Alaric woke before dawn, nerves jangling as sunlight crept across the stone floors of his quarters. On his desk waited a stack of notes, the lesson plan he'd painstakingly assembled line by line, and a system prompt that blinked quietly at the edge of his vision.
He made his way through the quiet halls to the east wing, his footsteps echoing on ancient flagstones. Outside his assigned classroom, he found a lone student already waiting—straight-backed, hands folded over a stack of books, her gaze sharp with curiosity.
"Good morning, Instructor Telwyn," she said.
Alaric blinked, a bit startled by her formality. "Good morning. You're here early."
"I'm Isolde Ashbourne. I wanted to see how the new class would start."
He managed a grateful nod. "You're my first student, then."
Soon the corridor filled with voices, students trickling in by ones and twos. Some eyed him with open skepticism, others whispered behind their hands. Alaric ushered them inside, heart pounding, reciting his logic steps in his mind.
At the front, he greeted the class and picked up a piece of chalk, writing in clear, deliberate strokes:
[Student Steps — Lumen Spark]
1. SET your focus level (decide how much energy you can use now).
2. IF you feel that focus, THEN imagine a spark of light in your hand.
3. SET the brightness—stronger focus means brighter spark.
4. IF you want the spark to last, THEN REPEAT Steps 2 and 3 for each second you can hold your focus.
5. IF your focus drops, THEN the spark disappears. ELSE, go back to Step 2 and try again.
He turned to face the class. "Today we're starting with the basics. Magic is just a process, like following a recipe. The more clearly you define each step, the more likely it is to work."
A boy in the back raised his hand. "Aren't we supposed to chant or wave our hands? My sister said you have to do it right or nothing happens."
Alaric forced a smile. "Some mages use chants and gestures, but at its core, magic is about how you direct your mind and energy. Think of it like lighting a candle—you follow steps, one at a time."
Most students struggled at first. Some stared at their hands, confused, while others closed their eyes and tried to "feel" the magic but produced nothing. Alaric moved among them, quietly watching for patterns—who skipped steps, who gave up too soon.
He knelt beside a frustrated girl and said softly, "Let's try again. SET your focus. IF you feel it, THEN imagine the spark and hold that image. If you lose it, just start over from the first step."
The girl nodded, her brow furrowed in concentration. After a moment, a faint glimmer flickered at her fingertips—brief, but unmistakable.
Isolde, meanwhile, methodically worked through the steps, whispering under her breath, "SET focus, IF focus, THEN spark, REPEAT if needed…" Her spark was small but steady, and she looked up at Alaric with an excited, questioning grin.
By the lesson's end, some students muttered that he was "making things up," while others seemed quietly intrigued. As the last student filed out, Alaric let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
A system prompt appeared at the edge of his vision:
[Quest Complete: First Lesson Delivered.]
[Reward: Feature Unlocked — Debug View]
You can now see exactly which step in your instructions went wrong. For example, "IF focus too low at Step 2" or "REPEAT failed—focus lost at Step 4." Use Debug View to help students troubleshoot their spells.
A relieved smile spread across his face. For the first time since arriving, he felt like he'd managed something real—even if he was still just faking his way through. And next time, he'd have real tools to help.