“You could say from the very first moment the world is made, that the first pattern is created. From that first pattern of creation, countless more are made, which sprouted on countless more."

Carrying the flow of enthusiasm, she then drew what appears to be a fractal tree, or perhaps an endless chain of reactions.

“Countless patterns created the elements, countless elements created the phenomena, and countless phenomena created events.”

The endless fractals welded together into string, the endless chain combined each other into a long, long weave. Each of those weaves interlaced together seamlessly, animating a vibrant scene.

“Soon enough, countless living beings were born unto the world, made through the countless events stacked together into what we called ‘Time’. Flowing ever forward and downward through the river of times, countless beings proceeded to be born, to live, to die, and to repeat.”

Some grew new colors, some lost it.

Some continued on endlessly, some suddenly cut off. Some looped back into itself, and splitted off even more.

Nevertheless, the weave keeps dancing, keeps creating new shapes, and from countless shapes, creates a brand new picture.

"Through the cycle, living organisms continue to experience countless events, in countless places, in endlesstime, in an infinitely vast world. All living beings, soon enough, began to enjoy, to admire, to marvel, and to be in awe."

Countless tiny fractals branch melded and joined together, into an image of the world.

Of the endless sky above and the luscious green below, of the great mountain behind and the vast sea in front, of countless beings living carefreely and joyfully, of the majestic sun and the gentle moon, and of the unending cycle of season, life and change.

And then, from afar, a being of bestial form watched from above, and with clear pure eyes, reflected upon this grand view below.

From within that beast, a spark was born.

“We know naught of the very first being, which attempted to harness the power of magic unto their own.”

“After all, countless species have rose and fell, perhaps countless civilizations have risen and fallen, each perhaps with magic far greater than what we could have imagined, all lost to the sand of time. In those billions of years of existence, so much greatness and wonder has been cast into eternal oblivion.”

“But, we know that, if that first being were to harness magic, they must have done it ‘instinctively’. Or, by their very nature.”

With the spark at the center, the swirl of power began to enter through their breath, permeated through their veins, and collected within that center, as it continued to grow and grow. Then, in reserve, power began to flow out from the center, running through the veins, and exhale out along with their breathing.

“Perhaps, that beast wanted to jump high into the sky. As such, they strengthened their legs to reach above the clouds.”

“Perhaps, that beast wanted water to moisten their throat and wet their gills, and so they commanded water to follow them everywhere."

“Perhaps, that beast wanted the world to be as they imagined and convenient, and mold the earth according to what they wished."

Using magic in countless forms, the beast freely utilized the endless flow of power to do everything it could ever want, and applied to the world the countless shapes within its dream.

Eventually, that beast looked toward what was beyond the sky, made a gigantic leap upward, and danced among the stars, before becoming the very star that dotted the night.

“Magic that comes from the depth of one’s heart, flows freely within one’s veins, and controlled with only one’s instinct, will, and imagination, formed in the age before words...This is the most ancient form of magic utilized by living beings, with the rawest of execution, of which we called Image Magic. Colloquially, it’s also called Wild Magic, for its common to see them in the wild.”

“Among the scholars, some even suggested we call it Ancient Magic to signify their age, but as always some vehemently denied it, for it's both common among magical beasts and obtained by just about anyone willing to put their heart into it. As you can see, some people really should be getting off their high horse...”

“Question, teacher!” This time, it’s Marigold’s turn to ask, raising her little hand up high. ”So, the type of ‘magic’ I did the other day would be considered Image Magic, right?"

“That's right, technically…However, not sure if I should call just chucking a singularity made out of sheer mana would count as magic rather than just brute force, though.” The dummy wizard hesitantly replied, “Speaking of, this is why some people even doubt if we should consider Image Magic as actual magic at all, instead of it being a 'brutish and based usage of mana'. Again, they very much need to pop their ego back to the ground…"

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“Kyu (Pot calling the kettle black, much?)"

“Ahem-Oh yeah, also speaking of Mana..." Ignoring Dragon’s cheeky response, Merlis feints a nonchalant expression. “I think it’s time for me to talk about the Second Law of Magic."

[Second Law of Magic: Mana is the source behind all magic.]

“The swirl of endless power that the hypothetical Beast freely uses in its ascension to the stars...The Void Ether, the Endless Flow, the Unceasing Water, it has many names, like all things fundamental to the world, is.”

“It’s the force behind all phenomena, and influences all elements within the universe, with no exception. " She further explained “It can strengthen elements, allowing phenomena to grow stronger and distinct. It can manipulate the elements, allowing all things to move or halt. It can transform the element, changing phenomena from one form to another…”

“... And finally, it can replicate elements, for reasons and potential unknown."

Emphasizing the last point, Merlis glanced meaningfully toward the peanut galleries below. Noticing her eyes full of inquisitiveness, the crowd collectively raised their eyebrows and tilted their heads. Marigold, also like them, expressed her confusion with a slight frown, though nevertheless she still kept her silent attention.

