When Nick got to the library, he returned the book on meditation and obtained one on foundation laws titled, 'The Foundation of the Mindscape'. After thanking the librarian for his recommendation Nick went back to River-Run dorm. Nick bought lunch at the cafeteria that included pasta, chicken and orange juice, he ate in the cafeteria. After finishing his meal, he went to his room; the time is now 3 pm. Nick spent the next three hours reading the book on spells that Norman had given him, then he spent another 3 hours reading one of his geometry text books. He finished reading at 9 pm. Nick left his room to go to the cafeteria where he got a dinner of rice, fried chicken, gravy and vegetables; he returned to his room to eat his meal; it's great that the cafeteria operates all day, everyday. When he finished eating Nick took out the scrolls of spells he had gotten from Norman as well as the blank special papers. Nick started practicing writing scrolls by copying various spells onto the blank papers. He didn't bother testing them because he didn't want to mess up his room or anything in it. He still remembered what happened to his last rug and he didn't want to become a victim of his eagerness. By the time the blank special papers were finished it was 9 am on Saturday morning. No classes are held on the weekends without special reason so Nick had the whole day and Sunday free.
(Then again, the rules state that classes must be attended in the first week of school but after that you can decide whether to schedule classes or not. Hmmm...although I like the lectures, I have a clear lack of knowledge which makes the help the lectures give to me limited at this point. For now I should focus on building my knowledge by reading books and practicing writing scrolls. So its decided, for now I won't be scheduling anymore classes and will be spending my days reading books and translating and writing scrolls.)
Nick spent about thirty minutes doing push ups and then he showered and got dressed. He went to the cafeteria for breakfast. He ordered a meal of eggs, sausages and pancakes with syrup as well as some snacks so that he would not have to leave his room again today and tomorrow. Nick took all his food back to his room, he spent thirty minutes eating and then he went to sleep.
RIIIINNNNGGGGG
Nick woke up via his phone alarm at 3 am.
(That's more than twelve hours of sleep. I guess I was more tired than I thought. I'm used to pushing my feelings aside so I didn't notice until now but I've been doing nothing but studying and going to classes and its clearly taken a toll. I feel like shit.)
Nick didn't care about his temporary feelings of fatigue because he knew that what he did in these moments were what really counted. Nick played some old rock music that he had on his phone, trying to get his energy up; it was Centuries by Fall Out Boy. This song is a classic. Nick spent almost the next hour doing push ups. When he finished with his exercise, he showered and got back to studying. He started with his book on spells and didn't stop until it was around 2 pm. He ate some snacks and began reading one of the geometry texts on his laptop. He finished that book at around 9 pm. Nick took a two hour nap and when he woke up he washed his face and then started reading the book he got from the library on foundation laws.
RIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGG
Nick's 3 am alarm went off while he was still reading his book. He stopped reading and decided to practice his scroll writing.
(It's Monday now but since I haven't scheduled any classes, I don't need to leave my room except to go to the cafeteria. It's pretty handy that new toiletries appear in the bathroom at set intervals, I don't have to buy them myself.)
Nick found that out recently when a new set of bath soap, toothpaste, deodorant and similar things just appeared on his bathroom's counter; the entire room was even self cleaning. He didn't have to do chores or go to a convenience store. He had all the time in the world to study.
"Magic's fucking awesome, ha,ha..."
(I have to go to the spell creation club every Friday to report my progress regarding the book on spells that I got from Norman as well as to get new scrolls to translate and more blank papers to practice with. Besides that, I'm going to spend most of my time in this room studying from here on out.)
...
