Zeke theorized that the maturity of the students in this class had something to do with the Mind affinity itself. Although he didn't have any close friends here either, he was treated with a measure of respect.

He entered the classroom and took his usual seat towards the back, pulling out his notebook as he waited for the teacher to arrive.

Professor Baldwin began the lesson with some basic concepts. Zeke listened intently, taking notes as the man spoke. He had become fascinated by Mind Magic and couldn't wait to start learning more about it. It was truly a shame that the scope of what the academy was teaching was limited. However, That didn't keep Zeke from consuming the available knowledge with a voracious hunger.

The three spells that were taught in class were [Mind Reading], [Telepathy], and [Telekinesis]. The teacher explained the fundamentals of those spells in every other lesson. He was very fond of repeating himself.

“The Mind affinity is not like any other school of Magic,” the man announced dramatically, his chest puffed out in obvious pride. “We might not have the greatest combat potential, but there are almost no fields aside from warfare that are not dominated by Mind Magic. From trade to negotiation to strategy and even politics, Mind Mages reign supreme...”

He glanced around the room, scouring the student’s faces for any sign of disapproval.

“…but, of course, such a power can not come without any drawbacks. Especially early on, the ‘Suppression of Tiers’ is very frustrating. At your current level, it will be almost impossible to use your spells on other Mages, as they are protected by their own Mana. But fret not, they will work on commoners, even when used by Apprentices such as you."

The so-called ‘Suppression of Tiers’ was a concept that was completely unknown outside of the school of Mind Magic. But here, it was something everybody considered basic knowledge. The concept referred to the fact that Mind Magic, different from other schools, was completely useless against a Mage of a higher level.

On the other hand, If the Mind Mage was of a higher tier, any lower-level Mage had no way to defend against it. One could say that Mind Mages were living according to a strict hierarchy. Also, Mind Magic was almost useless against other Mind Mages. It was all very complicated.

After the recap was finished, the teacher demonstrated how to clear one's mind once again. A clear mind was necessary to perform most Mind Magic spells. It was a difficult skill to master. It required a high level of concentration and control over one's own thoughts.

Zeke had years of experience doing something similar. The meditation technique he had come up with was based on a similar principle. It was not precisely the same but it required a comparable level of control over the mind. Even so, he still struggled with the exercise, at least, compared to the older students.

Sitting on one of the meditation mats, he was trying to clear his mind. He needed to focus fully, though it was not because the shapes of the Spellforms were overly complex. In fact, it was just the opposite. Zeke found them to be rather easy to shape as Mind-attuned Mana was easy to handle. The problem was that casting the spell was only half the challenge.

Truth be told, he had been able to shape the Spellform for [Telepathy] ever since his first week. However, he wasn’t able to connect to anybody’s thoughts. According to the teacher, that was completely normal. Mind Magic was a complicated process, and creating the Spellform was only one part of it.

The teacher had explained it as being like a fisherman casting out his rod. There was no guarantee of a catch, and the more inexperienced the fisherman, the slimmer the chances.

Once his mind was reasonably calm, Zeke started his practice. As usual, he managed to create the Spellform for [Telepathy] quite easily. He swept his eyes across the classroom and locked onto a random student, willing his spell to connect to his mind.

‘Can you hear me?’

There was no reaction. Another failure.

Zeke repeated the same exercise over and over. But eventually, his focus began to waver and his mind became distracted. As so often before, his eyes landed on the figure of a girl on the other side of the classroom. With her flowing golden locks and piercing blue eyes, she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen.

She was a year his senior and, judging by the respectful glances from teachers and students alike, somebody who was held in high esteem. Zeke understood why, as he had witnessed her talent firsthand.

She had controlled two swords at once, with the power of her mind alone. They had twirled through the air gracefully as if wielded by an expert swordsman. It was hard to believe that she was only a year older than him. Zeke imagined how his battle against the goblins would have looked like if he had that same ability.

‘She must be an exceptional talent,’ Zeke thought with a sigh, as he traced the contours of her silhouette. Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she looked in his direction. When their eyes met, a playful smile emerged on her face.

‘It’s mostly hard work.’

Zeke was caught off guard by the unexpected voice. Reflexively, he spun, as the voice appeared to have come from right beside him. There was nobody there.

‘Ohh, come now,’ the same voice said. ‘No reason to be flustered.’

With a dawning sense of realization, Zeke turned back to the girl he had been blatantly staring at just before. She was still looking at him.

‘Is this you?” he thought uncertainly. A smile was his answer.

The girl rose from her seat and started to walk toward him. As she came closer, Zeke was able to get his first good look at her from up close. Her features were sharp and dignified, yet her eyes held a twinkle of playfulness. She exuded a strong, confident aura. Her bearing was most likely the result of her noble upbringing and exceptional magic competency.

She smiled warmly and extended her hand in greeting. "I'm Sophia. Nice to finally talk to you," she said out loud. "There aren't that many Mind Mages here and I didn't have the time to get to know you yet."

Zeke was a little surprised by the sudden switch to speaking out loud, but he supposed it made sense. [Telepathy] was useful for private conversations, but it could also be tiring to use for long periods of time.

