"Everything in this world can be divided into two things: Objects, and energy. Objects are physical things, like you or me, like the desks or your clothes. If you can touch it, it's an object. Energy is what makes things happen, and it takes several forms. Lightning, heat, sound and mana are some of them.

"Mana is something that exists everywhere. There's some in the air, and there's some in us. For sentiments, our mana is stored in our brains. Because the mind stat affects the brain, the better your stat, the better your brain, so the better your mana storage. Something little known is that we get mana from the air via our souls. The more powerful your soul, the more mana it can take from the air."

He pauses to take a few breaths and to make sure he still has my attention. He has it for sure, but I have to remind myself to take everything he says with a pinch of salt.

While he is probably one of the smartest people around, the way he sees the world is on par to how a mid-14th-century scientist might. He's probably right about how mana is just another form of energy, and how my stats work with mana, but not much else.

He points his chalk at a diagram of a piece of fabric dissolving.

"Mana is the only energy that can become an object. Using the mana from our bodies, we can force mana to become solid and use it as a shield, we can make it into another type of energy and throw lightning, or fire at someone. We can make it a liquid and then take energy back from it and freeze it. There are endless possibilities for mana use, and all fit within the eight schools of magic."

He shifts his pointer from the detailed diagram to a 2×4 grid, each square filled with a symbol and several lines of writing after each one.

I raise my hand, and he points at me, answering me before I can even ask the question.

"Don't worry about your lack of literacy. I'll explain each. As long as you can identify the school by the symbol, there is no issue."

I nod, memorizing the symbols. There's a shield, an eye, a star, an orb on a stand, a fire, an interlinking circle and square, a skull, and finally a wavy spiral. I can guess one or two of them just from the idea of magical disciplines I knew of on earth, but they mostly confuse me.

"First is Abjuration, the shield. Form a barrier of mana to protect someone or something. Second is illusion, the eye. Make someone see something that isn't there. This also extends to the other senses. Advanced illusion spells can make you hear, smell and even feel something that isn't real."

I raise my hand again. I'm laughing inside at how I'm suddenly a student in a new world.

He pauses when he sees me and motions for me to speak.

"Does that mean that spells can also make you taste something that isn't there?"

He falters for a second.

"I suppose... but the important thing is that you can alter sight. The third school is enchantment, the star. This can either be an enhancement or a runic engraving. We use both here, and both can offer all kinds of bonuses. Notoriously difficult to make work though. Now, the fourth school is Divination, the sight. This is a rare school to invest in because there's not really a combat potential. Spells allow you to see the future, or to see something somewhere else.

"School five is Evocation, the fire. This is a popular one. Basically, it's using mana to destroy things. Push enough energy into it to make it explode, or push enough energy around it to set it on fire. School six, the links is transmutation. This school is about changing things into other things. Turn metal into wood, or sand into black powder. It requires an in-depth knowledge of the substance though."

I feel this is immediately a good school for me to go into if I ever have the chance. Earth-level knowledge of materials is hundreds of years ahead of what it is here. I understand the fundamentals of matter, so changing it via energy transference seems doable.

"School seven is necromancy, the skull. Turn mana into the energy of life, and raise the dead. Now, this is a controversial school at best. Most governing bodies are against it being used outside of monitored circumstance. As a freelance mercenary group though, we don't answer to them. And as such, we always have a few necromancers on hand for emergencies."

Again, this seems like a good fit for me, but for an odd reason. If I can find and resurrect my old bodies while keeping the power they once held, I could make a name for myself. With all my modern knowledge, which is futuristic to them, I could rule. Could being the key word there. I have no desire to run anything. Right now, I just want to learn and kill. In that order.

"The final school is Conjuration, the portal. Bring something into being from beyond. This is a theoretical school more than anything. As has as I know, very little progress has ever been made in this school. The greatest conjurers ever only reported being able to make small quantities of basic materials appear.

"A shame to be sure, but aside from these eight schools and their respective users, there are a vast number of ways to combine these schools. For example, this room is filled with so much magic that the only school we don't utilise in some way is necromancy. Although most of it is transmutation."

I raise my hand again. While this lecture on magic theory is... probably useful, I'm not interested in it all that much.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"What about casting spells? How does that work?"

Declan grins, visibly becoming more excited.

"Excellent question Ms Cass. Truly, that us the big question. We have all this mana around us and all this mana inside us, but how do we make them interact?"

He flips over the chalkboard he's closest to, and to my surprise, there is a diagram of a brain on the other side. I didn't even notice him draw it before.

"The answer is: will. You must will for something to happen for it to actually happen."

I tilt my head in confusion. As far as I know, if I will for something to happen, that's the same as me wanting it to happen. And I want these spells to work for me.

Thankfully, Declan notices my confusion and looking exasperated, elaborates.

"Think of it like this. Subconsciously, you're willing your body to do things. When you were a baby, you would have had to will every movement that wasn't basic instinct. For the first years you were learning to walk, your infantile mind was figuring out how to will your body to move.

"At this point though, that's all subconscious. All you have to do to cast a spell is will your body to cast it."

