Damian's first public class was about magic reading and rune circle comprehension to understand the spells they themselves should learn.
According to everyone, no matter how many spells one learns, they always adapt to the user. Damian had noticed this since he was training his magic mastery and lightning spells.
Looking at the person who would teach the class and knowing he was not a first-class wizard, not even a second-class one, raised doubts about the importance of these classes.
A third-class wizard with a normal appearance, arrogant attitude, and annoyed gaze. His mind wasn't focused on teaching at all; he was obviously only taking this class for credits.
He spoke very quickly and didn't allow anyone to ask questions.
After Adda raised her hand for the third time and was ignored, she pouted in anger.
"Alright, does anyone feel dizzy or even nauseous after hearing about this?" The third-class wizard teacher finally raised his head and asked a general question to everyone.
Seven or eight people in the large classroom raised their hands, all obviously newcomers.
"Hahaha!" The mockery from the third-class wizard leading the lecture was noticeable. "With such little mental strength, I really don't understand how you passed the exam."
Closing the heavy books on the lectern, he straightened his back and crossed his arms over his chest, saying, "Learning about magic and its continuous evolution is what keeps us on equal footing with demons. If you can't understand this, you won't have the ability to evolve your own magic."
The newcomers who raised their hands lowered them due to those words that left them ashamed. There were also dissatisfied students, but they didn't dare openly refute the discomfort they felt.
The third-class wizard slammed the book in his hands and said, "This theory is too basic; there's nothing you should have trouble with if you want to become a wizard. When you study on your own, you should understand the meaning."
What's all the fuss about?
Damian felt there must be another purpose.
And the next moment, the words of the third-class wizard were, "I don't want stupid questions that waste my time; if you really have doubts about any topic, you'll have to offer something in return to get the answer."
His eyes landed on Adda, who had raised her hand several times.
"Do you consider yourself a wizard?"
"Who said that?"
Damian stood up from his seat and openly stared at the magic teacher. "Clearly, your duty is to teach us and answer all our questions; if we ask such obvious questions, it's because your explanation is inefficient."
"Are you saying I didn't explain the classes well?" The mentor's eyebrows furrowed in fury.
"I'm saying your duty is to teach us the basics; how do you expect us to match demons in combat if you're not willing to do your job? In the north, we face the worst waves of war, so stop wasting time complaining and be more open to questions. Do you think we'll win the war if we go this way?"
Everyone fell silent but supported Damian's words; obviously, they could accept being scolded for not paying attention but couldn't bear being humiliated in this way when all they're doing is learning.
"What's your name?"
"Damian, son of two powerful wizards who have faced all of the Demon King's generals." Damian discarded everything he had in mind now; he didn't care about receiving looks or attention because he would be prepared for whatever came.
When the third-class wizard heard this, he fell silent, stared at Damian, and nodded. "I respect your parents, but you will have to earn it with talent. You'll understand my situation if you reach where I stand, but until then, you have no right to speak."
While everyone watched as the mentor left with the books, Adda looked at Damian and asked, "Did your parents face the Demon King's generals, not just one?"
"Maybe yes, maybe no." In Damian's memory, this is what happened, and there was no reason to hide that information in this place.
The people in the large classroom dispersed noisily; the only ones left were the new group of apprentices.
Theodore, who was speaking amicably with Damian yesterday, quickly approached, and his friend Wade followed timidly.
Theodore pulled Adda's sleeve and asked, "Adda, why are you with him?"
"What do you mean?"
Theodore had seen how Damian had unleashed his anger on Luke yesterday and didn't dare look directly at him. "There's a wizard who's upset with him, and now he's just bothered the mentor; don't get involved with him or you'll be affected."
He didn't dare mention what everyone was talking about Damian right now. However, he was sure to tell Adda about Damian's traps and persuade her to stay away from him.
"Do you think other people will treat us kindly? Ha, right now they just spat in our faces, and no one except Damian said anything!" Adda hugged her book and turned around, perfectly imitating the expression of the second-class wizard who had just left.
Without Adda in the middle, Theodore quickly retreated and gave Damian an annoyed look.
"Will you die faster than you expect? Do you think you'll survive your first fight with a demon?" Damian thought as he gathered his things and left quietly.
Theodore looked at Wade and asked, "Did he really ignore me?"
Wade frowned and said, "Let's stay away from him."
...
The second public class was half an hour later, a meditation class.
According to the apprentice manual requirements, Damian knew this class would help them manage magic much better and learn how to control it.
This classroom was circular, with high sides and low corners, the floor covered in thick cushions, and many people were sitting there.
Damian even saw some ranked wizards sitting. He found an empty space to sit in and left a seat for Adda next to him.
But as soon as he sat down, a new apprentice on his left silently took the crystal ball in front of him and changed seats.
"How childish..." Damian was speechless, seeing everyone distancing themselves from him. He wasn't a child like all of them, so this level of exclusion wouldn't affect him at all.
Just before class, Adda, with braided hair, dropped down and sat on Damian's left side.
"Hmm, we'd better not break anything... I went to ask about prices, and I'm afraid we won't be able to afford it even in years."
"What currency do they use?"
"They're credits..."
Both apprentices didn't have credits because they didn't give classes and weren't on the front lines fighting demons.
Class time came quickly, or even passed, but the teacher responsible hadn't arrived yet.
The newcomers began to whisper, while the old apprentices furrowed their brows and sat silently.
Damian handed her some notes he had made to learn how to control magic and not show it so openly like many did.
After that, Damian started breathing in the way he had learned to move his mana and increase it according to his needs.
Damian knew that compressing his magic would get him out of many troubles, and that's what he had been doing so far.
At that moment, steps finally sounded from the entrance. Damian looked up and saw a tall blonde woman walking with a creature that looked like a lizard.
She walked to the front corner of the classroom, loosened the lizard's chain, and stood with her hands on her hips.
"Newcomers who are here for the first time, leave your crystal ball aside and listen to me first. Those who have learned already meditate on their own."
All the older ones set aside their books and focused on meditating to control their magic.
"Is this meditation?" Damian thought as he compared it to his work method.
The instructor at the front began to speak again: "I'm Monica, specializing in thunder elements. If you take my class this afternoon, remember not to bring metallic objects with you."
Damian didn't understand what she meant by this. As he looked at something, a blue arc of electricity suddenly appeared on Monica's face.
The arc appeared and disappeared quickly, but it left a black mark from the left side of Monica's face to her neck.
Monica raised her hand and tore off the charred skin completely from her face, revealing the shiny red texture underneath.
No blood flowed, but the bulging muscles looked extremely suppurative. Especially when such a huge scar appeared on a beautiful woman's face, the strong contrast made many newcomers lower their heads and not dare to look forward again.
What willpower!
Damian didn't stop paying attention to this serious explanation from Monica; she was the first one who really took this class seriously, which was really something to admire.
Crack!
The lizard on the floor began to eat the skin Monica had thrown to the ground. No one said a word.
Each of these wizards they had classes with was very strange. Some seem normal, but they're not on the inside.
Damian lowered his head and looked at the white fingertips coming out of his sleeves.
If he becomes a wizard, will he also become a human-like monster?
"You must understand that to immerse yourself in magic, you must abandon everything; it's not enough to want to be strong because you will face destinies where you must choose to make sacrifices."