Kojo leaned back against the teacher's desk, his gaze sweeping across the room. The initial shock of his dramatic entrance had worn off, and the students were now regarding him with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. He decided to start with the basics.
"Alright," he said, his voice casual but commanding.
"Since we're going to be spending the next few weeks together, let's get acquainted. First things first, what exactly is 'Magic Theory and Arcane Studies'? Can't say I've ever heard of such a subject."
Lambert, ever eager, raised his hand enthusiastically.
"Sensei! It's the study of the theoretical applications of magic! We learn about the principles that govern Arcana, how to visualize incantations, and how to manipulate the flow of magical energy."
Latif added, with his usual politeness, "We explore the history of magical theory, the different schools of thought, and the ethical considerations surrounding the use of magic. This as well as a bit of Theology since we learn about 'Faith' as well as other belief-based power systems in our world."
Kojo nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"Incantations, huh? I think Sharone taught me about those things when we were sparring before going on our first mission." He smiled. "How time flies."
"Sensei?" Lambert called out since he had fallen silent.
"Yeah. If I recall, to use magic you need to create spells by creating incantations for said action. Which mostly manifest as magic circles, am I correct?"
"Yes, Sensei," Lambert confirmed. "The theory is that you gather Arcana, visualize the desired outcome as an incantation, and then release it through said incantation which appears as a carefully constructed magic circle."
Kojo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you believe that's the only way to use magic?"
A voice from the front row corner of the class, cool and skeptical, cut through the air. It was Valeri.
"It's the foundation of all magical practice. It's been proven time and time again. Or do you mean to call generations of mages and volumes of research ludicrous?"
"Valeri!" Lambert said in shock, looking from the sensei to his classmate with his hands raised, unsure of what to do.
Kojo smirked.
"Proven, huh? Well, allow me to introduce a counter-argument." He pushed himself off the desk and walked to the center of the tiered classroom.
"Everyone, gather 'round. Let's have a little demonstration."
The students, intrigued despite themselves, shifted in their seats and moved closer. Kojo closed his eyes for a moment, his expression focused.
(Sublimation. And make it dramatic.)
He nodded subtly. He didn't want it to appear too effortless and so decided to make a show when necessary in order to catch the attention of the students. He wasn't doing anything extraordinary, but he had succeeded in attracting them closer to him. A faint shimmer of energy enveloped him, but no elaborate magic circle appeared. The air around him began to cool noticeably.
Kojo took a deep breath, and then, with a flourish of his hand, a cascade of ice crystals erupted from the air in front of him. The crystals swirled and danced, changing their forms and taking shape with impossible speed and precision. In a matter of seconds, a life-sized sculpture materialized: a woman, her features serene and beautiful, playing a delicate violin, and her dress flowing in a spiral downwards and forming a whirlpool of waves at her feet. The ice was so clear and detailed that the students could see the individual strands of her hair and the intricate carvings on the violin.
The class was stunned into silence. Even Valeri's skepticism seemed to have melted away. Lambert and Latif stared with wide-eyed awe. This was all thanks to Sysia's precision.
(Now tell them about latent heat of fusion used to shape the ice.)
"It'll probably go over their heads. Wait," Kojo said, ignoring Sysia's input. He turned to the class, a triumphant grin on his face. "You see, the flaw in your 'theory' is the assumption that magic always requires an incantation. You're so focused on the circle that you're missing the bigger picture. Magic is about intent, control, and understanding the fundamental forces at play." He walked back towards the desk.
"It's about understanding how energy is transferred and transformed," Kojo added, "You're limiting yourselves with these circles. Let me tell you something. I know of a place where they equally use magic, but do you know how? They use spells."
The students looked at each other, confused.
"They verbalize what they want to happen and say it out loud in the form of a poem or a rhyme for whatever reason," He said, raising his hands and shrugging.
"'Wind, hear my call! Rise and flow at my command, envelop mine enemies with a whirlwind. Vortex Gale'!"Kojo said, then shot his palm forward before bursting out laughing. His laugh was so contagious that the students started to laugh as well. Valeri giggled despite herself.
"That's an absurd way to use magic," one student said.
"I know, right?" Kojo agreed.
"Why does it sound so corny?" another asked.
"I couldn't tell you," Kojo said.
"Now do you know why this is an unrealistic way of using magic?" He asked.
Lambert immediately raised his hand.
"Have a seat, Lambert. You too, Latif," Kojo said as he put his hands in his pouch and looked around the class. His gaze fell on Valeri. "Yes, you, the skeptical one," He pointed at her.
"Analyze and tell us the reason behind such spells."
Valeri got to her feet, but Kojo waved her down.
"You can sit down. Yes?"Kojo waved dismissively, returning his hand into the pouch.
Valeri sat down, puzzled by this. Students were taught to stand when addressing their tutors.She quickly shook it off.
"The kind of magic you described, I presume, is structured in such a way as to let the mage casting the spell clearly visualize the magic they want manifested."
