First Lesson

This was quite a nice place: four bedrooms and a living room, a full 200 square meters. Lister put away all his belongings. Dalaran had long since prepared every necessity of life, such as pod soap for bathing. It was said to be made from some strange plant from Silver Crown Forest and could wash away the mud from one's body. This tower was entirely student housing. Downstairs were clothing shops, food shops, and general stores. As long as you were willing to pay, you could enjoy the most comprehensive services.

Lister placed his armor on its stand and knocked off the family crest that had once belonged to Joel. A small family that could have grown quietly had been ruthlessly snuffed out just like that. He cleaned the armor with a damp cloth, set it on a rack, and covered it with a long sheet of cloth.

He went to his room, took out his books, and began preparing for class. Compared to the others, his greatest advantage was his belief that the early bird caught the worm.

On the String Theory of Arcane Magic, What Is the Essence of Arcane Magic?, and <An Investigation into the Beginning and End of the Troll Wars>—these thick tomes were like dry, tasteless bread. You had to struggle to chew them and force them down, and they would leave your stomach feeling terribly uncomfortable. After all, white bread was still extremely luxurious in this era. Farmers in the countryside only had ordinary black bread, made from grayish flour mixed with sawdust and even pebbles, hard as stone. But if you did not eat it, you would only starve to death.

What Is the Essence of Arcane Magic? and On the String Theory of Arcane Magic were required reading for all arcanists. Their author was the renowned high elf Aier Sailifu, a former Council of Tirisfal member held in great esteem. His research into arcane magic was exceedingly thorough. At the same time, he was a master well versed in demonic spells and had once defeated a Doom Lord. Unfortunately, he had died of natural causes in his castle three hundred years ago.

That was not entirely bad, Lister thought maliciously. At least he would not have to witness the fall of Dalaran.

What was the essence of arcane magic? Many people had this question. Why did some possess the aptitude to become mages while others did not? As a high elf, Erlselif had consulted many ancient texts, but he had never found an answer that could fully resolve the question, because many elves had no talent for arcane magic either.

Erlselif had naturally failed to find a more detailed answer, but he made a bold conjecture: Could arcane magic be something smaller than anything observable, something very, very small—even smaller than bacteria? (By this time, Dalaran had already invented microscopes, so the publisher added the latter sentence.) These smaller things formed the essence of all things, and as long as the smallest units were reorganized, any substance could be created.

Without a doubt, the advancement of spells partially proved Erl's conjecture. The emergence of conjured food was even more inspiring, but alchemy remained disappointing. No matter how hard alchemists tried, they could not create transmutation.

"The greatest value of this book is that it systematically and comprehensively introduces every school of magic, especially by arranging them in historical order. That makes it very easy for me to look up knowledge I might need later." Lister marked the book. The sound of Uther opening the door came from outside, and when the weary priest entered, he looked at Lister in surprise. "You actually... finished such a thick book?"

"Is it that thick?" Lister picked up What Is the Essence of Arcane Magic?. Never mind five years of college entrance exams and three years of mock tests—this book had about as much text as a high school language textbook. The only reason it was so large and thick was because it included many exquisite illustrations and used oversized print. "There is not much content. Most of it is conceptual, with nothing to memorize or comprehend."

"Regardless, it is already one in the morning." Uther shrugged. He had just had a friendly exchange with the elven priests in Ruin Square. They had all advised him not to preach here, but this resolute man insisted on doing so. He wanted to retrace his teacher's footsteps. "Go take a bath. Get some rest early."

"Get some rest early." Lister took off his clothes and entered the bathroom. Once he turned on the faucet, warm spring water poured from the showerhead. After washing up, he changed into clean pajamas and returned to the dormitory. Prices in Dalaran were absurdly high—a nightgown cost three to four times more than outside—but the silk was correspondingly excellent, with beautiful patterns.

Tomorrow was the first day of class. He could not be late. With that thought in mind, he fell into a deep sleep.

He woke early the next morning. Uther was already dressed, still wearing his neat, simple priest's robes. Lister changed into a new mage apprentice robe. The long garment was more like a cloak, and he patiently put on the complicated outfit piece by piece. Uther watched the boy, then smiled knowingly once he had finished. "Not bad."

"Good luck, Sir Uther." Lister and Uther parted at the dormitory entrance. Uther nodded politely. "Good luck to you as well, apprentice."

They passed each other, and Lister hurried into the distance. As far as he knew, the tower containing the teaching building was a full ten kilometers from the dormitory district. It was truly a despairing distance—even university had never been this far. He bought a doughnut on the way and ate as he walked. It cost only two copper coins.

It took him about thirty minutes to reach the classroom. There were many large clocks throughout Dalaran, intended to remind mages at all times not to waste time. Lister briskly entered the tower and arrived at his classroom.

"Looks like you are the first to arrive." The high elf seated at the lectern raised his stern brows. "Blood Warrior, Lister."

"Good morning, Master Astaroth." Lister gave a slight bow and sat in the third row by the window, where he could enjoy Dalaran's fresh morning air.

Astaroth patiently waited for these little ones attending class for the first time. Yet even after the bell rang, only half the classroom was sparsely occupied. There was even one gnome and two high elf children who had not yet lost their childishness. He coughed. "Very good. It seems Dalaran's complicated terrain has already weeded out half the fools for us. Those of you present should be able to improve our advancement rate and give us something to shut the Council of Kirin Tor up with, so they will allocate more funding."

"My name is Astaroth Bloodrage. You may call me Teacher Astaroth or Master Bloodrage," Astaroth said unhurriedly. It had to be admitted that his accent possessed an especially wondrous charm, one that could make people unconsciously immerse themselves in it. "Either is fine."

"The course I teach is High Elven Language. It is the unique language of the high elf race and has been passed down for ten thousand years. Compared to human languages, it has forty-eight syllables and is more flexible. Elves are sentimental beings, myself included, and we are quite willing to express multiple complex emotions. I rarely give people low grades, even if they are naughty children. Everyone has unique talents, and I will respect each person's developmental needs, unless..." Astaroth's voice abruptly stopped.

An idiot rushed in frantically. Astaroth waved his hand, and a fierce gale of azure magic flew from his sleeve, transforming into a giant blue hand that pinned the unlucky fellow against the wall. The elegant voice sounded again. "He is an idiot."

That idiot was none other than Nobo. Lister saw Ambella, seated in the first row, cover her face.

"Pay attention!" Astaroth glanced at several apprentices who were snickering. "Arcane power naturally flows through the bodies of high elves. Compared to the languages of other races, the high elven language is closer to the essence of magic. Many parts of mage incantations have pronunciations similar to corresponding words in High Elven. If you do not learn this class well, you will never touch the gates of arcane magic."

"Turn your textbooks to the first page. I will teach you Elven word by word and sentence by sentence."