Classroom Pranks

Ever have one of those slow days, one where the fact that you don't think you are at your peak of performance, which often seems to have a slowing effect to the rest of your day?

You know the sensation, you wake up, yes pixies needing sleep is rare, likely to be rarer after you have a slow start and subsequent slower feel for the day. That was how today was, I went through the motion and for the first time in forever it felt like I had failed my students. Yes, it is one thing to go out and sort of wing every lesson you attend based on what you see your students doing that day.

Normally, my process is simple. I go in, see where everyone is for that day, then sort of go through guided practices. I'm assuming I normally go through class quickly as no one ever asks questions or speaks up. Which lets me go at my own pace and speed, leading to what I feel is a faster class as time often seems to fly by in such cases.

Conversely, today was completely different than the usual. How different? Well, my students asked questions. Actual, meaningful questions that I had wished they would have asked weeks ago, when I felt like I was floundering as a teacher. Yet, today, when they asked, I felt it was due to my never quite leaving my comfy bed. At least part of my mind felt like I really wish I had called out sick, despite not really being sick.

I couldn't lie and call out sick, when I wasn't sick. First, I would never let my kids call out sick, when they weren't sick. Also, part of me hated that mentality, some days were just going to be tough and you needed to knuckle down and pull through said days. Added to this was the fact that almost all of my students had volunteered to do the admirable thing and try to qualify for the Planetary Placement games.

Seeing their sacrifices, I couldn't deny them anything. At least, that was my mentality until class started today. Everything had started off relatively well.

My Qi class students started off quietly, no doubt all feeling that working out first thing in the morning and being quiet were part of the training. This was good for me, as I generally used this to prepare ahead for the future classes of the day. Meaning that by the time my first magic class started, I was mentally prepared to teach what I thought would be our first lesson.

I was going to go simple. Introduce a concept that seemed relatively easy to pull off and teach it now with a few months out to perfect the move in their spare time. That way when the actual competitions came, they could know both the move and maybe what to look for in a counter.

"Today's class will be about something many of you might have to deal with, and that is Magical Combat," I begin. "In particular we will be focusing today on a process I call Spell Stealing."

I don't actually call it that, I just made up the term on the spot, but no one seemed to object to this point, which was good as I just kept rolling with the idea that I wanted to convey.

"Now a quick rundown of the process, we cast spells. Spells being the manifestation of energy outside of our bodies, before it goes onto its intended destination, aka a target." Yeah, I even realized I was rambling at this point. Not my best teaching moment, but I was here trying to teach a move that I hoped might help one of these mages win their match. And maybe, just maybe, be able to make it so we wouldn't be defunded immediately.

"The objective of this class will be to first be able to see when your opponent manifests their spell outside their body. Then focus on disrupting that spell just enough that you don't full negate the spell, but rather return the spell back to its originator, in a process that will now be referred to as Spell Stealing."

I give a second for that thought to sink in.

"Now to help demonstrate this concept I have two very lovely assistants," I begin as I open a Portal and all but demand Rune-Ulacrum and Espy-Ulacrum to drop what they are doing and come to help. As usual, I let Terra-Ulacrum do her self-assigned task of saving the world. "Me."

With that Rune-Ulacrum and Espy-Ulacrum appear, then look completely confused for a moment as I can all but see the way their minds realize they are in the middle of my class.

"Lets give a very warm greeting for our magical demonstrators." I begin.

With the use of my own Simulacrum, this will be perfect, as it means that I can focus on the lesson and not having to keep fifteen different spell forms in play and active all at the same time. Again, a slow day for me, thus the call for help. Fortunately, after their initial hesitation, Rune-Ulacrum and Espy-Ulacrum shrug in unison and then take up dueling positions.

This of course is where things go off script. As in her hands, Espy-Ulacrum begins casting life magic, and ends up developing what is clearly a solidly formed branch.

Rune-Ulacrum not to be outdone does the same and ends up creating her own solidly formed branch that twists and turns on itself forming a more solid shape.

"Sticks? We are demonstrating with sticks now?" I ask the two, utterly embarrassed that they would resort to such methods. The act feels like the magical equivalent of needing a binky to get up on stage and act.

Rune-Ulacrum just turns to me and stares for a second, before holding up the impressively gnarled stick that will clearly be able to take a punishment due to its reinforced ring design. During this time, Espy-Ulacrum begins twisting her own stick to have a similar self-supporting ring design.

"Fine, wands," I manage. This admittance seems to be enough for Rune-Ulacrum who just nods contentedly before going back to 'face' Espy-Ulacrum. Though I know the gesture is mostly aesthetics as the two are functionally blind, so long as their third eye is closed due to both also having the Angel's Sight merit.

