It's effortless to distinguish between a rich or poor student just by their attire. If it's standard, then most likely they don't have money for something better. If it's self-made, it's even more noticeable. Girls from wealthier families get it tailored, using a common template, but they add some modifications. The standard uniform consists of an outer skirt just below the knees, an inner gray or brown skirt reaching the knees, a gray corset, a collar, and short sleeves. If you notice that the inner skirt has been changed to white silk, then most likely the girl is not poor. Lengthening or shortening the skirt and sleeves is done upon individual order. And I won't even mention those flashy students from Leran who like to add gold decorations to their uniform.
"Do you have some personal grudges again?"
"Oh no, you know, Leran students were quite friendly, much better than my fellow earth mages. It's just that it hurt that I had to go through all five years in the same clothes... I'd have loved to have such a beautiful uniform as the demonologists."
"I thought they don't study here anymore, for certain reasons."
"Yeah, of course, they don't study here; everyone knows that," the girl smirked mischievously, "but you know, one of my classmates from Leran got tired of hiding, and for the graduation ceremony, she came in a secretly tailored demonologist uniform. It was all black, with fiery flashes on the ruffles of the skirt and a deep neckline framed by flaming thorns. It looked beautiful, and she left the ball under the wrathful glares of some devout nobles, but she didn't care."
"Seems like it was tough for you. But can you help me learn a couple of spells?"
"Of course, no problem. What level are you at, what can you do?"
"To be honest, I don't know anything."
...
"Are you kidding me?"
"No, I've never really been interested in magic and never practiced it. All I did was stop the inquisitor's fireball, and they mistook me for a mage."
"Really? I've heard that the inquisition's flames are quite powerful," the girl turned away and slowly picked something up from the floor, "we need to check something here."
Levris abruptly turned around, and in her hands, I noticed a wooden staff. In the next moment, something gray and shapeless flew towards me. Reflexively, I held my hand up, and the lump crumbled into dust before reaching its target.
"Ahem, did you just throw a clump of dust at me?"
"That was magic!"
"You just threw whatever you found under your hand at me."
"No! We have issues with earth magic here, so I used available materials."
"And you call that magic?"
"Hmph," the girl pouted disapprovingly, "Yes! I'm sorry it wasn't very powerful, but to do more, I'd need to prepare, and I needed to see how you'd react to an unexpected situation. Usually, magic is easiest to awaken in times of danger. And depending on how you defended yourself, I could determine your affinity."
"And what's the result?"
"Hm, it's hard to say. You didn't use any elemental magic; rather, the mana I poured into that clump dissipated on its own, and you dispelled the spell. Are you perhaps a necromancer?"
"No, I'm not drawn to cemeteries."
"True, your eyes are green. But that effect... maybe you unconsciously put up a magical shield. But those are quite complex spells, and different spirits require their own preparations. It's not easy to figure out just like that, but anyway, let's just go over the basics. Any elemental affinity will do."
"And how will we do that?"
"First, let's try to invoke your magic, and then you can try to imbue it with an elemental affinity. Depending on which elements you can invoke, we'll determine which type of mage you belong to."
"Is it really that simple?"
"No need to complicate things. If you can invoke even a little of all the elements, then you're probably an elemental mage. If only fire, lightning, and wind, then an angelic mage, and if earth, water, and fire, then a demonologist. These types of mages are only limited to these elements."
"And can you invoke other elements too?"
He-he... well, a little bit," the teacher extended her hand forward, and dust particles from all over the room began to gather above it, "as you can see, I'm an earth mage, and it's the easiest for me to control. But I've practiced a lot and can do this too!"
Carefully setting aside the clump of gathered dust, the girl concentrated all her strength on one finger and, with incredible effort, managed to ignite a flame the size of a candle. Though, in doing so, she perspired heavily and began to breathe heavily.
"You're barely holding it."
"I know," the girl slumped down to the floor, and the flame immediately went out, "when I couldn't hit anyone with my earth magic, I tried to learn another element, but alas, having become so accustomed to one, it's very difficult to switch. Not many people actually master spells of all elements; it's too much strain on the body."
"But you said the more elements, the better."
"Well, honestly, it's not recommended to have more than two," Levris turned towards a shelf and, after a minute of searching, retrieved a rather grim-looking grimoire adorned with bones, possibly even real ones, "this book was banned a long time ago, but there's still one copy left in the Academy."
No wonder it's prohibited; it seems like it ruined more than one innocent soul!
