Felix entered room 50099 and was surprised to see it packed with teenagers, men, and older adults.
He quickly found the seat in the front, and of course, he attracted a lot of attention as the only kid in the classroom.
"What's a pipsqueak like you doing here?" A rough voice said.
Felix looked at a rugged man, who reeked of alcohol, and had a very uncouth appearance.
"Well, I will be damned... Someone dares to act like a barbarian in front of our department student!" Felix had no chance to respond as an angry voice sounded, hushing all the commotion.
"Professor Zakari! Forgive for my rudeness!" Felix watched as the drunkard almost bowed in fear when professor Zakari entered the room.
"Felix, you don't need to be shocked. This class is for all students preparing to fight against mages in missions. Most of them haven't even met a mage student as young as you, so they are barbaric! But, of course, if this sack of filth thinks he will go unpunished, he is delusional! This place is Ximen Academy, not your Mercenary Guild, mister Fargo. I reduce your merit points by 1000 for breaking the code of conduct as a lesson! Now, let's start the class!" Professor Zakari exuded the dominance of a seasoned teacher and took control of the class on short notice.
"Well, that was quick, but I still am shocked to see bullying in this place as well..." Felix was reminded of his time on Earth.
"Everyone, you should be glad to see a student of the Palace of Magic here! We usually do a quick recap on how to survive against a mage and how to ambush or fight them, but now we will do an entire course of Mage vs. Cultivators of other schools of power!"
Felix saw some excited reactions and also some impatient looks.
"Now, because you showed scorn for the youngest of our MAge Department, I will directly teach him, and you will listen from the side. He has the priority for all questions, and don't even think about interrupting!"
Felix was sure this professor just loved making trouble! " He just wants to show off his status and force them to feel useless against Mage Department."
Someone from the back coughed lightly and released a vast aura.
Felix could instantly feel the similarities of this aura with Gyro's power.
"He seems to be a Principle, God!" Felix was interested in how this will unfold.
"I don't mean no disrespect, Professor Zakari, but as a new teacher for this class, you shouldn't force other departments to a corner so much!"
"He is a teacher from the Close Combat Arts Department. I believe his name is Saro Lent. He was famous back in the day as his Title was Barbaric Mantis..." Felix heard hushed voices from weaker participants, but he also noticed more powerhouses ignoring the commotion in the back.
"Haha, that is true. I replaced the previous teacher after they had to go to seclusion. However, if you think this is a place where your power decides how the teachers respond, you are dead wrong, kiddo!"
Everyone had confused looks, as they knew that the previous teacher was a Titled God, so they usually had to show some respect to Principle Gods.
"It seems I will see some weird stuff today." Felix just observed the drama. It was an excellent way to relax after a monotonous routine.
"Well, I haven't seen anyone calling a Principle God, kiddo! Maybe I should request a change of teacher. After all, this is still a world of cultivation!" Saro Lent harumphed and pressured the podium of the teachers, so the professor received all the power.
Felix was surprised to see Zakari Mo smile relaxedly and walk into the intersection leading to the back of the room.
"Child, I was already a Principle Mage, when you were not even born, I am Zakari Mo, also known as Tenth Core Elder, you will sit down and listen, till I say differently."
Felix watched how all the people in the room showed paled expressions.
"Also, for disrespecting a teacher, we will invite you to see the Law Enforcement Council. Maybe you need to relearn the rules of the Ximen Academy or even the Westgate Clan!"
Professor Zakari just gently tapped the air with his hand, and the Principle God, who just showed blatant contempt, was forcefully crushed into his seat.
Felix watched with shock how all the back row powerhouses stood up and bowed.
"We greet esteemed Tenth Core Elder Zakari Mo!" Felix could see they didn't recognize this man before, but his power display proved his status.
"Today, you are still lucky, as I am going to directly instruct Felix because the High Council has recommended for me to test his comprehension and adaptability! Now I see that there are 57 people here, who paid merit points to hear how to fight a mage, so let's start with that!"
Felix was embarrassed to see so many people look at him with envy. However, he still focused on listening to Zakari Mo not to be seen as disrespectful.
"First of all, let us talk about the difference in ranking of Mages, Body Cultivators, and Bloodline Warlocks, as the latter two are the most common and the Mages are one of the most rear breeds..." Zakari Mo instantly got everyone's attention.
"You all heard how simple body cultivators are ranked!" Zakari coughed and went to write on the board.
"Warrior, Supreme Core, Soul Transformation, World Class, Demigod, Titled God." Professor quickly wrote all the stages.
