"Thursday, it's Thursday, and I am so discouraged from going to class. Damn this mage academy!" Zain cursed.
Getting up from his bed, the sun was yet to visibly rise, but still, he quickly tidied up himself. He had his bath, brushed his teeth, and then headed for his hair.
Zain slumped in his chair when he was done, staring at the pile of scrolls and textbooks that seemed to be mocking him from across the table. The flickering candlelight cast shadows that danced like the frustrating magic he struggled to master. He had always dreamed of becoming a powerful mage, but the relentless pressure of the academy was starting nearly make him wish he wasn't a mage.
"Damn, I hate that man," Zain spoke to himself. "What's his name again... Uhhhh... Growl."
"Yeah, Growl!" Zain said to himself as he stared at the ceiling. Raising one hand, he observed, "My body is back to normal, in perfect shape again; not even a scar left from all the lashes he gave me." Zain observed, although this wasn't new to him.
"I kinda like my body; it just goes on and heals itself. It saves me the stress of wasting my points on healing potions and stuff like that. I can get stronger if I keep things going like this, but..."
"Why do I even bother?" he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. The other students seemed to grasp the concepts after a short while of failure, while he felt like he was drowning in a sea of incantations and arcane theories.
"Why is magic so hard and impossible for me?"
Just then, a voice broke through his thoughts from his door. "Hey, Zain! You ready for class?"
"Huh!" Zain nearly jumped out of his bed. A visitor at his dorm... this is a complete shock.
"If I had never heard my name, I would have ignored and assumed it was from the second door."
Zain hastily approached the door. Opening the door, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Kox!"
Of anyone that could have possibly been here, Kox, who had rejected him before he even got the chance to speak, was at his doorstep.
Kox had a genuine-looking smile on his face as Zain opened his door. "I have a bad feeling about this," Zain thought.
"What do you want? What is your actual purpose for visiting?" Zain asked sharply, not even acknowledging the smile on Kox's face.
Sigh!
With a sigh, Kox replied.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you what you want to hear. I was feeling guilty about the way I turned you down yesterday, and I decided to make up for it."
"Impossible! How is this happening? This cannot be the true purpose, can it?" Zain was astonished.
"You... You..."
"Relax," Kox chimed in. "I am here bombastically ready to be your friend and help you out in learning your magic."
"I cannot just turn you down; that would be bombastic of me. I also plan on making allies stronger than me who will help me learn my magic to a refined stage."
"If I turn you down now and they turn me down later, I'll just blame myself," Kox explained. "So can I come in, or are you going to leave your guest outside, standing?"
Does he even know what he is saying? He keeps adding 'bombastic,' yet I strangely understand what he is saying.
"Oh, right... I'm so sorry. Please come inside," Zain said as he opened the door with an apologetic bow.
"Right!"
"It's going to be a while before class starts, so we should have a little chat," Kox spoke.
"About your core, I noticed you couldn't connect with it yet. He have you been able to connect with it yet?"
Disappointed, Zain replied, "No, I haven't. I cannot even feel my magic at all."
"Hmmm, that's rare. But didn't you have a one-on-one extra class with Growl?"
"Oh, that monster! I did, and I didn't feel any different—no improvement," Zain replied.
"I didn't expect this as an answer, while you still look like one in good shape. Growl didn't use violence on you, did he?"
Zain chuckled nervously as he stared at the ceiling, remembering how things had gone with Growl. "You think?"
---
It had been quite a while since Kox had been chatting with Zain, and they decided to walk to class together and soon got there.
The class was complete at the moment, with students chatting—nearly all the students were in bandages, except Zain, who had already healed from the damage inflicted on him, and Kox, who hadn't suffered a single hit from Growl.
The class was complete and strangely quiet at the moment as their teacher, who was to take them for the day's subject, stepped into the hallway where their classroom was located.
"I just hope the teacher for today isn't Growl," Zain wished hopefully.
From the teaching schedule, the lesson for the day was magic practice.
The previous day, the subject Growl taught was mage combat, and when one came to think of it, it kind of aligns with magic practice.
The school is a huge one, with many classes. Even when there are lots of teachers, it is never enough.
There are a total of four different subjects that are repeated every week on their designated days.
These four subjects are different but not so distinct from each other. The first two days of class are similar, while the next two days' classes are completely different from the last pair of days but similar to each other as well.
The school does not have enough teachers to teach such an incredible number of students, so there is a chance that teachers can be repeated on similar subjects.
Just like Mrs. Ghost taught Mage's Knowledge and History, that also makes it possible for Mr. Growl to teach Combat and Magic Practice. But it isn't completely certain; there is a chance that the teacher for the day can change, but it is a slim chance.
The torture all the students faced during Growl's previous class is something they do not want to experience for a second time.
*Creak!*
The classroom door that wasn't supposed to be locked, but was locked for some strange reason, opened up with a creepy creek sound that increased the chills in the room, and then...
For an unknown reason, there was a delay after the door opened; the person who was supposed to handle the class lesson remained in a position where no one could see him.
"Damn! Hurry up already!" Zain didn't even dare say this out loud as a whisper. "What's the delay for?"
The figure finally placed a leg through the door and then...
"Tadaaaaa! Who missed me?" He sprinted into the classroom with a wide smirk.
The class was dead quiet while all the students tried to digest the displeasure of who had come in: it was Growl.
"I will be your magic training teacher for today!"
"The loud silence on the class didn't stop. Today will not be like yesterday though, I will be going all out." Growl said.
With the spell imbued to the class under his control, Growl clapped twice and they were all teleported out of the room by a flash of white light.