"Really?" Lambert asked.
"I thought they were using a form of pseudo-faith to borrow power," He said from his seat above Valeri's.
"I thought so too at first, but see how in the example sensei gave us, he didn't mention any names?" Lambert added his observation.
"Names?" Kojo repeated puzzled.
"Yes, you're right," Lambert agreed, coming to a realization.
"Mentioning the name of whatever forces you want to meld together to create phenomena gives you power to influence them. Right, sensei?" He looked at Kojo expectantly.
"Uh, um, yeah," He coughed. He hadn't expected that. Names huh? He'd look into that.
"You're right."
"And you too, Valeri, you managed to pick it apart after hearing it once," Lambert smiled at Valeri.
"It was obvious. Nothing special." She said coldly without looking at him.
Kojo regarded her for a moment before turning his attention to the rest of the class. They had taken their seats and were following what was going on intently. Some were even taking notes.
"Hmm. I was expected to be thrown into the worst-performing class in the school and now have to undergo various sagas to get them up to shape." Kojo thought with a sigh.
(This isn't a novel. Even in fiction that trope has been used a bit too much.")
"Hey, it makes for interesting writing though. Dunno why our author didn't go with that scenario in this novel. Ah well." He shrugged.
Sysia wanted to say something, but she sighed and kept silent.
"Anyway, in combat, it takes too long to say a spell verbally," Kojo said.
"And it seems that the more lines you add to the spell, the more powerful it gets," another girl added her observation.
"You're right. All in all, it's too overused with a lot of drawbacks. Don't get me wrong it's powerful if you knows what your doing. There is another type of verbal magic. I think they're called Word Arts..." Kojo rubbed his chin, thinking.
"I'm not sure if that's it's actual name, but yeah.This form of verbal magic involves commanding the forces, imposing your will on them, and compelling them to do what you want."
"From Kojo the ground of Luminaria, shatter and crack, overflow with heat. Molten Flow, is an example of these spells structure." He said. The spell did nothing of course, but for some reason, there was a collective gasp, and the students started to scribble in their notebooks.
"What?" Kojo asked.
It turned out that they were studying Word Magic Theory, but they didn't get the key aspects of how it was actually.Until Kojo casually explained it to them in a simplified from.After they had finished writing, they looked at Kojo expectantly.
The silence stretched for a moment longer, then Kojo cleared his throat.
"See, your approach to magic is…limited. So, for the next few weeks, I'm going to try and show you a different perspective. A perspective that might just blow your minds."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room, meeting each student's eyes.
"You, the skeptic with a pretty face,what's your name?" He asked Valeri.
"My name is Valeri. Valeri Snow," She answered.
"Valeri Snow, huh?" Kojo repeated.
"And you?" He pointed to the other girl who contributed.
"Oh, me? My name is Ava Noam," the bespectacled girl answered.
"Lambert, Latif, Valeri, and Ava. Alright, surely and steadily, I'll learn all your names. Or not.I can learn all of them right now, but I don't feel like expending the effort. Not like y'all are worth it any."
"Huh?" The class said in unison.
"If you want me to remember your name, then make yourself memorable. Now, here's the deal. I'm not going to be your typical 'Sensei.' I'm not going to stand here and lecture you about ancient texts and arcane diagrams all day. No, we're going to get our hands dirty. We're going to experiment. We're going to push the boundaries of what you think is possible. So put in the effort while we work, and maybe I'll remember you. I may not look it, but I'm a fairly important person and quite rich too. That should be enough to motivate the superficial ones among you, right?
The students began to mummer.
Kojo's expression softened slightly.
"All I ask is that you keep the goofing around and the disrespect to a minimum. I may appear young," he said, gesturing to his youthful face, "but I'm older than all of you. And trust me, you don't want to see me when I'm annoyed. Other than that, let's get along and have fun while we learn from each other. And try not to be too formal. It feels weird."
A boy in the back, emboldened by Kojo's casual demeanor, piped up.
"Older than us huh? That explains the white hair? You must be ancient!"
" Kojo is too much of a mouthful. How about we call you 'K'" another boys said.
" Huh?" Kojo blinked.
The class erupted in laughter, and several students started calling out, "Old man K! Old man K!"
"What, Old man K? Where'd that come from?" Kojo's eyes widened in mock offense.
"Hey! Cut it out! I'm not that old."
But as the laughter continued, a genuine smile spread across his face. He shook his head, a mixture of amusement and…something else, something deeper, flickering in his eyes.
(They're actually…liking you. Weird, I thought this would be a disaster.)
Kojo didn't respond to Sysia's comment. He just watched the students, their faces alight with youthful energy and curiosity as they began to ask questions, and a strange sense of…contentment settled over him. He hadn't expected this. He hadn't expected to feel…this way. Teaching. It was going to be more complicated than he thought. And maybe, just maybe, a bit rewarding.