"As you have heard, only a Titled God has the right to learn more. However, I see no need to hide anything here! These Six Stages are also just one big chunk of cultivation we call Mortal Transformation Realm! After you reach the Principle God stage, you enter Immortal Transformation Realm! However, this is as much as I am willing to tell! Hahaha!" Professor looked at the shocked and exciting faces in the classroom.
"Now Bloodline Warlocks have the same categorization. We add Bloodline Warlock - instead of Warrior, then Bloodline Warlock Soul Transformation Stage, and so on!"
Felix was fascinated by this new information.
"Now, let's compare simple Body Cultivator vs. Bloodline Warlock! As you all know, body cultivators make their bodies more robust. If they got elemental talent, they get attributes, like ice body, metal body, and so on! When they are even more talented, they can have mutations, blessings, and all that good stuff! However, if they have a functioning bloodline, we call them Bloodline Warlocks!"
Felix tried to memorize everything.
"We make much difference because Bloodline Warlocks get Bloodline Trait at the first stage, for example, dragon bloodline, gives bodily scales, fire resistance or some other traits of the origin you inherited! Then, in the Supreme core stage, they unlock their first ability! For example, a gorgons bloodline can give you a petrifying gaze, or a pegasus bloodline can let you grow wings to fly!"
Professor Mo talked with passion and excitement, and everyone, even those Principle Gods, was listening with great interest.
"Now you can understand that if we compare those two lines of cultivation, bloodline warlocks would have a slight advantage over simple body cultivators! However, it all shows the most significant difference only in the early stages, as those acquired abilities of Bloodline Warlocks can help them overpower Warriors, Supreme Cores, or Soul Transformation stage cultivators!"
Felix and others were in deep focus, as the voice of this Professor Zakari just became captivating.
"In the World Class, Demigod, and Titled God stages, we can see their advantage is minuscule, as some rigid working body cultivators overpower the inherited abilities! But, of course, bloodline warlocks can also be hardworking and keep that slight advantage!"
Professor Zakari slightly paused while walking towards the board and began writing again.
"Now look at the Mage classifications! They are different because they don't belong to the same category of cultivation!"
Felix watched as Zakari Mo used his energy particles to form words on the board.
"Vortex Appearance, Mind Palace, World Law, Law Integration, Inner World Creation, Titled Mage."
Everyone read the professor's writing and tried memorizing everything.
"These six stages correspond to the previously explained stages of body cultivators! So if a child is born with the vortex, they are already in the warrior stage, but as you know, any warrior would be able to kill a child even if he was talented! All mages are inhibited from energy usage because they received the energy into their minds, not the body!"
Professor Mo almost spits in his passion as he condenses the holograms of three figures.
The first two were similar replicas of the human Warrior cultivator's body x-rays. They showed how the energy nourished the body, transforming it into a more vital biological organism. Also, the second image had a bloodline power in their heart and blood, helping to increase that power received from energies.
Soon, a third image formed, showing a baby's body x-ray and how a massive energy formation was compressed and revolving inside their minds.
Other cultivators in the room gasped as they saw those images, but Felix was only a little surprised to see such detailed pictures.
"Now, do you understand? Other schools of power even start differently! A mage baby is already in grave danger as their Mind Palace formation is the explosion of this vortex, you see!" Professor Mo pointed at the third image.
"Now when Mind Palace forms, if the kid has no understanding of energy, their heads explode from backlash!" Professor Mo waved his hand and the third image fast-forwarded to a five-year-old child, and his head exploded when the bubble of energy in his head burst.
"Of course, some still succeed to overcome this hurdle, and Felix is one of the most extreme examples! He reached Mind Palace stage when he was just one-year-old baby!"
Felix was very embarrassed inside his heart, but he showed poker-face composure on the outside.
All other listeners of this class gasped, as now they understood how crazy a Mage's birth was!
"Now look at the Mind Palace - it is just a formation of runes, in simpler terms! The runes help the young mage balance outside energies with his internal mind world! This world we call Mind-Space!"
Professor Mo fast-forwarded the images to reach Supreme Core and Mind Palace stage accordingly.
The Body Cultivator and Bloodline Warlock only transformed their bodies and increased overall energy inside their bodies.
Mind Palace Mage, however, had a formation inside their Mind-Space.
The Mind palace forced the outside and inner energies to move in a pattern that the runes managed to control.
"Look at that, the Body Cultivator and Bloodline Warlock received immediate improvement to their strength! However, a kid mage still has this horrifying energy surrounding them, as ticking bombs! If they stop improving their comprehension, not only the head but this whole room would explode, as power would not be used for transformation and combust after accumulation! This tragedy happens rarely, but still happens..." Professor Mo had a slight pause as everyone looked at Felix with a bit of worry in their eyes.
