2 Fawn’s Magic Academy (1)

"And this concludes the opening ceremony," The headmistress declared. "Now, you may go to your classes and wait for your teacher."

"Yes ma'am!" The student body shouted.

Fawn's Magic Academy's fifteenth opening ceremony had just concluded.

As the students scattered, each heading to their own classroom, the headmistress watched them with a smile on her pretty face.

"Satisfied?" A young woman asked behind her. The headmistress nodded. "How about you?"

The woman shrugged. "I haven't decided yet." Her lips curled up. "This is going to be fun." She whispered before leaving the headmistress' side.

"Stop following me!" The blonde, beautiful girl hissed as she opened the door to the classroom.

The young man sighed and brushed past her, entering the classroom. "I would love that, Lady Iris." He spoke, without even so much as looking at her. "But I'm in the same class as you. Please, don't let my presence bother you."

He turned his back on her and headed to the backmost seat in the class.

Iris' eyes narrowed; her lips curled downwards. Her frustration was clearly visible on her face. Pouting, she pulled the chair closest to the blackboard, sitting and waiting for the teacher to come.

It didn't take long for more people to arrive. A small group of people entered the classroom, then immediately scattered towards different parts of the room. It was obvious that none of them knew each other.

Right as they sat by their desks, a tall, beautiful woman entered the classroom.

"Welcome, my lovelies," She said with a bright smile. Her gaze lingered on each and every one of them before she spoke again. "I am Chloe Cross – you teacher on… well, most of your classes. Save a few special ones, of course." Her smile faded into a more serious expression.

"As you know, magic was unknown to us for the longest time – it was only fifteen years ago that we discovered its existence." She raised her hand and spoke in a clear voice. "'Bonfire'" A flame, bright and hot, appeared in her raised palm.

The young man at the back of the classroom narrowed his eyes.

"We don't know how magic came to be – or how long it existed, unbeknownst to us all. But now, it has started to become a daily occurrence to come across magic. Be it a mage casting a spell, a young child discovering their power, or wild, uncontrolled magic erupting somewhere, it is a part of humanity. A part of our life."

The flame in her hand slowly disappeared. "As your teachers, we are here to guide you – to teach you how to reach within and grasp that power you've been given. We can teach you what we ourselves know but remember; magic is new to us as well. We have only touched the surface – a small, insignificant part of it. So, while most of your classes will focus on teaching you what is known to us, you are to experiment on your own and try to discover more."

Murmurs spread through the classroom. The students' expressions had changed from boredom to that of excitement. The prospect of discovering the unknown and perhaps even gaining fame was enough to catch anyone's attention.

"However," Professor Cross spoke again. "Before we can get to the discovery phase, there are basics to be learned and techniques to be mastered." She took a bunch of small devices from her pocket.

"Now, each of you will take one of these," She raised her hand once more, whispering an incantation, and a device flew towards each student in the classroom.

The young man at the back narrowed his eyes at the device slowly landing on his desk.

It looked like a bracelet, though he could spy some technological components embedded within.

"Put them on," Professor Cross said with a clear, commanding voice. Some confused murmurs echoed as everyone put the bracelets on.

The young man at the back did so as well, and as soon as it locked around his left wrist, a holographic panel appeared.

He glared at the pale blue text floating above his arm.

"It will now ask you to input your names and age. Do it. Don't waste time, we have much to do today," Professor Cross' cheery voice sounded. She seemed to be having the fun of her life, seeing the class' confusion.

The young man did as he was asked and input all the information he was asked.

"Good," The professor spoke. "A little explanation as the device does its work. We don't have a name for these yet, so we just call them Stat Bracelets; they show your current status – your mana, spells and whatever else you know and are capable of, all organised nicely for your convenience." She chuckled. "They're very accurate, though sometimes they can show wrong or missing information. Magi-tech is still a very new field, after all. Now, check your stats first."

The young man looked at the panel before him. Beneath his name, a surprisingly small amount of information was written.

<Mana: 1000/1000>

<Spells: Unable to detect>

<Other: Unable to detect>

He sighed a breath of relief. Good, he thought. It wasn't able to detect anything important.

"Now then, each and every one of you. Tell me your stats."

Aether raised his eyebrows. It felt unethical, as well as just plain weird to ask about others' magical abilities. Such a thing would be frowned upon back at home.

"I'll start." A proud voice he knew all too well and had grown sick of hearing sounded. "My name is Iris Yotsura," The blonde girl spoke in a clear voice. "My mana is 200 and I know the spell 'flame'." She glanced around after she proudly declared her abilities.

"That is good," Professor Cross said. "Next."

