With the introductions over, the teacher took his spot behind the lectern to talk about the syllabus.

"We have six subjects. Spellcraft. You'll learn how to draw and construct spell circles.

"Arcane Mathematics. You need to calculate how long your MP pool will last you, how much each modifier changes the damage or cost of your spells. How they interact. Which Attributes benefit spellcasting and which don't.

"Magic History. You need to know about ancient mages and their craft. This is important if you find ruins or something significant. You'll also learn to recognize forgeries.

"General History. The world is not all about magic. You must know about the history of this continent and the world.

"Elemental Monster Theory. Learn what spells work against each monster. This can be the difference between an easy win and utter defeat.

"Finally, physical conditioning. Forget about becoming that couch potato mage that gets out of breath before the third 'floor' of the Dungeon. You will learn to dodge, to cast spells while moving and tumbling. All classes are mandatory. Any questions?"

Nobody had any. Strengite continued.

"Take your 'The basics of Spell Circles' books. Let's start."

I put my hand in the bag and took the book from the item box. My backpack was empty. I asked Helger to make a metallic box that fit inside the pack. It looked full but I kept everything in storage. The princes made a show of removing the books from their fancy storage rings. My book was the original edition, penned by the cantankerous [Archmage] himself.

He read the first chapter of the book. After finishing, he called me to the front.

"Haru will help me with the spell circle that combines her two affinities. I think its name was… {Healing Rain}, is that correct?"

"It is sir," I replied.

"Can you stop the circle construction halfway?"

"Can do.."

"Good. Now, a magic circle has four main components. The first one is called 'Essence'. It will take in the caster's raw MP and give it substance. The MP will become a manifestation of the element. Haru, draw the Essence."

I drew only the outermost part of the circle. Two concentric rings filled with glyphs to convert energy into Water and Healing magic.

Professor Ibarin removed a vial and a dagger from his storage ring. "Now, observe. Haru, power the circle without drawing the rest of the spell." I did. Water formed at the bottom of the floating circle, dripping into the classroom floor. "Keep it up. I'll give you an MP potion later."

He filled the vial with the water and cut his hand. Then he poured the water on the wound. It closed.

"By itself, the Essence already creates the spell's effect. In a pinch, Haru can use that incomplete spell circle to create a very short-lived healing potion. The efficiency is terrible, though. You may stop now, Haru. Redraw the circle."

I stopped supplying MP. The circle remained. Strengite stared for a while and I dismissed it and redrew the first part again.

"Sometimes it lingers if there's still MP circulating," He explained. "It's normal."

I couldn't tell him I had {Persistent Circle} because it required 100 points of proficiency and I lied about having only eighty.

"Now, the second part of the circle. The Motivator will increase efficiency and also tell the magic what it should do, but not how. If Haru's spell wasn't a dual-affinity one, the water wouldn't heal without the Motivator. But with both Essence and Motivator, a pure Water magic circle could also heal for more than the dual-affinity with just the Essence. Haru, trace the Motivator."

I complied. I knew what he was doing. He was making me draw this stupid circle over and over in front of the mage bodyguards. The three were studying me and my magic, looking for any slips that could reveal whatever I might be hiding.

The motivator was a tessellated star polygon. One example was the pentagram, where the lines cross. The ones used by the magic circle could have hundreds of lines and even inserted polygons over them. The one for {Healing Rain} used fifty-three lines. The lines never crossed an Essence glyph, though. But the angle between them was small and they fit in the space between the glyphs.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"How's your MP?" He asked.

I shook my head. "I can do this all day."

He laughed. "See? That's the power of the affinity Perks. I would dare to say that the MP reduction aspect is more important than the effect increase or the lack of a chant. Power the incomplete circle, Haru."

The water this time didn't drip. It poured from the tip of the polygon. He cut himself again, but this time it was a large gash across his arm. He placed it underneath the water and the wound closed. Smart motherfucker. He was measuring my spell Effect modifiers to fish for my stats. Too bad I limited myself to what I already made public.

"The amount of lines in the Motivator determines how much the magical energy will be cycled and compressed. The biggest the compression, the strongest the effect, and also the efficiency, the amount of effect per unit of MP spent. Many stupid mages try to change the Motivator and add more lines but this is dangerous. Can anyone tell me why?" The clever [Prince] from Ekar raised his hand. "Mr. Fairfax?"

