The magic bell signaling the start of class rang. All the students found their seats, and a set of magical materials had been placed on every desk before them.
Chen Cheng looked at the materials on his desk: two crystal-like pillars, some unknown special powders in boxes, and a brush.
When he saw that brush, his gaze went unfocused for a moment. He had actually seen such a thing in this world. As far as he knew, the pens used for writing here leaned toward medieval Western styles.
They were either charcoal sticks held in cork or bird feathers dipped in ink. This was the first time he had seen a writing tool from ancient China.
Seeing that none of the students were late, Isabel did not waste a single word and began teaching at once.
She picked up a transparent crystal from before her and held it up for everyone to see before explaining:
"This is a Magic Crystal. You are all apprentice magicians now, and you do not yet possess enough Magic Energy within your bodies to support the casting of magic. However, the great magician Kunbu spent years researching and ultimately developed this crystal capable of storing magic.
"For now, you only need to remember how to draw the Magic Corridor and Magic Line. Then, with the Magic Crystal in your hands, you can release an equivalent amount of magic."
Afterward, Isabel introduced the other magical materials.
"This is powder made by processing and grinding the gallbladder of a Level Two Fire Spirit Snake. It is the primary material used to draw basic Fire Magic. And these Spark Flower petals..."
Most of the materials Isabel introduced were used to draw beginner Fire Magic Array Patterns and corridors upon Magic Crystals.
Once she had explained the materials and everyone understood what they were for, Isabel began teaching them how to draw Magic Array Patterns and corridors.
"Alright, let us first draw the simplest magic: Fireball Magic. Its array patterns are very simple, and it contains only one Magic Corridor. Students, watch carefully."
All eyes immediately turned toward Isabel's hands.
She picked up the Magic Crystal, dipped a brush made from fine Gale Wolf Fur into ink prepared from the ink of a Deep Sea Sunflower Cuttlefish, Fire Spirit Snake gallbladder powder, and other materials, then began drawing upon the crystal's surface.
When she completed the final stroke, everyone saw the originally black ink glow red, instantly becoming a connected, fiery-red pattern. At the same time, an image wreathed in red flames appeared within the colorless Magic Crystal.
Isabel let everyone examine the Magic Crystal in her hand. Then she clasped it in her palm and began quietly chanting the spell for Fireball Magic.
Once she finished the chant, a small fireball shot directly from her hand. The Magic Crystal she held then turned to ashes after exhausting the magic within it.
After finishing the demonstration, Isabel drew an enlarged version of the Magic Runes and corridor of the beginner Fireball Spell she had just used on the blackboard.
The children of nobles and wealthy merchants did not find this particularly surprising. What they were most curious about was Isabel's method of drawing magic.
Chen Cheng, however, was not thinking about any of that. To him, those were merely techniques. What concerned him was his earlier conjecture about magic.
Though he did not know the energy conversion equation involved, what he had just witnessed told him that his guess had been right. Magic, too, obeyed the law of conservation of energy.
Otherwise, Isabel would not have said that the magic released was equal to the Magic Energy stored within the crystal.
Yet although he had confirmed that magic obeyed the conservation of energy, the questions in his heart only multiplied.
For instance, how did magic achieve the conversion of different forms of energy without any loss during the process? At the very least, he had never seen such technology in his previous life.
And if the people of this world had attained such a level in their use of energy, why was their social civilization still so backward? Questions from every direction came flooding in.
After the demonstration, Isabel had the students pick up the Magic Crystals before them and practice drawing according to the rune corridors on the blackboard while she went around offering guidance.
Fini, beside Chen Cheng, was deeply interested in this. She also wanted to use a Magic Crystal to release a small fireball just like Teacher Isabel.
She held the Magic Crystal in one hand and drew the Magic Rune Corridor with the other. When she happened to notice Chen Cheng spacing out beside her, she even nudged him, reminding him to pay attention in class.
Chen Cheng remained unmoved, simply staring blankly ahead with a thoughtful expression appearing on his face from time to time. His behavior quickly caught Isabel's attention.
Though she was gentle when explaining lessons, the habits ingrained in her from military life ran deep. Seeing Chen Cheng daydreaming in class, her pretty face instantly turned icy.
