This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/Obsequium_Minaris on 2024-10-30 01:02:51+00:00.

First / Previous / Royal Road / Patreon (Read 12 Chapters Ahead)

XXX

After a quick lunch, the first-year students continued on to their next class, which was Magical Theory. As they filed into the classroom, Pale was surprised to see the teacher already there. It was Professor Tomas, and he was eyeing them all with no small amount of disappointment.  

“You’re all late,” he surmised as they sat down.  

The students shared a quick glance with each other before one of them – Joel, by the sound of things – decided to speak up.  

“Professor, we’re right on time. Class starts at one on the dot.”  

“If you’re not early, then you’re late,” Tomas grunted. “I have a year to teach you all the very basics of advanced magical theory, which isn’t nearly enough time to do more than scratch the surface. It’s my duty to prepare you all for the upper-level courses, where the really dangerous things start being taught. If you don’t have the discipline for it, then this school is not for you. The things we will be dealing with here are very volatile, and we cannot afford any mistakes.”  

That got Pale’s attention right away. She made a mental note to pay close attention, even if she couldn’t cast any magic herself; if nothing else, perhaps learning more about it would help her learn how best to counter the various mages she’d come across.

Professor Tomas took a seat at his desk, which was situated in the back of the room, in front of a row of chalkboards. Pale couldn’t help but note that there didn’t seem to be any textbooks present in the room, which was more than a bit confusing.

“First off, you all need to understand what it is we’ll be learning here,” Tomas said. “This class is not about the practical application of magic. Rather, it is very specifically about the theory of magic. What does that mean, exactly? Well, magic is an extension of your sjel. You can think of it as physically projecting the very essence of the sjel itself. Everyone on this planet can use magic; it is an ability inherent to us all. But what separates the true practitioners of magic from the common riff-raff using parlor tricks is the ability to look within and truly understand how magic is being cast.”

Someone raised a hand; Pale turned and saw it was Cal. Tomas pointed to him, and Cal said, “Question, Professor – you said that the things we’d be dealing with here are incredibly dangerous, but you also said that this class isn’t about the practical application of magic. Could you elaborate on that, please? I mean, how can magic be dangerous if we aren’t actually going to be casting any of it in this class?”  

“Good question, I’m glad you asked it,” Tomas complimented. “Ultimately, what we’re doing here is simple on its face – I will be teaching you to delve into the depths of your sjel to begin fully unlocking its true potential.”  

The room went dead silent at that. Pale looked around and saw that many of the students suddenly seemed incredibly fearful of what they’d heard. A few who had been taking notes, Kayla included, had suddenly paused, their eyes wide with shock. Tomas seemed unperturbed, however; he merely cleared his throat before continuing.  

“I understand that many of you have your misgivings about hearing me say that,” he said. “The sjel is a sacred thing, after all – it’s what makes you the person you are. And while, on a certain level, it is possible to tamper with it, I’m sure you have all heard horror stories of people who went too far too quickly. Rest assured, that will not be happening in this class. What I seek to do is push the limits of your sjel in a controlled environment. It is not without its danger, but at the same time, it is not nearly as dangerous as some of you seem to believe it is.”  

Kayla swallowed nervously, then raised a hand. Pale noticed she was shaking. Tomas called on her, and she took a breath.

“What… do we stand to gain from doing this?” she asked. “I mean… there must be some kind of benefit to doing something this dangerous.”  

“Indeed, there is,” Tomas answered with a nod. “If you lot are like the other students who have come before you, then you’re here for a few key reasons. Some of you simply wish to research magic to increase your own knowledge of it; some of you want to test your capabilities and improve yourself. Some of you want to serve in some capacity, whether that’s as a soldier for your kingdom, a mercenary or adventurer, or as a professor of magic yourself. In each case, all of you will benefit from testing the limits of your sjel. As for the specific benefits…” Tomas smirked a bit; Pale had to admit that it looked more than a little strange on him, given how straight-laced and serious he normally was. “I’ll start with the obvious one – how many of you have heard that a person can only have a single magical affinity, aside from a few rare instances among the nobility?”  

A few tentative hands went up, Kayla’s included. Tomas stared at them for a moment before shaking his head.  

“That is complete nonsense,” he said bluntly. “Yes, it is true that some people naturally have two affinities and others do not. It is also true that this happens primarily among the nobility. But the idea that it’s exclusive to them is false. In reality, any of you in here can unlock a second affinity.”  

For the first time, an excited murmur went up through the crowd of students. Pale looked around and noted that several of the students of noble blood – Joel among them – suddenly seemed much more dour than they had been before. It didn’t take her much thought to figure out why.

They’d gone their whole lives thinking their second affinity made them special, and that knowledge had just been cruelly ripped away from them in the course of a single afternoon. If she’d been less disciplined, it would have been enough to make her crack a smile.

“Settle down, please,” Tomas stated, causing the students to go quiet once more. When they were all settled, he began speaking again.

“Believe me, a second affinity is just the tip of the iceberg,” he promised them. “By the end of this first year, all of you will have found a second affinity, sure… but you will also have improved your casting with your first affinity, too, to the point where you could be considered expert mages in it. Not master or grandmaster mages, mind you, but experts. Faster casting times, more mana to draw from, more powerful spells in general, the ability to cast silently and without an external catalyst… all of that will come to you in due time. Let it be known that in this class, there is no such thing as a risk without an accompanying reward.”  

That, at least, seemed to placate the students who had earlier been worried about working directly with their sjel. Pale still wasn’t sure exactly what that even meant, but hopefully she would find out in due time.

“Now, for today’s class, I am going to keep things simple,” Tomas offered. “I am going to go around to each of you. You will tell me your affinity, and I will gauge the depths to which you have managed to explore your sjel so far. Do not worry if you do not seem to measure up exactly to your peers; everyone’s rate of development is different in this regard, and by the end of the year, it won’t matter, anyway, as you will all be good enough to be considered experts.”  

Tomas approached the first row of students, motioning for the first one – Valerie, Pale noticed with a small pang of some unidentifiable emotion. She buried it as quickly as it came, however, instead focusing as Valerie took in a breath.  

“Earth,” she said. “That’s my affinity.”  

Tomas nodded, then rest a hand on her head. Valerie closed her eyes, and to Pale’s shock, a light began to emanate out from all around her. It only lasted a moment, but it seemed to tell Tomas everything he needed to know.  

“You are quite skilled already, for a girl your age,” Tomas surmised. “However, as you would expect, there is still much work to do.”

Valerie seemed a bit disappointed at that, though it soon faded as Tomas tested the next few students and found them to be, for lack of a better term, novices, though he was quick to assure them that it didn’t matter at this stage. Pale, for her part simply paid close attention, watching for anyone she recognized.

Eventually, as Tomas went around the room, he stopped in front of someone Pale couldn’t see through the crowd. The small voice that came a moment later told her exactly who it was, though.  

“U-um…” She heard Nasir say. “My affinity… I’d rather not say…”  

That took her off-guard, as it did with the other students. Tomas, however, was unperturbed.  

“You are a dark elf, yes?” he asked. “I understand that magic for your people is slightly different than it is for the rest of us. That’s nothing to be ashamed of; your affinity is a part of you, after all, and it does you no good to keep it concealed.”  

“O-okay…” Nasir sucked in a breath. “It’s… my affinity, it’s…. blood magic.”  

A worried murmur went up through the crowd of students, one Tomas was quick to silence with a glare.

"One thing I cannot stand is the idea that…

Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1gfapgh/ballistic_coefficient_book_2_chapter_23/