"Having said that, the fundamentals begin with invoking a spirit~" Ms. Daybeam continued as another spirit materialized in front of her. "Spirits all resonate with one of the primary elements~ It's most convenient to invoke a spirit associated with an element you are most familiar with~. Though aside from that, the differences between them are trivial for our purposes today~." Pointing to her copy of the cards she had passed out, she channeled a small amount of mana into them, causing them to glow in different colors.

Following her example, Nick grabbed one of his cards and did the same, only to watch it glow a dull red. The next card reacted similarly, glowing a dull green instead. The following card emanated a brilliant deep blue glow, bright enough to catch the attention of Max and his teacher.

"Water magic, right~? Good job, dear, but you're infusing far too much mana into it~ The papers can only handle a specific amount of power~." Ms. Daybeam explained as she pointed to the card in her hand, glowing in a much more controlled manner. Nonetheless, it appeared that he wasn't the only one initially struggling.

A loud sigh can be heard from Max as the paper in his hand completely disintegrated into dust.

Observing the rest of the class, the other two students had also not achieved success. It seemed that utilizing these paper cards was part of the challenge and required more precise control over his mana than he had anticipated. As Nick held the paper in his hand, he began to carefully focus his attention on the paper, tuning out the distractions of the classroom. He sensed a faint yet tangible connection forming between himself and the paper.

Keeping a vigilant eye on the glow emanating from the center of the circle, he gradually infused more and more mana into it. It took a few attempts after having used too much mana before he finally feels a connection in his mind, similar to the connection he felt when he communicated with that spirit in the morning, yet a bit different. The small translucent creature had appeared floating near him. He could mentally discern that this spirit was the one he had summoned, and he didn't confuse it with the other spirits swirling around the room that his teacher had summoned, despite their identical appearances.

"Well done, dear~" Ms. Daybeam spoke, snapping him out of his brief trance. Max, who was still struggling, looked at Nick a bit sheepishly as he looked back at the non-insignificant amount of cards that had simply exploded in his hands from pouring too much mana into them.

As time passed 2 of the other students were able to achieve the same result, and even Nick had gotten better at being consistently able to summon the spirit and dismiss it. It only took a bit of guidance from Ms. Daybeam for him to be able to put his spirit into use, making his summon glow, albeit dimly. This only left Max still struggling with his summoning. Class ended soon after as the students in the class got up to leave. Nick couldn't help but notice Ms. Daybeam handing out a large stack of papers to Max as he was leaving, likely to practice with.

"Wait up!" came a voice from behind Nick as he saw his struggling classmate run to catch up with him. "You've really got a knack for that stuff you know," Max spoke with a friendly smile on his face. Standing right next to him now it was surprising how he hadn't noticed earlier how tall he was. Actually, he was just a large guy. Buff, tall, wide, the whole deal.

"Oh, hey, Max. Thanks. I'm still figuring it out."

"Seems like you've got it down just fine to me! Do you think you can show me what I'm doing wrong? The leader of my expedition team says someone should know how this stuff works since the other team has someone who does." Nick took a moment to process the information, surprised by how convenient the situation seemed to him. He could teach him all the summoning stuff he had learned in return for joining the expedition team, or at least getting to talk to someone who can make that happen. Though Max took Nick's silence and thinking as a no.

"I can pay you if that would change your mind?"

"No no, it's fine. Can you get me in the expedition team you're in?"

Max looked a bit surprised by the question, in his own eyes not many wanted to do something that was unarguably dangerous. These gates had only been around for the last few years and were still an unknown variable. Oathsworn Academy was a decently sized institution, and even they only had 2 relatively small teams. Not only was it rare to receive any applicants, but they had to be picky with who they let in. Younger or weaker students would be too much of a liability to take into these gates. Since the gate phenomena were still new, it didn't seem that everyone understood the danger they posed.

"I can't get you in," Max spoke and continued before Nick could say anything. "But I could get you to meet our expedition leader, it'd be his call to let you tag along or not."

"I'm gonna have to impress him then?"

"Probably! But don't worry dear friend!" Max continued as he slapped his companions back hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs. "I'm sure someone as talented as you can manage it!"

"T-thanks..." Nick wasn't as confident as his friend was in his ability. His fighting experience was still very limited, and he didn't know where he stacked up compared to the others. His stats were undoubtedly low, but Aqua Arrow was becoming a really impressive ability. Cheap, powerful, easy to aim, can be cast multiple times in rapid succession, it had everything. Video games only gave you such a powerful ability early on if you weren't meant to unlock other strong abilities for a long time. 

"Come to the courtyard early this Friday, we've got an expedition booked so you'll get to meet our leader then!" Max offered as Nick nodded his head in response, still slightly lost in thought.