For the next five months Nick did not leave his room except to go to the cafeteria, library or the spell creation club. In that time he finished reading and reporting on five spell related books to Norman. Norman was pleased with his progress but still put most of his effort in instructing Derek and Lana. Nick did not interact much with Derek or Lana and would just greet them whenever he came into the club; they were busy with their own tasks so they didn't pay much attention to Nick anyway. Nick made other progress in that time as well, at the end of a little over five months Nick had read thirty books related to meditation, foundation laws and Valteese and eleven books related to geometry and number theory. Nick had also practiced translating and writing scrolls everyday so he was now almost fluent in writing Valteese, although, he still had some issues speaking it coherently.
Nick is currently in the spell creation club giving a report to Norman on what he has learnt from the last spell related book he had read.
"...In conclusion, spells are absolute manifestations of the Magician's will. A Magician's will is related to his desires and knowledge and is like the ignition that causes the laws written in Valteese to manipulate magic energy. Spell usage requires absolute conviction on the Magician's part and that cannot be lacking if he is to cast a spell successfully. I'm not a religious man professor but I found a verse in the bible that I think perfectly describes the mindset that is required for a Magician. Do you want to hear it."
"He, He...go ahead young man."
Norman approved.
"Mark chapter 11, verse 23: `Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.`"
CLAP, CLAP, CLAP.
"I swear you are the most thought driven student I have ever met. You certainly love the ideas contained in the books that you read. You've even read the bible, in today's age who even does that? Anyway, you've done well so far, upholding my expectations, even becoming fluent in writing Valteese; good, good, good. You should have a mid-year exam coming up soon, since you haven't formed your mindscape yet, you'll be at a disadvantage compared to your other classmates. Since your such a 'good' young man I'll tell you beforehand. In the next two week, students must participate in a little magic sparring and they will be given a grade based on how well they execute their spells and the quality of their magic or whatever magic or spell they use. Are you prepared to get a good grade?"
Nick scratched his head.
"Professor Norman, I'm just a bookworm, I don't know much about using magic to spar but I'll try my best. Why is the mid-year exam a sparring battle instead of tests of our knowledge?"
Norman rubbed his beard.
"Hmph...young man, the purpose of knowledge is action. Being a Magician is dangerous, no one cares how much you know if you can't produce anything worthwhile or make effective use of your knowledge to help yourself. Take that to heart. We are not scholars alone and this is not a university, WE ARE MAGICIANS! Our jobs involve making societies better through adventure and discovery. You've got to be tough to endure the tribulations ahead. Being a bookworm isn't enough so do some preparations and make me proud. It's against the rules for me to give you any direct help for the exam but if you have any questions, I will answer, you don't need to do anymore tasks until the exam is over. You can leave now."
"Thank you professor."
Norman went back to speaking with Derek about his spells. Lana took a sharp look at Nick for a few seconds when she thought Nick wasn't looking but went back to checking her documents soon thereafter. Nick sighed internally at this, as they say, 'success breeds contempt'. Nick made so much progress in the past few months that even Norman openly praises him. This clearly displeased Derek and Lana, especially Lana but there was nothing Nick could do about it so he simply ignored the negative emotions of his club-mates. Nick knew that they were also doing well for themselves so they shouldn't do anything to him, at least for right now. Nick said his goodbyes and left. He returned to his room to sort through his thoughts. He checked his phone and saw an email detailing that there was indeed going to be a special exam in two weeks and that it was mandatory. The email also said that he would be notified of the exam's details in one week. It seems Norman gave me an extra week to prepare for the spar. Nick could feel Norman's support from this since probably not all students would know that the exam would take the form of a spar.
(I've returned my last library book but haven't picked up another one because I want to just focus on writing scrolls for now. Since the exam is a spar I need some battle related spells in order to do well. Hmmm...I have in mind some spells that I want to create but it's a long shot since their creation involves me making original laws. Sigh, I'll just have to do my best.)
(I'm only in the initial stages of creating my own meditation and modifying the Laws of Syracuse so I have no hope of using my own magic energy, that's disadvantageous but if I can't get through just this little hurdle, I should just give up on being a Magician.)
Nick spent the rest of the afternoon planning out what he would be doing for the next two weeks.