Professor Farg then explained how students would spend some time outside the academy walls, similarly to what Lith had already done during the fourth year for his Healer specialization.
The main difference was that they wouldn’t be employed only according to their specialization. The students would cover all the possible aspects of a mage’s daily activities, acting as guards, firemen, healers, or simply helping the Association to deal with the paperwork.
"The dirtied hand teaches the best. Remember, only monsters thrive in chaos, using their powers to satisfy their base instincts. Soldiers, nobles, mages, even the Crown itself, we are all servants of the Kingdom.
"Achieving a higher power means much more than just the ability to yell orders. It comes with an increasing burden and responsibilities. It’s only by properly carrying on your duty that your lands will develop and so will the Kingdom.
"Think about it before your first assignment. Class dismissed."
While the other students discussed what they had just heard, Lith observed the impact Farg’s words had on his peers. With her charisma, she had made those of humble origins, like Quylla, feel they had a calling in life.
That they had the power and the duty to protect those who couldn’t defend themselves.
Watching the tense expressions of the arrogant nobles who earlier had opposed to Linjos, Lith could see how they now felt insecure. They were afraid countless eyes were watching their families.
After listening to Farg’s speech, they imagined that it was only a matter of time before their crimes were exposed, threatening the lifestyle that they had always taken for granted.
From their whispers, Lith could hear from their words that for the first time in their lives they were afraid of the consequences of their actions.
Those like Yurial and Phloria, were either depressed or excited instead. They had prepared for a life of duty since they were little. The Code of Practice course meant coming another step closer to their adult life.
’I didn’t misjudge Farg at our first meeting.’ Lith thought.
’She is a natural born leader, capable of inspiring those around her, making them strive to become better persons. The problem is that the effect she has on people is bound to be only temporary.
’Once they have a moment to think, without the presence of a leader to guide them, they will soon fall back in their old habits and insecurities. No one becomes a better person just because of some fancy words, neither justice becomes more efficient.
’I wonder how long will it take, especially for those of humble origins, to be corrupted by their newfound powers and authority once they get out of the academy. I know very well how intoxicating is the freedom to get back at those you hate without the fear of consequences.
’It doesn’t matter if they now believe to have the moral high ground. Once they realize they are giants in a world full of ants no one cares about, they’ll show their true nature.
’Talk is cheap, everyone is righteous until they have the opportunity to take what their heart wants and get away with it.’
Solus was a bit worried about him. After seeing how the villagers of Lutia had impoverished their neighbors for their own gain, how petty were the people of Earth and Mogar both with all those who were one bit less fortunate than them, she knew he wasn’t wrong.
Yet she considered his vision twisted by his own baggage and distrustfulness. Solus considered herself lucky for having met Lith and him for finding friends despite the academy’s harsh environment.
They were the living proof that there were good people in the world.
The following lesson was also a mandatory one, so they only had to wait for the next Professor to arrive. When the gong resounded again, Professor Nalear entered the classroom.
She looked even prettier than before, all that rest had done her some good. Lith felt nothing in his heart while watching her walk to the center of the Hall. He was completely over his childish unstable core induced crush for Nalear.
"Good morning dear students. It’s a pleasure to see you again. Believe me, after being bedridden for months, being able to walk again feels out of this world. In case some of you were wondering about it, your Professors from the fourth year have moved to the fifth floor as well.
"The staff follows this rotation so those that have nurtured you can keep following your progress, making the transition to the new subjects easier since we already know your strong and weak points.
"Our subject this time is Magic Creation. As you know, every real mage must be able to create their own spells. Some of you already have some customized incantations and know how hard it is to create something from scratch."
The classroom nodded in unison. Most of their personal spells were nothing more than modified versions of standard spells. At their level, creating something new implied a lot of trial and error.
One of the reasons Lith managed to score so many points every trimester was that he was the only one that seemed to be able to create new spells with ease. The truth was different, though. He only developed true magic spells.
The words and the hand signs he used were just gibberish.
"Magic Creation is another of those subjects exclusive to the six great academies. No mage that comes from minor institutions knows about it. Even speaking about it outside the walls of an academy is considered an act of treason.
"What I am going to teach you over the course of the lessons, is how to more easily create new spells for each element. There’s no way we can cover everything in a single trimester, so beware. Magic Creation will last for the whole year.
"I’m going to cover only for the basics, everything else rests on your shoulder. You’ll also need what we do here for your specializations. After the first exam, you’ll learn how to devise more complex and specific spells directly from the Professors of the other subjects you attend.
Do not slack off. If you fail with me, you are bound to fail in every single course."
The class sweat bullets at those words, watching at Lith with envy. Everyone considered him having an unfair advantage. Too bad they were completely off the mark.
Lith was sweating even more than them.
’Oh, sh*t! Let’s hope she doesn’t call me as a volunteer to explain stuff, or I’ll be in hot waters. The only silver lining is that I can fake my way out. She’ll surely request for simple spells that I can easily counterfeit with true magic.’
"Don’t worry, we’ll start with something simple." Nalear said taking the words out of his mind.
"First, you need to learn how to crawl, then how to walk, and finally how to run. Second, I’ll assign each of you a different spell to create. Otherwise one of you will do all the work and the others will just leech it.
"Third, to pass this course you’ll need to share with me your final product, so that I can evaluate both your talent and effort. What’s required from you is to not only devise working spells, but also the most effective ones possible.