The next day was the first day of school.
There were no classes that day. The main events were listening to speeches and words of encouragement from the academy's leaders. Afterward, students reported to their respective magic classrooms and collected their mage robes.
Jonathan went to the Dark Element and Earth Element classrooms. When he gave his name, it caused quite a stir.
At that moment, everyone in the classroom, including the instructors, turned to look at him.
Jonathan's expression didn't change in the slightest. He collected his things, then left with Charles.
Earth Element classes met once a week, on Monday and Wednesday mornings, for an hour and a half each.
Dark Element classes were held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, also for an hour and a half.
The students spent the rest of their time training on their own.
How far they got depended on their own efforts.
To graduate from Ulada Magic Academy, students had to reach at least the level of a sixth-level mage.
Mages trained much more slowly than warriors, so people in their thirties and forties were often seen walking around the academy.
If they still hadn't reached sixth-level mage by the age of sixty, they wouldn't receive a graduation certificate and would be expelled from the academy.
That evening, in Dormitory 2023, Charles said, "Jonathan, we both have Dark Element class tomorrow. Let's go together."
Jonathan nodded.
Collette, who had been working out nearby, stopped at once and said enviously, "Must be nice. I want to take classes with a great genius, too!"
Ford said, "Of the four of us, only Charles and Jonathan share a Dark Element affinity. The rest of us each have one of the Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind Elements."
"Looks like we'll have to fight our battles alone."
"Tell me about it!" Collette chimed in.
"By the way, Jonathan, with such a high magic affinity, have you studied magic before?"
Collette asked. The other two looked over at him, too.
"I never had the chance. If I hadn't taken the test in Black Flame City, I wouldn't have known I had a magic affinity."
Ford continued, "I took the test with Jonathan. I was right ahead of him in line. You should've seen everyone there when Jonathan's talent was announced. They were all stunned."
"I see. What a shame. Still, it's fine. With your spiritual power, you'll become a third-level mage in no time after learning a few spells."
Charles said, "Jonathan, we both have an affinity for Dark Magic. If you don't mind, I can teach you a few spells I've learned."
Jonathan grew interested. "Then I'd be glad to learn."
"Since you've never studied magic, I'll teach you how to meditate first. It's one of the most common ways for us mages to train our spiritual power."
"Can I learn this, too?" Ford interjected.
Charles smiled faintly. "Of course."
"First, we need to calm our minds and focus, then observe the Heaven and Earth Elements around us. You can only perceive the elements you have an affinity for."
"Give it a try. With your talents, I'm sure you'll both manage."
Jonathan and Ford sat cross-legged on the sofa, closed their eyes, calmed their minds, and focused their spiritual power, extending it outward.
Jonathan soon saw countless yellow and black Light Spots floating around him. It was as if his body had a powerful pull on them, drawing them toward him.
In barely a moment, Jonathan opened his eyes. A few minutes later, Ford did the same.
Jonathan remained perfectly calm, showing no emotion, but Ford couldn't contain his excitement. He jumped up, waving his arms around.
Charles said, "That's the basic principle. We mages absorb the Heaven and Earth Elements around us and draw them into our bodies, then refine them with our spiritual power."
"This process is both training and meditation. Your spiritual power will gradually be used up. Once you stop refining the elements, it can quickly recover."
"Constantly using up and restoring your spiritual power helps it grow."
Looks like Charles had a good magic tutor when he was starting out, Jonathan thought to himself.
"We usually call the elements refined and stored in the body magic power. To cast magic, you need magic power, the Heaven and Earth Elements around you, and spiritual power. None of the three can be missing."
"Your own magic power alone can't provide enough elemental energy to cast a spell. So you use it to draw in the Heaven and Earth Elements around you. If the corresponding elements are scarce, casting a spell will take longer, or you might not be able to cast it at all."
"And magic power alone isn't enough to control large amounts of the Heaven and Earth Elements. Its main purpose is to draw them in. The key is spiritual power."
"Only by controlling them with spiritual power can you arrange your magic power and the Heaven and Earth Elements into a spell formation and cast the spell."
"Magic power represents your level of magical ability, and it's easy to increase. The key is spiritual power. Most mages progress slowly because their spiritual power grows slowly."
"Warriors also refine the Heaven and Earth Elements, but they turn them into battle qi. However, they don't need much spiritual power to control their techniques, so warriors have trained much faster than mages since ancient times."
"Do you two understand?"
Ford said, "That was so detailed even I understood it."
Charles looked at Jonathan, who nodded.
"My first teacher taught me all this. I just memorized it and copied it as best I could."
"Neither of you has trained yet, so you don't have any magic power in your bodies and can't cast spells. You can start by practicing."
"As for casting spells, Ford, I can't teach you since I don't have a Fire Element affinity."
"That's fine. This is plenty. I'll go back to my room and practice."
After Ford left, Collette returned to his room a little while later. He might have seemed somewhat laid-back, but deep down he was a serious person.
"I've only learned two or three Dark Magic spells myself. The one I know best is Shadow Arrow."
Jonathan watched closely as countless black Light Spots gathered above Charles's palm, then slowly formed a pitch-black arrow.
"With stronger spiritual power and constant practice, you'll be able to form spells faster and faster. It takes me about ten seconds to cast this one now. The others take longer."
Jonathan nodded.
Charles then began explaining in detail how to cast Shadow Arrow. A quarter of an hour later, Jonathan said, "I understand. Thanks for your guidance, Charles."
"My explanation was pretty rough, actually. I suggest you go to the academy library and read some books on the principles of magic. They'll help you with spellcasting."
"Got it. Thanks."
Then Jonathan and Charles both returned to their rooms.
Back in his room, Jonathan began absorbing the Heaven and Earth Elements around him from his bed. As he went all out, countless Earth and Dark Elements surged toward him from every direction, entering his body through his limbs and strengthening all his internal organs.
In this respect, training with battle qi and training with magic weren't all that different. But when it came to stimulating and strengthening the body, battle qi was undoubtedly more effective.
The refined magic power eventually gathered in the "middle dantian" at the center of his chest, while battle qi gathered in the lower dantian.
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