A blonde, tall, and masculine young man stood up. "Seth Logan, it's a pleasure. My mana is 500 and I know the spell 'Strengthened Fist'." He sat back down after speaking.

"A body enhancing spell, good." Professor Cross said, nodding. "Next!"

Each student stood up, one by one. They introduced themselves, then stated their mana and the spells they knew. Eventually, all but one had spoken.

"And what about you? No need to be embarrassed, your current power isn't indicative of anything." Professor Cross' almost wicked smile didn't seem to support her words at all.

"Aether Yotsura, my mana is 1000, no spells." He sat back down as murmurs spread across the room.

Professor Cross seemed shocked for a moment. She scrambled to find words. "One thousand?" She exclaimed. "That is amazing – very few people have such vast mana before they even begin learning magic. You have a bright path ahead of you, Aether."

The young man's flat expression didn't change. "I thought you said our current power isn't indicative of anything."

Professor Cross' expression was worth whatever hostility he could face. His lips curled upward and formed a barely visible smile as the professor tried to find an answer. She said somethings about how innate skill dictated how fast one could improve, though Aether didn't listen to her much.

Eventually, she decided to have a short break and left the classroom, giving the students some space.

Immediately, a group formed around Iris. Most of the boys flocked around her like moths to a flame, and Iris' flame only became brighter for it. There were a few people not gathering around her, and one of those was a tall, fit young girl. She stood close to the door, watching the class.

It didn't take long for Professor Cross to return.

"Now then," She loudly spoke to catch everyone's attention. "Follow me,"

She led the class outside, to a large, empty courtyard. "Has everyone here cast a spell before?" She asked. The small crowd nodded, and Professor Cross' lips curled into a smile. "Good, then cast the spell you're most familiar with!"

A wave of murmurs spread throughout the class. It was Seth who first cast a spell. He closed his eyes and focused. His mana slowly began to form around his fist as he whispered something under his breath, then a semi visible shell appeared around his hand.

"Very good!" Professor Cross clapped.

Iris was next – clearly racing with everyone, she declared with a clear voice. "Flame!" A burning flame rivalling the flame of a candle appeared at the tip of her finger.

The tall girl from before created an icicle, and someone else formed a barrier of wind.

Aether sighed as his gaze lingered on each person. What was an appropriate spell? He felt a pair of eyes on him and sure enough, he came eye to eye with the tall girl from before. She grinned and approached him.

"You're not going to cast a spell?" She asked, her icicle gracefully floating up and down in her palm.

Aether didn't reply – he simply called upon his power and an orb of silver light appeared in his hand. "Does this work?"

She laughed out loud. "Hell yeah, it does!" She extended her free hand. "You already heard it before but let me introduce myself again. I'm Erika Thorn, the class president."

Aether immediately decided he liked her. "Aether Yotsura, resident quiet guy." She laughed at his words. "I think we'll get along nicely, Aether."

The young man chuckled. "Likewise."

He felt a buzz on the stat bracelet, along with everyone else in the class.

He raised his eyebrows.

Aether hesitated. "Light?" He mumbled with some uncertainty. What in the name of the chaos realms was all this?

<'Light' Added to archives>

"Good job!" Professor Cross' voice startled him. "You're getting the hang of this rather quickly."

"Professor, this is all great and all but…" Erika scratched her head. "Why is this so complex? We aren't living in a game. How does this whole level thing even help us?" Her questions were perfectly justified, and she was asking what Aether wanted to know as well.

"Well, you see." Professor Cross pointed at the group gathered around Iris. "Normally, us teachers have little way to see how a student progresses. We can't always tell who knows what, and it's also difficult for the students themselves to see who is stronger or more skilled." She chuckled. "This helps us tell the skill levels without being biased by who is more popular. It also prevents any 'favourite student' situation."

Erika's lips curled into a vindictive smile.

"Speaking of," Professor Cross raised her voice. "I've got a few things to explain still, so listen up!" Her words were enough to catch everyone's attention. "You can think of the stat bracelet as a game. There are achievements, and levels. Higher levels mean more benefits from the academy. Achievements can grant you access to things that are usually harder to obtain, so value them."

Murmurs echoed across the courtyard as everyone checked their bracelets in a hurry.

Aether glanced at his status as well.

<Level: 1>

<Mana: 950/1000>

<Spells: Light>

<Other: Unable to Detect>

So, it did show how much of his mana was missing surprising accurately. He furrowed his brows, how had the people in the mundane world even managed to create such a powerful device?

He touched his right wrist, where a thin, ornate silver chain was wrapped around his arm. The Yotsuras would want to hear of this.

He had to let that wicked witch know.

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