"The lines of the Motivator cannot cross the glyphs in the Essence part. If you change the number of lines without moving the glyphs, the spell will misfire."

"Excellent," Ibarin applauded. "You may stop, Haru. Dismiss the circle and drink this potion," he gave me a vial. It was a small potion that recovered only 2,000 MP. I thanked him and quaffed the potion.

"As you can see, the effect was powerful. My arm was completely healed. The next part of the circle is the Shape. Haru will create the first three parts now."

I did as asked. The Shape was a second set of rings with glyphs sandwiched inside them, but it appeared inside the star polygon. The glyphs were smaller and plentiful so they fit between the lines of the Motivator. Once I finished, Strengite continued.

"The Shape of her spell, if you can read the glyphs, is instructing the water to pour from above as rain. Haru won't demonstrate this step or all of us will need a change of clothes. But if she uses the spell as is, with only the three parts, the rain will fall anywhere within a reasonable range and heal for random amounts. This part and the next are critical. A mistake creating the Shape will cause the spell to misbehave at best or take the caster's life and everything around at worst. Dismiss the circle, Haru. Recover your MP while I talk about the next part."

I leaned against the wall and waited.

"The last part of a spell is called by Marlowe the Quantifier. This essential part will specify everything the spell should do. From how long it should last to who it should target, the area, the special effects. The circles for {Firebolt} and {Explosive Fireball} are almost identical and a skilled [Wizard] can cast either from the same base circle by just changing the Quantifier. Of course, the effect will be radically different. Haru, you may draw the whole spell circle, please."

The Quantifier occupied the circular section inside the star polygon. Several concentric rings appeared this time, filling it with glyphs with all sorts of instructions.

"A skilled [Spellcaster] can change these glyphs to customize the spell on the fly," he continued. "As always when one's changing and experimenting with magic, you have to know with absolute certainty what you are doing or you might never use magic again. The dead don't have an MP pool."

I had to nod at the last statement. So true.

"Archmagister Marlowe was the first [Wizard] to break the spell circles into these four steps. His advanced theories, which you'll study in-depth during your second and third years, allows one to combine from a library of components you'll memorize to customize and even create new spells on the fly. Marlowe was my master's master. Too bad the Siren killed him. Thank you, Haru. Your control over these steps at your age is commendable. It almost feels as if you were trained by Marlowe himself."

I took a step away from the wall but stopped right by his side. There was no use in whispering, the acoustics of the room projected the sound forward. "The Siren didn't kill Marlowe, professor. He tried to use wide-area disintegration magic and fueled the spell with his own life. But he will surely be happy when he learns that his theories are being used here. I hope that grumpy bastard still knows how to smile."

I put my hand on his shoulder and winked. Strengite held my arm above the shoulder when I tried to walk away. "You speak as if he is still alive."

"Not alive but still among us. He is currently serving as Court Archmagister in Aquilonia, a country in southeastern Pekothas."

He released my arm and I glided back to my seat.

Strengite took that long to recover. "Miss Haru, Assuming what you said is true, and I don't doubt you, how can you know all that?"

"The [Saintess] is our mentor and guardian. Marisol and I hail from the church of Zacheia's orphanage. Vukdon and Zacheia have a good relationship, and she knew I wanted to come to this Academy," I didn't feel as much animosity for the blonde anymore, with these Royal buffoons in front of me. I thought this was a golden opportunity to interact with Royalty in a friendly setting, but it seems to be impossible.

"Hum," he spoke to himself. "This explains how your Proficiency is so high. Thank you, Haru. I'll contact him later."

He looked satisfied with my excuse and even jumped to conclusions on his own. I didn't say a single lie. It might seem foolish to display my knowledge like that, but I also had a secret goal. By drawing attention to me like that, people would move to either make me their puppet, befriend, execute, interrogate, or silence me. Either was fine to me. The moment they made a move, I would capture and get all their information.

But I couldn't take the initiative because I didn't know who was in the game yet. Or on which side.

"Good," professor Ibarin said. "Now, let me tell you how our workday will be. At the end of each class, I'll leave a note on the class board with the pages you need to study for the next class. I expect all of you to come here with these book sections memorized. Then we'll discuss the subject, and I expect everyone to participate. I will ask questions to everyone. If you don't add something to the discussion, you'll have to repeat the lesson later during my office hours. Which are held in my office from..."