"Now in this case, Espy-Ulacrum will be the Spell Caster, and will slowly cast an Illusionary spell of an attack that Rune-Ulacrum will see, counter, and do the next step. Rather than cancelling as I've been teaching you all to do up until this point. Today we will show how to take that spell and return it back to its caster." I continue my impromptu lesson aided by two of my Simulacrums.

Honestly, I should have thought about adding the Sims to more of my lessons as they make it easy. As they are effectively me, they know that right now, I just want them to stand or rather float still. Which they do easily, floating like stationary pixies caught in a clear mixture.

"To begin, we will show what a normal spell looks like."

As I speak, Espy-Ulacrum begins casting a perfect Illusionary replica of an attack spell. Starting with the quick manifestation of a targeting string that directly links outs from Espy to Rune, then the complete Illusionary burst of a fireball rocketing across the yard, landing on Rune and setting her ablaze.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

FWOOSH!

The fireball lands on Rune, covering her in Illusionary flames that continue to burn.

"That is a typical attack spell." I begin, but then pause as I realize Espy is continuing her antics by letting the secondary effects of the spell continue to shine, as Rune still floats stoically, despite being covered in Illusionary flames that are going well after the initial spell is done.

I just stare at Espy, but she pretends that I'm not here, as all she does is continue to focus on her foe, Rune. Realizing that the two are completely in on this bit, that of trying to make me look dumb as I talk about spell use, while one of my Simulacrums burn uncontrollably, I decide to avoid the two jokesters.

"Now, let's rewind this spell a bit," I begin.

Reverse crackle.

Of course, Espy does this realistically, acting as if she didn't fully understand me. Instead, she just reversed the precise movements of the flames, which had been going from a left to right motion, following the faint wind. With my comment of rewinding the spell, the flames proceeded to go backwards, from right to left, at double the speed they had originally burned at.

Yeah, it's times like these that I realize why I don't normally call in my Simulacrums to help.

"A little bit faster," I quip after a second.

With that the flames again moving backward to physics begin doubling their rewinding speed, and finally stop burning poor Rune, who just sat there the entire time. As it was just Illusionary there were no chances of actual combustion, nor chances of loss of oxygen due to the flames, meaning Rune was safe the entire time.

Yet, I miss the moment to pause the spell cast at the part that I wanted, as Espy calls back the spell and pulls it into her at four times speed. Yeah, like dealing with a broken remote, or one that doesn't understand intent versus words. Again, realizing why I have avoided using my own Simulacrums to help demonstrate spells to my students. As they are no doubt enjoying the idea of making me look stupid, a fact I would very much do myself, had roles been reversed.

I am tempted to Positional Switch places with Espy, but stop myself. No doubt Espy would use the chance to say things that I would later regret.

Taking a deep breath, I realize not only do I need to teach this concept, but I will have to watch my wording for things I would likely try to exploit if I was forced to do something similar. Only when you have to deal with two of yourselves do you realize how much of a handful you can be, apparently.

"Okay," I begin, trying to calm myself before I speak clearly and pedantically so there is no room for misinterpretation. "We are going to do that process over again. But slower."

I am of course speaking to my Sims at this point. But before this gets too far, I turn to my class and ask the question all teachers are supposed to ask.

"Any questions so far?"

Silence.

Yep, my students are as quiet as usual, seemingly confused or curious about how I let myself burn. Then how despite being clearly burned, I just floated there stoically.

"Okay, going through with the same demonstration at one quarter the speed." I state, directing the last line to Espy, so she knows to cast the same Illusionary spell at one fourth the speed.

This time, there is a clear build up of mana, and a directing of the mana through the stick, I refuse to think of it as a wand. I still wonder why they went with sticks for this, but then realize it might be easier to follow along as a student if they know the clear exit point of the spell.

"Now pause."

Poof.

At this, I Teleport over to point out all the parts I just observed. "Here you can see the magic building up in the channels. As this is a quick cast, or would have been a quick cast, we can see that the majority of the mana was pulled from the torso and right arm area."

As I speak, I make sure to highlight the mana in Espy with my own Illusionary spell that covers her body and notes the bright areas of mana.

"That mana is being directed through the channels of the arm, and towards the stick."

Flinch.

At my use of stick, Espy turns her head towards me, completely breaking the realism of her being paused mid-cast.

"The wand," I state in an overly dramatic form. With that distinction made, Espy gives a crisp nod of her head, before turning back to her starting position where she appears to be paused mid-cast.

Chuckles.

At our exchange, I hear a few students actually chuckle at our interaction. Which is good, as I thought I might have paused my classroom too for a moment. Fortunately no, as they are still there, just being overly engrossed.

"Now we will track forward slowly," I continue.

With that, a glowing line of energy begins streaking out from the tip of the wand and connecting to Rune.

"Now pause," I begin, making sure to speak my intention clearly lest Espy goes wild with her otherwise impeccable spell control and demonstration.

The Illusionary spell pauses seemingly in the middle of her cast.

