Nick felt excited about the information he had received from reading just some of the introductory book. He started writing in his note book in order to sort and condense what he had learnt.
(The book had some of what I already knew. Magic is an energy that exists all around us that requires special methods to be manipulated. The very nature of this energy is conversion and manipulation, that is, magic can be converted into other energies or matter and can be used to manipulate natural laws to create specific phenomena.)
(Laws are mystical languages that can be used to manipulate magic and it is expressly written that laws and magic are not the same but somehow are both required for Magicians to cast 'spells' and do other supernatural things. Laws by their nature work just like instructions, the same as a programmer would give to a computer for it to perform something. These instructions somehow command the magic energy within them or around them to perform things according to the will of the Magician. These laws can be, lets say carved, into physical objects or based on the nature of the instructions, they can be 'carved' into reality causing changes that are in conflict with natural laws or enhance natural laws.)
(The book had some interesting examples that I've never heard about. It stated that commonly, Magicians are identified by the characteristics that their magic seem to take on. For example, Magicians who use laws related to heat and fire have magic spells and methods that are mostly related to fire manipulation and they are called Fire Magicians; there are also Magicians that have laws that result in their magic creating illusions such as an image of a target's home, a useful way of using this being to have the target believe that they are walking into their home but are actually entering a trap - the book says that these types of Magicians are the most troublesome.)
(It goes on to say that most Magicians simply learn someone else's laws and use the same kind magic as them. It says that the people who actually create original laws are usually masters in a certain scientific or artistic field that use their knowledge to create the laws that their magic responds to. The book also says that a novice should not try to create their own laws because this often leads to a backlash that can vary in terms of characteristics and can be fatal; it gave an example of a Magician that tried to create a spell for manipulating the space around him but the spell didn't work as expected and actually collapsed the space around him, resulting in the creation of something that seemed like a 'black hole' that sucked everything into a central point, everything in the vicinity was crushed including the Magician.)
(The book says that there are even Magicians that embed laws into machines so that they obtain extraordinary characteristics such as machines that can duplicate their components endlessly or machines that can move at the speed of light without damaging their components. These Magicians are commonly but incorrectly called mechanics. There are even persons that carve laws or have laws carved into their body to enhance their physical characteristics.)
That was all that Nick was able to read today. Nick thought back to the last world assembly where director Sylvester of the Order of the Unite Realm made almost the whole world shine with blue light, the light even moved through walls to reach people.
"I'm definitely going to be a great Magician, I just have to focus on the right things. Trouble is...I don't know what the right things are, it looks like I'm going to be doing a whole lot more reading going forward."
Nick decided that he should get some rest before reading the rule book that he got from the school. He first did his usual reps of pushups, showered in his dorm room's bathroom and went to bed at 11 pm.
RIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGG!!!!
At the sound of his phone's alarm, Nick slowly got up from bed. It was 3 am, Nick's usual wake up time.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
(I don't have to rake leaves anymore, huh. I guess that's also some progress.)
Nick washed his face in the bathroom, picked up the book that he had found on his desk when he came into the room last night that had the title: "Richter Order Academy Student Handbook" on its cover.
Nick opened the book to the first page that had the title: "Seven Absolute Rules of the Academy". The page listed seven rules that it claimed were absolute in the sense that the academy won't tolerate them being broken no matter what the circumstance. They are:
1. Students and faculty may not openly injure each other unless specifically allowed to by the academy's administration.
2. Students may not leave the academy grounds unless given permission by the academy's administration.
3. Students and faculty must not share learning and instructional materials with the outside world. That includes information found in the library's books or laws that can be purchased from the academy.
4. Students are not allowed to conspire against the academy or its faculty.
5. Students are not allowed to use their magic on the academy's property that has been placed for public use unless told by an administrator to do so.
6. Persons that are not students or faculty of the academy must not be brought onto the academy grounds unless permission is expressly given by the academy's administration.
7. Students must participate in mandatory exams and special events unless a proper reason approved by the administration is given.
The handbook goes on to state that breaking these seven rules will and must be punished and the punishment will either be expulsion or death and can be carried out on the spot by personnel from the enforcement office or via a trial done by the administration.
(So that's why Ray Menzes was able to kill those two guys yesterday in public. The enforcement office is probably filled with dangerous people.)
The rest of the book listed other miscellaneous rules and the consequences for breaking them. Nick was done reading it by 5 am so he did some pushups, showered and then left to get something to eat at the dormitory's cafeteria. When he left his room, so did his neighbor from room 31. He looked at Nick and said:
"Greetings neighbor, hope you enjoyed the scene last night. I got special permission for one of my family's maids to be here on the first day to help me get settled and I guess I got a little excited. Ha, ha, ha. Don't worry, I'll be more careful to close the door next time, wouldn't want to ruin my rep this early. Oh, by the way, my name is Don Bartholomew; remember it because I plan to be the best in our year. I'll be seeing you around."
Don monologued and then left with his head held high.
(Is that guy an idiot? Who fucks their maid with the door wide open. He didn't even ask for my name, not that that matters anyway. )
Nick shook his head and left for the cafeteria. When he arrived at he cafeteria, it was almost 7 am and there were many people already getting their food. Some sat at the tables to eat and some left after getting their food. Nick waited in line for about 10 minutes and when he got to the front, he presented his ID card, the clerk did something with his computer and took Nick's order.
Since Nick was at the academy on scholarship, all his meals were free within a certain threshold of cost. Nick had ordered two simple egg sandwiches. He left the cafeteria to go back to his room so that he could continue reading the book on laws and magic, he still had the math texts on his laptop to read also so he didn't want to waste his time since class started in less than a week.
Nick got to his room, locked the door and ate at is desk. When he was done eating, he started reading again. The page was titled: "Becoming an Apprentice Magician".
"Ha, Ha. I've gotten to the good part!"
With some excitement, Nick dived into his reading for the next few hours. To him, there was nothing more pleasurable that making progress on his goals and his personal growth.