"Many thanks." Cypher said.
"No problem boy. You must be Cypher, the one Saphi sent. To still have the desire to learn at your age is quite noble, I hope you can maintain that motivation once our lessons begin."
"Don't worry, Sir, I take all my endeavors very seriously."
"Good! Then come join us." The old man said with a smile, guiding Cypher into the room.
"Say hello everyone, this is our new student, Cypher." The old man introduced.
"Why are you wearing a mask, are you ugly or something?" One child said with a laugh, giving another the courage to join him.
"Why's he so old, is he stupid?" One student asked, causing the others to let out a loud laugh.
Cypher wasn't so thin-skinned that he would be offended by some children, so he just ignored their jesting.
But the old man seemed far less satisfied. Picking up a long ruler stick, he slapped it heavily against the table, silencing the laughing students.
"Remember, there are no stupid people, only those who are willing to learn, and those who aren't. Understood?"
"Understood!" The crowd shouted back, not trying to push the old man any further.
"Good. Well Cypher, go ahead and take a seat at the back, you've come at a good time, these brats still don't know much, so our lessons should be right at your speed." The old man said, before getting into the lesson.
Cypher took a seat at a small desk that could barely fit him, making him look quite awkward, but he ignored that, focusing on the lesson with interest.
The other children seemed bored with the lesson, instead finding much more joy in messing with Cypher.
One child rolled up a small ball of paper before tossing it at him, meanwhile another would constantly poke at him with their pen.
They couldn't help but giggle as they constantly annoyed Cypher, thinking that this was much more interesting then listening to that old man harp on endlessly.
Cypher wasn't about to fight with some children, so he tried his best to ignore their mischief as he focused on the lesson.
Seeing the lack of reaction, the children decided to push things even further. One kicking Cypher's leg from under the desk.
Even as disciplined as Cypher was, he started to get annoyed, finding it hard to concentrate with these kids messing with him.
But again, he calmed himself down, ignoring their games. Again the children were annoyed, pushing even more.
One even went so far as to put a paper ball into his mouth, swishing it around for a bit before spitting it back out and tossing it towards Cypher.
Now that was going too far, and Cypher wasn't going to take it anymore. Reaching out, he grabbed the nasty spit ball in between his fingers, before flicking it back.
With his tremendous strength, the spit ball shot back like a bullet, landing smack dab in the middle of the boy's head, nearly sending him out of his chair.
The other children couldn't help but gulp as they saw it all unfold, freezing mid action. Cypher scanned them each with his frigid blue eyes from behind his somewhat scary mask, causing them to go pale.
Finally, after seeing Cypher's strength, the children gave up, much to his relief. With the children no longer brave enough to mess with him, the rest of the lesson went on without a hitch, and he learned a lot.
"Well everyone, let's call it a day. Don't forget to finish your homework for tomorrow."
"Ugh, even when school is over, we still have more work? This isn't fair!"
"Shhh, the old man might give us even more work if he hears you."
The children quickly poured out of the room the second the old man dismissed them, wanting to go out and play.
Meanwhile Cypher stayed behind, wanting to ask the old man a few questions before leaving.
"Do you need something Cypher?" The old man asked, noticing Cypher wasn't leaving.
"I just have a few questions if you don't mind."
"No problem."
With the old man's go ahead, Cypher began firing off question after question. He was mostly ignorant a lesson ago, so he had a lot of questions on his mind.
The old man was clearly very experienced, answering each one of Cypher's questions with any problems.
However as Cypher constantly fired off more questions, even the old man couldn't help but become slightly exhausted.
"Boy, you'll kill me if you keep asking questions like this. How about this, take this book home with you and give it a try." The old man said, handing Cypher a picture book meant for children.
Though considering Cypher's current level, the book was exactly what he needed. Taking it with a thanks, Cypher finally left, to the old man's relief.
Before going home, Cypher took a stop in the forest, getting in a few hours of training before finally heading back to the inn, going up to his room, and taking a seat at his small desk.
The old man had been teaching them about letters and their sounds during the previous lesson, so Cypher's memory was still fresh.
Taking out a pen and some paper he had previously purchased, he began copying the words down from the book while mouthing them out, burning the knowledge into his mind.
Occasionally he'd come across a letter he'd forgotten, so he just marked it down before moving onto another word.
Hours quickly passed as Cypher flipped through the book more than a dozen times, thoroughly memorizing all its contents.
After feeling satisfied, Cypher then began going through the alphabet letter by letter, writing out all the ones he could remember.
He did this until ten pieces of paper were completely filled to the brim with the writing, only stopping when the sun began to set.
Curious about his current level, he pulled back out Astor's book from its hidden spot, flipping over and giving it a read.
While he could now tell what sounds most words made, he still had no idea what they meant, clearly still far from reaching an adult level.
It was still a good start, so after putting the book back into its hiding spot, he tucked himself into bed and called it a night.
…
The next morning, Cypher woke up early and headed straight to class. This time the children weren't bothering him, so he absorbed the lesson in its entirety, even taking notes.
After an hour or so, the old man dismissed everyone. Cypher tucked away his notes into a small bag he had bought just for the occasion.
As he was leaving the class and about to head to the forest for his daily training, he was surprised to find Saphi waiting for him by the door.
"What are you doing here?"
"Surprised? I thought I'd come check in on you. How are the classes going?" Saphi said with a giggle.
"Pretty good, though the first day was a bit rough." Cypher said.
"Rough? Why?" Saphi asked curiously as the two walked through the streets.
"Those kids are pretty ruthless, they started bullying me."
Hearing that, Saphi couldn't help but break out into laughter, the thought of a couple of waist high children tormenting Cypher nearly made her belly burst.
"Are you done?"
"Sorry, sorry. The thought is just too funny." Saphi said, while wiping the tears from her eyes.
The two kept chatting and laughing as they walked aimlessly, however their conversation was cut short when a man interrupted them.
The man was surrounded by a couple of youths his age, but they were all about half a step behind him, making it clear who the leader of this little group was.
"Saphi, what a pleasant surprise bumping into you. Me and my friends were about to go to lunch, care to join us?" The man said with a gentle smile, not even acknowledging Cypher's presence.
"Sorry, I already have plans with my friend." Saphi said, pointing out Cypher.
"Oh? And this is?"
"Must be some sort of freak seeing as how he's wearing a mask." One friend couldn't help but snicker.
"Don't say that." The man chastised, though the smirk on his face showcased his true feelings.
"Ignore them Cypher, let's go." Saphi said, forcefully pulling Cypher away from the crowd.
"It really isn't easy being friends with you." Cypher couldn't help but say as he looked at the small group disappear into the distance, hoping that they wouldn't bother him in the future.
"Don't worry about him, he's all bark no bite." Saphi said, sensing Cypher's worries.