The early spring breeze blew through the class windows of Magikku Academy, circulating through the large classroom full of elevated seats and tables, calming the tense atmosphere made by these rambunctious teenagers inside, who knew no manners nor discipline. Feet on the table, backs slouching on their seats, mouths chattering nonstop, and a few even dare to fall asleep. Add their low grades to the equation and the result would be students deserving of attending spring classes.
On top of the teacher’s platform, Kazuko’s stress knew no end, having to teach at a time where every other professor went on a holiday. Spring classes wouldn’t have happened had they actually put in the effort to teach these children. Fortunately, none of them came from her class nor the three professors she was well acquainted with. If only the other twenty could have the same results.
“Oi! Frost-sensei,” called an arrogant-sounding student. “Is the class over already?”
Kazuko, who was in the middle erasing the chalkboard, gave a long winding sigh. “Then can you tell me the principles of each Prima of Antryion as well as how they work, Tosaku-san?”
“If I answer, then will you let me go?”
“Depends on your answer.”
Tosaku grinned snobbishly. “Magic is Creation and Creation encompasses everything that we see. This academy, this class room, them, me, and,” his gaze toward her lowered slightly. “Those beautiful tits.”
Kazuko felt a shiver down her spine. What are your parents teaching you?
“While it was used instinctually and emotionally during the Three Kingdoms Era, when the First Archmage made his mark on Antryion, he invented a new path for mages based on logic. By matching elements of the periodic table and known worldly concepts through a series of calculations, sprinkled in with lots and lots of imagination, powered by the genesis matter mages absorbed from the leylines or better known as magion, a ‘Creation’ is then made.”
Tosaku snapped his fingers and the two students sitting in front of him, despite nothing seemingly happening, suddenly looked red in both cheeks. One of them looked especially infuriated and stood up to confront him. “Tosaku Goji! How dare … give it back!”
“Give what back?” his sly brows raised, while putting two things inside his pocket. “I have no idea what you mean.”
The student’s face became even more furious, as a life-sized needle materialized on her hand. “I’ll send this straight up your ⎕⎕⎕ and have it ⎕⎕⎕ so you ⎕⎕⎕ and ⎕⎕⎕!”
The other girl went to stop her by holding onto her. “No, Nidoru-san. You can’t do that.”
“Let go, Kawaku-san,” she said. “Don’t you want this perverted bastard to get what he deserved?”
“But Goji-kun didn’t do anything wrong!” she gasped for air and her entire body trembled, but for reasons that could not be wholesomely explained. “Because … because doesn’t … it feels great?”
Nidoru casted a disgusting face on Kawaku’s perverted smile, and so did the rest of the students. Only Tosaku appeared to be enjoying it, though mostly in the conflict between them and not in the way Kawaku wanted. Would it make sense to say that this wasn’t the first time this happened? Probably not.
If Kazuko mentioned this to anyone, they’d probably think she was making stuff up to try to lower the students’ standing. Even she herself couldn’t believe that this was their dynamic together.
“Hey, hey. Watch this,” another student muttered, cranking up something below the table, likely a contraption. “Ryosachi-sensei!” he shouted and brought out a launcher. He fired the trigger and a filled balloon rocketed across the class. Although aimed toward Kazuko, it instead struck the invisible barrier separating the teacher’s and student’s space, blowing it up as green ooze was splattered upon the floor reeking of filth.
Kazuko pressed her nose. If only this barrier could block smell as well, she thought. Honestly, if she had a particular term to describe Magikku Academy, it would be a breeding ground for insanity. At times like these, Kazuko wondered if she too had her brother’s temper, as her head further ached with the noisy nuisances growing with each second, bestowed upon by these bunch of immature teenage children.
Shouting won’t do. Kazuko had tried that countless times before. And thus, it left her with no choice. Tapping into the academy’s leyline circuits hidden beneath the platform, Kazuko utilized pure natural magion as a substitute for her own. What she was once incapable of doing became capable. As once the calculation in her head completed its process and the barrier shut down for a second, Kazuko’s vision seized the classroom interior, turning everything into a frozen escapade devoid of heat. Breaths formed mists, limbs went numb, Nidoru’s needle and Itazura’s contraption shattered, their consciousnesses began to fade. Even Kazuko was not spared from it, as her body’s temperature rapidly decreased as did her students’.
