Chapter 17: Chapter 16 - Self improvement

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”...and next up we come to the first years. Menkhaf, you’re in charge of class I-1. What do you have for us?” The Headmistress directed the meeting while the teachers that had no contact with the newest students nor any interest in them filed out of the room. The teachers usually taught several classes to several years of students, but even with that, they had more than a thousand teachers. In addition to the regular teachers were the guest lecturers, so these meetings tended to balloon out of hand if they didn’t rotate people in and out. Tsumi noted that more than the usual amount of curious teachers stuck around to listen despite not teaching the first years.

“Do you want me to start with the obvious outlier, or with the others?” Menkhaf asked wryly, knowing exactly why so many teachers had stuck around.

“Let’s go with the others first.” Tsumi decided with a small smile. If they wanted information on Karna, then the least she could do was to force them to sit through the report on the others first.

“Well, the students of this year’s first class are above the average in many ways. More people than normal qualified for elective classes, and they even made rather smart choices. It’s also obvious that the higher than usual standard is driving the students to work even harder than we see during an average year. Interestingly, that particular mixed group formed by four of the top ten students, which we’re all interested in, inspired the rest of the class to also diversify their little cliques a bit more than usual. We’re seeing the different races of the class I-1 talking and interacting a lot more frequently than usual.” Menkhaf started thoughtfully while idly tugging at his beard.

“Are they actually getting results though?” One of the second year teachers asked. That’s what they would be more interested in, as they’d be teaching the ones that actually managed to pass the exams at the end of the year. The first year always saw the most people passing those exams in a single year as there was only so much you could teach during the first year, but it also saw the most drop-outs due to the packed schedule and a workload that surprised many new students unused to such hard work.

“Difficult to say anything definite yet since we’ve only been teaching them for three months, but I have every reason to believe they’re working hard. At least during lessons they seem to have absorbed the material. Some of them are showing excellent results, which is skewing the curve a bit and making it harder to judge the class’s level in general. The ten best students are doing so well that the others have trouble keeping up.” Menkhaf explained the dilemma.

“At least they are doing their best and working extremely hard in my class.” The teacher in charge of combat and physical education said gruffly. “I’ve heard very few complaints after the first class, though that’s partially because a little girl is kicking all their asses when it comes to both results and work ethics. It’s kind of difficult to complain when a kid at least two years your junior does everything I order without protest.”

“Which I suppose brings us to Karna. I heard you gave her a challenge Menkhaf?” Tsumi questioned. Karna had mentioned it during one of their talks.

“Yes. The girl took three artisan courses, and I suspected she might be underestimating the subjects. She crushed the challenge truth be told. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was great at absorbing information. There’s a slight problem though. We got a bit enthusiastic with the challenge, and dumped the entire theoretical knowledge of the first five artisan courses from all three of the subjects on her, instead of just the first course from each. Now we’re just putting the theory into practice, and we can’t even keep doing that without going into those advanced courses during practice as well. Instead of teaching her three artisan courses, we’re basically doing the abbreviated version of fifteen. I’m not sure it’s wise to go into the practicals of the most advanced artisan classes so soon, especially since those courses are not offered to first-year students." Menkhaf half bragged and half complained. They’d already gone overboard with the theoretical knowledge so it was hard to pull back now.

“Has she shown any indication of being a Blessed Child?” Tsumi asked with a neutral tone while leaning over the table with her hands steepled in front of her mouth. She had asked the artisan teachers to pay special attention. She already knew Karna came from the Divine Plane, but she couldn’t be certain whether she was a Blessed Child as well. The artisan classes were one of the best ways to confirm her suspicions though.

“So far, no. The speed at which she is learning is abnormal, but she hasn’t shown any indication of knowing something she shouldn’t. At least not something she couldn’t have easily picked up with a bit of self-study, practice, or from her father.” Menkhaf replied with a degree of confidence. "She's a very smart girl, but nothing that can't be explained with enough talent, excellent memory, and hard work."

