Lorelai’s heart raced as Professor Isha outlined her schedule, each word uttered felt like a delay to her training, anxious to get started. Sword, spear, lightning magic, gravity magic—her mind whirred with the possibilities. She had never dreamed of this much opportunity, she had been willing to accept anything at all, much less the blessing of a hidden class.
“I can’t believe this is happening,” she murmured, glancing at Braak, who gave her a hearty chuckle in response.
“Aye, you’ve got a lot ahead of you. But don’t let that overwhelm you. It’s all about focus,” Braak said, his deep voice reassuring. “And discipline. We’ve got the best instructors here, but they can’t do the work for you. You’ve got to put in the hours, the blood, the sweat. Remember that.”
Lorelai nodded, acknowledging the truth of his words, and yet, there was a thrill coursing through her. This was exactly what she had hoped for. A chance to learn from the best, to grow and figure out her history.
“Now,” Braak continued, turning to Isha, “When does she start with Avantus?”
“Tomorrow,” Isha replied, her voice like a sharp blade cutting through the air. “We don’t waste time here. Your first lesson will be in the morning. You’ll need to be prepared for everything, Lorelai. I’ve seen students arrive here expecting just basic swordplay or magic theory, but what you’ll be learning isn’t just technique. It’s about adapting to your powers, finding your limits and then breaking them.”
Lorelai felt a surge of excitement in her chest at the prospect of learning from the renowned Avantus, the Weapon Master. It was said he had trained legendary heroes and weaponsmiths, his expertise in combat unmatched. If she could even gain a fraction of that knowledge, she would be lightyears ahead of her peers.
“I- I don't own any weapons...,” she said feeling disheartened, her voice strong despite the nerves that fluttered in her stomach. “I don't have a penny to my name.”
Isha’s sharp eyes softened with a flicker of understanding, and for a brief moment, the stern lines of her face relaxed. “No weapons?” she asked, her voice surprisingly gentle. “Well, that’s something we can fix quickly enough.”
Braak gave a loud, rumbling chuckle beside her. “Don’t worry, lass. You’ve got a lot more here than you realize. The academy can supply its students with anything they need. From weapons to armor, to books and scrolls. Money doesn’t matter in here, Lorelai. We'll get you to the armory and fit you out with a sword and spear, I can see you already have a nice set of armor.”
“Isha interjected,"Avantus will show you how to wield each since you've had no formal training, he'll hone your combat instincts.”
“Instincts?” Lorelai echoed.
Braak clapped a massive hand on her shoulder, the force making her knees buckle slightly but a reassuring gesture. “That’s the beauty of this place. No one’s born knowing how to fight. Or how to use magic. We all start somewhere. Some people start with fire in their bellies and it burns them out. Others start with hesitation, and it takes a while for that fire to catch. But it always catches. It will in you too, if you’ve got the heart for it.”
Lorelai took a slow breath. I have the heart for it alright...
“I want to be the best,” Lorelai said quietly, more to herself than to Braak or Isha. “I won’t rest till I am.”
“That’s the spirit.” Braak’s voice was rough, but his eyes gleamed with approval. “I’ll leave you with Isha for now. You’ll get your first lessons from her today. Just a little introduction to the basics, a taste of what’s to come.”
Isha gave him a nod, her sharp gaze shifting back to Lorelai. “The first lesson is always the hardest. For most, it’s a reality check. But you’re not most students, are you?”
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Lorelai shook her head, a surge of resolve building within her. “No. I’m not.”
“Good,” Isha said with a small smile. “Then let’s get started.”
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The room was quiet when Lorelai stepped inside, following Isha. It was spacious, with high windows that let in natural light and shelves filled with arcane tomes, vials of strange substances, and enchanted objects glowing faintly. A central table was covered with various magical implements—runes, crystals, enchanted weapons, and more; many of which Lorelai had never even seen before.
“Have a seat,” Isha instructed, gesturing to a simple wooden chair by the table. “We’re starting with feeling the flow of your mana spring. It’s practical and useful, something that improve how fast you can draw upon its power, how much you can contain, and its quality.”
