I'll just tell you

Lunch was his favourite period during school, and not just because he was a glutton. It was because students were one of the few classes of citizens who could eat an unlimited amount of food, without being restricted by rations, as long as they ate from their school cafeteria.

The food itself tasted excellent, and carefully designed so that it could fulfil the nutritional needs of growing children.The reason why the unlimited food was restricted to school campuses was because that was the only way to ensure they themselves were eating, and not smuggling it off for others.

It could not be helped. Farming and animal husbandry were both two of the most dangerous professions to exist, with a minimum requirement of being an Arcanist! Working with any kind of plant was dangerous, because it was highly susceptible to being cursed. The farmers job was to not only grow the plants, but ensure that they avoided the corruption of being cursed. Moreover, if any plant did end up being cursed, they would have to eliminate it.

Animals, while not nearly as susceptible to curses as plants, were still dangerous because if they did end up being affected by a curse, they would be much more dangerous than plants.

As a result, while farming was one of Kolar's biggest industries, food supply was always kept under strict control so that if there was ever an issue with supply, they would have long lasting reserves. Throughout the history of Kolar, such a policy had saved them from countless troubles.

Thus even Nero could not blame anyone for such a policy. He could only make the most of whatever advantage he got. Even as mentally exhausted as he was, Nero raced through the halls towards the cafeteria. Lunch only lasted half an hour, and he would not waste a second of it.

When he reached the hall, he was pleased to discover that only a few students were there, and most had not yet arrived. With a massive grin he grabbed a tray and got in line at the counter.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Grant," said the lady behind the counter, a middle aged woman who was very prim and proper. There was a large scar on the left side of her face, which started from her forehead and carried all the way down to her chin. It cut through her eye as well, which was the reason she used a glass eye, and left her looking slightly disfigured.

Mrs. Aedile, the lunch lady and chef, maintained a strictly professional tone as she spoke, as was her norm, but Nero knew she liked him.

"The menu yesterday included Snow Dove roast. It was a pity that you missed it."

Nero showed a heartbroken face, truly regretting missing school yesterday.

"It couldn't be helped. I synchronised yesterday, and got caught up in the terrorist attack."

"In such a case, it would indeed be most prudent to give priority to your own wellbeing and consult a medical professional in case of any sustained trauma. Todays' menu is okra cooked with tomatoes and onions, egg rolls, potato buns, Ardain lamb burgers, lilypad wraps and egg pudding for dessert. I assume you want a bit of everything."

"Of course," said Nero as he flashed her the best smile. He knew next to nothing about Mrs. Aedile since she was very private, and would keep all conversations formal and professional. But despite the hundreds of students she dealt with everyday, she remembered that Nero had not shown up yesterday and took note of it. That was enough to let him know the kind of person she was.

With all six items shoved into his plate, Nero quickly made his way to his usual table and began eating. His friends had not arrived yet, but he could not follow etiquette and wait for them to arrive before eating for he had to make the best of this time. Truthfully, he was not as much of a glutton as he appeared. But if he wanted to maintain his physique, and preferably even grow more muscle, he had to eat continuously and consistently.

The food was, as expected, divine. Or perhaps Nero just had very low standards because neither his father nor his mother could cook very well.

Soon, a familiar group joined him. Gabriel, Harold and Wendy were there, naturally. But there were four more than joined them. Maverick and Hansel Dale were brothers, with Maverick being one year older than Hansel, though both of them were still in the same class. Both of them had passive abilities which were quite incredible. 

Maverick's passive ability was to constantly absorb aether from the air around him. That meant that the amount of aether in his body was always either full, or replenishing itself. Moreover, if his body was filled to the brim with aether, then his passive would cause him to passively cultivate! Although Maverick said it was slower than actually cultivating, it did not change the fact that it was continuous!

Hansel's passive ability, on the other hand, was similar but slightly more technical. Instead of absorbing aether from the air around him, he constantly absorbed energy from any solid object he touched until it was completely aether depleted.

This seemed like a watered down version of Maverick's ability, since it could not constantly boost his cultivation, but it held great potential. The fact that Hansel had received a special recruitment offer from KSA while Maverick hadn't was a testament to how useful it could be.

The two brothers neither looked the same nor did they behave similar, but it was a fact that they were biological brothers. One just took after their mom, while the other took after their dad.

The remaining two were Shelby and Malissa, in the same class as Nero but in a different section. The two were best friends, and since Malissa was dating Hansel, both of them had somehow joined the group as well. Nero did not know their abilities, which was more of the norm.

The group of friends ate and laughed together, though their conversation more or less converged towards their training. Now that Nero was finally a Neophyte, he no longer wanted to waste time chatting about random things. So while they still joked around, the topics seemed to have gone through a subtle shift.

