The first bell echoed across the academy, reverberating against stone walls and painted banners. Students shuffled into the vast classroom, a chamber stretching as high as several floors, lanterns glowing faintly with suspended mana. Supervisors stationed at the front of the room carried scrolls that hummed with power, their eyes scanning the incoming students with exacting precision.
Kairo and Riven took seats near the back, careful to avoid too many curious gazes. Riven rested his hands on the table, his wooden sword leaning beside him like a loyal shadow, while Kairo sat still, crimson eyes observing the faint glows hovering over other students' palms.
The instructor, a tall figure draped in silver robes with sleeves that shimmered with embedded runes, began immediately.
"Today we learn the fundamentals of mana circulation. Every mage, every swordsman who wishes to channel power, must understand the flow within and around them."
A ripple of whispers ran through the class. For most, this was the first time they'd truly seen an instructor break down the invisible web of mana into something tangible.
The teacher gestured, and glowing orbs appeared above each student, pulsing in time with their heartbeat.
"Your mana circles are the map of your life force. If your circle is blocked, mana cannot flow; spells misfire, control fails, and you risk injury—or worse. Observe."
Kairo tilted his head, noting how the orbs of other students pulsed with ease. When the instructor gestured toward him, he raised a hand. A faint shimmer of bone magic coalesced around his wrist, not quite forming a circle but moving in faint arcs.
"Interesting," the instructor murmured. "You have mana, but it does not respond naturally to conventional methods. Most would call it raw potential."
Riven, meanwhile, frowned at his own attempt. His wooden sword pulsed faintly with his own aura, but his lack of innate magic made the circles sluggish, uneven.
"Doesn't matter," he muttered under his breath. "I'll make my strength count anyway."
The class shifted into practice. Students formed small rings, tracing mana patterns in the air with gestures. Sparks, arcs of light, and elemental flares ignited the room in a dazzling display.
"Focus first on internal circulation," the instructor instructed. "Visualize the flow: from your core, through the limbs, back to the heart. Only when stable can you shape it externally."
Kairo concentrated, attempting to visualize the flow through his bones rather than flesh. His crimson eyes glimmered faintly as bone magic traced faint arcs around his fingers. He struggled, aware of how foreign this method felt.
Riven followed suit, gritting his teeth. His lack of innate magic forced him to rely entirely on precision and timing, making each movement exhausting. Sweat rolled down his temple as arcs sputtered and collapsed, yet he persisted, adjusting, retesting, and failing again.
From the back of the room, Igron leaned casually against the wall, observing. He smirked faintly at their efforts. "Two idiots trying to swim against the current," he muttered. "I'll give 'em credit—they haven't drowned yet."
By mid-session, the class had moved to pairing students, attempting to connect mana streams between partners. Sparks flew as unstable circles collided, some igniting brief flames or arcs of electricity.
Kairo watched Riven's failed attempts in silence, his mind flickering with strategies. Then, after a long pause, he leaned slightly closer.
"Focus on rhythm, not force. Think of the circle as breathing."
Riven blinked, slightly surprised. He mimicked the motion, tracing the pattern with lighter, steadier gestures. The arcs faltered less. The instructor nodded in approval.
"Ah… some of you are beginning to understand. Control is more important than raw power."
By the end of the lesson, sweat-soaked students were exhausted, hands trembling, but a faint aura of accomplishment glimmered over Kairo and Riven. Though different from the rest, they had learned something vital: control, patience, and observation could overcome lack of innate advantage.
As the bell rang, signaling the end of class, whispers trailed behind them. Some students shook their heads in disbelief.
"Those two… they're anomalies."
"No house can tame them."
Kairo's crimson eyes swept over the departing crowd. Riven wiped his brow, smirking faintly.
"This academy's going to be interesting."
And somewhere in the shadows, the teacher observed them with quiet curiosity, already noting that these two might bend the rules of mana itself.