Jamie walked out of the dungeon entrance with their friends in tow. The new member of the group, Ayana, starred at the beautiful cherry-red class gem that Will had given her. Without even the ability to give her a lock to connect her head to her neck, Ayanna’s original wish was rendered impossible. Jamie secretly wondered what the class was, but didn’t pry.

     Looking at something in the corner of their eye, a small papyrus-scroll like screen filled their vision.

     Jamie

     Lootlord: Level 2

     Available spells:

     Appraisal.

     Specialized magic sight. May be used to find out specific information about the history of the item such as; previous owners, material that the item is made from, and enchanting affinity.

     Manacost: 10 mp.

     Duration: 15 min.

     Cooldown: N/A.

     Crude Consumable Enchantments.

     Add minor elemental effects to items. Small explosions of fire, light, or hardening effects are available at the current level.

     Manacost: 40 mp.

     Duration: MAX: 3 uses.

     Cooldown: 15 min.

     Domain.

     An aura around you in which other spells and magical effects are weakened. Mana used to generate such effects will be absorbed at a greater rate. Drain on your own mana may increase due to enemy spell power. This is a clan-based skill and has been incorporated into your level 1 spells.

     Manacost: 40mp. Per min.

     Spell Drain: 22%

     Cooldown: 5 min. after deactivation.

     Under those listings was a little paragraph welcoming them to the class system beta run as well as a note saying they will gain more levels and spells by learning how to cast these without system help.

     Billy Joe tapped Jamie’s shoulder lightly, “Hey, uhm, the night-class at Zippy’s is starting soon. I really should go up there, you want to come with me?”

     "I’M IN! I mean… If I can come.” Ayana nearly jumped when she said it, however, she quickly shied back, twiddling her fingers which just so happened to barely cover a sudden blush upon her face.

     Jamie nodded as Marceline let out a small giggle, “You know what, I’m in too. The only reason Gus here is in the lead; is of such easy spells he keeps getting. Still, I refuse to fall behind, might as well figure out how to use this, anyway.” She said, twirling her new wand in the air.

     Billy Joe turned, heading toward the glass castle of Zippy’s impromptu magical academy.

     ***

     Magical gym-class would be more accurate. Instead of Zippy giving a class lesson, everyone was stationed outside, in front of the castle. Each person had a roughly twenty-foot square drawn on the ground that they were allowed to practice any magic they wanted inside. Zippy, on the other hand, would float above them all on his small purple cloud, watching them and giving them tips as he saw their techniques.

     Jamie sat in the center of their own square, unsure of what to do as Zippy noticed their reaction was shared among several new faces. “Alright, there are several newcomers here. I hope you could come to my morning classes where I give more theory and lessons, the afternoon is usually reserved for more practical lessons.”

     “Still, I will give an introduction to the newer souls and a refresher to the old. Mana comes in six basic types, which can then be broken down into two categories. The categories are simple; physical and spiritual. The spiritual categories are known as life and death due to their properties and where they are most often found. Life is often found around areas of rampant growth as well as more ehm, ‘after-hours’ activities, when applied to a spell involving growing, stabilizing, or healing it will drastically increase its effects. Death meanwhile, will be found around areas where many things die, ironically enough, your hand-sanitizer is filled to the brim with death-mana. Death is useful for killing things, be they enemies, germs, viruses, or simply cutting the grass, shaving, and curing meat.” The gnome said as he licked his lips at the last mention.

     Zippy paused to see if everyone was still paying attention. Many of the older students had returned to their practice, a small gout of blue fire was sent high in the sky only for it to crystalize. Ah Matilda, such promise, especially for a crystal mage.

     “After that come what many consider the four elements according to your games. Water, stone, fire, and air. Who knows what else these are? Anyone? Five points of extra-credit on your next pop-quiz.” Zippy shouted with a smile.

     Many of the fully grown and even middle-aged adult’s hands shot straight up. Even when test scores don’t matter, the competitiveness stays true. Zippy called out the young geomancer from earlier, “Yes Matilda?”

     “They are also known as the four major states of matter. Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.” She said dutifully, then returned to staring at her unexpected crystal pillar.

     Zippy nodded, “Yes, very true. These are the four physical basic types. All spells up until apprentice will fall into one of these six total categories. Upon becoming an apprentice you will begin training in actualization and conjuration for more complex spells. When attempting to learn magic, it is best to think of your mana as something physical or ephemeral tied to one of these six types. Water over your skin, a roaring flame, the urge to never give up, imagine your mana as something tangible that you can then draw upon.

     Jamie focused, just as Zippy said. Imagining the mana as something tangible that they can draw upon. In Jamie’s mind’s eye, they imagined themself as a planet, their dwarven core heating the inside, and their outer body absorbing the heat.

     When Jamie paused to take a deep steadying breath, Zippy was almost thrown off of his cloud by a gust of deathly cold magical wind. “Whoa! Calm down there.” Zippy called as they gripped the semi-solid construct.

