...

"I don't want to go to class..." Nemu complained as she walked through the halls together with Sophia, both holding hands. Some people turn to look at them but both girls simply ignored them as they made their way through the crowd of students.

It's barely the first day and she's already like this... should we ask the Principal for a change?

"...we'll see Magical Foundations, right?" I asked ignoring that thought as we dodged around the various students so as not to bump into any of them.

Magical Fundamentals was one of the classes I had been looking forward to the most since it was decided that I would be going to the Academy.

While I was taught the basics of Magic at Flumin Manor, I really knew next to nothing about the phenomenon called 'Magic' as Clair focused mainly on the practical leaving the theoretical part very much aside.

When I asked her about it, she replied: "We don't have much time until you enter the Academy and the Nobles value Magic highly, even if it's weak."

Although I should be upset, and I was, I couldn't complain as Clair's reasoning was logical and reasonable, I didn't want to become an outcast in the noble world... more than I possibly already would be if they discovered my eyes.

As a result my theoretical knowledge of Magic was basically nil, and I was pretty sure that was the main reason why my Formula didn't work properly.

How do you create a Formula for something you barely know?

Quick answer, you can't.

In fact it was already a miracle that her Formula "worked" instead of eliciting no reaction at all in Magic, it could be considered a small victory in my book.

"I look forward to it..." I muttered unconsciously raising my lips.

Nemu snorted as she shook her head as she heard Sophia's excited voice.

It was a little scary how Sophia's voice showed most of her emotions while her face was a stone, and that's not counting her creepy eyes which -fortunately- were not in sight thanks to Sophia's long hair that partially hid them, it wasn't much but it was enough for the Nobles not to notice them at a glance.

They both entered the classroom while still chatting quietly, mainly about how Sophia longed to learn everything related to Magic while Nemu just wanted to sleep.

The classroom was spacious enough for the 28 students in Class 1B.

There was a blackboard behind a desk, and in front of the desk were the different student seats, the closest one at the same height as the desk and the further back you went, the higher the seats were raised, this so that even if someone short sat in the back they could still see the class without any difficulty.

"Look, I have nothing against your... excitement for Magic but if you start talking nonsense after nonsense about it, I'm leaving" Nemu sighed tiredly as she slumped back in her seat looking at Sophia with tired eyes.

Sophia tilted her head as she took a seat next to Nemu, they were sitting in the middle part of the room, not too high, not too low, but with an excellent view of the board. "Aren't you excited to know how Magic works?"

"I don't give much thought to how Magic works or where it comes from, I just know that it works, and if it works that's good enough for me." Nemu turned her gaze towards the entrance where various students or rather her new "classmates" were starting to enter.

"That... is very irresponsible" Sophia commented as she gave Nemu a disapproving look, not that the latter cared.

"And what are you going to do about it...tell your mommy?" provoked Nemu with a mocking look.

Sophia opened her mouth to speak... but closed it again as she averted her gaze, earning a victorious chuckle from Nemu.

After all the students were seated in their seats, a slender man with dark gray hair and dull green eyes that were hidden behind circular glasses walked in. He was dressed in an elegant white long-sleeved shirt, dark red pants, and in his right hand he held a small silver watch with Roman numerals that he looked at for a moment before putting it in his pocket.

The man looked up and surveyed all the students with an analytical gaze before nodding to himself.

"I am Professor Wymer Brix, but you may call me simply Brix or Professor, and I will be your Magical Foundations and Magic Teacher for the first two years in your stay of the Academy" He introduced himself with a slight bow before placing his hands on his lower back and walking around the room, taking a close look at each student.

"I doubt you don't know this, but I'm going to explain it anyway in case there are any stragglers around here hiding. Magical Foundations focuses on understanding Magic at a deeper level than usual, normally this Class would be an Additional one that Third Year students could choose, but the Council and Headmaster decided to compulsorily include it in the first two years due to the fact that there has been a lack of researchers in the Kingdom lately."

The professor paused for a moment as he looked at a blond-haired, green-eyed boy who looked at him haughtily which caused the professor to raise an eyebrow before continuing to walk down the hall.

"As you are first year students we will not delve too deeply into the various subjects related to Magic. Think of it as reaching into a vast ocean, that's all we will learn during this School Year, is that clear?" The class nodded quickly as they tried to keep up with the teacher who had suddenly increased. "Okay, we'll start with..."

And that's how I started my first class at the Academy.

I must say it was... difficult, not because the subject matter was particularly complicated or tedious, but the speed at which the professor explained was frightening, we could barely digest one piece of information before he moved on to another.

At least he seems to be aware of this and sometimes asks questions in the air for any student to answer, then waits about a minute and if no one manages to answer the question correctly he will answer it himself without losing the previous pace.

That one minute gap is what made it so that most of the class could understand what he was talking about without saturating their brains too much.