Nero also asked everyone about their experience during Aether manipulation class, and how long it took everyone to get permission for the other classes. The average seemed to be three to four classes.

Eventually, the lunch break ended and they all got up, ready to go towards their various classes. But just before they separated, Nero signalled Gabriel and pulled him to the side.

"What is it? Run into any more spies?" he asked with a half smirk. Although he was being facetious, he had already resolved to treat the matter very seriously.

"No. I didn't realise it at the time, but do you remember the cultivation level for our teacher who was absent today? The one we got a substitute for."

"Arcanist. Why, do you think something happened to her?"

"No, but I want you to look into the reason for her absence. I was wondering if she might have gotten recruited during the draft."

"Nero, it was a level one draft notice. It only affects those who qualify as reserve soldiers or those who haven't gone through their enlistment yet. All teachers have already gone through military service."

"I know. But look into it anyway. Or rather, try to find out how many Arcanist level teachers did not show up to school today. It's just a direction to investigate. It will help us gauge the seriousness of the situation."

Gabriel nodded, and didn't continue to argue with Nero. It was a good idea, even if Nero was being a tad paranoid. But considering the agendas that they both kept, such a mindset was not a bad thing.

After they separated, Nero headed towards the only other mandatory class he could attend for now, which was card crafting. Not everyone was destined to become an artisan - someone who crafted cards from existing recipes and discovered new ones. But every single person was still expected to be able to create a card out of their innate abilities.

Not all innate abilities had the same level of usefulness, but no one could know when a seemingly useless ability might suddenly come in handy. Others, who had especially useful abilities, could single handedly affect entire battles just by sitting in a room and continuously pumping out cards of their innate abilities. For example, Nero was certain that Maverick would not see a single instance of combat during his military service. Instead, he would be tasked to mass produce his cards based on his innate ability.

Card crafting would be another class he took one on one with his teacher, at least in the beginning. Nero did not recognise his teacher, nor did she bother to introduce herself. She had been busy taking notes when Nero entered the class and as soon as she noticed him, she shut her books and asked him to sit right in front of her.

"The mandatory class does not teach you the general knowledge and deep foundation of card making. Here, we focus solely on teaching you how to make one card. If you find the field fascinating, you may select a more in depth class once you pass. The passing criteria is to produce a single card based on your own innate ability - which you can keep once produced. The school will neither check the details of the card nor take it. We just need to know that it works, and that's all.

"Card crafting is an incredibly complex field with a depth that goes beyond most card masters, so I do not expect most students to appreciate it. I don't have time to dilly dally on random questions either. Stay on topic, stay focused, and we will get along just fine. Here this is your textbook for the subject. Read it in your free time. For now, just pay attention to everything I teach. Are you following me?"

Nero could feel that this teacher was not particularly happy about being made to take this class, but he did not care. As long as she taught well, he could tolerate her attitude. But if she demanded his respect without delivering on her part, then Nero would not accept her attitude either. He didn't have time to waste either!

"Yes!" he answered firmly.

"Good. Let's begin with some essentials. Why do we use cards, and why are they of those specific dimensions? Contrary to common belief, it is not just because that is what the Eldrim did. Years of study and research have shown that the dimensions of the card, from its length, width and even its thickness of 0.03 cm( 0.01 inch) are the exact optimal conditions to map out the blueprint of a spell within.

"Making the card smaller positively destroys the spell blueprint within, and making it larger results in great loss of efficiency and results in poor durability. Child, are you aware of the matter of blueprints, efficiency and durability? Don't answer, I'll just tell you.

"Did you think Eldrim cards held some power of their own? Did you think that the spells conjured were contained within the cards? Nonsense, the cards merely contain the model, or blueprint, of the spell. Humans lack the necessary organs to manipulate aether in sufficiently complex ways to cast spells. This may be contrary to what you're learning in aether manipulation, where you learn that as long as you can imagine it, you can control aether in any way you wish. In reality, this is not a contradiction, but is a result of more profound principles that you are not yet ready to deal with.

"What is a model, or blueprint? How are they created? Can anyone just create a blueprint for a brand new spell if they understand how other blueprints are created? No doubt you have all of these questions, but child, card crafting is an incredibly complex subject that touches on many other subjects that this class does not cover.

"Instead, what you have to focus on is the fact that within your body, you have a blueprint for a spell that already exists. You now have to learn how to inscribe that blueprint within a card, while achieving at least the minimum efficiency and durability required to make a card. What does efficiency and durability mean? Don't answer, I'll just tell you.

"Child, the star rating of a card is determined based on these two factors. The greater you are able to achieve these two, the higher the star rating. 0 star cards, which you use, have the lowest acceptable level of efficiency and durability. Moreover, the spell models within are also by far the simplest.

"But if the spell models are simple, why can certain cards be found in 0 stars, as well as higher star levels? Don't answer the question boy, I'll just tell you…"