"Now can anyone tell me what this is?" I ask, pointing to the magical tether that now connects Espy to Rune.

Silence.

Yep, they seemed to be alive at one point, but not now.

"This is the targeting line of your spell. Having this type of link between a caster and a recipient is typical for each single point or targeted spell. In this case, the Illusionary Fireball needs this to make sure mana directed from the caster flows in the correct direction and acts as a conduit for the mana to go." I explain, even going so far as to pluck at the magical string. I of course weave my own magic into that plucking motion to make it so the band is capable of withstanding the sudden extra tension.

"Normally, I'd tell you to just cut this string, which would prevent the spell." I state, with that I gesture to Espy and Rune, who still going at one quarter speed react slowly and confidently.

Espy, begins casting the overly large fireball and sending it down the connected string, while Rune sends out her own pulse of blue Illusionary energy down the tether and disconnects the line connecting the two. The moment tether between the two is severed, the energy for the clearly moving fireball stops as the fireball begins to dissipate into a cloud of mana.

Woosh.

"This is what Spell Disruption and other similar tactics are. But today, we are going to take it a step further and show that if you are fast enough, you can not just stop the spell, but you can counter the spell entirely and take control of the opposing caster's spell." With this both Rune and Espy break their immersion into their roles as they stare at me in confusion.

"What?" I ask, looking at the two who act as if I have just spoken gibberish with an accent. Rune and Espy continue to stare.

I pause, going over the calculations in my head, and I am mostly certain that this can happen.

"You two don't believe me?"

Rune and Espy just squint, not wanting to argue, as that would break the illusion that we have that they can't speak. But it is clear that they would call me out, if they could.

"Okay, let's try it, use a spell cast at normal speed." I call out to Espy, taking up position right next to where Rune was, so there was no conditions of distance.

Espy just stares at me, after a second I realize what she is getting at.

"Yes, yes, a real attack spell, no need for an Illusionary replacement." I reply with a dismissive wave.

Espy just shrugs to herself before focusing and casting a Fireball spell. While she cast at normal speed, again we can go with Quick Casting, but for demonstration purposes it is easier to go at normal speed for the students.

The spell opens up, connects to me, and grabbing the tethering cord quickly with my hand, I twist it real quick. Then hold the spell in place, letting an Illusionary version of the spell cover everything that is happening between the two of us.

"Now class, as you can see, I have the spell pinched off here. As it is effectively stuck in this line that directly connects to me and acts as an automatic targeting system." I continue, holding up the sinched off tether that is preventing the Fireball from coming down the path at me.

"Again, for most of you, I'd tell you to cut this tether off right here and completely Disrupt this spell. But for those of you who want to know the next step, it is the full spell takeover effect. With this cord cut off, I have effectively stopped this spell from coming any further. But the next step is to push back against the mana. The way you do this, is you change the polarity of the spell, by casting the spell form backwards."

With that, I change the Illusionary form of the spell to have a magnetically charged plus end at the front and negative tail. Then I show my own Blue, or what I believe to be blue version of the same spell that has the same exact polarities as the stationary spell. There is a contest of energy, but even using a smaller version of the same attack spell, my positively charged head of the spell, ends up pushing against the positively charged head of Espy's spell, where they seem to wrestle for a moment, before ultimately flowing back down the line.

"Now if you look, you can see that the only reason why my smaller version of the spell works is due to my having stopped the momentum of the first attack spell. Allowing any force applied by me to redirect the spell backwards."

Swoosh!

The spell goes at actual speed, and Espy who was so caught up in the demonstration failed to concede the moment when first her own spell hit her, followed quickly by my own smaller version of the same Fireball spell.

FWOO-FWABASH!

"GASPS!" The students erupted into gasps of surprise as they saw the attack before them. Fortunately, after being hit by both spells, like a moron, Espy came to life and quickly doused the flames from her wand, Healed the minor shrapnel that impaled itself in her hand, and then proceeded to look on at me in amazement. Not going to lie, I felt better destroying her stupid wand. But then seeing her surprised look on her face, I realize she might be confused by more than her stupid wand blowing up on her.

"What?" begin, only to realize that I got a new system message.

New Skill Gained: Spell Stealing has reached level 1. Spell Stealing is a (Strength, Dexterity X2, Endurance, Perception X3, Intelligence X3, and Willpower X3 based skill).

Seeing the skill update I realize I might have only been thinking about this skill in the theoretical sense.

"Oh, that was new, my mistake," I begin, suddenly understanding why Espy and Rune were both looking at me so weirdly earlier.

Rune and Espy still look at me like I'm crazy, but realizing that there is more to this class than just me, I turn to face my students and ask the important question.

"Any questions?" I ask.

This time, rather than the typical silence, there were questions. A lot of questions.

"What was that?"

"Can you demonstrate that again?"

"How would you counter that…"

And more, many, many more questions.

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