The teacher blew a thick layer of dust off the tome and opened the desired page.
"There are some studies by necromancers on the impact of various elements on the human body."
"It's frightening to think about how they found that out."
"Oh, not scary at all. They stole the bodies of mages after their death or bought them from relatives and then dissected and examined their organs for various diseases."
"No need for details."
"Alright, alright. But they concluded that elemental magic alters the mage's body, adapting it to resist that element. It's necessary so that the mage doesn't suffer from their own magic, and these, as stated here, modifications are even inherited by non-mage children. For example, lightning mages have a strengthened nervous system since lightning primarily affects nerves and the brain. Fire mages inherit more liquid blood since it thickens due to intense heat. Well, and other details."
"But isn't that a good thing?"
"It's like a double-edged sword. It helps the body resist magic, but it also puts a strain on the body. So, the more of such 'improvements' a person's body undergoes, the shorter their life becomes."
"Wow, not a desirable prospect."
"Yeah, here it even mentions a theory that the fourth summoner didn't die in the final battle of the Great War, trying to stop the attackers, but quietly perished after the battle due to the strain his body endured while using high-level spells of all elements."
"And probably that's why they banned this book."
"Exactly. But I haven't shown you anything, understand!" Levris quickly hid the book back in place.
"Then what's the point of testing all elements if it's life-threatening?"
"Well, you need to determine where your soul lies. Try it, and we'll see. Just imagine the energy flowing within you and try to gather it in your hand."
"Is it really that simple?" I decided to follow the teacher's advice. If it's genuinely not difficult, then I should succeed easily... But even after five minutes, nothing happened: "It's not working."
"Well, think of something that evokes strong emotions; usually, that helps."
"Hm, strong emotions?"
There hasn't been anything in my life that could throw me off balance. My life was quiet and steady, at least until this campaign arrived on the island. Just the thought of them makes me burn inside; they go around the cities searching for cursed mages, when, in reality, they're only looking for reasons to intimidate people and keep them under their rule. But for me, it ended quickly and not as tragically as it could have been.
I calmed down and tried to recall something else. I arrived at the Academy, where people of equal opportunities study, but how much hypocrisy there is in this phrase. Even here, the wealthy will always have more opportunities than commoners. The arrogant, insolent noble snobs look down on everyone as second-class... all of them, except for one girl with golden hair. I remembered the slight tingling on my skin when she was around, a sensation I felt in her presence. She wasn't of low birth; her clothes were tailored, but she treated everyone equally and was even a bit cute when she tried to look serious in awkward situations. When I recalled her falling out of those bushes, I even felt a painful bite on my hand. That's when I finally opened my eyes.
To my surprise, Levris peeked at me shyly from around the corner.
"Something happened?"
"Well, at first, nothing happened; you were just standing there, and then you burst into flames. Not only did you gather fire in your hand, but you also started emitting heat. I quickly moved the books away, but a moment later, you went out. And then, flames began to gather in your hand again, but soon it disappeared and turned into a dim little lightning bolt. Even from a distance, I felt a slight tingling. And in the end, you suddenly conjured a small water sphere; it intercepted the lightning discharge and hit you. Be more careful, many young mages harm themselves with their own magic."
"So, did I manage it?"
"Looks like it. Try getting angry again and summoning the flame; you did it best with that."
"Alright," I quickly scrolled through my mind the ten pages of hatred, and the flame ignited, "ha, it worked!"
But it immediately went out.
"Can you make it last longer?"
I tried a few more times, but I couldn't hold the flame for more than two seconds.
"That's not good... Maybe your one-time magic reserve is very small, although it replenishes quickly. It's unlikely you'll be able to cast a complex spell in such a short time."
"And what should I do then?"
"Well, I'm not your helper here. Only practice and more practice. Spellcasting is prohibited here, but I'll give you all the necessary books. There's still time until tomorrow; try at least to learn the fire arrow spell. That way, you'll have a chance. But if it doesn't work, take a look at the lightning magic; it takes effect faster than the others, so you might be able to use it," Levris quickly began to rummage on the shelves, pulling out one book after another, "here are simpler spells, and here are more complicated ones, but this one has a couple of useful tips on how to preserve magic for longer. If you succeed, you'll get at least a fourth-grade level. Do your best!"
Levris gave me some final instructions and hurried to register the borrowed books in my name. While she wasn't looking, I discreetly took another book, the one with the bone ornament on it.