"Student, is there something you do not understand? Or was the teacher's explanation not detailed enough? Why are you still sitting there daydreaming?"
Chen Cheng was jolted by Isabel's military bearing and pulled out of his storm of thoughts.
But when he picked up the Magic Crystal before him and prepared to draw, he felt awkward all over. Seeing his hesitant manner, Isabel grew even angrier, while the other students could not help snickering.
They all knew Chen Cheng was a slave. If not for Teacher Melinda, they would have long since mocked him for overestimating himself.
Fini, who had been drawing earnestly at his side, also felt utterly humiliated. Yet she silently prayed for Chen Cheng, hoping Isabel would not throw him out of the classroom for daydreaming.
Yet to everyone's surprise, Chen Cheng opened his mouth and asked:
"Teacher, why can drawing this pattern on a crystal containing magical energy trigger the energy within the crystal and transform it into flames?
"And during this process, is the energy conversion rate one hundred percent, with no loss at all?"
Chen Cheng's question stunned everyone. It was followed by a burst of laughter from the entire class. Fini, beside him, could no longer hold back. Truly afraid that Chen Cheng would be thrown out, she hurriedly said:
"You really are an idiot! Teacher Melinda already explained it in class. Magic comes from the God of Magic. These Magic Runes and corridors are naturally the marks of the God of Magic. As long as we follow those marks, we can communicate with magical power and use magic.
"And what is this loss you are talking about? How could you ask such a strange question? Why would there be any loss?"
Chen Cheng naturally knew that explanation, but it was clearly religious rhetoric. To a scholar of science from the twenty-first century, it was an unacceptable reason.
Because it made people seem foolish, without any independent thought, attributing everything to gods. That would suppress and erase the driving force behind the progress of human society.
What he most wanted to know was the law governing energy conversion here. Perhaps the people of this world did not know what an energy equation was, but Chen Cheng believed their understanding of magic could not possibly be limited to the theory of divine bestowal. Otherwise, no one could have researched and created Magic Crystals.
However, Isabel swept her cold gaze across the students. The moment they saw her expression, their faces changed, and they all turned back to continue with their own work.
Isabel might not have been a noble, but she had once served in the Royal Guard. Her connections were extremely broad. Even if she beat them, their fathers would not dare come to the academy to trouble her.
After stopping their laughter, Isabel looked at Chen Cheng and said coldly:
"If you want to know, it is simple. You must draw a perfect Fireball Magic Crystal before class ends.
"Oh, I forgot to remind you—the end of class is not far away. You had better hurry. And you only have one chance."
Chen Cheng looked at the Magic Crystal in Fini's hand, which was cautiously nearing completion, then at his own untouched Magic Crystal. Recalling Isabel's drawing process from moments ago, he began to write.
Moreover, the task Isabel had assigned in this class tested the students' memory most of all. The Magic Energy needed to draw the Magic Array Patterns was supplied by the Magic Crystal itself.
For a researcher like Chen Cheng, a mind with a good memory was standard equipment. And as someone who was also a designer, drawing was a basic skill.
With the image clearly remembered in his mind, his brush flew with a few swift strokes. Under Isabel's somewhat astonished gaze, he took less than a minute to perfectly draw the Fireball Magic Runes and corridor—not a single line was wrong.
At that moment, Fini beside him also completed her final stroke, letting out a delighted cry.
Before Chen Cheng could experience the way the energy within the Magic Crystal had flowed with his brushstrokes while he drew the Magic Runes, Isabel, who had been standing beside him, took the Magic Crystal away and said:
"Fini, very good. You are the first student I have taught in all these years to perfectly draw the Fireball Magic Rune Corridor in one attempt."
"However, come to my office after class."
Before Chen Cheng could even be happy for Fini, Isabel beside him spoke to him coldly.
The other students secretly rejoiced at Chen Cheng's misfortune. Who told Fini to steal the limelight like that?
Yet only Fini, beside Chen Cheng, knew just how monstrous his performance had been. Though the Fireball Magic Rune Corridor did not contain many patterns, that was only true for a professional magician like Teacher Isabel.
For rookies like them, it was an intricate and ever-changing set of Magic Array Patterns. There was absolutely no way an ordinary youth could draw it in one go within such a short time—of course, except for a beautiful genius like her.
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