Arthur didn't respond, not that Levin would have noticed if he did. The man seemed like the type whose nose was so far up into the clouds that he wouldn't be able to see Arthur even if he wanted to.
"Let's begin with testing your knowledge of magic. Now tell me what you know of aether." Levin commanded after a moment of silence.
"Aether is an invisible primordial energy that permeates the world without interacting with it. Through cultivation, mages draw aether into their mind and convert it into a form of energy that can interact with the world called mana." He replied robotically, spewing the textbook definition of aether.
Levin nodded. "Good, Good, and how do mages use mana?"
"Mana inherently lacks form and can only be used to control objects at a distance through telekinesis. To give mana form, mages use spells that allow them to create a unique phenomenon that we call magic."
"It appears that you've read 'Sir Theo's Introduction to Mana'. That's commendable for your age, but I'll take over from here since that book only covers the basics." Levin applauded with a genuine smile that left Arthur slightly taken aback.
'Maybe I judged him wrong?' Arthur thought.
Despite applauding Arthur, Levin still managed to underestimate Arthur's knowledge of magic. Not that Arthur could blame him.
However, Arthur wasn't quick to correct him. He had already displayed enough competence for a thirteen-year-old to be taken seriously as a student of magic.
"Spells are constructed using Aetherin, sometimes referred to as 'The Language of Creation'. A spell's creation begins with a circle as its base, while the geometrical shapes and Aetherin written inside the circle act as the spell's function.
"Once the spell is completed, a mage can imprint it to their mana core... Do you know why a mage would do this?" Levin asked curiously after a long pause.
"No?" Arthur replied hastily, not expecting Levin to ask him a question so suddenly.
Of course, he knew the answer. But if he didn't want to openly display his status as a third circle mage, keeping his mouth shut and suffering the lecture would be better.
"As you said before, a spell gives mana form. But to invoke one, a mage must first draw the magic circle using their mana. That includes all the Aetherin written inside.
"Depending on the complexity of the spell and the aptitude of the mage, the process of drawing it out can take quite some time. However, once a spell is imprinted onto a mage's mana core, it acts almost like a stencil, allowing the mage to force mana through it and instantly produce the spell's effect."
Arthur had to hand it to Levin. He was a good tutor and genuinely seemed to enjoy talking about magic. It would've been nice to honestly speak with Levin about magic, but he had to stick to his act and play the fool, at least until he got to know him more.
"Have you already begun cultivating mana?" Levin asked.
"Yes, I finally created my mana core two months ago!" Arthur exclaimed with youthful boisterousness.
Of course, that, too, was a lie. Arthur had been weighing his options since he learned about the tutor last week. If he had claimed not to have a mana core now, Levin would have tried to help him create one and discovered that Arthur was already a third circle mage.
So, it was necessary to pretend that he had just begun his journey in cultivation so that Levin wouldn't be too curious.
"Oh? Very good. Come here and give me your hand so I can check how much progress you've made," Levin said with a chuckle, causing Arthur's heart to drop.
'Why the hell are you being so damn thorough?! Just write it off as a child's bluster like you're supposed to!' Arthur's thoughts raged.
Arthur remained unmoving as Levin watched on with silent expectation. He was clueless about the maelstrom of thoughts flying through Arthur's head.
Arthur could feel sweat beginning to creep out of his pores. He hadn't planned for this. Levin had no reason to check the progress of a young mage with two months' worth of mana.
It was like making a cake and putting it in the oven only to check it thirty seconds later. Of course, the cake would still be a pan full of liquid batter. Expecting otherwise would be insane.
"I..." Arthur hesitated as he tried to come up with an excuse.
"Oh, come now. No need to be embarrassed. We all start somewhere." Levin consoled him, but it had no effect since Arthur's problem was the exact opposite of his consolement.
Levin stood up, reached his hand over the desks, and openly displayed his palm as he motioned for Arthur to grab his hand, yet Arthur remained motionless. His eyebrows raised as he watched Arthur in bewilderment, but a knock came from the study door just as the situation peaked.
"Young master, I've brought breakfast." Senna called out through the door before letting herself in.
'Senna, you're an angel!' Arthur shouted in his mind as he turned his attention to the woman pushing a cart carrying multiple plates of steaming food.
Arthur quickly turned to check on Levin, hoping the man would drop the subject now that they had a guest. However, what he saw nearly caused his jaw to drop.
A slight blush filled Levin's cheeks as he straightened his shirt in a hasty and awkward manner before gently bowing toward Senna.
"G-good morning, Ms. Senna," Levin said respectfully, stumbling on his words.
"Ah, Mr. Levin, you show me too much courtesy." Senna replied with a bashful curtsy.
Arthur's eyes went back and forth between the pair as his jaw finally dropped.
"N-nonsense, y-you deserves all the courtesy I have to offer." Levin stuttered as his face flushed red with embarrassment.
Arthur watched and secretly cheered for the man as a smile crept upon his face. Senna didn't appear to dislike the compliment, so it looked as though Levin at least had a foot in the door concerning Senna's heart.
"T-thank you for your kind words, Mr. Levin." Senna said as she, too, fell victim to a flushed red face.
After an awkward silence that saw the people in the study act as if frozen in time, Arthur decided to save the situation before any more embarrassment ensued.
"Wow, the food looks delicious! I'm starving!" Arthur shouted playfully.
To Levin's dismay, Senna quickly recovered and placed the dishes onto the desks in front of them before hurriedly leaving the room. Arthur had always felt a bit guilty towards Senna since most maids only served for a few years before marrying and starting their own family, unlike the old crone Merin.
However, after Arthur's mother's death, Senna decided to stick around for his sake. Now, she had missed what was considered the prime age to marry in Ollerin. So Arthur had no qualms about Levin pursuing Senna as long as he was the decent man he appeared to be.
"Ah! Good, this is a perfect opportunity." Levin exclaimed, freeing Arthur from his thoughts.
"What is?" Arthur asked curiously as he looked over toward Levin.
"This meat." Levin said as he held up a sausage with a noticeable blueish hue. "This is mana beast meat. Some creatures can use mana just like us. However, their method of cultivating mana is very different from ours. Do you know what that difference is?" Levin asked excitedly.
"Foster told me that mana beasts have a physical mana core while people have an eth-ethereal one." Arthur replied in an innocent voice as he stumbled on his words to really sell his age to Levin.
Of course, that was a tiny white lie, as Foster had never explained the differences of mana cores to him, but he doubted that the guard would mind Arthur using his name like this.
"That's right, and because mana beasts have a physical core, mana seeps deep into their flesh through everyday use. So when we eat it, we gain some of that mana.
"Although it isn't much, once you reach the third circle, you'll find yourself at the first bottleneck that mages face and truly understand how much mana one needs to keep growing. That's why mages prefer food that has mana. Every little drop of it helps. So go on and eat." Levin explained.
Arthur pretended to be enlightened by his words, and Levin appeared happy with that. The entree was brought over on a large plate covered with a metallic dome, and when he lifted it, his heart nearly stopped.
A human head was resting on the plate, with a grotesque red scar that started from its left ear, crossed its cheek, and continued down its disembodied neck.