direct one on one. As an ambush predator, she fared especially badly in those. Undecided I pushed the topic back, let’s check some more informations first.

Although my mind focused on the stone I still kept vigilance. I didn’t miss the group that made their way in my direction. Not in the mood to talk with a group of teenagers high on their hormones after having become magicians, I didn’t look up and focused further on the sphere.

My hopes were dashed when I heard a nasally voice close to me.

“Hey, are you not the one who burned his element out?” Followed by an angry “Hey! answer to me!” When I didn’t react to his first question. The arrogance was strong in this one.

“No, don’t want to.”

I had measured him during his first sentence. At first I had wanted to play ball, but I knew his type. If I had shown weakness he wouldn’t have stopped, he had already decided that I would become his go-to guy to elevate himself. Aggravating him was a foregone conclusion. If I couldn’t circumvent it than I might as well go all in and have some fun.

He didn’t take my dismissive attitude well.

“Who do you think you are?! My father is the Marquess of Stonewall! Behave yourself properly!”

I didn’t answer or look at him.

“You!-”

Before the situation devolved any further the teacher returned. With a clap of his hands, he ordered the students back to their seats. I felt the heated gaze of the young marquess for another second before he followed his friends.

“Today you will have your first lesson on how to train and fight with your familiar. Stand up, we will go to the training facility.”

Following his order, we made our way outside. I moved closer to the man, I didn’t want to give my new friends the means to go on my nerves.

The arenas were below the surface. I hadn’t known before, but under the already enormous castle an endless cave system burrowed its way through the sturdy rocks. When we reached our destination, the teacher motioned us to fan out around him and spoke.

“A familiar is one of the greatest strengths of a magician. They are inseparably bound to you and protect you with their life. Due to their nature as spirit beasts their bodies on this world can die, but their spirit will not. This means that you can re-summon them after they get killed. They will have to pay a part of their strength to reappear but as such are mostly indestructible. Keep that in mind! I know a lot of you will develop deep relationships, yet never waver to sacrifice them for yourselves. Don’t be so foolish and sacrifice yourself instead!”

That information removed some of my worries. Olivia was quite the glass canon, this would make hunting much safer.

I let my eyes wander while I kept a part of my mind on the teacher’s speech. Five fields with an area of sixty square feet had been built into the cave we were standing in. Runes glowed dimly on the stone-structure around them. The ceiling above had the appearance of smooth brown stone. Four sunlight providing orbs hovered directly below it, brightening up the room.

“Now summon your familiars! We will let them fight against each other to give you a fist experience about their power, strength and weaknesses. Don’t let them kill each other!”

I was just about to tell Olivia to go visible when my little brother spoke up.

‘Let me! Please, I want to fight!”

At first I didn’t want to, but I could feel Olivia’s hesitation through our bond. She didn’t like this sort of combat.

‘Okay, but I only want to show one of you. So if you step back now, you will have to wait until we get into a dungeon or forest outside the academy.’

Miles had seen my second partner, but the others didn’t have to know for now. Olivia had no problem with that, more mature than my little “brother”.

He went visible. My “mighty” see-through towel appeared next to me. I really needed to find a name for him, yet I hadn’t found one that fit. Towel, cloth, scarf simply didn’t stick. ‘Soon’ I promised myself.

During our brief conversation the other students had summoned their familiars out of their rings.

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Their appearance varied significantly. Even a drake had appeared. I read the ridicule in my classmates eyes when they saw mine.

“Look at him. First he burned his element out, and now he has a measly ghost as familiar. As a magician, we need something to protect us. From what can a measly ghost protect you?” There was not even an attempt at hiding the contempt anymore.

I didn’t say anything. Sadly, my poor mate had heard it too. I felt the hurt through our bond.

‘Don’t take it to heart. They don’t know your strengths!’

I did neither, but he didn’t need to be made aware of that.

Our teacher scanned our beasts and assigned training partners.

He partnered me with one of the other barons.

“Aron, you and Silas Greybear can fight against each other.”

Soon the first five pairs were decided and we faced each other in the allocated arena-fields. The runes hummed to life after both participants had entered the field. Separating us from outside.

My opponent reminded me of his name. With a height of over six feet and a shoulder-width of two feet, he had hit the bullseye in the lineage department.

Silas looked provocatively at me. “Let’s see what your gray cloud can do against my darkbear. He is from the fourth plane!”

I didn’t react to his arrogance. For one, it was beneath me and I had the sinking feeling that my “gray cloud” would have some problems ahead of him.

“Start the fights!”

‘Go, get him.’ I thought in my mind.