Tsumi considered his words for a moment. The girl knew to be somewhat careful at least, in which case the risk of being discovered was much smaller. "Good. In that case, keep teaching her as much as you can. If she has the talent and is willing to learn, then there should be no harm. If she personally expresses that you're pushing her too much, then we can reconsider."

“There is one issue. If we keep going at this pace, we’ll eventually start entering the territory of things we usually reserve for those that major in Artifice.” Menkhaf pointed out. Some things were reserved for the experts and those that belonged to a particular faction within the Academy. Spreading that information was not forbidden, but every major liked to keep their own secret techniques.

"I see your point. Has she shown any interest in choosing that major?" Tsumi asked with slight trepidation. Personally, she thought it would be an awful waste for the girl to major in Artifice, albeit the thought of having such a promising new Artificer in the academy was somewhat enticing as well.

“Not as such. I asked her and that’s part of what prompted the challenge. She hasn’t decided yet.” Menkhaf replied honestly.

“Headmistress. It would be a disservice for the girl to choose a major before she even gets familiar with her options. So far she has spent a lot of time with Menkhaf and his fellow Artificers, but we know she has talent in other areas as well." A grey-skinned Archon man protested. It wasn't hard to see why he was interested as Karna's affinity with the True Light element had been so high, and the man was a Warden. Wardens specialized in defensive magic and barriers, and Qhaysh was an important element for both. The affinity was also quite rare, especially when the affinity was so high.

"I happen to agree, though we will, of course, have to respect her wishes. That said, Menkhaf, if you do start approaching the limits of what you should be teaching her, I want you to encourage her to seek out the other majors as well. She needs to be aware of the other options.” Tsumi decided. She also planned on doing the same, albeit more subtly. She had met Karna several times in the last few months, seemingly by accident. Tsumi was convinced that Karna had realized the meetings were less accidental than it seemed, but neither of them had mentioned anything. They had gotten more familiar and now discussed many subjects quite openly. Tsumi actually quite liked the girl, as she was much more interesting than her father Arjuna.

"Will do, Headmistress," Menkhaf replied. He had expected this, so he had been prepared. It would be a shame to give up on Karna though, so the artisan teachers would start slipping in some things reserved for the students of the major only, just as a small encouragement.

“What of the foreign students?” Tsumi addressed all the teachers at the same time.

“Many of the Leonin from the Empire have acclimated quite well, albeit their pride is a slight issue as usual.” The teacher in charge of discipline reported. “Interestingly we see both extremes in Menkhaf’s class. Shaheera is a perfect example of a Leonin student that has fit in well. The other boy, Brimaz on the other hand has real trouble with not being the number one. It doesn’t help that he’s related to Ashanti, though it seems his competitive spirit has taken hits lately, and his ardor is settling down a bit. The elves of Elvandar on the other hand fit in great, just like every year, while the beastmen tribes have the same issues as every year, mostly with their own kind. We didn’t see a large influx of either Saauri or Creuss this year, and we only got a handful of Alpyrans. They as well as the other scattered foreign students are doing as expected. They are slowly fitting in, but there are some issues as always. The laws of the Magocracy are quite open in comparison to most countries, while our social norms are relatively strict. That’s a weird combination for many people unused to our ways.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Alright. Let’s move on to the other classes then…” Tsumi sighed. This was going to be a long meeting. Thank the heavens for time magic to grant them some extra hours.

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“Are they still going at it?” Miralen asked while drying her long pale-grey hair with a towel.

"Of course they are," Shaheera replied with a scoff without even looking up from the book he was studying. "What did you expect? Rein is nothing if not persistent." The Leonin seemed to always be studying when he got the opportunity.

Miralen took a glance at the other side of the practice room where Rein was getting his ass handed to him by Karna. The boy was swinging around a large two-handed claymore that was apparently his spirit companion. His large and powerful swings seemed to have absolutely no effect on his opponent that seemed to almost be dancing while the two fought. “He doesn’t seem to have made much progress.”

"Oh, he has. Quite a bit actually.” Shaheera countered and finally looked up from his book. He’d placed a finger between the pages to make sure he didn’t lose his place in the book.

