Dale knew better than to interrupt the professor when he was waking up, so Dale walked around the room and was struck with three new additions that were not there the last time he came before the weekend. The first was a blanket covering part of the south wall's blackboard, which could only make Dale smile. The blanket was only used for dramatic reveals, and Dale knew that peeking would ruin the professor for weeks. Second was a Lacquered Oak box that Dale recognized as coming from Walter's family. The family crest on the box was unmistakable, a tree visualizing both the roots at the bottom and branches at the top, done in a nice bronze. The third was cages filled with small creatures of all types.
The beasts were under a sleep spell to keep them docile as most of them were violent by nature. To what end he needed them alive, Dale could only speculate. The three changes wove a conclusion that could only make Dale crack a smile. Testing would soon begin in earnest. Of course, Dale had to wipe the grin off his face before the professor saw it and ruined his fun.
The professor in question soon opened his eyes once he was aware of another person in the room. Before he let out a big yawn, he asked, " Skipping out on your regular classes again, my boy?" Dale turned his head. and began to walk over to the professor, " they aren't teaching me anything that I couldn't learn faster by reading the textbook. Caught Professor King quoting an obscure Divination book word for word. He just sighed and ignored me when I brought it up to him."
The discourse continued for several hours, ranging from teaching methodology to weather to the oak box. Before the professor could utter any kind of answer, the door swung open, revealing the Nobility Duo. Dale had to check the wall clock just to be sure that it was really that time. Seeing the two, the professor clapped once, scattering the papers on his desk all over the floor, not that he minded as it got the effect he wanted as three pairs of eyes were on him. " Let us begin."
As the professor stepped away from his desk, the papers that scattered flew back onto the desk, with a wave of his hand. The trio went outside the room to grab chairs for themselves as it was lecture time. The professor stopped in front of the cloth covering the board as the trio came back and formed a semi-circle. Walter naturally was in the center with Dale to his left and Lady Phoenix to his right. The Professor looked at his three students, smiled, and asked, " What is Magic?"
The three academy students froze up at such elementary school question that it broke their brains. Lady Phoenix recovered first and answered, " Magic, better known as Mana, is a type of life force generated by the planet we live on. While mana is the general term for it, mana can be sub categorized according to element, concept, and even death." The professor nodded and said, "Close enough, let's move on."
Walter leaned towards Lady Phoenix and whispered, " I think what he was looking for was that Magic is the harnessing and utilization of mana by practitioners like us..." A sudden clap straightened Walter's back as the professor stared at him. " Sir Descartes, since you are in an explaining mood, tell me. What is the fundamental difference in mana usage between practitioners like us and monsters?" Walter shot up from his chair like it shocked him as he spoke, " Practitioners use mana passively from the atmosphere, ether through magic circles, gems, staffs, staves, and wands etc. Whereas Monsters have developed an organ commonly referred to as a mana core that can store and refine atmospheric mana for later use."
The Professor rolled his eyes at the smug grin on Walter's face. " Don't be so pleased with a textbook answer like that." The Professor then turned to Dale. " Please tell me you will do better. What are the key weaknesses to practitioners that monsters do not have?" Dale looked the professor in the eyes before sighing, " Due to our reliance on atmospheric mana, naturally occurring Dead Zones, where mana is scarce to non-existent, certain barrier spells can block collection, mind control, Yada, Yada, Yada. Can we get to the point, Professor?"
"spoilsport..." muttered the professor as he moved closer to the hanging blanket. He cleared his throat. "Given these weaknesses, humankind has tried numerous ways to store mana so that in those powerless moments can be avoided. From creating mana batteries, which are incompatible with current spellcraft practices. To try to transplant a fresh mana core into the human, which results in organ rejection every time. I, Jewels Xavier, have cracked this mystery. Allow me to present to you, the spell... Integration!"
The Professor yanks hard on the blanket and reveals a magic circle crudely drawn and smudged in places due to the blanket rubbing against it. As the professor picks up the chalk to fix it. Dale leans over to Walter and whispers, " 20 gold says that that is the speech he will give the committee to get his spell recognized." Both Walter and Lady Phoenix cover their mouths to keep them from laughing. Getting a brand new spell recognized took at least a year of testing, the speech was the easy part.
Once the professor finished his touch-ups and turned around, Dale, Walter, and Lady Phoenix had composed themselves and sat up straight. " The brilliance of Integration goes much deeper than surgery. Check out out spell runes on the cardinal points..." The professor then pointed to the top, bottom, left, and right on the magic circle. He continued, "... I got the these from taming and summoning spells dealing with contracts, pacification, sharing senses, and fusion. If I did my math right, this arrangement would allow a practitioner to merge permanently with the monster, gaining not only the ability to store mana but their strength and unique magics as well."
The Professor puffs out his chest in pride over his invention. Lady Phoenix and Walter jump up from their chair to congratulate him on it and begin studying the circle. Dale was having a different reaction. His eyes darted back and forth rapidly like he was reading something at the speed of light as his face was slowly contorting into the opposite of Happy. Dale had the look of sheer horror.