Sofia Garcia swallowed as she stared at Professor Davar. She had been referring to her as Yuriko in her mind, simply because that was how they met. It had only been that one time in the library, really, much to her regret. As for her ideas of forging a relationship, well, it seemed more than a little inappropriate now that the professor's power level was on clear display.
The professor was at least a Magus from how she was able to keep the Flight spell active and the fire beam she used to stop Francis. At least a Magus because the Academy would not hire professors who were less than that level. Assistant professors, maybe, or those in graduate studies.
Only a Magus could focus and direct two spells at once, though Sofia wondered if Professor Davar was an Advanced Mage who could cast and focus on three spells at once. That seemed unlikely though. But who really knew? So what were the professor's active spells? Flight? Powerful Presence? No, it couldn't be the second. That was a ten-circle spell and to use it for something as casual as teaching a class and making a point? Unlikely.
Sofia waited while the dispersed students hurriedly made their way towards the gathering spot. As they did, the overwhelming aura diminished and was replaced with an aura of…calm. Sofia's heartbeat, which had been racing at nearly one sixty a minute, slowed and eased. She sighed, releasing the breath she'd been unconsciously prolonging, and approached Professor Davar.
Come to think of it, none of them would have spotted her flying even if they looked up since she had the sun behind her! Sly woman!
Glaring reproachfully at Yuriko, the gorgeous woman returned her gaze with a saucy wink. As the terror-inducing aura diminished, more and more of the students seemed to realise the professor's beauty. Sofia could practically feel their hearts being captured.
As it were, when Yuriko continued her speech, anticipatory silence reigned over the student body.
"Information is key," Professor Davar repeated. "But false information obviously leads to the opposite effect. How many of you are Battle Magi and how many only took this class as an elective?"
The normal ratio was about two to one in favour of Battle Magi specialists. Of the one, most were probably Caster Magi, while the rest were simply life professions.
Yuriko swept her gaze across the students. "How many of you have encountered a real battle that pitted your lives against your enemy?" She shook her head. "I can tell that less than a tenth of you have experienced it. Most of you haven't fought for your lives. Hopefully, you won't ever have to, but in case you do, knowing what's around the corner, what's under your feet without exposing yourself can save your lives. Do any of you know or practice the Echolocation or Tremorsense spells?"
Juliette, next to Sofia, muttered, "Those are five circle spells."
"Tremorsense is eight circles," Sofia said. "I saw it in a spellbook in the library," she said at her flatmate's questioning look.
Either way, those spells were too complicated for Apprentices like the students, and from the looks of those around her, they shared the same sentiments. What use were learning those spells if it took them more than three minutes or so to cast? And only for the feedback to incapacitate them?
Professor Davar smiled, and Sofia's heart skipped a beat. Why? She didn't like girls that way…
"I've simplified both spells to three and four circles."
Alright, now she was into girls that way. Sofia was practically drooling! No, she was drooling. She closed her mouth and wiped her chin with the back of her hand. Modified spells were secrets of each Magus. How could the professor simply give those secrets away? Anybody who studied her modifications would be able to intuit her mindset and habits, as well as get insight into her actual level.
Juliette and Sofie exchanged glances. "If she really?" Juliette whispered, and Sofia jolted as she realised that she had been presumptuous. But the next moment, Professor Davar's words proved otherwise.
"I've written down the spells for you. You may copy them and practice. Show me what students of Bresia's premier academy can do."
There was more than a hint of teasing challenge there, and despite herself, Sofia's competitiveness surfaced. The professor gestured and dozens of stone plates emerged from her hip, then flew towards each of the students.
Sofia caught hers and she quickly turned it over to look at the markings. Her eyebrows nearly left her forehead when she saw the modified spell. The first one was Echolocation. It was previously a five-circle spell, meaning it had at least seventy-five nodes to cast. Sofia wouldn't be able to cast a spell of that calibre with any kind of ease. The more components to a spell, the heavier the strain on the mind. She could cast a three-circle spell, thirty nodes, easily, and a four-circle spell, with fifty nodes if she gave her all. Afterwards, her mind would be numb and she'd be lucky if she could even string three words together for the next few minutes, much less cast even a single-circle spell. Even more impressive was the fact that most of the spell components were runescript. Meaning all the students needed to do was perform the vocal and somatic components of the spell, and use the inlaid runescript lines on the stone slab itself to cast it.
"This is too generous…" Juliette said, her face suddenly pale. "What will she ask for this?"
"I don't know, and I don't care," Sofia said through gritted teeth. "A modified spell, Julie! And most of it can be cast through these! I mean, these things won't last long, probably, but we can copy it into our Grimoire!"
