'Vasrien's late again.' Mirai muttered to himself, his hands cupping his face as he stared at the teacher's desk, his eyes riddled with annoyance.
Right next to him sat Kaluar, his eyes slowly shutting before jolting awake once more, the lack of sleep getting the better of him.
'You ok, Kaluar? You're going to make it through class like this?' Mirai looked at Kaluar with a look of concern, his eyebrows furrowed as he saw his friend's dreadful state.
'Yeah, i'm fine.' His slurred voice dragged against his throat as he tried to keep his head up which occasionally bobbed up and down trying to stay awake.
'Sorry for being late.' The door opened and Vasrien walked inside. his approaching footsteps causing the class to go dead silent. 'I was discussing some private matters with.... a former associate.'
Kaluar's eyes panned over to Vasrien in a lazy path, his heart skipping a beat when he saw the drops of crimson on his finger tips. His other hand holding a white feathered hat.
Kaluar quickly tried to rub the remnants of sleep from his eyes, the blood that he once saw gone, but the hat remained in his hands as he placed it onto the desk.
'Now, let's get started shall we?'
'Most of you must already be familiar with the universal sign for mana, and unless you're creature without any, you should know the fundamentals of mana.' He turned towards the class, his eyes narrowing when he spotted it.
'Kaluar,' He called out, causing the other students to look directly at him.
His head resting on the desk and his eyes shut tight, reveling in an amazing slumber, Mirai noticed and nudged him, the gazes of Vasrien and the students still focused on him.
'Psst, hey! Wake up!' Mirai hissed, his nudges getting a bit more aggressive.
'What?' Kaluar mumbled rubbing his eyes in hopes of getting rid of any sleep that stayed.
'Why don't you stand up and tell us what mana is Kaluar?' Vasrien suggested, looking towards the board and waiting for his response.
'O-oh well,' Kaluar got up from his seat to speak, he could barely stand, his actions sluggish and slow.
'Mana is,' He stops, pausing to think. He knew he knew this but he couldn't find the words.
'Sit down Kaluar,' Vasrien sighed, a look of disapproval etched on his face as he saw the boy sat down
still sluggish. 'Mana, at its basic form is the power that has carved into us all at birth,'
'Mana is a universal energy with limitations that vary among individuals. These limits can be expanded through rigorous training, which often involves the use of magical artifacts like jewels and runes. Runes, for example, are one such magical item.' Vasrien explained writing on the board.
'Runes, huh don't you have that Mirai?' Kaluar asked, looking at his friend near him.
'Yeah, you gave it to me remember,' Mirai whispered in hopes Vasrien won't hear their conversation.
'Oh yeah,'
'Runes are powerful items that hold and share magic with their users. Runes can take on many forms from a book to a jewel in itself, the magic output of these runes is always significantly high so no need to worry about missing one.'
'The power of runes are all different, all a clean cut from the wizard king 700 years ago,' Vasrien turned to the class, and a hand was flung into the air waiting to be called upon. 'Yes, Kurai? What is it?'
'I've heard many tales of the calamity but this is the first time I heard of the demon king, why is that?' The boy with an X under his eye asked, his words clear and precise.
'Well, during the calamity an interdimensional creature broke through one of the rifts with the other monsters, we called it the demon king because of its many stocks of powers which turned into runes when it was defeated.' Vasiren explained, 'Some of the most noted powers are, eternal wisdom, enhanced fire manipulation, and future sight.'
Kurai nods, taking his seat promptly after his question was answered.
'Runes also have the power to influence the future, being passed down from one life to another if the first user dies with it, but once extracted, all data collected on that person and many others before them is lost and the rune is sent to another ruin.' Vasrien continued, 'But enough of that, where were we? Ah yes, mana.'
Mirai looked over to Kaluar who was once again fast asleep, his eyes heavier than he had first guessed. He could feel the judgmental gaze of the students on the sleeping boy though other than that something else caught his eye.
'Neat goggles,' He muttered looking at the contraption that was nestled on his head, slowly he reached out to touch it.
'Mana can also be used for many things, it could be used to manipulate time to a small degree on small objects, and from that healing magic was born, it can also turn into elements, fire, ice, water, etc, though many people think you only get one element we all have two the second one is locked away deep within our manas.'
'It's rare but some even got a third, though it's most likely a mixture of the other two elements, for example, mist, or something from a magical item or ruin, for example, chains.'
The bell rang, and everyone began to pack their things, Vasrien smiled looking back at the class,
"Remember students please pick your two partners for the expedition next week or they will be chosen for you,"
"Huh? Expedition?" Mirai muttered, Kaluar's goggles in his hand admiring the handiwork. "Oh right, the Expedition!"
Vasrien walked out of the class, taking time to look back at Kaluar and Mirai as they were the only students in the class.
"Oh, next time Mirai, make sure your classmate gets enough sleep, wouldn't want him to fall behind now would we?"
"Yes sir, sorry sir!" Mirai apologized trying to wake Kaluar up,
Vasrien smiled at his sincere apology before he left the room, the door closing ever so slightly behind him.