Lorelai did as she was told, but a knot of uncertainty twisted in her stomach. She did not possess a mana spring, but a dragon heart, She was unsure if she could have both. Isha sat down across from her crossed legged and her fingers interlaced in her lap. “This,” she said, “is a basic exercise, we’ll begin with feeling the mana in the air and drawing it into your naval. Your bellybutton," she clarified after receiving a quizzical look. "The more you practice, the amount and speed in which you can draw mana in will greatly increase.”
Lorelai’s pulse quickened, listening to her instinct she drew mana into her naval just as she was instructed. This was something she could, the mana aggregating there.
“But first, you’ll need to the mana,” Isha continued not realizing Lorelai was far ahead, her voice calm and steady. She extended her perception and felt the flow of mana drawing into Lorelai, her brows raising in surprise. "You're quite the fast learner! You're doing well, now close your eyes and focus on your breath, form a sphere in your stomach.”
Lorelai hesitated for just a second before following her instructions, but when she did bright light thrumming energy emanated from Lorelai. Isha gave her next instruction, "Please listen to the whole explanation before continuing so its done properly. This is the most important step; once you have your mana spring formed you need to thread it throughout your body, this will shrink the sphere initially, but will make using mana so much faster. You can return and increase the size of the sphere with allocating points to your intelligence stat and by drawing in mana like I've shown you. Keep the threads thin, very sturdy but thin. Good, now close your eyes,” Isha instructed.
Lorelai inhaled deeply, trying to quiet the whirl of thoughts in her head. She after a brief introspection she noticed how thin the threads were coming from her dragon heart, but none from her new mana spring to the dragon heart. She wanted to do this delicately; the first thing she wanted to do was thicken the threads from her dragon heart. Not so thick to hinder, just thick enough and sturdy enough to endure some abuse, then she connected one large thread from her mana spring directly to her dragon heart; which was her main conduit for mana. Her mana exploded like a blazing sun in the form of an aura.
"What on earth is this mana? The output is way too high for a level two, even a hidden mage specialist class wouldn't have this type of reaction!" Thought Isha, her hair and close fluttering in the mana induced wind.
She could feel the magic that flowed through electrifying her, she never so alive with so much clarity.
She focused harder, sinking deeper into her awareness, trying to match the rhythm of her own breathing with the pulse of the mana. Multiple status prompts sprang up alerting Lorelai of their presence, slowly, she opened her eyes.
[Dragonheart (perfect) acquired +8 to INT]
[Dragonheart (perfect) increase INT by 2 level that's an increment of 5]
Lorelai realized, a quickly took a look at her new stats, stunned into silence.
Str - 6
Agi - 6
Will - 9
End - 6
Int- 12
Isha’s approving nod was the only response she could manage in her current state of shock. She had not witnessed anything like this before. Lorelai felt a burst of exhilaration, she knew this was the start of something huge. Feeling an adrenaline rush she hadn’t experienced in years. “This... this is amazing.”
Isha’s expression returned to that of an educator, “You’re only scratching the surface. Remember, magic is as much about control as it is about power. You must learn how to wield it, not let it wield you. Understand?”
Lorelai nodded vigorously. “I understand.”
“Good,” Isha said, her gaze flipping back to Braak, who nodded once in approval. “Now, get some rest, I'll find someone to show you to your dorm. I’ve got your schedule set, but tomorrow will be an early start. After you’ve met with Avantus and obtained your weapons, I'll teach you how to properly apply magic to your weapons. I’ll see how your magic handles infusions and weapon enhancements. Depending on your affinity we might move faster than I expect. That’s assuming you survive the first lesson with Avantus.”
Lorelai was escorted to her dorm by a human bunny hybrid or rabbit folk. The young woman had the legs of a hare, face of a human minus the nose, and rabbit ears and tail. Her name was Judy and she was very kind. They did not converse much, her mind buzzing with everything she had learned. Tomorrow she would meet Avantus and start her weapon training, learning to wield her weapons instead of random flailing.