As such, it’s Dragon's turn this time to raise her hand, curiously wondering..

“Kyu? (Reason and potential unknown? Does i mean that this function is a relatively recent finding, I presume?)”

“Exactly. If I tell you that we made this discovery around 15 years ago, you should instantly know where it came from.” Merlis expressed knowingly.

“Kyu (Ah...From them-I mean, from us as a whole, huh…)”

Hearing both Merlis and Dragon point their finger at them, the galleries became even more confused, since it's not like there is anything unique about them, unlike the usual trio…

(However, it is not them that she is confused about, but the explanation... Welp, spoiler alert)

Meanwhile, keeping what she knows to herself with a sneaky chuckle, Dragon silently continued to watch.

“Well, to talk about what sort of research, analysis, and experiments we secretly did on the ‘Player’ would take another semester to fully describe, but one result we uncovered from that is the discovery that Mana has the apparent capability to “copy" the form and function of any elements within the existing world…Though as for the case of the Player itself, they were intricately crafted to be a very unusual and alien beings, is my thought about it.”

“Either way, since it’s a very new field of research, there is still a lot we need to test and experiment upon, though I’ve personally heard that the Mectalblitz continent has already made great strides in developing technology which has taken advantage of this newfound property. Sure have given a lot of excited young'uns a lot of sleepless nights trying to figure out how they did it, that’s for sure…”

Merlis continuously and gleefully talked about tangents with stars in her eyes, ignoring the peanut galleries getting increasingly creeped out about the supposed secret “experiments”.

It's moments like these, that make newbies and veterans alike remember that this is a fully realized world that’s just as curious as the one they came from, despite everything else. Even if it's a nonsensical world with wonky powerlevels, it's still a learning nonsensical world with wonky powerlevels…

...Wait, doesn't that just make things worse?

“Kyu (Hello, Earth to Dummy? Can you return to the lesson now?)”

“...Especially, I have heard about their "Hard Light" technology, which shares a lot of similarities with our elemental-O-Oh right, let's return to the lesson, my apologies.” Finally snapping out of it, she returns to the whiteboard with a flustered expression. “W-Well, we will explain the specifics of the four functions of mana in a later class. For now, let's continue with the history lesson."

"So, eventually, magical beasts began to fill the land, and soon enough, almost every beast could utilize the flow of mana within themselves. The same happened with sapient beings, and now almost every sapient species has someone who can use magic, no matter big or small…”

“Then, among those magically-tuned people, some began to think of a way to use it better.”

Wiping the board once again, the marker then drew out the scene of various humanoid beings surrounding an open fire, talking and thinking, singing and dancing.

‘I can control water, but what if I can make it in a much more intricate shape?'

'I can till the earth and fertilize the land, but what if I can make it as suitable as I want?'

‘The air is my friend, but what if it can be more than friend?’

They conversed with each other, or perhaps they conversed only with themselves. Perhaps, they never sang it to the world, until their very last breath.

Either way, their thoughts and feelings are put into words, get exhaled from within their breath, carried out into the wind, and spread to the sky above.

And eventually, the world began to resonate. As if those countless voices combined, amplified, and converged into a giant wave.

“Countless people, from countless civilizations, began to learn how to do the same thing countless of times: They learn how to put magic into their voices.”

“The miracles that used to act from inside their beating heart, their unrefined mind, and their raw body, were now transferred into their articulated voices, their structured word, and their refined language.”

“Just like how people put meaning into sound, into action, into marking, into shape...people learned how to input meaning into Mana through words and song, and gained even more control of their surroundings, more than ever before.”

The words piled up; the song harmonized into a chorus.

Language became chants, became prayers, becoming a wish.

Countless wishes, from countless people, in countless times, all came together...The wish of trying to impart meaning to the world, began to realize and take shape…

...Until that shape became a new pattern of the world. One which can be wielded in the hand of sapient beings.

“The systematic practices to turn word, language, and symbol into the manipulation, amplification, transformation, and replication of phenomena; One that we called Chanted Magic. Colloquially, the type of magic most of you have in mind.”

“Since we're talking about the magic that we know of, there is no more point in talking about the countless past before our time, and instead diving upon our own history...And in our history, we’re going to learn about the beginning of our own system of Chanted Magic.”

“The prototype, and the foundational steps from which all classical forms of magic came from...and perhaps, the greatest monumental step: Primordial Magic. Prime Magic, for short.”

The pattern, molded by people’s hand, allowed them to influence the world in a big way. It allowed them to move mountains, to divert rivers, to create great storms, and to build cities upon cities.

Then, soon enough, with this pattern in hand, they also began to make a big jump, and ascend to the stars above. And soon enough, become those very stars, shining brightly and everlasting…

“...Is what I would like to say, but unfortunately…”

Then, with a wipe, the lightwas gone.

Without a trace, without even a smear, the shining star vanished.

“We just don’t know what that magic is, for the knowledge is erased.”

And all that is left...is a blank, white expanse.