Stroking down some of her lemon-green hair, Hazel looked at Richard beside her, her eyes shimmering as she sized him up. Though she looked calm and nonchalant on the outside, she was currently engaged in a war of contemplation in her head.
She was so lost in thoughts, Richard eventually felt her unfettered gaze on him. It made him uneasy, prompting him to half-turn and confirm his suspicion. He met eye to eye with her lustrous hazel eyes.
'They're so beautiful. I'm sure everyone tells her that,' Richard commented inwardly, enthralled by the unique colour of her eyes. There was this sense of warmth and easiness that came from looking into them.
However, he had to snap from his reverie, else he would also be staring at her.
He blinked twice and cleared his throat, "Uh... Hazel?"
His voice yanked her to reality, and, in an instant, she withdrew her eyes from him and sat properly on her chair, fixing her gaze on the board.
Richard sat there listlessly, quite unsure of what had just happened, or what to say.
"Sorry..." she said after a couple of seconds. "I was just thinking. I don't mean to intrude but, what happened to you and the Princess yesterday? I'm sure that has something to do with her not coming to the Academy today. Master Kincaid is also acting very suspicious."
"Um, I'm not sure if I should tell you, especially with the whole Blood Forest situation yesterday," Richard felt really reluctant. Though deep down, he was really eager to tell her. Maybe he could use that chance to ask her to train him. If he couldn't cast a lot of spells, he should at least be very good at the ones he was capable of.
"I told you already. I'm fine," she sighed.
"But it's kind of a confidential information," Richard decided to lengthen the conversation. Master Kincaid was revising a few math problems with them; questions that Richard could solve even while drunk. Ostaria was quite behind Earth when it came to this subject.
"Now you've only made me more curious," Hazel flashed him a smile, an expression that made Richard feel she'd force the information out of him one way or the other.
He smiled sheepishly.
Master Kincaid's ears twitched continuously as his two students wouldn't stop talking. It was as though they had neglected his existence in the class.
His mind wasn't exactly stable that morning. The news about Master Hendrik being a potential Dark Druid really came as a shock. The Dark Druids hadn't been spoken of in so long, that most people thought them to be myths or fables. And those set of people were old men and women, and a few young adults.
Only the Academy students were privy to the information. It was a major topic during history lessons, taught by Master Hendrik himself.
Master Hendrik was more or less a father figure to Master Kincaid. The news was baffling and somewhat heart-breaking. He couldn't sleep, thinking the whole thing through over and over again.
And now that he was trying his best to look tough before his students, Richard and Hazel decided to make the mission harder.
He quickly scribbled two random mathematical problems on the board and turned toward the class, flipping the marker over his fingers.
Clearing his throat, he said boldly, "Mister Greylock and Miss Arthedain, do you mind proffering a solution to these problems?"
"Actually, we do mind... Sir," Richard answered in a stutter. He was so surprised by the sudden attention, that he said whatever came to his head.
The other students chuckled. James simply sunk his head into his table.
'Oh, Chad wasn't good at maths too?' Richard reminisced inwardly. He scoffed as he and Hazel stood up, 'What was his point in existing anyway? He wasn't good at anything.'
The two of them walked over to the board and solved the problems in less than three minutes. Richard assisted Hazel with hers though. The whole class fell silent. Lucas Kane had his eyes squinted, just to be sure that someone else hadn't impersonated Richard's form.
How did he become so learned overnight? That was the question on everyone's minds, including James.
"Hmm..." Master Kincaid hummed in thought.
The class went on for another hour and the topics took on complex forms. Richard was actually mind blown.
Unlike the maths on Earth, the advanced topics here were... In one word, hard! There were alphabets, complex shapes, distorted diagrams, that Richard barely recognised.
The maths here weren't mere calculation to aid science like on earth. It was to aid Magic.
'Magical Mathematics. I didn't see that coming,' Richard scoffed inwardly. He was as confused as he was impressed. 'I take my words back. Ostaria is more advanced.'
The equations were used to form runes and measure the power of spells. The use of runes was a very advanced form of magic. Not everyone could use it. It wasn't a necessity anyway, but to be honest, it was like a cheat code for those who knew how to.
Master Kincaid, as he had done in the first semester of this year, simply skimmed over the topic. They would get to know more about it the further they advanced.
They were still encased in the basic tiers, which were Spellscaster, Murmurer, and Psyon. After graduation, each student could decide whether or not to advance into the higher tiers.
Although the basis of attending the Academy was so that they could all get strong enough to protect Ostaria if the old prophecy came true, they still had to take common jobs and live their lives.
The Great Evil From Beyond, as it was called, might not show up in their generation, or it might never show up at all.
'Rune Magic. I should look into that too,' Richard noted internally, adding it to the list of things to read about at the library.
The class soon came to an end, and Richard and James would have jumped to their feet if the next Master, or Mistress in this case, hadn't walked in. She was someone that kept to time.
She was Mistress Sersie, the fitness and endurance Mistress.
Master Kincaid gestured for the two lads to calm down before he left the class.
Richard decided to submerge himself in his thoughts as the Mistress began teaching.