Dirin and Markus were waiting for Keith to come back. They ordered food for lunch and decided to eat together in the dorm. Dirin had his eyes closed as he leaned back against the chair he was in, replaying all the information he learned today.
He was going to meditate later tonight on what he learned about magic, since that was how you attempted it, and he would later ask Tillie what she was going to do for fire so he could copy. Overall, Dirin had a little bit of magic covered and the entirety of fire covered thanks to today.
He still needed to take one more class today, and he had decided on Weapons Training. It was a simple class from the description. The professor who taught the class would give a basic lecture about safety before allowing everyone to choose a weapon, and then he would lead them through the basic motions and explain how people used them in war.
Dirin didn't know what weapon he wanted to train in first, but the idea of using a flail was funny to him. He also had many fantasies of fending off multiple people with a quarterstaff, or using a sword was one of his favorites as well, with how popular they were.
Markus was in the other chair beside the couch, reading a book. From what Dirin could tell, Markus was a fast reader. Markus would be on a page for about a minute before turning his attention to the next or flipping the book. It was hard for Dirin to imagine someone like him in a smithy making weapons and other similar things. If you took away his personality, then he could see it, but now with how Markus was, though.
Markus then glanced up from his book towards Dirin. "How did you get that girl's number? Did you just ask her, and she gave it? How long did you two talk? Now that you have the number, what would you consider to be the next steps?" Markus didn't give Dirin a chance to answer as he asked his questions.
"I only got her number because she said she would help me with progression if I helped her in return. I just wanted to get a reaction out of Keith." Dirin admitted, which caused Markus to look back down at his book. "Is there a girl you like, Markus? It's only been a day. Barely a day, actually."
"Like is such a stronger word. I just want to get to know her. Nothing much. If it leads to something more, then I'd be willing." Markus avoided eye contact as he flipped through another page of his book.
"That's what people say when they are, in fact, crushing on someone. Don't worry, Markus. This is a safe place. Keith and I wouldn't make fun of you for something such as this." Dirin leaned back as he closed his eyes, already picturing Markus's love life. He had already planned it all.
"She is the professor for the blacksmithing class." All of Dirin's plans crumbled at once. "She is beautiful and tall. Even if I didn't want to do the class, I would still show up. She's tall as well. Did I already say that?"
Dirin's eyes slowly opened as he looked at Markus and then cleared his throat. "I didn't know you had a thing for older women, Markus. I guess it's natural. I won't judge." Dirin nodded as he spoke before his eyes widened a bit. "That's why you wanted me to come with you tomorrow! Don't worry, Markus! Before we leave Falem, you will be a taken man! We will do this!"
As Dirin was shouting, Keith walked in. "Oh? Are we getting Markus a girl? I'm in. When and where? What's the plan? Does she have a sister?" Keith already put the food down on the dining table as he pulled out his phone to take notes.
"Yes, we are. A teacher as well. She teaches blacksmithing, and Markus wants out help. There is no plan right now. I'll go with him to the class tomorrow and scope out the target." Dirin didn't waste time briefing Keith about the situation.
"What's the codename?" Keith's eyes were wide with amusement and excitement.
"Codename...? Why would we need one of those...?"
"So that when we speak or ask about her, no one knows who we are talking about. It's also fun. Maybe Hammer, or something like that?"
Dirin and Keith started to spout out random Ideas towards each other, with their excitement growing the more they said. Markus stared at them with an open mouth as they kept going on. "Hammer seems fine. Just don't use it too much, please."
As they all ate lunch, Dirin looked towards Keith. "Apparently, there is more to an element than we thought. Observations aren't the only thing we need, but we also need how it works and why it works, or something similar to that at least."
Keith was about to take another bite before he reluctantly put his food down a bit. "So, you're saying I need to find out why and how a shadow works? I guess a quick trip to the internet will work, right? It shouldn't be something all that deep."
Dirin took out his phone and showed Keith the site he was on. It was the guide on how to observe and train with shadows. "It does give a brief explanation on how shadows are formed, but I don't know if it's enough." Keith took the phone and started to scroll through to take a glance at everything. "I know someone who said that the guide she wanted to use wasn't completely covering everything, so it might be the same for you."
Keith copied the link and sent it to himself before handing the phone back. "I see. Also, I took some notes on the classes I took for you." Keith got up and grabbed a notebook from his bag. "It should be enough to study. Training in light movement is kind of easy. We can just get a bunch of mirrors for you to bounce it off. Sadly, I found nothing in that class that helped me."
Keith took the pages and tore them off before handing them to Dirin. Dirin was surprised since Keith wasn't one to take big notes, but the notes he did see were very thorough and helpful at first glance. "The other class I took was "Shadows and Time" since it seemed interesting. What I learned was only how to tell time based on shadows. I guess that can be helpful in some situations, but it's going to be boring to train it."
Markus looked at the notes and frowned a bit. "I didn't write anything down for my classes. I can write down blacksmithing techniques for you if you want. I could also write down how materials change enchantments."
"Thank you, Markus. I would appreciate that a lot. And Keith, just don't check the time and try to guess the time that way. Be outside when you do, though." Dirin flipped through the notes a little bit more before putting them away.
After eating, they all decided to head to their next classes. Markus wanted to come with Dirin to Weapons Training to see what weapons looked like and were used outside of a smithy. Dirin didn't see any reason why he shouldn't come, so he agreed.
The class was outside, towards the upper sections of the campus. Instead of dirt or a form of concrete, the ground was covered with thick sand. There was a stand with a collection of weapons to the side, and there were many people who were standing in the center.
After waiting with them for a bit, Dirin saw a man with a cart. He was a bulky man with a clean shave and tanned skin. He had hazel eyes that looked at the students calmly as he finally pushed the cart onto the sand. "Okay, everyone. Go grab a weapon and come to me for a brief explanation on how to use it without hurting yourself." He then clapped, and people made their way to the stands.
Dirin looked at the weapons as he noticed that swords and spears were made blunt, while hammers and other blunt weapons had leather wrapped around them. Dirin picked up a wooden quarter staff. Markus picked up a maul.
When Dirin looked back over at the professor, and saw him handing out pads, gloves, and helmets to the students, as well as giving them advice on how to hold the weapon. When he got to Dirin, he put down the pads and other things as he took the quarterstaff. "Hold it with both hands near one of the ends. Put one of your hands near the back, but leave a little bit of room, and the other hand more forward. That is how you hold it. You can move your hands on the staff freely to make blocking easier, to switch which end you hold, or extend the weapon. Put the pads on and pick someone to spar, and I'll come back around to fix any mistakes you are making."