Once they could no longer tolerate the frost, Kazuko disconjured her magic and the whole class reverted itself. Mercy was given to both the students and Kazuko, who after a minute managed to get back up again, yet not completely. Kazuko then approached the weakened Tosaku, swiped the magically-stolen panties from his pockets, and sneakily returned them back to their owners. Nidoru’s rage subsided and she promptly returned to her seat. As for Kawaku, it looked like she didn’t find the frost appealing at all and followed suit.
Kazuko then went to Itazura, who appeared to be heartbroken by the shattered parts of his inventions. That being his balloon launcher as well other contraptions, which he also hid beneath his table. Kazuko made a note in her head to tell Yukina to teach Akito the basics of discipline the next she saw her.
With the problem mostly finished, Kazuko went back to the platform and said, “Now then, shall we return to class?”
Tosaku raised his hands. “I’ve … I’ve answered your question, no?” he said, voice still recovering. So, I get to leave.”
“The deal was that you can leave if you can explain the Primas,” she reminded him. “Do explain the other four and I’ll keep my word.”
And right on the clock, Tosaku gulped, clearly overstating his abilities. However, he tried nonetheless. “The second is Noor or Faith and Faith is the, uhm … beliefs toward something—Ah, belief toward the Gods! For the yashars of Zagaron, it’s to … God,” —it seemed he forgot the name— “And through God they get access to miracles like healing wounds or dividing the sea or other miraculous stuff.”
Tosaku seemed to be struggling, but Kazuko nonetheless appreciated his efforts. Quite impressed even by the knowledge he tried to recount. Enough in her book.
“The name of the yashar’s God is Zafyr the Omniscient Judicator,” Kazuko added. “You better remember that for next academic year’s history class, when you will learn about Emperor Yustus the Tyrant and the Prima War. And another thing, Noor is the priest’s equivalent to the mage’s magion, yet it is not used to power their miracles, but rather as a medium to form a bond between them and Zafyr, strengthen by their own beliefs.”
“Looks like you ain’t getting out,” Nidoru taunted.
“Is the breeze underneath getting to you.”
“You little piece of—”
Kazuko clapped. “Alrighty then. Let’s get back to it, Tosaku-kun,” she said, giving the affirmative, which seemed to brighten the look on her student's face. That was until he threw a smirk toward Nidoru, who looked as if she wanted to pounce at him like a tiger to its prey.
Seriously, you two …
“Eitr! The Prima of Existence is … something,” Tosaku’s mind seemed to come to a blank. “It is a … Prima that encompasses the existence of … everything? Similar to Creation!”
“You’re not wrong,” said Kazuko. “but how do you differentiate the two?”
“How it works. Mages draw power from the leylines and shape ‘creations’, while Ascendants use these black shards that shoot out of their bodies like an additional limb.”
“But didn’t Lucia-san make a spear and not a limb like Altheria-san?” another student said, referring to the batch of exchange students from Skadjörd last semester.
“Then how about you—wait, no. I’m the one who wants to go out! The ascendants can turn these shards into weapons too. That’s it!”
Kazuko raised a brow and sighed. “Well … in light of Eitr being the most difficult Prima to ascertain, being considered taboo by the skadjördians, your answer is deemed acceptable.”
Tosaku pushed his fist into the air, looking very motivated. There was nothing to add because that was just the scope the Valdrasjornn Federation were willing to give about the Eitr. Almost all non-skadjördian ascendants had to learn by themselves, and even then they simply succeed through feeling. Add the running debate between the difference between Creation and Existence, and you would have a very easy question answerable by vague answers.
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“And now on to the last, hehe,” Tosaku said. “The Prima of Soul a.k.a. Inyo. We as humans have a natural link toward the spirits, thus are able to make contracts and borrow powers from the yokkaebi. The powers borrowed depend on the kind of yokkaebi they’re contracted with. A kitsune for instance induces love pheromones, a qilin summons lightning, and a kappa lures people into lakes and drowns them in its depths.
“It is the first known Prima, dating far back beyond the Three Kingdoms. And unlike the others, Inyo is the only Prima capable of synchronizing with other Prima. Anyone can be a shaman regardless of whether they’re a mage, priest, ascendant, even an ordinary person.”
“So, where’s your yokkaebi?” Nidoru taunted, while showing him the small tattoo of a white tiger on the back of her palm, followed by Itazura and another student named Xinyi Tian, who both had tattoos of a jade rabbit and a white crane respectively.
“Shut up! I just haven’t met a particular one to my liking.”
“Unfortunately, you can’t choose your own yokkaebi,” Kazuko corrected, then turned to Nidoru. “Nidoru-san, is your yokkaebi a male or female?”