The act of giving this out meant that Professor Davar was giving them permission. She would be more than happy to pay, just anything short of killing people for blood sacrifice or treason, really.
Of the thirty nodes to Echolocation, twenty of them were runescript patterns, leaving three vocal, and seven somatic. She read through the lot, committed the ten to memory, and checked the placement of each one against the runescript components. After going through it several times, she clipped the slab against her Grimoire, then started the cast.
Echolocation required the Wind Element, one she didn't have a high Affinity for. Still, the starting components didn't hold much resistance, and when the runescript components lit up, they took most of the weight of the spell. In practically no time, she finished the cast and felt the Wind Elemental energy around her begin to swirl. A weight settled at the back of her mind, a representation of her focus. She could not cast other spells, even through spell activation tools while that weight existed, but it did not preclude the use of firearms or other weapons.
As the spell returned the feedback, Sofia felt the presence of every one of her classmates within five paces of her. The details were lacking, but she knew there was someone there. She couldn't feel anything else, though, quite unlike what the original spell noted. She couldn't feel every insect flying by, nor every pebble that stuck out from the ground. The original had a range of a hundred paces, and if Sofia had received knowledge of every last creature within that range, she had a feeling her mind might have melted. Only a Magus had a mind strong enough to handle that kind of thing.
The sense refreshed every few seconds, and she keenly felt those that moved from their prior position. That was surprising. The sense highlighted movement. Also, from the slab, she knew that for a couple more somatic components, she could extend the range by a pace or so. She could repeat that until the range became ten paces from the centre but at the cost of speed. Huh.
All in all, an impressive simplification that was useful for Apprentices and probably, Journeymen, too. She let the spell lapse and couldn't help but stare in wonder and gratitude at the beautiful professor, and all annoyance over the trick she pulled at the start of class had vanished.
"For those who wish to learn Tremorsense, I will provide the slabs for the next class. For now, please move over to the side and we will conduct our training exercises. Divide yourselves into groups of five. Five groups head to the west side of the field, and the other five head to the east," Professor Davar said.
Sofia and Juliette moved to the east. There was a bit of a scuffle as too many headed east, but a group of three crossed the grounds. Sofia tapped Juliette's shoulder and her flatmate nodded. Even if they were somewhat rivals, they knew each other well enough not to get in each other's way, and they were good enough as a team. Now to get three more.
She left that to Juliette as the other girl was far more adept at making connections.
Sofia continued to study the Echolocation spell, and couldn't help but try to analyse the professor's style. The runescript patterns were robust, thick and reinforced. As a result, they were at least twice as large as what they needed to be. A curious quirk.
The arrangement of the components felt a bit odd, too, as if they were translated from a different base than what she was used to. Then again, Yuriko did say she was not from around here when they first met. Perhaps it was the translation from her native tongue as opposed to Arcadian?
The somatic and vocal components looked a bit clumsy too, and they were the harder part of the spell. If someone a year younger than Sofia had tried learning this spell, they'd have more trouble.
Juliette built the rest of the group, including the other two girls they took the practicals with, Janna and Mercy. The last member turned out to be a lifer boy, Ambrosio, who was a catkin brewer.
Once the group was ready, they stood away from the others and looked at Yuriko, who grinned and said, "We're going to play Tag."
"Huh?" Sofia's grunt was mirrored by everyone else, but before they could complain, Professor Davar continued.
"You cannot leave the maze, and two of your members will be designated as the hunters. The rest of your group is prey for the other groups' hunters. Red badges are hunters, blue are prey." From the professor's hip pouch, fifty badges came out and flew towards each group. The badges had group numbers and Sofia's were labelled '3'.
"The group with the most number of prey left at the end of an hour wins a prize, and so does the group who takes the most prey badges. Only hunters can take prey badges."
It sounded simple enough, but what did she mean by maze?
"Be careful, too, since the play area will be dark."
What play area?
"Get ready." The professor started floating up in the air, and then, began to cast.
"Oh, gods."
Juliette gasped as the earth beneath them shook. Below Yuriko, walls rose up, each one popping out in less than a blink of an eye. She was casting each Conjure Earth spell with blistering speed, and she was shaping them at the same time!
Coupled with her Flight spell, it was clear that Professor Davar was a True Magus, at least. Gods!
In five minutes, the maze was ready. The walls were four paces high and at least five inches thick.
Then, the crazily powerful Magus covered the maze with a thick ceiling. An entrance opened in front of each group, revealing a pitch-black interior.
Sofia felt Juliette shudder.
"Well then, go on in," Professor Davar said.
Sofia took Juliette's hand and gave the girl a reassuring squeeze. Whatever the prizes were, they'd better be worth it!