"It’s impressive that you managed to use [Telepathy] so soon. Though I imagine it wasn’t fully on purpose,” the girl said, her smile widening.

Zeke’s cheeks reddened. He had been found out. Thinking about it, he had been lucky that a relatively harmless thought had leaked out. Now, he understood why the teacher insisted on using Mind Magic only with a clear mind.

Pushing away his embarrassment, Zeke introduced himself. “Nice to meet you, I am Ezekiel.”

Sophia smiled. “I know, I remember you from the Evaluation.”

Zeke’s mood sank. He had hoped to keep his affinities hidden for a while. However, to his surprise, there was neither judgment nor disdain on Sophia’s face. Even so, he decided to change the subject.

"How did you learn how to use [Telekinesis] like that?" he asked. "I haven't seen anyone as good as you. Even the teacher was mesmerized."

Sophia chuckled and winked flirtatiously. "It's not as impressive as you make it out to be. Once you get the hang of it, the spell becomes easier to use than even your own hands."

Zeke shot her a doubtful look. He wasn't sure if the girl was just being humble or if she actually meant it.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "Think about it. Your brain controls your hands, right?"

The boy nodded. So far he was still following.

"That means that you have trained your brain to a point where it will automatically send commands. You don't have to specifically instruct your hand on how to act, do you? You merely think about what you want them to do and they do it.”

Another nod from the boy.

"So how is that different from Mind Magic?" The girl didn't explain further and only watched him with expectant eyes.

Zeke was caught off guard. He searched Sophia's expression, desperate for a hint. However, he had to abandon this approach after a moment. Her eyes were like an endless ocean. He felt like he would get lost were he to look for too long.

Zeke cleared his mind with a shake of his head. He would have to figure out the answer on his own. Soon after, he gave voice to a hypothesis.

"If you are using the spell like an additional limb… Does that mean you have somehow linked your Intent with your nerves? Or maybe you have trained your brain in a special way?"

Sophia beamed. It seemed Zeke had satisfied her expectations somehow. However, before she could answer, there was a commotion from nearby.

The door to the classroom was opened and a staff member entered. The figure walked up to the teacher and whispered something in his ear. Teacher Baldwin made a surprised face before scanning the class, his eyes stopping on Zeke.

"Ezekiel, you are expected in the headmaster's office.”

A sense of dread washed over him as the professor called out his name. He had never been summoned to the headmaster's office before. He also couldn't think of any reason why he would be called now, at least, none that were positive.

‘Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing bad,’ Sophia said mentally, as she gently pushed his back. ‘The headmaster doesn’t hand out punishments personally.’

Slightly reassured, Zeke nodded at her and gathered his things. He followed the staff member out of the classroom. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

His mind raced with possibilities, each worse than the last. Had the headmaster found out that he had entered his forest? Or was it because he secretly lived in the Blood Magic classroom? Would he be expelled? He tried to push these thoughts aside and clear his mind, but it was hard to shake the feeling of unease.

As he approached the headmaster's office, Zeke took a deep breath and tried to steel himself for what was to come. He exchanged a glance with the secretary sitting by the door. The stern-looking woman just motioned at the entrance, before returning to her paperwork.

Zeke knocked. There was no response.

He looked to the secretary again, hoping for guidance. The woman rolled her eyes and made a pushing gesture with her hand, indicating that it was okay to enter. Zeke took a deep breath and tentatively pushed the door open.

His eyes immediately fell on a pair of old men, who seemed to be locked in a heated debate. Zeke recognized the first man as the headmaster, Victor Windtänzer. They had met briefly at the evaluation ceremony. The other one he didn’t recognize. He was dressed in a style of purple robe Zeke had not seen before.

They fell silent at his entrance, and Zeke noticed the gaze of the stranger was fixed on him. His piercing blue eyes seemed to look straight through him. He stood awkwardly in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" The headmaster seemed annoyed at the interruption.

Zeke's mouth opened, but no words came out. What did he want? He didn’t even know why he had been summoned in the first place. This situation made him increasingly apprehensive. However, before Zeke could do anything, the stranger spoke up.

"Weren't we the ones to call him, you old goat? Or do you think I came all the way here for you? Get lost and let us chat in private." The stranger pushed past the headmaster and approached Zeke.

The headmaster seemed a bit embarrassed by his earlier outburst and didn't say anything in response. After nodding once, he exited the office through a second door. The passage likely led to his personal chambers.

Now, Zeke was alone in the headmaster's office with the stranger. The man stopped a step in front of him, inspecting him from head to toe. Under the intense scrutiny, he felt self-conscious about his current appearance. However, the stranger seemed pleased with him. "Just as I was informed! You are remarkable!"

Zeke didn't think there was anything remarkable about him. Certainly not now, with his gaunt face and hollow cheeks. His confusion must have been obvious, as the stranger explained himself a moment later.

"I'm not talking about your appearance, of course. You seem to be in a rather terrible state if I'm being honest,” the stranger said lightly.

Zeke frowned. "Who are you, and why did you want to meet me?"

Undeterred by his tone, the man inclined his head. "I am Maximilian Bombastus von Hohenheim, and I have an offer for you."