Overall he was a very good teacher, his explanations were simple but interesting and he even included some examples if a topic was especially confusing, my only recommendation would be that he speak a little slower.

It's not like I'm writing down what he says though, I'm just memorizing all his words and storing them in a file in my brain.

I don't know how I can accomplish this so easily, or if it's just the Flumin Lineage genes helping my brain.

But either way I am very grateful for it.

The Class only lasted about two hours but the professor managed to introduce us to a lot of knowledge about the subject, I will summarize the most important.

The first topic we saw was: Velvet's Laws.

First of all, what is a Law?

In the words of the professor: "It is a rule or norm, which is constant and unchanging to which a thing is subject. I emphasized 'constant' and 'unchanging', because whatever you do you can't change it in any way, whether you understand it or not, doesn't mean that they don't have a constant effect on your life."

In simple words are the chains that restrict Humanity and the Universe as a whole, everything, regardless of the creature, energy or thing is tied to a Law.

Physical Laws, Mathematical Laws, True Laws, Universal Laws, etc....

They are all part of the same system that binds us all.

And that does not change even for something as miraculous and mysterious as Magic.

To understand the Laws we must first know 3 key concepts for the realization of Magic.

Mana: Is an ethereal energy that allows the formation of the phenomenon called 'Magick' in its entirety. It is what gives physical form to the 'Magick', converting the 'Mana' into mass and then back into 'Energy/Mana'.

Mentality: Is the image with which the caster sees the 'Magic/Mana', it can be seen in thousands of ways, it can be seen as an energy, as a force, as a tool, etc. Depending on the image the caster has the action of casting the Magic or its effect can vary, making it essentially unpredictable.

Desire/Intention: Is the purpose for which you cast your Magic.

These are the 3 pillars of Magic.

Although the description of Desire is very vague...

Going back to the laws, there are a total of Four Laws created by an ancient but famous researcher named Agatha Velvet.

It is said that she was instructed in Magic by the Dragon King himself, Arthur Nox Pendragon. And that she was one of his best students during that period, discovering several mysteries about Magic and its operation, also she was the one who initially raised the hypothesis of the different types of Mana, hypothesis that would not be confirmed until 80 years after his death by the researcher Tsurumi Araki.

Thanks to her great discoveries, which even surpassed those of Merlin himself, she earned the nickname of "Mother of the Arcane".

Returning to the subject, there are Four main laws that govern the behavior of Magic.

Law of Amon: The Mana, the ethereal energy that flows through the world, cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.

Law of Tempus: The performed Magic disappears once the caster of such Magic stops supplying Mana to it. For example, if I throw a fireball at a tree it will naturally start to burn, but once I stop supplying Mana to the fire it will be extinguished in its entirety regardless of how much the fire has spread.

Law of Lumbra: Magic performed by the caster cannot harm the caster in any possible way. For example, if I try to burn myself with my own fire it will simply be absorbed by my body, this is applicable to any type of Magic.

Law of Unita: All Magic performed by the caster is variable in its potency either by Mentality, amount of Mana or Desire.

While each Law is interesting, it is a bit pointless for each Law to have a name, not because it is bad, but because it is not practical, I can simply call them First Law or Second Law and save myself confusion.

Whatever.

The Law that most interested me of the Four Laws were the Law of Amon, which reminded me a bit of the Law of Conversion, and the Law of Unita.

Mana cannot be destroyed or created, but it can be transferred or transformed.

This completely changes the understanding of Magic.

It is not a phenomenon generated through the Mana and Creativity of the caster while empowered by his Will.

'Magic' is the name given to the phenomenon of 'Transforming' 'Mana' into different types of 'Elements' based on the 'Desires' of the user, while 'Mentality' is the 'Intention' behind such 'Transformation'.

This... is a lot more complex than I initially thought....

 

---

 

"...d..."

"...th..."

Passing sounds and whispering voices brought me out of my sleep, with a yawn I forced myself to open my eyes to see what was going on.

Looking around I could see dozens of people fidgeting nervously while talking in hushed voices, men, women, old people, even several children, some of them were lying in their sleep hugging their mothers, while others had gathered to play with each other.

The whispering voices came from a group of elders and adults talking quietly.

"...How much time is left?"

"Shouldn't be more than a couple of hours..."

This is weird normally everyone is very quiet...except for the kids. I thought as I looked around the large carriage we were in, some men were hugging their wives while fidgeting nervously and another were just holding each other tightly while praying.

Something is going on...

With that thought I stood on guard as I turned my head to look at a hooded figure in a dirty cloak leaning from my shoulder, the hooded figure was easily detectable as female by the shape of her body and her assets, said hooded figure was breathing slowly and leisurely as she enjoyed her sleep.

I looked at her for a moment before turning my head to lean back against the carriage wall and look up at the ceiling.

...In a few hours, uh?...then we should get as much rest as possible....

With that thought in my head I let my guard down and closed my eyes again ignoring the other passengers.

...