Almost an hour after the teacher, Mark, began explaining about the remedial classes and the things provided by the academy to Sebastian and the other kid, whose name he had yet to learn, they were both given a small book about the school that they could read before their 'remedial classes' began and a map of the campus. There was, however, an obvious problem.

"I don't know how to read." Sebastian spoke for the first time since coming to this strange place.

"Oh, yeah, I should've guessed. Sorry, we don't receive a lot of people like y- in a similar situation to you very often. I will talk with the staff to get you an… English teacher, I guess? Regardless, don't worry, as long as you have the will we can teach you anything." Mark said as his face started to brighten. "Now, I'll bring you to the temporary rooms you'll be using before the year begins in a few weeks. Then, tomorrow you'll be given the schedule. Follow me."

As Mark led them through the hallway, they exited through the door at the far end of it, entering a very big open area, similar to a park, with trees, small roads made out of stone tiles, and benches. Looking at the building they just came out of, Sebastian was briefly stunned by its size, as it extended hundreds of meters in each direction, and was a few stories tall, before quickly running towards Mark as he'd walked a few dozen meters already.

After walking for what felt like half an hour, the path already half-forgotten by Sebastian, they reached a much smaller building, but still reaching what he'd guess was three stories high.

"This is the housing area for guests, most of the time it's empty, such as now, so we use them for the awakened like you, as we don't get more than three or four every year. You will be moved into the first-year dorms in one week when most of the students start coming. Tom, you're staying in room one, Sebastian you're in room two. If you've brought any items with you they should be in there by now. Someone will come tomorrow at eight to take you to your first day of remedial classes, you have uniforms in the closet. Now, those won't be with me as I have normal classes to attend, but don't worry, all the other teachers are very nice. Oh, and before I forget, you shouldn't wander on the campus, it can be pretty dangerous sometimes. If you need something there should be a staff room in the guest building." As he finished, Mark gave each one of them a key before saying his goodbyes and leaving.

Without talking to the other boy, who had been looking at him for a while, Sebastian entered his own room, not knowing what to expect, but still shocked as he saw multiple rooms. He had a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living room all for himself. Never before in his life has he seen such a great home, and now he had one fully to himself.

He ran to the kitchen and opened the fridge. One of the things he remembers Markus talking about was how there was a 'fridge' in their kitchens that should already have some food, and it was true. He didn't know how most of those items were named, but either way, he started eating until he felt sick. Never before had he been so happy. He almost cried, but before he could, he sat on the bed and fell asleep. This has been a very exhausting day for him, not physically, but mentally.

___

Waking up way before sunrise, Sebastian started exploring his room, something he had never thought he'd do. There was, of course, the bed, which he already knew as he had the best sleep of his life in it. In front of it was a big desk, with a wooden chair, and a smaller bookshelf, almost empty with the exception of a few books whose titles he couldn't read. The only other things in the room were a switch on the wall, and after hesitating for a while before flipping it, he jumped as the sudden light surprised him, and a closet, with a few clothes, neatly folded, and a single coat-rack, holding a uniform.

Changing into the uniform, he looked at himself in a body-size mirror on one of the closet's doors. This was the first time he wore such beautiful clothes. As he breathed a few deep breaths of air to calm down his emotion, Sebastian flinched as someone knocked on the door. The 'staff' Mark spoke of was here. Quickly moving to open the door, he was faced with a boy older than both himself and Tom. He'd say he was sixteen or maybe seventeen.

"Sebastian, right?" He asked, waiting a little for him to nod before continuing "I'm Mathew, I've been sent to show you the way to the remedial classes. Follow me." Mathew said as he motioned for him to follow with his hand. Sebastian also saw Tom out, and they both started walking behind their guide.

"You both must be really confused right?" he said with a chuckle.

"Yes, my dad just told me to follow the people that brought me here." Tom said, suddenly more talkative now that he was faced with someone closer to his age.

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"Don't worry, it's hard to explain things in just a few minutes, so rather than try and leave you both more confused, they'll slowly let you learn the basics. I think. I and most others just grow up around magic." Mathew explained to them, as they finally reached a smaller building, this one missing any extra floors. "This is where remedial classes are. It's usually used as a room for training… certain types of magic, but after the end of the year, it's turned into this. Now, you should go inside, I think the teacher assigned to you two has arrived already." He finished as he waved at them "Hopefully we'll see each other soon, bye now!"

