Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Evin nodded.

"Well, I'll just explain everything from the beginning, as you probably don't have a clear idea of what you're going to do in the Academy."

"Aren't I just going to learn magic?"

"You are, but there are a lot of other things you can learn there. Well, we'll get to that later. First, I'll tell you the list of classes you must attend," Leanne began.

Evin cleared his mind and focused on the mage's lesson.

"First and foremost, would be a class named 'The Applications of Magic'. As you can guess from the name, this will be the class where you learn about magic and its various uses."

"After that would be 'The Cultivation of a Mana-core'. In this class, you will learn about the limits of your own mana-core and how you can go beyond those limits. These two will also be the classes where you can earn yourself a World Shard or two. On average, an Academy student obtains a single World-Shard in a month."

With this estimation, Evin would have access to all the Elemental Worlds after a little more than half a year. He also remembered Leanne mentioning Conceptual Worlds, so perhaps he would be able to find a Shard for those as well.

"The third class you must attend is 'Arithmetic'. This one isn't a class that teaches you about magic, it's a class about using numbers to solve problems. Well, you'll see what it's about in a few days anyway," Leanne smiled mysteriously.

Evin heard its name and found it quite exquisite, but sadly, it wasn't even connected to magic.

'What's the use of solving problems using numbers, anyway?' Evin thought in his head.

"The next class is a choice between twelve. It's called the World Specialization class and a student would pick a World for them to specialize in. But since you only have access to the World of Fire, you'll automatically fall into the 'Study of Irratas'."

Evin nodded again.

"Another class that you must take is a class named 'Mage Specializations'. As you can probably guess, some mages are good at some things, while others are good at other things. In this class, you'll learn about the many different jobs and specializations that Mages are divided into, and at the end of it, you'll be asked to join a specialization of your own," Leanne chuckled, "If you choose to be an Enchanter, then you're probably going to be studying under me."

Evin was a bit confused about what Enchanters did, but the voice offered Evin his speculations.

<I'm guessing Enchanters specialize in strengthening their bodies with World energies. I've seen Leanne cast some spells while you were unconscious and almost always, her hand or body would take on a different hue.>

"Next, you will learn the Imperial Language and Literature. I know it's a drag to learn a whole new language, but since almost everyone in the World speaks Imperial, it's almost taboo for mages to be not fluent in it. This year, classes will happen in the kingdom's language, but starting from next year, everything will happen in Imperial. Remember that."

Evin was a bit unwilling, but he knew it was inevitable. Even if he wasn't a mage, as a 2nd grade citizen, he would've been required to at least speak fluently in Imperial. But thankfully, he was practicing since two years ago, so he could at least hold a proper conversation in the language. Probably.

"This is all for your must-pick classes. Students usually pick a class for chanting as well, so that's kind of an unwritten rule in the Academy, I suppose. But if you want to, you can just not pick a class and train your chants by yourself."

"Lady Leanne, I want to enter the class for Imagination Casting," Evin said excitedly.

But the mage didn't really share his enthusiasm as he shook her head with a sigh.

"Imagination Casting is a class reserved for nobles, I'm afraid. Even if I were to recommend you for it, I won't be able to get you inside it without the noble students' permission and the instructor who teaches the class," Leanne's voice dragged on a bit, "And besides, I'd rather you don't join those classes in the first place.>

"Why is that??" Evin didn't understand.

"I'll tell it to you outright. I'm afraid you will be bullied there. Teenage nobles aren't really the best that humanity has to offer. In fact, I believe they're a better contender for the worst."

<Don't worry too much. You have me, so you don't really have to worry about casting magic,> the voice seemed to shrug, <It would've been interesting to see the level that other mages stand on, but I suppose we'll find a chance to see that later on.>

"Then I won't pick a Chanting class for the time being," Evin replied, though he felt a bit wary of the voice's tone.

"If you're fine with that, then I won't meddle in your affairs. Other than these classes, you can pick from the optional classes as well," Leanne said and gave Evin a piece of paper, "Here's a list."

Evin took the list in hand and started reading. There were two columns on said list: one seemed to contain non-magical classes and the other seemed to contain magical classes.

[Illusions, History,

Runes, Politics,

Mana-beasts, Society,

Chemistry, Geometry,

Economy,

Natural Sciences,

Northern Lang.,

Eastern Lang.]

"I know the magical side is a bit empty, but it'll fill up after you attend the Specialization class," Leanne explained, "If you have any questions about the classes, I'll be happy explain them to you."

<Ask her what the four magical classes are about.>

"Could you tell me what the four magical classes teach?" Evin parroted.

"Illusions, as you can guess from the name, will teach you how to distinguish, disassemble, and bypass illusions. If you possess access to the World of Thoughts, then you'll also learn how to cast these illusions yourself. Personally, I recommend you pick this class, regardless of whether you can cast illusions or not. But most of the time, the students tend to choose it after they've gotten the World's Shard. That's fine as well."

"Runes are the stuff you used to cast magic for the first time. Remember how I made you rip a piece of paper in half and your mana-core cast magic automatically for you? Well, in this class, you'll learn to correlate a rune's effects with their depictions. You won't necessarily learn how to make these rune-imbued scrolls yourself, as there's a different class for that."

Evin nodded and waited for Leanne to continue.

"Mana-Beasts. Hmm… Have you ever encountered or seen a mana-beast in the wild?" Leanne asked.

"No… But I did hear many rumors and legends about them. About how they're immune to normal arrows, able to heal wounds in a matter of seconds, and how a single swipe from the claws and talons are able to shred through stone like they're butter."

"Hmm, a bit of an overstatement, but I guess it's inevitable, as there weren't any Reckonings in the past century or so."

"Reckonings?"

"A kind of mass emergence of Mana-Beasts, I suppose. Well, you'll learn about it in that class if you take it. Also, almost everything about Mana-Beasts in general... Hmm, there's really not a lot to say about this."

"Alright…" Evin murmured.

"And finally, Chemistry. Well, it's called Chemistry, but it's mostly about poisons and poisonous substances and how you can better distinguish them. Add magic into the mix and the subject turns really complicated really quickly."

Evin nodded as he stared at the subjects. He really didn't know what was better or worse here.

<History, Society and Natural Sciences are a must. I'm really surprised there's no Logic, or Rhetoric, but I guess I can teach you these myself… Aside from that, you can pick a class about magics that you're interested in. But I'm sure you'll have to learn about all these subjects later on anyway.>

Something about the voice's words tickled Evin's stubborn bone, as he planned to pick anything but the suggestions it dished out.

<If you're thinking you won't pick these just to spite me, then remember that I have the option to not teach you how to cast magic, yeah?> the voice threatened.

Faced with the dilemma, Evin sighed and parroted the voice's choices.

"I'll pick History, Society, and Natural Sciences. Also, the class about Mana-Beasts and Runes."

"Good choices! Though of course, I recommend you to study everything later on," Leanne said happily, which made Evin a bit more content about his choices as well.

"I'll put you in those classes, so you don't have to worry about them. For now, let's eat and then go to your dorm room," Leanne said and they went downstairs to eat.

…

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