     Jamie blushed a soft pink, then refocused. Alright, if a planet causes that, maybe…

     Searching for their inner feeling of magic once again Jamie grasped it. Instead of forcing an idea unto it, maybe they should just feel it and see what it is already.

     Jamie touched the gaseous cloud of cold, something about it felt almost sad. Deciding that the feeling in their hands did need changing a little Jamie twirled the imaginary gas around their form with their eyes closed. To any passerby it would appear as if a winged humanoid was spinning around with their arms out, playing ‘helicopter’.

     After the spin, the mana around their body felt more usable. With a twirl of their finger, a gentle, late-fall breeze spun around it. No longer did the mana feel cold and alone, now it smelt of pumpkin, the fall, the changing of seasons. Happiness with a bitter aftertaste; that was what Jamie felt their mana was. On realizing this they could feel their body guzzle the surrounding mana. The fall breeze sunk deep into their bones, chilling them from the inside as a small hand was on their back in an instant.

     Oh, what was Zippy to do? Their newest student, a dragon of some kind was already struggling. Thinking that perhaps they should speak more directly to the student having the issue, “What is your name young reborn?”

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

     “Jamie.” The humanoid dragon said with a wry grin. “Did you forget about me in only a week?”

     “JAMIE! Oh, Heone told me you had awoken! Had I known you were a dragon… Oh, so much makes sense now, so, so much!” Zippy said happily, jumping on his small cloud. Then the reality truly struck. Only one hundred and thirty-six dragons counting Jamie had been found so far. While that number seemed large, in reality, it was a pittance to the several thousand other rebirths who had already been documented. Counting the wild bestial dragons, the number was now soaring to well over two hundred and twenty. That number was still quite small according to his projections. He would need to look into this matter further.

     “Everyone learns a tad different, you may need to as well,” Zippy said, holding his hand out to Jamie. “Take my hand, we will need to use a more advanced trick for you.”

     “I felt like I was already getting it, but sure, why not?” Jamie took the small hand, and instantly, they were gone.

     ***

     As Jamie took ahold of their tutor’s hand they were suddenly transported back to their endless grey void. “Oh, not again! I just got out of here!”

     Zippy looked around, giving a deep whistle. “Wow, this is impressive.”

     “Yeah, It’s empty, I know,” Jamie said annoyedly, having gathered that their space being such was an insult.

     “You… You really don’t get it, even though you’ve been here before?” Zippy looked astonished, from every dragon they had read about, there was an instinctual knowledge of their inner-world given to them by the… given to them by their clan. This was a new problem for the gnome, dragon societies were a rare and closely guarded secret. Only other wandering dragons were allowed to join them. Shaking his head, he quickly decided that no, he’d not be able to use the old ways, but his ways would do just as well.

     “Get what? It’s an empty plane, a great nothingness.” Jamie twirled their now clawed finger in the air in feigned joy.

     “Imagine this gigantic area as a vault. Now, think of mana as coin, jewels, armor, anything you wish. Fill this vault with the mana you possess.” Zippy enthusiastically said.

     Jamie nodded, “Alright, just have to fill it then.” They rubbed their hands together and began thinking of Zippy’s earlier speech. They just couldn’t imagine the four stages of matter very well, so they defaulted to the basic element types. Raw mana would be coin, useable at almost any time. However, when they tried to focus on more solid, or death mana it just sort of melded together, the mana wouldn’t melt neatly into a coin, so they let it take the form of whatever it wanted instead.

     A small pile of golden coins dropped from seemingly nowhere at the feet of Jamie. Along with a small pile of daggers, several bottles of wine, a large pile of red-tinged rubies, as well as small nick-nacks of no real import. “Alright… That’s what I’ve got.” Jamie said, slightly out of breath from the exertion.

     Zippy floated close, examining the constructs. “Not bad. Your horde would likely be far larger if you weren’t freshly reborn. All of those changes couldn’t have been cheap.”

     “You’re just jealous you don’t have a tail,” Jamie retorted.

     “Touche’,’” Zippy replied with a laugh. “Now, when summoning up a spell, imagine melting down some of your accumulated riches in this chamber. I’m sure that Will has already come up with some short-cut but to learn true magic, however, this is the first crucial step.”

     ***

     Jamie was suddenly back in the real world. They took a deep breath as the vertigo hit, nearly doubling over.

     “Oh, sorry about that. I forgot to tell you that my technique can be somewhat jarring.” Zippy said with a wry grin. “Why don’t you start the class off by using a frost-breath spell, considering your… affinities. It shouldn’t be too hard. Merely breathe in, imagine your mana filling your lungs, and then breath out while infusing your breath with death, gas, and liquid ideals. Have a clear image of you breathing out a blizzard and then will it into being.”

