The humming in the room grew louder until the floating crystals above settled into a steady glow. A faint ripple passed through the air, almost like a shift in the atmosphere itself.

Then the door at the front of the lecture hall opened.

An old man walked in.

He was tall but hunched, his long grey beard reaching down to his chest, but it wasn't uncared for. His robes were faded dark blue, and his hair, tied loosely behind his head, was the same shade of grey as his beard.

Lines creased his face so deeply that Morena wondered if he had ever smiled in the last fifty years.

His eyes, however, were sharp; he did not show the same hazy eyes someone at his age would have. Far too sharp for someone who looked moments away from crumbling into dust.

He stepped slowly to the front of the room, where all eyes could focus on him, leaning slightly on a table made of dark wood. Once he reached the center of the platform, he looked over the students without speaking.

The silence stretched as no one wanted to speak first.

Even the prince shut his mouth.

Finally, the old man lifted his chin.

"New apprentices."

His voice was rough and old, but it was as steady as could be; so clear that no one could mishear a word.

"Welcome to Wizarding Basics."

He rested both hands on his table.

"I am your instructor, Artheon. I have taught this introductory class for the last eighty-nine years. Most of you will fail to become Wizards, as many before you have. That is the nature of being a Wizard."

Several students stiffened.

Ren swallowed audibly beside Morena.

Artheon continued as if stating the weather.

"Those with talent alone die."

Speaking those words, his eyes fell on a few people within the room, one of whom was the girl Morena had spoken to before. But he didn't linger long; he kept talking.

"Those with aptitude alone die. Those with determination alone die. And those who lack any of these are simply wasting your own time."

A few students shifted uncomfortably.

Morena kept her eyes forward, unbothered by the man's words. She had already expected this; harsh words were nothing compared to what she had gone through.

Artheon lifted one finger.

"But. Those who endure all three have a chance."

He tapped his hand on the table, and with it, a soft pulse of mana spread across the room like a vibration Morena felt in her bones.

She straightened slightly.

"Before we do anything else, I will say this clearly. Magic is not kind, magic is not gentle. Magic does not bend for you unless you force it. Wizards shape reality not because it agrees with them, but because they make it obey."

He swept his gaze over the room, pausing on random students.

"If this offends you, leave."

Only silence replied.

"Good. We will begin."

He turned to a blank stone wall behind him and snapped his fingers.

Symbols flickered to life across the surface, glowing softly. Simple ones, basic runes that Morena did not recognize.

"This is your first lesson. The Structure of Mana."

He pointed at a glowing circle.

"Every living being has mana. Every non-living thing contains mana. Mana saturates the world. But only Wizards learn to draw from it intentionally."

Ren leaned over slightly toward Morena and whispered.

"This is so exciting."

She didn't respond, but she heard Elara behind her whisper smugly.

"I already know this."

Artheon looked up sharply.

"Who spoke?"

Elara froze.

Artheon pointed at her.

"Stand."

She stood quickly, her expression pulled tight.

"You know this already?"

"Yes, sir. My father taught me some of the basics before I arrived."

Artheon stared for a solid three seconds.

Then he nodded.

"Good. Then you will answer a question."

Her shoulders tensed, and Morena could already tell the man was making an example out of the girl.

Artheon lifted one hand.

"What is the difference between internal mana and external mana?"

Elara blinked; her mouth opened slightly.

"I... internal mana is... the mana inside a person. And external mana is the mana outside."

Even Ren, a naive commoner boy, could tell such an answer wasn't what he was looking for.

The old man gave a slow nod.

"Correct. If you were a child."

Elara stiffened visibly.

Artheon waved his hand with little care.

"Sit."

She obeyed quickly, and Artheon continued.

"Internal mana is slow to grow, limited by the strength of one's body and mind. Most Wizards gather internal mana in what is called the Matrix; it is formed in the mind and used to gather, store, and regenerate mana over time."

He paused and looked at the class for a moment to make sure they were all paying attention; they were. Some students were even taking notes. Morena was doing the same, but she was using the AI so as to not miss anything.

"External mana is vast and boundless, but often unrefined, unusable by the human body. It has a different name; some of you may already know what it is called."

Upon saying that, he pointed a finger into the crowd, and it just so happened to land directly on Morena.

"You, tell me what it's called."

Morena didn't know why he had picked her out of everyone in the crowd; perhaps it was because he could sense the elemental energy in her already, and assumed she knew the answer.

But he was right; she did.

Out of everyone in the room, no more than 3 people had elemental energy leaking off their bodies, and of them, Morena could tell she was the strongest.

"Elemental energy, sir."

"That is correct. Unrefined mana is often called elemental energy; it is something Warriors use, albeit differently."

He gestured again.

"A Wizard learns how to create the Matrix, which then refines the unrefined elemental energy into usable mana. You are not merely vessels, you are conductors. The only thing standing between your flesh and the violent collapse of your mind is your control."

Ren raised his hand timidly.

Artheon's eyes moved to him.

"Speak."

"What happens if you don't refine the elemental energy first, sir?"

"You will die."

Ren paled.

Artheon turned back to the glowing wall.

"Now. Before you learn any techniques, any runes, or any methods, you must first learn to sense elemental energy. True sensing. Not instinct or luck. But be able to feel the elemental energy around you, and pull it in."

A faint ripple moved across the runes.

"This class will cover the structure of mana, the most basic concepts you must understand to avoid dying during your training."

He swept his gaze across the apprentices again.

"Remember, half of you will fail here. So do not be that half if you wish to succeed in life."

A few students shifted again, but Morena didn't move.

She understood something the others didn't.

Compared to the fear of the Church, compared to losing her family, compared to watching death approach her again and again, this was nothing.

Artheon lifted his finger and tapped it against the stone again.

"We begin with the first principle."

His fingers moved along the line of the stone, and slowly images took shape; patterns in the human body that allowed elemental energy to flow through it. One optimized for people without a core with the single goal of sensing energy and absorbing it to form a Matrix.

Morena was very familiar with some of this information, after all it was the same information she had learned when training as a Warrior; the only difference was the final section.

This one taught how to use that energy and refine a Matrix, not how to store it in a core; this was the exact information she was missing before. Yet here it was, given away so easily for free; Morena was glad she had come here.

"AI, scan the information and cross-reference it with current known information."

[Understood. Scan complete. Cross-referencing in process.]

As the AI was doing that, the man turned around and faced the class once more, having finished the drawing and information to go along with it.

"This is the most basic of meditation methods that the Tower will provide you for free. Most meditation methods, at least on this level, can be swapped out for others later on; they only add to the Matrix."

He tapped his finger on the table for a moment and added a bit he didn't seem to care to mention before.

"That isn't to say all work; some methods contradict, some require more, or less. If you try to switch to a method that isn't compatible, you will damage your Matrix and may very well fall into a state of mental collapse."

Hearing his words, a lot of students could only swallow their worries, after all, this was all they had right now; worrying about a possible switch in the future was a concern for the future.

Morena, on the other hand, was already planning to alter this method. With the help of the AI, she wanted to try to alter it to perfectly fit her body and needs; that way, in the future, when she gains even more methods, she could keep making the perfect one for herself.

"Memorize this information, and begin practicing it. Do it now, do it in your free time; do it whenever you get the chance. Before you form the Matrix, you are nothing; not even an apprentice."

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