Over the course of the next eight weeks at Tilanaz Academy, the air was abuzz with change and adaptation.
After that first week ended, the rest of the professors came back looking as pristine as ever. The students were told that the conflict was over and dealt with, and that the enemy was still no match for the Houndorian Kingdom.
In regards to what happened to their professor, they were simply told that Professor Eldrin was killed in an initial surprise attack planned by the enemy.
They had purposefully left weaker forces on their front lines to lull their opponents into a false sense of security, before striking with their true forces in a surge of wicked combat.
Unfortunately, Professor Eldrin was part of that frontal squad as her rituals were good at containing large areas of enemies and clearing a path for the main forces.
Once the other professors returned, life went back to normal at Tilanaz- or as normal as it could get after such a shock- and they all started up classes once again. However, the professors seemed much more focused then they were before and began to crack down a bit harder on their students performance.
This added pressure was most definitely due to the conflict that took place, and most students guessed that the conflict was not really over. And since the students would be called to war should things reach a heightened point the professors were going to make sure their students, even first-years, were ready.
Professor Varex made sure that all the students were able to perform Form Demon 2 by the end of the month or they simply failed his class, risking being kicked out from the academy.
After they had all learned Form Demon 2, he began focusing on teaching them how to power up their starting forms so that they could withstand higher level body enhancement rituals. For his more proficient students, including the trio, he began teaching them high level body enhancement rituals that enhanced their fighting styles.
Coli was taught a formation that would increase his agility, letting him both cast complicated rituals faster, as well as allowing him to keep his opponent out of reach. Celia was shown a ritual that boosted her physical strength immensely, since her agility was already top notch she simply needed more power to the many hits she would land.
Kendell was given a formation that enhanced his reflexes to the utmost degree. With this he would also be able to cast rituals faster, however he would also be more aware of his surroundings during a fight and be able to react with greater speed. After discussing his plan to use both complicated rituals and some form of body enhancement rituals with Professor Varex, this is the solution the professor came up with.
Luckily with his system, Kendell was able to absorb the ritual instantly, and simply worked on the mastery over it instead.
Celia also went into personal training with Professor Varex since she was his pupil, and he began to teach her the Golden Demon Formation.
Professor Grent also increased the pace of her class and ensured that all of her students could perform the fundamental sealing rituals of each type of foreign creature within that same month. She never explicitly said they would fail, but the students put forth their best effort regardless since it was implied.
They were given real application practice once their seals were deemed 'proper' and live devils or fey were called on to perform sealing rituals on. They were judged on their accuracy and timing to ensure that whatever appeared would be appropriately sealed away.
As the weeks progressed, the amount of time they were given to seal away the creatures went down- forcing them to keep working hard at their sealing rituals.
Professor Elarion kept her class at roughly the same pace, which felt like a miracle to most students since they were trying desperately to keep up with the updated curriculum in their other courses.
The remainder of that first month was spent finalizing and practicing with students personal ritual circles. Her teaching assistants would come in once a week to check on their progress and help sort out any issues the students were having.
After that month was over, the professor began instructing them on other types of ritual languages to enhance the power of their rituals, as well as symbols and sacrificing methods to produce stronger rituals.
This class was Kendell's personal favorite since it taught him more about the world he was thrown into. He learned about the degrees of mastery in ritual casting: Mastery 1 through 3 was considered elementary mastery, with beginner, middle and peak, being the classifications for 1 through 3 respectively. Mastery 4 through 6 was called the intermediate mastery level, while 7 through 9 were called the advanced mastery level.
Once someone passed the 9th level of mastery it was considered the expert level, however anything past that was not placed into a category since each level of mastery past 9 could be considered its own mastery level entirely. Apparently the higher the level of mastery, the higher the jump in power.
Professor Falis was still a great source of knowledge for the students and would help them learn about all of their classes when they had trouble. He began teaching them about the current political state of the surrounding countries as well.
Everything he explained was what Kendell had already read up on, but hearing it reiterated made it sound like something was being hidden.
The students, still coming to terms with the loss of Professor Eldrin, found guidance in the form of their new History of Rituals teacher, Professor Lyra Grenton.
Professor Grenton's arrival was like a fresh breeze through the academy's halls. Her impressive credentials and exploratory spirit immediately captivated the students. With her extensive background in delving into ancient civilizations and uncovering long-lost magical practices, she brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to her teachings.
Her past adventures included expeditions to the Ruins of Keth, where she uncovered the remains of an ancient magical society, and her groundbreaking research on the lost city of Velnar, which shed light on previously unknown ritualistic practices.
Professor Grenton's passion for history was not just academic; it was a living, breathing quest for understanding the mystical legacies of the past.
In her classes, Professor Grenton emphasized the interconnectedness of historical knowledge and practical application. Her lectures were more than just a recount of events; they were lessons in understanding the evolution of magical thought and its impact on current practices.
Students found themselves eagerly awaiting each session, ready to absorb her insights on ancient rituals and their relevance in modern-day magic. Her class was a wonderful break from the exhausting pressure of the rest of their classes, and exposed them to new types of rituals or magic- increasing their knowledge of both what they were capable of, and what an enemy might be capable of as well.
She also took any students under Professor Eldrin in as her own, which to Coli, felt like his world was saved. She began teaching him the histories of forgotten rituals and showed him an ancient civilization of Fey, that she had personally uncovered.
They were electrical in nature and he seemed to have an affinity for them too- just like the Fey from his club- but that was all Coli would tell the trio. He was saving the big debut for the professor tournament, which was still on. Not only did the professors want bragging rights, but it would be a show of inspiration for the first-years to see not only the best of their peers battling it out- but the higher years as well.
