Aether was barely able to focus on the class as he felt the hostile gazes of all the men in his class. All except Seth, who seemed to be too indifferent to the situation.
"Aether, can you demonstrate?" Professor Chloe's voice startled him. He blinked once, then searched his memory for the subject of the class. Defensive magic, right. He stood up and walked to the front of the class, feeling the piercing gazes of the students on his back. It was almost as if they were drilling holes through his skull.
"Barrier." He said, and the only slightly foggy barrier from the day before formed around him.
"Good." Professor Cross nodded with a satisfied expression. "Now, as you can see, his barrier is…" Professor Cross began telling the details of what made Aether's shield so good while the young man simply waited for her to be finished. She sure loved to talk when she could, so he ended up standing there for at least half of the class.
"Alright, class dismissed." She declared as the clock hit twelve o'clock. "Sorry for keeping you standing all this time." She said, glancing towards him.
"I'm glad to be of help." Aether said with a faint smile. "If you'll excuse me." He left the classroom, finally freeing himself from the piercing gazes of his classmates. He breathed a sigh of relief, then headed outside.
His steps carried him to the grassy area behind the main building of the academy. He approached one of the trees and laid down under its shade. His muscles still hurt from yesterday's exercise.
"What are you doing, sleepyhead?" Clara's soft voice sounded not long after he closed his eyes.
"Resting." He replied. "But I guess you're here to put a stop to that." He opened his eyes and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
"Aw, I feel bad when you say it like that." Clara chuckled and sat down beside him. "You can always sleep on my lap if you want to." She smoothed her skirt and tapped her legs in a welcoming manner.
Aether immediately shook his head. "Can you please just stop with that? People will seriously misunderstand." He sighed and motioned to get up.
"We won't run today." Clara's words stopped him. She gestured towards the sky. "The sun is too hot – I have no intention of getting sunburns. And you should worry about that too since you're so pale." She smiled. "And for the record, I don't care of what people think."
Aether rolled his eyes. "So, what are we doing today?" He asked.
"Show me your stats." Clara grinned. Aether sighed, then did as she asked.
"A thousand mana isn't bad for someone in their first year, and it's only been a few weeks since you enrolled." Clara mumbled. "But it's not enough. If you're to compete along with me, you need at least thrice the amount of that."
Aether furrowed his brows. "And how do I do that?"
"Simple. With plenty of practice." Clara chuckled.
Aether rolled his eyes. "I get that. But what kind of practice?"
"There are a few ways to do it." Clara said as her grin disappeared. "Some people do it by meditating – circulating mana within their bodies to expand it. It works, but it's slow. I never tried that, so I'll teach you my way."
Aether furrowed his brows. He was already wary of this method of hers. "How do you do it?"
Clara smiled. "I use an artifact." She chuckled as she noticed Aether's expression. "No need to be so surprised, I'm as powerful as I am for a reason." She took out a silver chain from her pocket.
The young man nearly leapt up with surprise as she showed it to him. "It's a magical chain. It's not necessary to use this, but it helps speed things up. And we have little time left, so I will let you use it." She glanced at Aether, only to see him looking at it wide eyed. "Aether?" She asked, slightly tilting her head to the side. "What's wrong?"
Startled, he quickly shook his head. "Nothing. I'm fine." Despite his words, it seemed as if he couldn't take his eyes off the chain.
"Alright." Clara said with a soft, wary voice. The sudden change in his behaviour seemed more than a little odd to her. "So, basically, this thing will create a magic circle around you. You will feed it with as much mana as you can. The mana will be released to the surrounding area as life force."
Aether finally averted his gaze from the powerful artifact in her hands. "So, you increase your mana by constantly depleting it." He concluded. It was different than what he was used to. "Is that it?"
Clara nodded. "Yes. Shall we give it a try?"
They didn't waste any time. Clara threw the chain in the air, and it snapped together as it fell, creating a perfect circle. "Step inside and begin feeding your mana."
Aether did as she suggested, though he couldn't help but worry. What if something went wrong? He needed to remain calm and collected no matter what. If his power leaked too much, all could be lost. His dream, as well as Iris' wishes. And he did not want to have to explain a failure of such magnitude to Lord Yotsura.
"Let's give it a try," He mumbled as he stepped inside the circle. An artifact as powerful as this was bound to give him more power after all.
He closed his eyes and let his mana flow into the chain. A sudden wind blew his hair back as he felt the chain begin to drain him. It was unpleasant, like something was pressuring his chest, making it difficult to breathe almost as if he were in a vacuum.
"Don't stop. The first few seconds suck, but after that it's quite pleasant." Clara's voice sounded distant, almost as if she were walking away. But he could feel her presence right next to him. The healing magic in her palm, ready to aid him at a moment's notice. If only she knew how deadly that could be for him.
The pressure remained there for a few more seconds, but as his mana began to deplete, whatever weight was on his chest seemed to lift. He took a deep breath, and his lungs burned with air. The hazy feeling in his mind faded and his hearing became sharp once more. He heard Clara's breath of relief.
"Good. Now keep going." She spoke.
He didn't need her words to know it was working. He could feel the mana in his body slowly move. While it was nowhere near the power he could wield in the world down below, he could feel his power slowly increasing.
His lips curled up with a faint smile.