     Jamie was a little shocked, it was their turn to let their lips curl mischievously. Taking a deep breath, they remembered their time in their inner world. When they had let out a blizzard that covered near a mile of the vast empty plane of their inner world. Mentally melting down ten golden coins as well as a weapon, a gem, and a bottle, they forced all of that energy into their lungs. With one massive, heaving breath out Jamie released a cloud of dark blue frigid death upon the land.

     As they let out a breath that would make a brass-band blush the two-foot sized cloud formed in front of them. Zippy floated up to the somewhat small spell, waving his hand through it as it came away cold, shaking, and slightly damp. “We have a success…

     Zippy had spoken a little too soon as the snowy breath quickly turned an ashen black. Sooty snow flew from Jamie’s mouth in a flurry as large silvery walls materialized upon the lines drawn in the ground, absorbing the spell being thrown against them, then quickly dissipating.

     Jamie then passed out on the spot from mana-exhaustion, coughing weakly.

     ***

     Marceline watched Billy Joe carry Jamie off to the glass castle. It wasn’t the first time a student fell over upon their first cast, and it would likely not be the last. Something else seemed to go awry. However, Zippy had only sent in his second to tend to Jamie, so it couldn’t be that bad.

     Pulling on the radiant golden energy from deep in their core, Marceline focused, feeling the image of Smite. With a sudden push forward and a flick of her wand, a bolt of blueish energy flung forward, impacting the large plywood wall in front of her.

     The scorch mark was larger, however, it didn’t match her auto-cast, nearly causing small rocks to explode. That attack hadn’t felt as draining as an auto-cast either, come to think of it.

     Refocusing her mana in the wand, she remembered the spell again. Sending it off for the first time to defend her friend. Slamming into the side of that beast with enough force to shave off its thick ice-armor. The force of the mana surging through her body and into her focus.

     With a flick of her wrist, Marceline sent another light blue bolt of energy flying. With an almost wet splat noise, the spell struck its target, then the oozing mana seemed to drip before the heat of the spell caused the board to erupt in flame. One of the head students quickly rushed over, casting a minor water spell to douse the flames and replacing the board in the metal clamp.

     “Alright, go ahead and try again. Nothing we can do about it, heat these things enough and they just catch on fire. You’re on the right track though if that happened, just do more of whatever you just did.” Said Ridgette encouragingly after securing the clamp down on the new target.

     Waving goodbye to the hawk-like avian; Marceline gripped her wand with a new focus. “Alright, on the right track, just a bit more umpf, less holding back,” she mumbled under her breath.

     Pouring in even more force than before, what she thought was simply two or three times as much as she refocused. Plasma, think of the types of matter for basic attack spells, then a shape, a basic lightning-bolt should work for what I need. As she finished her internal imaging, she pulled her wand back and flung it forward, grip tight.

     As the baseball-sized orb of lightning shot through the board, disintegrating everything in its path, only to slam into the summoned walls and be absorbed, Marceline was greeted with a new message in the lower left of her vision.

     Training to unlock spell Plasma Cannon progress unlocked.

     Successful spell casts: 1/12

     A little shocked, but other class members have already reported similar events after class. “Uhm, Zippy sir. It seems that I’ve unlocked a class quest for a spell named Plasma Cannon? Has that one been reported yet?”

     The small gnome threw open the even smaller notebook he kept on himself. A novelty-size only used by high-schoolers in the creation of crib-sheets. Inside it listed the class quests as they were called and their rewards, each spell matching up to one of those that Zippy had given the genie.

     With a sigh, Zippy check-marked a new listed spell in his book. “No, How many practice trys?”

     “Looks like only twelve,” Marceline called back from the ground below.

     With an even more exasperated display of emotion, Zippy readjusted his hat and marked the minuscule number down. Mumbling under his breath away from the student body, “Only twelve? For a class four spell? That is ridiculous, whatever system you have in place Will, I will need to talk to you about it soon. We cannot have people running around with miniature novas or something by just dumping all of their mana into something blindly a couple of times.”

     Marceline, directly under Zippy, had to agree with the overheard statement. After hearing that a classmate had gotten a quest to unlock Dreams of a Rotting Mind after just feeling it out only five times the other day, it was hard to think that this system was all that balanced. Still, by the grinding of her teacher’s teeth, I was best to take advantage of the situation now.

     “Alright plasma cannon, I’m going to unlock you by the end of the day,” And just like that, Marceline’s plan of mastering her current attack was waylaid, instead opting for the pure destructive force of unlocking a more powerful attack

     Marceline wasn’t the only one close enough to hear whispered words. Zippy overheard the sweet musings and began planning. What if, next time, I make it a negative point if they blow through the target and hit the wall? That should realign everyone’s thoughts, and if not, well, I can come up with more devious ways to make them see that might is not always right.

     As these beautiful and devious thoughts filled the teacher’s mind, Jamie awoke from their blackout inside of the castle.