Death, Devotion, Dissonance

Chapter 29 - Magic = Convenience

The new group of kids were clearly acting differently from the previous one. The most notable was the five-man group that Arza was in previously, the group of popular kids. Evin saw a lot of these types around town, and he was very familiar about how they acted. Most of the time, Evin didn't sit well in their eyes, so he opted to stay far away from them. Evin could literally feel the smugness and superiority oozing from their pores. It was actually quite difficult for him to look at them straightly.

"Alright. The Demanding Chanters," Alvert said as he glanced at the children one by one. "Tell me, what do you think magic is?"

The teenagers seemed a bit unwilling to speak about the matter, but it was a different kind of unwillingness than the Pleaders. They looked like they wanted to say something, but acted as if the thing they were trying to say was too presumptuous.

"I can see what you're thinking inside and I'm here to tell you that it's okay for you to think those things," Alvert said smilingly. "You've all obviously spent a lot of time practicing your chants at home and you all should be feeling roughly the same thing."

"Magic, is but a tool for you to use. And you can use it literally for anything. You could order it to create an awe-inspiring explosion like Evin here," Alvert said, gesturing at Evin again, "or you could use it for the little things. Order it to keep you warm in a cold morning. Maybe there's a fly buzzing around the room and you can't quite reach it yourself... you can order your World to deal with the problem for you. Or maybe you just want to feel a breeze hitting your face as you walk around town. You can order Seyethe to provide you with that comfort."

The group listened with some shock, and Evin could see a bunch of satisfied and reassured expressions appearing on their faces. Their audacity was justified, so now they didn't have to feel bad about it all.

"It's okay for you to be arrogant, as long as you don't let it cloud your judgements. It's okay for you to be rude and overbearing, since that's literally the prime way you channel your magic. It's okay for you to be presumptuous. In fact, it's best if you hold a slightly unruly attitude towards things."

With the teacher encouraging them, the group of seven slowly turned lively and loud.

<Holy shit, this class is like an enabler for all these obnoxious children,> the voice tsked.

"Now, who here wants to demonstrate a spell for the rest of us?" Alvert eventually asked.

But unlike the previous group that only had two willing participants, in this group, everyone raised their hands.

"Alright. I like your enthusiasm. Then I will ask all of you to demonstrate your Chants in front of everyone here, please."

One by one, the teens chanted. But despite their confidence, only two of them managed to succeed in conjuring a spell: Kolin and the girl that glared at Evin. As for the words they used, the girl said something similar to what Leanne said when she demonstrated Demanding Chants in front of Evin and Kona. While Kolin used a very short, yet easily understood Chant: "Light, shine!"

Alvert did his best to give the rest the proper advice and then told them to learn more in the class for Demanding chants. One thing that Evin learned from this was that short and simple words were best for this method. Alvert then taught them to properly imagine the details of their spell as they chanted, like he did to the previous group. At the end of it, two more from the group managed to stir the World energies inside them.

With that, Alvert let this group exit, allowing Arza plus the girl to enter the classroom.

"Well, I really don't think I have anything much to say to you, considering you were both raised by a mage," Alvert shrugged, "I'll just ask a few questions and let you go."

"Alright," the two nodded.

"What is magic to you?"

"It is a method. A technique. A discipline," Arza replied confidently.

"It is ritual that births works of art," the girl added.

"Well, Lopar's been doing this since she was a child. But Arza, you practiced Demanding Chants since the moment you awakened your mana-core, which made you a very able Chanter. What made you turn your back on those years of effort?"

"I learned I could achieve much more with Gestures."

"Is that all?"

"Uh-huh."

"Very good. You won't have to attend the next class that will come in two months," Alvert nodded satisfactorily and told the two to wait outside.

Finally, he looked towards Evin, who was listening to all this happen right in front of his eyes.

"As for you, what do you think magic is?"

Evin hesitated a bit, before replying.

"All of those things that you've taught the rest."

Magic could be used to create something miraculous, and yet it also could be used to make one's life a bit comfier and easier. But Evin was leaning towards thinking that it was a technique of some sorts, like Arza described.

"All of the above, and so much more," Alvert chuckled, "If not, the only class in this Academy would be this one."

Evin nodded.

"But wouldn't they learn about what the other groups were taught after a week or so?"

"Oh, they definitely will. They could even argue heatedly about it. Which is why there is a second class on this subject. If they're still arguing up for two months about this subject, they could have their conflicts resolved then."

"Wait, does that actually happen? To argue about this for two months…"

"Ha-ha, you don't know how stubborn mages can be."

"I feel that some of them would start blaming you too," Evin murmured.

"They could. I'll just explain to them it was a lesson for them to question the words of teachers and not take things at face value."

"Isn't it easier to tell them everything from the start?"

"It would definitely be easier, but unlike you, who could miraculously cast using his imagination like it's nothing, most ten-year-old mages have a really hard time wrapping their heads around the concept of magic," Alvert explained. "They need a foundational belief to build something upon. For the Demanders, it's the usefulness of the little things; while for the Pleaders, it's the promise and fantasy of big, special things. They need these start points to learn how to cast a spell without fail in any circumstance. Only then they'll be considered a rookie mage."

"And after they master that one spell, things become easier?"

"Yup. You could see how a lot of the Demanders were confident in casting a spell, right?"

"Mhm."

"I'm sure they managed to create what they wanted in the comforts of their houses, but they failed to recreate those effects today. Perhaps it was because people were watching, or perhaps it was because they were unfamiliar with their environment. They'll learn to work around these factors as they get more experienced, but on average, this takes about two months to master."