After having a very heavy meal last night with Edward, Adam went back home and was able to concoct four more healing potions.
But it took him almost the entire night. He was only able to succeed after repeated failures. He was so in the zone that he'd forgotten the passage of time.
And that is the reason why he was currently sleeping in class.
Meanwhile, Edward had gotten a paintbrush from somewhere and was currently painting Adam's face to resemble that of a circus clown.
"Unlike magic combat techniques, the casting of arcane spells requires spell components," said the middle-aged professor with fiery red hair. "There are three components. Some spells require only one component, while others require two."
The professor moved around the classroom with his hands behind his back as he continued the lecture. "Similarly there are also spells that require all three components."
He looked around the classroom and his gaze fell on Adam who was soundly sleeping with his head on the table. Seeing this, the professor frowned. He already had a bad impression of Adam and Edward for coming in late for class on the first day of the academy.
And now that he saw Adam sleeping, he was furious. He stomped in Adam's direction and roared in his ears. "Adam Constantine! Tell me what the three magical components are!"
"Uwaahhhh!" Adam was scared shitless!
He hurriedly stood up and got into a fighting position, looking around in alarm. "Who?! What?! Where?!"
When everyone saw Adam, they burst into laughter. Not because of his sudden reaction to being woken up, but because of how his face was painted. His face was painted white, his lips were red, and there was a blue circle and a square on both his eyes.
Edward, who was sitting next to him, struggled to contain his laughter as he saw Adam make a fool out of himself.
When Adam came to his senses, he realized what a blunder he had made. And when he turned around and saw the professor glaring at him, he almost peed his pants.
"P-Professor Jock, I-I can explain." Adam tried to come up with an excuse, but his heart sank as he saw the professor's facial expression distort with each passing second. And to top it all off, this professor was known in the academy for his bad temper.
Seeing Adam's clown-like face, Professor Jock had great difficulty controlling anger. In the end, he lost it.
"I don't need your damn explanation! Go to the front of the classroom and stand while holding your ears!" He screamed at the top of his lungs.
Adam could only nod helplessly. "Yes, sir…"
He glared at Edward before walking to the front of the classroom. Meanwhile, Edward was covering his mouth and laughing uncontrollably as he looked at his masterpiece of a painting on his roommate's face.
POW!
Professor Jock smacked the back of Edward's head with the book he was carrying. "And you! Go join him!"
Edward rubbed his head and looked at the professor with a wronged expression. He wanted to protest, but seeing the professor's angry face he didn't dare to.
And soon, he too joined Adam.
The professor took a few deep breaths to calm his fiery temper and then proceeded with the lecture. "As I was saying, there are three spell components that are required for spell casting. Who can tell me what they are?"
As always, Lisa was the first student to raise her hand. The professor looked at her with a warm smile and gestured. "Go ahead, child."
All the professors in the academy doted on Lisa. But the same couldn't be said for Adam and Edward.
Lisa nudged her black-rimmed round glasses and replied, "The first is the model component. This requires a Magus to construct a spell model, also commonly known as a magic circle, with their spiritual power, and then inject the spell model with mana to cast the spell."
"Very good!" Professor Jock praised. "Now before we move on, Lisa please remind the class what spiritual power is."
"Spiritual power is the energy generated by the soul," Lisa replied on cue.
Professor Jock nodded with a smile. "Now, tell me about the other two spell components."
"The second is the physical component which requires the Magus to make a series of motions with their fingers or hands to cast a spell.
"And the final spell component is the material component which requires a Magus to sacrifice the required material," Lisa answered thoroughly.
"Splendid!" Professor Jock commended. "You may sit down, child."
Lisa nodded and sat down. She then glanced at Adam and flicked her hair with a 'hmph'.
Seeing this, Adam's eyebrow twitched. This girl… so competitive!
Professor Jock continued the lecture. "Now you all know about the three spell components. Each spell has different requirements in terms of its components. That is why a Magus must always be prepared beforehand…"
As the professor continued speaking to the class, Adam fell into deep thought. Just the purchase of material components is already so expensive. No wonder only children of noble birth can afford to embark on the path of a Magus.
Learning magic was truly an expensive endeavor.
If it wasn't for the memories he had absorbed from the white lotus, Adam would have had no way to make money. Maybe he could have done some odd jobs like he used to back in the day. But was that really viable?
Adam was once again reminded how drastically his life had changed after he acquired the white lotus. And he was eternally grateful for it.
Suddenly, he heard one of the students ask, "Professor, in the beginning, you mentioned something about magic combat techniques. What are those?"
"Well, it's something that you all will be taught from the third year onward," Professor Jock began by rubbing his chin. "But I suppose I can give you a brief introduction to it right now.
"In short, magic combat is the fusion of physical combat and magic. A Magus imbues their weapons with mana, creating a wide variety of formidable techniques."
The class soon ended and Professor Jock left the classroom. This was the last class of the day, so students were free to leave now. Adam still had to sell the ten healing potions, so he decided to go to Old Berger's store.
But before that, he had to get some payback.
Adam looked at Edward while cracking his knuckles. "Oi fatty, what did you do to my face?"
Upon seeing Adam's face, Edward burst into laughter. "You really have a future as a court jester! Hahaha!"
Hearing this, veins began to pop on Adam's forehead. He then immediately pounced on his roommate. "You fatty, get wrecked!"
"Wait, wait, mercy… Gaahhh!!" Edward was given a thorough beating by Adam. The students had all stopped by to witness the fight between a clown and a human-shaped pig. Some even started cheering and betting on the spot.
Lisa shook her head in disdain as she walked past them. "Tarnishing the name of us mighty Magi. How ridiculous!"