After putting out all the flames in the clearing, the duo began walking toward a stream they had passed by earlier.

As they made their way through the forest, Professor Shadewood began offering Daniel some advice. “Try to limit the amount of mana you use to a minimum. You want the spell to be just powerful enough to secure a kill without depleting your reserves more than needed when you’re in a situation like that.”

Daniel nodded after taking in the professor’s advice. “I’ll keep that in mind, Professor.”

“You’ve shown great instinct, but you lack experience. You need to keep moving when facing multiple enemies, and you don’t have a team you can rely on to keep them at bay. Standing still makes you an easy target.” Shadewood continued, “You were fortunate that the wolves that appeared were regular black mane wolves, not the fire breath variant. If they had been, I would have had to step in sooner since you didn’t account for long-range attacks. Try to use a barrier spell next time.”

Daniel looked puzzled. “Uhm… Professor, I don’t know any barrier spells.”

Shadewood stopped in his tracks, turning to Daniel with a frown. “What? Who is your professor for strategic spell casting? You should’ve been taught this on the first day!”

“Professor Halvard,” Daniel replied.

Shadewood sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll have a word with Halvard. In the meantime, I’ll teach you a basic barrier spell.”

They continued walking until they reached the stream. The sound of flowing water was soothing, and the sight of the clear, cool water was refreshing. Daniel knelt by the stream, cupping his hands and splashed the water on his face. The cold water washed away the grime and soot from the battle.

Shadewood extended his arm and offered Daniel a handkerchief. Daniel accepted and whipped his face dry. “Thank you.”

The professor gave a small smile. “You have a lot of potential, Daniel. Now, let’s take a few moments to rest here before we head to the anthill.”

Daniel looked puzzled. “What anthill, Professor?”

“Oh, I forgot that first-years generally don’t know about this,” the professor said with a smile. “You know about the Thousand Mountain range to the east of our academy?” Daniel nodded.

“Since there are no human settlements beyond the mountains, there’s nothing to keep the beast population in check. Occasionally, powerful beasts cross the mountains and enter the forests near the academy,” Professor Shadewood explained. “To manage this, the academy allows higher-tiered beasts to establish their territory in the forests surrounding the academy if they agree not to attack our students and keep the less friendly beasts out. When you went to Ravenholme a couple of weeks ago, wolves attacked you, right?”

Daniel nodded once more. “Yes”.

“That likely happened because a powerful beast crossed the mountains and fought a local hegemon, disrupting the forest and causing the less powerful beasts to flee,” Shadewood continued. “Some of the higher-tiered beasts also provide value to the academy. For example, the black orc tribe to the north periodically hosts competitions for their young warriors against our trainee knights. And the academy often goes to their tribe to train,” Shadewood continued.

Daniel’s eyes widened in realisation. “So what is this anthill?”

“We’re going to visit one of the more powerful hegemons in the forests, the Midnight ant colony. There have been reports of disturbances near their territory,” Shadewood explained. “Continue resting. I want to demonstrate something. First, I need to clear the area.”

Shadewood stretched his back and extended his right arm, releasing a surge of mana that Daniel could feel vibrating through the air. Shadewood started writing in the air, and thousands of shimmering runes materialised from his hand, swirling around the professor. The runes danced and twisted until they formed into multiple chains. Daniel watched in awe as the chains condensed and merged into a single enormous rune that hovered above Shadewood as he finished writing the last rune.

The colossal rune floated upward. Suddenly, as if thousands of invisible hands grasped the surrounding trees, they began to be pulled from the soil. The uprooted trees slowly floated towards the rune before disappearing.

The immense rune flickered and vanished after Shadewood cut the mana flow, leaving only the open clearing as evidence of the event. The professor turned to Daniel with a calm smile, as if what had just occurred was a routine task.

“Professor, that was incredible,” Daniel said, his voice filled with awe. “What did you just do?”

Shadewood chuckled softly. “Just a bit of advanced rune magic, something you’ll be able to do too when you reach the second tier.”

Daniel nodded, still processing the display of power he had just witnessed.

….

After Shadewood finished explaining the barrier spell to Daniel, they stood opposed to one another. “I’ll demonstrate the barrier. Hit me with everything you’ve got,” he said. As he finished his words, a dome formed around him, constructed of tessellated hexagonal plates.

Daniel nodded determinedly. He raised his hand and summoned a firebolt, the acrid scent of the magical fire filling his nose. One by one, he launched them towards the barrier. Each fiery missile collided with a hexagonal plate, dispersing harmlessly into a shower of sparks. The hexagons absorbed the impacts without a flicker.

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Shadewood watched calmly as the onslaught continued. After a few more shots, he raised his voice over the crackling of flames. “Try the flame spear I taught you,” he suggested, his tone encouraging.

Daniel hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He began chanting the chant his teacher taught him. He felt the fire condense into a single, intense point. After finishing the chant, a spear made out of flame hovered above his hands. Its heat was intense, incomparable to the bolts he conjured earlier. With a swift motion, he hurled the flame spear at the barrier.

The spear streaked through the air, leaving a trail of embers as it flew. It struck the barrier with a resounding impact, causing the hexagonal plates to glow brightly but they held firm.

After signalling for Daniel to halt, Shadewood lowered the remaining barrier with a pleased expression. “Impressive, Daniel,” he said warmly. “We’ll discuss refining your attack skills back at the academy. But you’ve done admirably for your first time conjuring the flame spear.”