“Toraku is male. Oi, come out, you,” Nidoru called out the tiger on her palm, who appeared to be refusing her order and continued to sleep, ticking Nidoru’s temper by a margin.
Kazuko quickly turned to the others. “And what about Tian-san’s and Itazura-san’s?”
“Bao’s a precious boy,” Tian hugged tightly to the jade rabbit in her arms, which looked to be enjoying the feeling.
“My Genius is a very intellectual female yokkaebi assistant,” the heavenly white crane went out of his palm, taking a look at the broken inventions, causing her to fall and sing a somber tune. “Ah, no need to worry, Genius. We’ll build them all again.”
“Then, how about you three tell the whole class how you meet each other in short?”
“I met Bao when I helped my mom gardening.”
“I got pounced on by Genius on my way home.”
“Toraku and I met in magic class.”
“Random spots and at random times,” Kazuko said. “And did either of you expect to meet or forge a contract with your yokaebbis?”
And at the same time, they all said, “No.”
“In and Yo, Yin and Yang, Shiva and Shakti. These are the terms our souls are referred to as,” Kazuko explained. “Females are born with In, while males are born with Yo. They are light and dark, passive and aggressive, push and pull, control and relinquish. Both can live independently on one another, but work best with each other. As such, male yokkaebi tends to make contracts with female humans and vice versa. Of course, there are exceptions, but it's usually when forging additional contracts."
"We can have more than one contract?" Nidoru raised her hand.
"You can, but that's only if the yokkaebi are willing to because in contracts, there are terms, and I'm sure the three of you know the terms of your contracts when you made it?"
The three students looked at each other and all three shook her head, causing Kazuko to facepalm.
"Then you ought to ask your yokkaebi what those terms are, because if broken, may result in an unfortunate curse like what a friend of mine got. She was contracted to a jade rabbit, who specifically asked her not to eat rice every time there was a full moon. She broke it and other than abolishing the contract, she also received a curse where the taste of rice was so disgusting that she puked every time she ate it. And she never ate rice since then."
Tian and Itazura bore a look of horror, except for Nidoru who seemed confident in her belief of having not break any of the terms. That was until Tosaku leaned in and whispered, "I wonder why your yokkaebi won't come out?"
Nidoru shot a furious look at Tosaku, before hastily whispering something to the yokkaebi in her hand.
Tian suddenly raised her hand. “How come sensei knows a lot about yokkaebi.”
“Because my brother’s also a contractor as well as trained by an official shaman of the Dukun Order of Irdjaya.”
“Brother?”
“Yes, my brother. He’s contracted to a dragon yokkaebi.”
“Wait, dragon?” another student muttered. “Then sensei’s brother is …”
“Kazuya Ryosuke, Captain of the Third Division,” she said. “The last names Ryosuke and Ryosachi are just a tradition thing for male and female heirs.”
The students began chattering amongst one another about her brother. Not that she could blame them. Kazuya was a famous person after all. Not for looks though, that position had been taken by the Captain of the Second Division, but rather because of his splendid achievements as a mage. Not a single person in Hoshikuni did not know the name Kazuya Ryosuke, the hero who squashed the Great Rebellion and rumored to be the next member of the Ten Seats.
Well, it wasn’t completely a rumor. He did receive the offer, but denied it every time it was brought up, believing that he would get even busier than before and wouldn’t get to see Keika. That being said, he rarely saw her nowadays due to political pressure, pressuring him to take the Seat. Very much a lose-lose situation.
“Is she for real? Wait, then why is sensei a teacher?”
“Shush! Sensei’s vice principal now. More befitting of being Kazuya-sama’s sister.”
“It must be sad that her magion levels are on the lower end of the spectrum.”
“Here I thought you were different. Nobles really will always brag about their famed relatives.”
Once more, Kazuko was reminded of the gap between her and her twin brother. She might be older by a minute, but Kazuya rose far higher than she could ever do. Disappointment, jealousy, pity … Kazuko knew these emotions all too well, having needed to endure them for almost her whole life. However, the words given to her from her dear friend continued to become a lesson for her. To not take anything to heart and move forward. Well, back then that was the mindset she had, but now?
“Quit it you ⎕⎕⎕!,” Nidoru’s fowl mouth went at it again. “Can’t you see I’m trying to listen. It’s super annoying to listen to you guys.”
“I agree,” Kawaku added. “Oh, but I don’t mind if you said those things to me.”
“Ignoring what she said, Ryosachi-sensei is a good teacher,” Itazura enunciated. “It’d be better to see you guys be more productive for once.”