After all, this kid was quite cute, and only now do they understand that being a mage was a lot crueler than they expected.
"Okay, now when they reach Soul transformation and Law Integration, the body cultivators once again become stronger, but watch at the Mage!" Professor Mo fast-forwarded the images again.
The Body Cultivator and Bloodline Warlock experienced Soul Powers combination with the body, and they had hundreds of times more substantial power inside their body.
Law Integration Mage, however, just transformed all the Law Runes into a small Rune Formation, which had a small space inside to store energy and the mental energy created a vast sea.
"Students, look how the Law Integration Stage makes the mage receive first qualitative transformation, that would help them instantly use energy, without the need of spells!"
Professor Mo waved his hand, and a slight wind blade rushed towards Saro Lent with a mischievous smile. The Principle god just diffused the slight edge with a respectful expression.
"As you can see, for a mage, spells and small tricks like this are their best defense, but you can understand that other cultivators would destroy them instantly on the battlefield! Unfortunately for all other schools of power, a mage begins his transformation when they reach the Inner World Creation stage!"
The images again changed, and everyone saw how body cultivators enveloped their bodies with world energy.
However, the Inner World Creation Mage created a whole innate spell formation inside his mind-space. This Innate Spell slowly fused with the body, and a lot of world energy just followed the Mage's mind!
"Now you can see the fearsome difference in talent! After the Mage reaches the Inner Wolrd Creation stage, which is equal to Demigod stage for Body Cultivator and Bloodline Warlock, we can experience how much more dangerous a mage is!" Professor Mo went to write something on the board again.
"Mage equals power when they reach four stars!
Body talents and bloodlines!
Create Body Transformation with Inner Spell Formation's help!
Bloodlines form Bloodline Spells or give traits and skills!"
Professor wrote a note-like explanation for Mage's all-power abilities.
"Just like body cultivators can have other talents to boost their development, mages can do the same! They can use their bloodlines however they comprehend them! Spells, Summonings even complete body transformations are on the table! They are a real menace after four stars! Unfortunately, our little student Felix has no such talents!"
Everyone gathered attention on Felix again, making him feel like this was a hot seat.
"However, if any of you still underestimate a mage, you would die after he reaches four stars! You see, his Mind Palace is a unique thing I will not talk about for privacy issues! After all, none of you want me to reveal your cards, do you?" Professor Mo looked at Saro Lent and laughed in joy.
"Now I won't show you Titled Gods and Titled Mages transformations, as they are all different! All individuals have their paths!"
"Now Felix, tell me, what do you do if you meet an enemy outside, and you have not reached the fourth star!?" Professor Mo looked at Felix with a smile and asked.
"I run away and request help from the clan!" Felix said without hesitation.
"Tch, what a wuss..." Saro Lent showed his barbaric courage and disdain for such words.
"Heh, Saro Lent, what do you do if you meet Principle Mage outside? Who is your enemy!?" Professor asked with a small smile, ignoring Felix's questioning gaze.
"Of course, I fight them!" Saro Lent showed an excitement of a battle maniac.
Everyone watched how Professor Mo shook his head in disappointment.
"Felix, your choice was the correct one! It seems you were listening to my lecture, not like this idiot!" Professor Zakari waved his hand, and another man appeared on a stage, clearly, forcefully teleported.
"Tenth Elder!" The man bowed with respect and waited for instructions.
"Everyone, this is one of our core disciples, Titled Mage Darius Westgate, Titled Darkness Paragon Priest! Now, Saro Lent, please try to touch him. If you do, I will apologize to you. But, if he evades you, you will have to do some tasks free of charge!" The tenth elder instructed and saw how Saro Lent went on the podium.
Professor Zakari just made some simple gestures with hands, and a reinforced barrier appeared.
The Mage and Principle God exchanged no words and began.
Their speed was hard for Felix to follow, and he only saw that the Titled Mage stood in place, and his body blurred from time to time, evading the man.
Soon, Saro Lent gave up with an ugly expression.
"Okay, you can go, Darius! You get five core merit points!" Again, everyone watched how the professor teleported the Mage out of the room but with a smile this time.
"As you can see, Saro Lent is a Speed Principle, God! What you all below the fifth stage saw was my slowed version! He had no chance even to touch Darius, only a peak Titled Mage! So now I ask again, Saro Lent, what does your inability to touch opponent tell us about your chances against Darius, and what do you do if you meet a hostile Principle Mage?"
Everyone watched how Saro Lent took a deep breath and said with a quivering voice.