It's a step in the right direction. Another puzzle piece fits into place, but I'm still not seeing the full picture.

"What if I don't know what 'it' is though? Like, I don't know what the spell does, so how do I know what I want my body to do?"

"That's a matter of intelligence. I assume you have a spell available that you would like to cast but cannot?"

I nod, eager to get a real instruction on casting.

"Your status can tell you about the spell in more detail if you don't know it. Alternatively, all known spells can be researched in the library."

"We have a library!?"

Declan laughs lightly and shakes his head.

"Of course. We are not the savages many assume us to be. Although until you learn the written language, I fear it may be of little use to you."

Reluctantly, I have to agree. I love library's as they are the epicentre of learning, but what might very well be my most important visit ever will have to be on hiatus.

"Will you teach me?"

He shakes his head gravely. His expression seems to have dropped somewhat.

"Make no mistake here Ms Cass. I'm not your personal tutor. I am giving you a specialised course to solidify your qualification for the position of First Lieutenant. There are many on the base who can teach you whatever you want to know. But when it comes to what separates you from the rest, I will take over. You have an above average mind stat for your age and level, so I'm teaching you advanced magic theory. If you can keep up with this, and I can see you have been, then you can keep up with my lessons."

He looks terribly serious, but his tone is positive. He's a stern teacher, and I can tell he cares. I remain silent though. He's reminded me of the one lie I still haven't cleared up with Mary. They still think I'm around level 40 when I'm still actually only level 10.

The silence extends into awkward territory, but Declan looks to have no intention of speaking. He looks like he expects me to say something. And I do want to say something.

"I have one final question, and I'm not sure why it wasn't my first. Why do you want me to become your Lieutenant? I'm an amnesia victim, who could have no experience in leadership. We know I can fight, but for all we know, I'm behind the undead hordes. So, why me?"

Declan sighs and places the chalk on a small shelf at the bottom of his chalkboard. He takes a few steps towards me, and with a motion of his hands, uses the air to drag a chair towards him.

He takes a seat opposite me and stares into my eyes. I feel like he's looking deeper than just my face, and while I feel this is just another intimidation method, It's still frighteningly effective.

"I won't lie to you Ms Cass, you've earnt that at least. I suspect you have something to do with the undead, or at least you knew more than we did at the start. Your circumstances are bizarre, to say the least. Someone of incredible and unexplainable power springs up out of nowhere in an area where they shouldn't be with no recollection of the past. You are assumed to be a recruit who was damaged and were given powerful implants with accompanying gear.

"This is no mere coincidence, Ms Cass. The moment you came into this base, I was consulted. Your wounds healed faster than they had any right to, and as the spellsword instructor, I was asked to see if you had some passive spell. Finding not a hint of mana manipulation on your behalf, I could only assume your soul was leaps and bounds ahead of your other stats."

He waits for my reaction, and aside from some mild interest in what happened while I was unconscious, I'm unfazed. If Declan really is the Lancer General, and the leader of the mercenaries, some underlying plot like the one being revealed to me is rather on par with my expectations.

Keeping his gaze up, Declan co tiniest with his revelation.

"Due to your injuries, I gathered your body stat was so low that you must have been some anomaly or experiment. So I took a gamble on you. Either you would wake up and kill several of my personnel before you were subdued and questioned, or you would be recruited with no questions asked. Somehow, you took the third option which didn't exist. With no memories, I had no way to know what you were. I allowed you to get your gear and your implants, and I deliberately sent your division to where I knew a thrall would appear.

"It was a test. Admittedly, it went wrong, as I hadn't anticipated the Wraith Lord showing up too. But while I lost several of my more powerful Spellswords, I discovered the new potential in you. With a soul powerful enough to manifest wings, you would be the first to rise up. And I would teach you how. In return, I would have your loyalty. With you as my right hand, I needn't send out so many of my mercenaries with the knowledge they might die."

His voice has taken on a pleading tone. Despite the almost sinister way in which he has revealed his plan, I feel sympathy for him. The man has lived for so long in a position of leadership that I couldn't imagine the number of lives he knows have died under his rule. In regards to whether I will fight for him, I have no reason to refuse. I had planned to fight as a mercenary for the time being anyway.

"Ms... Ventra Cass. Knowing this, and knowing that I will never lie to you again, will you become my First Lieutenant?"

I sit still and silent. He looks down, his facade fading.

"Of course."

He stands, smiling faintly. He stifles it quickly, but I can see this is a huge relief to him. If I even cared about holding grudges anymore, I might let one evolve. But it would be a mutually beneficial relationship, so I can't really stand to dislike the guy. I loathe needless death, and I can help with that if I agree.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. You've done my people a great service."

He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I appreciate the contact.

"I have a quick question though, and I swear it's the last one today."

He motions for me to go ahead, and I do, all the while fearing he might laugh.

"I don't know how I've never heard it, but... what is our mercenary group actually called?"

"What? No, nevermind. I can understand how you wouldn't have heard. People outside of leadership rarely mention the actual name. We are called the Aesterian League. And on that point, I think the lesson for today is over. I recommend you take that young man who has been watching us and get him to teach you how to read and write. I'll see you tomorrow."