Combat practice still did not have an instructor, and the students were told that their professor was still out in the field trying to make great strides for the Houndorian Kingdom. Professor Falis or Varex would often lead them in combat exercises in the mysterious professors' place or would let them practice sparring in the arena.
Kendell, meanwhile, continued to make significant strides in his own magical journey. The secluded practice space granted by the Vice-Headmaster had become his personal haven, a testing ground for his burgeoning skills in body morphing rituals.
His dedication to mastering the Skarlix's forms was evident in his growing proficiency. The Serpent Form had honed his stealth and agility, allowing him to move with unprecedented speed and silence. The Assassin Form's shadowy talons had become a weapon of choice for quick, surprise attacks, catching his simulated opponents off guard.
But it was in the Sovereign Form that Kendell found his true calling. The power to shape and manipulate shadows opened up a world of possibilities. He experimented with various shadow constructs, from defensive barriers to offensive weapons, each practice session broadening his tactical acumen. Kendell's control over these forms had evolved from mere physical transformation to a deeper, more intuitive connection with the Skarlix's essence.
He had spent the past few months, not only training with these forms, but abusing his system to increase his mastery in all of his rituals. Enhancing his body morphing rituals to mastery three was incredibly taxing, and he was really only able to enhance one ritual to mastery three per day because of it.
However, after pushing his three forms to the peak of the elementary mastery level, he decided to try and push his Sovereign Form to the beginning mastery of the intermediate level.
He had sat down in his private room and began to focus on all the energy swirling around him. Then unfortunately he told the system to increase his mastery to the fourth level.
The pain was so sharp and immediate that he tore a chunk of his cheek when he bit down, his vision went blurry and he squeezed his body together trying his best to fight the pain. The pain was in every fiber, every speck of his being. It felt as if the atoms that made him were individually on fire. He lasted roughly twenty seconds before passing out.
He woke up the next day to the Vice-Headmaster shaking him awake and asking what happened, he grinned and told her he had been practicing all night and he was sorry to have disrupted her space.
She shook her head and muttered that he was a damn masochist under her breath, but of course he was grinning for a different reason. He had reached mastery 4 for his sovereign form.
After that experience, he waited on leveling any other ritual to mastery 4 and simply got the rest of his rituals to mastery 3 instead. The pain was still immense, but he could bear at least one a day.
He had also tried increasing his mastery over the Golden Demon Enhancement, however the amount of energy needed to increase that ritual was too immense. The jump from beginning mastery one to middle mastery two was so immense it felt a bit stronger than raising others to peak mastery three.
The same happened for the Draganov's Mastery Ritual, leading Kendell to think that the more powerful the ritual, the more that having an affinity for the ritual played a role. Thanks to his Seal of the Deceiver, and his ties to Azmoth, the body morphing rituals seemed to adapt to his body easily.
[Jared Martel, reborn into Kendell Hecrule]
[Rituals]
[Tatiana's Energy Control : Current Mastery | 1]
[ Elemental Reading: Current Mastery | 1 ]
[ Body Enhancement Ritual, Form Demon I: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Body Enhancement Ritual, Form Demon 2: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Body Enhancement Ritual, Golden Demon's Enhancement: Current Mastery | 2 ]
[ Body Enhancement Ritual, Heavenly Reflexes Enhancement: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Body Enhancement Ritual, Dragonov's Mastery: Current Mastery | 2 ]
[ Body Morphing Ritual, Skarlix's Serpent Form: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Body Morphing Ritual, Skarlix's Assassin Form: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Body Morphing Ritual, Skarlix's Sovereign Form: Current Mastery | 4 ]
[ Shadow Gate Circle: Current Mastery | 1 ]
[ Devil Contracts - Binding Summon, Azmoth: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ The Perfect Escape - Azmoth Contract Ritual: Current Mastery | 3 ]
[ Seal of the Deceiver ]
[-----------------------------------]
[Forbidden Rituals]
[Forbidden Rituals: Planar Transfer: Attempts Remaining | NULL]
[-----------------------------------]
He left the ritual he got from the Vice-Headmaster alone, since she had said he couldn't control it for a while still. After nearly exposing his secret last time, he figured this wasn't a ritual he cared to much about powering up yet.
During his down time during the week he was typically with Celia and Coli either studying or working on his personal rituals within the Ritual Research Club with Marcus, who was helping him develop two more rituals- even though they were not finished yet they had made a lot of progress.
These shared sessions with Celia and Coli were invaluable. The trio's dynamic was one of mutual support and healthy competition.
As they shared their progress and challenges, they also offered fresh perspectives and strategies, enriching each other's learning experience.
Celia's continued refinement of her Dargonov family ritual and Coli's groundbreaking curse ritual, powered by his contracted Fey, added new dimensions to their group's capabilities.
They practiced working as a team in the study hall and in a few combat practices, so that they would be ready to work together whenever needed. Mostly, they were worried about working together for the professors tournament.
Amidst their academic and combat training, Kendell made it a point to broaden his understanding of the world's geopolitical landscape. The library became a frequent stop, where he delved into books detailing the history of Houndoria and its neighboring countries.
The stories of past conflicts, the rise and fall of empires, and the evolving nature of magical warfare provided him with a context for the current tensions.
The tales of the Ganalaian War and the legendary exploits of the Golden Demon, Professor Varex, in the Sharinhiem Conflict, were particularly enlightening. Yet, Kendell couldn't help but question the narratives presented, sensing layers of complexity and untold stories behind the glorified accounts.
As the weeks progressed, the reality of their situation sank in. The academy was no mere educational institution; it was a training ground for those who would stand at the forefront of magical and political upheavals.
The conflict at the northern border might have been hushed by the professors, but it was a stark reminder to all the students that their skills and knowledge had implications far beyond the academy's walls.