As they entered the building, they saw a normal class with only a few desks, all empty, and in the front, on a platform elevated a few dozen centimeters, stood an older man. Despite seeing all different types of hair colors recently, Sebastian had the feeling that dark green was an even less normal one.

"Hello kids, I'm Vernon. Now, I've heard you want to learn magic?" The old man said as he smiled, the sight of which scared both of them a little. "Let's see how you'll do."

~~~

"So, why do we need to do this?" Sebastian asked as both kids stood down on two small mats.

"To use magic, you use your mind, and spellcasting is something very taxing on the mind. Even the easiest of spells would make a normal human faint. This is why meditation is something vital, you increase your mental capacity, your focus."

"So you're not going to explain to us what magic even is?" Tom asked as he relaxed his joints before getting back in a meditative position.

"Of course not. That would be like trying to explain what electricity is to someone that never heard of it." Vernon said as he shook his head.

"Electricity?" Sebastian asked him.

"..." Vernon looked at him before shaking his head and pointing at him "This reminds me, you're staying here after we're done. You're having general education next. Now, get back to meditating! Don't waste time!"

Sebastian closed his eyes again, this time seriously trying to follow the meditation technique Vernon taught them. It was different from the meditation he'd heard about in the past, he didn't empty his mind, instead what he was supposed to do was focus on a mental image, whatever it was, even imagining a sound or taste would work, and that would train the mind.

He didn't have any idea what he should focus on, so he simply looked at the darkness of his now-closed eyelids, and tried to create a shape there. He didn't care about that, what he cared about was only succeeding in this.

And, surprisingly, succeed he did. He could feel his mind becoming… more. He wasn't smarter, or more perceptive, his mind was simply more…enduring.

As he opened his eyes, expecting dizziness he'd been warned happens when you first try meditation, he noticed that everything was normal. But Vernon was looking at him with a shocked expression.

"Did you succeed on the first try?" He asked, and as he saw him nod his head he continued "Hmm… pretty rare, but not unheard of. No, what's almost unheard of is you do not have any backlash from the meditation, no mental fatigue at all, I can see how clear your eyes are. Are you sure you never meditated before?"

"No, I've barely heard of meditation before, and not at all in the way you've taught me. But…" Sebastian trails of

"Huh? Noticed something weird? Please continue what you were going to say."

"I've felt… when the meditation finished, the feeling of it made me feel… more refreshed." Sebastian said

"I see… That explains a few things. Doing things we like, that relax us, can help recharge our focus. Now, it differs from person to person, but a wizard that recharges focus when meditating, sometimes even more than he expends, isn't unheard of. Usually, those things develop over time, but I guess there were a few that had such a thing happen when they started. After all, not much is known about the start of a wizard's career." Vernon contemplated, and soon after he finished, Tom also opened his eyes.

"How did you do, kid?" Vernon asked, a little expectation in his eyes.

"I feel tired…" Tom said as his shoulders slumped a little.

"Ah, well, to be expected. Do not worry, seeing the effect of meditation takes time. Now, you should meditate once every day from now on, or if you feel good you can try doing it more, but don't try to push it too far. If you're feeling tired like now, DO NOT DO IT!" Vernon said, raising his voice at the end "If you empty all of your focus, you risk falling into a coma for a few days. Now, you can take your leave."

"I understand, thank you." Tom said before lifting himself up from the mat and leaving the class.

"Now, Sebastian." Vernon said to him "The same applies to you. Just increasing your mental capacity once means little. After all, the rest of the kids you'll be meeting when the school year starts would have meditated since they started speaking."

"Of course. And, thank you for teaching me." Sebastian said as he bowed his head a little to show his appreciation.

"This is my job, kid, don't think much of it. Really, there are some teachers you really shouldn't feel indebted to here. Now, I'm going to take my leave." Vernon exited but before closing the door he continued "This was the fun part, now good luck learning." He smirked as he left.