“Thank you. The flame spear requires alot more mana than I expected” Daniel sat down on the grass with a tired look.

“Take a breather, well, work on your mana control when we’re back. You leaked alot of mana while chanting,” Shadewood said, reaching into his robe and pulling out a small vial. He handed it to Daniel. “Here, drink this mana potion.”

Daniel looked confused as he accepted the small vial. “Didn’t you warn us last year not to use these?” he asked.

The teacher chuckled. “Lower-tiered mages shouldn’t overly rely on them due to developing mana sickness and addiction. But with your mentality, I shouldn’t fear the latter. And you’ll only develop the sickness if you abuse them. Drink it”

Daniel uncorked the potion and brought it to his lips. The liquid tasted like a candy he hated: liquorice. After fighting the urge to spit it out, he swallowed. A/ tingling sensation spread down his throat as he swallowed, branching out from his head to his fingertips and toes. After a few seconds, he noticed his mind becoming sharper and the empty feeling he felt after depleting his mana reserve began to disappear.

Reenergised, he stood up and stared at his teacher. “I get why people get addicted to this stuff. It’s a weird sensation.”

The professor chuckled, “Yeah, I have seen too many people waste their life savings on this stuff.” While he spoke, he stared into the distant sky. After Daniel’s soft cough, he turned his attention back. “Let’s continue. You remember the chant of the barrier spell, I thought you?”

Daniel swallowed before answering, “Uh… yes, I do” In truth, Daniel wasn’t too sure if he remembered everything correctly.

“Great! Just make sure you make no mistakes. Otherwise, the barrier could cut you in half, and there’s nothing I could do to save you,” the professor said, staring blankly at the panicked face of his student. After a few seconds, he began to chuckle. “I’m joking. There’s nothing bad that can happen if you make a mistake.”

Daniel looked bewildered and thought to himself, “Was the potion he gave me a hallucinogenic? Or did I hear him make a joke?” After recollecting himself, the professor instructed him to stand in the middle of the clearing.

“Okay, cast the barrier. After you cast it, I’ll hit it with some small spells to test it.”

Daniel nodded, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. He closed his eyes and began to chant the incantation for the barrier spell. As he recited the words, he focused his mana, feeling it flow from his core to his hands. Slowly, a barrier began to form around him, composed of tessellated hexagonal plates that shimmered faintly in the sunlight.

The professor watched with an appraising eye. “Not bad for a first attempt,” he remarked. “Now, let’s see how it holds up.”

With a flick of his wrist, the professor launched a series of fire bolts at the barrier. Daniel noticed they were smaller and had less power as they flew than the ones he had fired at Shadewood earlier. They struck the surface with a sizzle, causing the hexagonal plates to ripple from the impact. Daniel felt a tiny bit of mana being used as a firebolt made contact with his barrier.

Suddenly, one of the plates cracked and shattered, leaving a small gap in the otherwise intact dome.

The professor nodded thoughtfully and stopped firing the spells as soon as the barrier broke. “Good effort, Daniel. The barrier held up well, considering. You need to work on distributing your mana more evenly across the plates to prevent weak spots.”

Relieved, Daniel released the barrier, the tessellated hexagons dissolving into the air. He looked at the professor, eager to learn from his mistakes and improve.

“Let’s try again,” the professor said with a smile. “Remember, practice makes perfect.”

….

They tested the barrier spell four more times, each iteration better than the last. Professor Shadewood helped Daniel refine his technique and improve his mana distribution with each attempt. The barrier was noticeably more robust by the fourth attempt, with no plates breaking under the professor’s firebolt tests.

After they finished, Shadewood pulled out a small black disc and threw it onto the ground. As it hit the earth, it expanded. After it stopped growing, the disk was large enough for multiple people to stand comfortably. The edges of the disc were etched with intricate golden runes that shimmered with a soft, otherworldly light. In the centre of the disc, a large red ruby gleamed, pulsating gently with a rhythmic glow.

“Step on,” he instructed.

Daniel hesitated momentarily before stepping onto the disc, his curiosity piqued. “What is this?” he asked, examining the golden runes and the ruby in the centre.

“It’s a flying disc I made a while back,” Shadewood explained. “Since I can fly myself, I don’t normally use it because it consumes more mana. But since you can’t fly, it’s the best way to travel quickly.”

As Daniel stepped on the disc, it began to lift off the ground. Simultaneously, a shimmering dome of energy formed around them, encapsulating the flying disc and its passengers. The golden runes glowed brighter, and the disc hummed softly as it ascended.

Daniel watched in awe as the clearing and the forest below shrank away. The landscape spread beneath them like a vast, green quilt, and the horizon stretched endlessly. The sensation of flight was exhilarating; the wind rushed past them, cool and refreshing.

They soared towards a giant black hill in the distance. From above, the hill’s sheer size became apparent, its dark surface looming ominously over the surrounding landscape. As they drew closer, Daniel noticed movement around the base of the hill. Numerous black ants were emerging from the anthill, forming orderly lines as they moved about their tasks. Some ants were as big as horses, with thick, armoured exoskeletons that gleamed dully in the light. These larger ants appeared to be guards, their mandibles sharp and menacing as they patrolled the area.

Shadewood turned to Daniel as they began to descend. “Whatever happens, don’t leave my side, and do not use magic in any circumstance.”