Soon after, the new entries of the academy entered a large classroom.
The space was set up with several wooden desks and benches arranged in rows where students would sit.
At the front of the room was a wooden podium for the instructor, who would be the Grand Magus.
The windows on both sides provided appropriate lighting for the large space.
The students kept walking in slowly until it was filled, then Thamoryn stepped in from another entrance and walked toward the podium.
"Welcome to your introductory class," she began. "Now that you are all seated, we’ll begin in earnest. Let’s start with the major types of magic."
She walked away from the podium and came to stand in the middle of the class. She began, "There are three major types of magic. First is Origin Magic, the one you all have awakened or were born with."
"Second is Supplementary Magic. Now pay attention here. These are utility-type spells; some directly enhance the strength of your magic, increase its range, or cause different effects entirely. The difference between a good mage and a great one lies within their knowledge of supplementary magic. However, know this: certain levels of supplementary magic come at a high cost or carry high risk."
"Third is Forbidden Magic. By the magic laws that govern the nine kingdoms, this form of magic is not to be practiced. Their source comes from the very demons and monsters humanity came together long ago to fight against."
There was a brief pause before she added, "By the laws of Xathia, a mage caught practicing Forbidden Magic is to be executed."
The room went cold, and one could tell that the teenagers had chills run down their spines at that moment.
When that sank in, she continued, "Onto the next topic, creation of magic spells."
This part got the class somewhat excited, and the mood had just switched.
The Grand Magus continued, "Now this bit is both the easiest and the hardest part. Your magic techniques are the extension of desires and imagination into the fabric of reality."
She stretched her hand forward, and a small ball of light manifested above her palm. It radiated brightly and glinted in the eyes of the students who watched.
"Now I want a sword," she said, and then made the orb of light shape into a long sword.
"Or a shield perhaps," she added, transforming her light magic into the shape of a shield.
She smiled and with a wave of her hand, the construct dissipated into what looked like little stars that dropped around the amazed students.
She had just given them a display of her famed light magic; this was also her origin magic.
Aiden, who watched from his corner, wasn’t just amazed; he was pleased, especially with the notification that had popped up after the display of her light magic technique.
[New Technique Copied → Light Magic Constructs]
[Technique rank → A]
The technique rank revealing itself to be A also meant one thing: in the hands of the Grand Magus, it was at least S-rank.
The Grand Magus continued, "Right now, most of you just emit your magic, with only a few of you having an actual technique. While simple magic emission may still be potent, it will never be as refined and precise as a created spell."
What she said reminded Aiden of the Rivendale dungeon.
While Tam could make his wind magic precisely attack those monsters, he himself could only release flames in the general direction of a monster if any of the party members were not within the monster’s immediate range.
"The hardest part about technique creation is the implementation. A few things can affect the execution of magic techniques. One is how complex the spell you want is. Another is the amount of mana it consumes. So know your limits."
There was a brief pause before she continued.
"I’ll give you all notice ahead of time. Every one of you must come up with a technique. It is one half of the conditions to become an Initiate."
The Grand Magus went on a bit more about different topics, including dungeons and the dangers behind them.
At the end, she reminded them that all she had done today was a summary overview, and only when they were Initiates would they receive much more comprehensive classes.
"I believe I’ve left you all with some important details today. This class is dismissed. See you all tonight," Thamoryn said, then walked out of the halls.
The mages started getting up from their seats one by one, except for Aiden, who was currently examining the new side and special quests that had appeared right after Thamoryn said class was dismissed.
As if the system had been waiting for her to finish.
[Side Quest: Create Two Techniques for your Innate Magic]
[Rewards: ??]
[Bonus: 1000xp]
[Quest Duration → 7 days]
[Special Quest: Learn a supplementary magic spell]
[Rewards: ??]
[Bonus: 1000xp]
[Quest Duration → 7 days]
The first place he could really start reading about a new form of magic would be the library itself, which was perfect given that his daily quest required him to read any five books relating to Xathia’s history.
....
Aiden had spent some time in the library, and studying the history books on Xathia proved to be an interesting read.
He learned of the seven great families that were as old as Xathia itself, before others started developing outside of them.
The Greystones were part of these seven great families and were mostly known for their powerful Earth Magic, with only a few of them manifesting rare magic.
Which meant, Arianna was one of those few too
Regarding magic techniques, no book could provide more help than the brief explanation given by the Grand Magus today.
And for the special quest, which he seemed more fixated on, he came up completely empty. There weren’t texts or spell books for supplementary magic techniques.
The only book he found on Supplementary Magic, from the magic usage section of the library, only explained further what supplementary magic was, stating that the forms of this magic were categorized into different levels.