The entire class fell silent at the mention of the 'The Great Evil from beyond'. Some students had their heads dropped with eyes closed, mumbling some unclear words under breath. Others were seated upright and frozen like statues.
A curious Richard leaned closer to the girl beside him. She seemed to be praying to one of the deities of Ostaria. She clung her quivering hands around the folds of her skirt as she prayed desperately.
'What in the world just happened? Why is everyone so frightened by the name?' the perplexed Richard asked himself as he lifted his gaze from her and stole a glance at everyone else. He too was shaken at first when Hazel mentioned the name, but that was only an instinctive response from the previous Richard's memories.
The current Richard had no idea what the name meant or who it belonged to.
Hazel tried to stand strong, but she was also shaken, though not as much as the rest of her classmates.
There was a girl seated behind Richard, her hair curled and blonde, her eyes deep brown. Her oval face had no blemish, likewise her smooth pale white skin.
Unlike the rest of her classmates, she wasn't really affected at the mention of the name. She simply closed her eyes and exhaled softly, warding against every negative thought.
Richard didn't notice her though, since she was behind him. And even if she wasn't, he would be too fixated on a particular black haired boy seated before Hazel to even notice.
The boy kept flicking his fingers one after the other, igniting very little flames at their tips. He looked bored and unaffected by the name.
Richard remembered him to be Lucas Kane, a broody guy that had a thing for the princess. The Kane family was nicknamed the family of anomalies, as once every generation, one of them is born with the ability to use two Mage Paths in their lifetime. Lucas was this generation's anomaly, possessing the Luminescent Mage Path, and the Void Mage Path. Two Mage Paths that were already scary individually.
People, children and adults, feared Lucas, and he enjoyed it.
'No wonder he's so calm about this,' Richard shook his head.
"Wow. It's nice to know that you guys understand what kind of threat The Great Evil from Beyond is," Master Kincaid said with a smile and clapped his hands, tearing the veil of silence apart.
Everyone regained themselves and sighed in relief, as though a heavy burden had just eloped them. This only made Richard even more curious.
What was The Great Evil from Beyond? Was it an event or a very powerful being?
The vivid image of two red enormous eyes with hellish flames kindling within them, flashed across Richard's mind and his eyes went wide. He remembered the dream he had before waking up to the realm of Ostaria.
'Could it be?' he stuttered inwardly. 'Was that The Great Evil from Beyond?'
And then, as though the odd silence never happened, the lemon haired elf, Hazel, continued, "Subsidiary paths are assigned to each Mage Path, to further narrow down a Mage's area of expertise. For example, the Resonant Mage Path has the Choristers, Minstrels, Invokers and a few more sub paths under.
"The sub paths are very tricky though. Some have other sub paths under them, while for some, Mages can advance from one sub path to the other. The process is ever changing."
'Seriously? Whoever made the Mage Path and sub paths must have been quite lazy. The system is unpredictable,' Richard shook his head. 'I like the subtle fluidity though.'
Master Kincaid hummed for a second or two before smacking his lips and crossing his legs. He smiled, "That was a really detailed, yet concise explanation, Lady Arthedain. You should really think of becoming a Lecture Mistress or Professor after you graduate."
"That's a nice offer, Master. But..." Hazel smirked and turned her head, fixing her gaze on a sleeping James. She raised her right hand and snapped her fingers.
What proceeded was a subtle boom, almost inaudible. The sound emanated at James's forehead and resonated across his body like a tidal wave.
Like a robot, he suddenly sat upright with gritting teeth, "Ow!"
"I was built for battle," she concluded before taking her seat.
Most of the students laughed at the stunned James, who turned to Hazel and gave her a "why me?" look.
Richard was impressed. What she just did, though might seem small and negligible to others, was as a result of consistent training on precision and range of effect. For her to be able to calculate the sound wave in the exact frequency that wouldn't harm the target, and limit its range to James alone, was definitely no small feat. She was good, if not too good.
'So, I'm guessing she's from the Resonant Mage Path,' Richard made a mental note.
Master Kincaid shook his head at James, before facing the rest of the class and standing from the desk. He straightened his shirt as he announced, "It seems this revision session was much more boring than I thought."
"Exactly!" James and half of the class chorused tiredly.
Master Kincaid shook his head in melancholy, balling his hand and making a star sign on his chest, "Oh, Mother Ahraha, please save us all."
'Ahraha, the goddess of winter. He's a devotee like my family,' Richard thought in reminisce.
"You lot are hopeless," Master Kincaid wouldn't stop shaking his head, his gaze transfixed on James, who wished he could sink into the ground at that moment. "Anyway, that's your business. The written exam doesn't accumulate to much anyway. But it doesn't mean you should neglect the basics. Without the basics, you wouldn't be able to advance as a Mage, or even graduate."
Like a few minutes ago, the class fell silent.
The Master sighed and gestured towards the door, "Come on now, to the second building. Let's put what you've learnt to a test."
Wide smiles were etched on everyone's faces, including Richard's. They had been itching to use some magic ever since the class began.
As for Richard, he couldn't wait to try out his ability under the Resonant Mage Path. It came to him after seeing what Hazel did to James.
He was an Invoker. However, he had no idea what that meant.
But since he and Hazel were under the same Mage Path, he felt he could also do something cool like she did.
Master Kincaid pulled at the air and the door opened at his gesture. Everyone stood up and began to troop out excitedly.
Even Lucas was grinning from ear to ear. Although, he had a more sinister motive.
Hazel quickly made her hair and was about to tap Richard, who was in front of her, when the blonde girl held his hand and pulled him out of the class.
Hazel's hand hung in the air as she sighed depressingly. But, just then, James showed up in front of her with a slight frown.
She dropped her hand and rolled her eyes, "Just let it go, James. Master Kincaid would have done worse if he had caught you sleeping in his class."
"Well, yeah. You have a point. But you should have been more subtle about it," he rubbed his forehead.
She simply smiled and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the class, "You whine too much, James. Let's go before we're left behind."
James exhaled, "I still don't know how I've survived living with you next door."
She scoffed, "Simple. I've made you tougher."
Meanwhile, outside the building, Richard walked side by side with the blonde girl that had pulled him out of the class. She was clad in a blue regal dress, designed with black hand woven embroideries. The embroidery on her chest was shaped like the sun, with a lance piercing down through it from above.
That particular embroidery was a symbol of the Dunes. A symbol of royalty.
'Princess Elora Dune. The girl my sister wouldn't shut up about,' Richard thought as she rubbed her shoulder against him every now and then. He took his eyes away from the building many metres ahead and stole a glance at her, 'Was she a close friend of the former Richard? That part of his memory is quite foggy.'
'I really need a distinct name for him. Calling him the former Richard is exhausting and weird,' he added.
"So, are you giving me the silent treatment because of what happened yesterday?" Elora asked, nudging his shoulder.
He rubbed his shoulder with knitted brows, replying inwardly, 'Trust me, I don't know what you're talking about. Whatever happened yesterday is lost to the previous owner of this body.'
But he had to say something before she got suspicious. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh, no, of course not. I'm just a little nervous about the impromptu test, that's all."
She hummed, "Understandable, considering your very little mana reserve."
'You've got to be kidding me!' Richard creased his brows, panicking inwardly. He didn't need an explanation to know what 'mana reserve' meant. The term was very straightforward. Everyone had a tank of mana in them. That of the Mages were automatically filled to about a third of the tank, past the threshold. Then the Mages with low mana reserves have their tanks filled to a little over half. Those with higher mana reserves have a higher volume.
But as for Richard, his mana reserve was barely a little over the Mage threshold.