Three days flew by.
Early one morning, Joseph arrived at Drew's doorstep.
He didn't dare disturb Drew's rest, so he waited in the dew.
The dew soaked his robe, and the predawn air was cold, making Joseph shiver.
But he didn't dare knock, afraid he might disturb Drew's sleep and anger him into withholding the method.
He regretted wearing a robe. He should have changed into something warmer.
At last, Drew finished meditating and began his morning exercises. Joseph heard the noise and knew Drew was up. He waited a little longer before going forward to knock.
Drew knew it was Joseph without even having to guess.
Drew opened the door and saw Joseph's ingratiating expression. Looking at him with distaste, he asked, "Have you decided what you'll offer in exchange?"
"I have. If I manage to advance, I'm willing to follow you and become your follower." Drew knew Joseph still doubted whether the method would work. That was only natural—even Drew was still experimenting.
Joseph had thought it through. He wouldn't have to give anything up front to follow Drew.
If the method didn't work, he wouldn't have to keep following Drew.
And if it did work, he'd get something out of it, so following Drew wouldn't be a bad deal.
Drew gave Joseph a long look. He's not stupid, so why can't he get the hang of magic runes?
In truth, Drew didn't particularly care about having a follower. They'd just run errands for him. Once Karen's soul fusion was complete, his status as a High Elf prince would mean he could have as many followers as he wanted.
Joseph was essentially an experimental subject. The promise to follow Drew was just a bonus. Joseph had to give up something, after all, and there wasn't much else Drew wanted from him. This arrangement was ideal.
"Fine. But once you accept this method, you'll start following me.
"I won't ask you to do anything dangerous. You'll just run errands.
"Once you advance, you'll need to be a proper follower."
"No problem. Thank you, sir."
"Here. Take it home and study it carefully. If anything's unclear, ask me." Drew tossed Joseph the book he had prepared.
Joseph stared at the title in bewilderment: Plane Geometry: Learning from Scratch.
"Go home and study it carefully. I'll test you once you've finished.
"If you pass, there'll be an advanced version. If you pass the test for that, you should have a solid grasp of magic runes. Advancing to the intermediate mage level will be all but guaranteed.
"Think carefully about whether you want to study it."
Drew could tell that seeing the title had made Joseph even more doubtful.
He had to give him a little more incentive. If Joseph backed out, all the work he'd already done would go to waste.
"Can it really work?" Joseph was still uncertain. That wouldn't do.
"If you don't want it, forget it. Studying it won't cost you anything.
"Give it back. The deal's off." Drew turned the tables on him.
"No, no, that's not what I meant. I'll study it! I will!" Joseph panicked. With the chance to advance right in front of him, how could he give it up?
Besides, Drew was right. Studying it wouldn't cost him anything.
Once Joseph saw reason, he hurriedly hugged the book to his chest, afraid Drew might take it back.
Backing away with a bow, Joseph said, "Lord Drew, I'll head home and study it carefully.
"Goodbye, Lord Drew."
Without waiting for Drew to reply, Joseph turned and ran off, leaving Drew standing there in the cold wind, dumbfounded.
Day after day passed, and Joseph kept pestering Drew.
At first, he'd asked why the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. Now he was studying the Pythagorean theorem.
Drew could feel Joseph making progress day by day.
At last, one day Joseph announced that he had learned everything and asked Drew to test him. He wanted to move on to the next stage.
Drew was pleased with his progress and gave Joseph a test. Joseph scored only 68, and Drew wasn't satisfied.
Although 60 counted as a pass, that score was still far from enough to show he had mastered this stage.
Drew reined in Joseph's eagerness and told him to keep studying the material at his current level, since he still hadn't mastered all of it.
But so as not to dampen Joseph's enthusiasm, Drew also praised his progress over the past few weeks.
He told him to keep working hard and that he was only a little short of passing.
Joseph said he wasn't discouraged and that his efforts hadn't been in vain. He could feel his own progress, too.
A few days earlier, he'd even tried studying magic runes and had made a few small breakthroughs.
So he fully approved of Drew's method and was eager to continue learning.
He hadn't met the standard because he hadn't built a solid enough foundation. To make sure he could advance smoothly later, Joseph said he was willing to keep working hard and reinforce what he was learning at this stage.
Joseph also asked whether he could introduce the method to his students, hoping they could learn this material as well.
Drew was perfectly willing to have more experimental subjects take part.
And so, the first Analytic Geometry Study Group in Azeroth was officially formed. Drew was the teacher, Joseph was the class monitor and study representative, and all of his students joined the group.
A month passed in study. People who could become mages were all clever. In another world, they'd all have the potential to become top students.
In just one month, the students had all gained a decent grasp of the material at this stage. At the very least, every one of them had scored 60 or higher on the latest test.
Joseph scored 78 on this test, only two points short of Drew's standard of 80.
But Joseph didn't ask Drew to make an exception and let him study the next stage.
He said he still hadn't learned enough and needed to work harder. He insisted he wouldn't move on to the next stage until he scored 90.
Drew was deeply moved to have such a diligent student and said he supported Joseph's decision.
Three of Joseph's apprentices also stood out in this test. They scored higher than their teacher—that is, they all exceeded the standard of 80.
All three were junior mages. It seemed that students with higher professional levels had noticeably greater intelligence and performed better when learning new material.
They were allowed to study the next stage.
But all three said they wanted to stand by their teacher and wait until he moved on to the next stage with them.
For now, they would continue studying with their teacher and the other students. They could also help answer their classmates' questions and assist them with their studies.
The classroom was instantly filled with harmony. Joseph was so moved that tears ran down his face. He resolved to score 90 on the next monthly test and move on to the next stage, so he wouldn't hold his students back.
Seeing this, Drew couldn't help marveling at how diligent students in this other world were. In another technological civilization, students who were both clever and hardworking would be every teacher's pride and joy.
Here, there was a whole group of them.
Drew felt that being a teacher on the continent of Azeroth was wonderful—and being a researcher was even better. He had a group of well-behaved experimental subjects perfectly suited to his needs.
The experiment was progressing very well, and he'd soon have results.
Judging from the progress so far, though, Joseph had shared his own impressions.
He felt that studying plane geometry during this period had given him a deeper understanding of magic runes, and he'd made a few small breakthroughs as well. He expected that this method of study would help him understand magic runes.
The experiment was expected to succeed.
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