“Said the guy thinking about his next prank machine,” Tosaku said. “Come on frosty-sensei hurry up. Time’s ticking.”
To think, despite their rambunctious and delinquent-like personalities and the constant headaches they gave her, Kazuko’s students saw her in a good light. Might be not a hundred percent, but for it to be enough that they would defend her gave Kazuko more motivation to push forward.
Wait a minute … They’re harsh on the outside, but friendly on the inside … Could my entire class be filled with a bunch of tsunderes? Kazuko scanned the entire classroom and caught a few turning away so as to not catch her gaze, including Tosaku. She chuckled at the thought and continued on.
“Now then, that is all I have to add for the Prima of Soul.”
“Add, eh …,” Tosaku grinned, having guessed her wording right, as he promptly went down the elevated seats with his bags and walked toward the door. “Goodbye everyone! I hope you guys have an eventful evening.”
But right as he grabbed the door handle, a shock sent him flying all the way to the other end. “What the hell?! Frosty-sensei, I answered everything, no?”
“Recount what I ask you to explain,” she calmly spoke.
“To explain the principles of the four Prima of Antryion and how they work.”
“No, no. That’s not what I said. I said, explain the principles of each Prima of Antryion and how they work. I never said about having to explain four. So, have any idea about the fifth?”
“It’s the Prima of Nature,” told an irritated Tosaku. “Something to do with plants and animals, I think. Anyway, why does this matter? The Prima of Nature is extinct anyway.”
“Right on that, but just because the Prima doesn’t have any wielders anymore, does not mean we can disregard its existence.”
Kazuko drew on the chalkboard the graph of the five Prima. Creation represented by an eye with a star-shaped pupil, Faith represented by a looped dual-winged cross, Existence by a five legged mountain as well as five diamonds, Soul by a strange mask split in two with male and female side, and lastly, Nature represented by a simple tree.
“Mages abide the laws of Creation, priests follow the will of Faith, shamans preserve the commandments of the Soul, ascendants deceive the world through their Existence, and druids birth the first seeds of Nature. There’s also another saying. Humanity’s creations give rise to faith which speaks about the soul born the moment our existence is formed as dictated by nature, who shall soon create things beyond mortal comprehension.
“These five primordial concepts are what made Antryion the world we know today. They may differ in effects and mechanisms, but they can never be separated from one another. Learning about one Prima requires learning the other four. Such is the key to understanding our lovely world.”
And thus, the lesson about the five Prima of Antryion came to an end. Of course, they would need to learn all this again next semester, but there should be no harm done in learning something in advance.
“Oh, and you can leave now, Tosaku-san,” she said to Tosaku, who looked back with a puzzled expression. “You did answer the question, no? Sure it might be considered insufficient when compared to how you explain the other four, but the Prima of Nature is by itself a lost art no one could replicate. The Mazteya Empire was burnt alongside its books and libraries in the Prima War, so information about the druids are scarce and thin.”
Tosaku remained skeptical. Thus, in order to dispel his doubts, Kazuko went up the door, grabbed the handle, and opened it just fine. “Off you go,” she said, and Tosaku quickly sped out of the class and into the hallway. She could hear his victorious joy not long after. The joys of youth so it seemed. “Oh, and also, today’s spring class is over. All of you can leave now.”
The students turned their heads up to the wall clock, its hands pointing 15.30. With that, the class was emptied and Kazuko was left alone inside, inclining her chair a bit while working on the student evaluation papers she needed to fill out to end the day.
Despite his prankster and somewhat perverted personality as well as his ‘unique’ magic spellification, Goji Tosaku remained a diligent student when it came to getting out of class, having improved in recent days. Must provoke for more stellar results, while not forgetting to fix his demeanor toward his elders.
Sasu Nidoru, though had justified reasons, still needed to control her temper so that she wouldn’t lash out against others, as well as control over that profane mouth of hers. She reminded Kazuko much about her brother during their academy days. Going all over the place angry and breathing fire out like an actual dragon. Maybe that was why Suzaku chose him to be her contractor.
Sumato Itazura could use a lesson or two about being tactful and knowing when to test out his inventions. Tian’s personality was already sweet and nurturing. She simply needed to raise her grades a bit above the standard. As for Kawaku … That girl may be hopeless, but I’ll write ‘need to get along more with friends’ and add ‘therapy’ as a last resort.
A few students later and Kazuko was finally relieved from work. At least, until a voice came through the intercom speakers. “Kazuko Ryosachi, please come to the Headmaster’s office.”
It seemed she would yet to be relieved of her headache.