Mrs. Burk gestured towards Mr. Gray. He nodded, grabbed a stack of papers, and started to pass them to the people on the edge of the rows, telling them to pass them to the others in their row. Dirin received the paper last in his row. The paper seemed to have different types of elements on it, such as fire, water, wind, etc. It also had links under each element to different sites. Dirin didn't know what they were for, but he figured he was going to find out soon anyway.
"These papers are mainly for when you decide to self-study. The links will send you to a site that was created by people who have reached at least Rank 4 with that element being their primary focus. They are comprehensive guides on how to progress through that element, what way is the fastest, and all of the things that Rank 1s can actually train in. To have access to these sites, you must be on the academy's internet, or else they won't show up. This is Falem's gift to you as their students." Mrs. Bruk went on and turned on a projector.
The projector was showing an image guide. Mrs. Burk stepped aside, and Mr. Till took a step forward. "In this class, we will tell you how each element works in very basic words. Unless you are going down an element that we ourselves are going down, then we will be able to give you a more in-depth breakdown. Training in an element is also a little different from what others would do as well. Spending time around that element and studying it would be considered a form of basic training. You could try to do certain things through that element, such as transfer it to another place. Water is very simple since you can just carry it, but for something like fire, I've heard of people covering their hand in oil then carrying it like that."
"As a normal person," Mrs. Burk spoke up after Mr. Till, "you can't train something in mystical ways. You don't have any ability or affinity to train like that. Doing basic things like this with the intention is the only way you can train. Some say getting started is the hardest step, and they certainly aren't far off, especially with elements. If you also decide to try to do advanced training, you will get stuck, you will not know how to continue, and you will not know how to keep going. This is perfectly normal. We are here to help, even if we aren't teaching this subject that day."
"I will tell you this, though. Since a lot of you will ask how to train in an advanced way with whatever element you are doing. Although the links will also tell you how to do this, you can train to a higher level by studying things like its cycle, how it appears, how it disappears, if it has a byproduct, and just learning more about an element will get you there. Like I said, you can't train in any mythical way just yet. We will be here if you have any questions, and if you don't have any right now, feel free to be dismissed."
With that being said, a couple of people immediately left the class, making it obvious they were just there to fill in their quotas. Dirin pulled out his phone and started to type in one of the links, and the remaining people did something similar if they weren't going up to the teachers who were already having a line to talk with them. The first thing he searched up was shadow and sent the link over to Keith for him to look at later, so he wouldn't need to come to this class if he was only here for that information.
Dirin was going to study everything on this list in his free time, but he also didn't have his next class or lecture for another hour, so he decided that starting now wouldn't hurt. The links were all leading to different websites that were set up very organized and polished. For air, there was a table of contents on the top that showed each section, and by clicking on it, the site would scroll you down to that portion. "This isn't enough," The girl next to Dirin mumbled, causing his ears to perk up a bit.
He was tempted to ask what she meant, but he didn't want to start a conversation with someone he didn't know. But if Keith found out that there was more information that I could get but didn't, he would call me a slacker. I don't want to be called a slacker more than I don't want to talk to her. And it's not like she is sitting across the room as well; she is right beside me. Dirin cleared his throat. "What do you mean? Are the sites wrong?"
The girl didn't seem to think that Dirin was talking to her, or she was too lost in her thoughts to notice. It was only when he was about to clear his throat again that she answered. "It isn't wrong," she said as she turned her head to him. "It just doesn't have enough. For fire, at least. I need to know a little bit more before I start observing it."
"What doesn't it have? I'd like to know before I start studying it as well, or to tell my friend that it might not have it when he studies his. He's doing shadows if that changes anything."
"It doesn't have why it needs oxygen to burn, how different chemicals change the color, or how cold a fire can get. Sure, I can get these things from basic internet searches, but it wasn't a complaint. Just an observation. I guess something that might now be on shadows is how thin or transparent something has to be before it starts to cast an actual shadow. How do shapes distort them and such things. What element are you going to do?"
Dirin coughed a bit as he looked away. Telling people he was going to progress in everything made them laugh and tell him not to get ahead of himself more often than not. He only told Markus because he would figure it out eventually, since they were roommates. "Everything."
Her blue eyes widened slightly. "All elements? That's ve-"
Dirin cut her off while looking at his hands, "Everything, everything. Not just elements. Magic, Aura, spirit, domains, creatures, etc. I'll do it all."
Her face froze a bit with her calm look only being ruined by her widened eyes. "Ambitious. So, that means you'll need to know everything about fire, right?" Dirin nodded. "I can help you out, I guess. I wasn't going to learn everything about it. Just enough to be really strong with it, but I'll learn everything I can if you also help me out."
"I guess it depends on what you want, then. Just don't make it anything too crazy." That last part was more of a plea since he was willing to do a lot of things if it meant one less thing to study by himself.
She nodded. "I just need you to lend an ear whenever I get stuck on something. I find walking people through things to be one of the ways that I can work something out. Sometimes I need to guide someone through it so I can piece everything together to work it out, and not many people would be willing to take time out of their lives to listen, except for teachers, but they are too hard to find or get a hold of. A person with whom I have a deal, though, is different. It also benefits you in a way."
"That sounds fair enough. It'll save me time in the long run as well." Dirin said out loud. "Here's my number. I'm Dirin Arbor." Dirin wrote his number on a strip of paper and handed it to her.
"Tillie Wyvern. Here's mine. I'll let you know when I need you, or if I need to let you know something. I'll see you around Dirin." Tillie got up and made her way over to Mr. Till, who didn't have a line anymore, about her element.
Dirin looked down at her number, which was now in his phone, before a sly smile appeared. He pulled open a group chat that Keith made with himself and Markus in it as well. "I got a girl's number."
[Markus Dane]: "Nice. Make sure to treat her well and get to know her first."
[Keith Dune]: "Liar. It was probably just a guy who looked like a girl. DON'T TEXT HIM! IT'S A TRAP! Literally and figuratively."
[Markus Dane]: "Figuratively?"
[Dirin Arbor]: "Keith will tell you later."
[Keith Dune]: "I got you Markus!"
Dirin's sly smile turned into a genuine one as he put his phone away. He wasn't going to tell them the whole story yet; he would wait until the last moment like a normal person. He had a couple of minutes before his next class, which was "Magic Structure and Basics". He already had an idea of what the class would cover, but he was hoping that it would cover something else as well, or lead into something else. If it meant taking fewer classes, then he was all for it.
The class was located in a different building. It was taller than the other one and held bigger classes. This building was mainly reserved for the bigger classes that would cover broader topics, meaning that more students would attend them and their lectures. Dirin found the seats already full, with many people standing in the back as well. Dirin didn't think much of it and stood with them.
There was only one man in this class. He had a black robe on with the academy blazer on awkwardly over it. He had a gray stubble on his face with a bald head. He had many wrinkles and eyes that were drooping with deep, dark bags under his eyes. He checked the clock on the wall before he nodded to himself and looked towards the students.
"Magic is simple and is one of the easiest ways to get to Rank 1. Training is simple and easy. Meditate on what you learn about magic and try to cast a fireball if you want. The only hard thing is that you need to read and study a little bit more than people who are doing more physical work. This is how it usually is for things that fall under the mental category. It's more studying and less work." He started.
"I'm not here to teach you about the different categories under training or learning, so I won't go over that. Search it up if you are curious. But none of that, let's get started on Magic."