“Tear him to shreds, Torsus!”

I heard many other orders holler through the arena. The others preferred to give focal commands. I didn’t understand that. Why should I warn my enemy?

My familiar and his closed the distance. The darkbear’s upper body arched back before delivering a mighty claw swing. Timed well, it ripped into my little brother- and went out the other side, not doing any damage at all. What then followed was an anticlimactic fight where the bear tried to hit my flying cloth, completely unable to harm it. Sadly, my little brother didn’t fare any better. His materialization skill only allowed him to be visible, but not enough to give him actual traction in this world. At most, he was able to pet the bear. Naturally, that was not what we needed right now.

The teacher stopped the fights not long later.

“As you have seen, all your pets have different strengths and weaknesses. It is on you to properly integrate them in into your fighting style. Now rotate and try other opponents. Aron, you stay back. Your familiar is unable to affect this plane, it doesn’t make sense for you to fight. Observe and learn from the others.”

“Yes, teacher Monrose.”

My classmates didn’t bother to hide their gloating. Especially my new friend from earlier.

Naturally my companion was far from pleased with his performance.

‘Don’t dwell on it. We will find a way to make you able to affect this plane. Until then, focus on the things you can do. Try out your stealth-skills. Find out how strong they are. How close can you get to the familiars, students, and even teacher Monrose before they notice you? Go.’

‘Yes, Boss!’

Having a new target, he quickly forgot about his problems and eagerly executed the new mission. I observed as my classmates fought each other. The longer my little brother was summoned the better I got a feel for him, even knowing his location when I couldn’t see him. My companion closed in on them, testing out his own stealth skills. They never saw my brother. He even flew trough the beasts and the students, but they didn’t react at all.

Great. Time to raise the difficulty level.

‘Close in on Teacher Monrose.’

My floating towel made its way towards the teacher. At first I had some worries, but the man didn’t react at all. Only when it flew through him did he move a step. He must have felt something, yet unsure what had happened. Great, I had to test out my little brother’s abilities further, but the initial tests had been a resounding success.

He wouldn’t become a tank, but a spy was completely in his reach. The lesson proceeded. The other students got to know the strengths of their familiars while I let my towel float around, gathering my own knowledge.

“Good, that is enough for now. You can return to your respective towers, your afternoon classes will be element oriented.”

I moved before the others. Not interested in another bout of dick measuring with my classmates.

It took me some time to leave the caves; they were too spacious for a quick exit. The sun shone down on me when I stepped outside. My consciousness focused on the memory sphere I made my way through the streets until I had reached the arcane tower.

I went back to my new room. As a first year arcane novice, they housed me in the first floor of the building. I should have still some rations packed in my trunk. I didn’t plan on eating in the canteen today. Too many things had happened and the memory sphere lured me with its knowledge.

My room was one of the benefits I had as an arcane mage. Due to the few people that awakened the arcane element, we had more than enough space in our tower. That meant each one got their own room. They were rather large as well. Filled with a bed, office table, some cabinets and drawers, it included everything we needed.

I took out my lunch, put it on the table and focused on the memory sphere. Let’s see what knowledge was hidden in the deceptively inconspicuous thing.

My answer soon got answered. Miles had left out a lot. Apart from the towers and main building there were the catacombs as well. Not only the arenas and training facilities were located there, we also had our own entrance into a dungeon.

Dungeons were mysterious instanced spaces, filled with wondrous lands and monsters. They were build in levels, the deeper one advanced the stronger the enemies grew and the better the rewards for defeating the monsters got. Nobody knew the origin of the dungeons. They were special life-forms, living from the monsters and people they lured into their depths, yet nobody knew from where they came. We knew that they had a heart. The dungeon core. It was a magic crystal located deep down in their dungeon, defended by their strongest creatures.

The dungeon below the academy was ancient. Nobody managed to conquer it yet. It was one of the prime revenue makers of our academy. The adventurers came from far and wide to dive in and hunt for treasures. Naturally, our academy used the dungeon as training for all the novices as well.

Additionally to the towers, exercise fields and dungeon, we had also libraries and special element attuned rooms to meditate on the mysteries of our chosen element. These rooms allowed one to get deeper in tune with their magic, advancing the connection and core of a mage.

Absorbed in my thoughts, I ate my lunch. There were so many possibilities to improve myself. As a first year mage I could enter the instance twice a week for free, otherwise I would have to pay with money or contribution points. They were even stingier with the attunement rooms. Only once every two weeks were we allowed in, otherwise we had to pay.

At least we could trade the found items from the dungeon for contribution points.