“Doesn’t really seem like it.” Miralen pointed out as Karna’s blade smacked the boy in three different places in quick succession. All of the strikes would’ve been at least disabling, had they been made with a real weapon.

"Naw, he's still getting his ass handed to him. That part hasn't changed. But at least he’s managing to hang there for longer and he’s getting slaughtered in different ways than before.” Shaheera explained, and now that he mentioned it, Miralen had to admit that he was right. It still seemed almost effortless on Karna’s part, but there were signs of progress.

“Well, I suppose we should give him some credit. He is fighting against someone who can directly counter his style, so even small improvement is improvement.” Miralen shrugged, giving credit where it was due.

“It’s more than just that. His entire life his biggest strength has been his ability to defeat his opponents in a fight with power and speed. Even he calls himself a blunt instrument. I think it’s rather admirable how well he’s taking the fact that the very thing he’s supposed to be good at is now working against him. Not only is he not angry or morose about it, but he’s actively working to improve himself. He’s trying his best to find a way around the style that counters him so completely.” Shaheera held quite a bit of respect for the other boy for his tenacity. He wasn’t sure if he would’ve been able to take things so well if their places were switched.

The matter had come in their tactics and strategy lesson the day before. They had finally moved from theory to practice. The lessons were not just about tactics and strategies between small groups and armies, but also about strategies when fighting against a single opponent. They had been discussing the merits of different battle styles, and somehow Karna and Rein had ended up as the perfect demonstration of the need for proper strategies when it had become obvious that Karna’s style rendered Rein’s blunt and strength reliant style almost completely ineffective. The teacher had suggested the two practice together so that Rein could figure out strategies out of his dilemma. That same teacher had advised that it would be even better if Rein figured out things by himself and wasn’t given direct advice by Karna. The two had been spending all their free time training since then.

“Well, when you put it like that. I suppose it’s also a perfect opportunity for him to train. I wonder how long it will take him to dig himself out of that hole?” Miralen thoughtfully bit on her lip before sitting down at the table, still dealing with her damp hair.

“Against Karna? I don't like his chances. It's not like she isn't improving as well, and all things considered, I'm quite sure she will improve faster than he will, thus always staying ahead." The students in class I-1, aside from Brimaz, had all pretty much given up on defeating Karna. Instead, they were now competing for the second place and left the crown to her. Part of that was because Karna wasn't shy about sharing the benefits she got from the position, even if she only shared them with her own group. That group held her biggest competition after all. “How was the bath? You seem to enjoy using it as often as possible.”

Miralen gave a sound of happy contentment. “It’s marvelous! I have no idea what Karna has done to it, but I’ve never used a bath like that. The water is just the perfect temperature all the time, and it even massages my muscles when they’re sore. I also feel cleaner than I do after using the shared baths.” Their last lesson had been a grueling session of physical training again, so the bath had been welcome.

“The shared one has always been good enough for me.” Shaheera shrugged. He had cleaned up as well, although much faster than the elven girl. The two that were still fighting had not bothered yet, seeing as they had only continued training anyway.

“What are you reading?” Miralen asked to change the subject. It was better for her if no one else wanted to borrow Karna’s bath as that left more time for her.

“It’s one of the books for comparative casting. We dealt with warlocks yesterday, and now we’re dealing with barrier mages, or Wardens as they are called in the Academy. I don’t quite understand some of the concepts. Especially when it comes to True Light magic.” Shaheera frowned. Or at least Miralen thought the expression was a frown. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Shaheera. It could’ve been constipation as well.

“You know you could just ask Karna. She has that affinity and likely has some experience with the subject.” Miralen pointed out the obvious solution.

“She’s kind of busy at the moment.” Shaheera laughed.

“Never too busy for questions!” Karna responded just as her wooden blade clipped Rein’s shoulder. The much larger blade had barely managed to turn a clean hit into a glancing blow. “Ooh, nice! You are getting better.”

“I try.” Rein grunted while breathing heavily. Two days of heavy sparring and a physical training class had taken a lot out of him.