"If I can't touch the opponent, it means I have no chance to battle him. If he was hostile, I would already be dead! If I meet a Principle Mage, I should run and call for reinforcements!" Saro Lent had an ashamed voice, but his expression was confident.
"It seems you are not unteachable. You can come tomorrow as well! Students, a mage after four stars is an abomination in battle! They use spells, energy defense, physical defense, speed increase magic, summons, and so much more! They overpower you with crowd control spells and crush you! There are only a few cultivation schools, talents, and cultivators, who can go head to head versus a mage of equal strength after the fifth stage!"
Professor Zakari sighed and cleared the board and images behind him.
"Now that you all had a chance to see a difference of a mage from other cultivators, we will end this lesson! However, tomorrow I will instruct again, so I expect all of you to attend." Professor Mo smiled and glanced at Saro Lent.
Everyone began leaving the room, but Felix heard the professor stop him.
"Stay for a while, Felix!" Professor waited till only two of them were in the class.
"Felix, you will need a lot of effort to complete your World Palace. As you already heard, actual strong cultivators would destroy you in battle now, so your battle training will begin after you reach the third star! I wanted to look at your World Palace. If you don't mind, maybe I will have some advice for you!"
Felix just nodded and invited the professor into his mind-space. He knew that now he needed a lot of help to understand his path.
"Yes, child, this is World Palace! Now I see some balance of four fundamental elements. Did you get some help from Penox?" Professor Mo smiled amiably and asked Felix.
"Yes, just yesterday I had his help with four elements!" Felix nodded.
"Penox is very knowledgeable with the fundamental elements, so follow his teachings well!" Professor Mo smiled and traveled to the planet.
"Kid, what do you know about movement, decay, and energy conversion?" Professor asked after some thought.
"Professor, I see movement, as objects trajectory change over time. Is decay just corrosion over time as well? Energy conversion is its ability to change forms. For example, fire can induce wind and so on." Felix said with some confusion in his voice.
"Haha, it seems you have observed the world a lot! However, do you see movement inside here?" Professor Mo smiled and watched how Felix frowned.
The only movement was runes inside this mind space, traveling to fight overbearing foreign energies. Everything else was still.
Even the tiny planet orbited according to earth runes commands.
"Now, imagine you are in space! Where will you step to go north?" Professor used some techniques to make his voice hypnotizing.
Felix felt this voice make him enter a trance-like state in an empty dark space. He could see nothing.
Even if Felix moved, he couldn't handle the direction. He was immobile, and he couldn't even feel his body soon, as if the time had frozen.
"So if there is no space to direct you and no time to begin moving, there can be no movement! No light moves where time is still..." Felix had a sudden realization, and in his mind-space, Professor Mo saw how the kid entered a deep meditation state.
"Damn, Gyro was correct. This child has unprecedented comprehension!" Professor Mo smiled and left the space. He teleported Felix's body to his room and left him there.
"If I had to imagine space, I think I need to make a gravity plane to place all the objects on..." So Felix experimented with his comprehensions and tried to construct a stable place where he could place his tiny planet and energies without any need to worry about their movement.
Soon, inside his mind-space, the tiny planet entered a small orbit and exuded its gravity towards other energies.
A small white light formed a rune, and it fused with the space.
This mind-space had small constructive energy holding all the points inside it. So the outside powers couldn't enter automatically when the capacity reached a maximum.
Mind Palace also had a trembling golden light in the middle concentrating quickly.
It was Time Rune, and it quickly dissipated into all things that moved.
The most transformative effect Time Rune brought to Life Rune was dormant all the time.
Now it suddenly burst with vitality throughout the whole tiny planet.
Small grass began to grow, and Nature Law Rune sent some green energy drops to help.
Fire Law Rune began coordinating with light rune and acted like an actual sun now, as light shined brightly on the greenery!
Darkness rune hid in the small crevices and shadows, creating night with every revolution of the planet.
Gravity Rune began to transform to Law Rune, and so did Earth rune, Water rune, Darkness rune, and all others. However, Felix had too little energy, so it will take a lot of time to accumulate all the needed energy for the runes transformation.
He woke up in his room and saw hi token buzzing with notifications.
"Schedule: Professor Zakari Mo postponed the class until tomorrow!"
"Well, it seems I slept for a long time, as he read three same notifications, indicating three days had passed.
Felix felt a lot of energy in his Mind Palace, and he could see how all the energy around him poured inside him to feed the condensing Law Runes.
"I should take a break to relax. It feels like my brain is out of juices! " Felix decided to rest until tomorrow's lecture.