“So what was the question?” Karna called out a bit louder as she stepped back to circle around Rein.

“What makes the True Light element so good for Wardens?” Shaheera repeated a bit louder. “The magic lessons don’t really go into that element, like it’s some sort of secret.”

"It's not really a case of it being secret," Karna replied thoughtfully while redirecting Rein’s strikes. The boy had learned not to overextend quite so badly when fighting her. “It’s more that there aren’t that many users of Qhaysh because the element is quite complex to use effectively, in addition to the affinity being rare. To answer your question though, the main two strengths of the element are that it can be used to empower other spells and to form hard-light constructs.”

“Hard-what now?” Even Miralen paid more attention suddenly. This was new to her as well.

“Hard-light constructs. It’s basically the ability to form solid objects out of pure energy. Like this.” Karna stepped away from Rein and suddenly a glowing blade made of what seemed to be a mix between ice and light was in her hand. She tapped the blade against Rein’s sword and the impact sounded like two metal blades clanging together.

“That seems handy, but not exactly what I imagine as the most important feature for a barrier.” Shaheera pointed out.

“You’re missing the point.” Miralen suddenly grinned in realization. “A barrier formed like that can be both a physical barrier and a standard magical energy one at the same time. It’s not weak to most of the common ways to pierce barriers. Earth and Ice magic use physical barriers while other elements mostly use energy barriers, but none of them are both at the same time.”

“That’s the basic gist of it. It’s a bit more complex than that as certain elements are sturdier by nature when used in defensive spells, but that’s the main advantage. The barrier is also quick to deploy, and it doesn’t need to exist all the time, unlike most physical barriers. Qhaysh is also resistant to damage from most other elements as it's something made from weaving the other elements together, so it doesn't have an obvious weakness either. Here's the last trick, and the one the most powerful barrier mages appreciate, there's no real limit in how much power you can put into the spell when using Qhaysh. That means the only limit on the effectiveness of the spell is how much power you're willing to spend. Some of the most powerful barriers are so strong because hundreds of mages have pumped their mana into them over generations." Karna went into lecture mode.

Most spells had a limit on how effective they could be. A simple fireball could be made more deadly by increasing the heat generated, the size of the fireball, and the explosive radius when the fireball went off, but in the end it was just a simple ball of fire. There were limits on how much you could improve the spell, no matter how much mana you were willing to spend, without fundamentally changing the spell into something completely different. Spells using Qhaysh didn't really have that problem, and in that way, the element was rather unique.

“So if the normal methods don’t work, how can such barriers be countered? If there was no counter, then such mages would be much more celebrated than they are, even if they are rare.” Shaheera questioned.

"You probably haven't gone into any of it yet in your class, but there are certain methods that can bypass all barriers completely, no matter if they're physical or energy barriers," Karna answered.

“Such as?” Miralen asked.

To their surprise, it was Rein who answered. "Well, one example is Shinmei-ryú. It's a style of swordsmanship designed to fight magic users specifically. Not that they don't have rather scary abilities against others as well."

“Ah, I didn’t expect you to know of that style.” Karna smiled pleased.

“It’s a style my father studied in the past. He also trained my brother in it, though I don’t know how advanced the two are with it. Apparently it’s not taught in the Magocracy, for obvious political reasons.” Rein was actually secretly happy to have a break.

“Huh. My father failed to mention that.” Karna actually had heard about the style from Arjuna, although she was already familiar with it as it was one of those styles that had been brought over from other universes by reincarnators. “They didn’t teach you?”

Rein frowned a bit. "Father said that he'd teach me when I was ready. According to him, my current way of fighting isn't exactly compatible with the style."

“Actually, I think you should consider asking either your father or your brother for some tips on that. I think that might be a decent answer to your current dilemma." Karna encouraged. The more deliberate style of the Shinmei-ryú would be a nice counterbalance for Rein's current power-focused style.

“Changing the subject, are you all excited about tomorrow? We’ll be getting our first cultivation resources from the Academy.” Shaheera asked excitedly.

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