Valterion: The Space/Arch? Mage

Chapter 98: Simple Space Lessons

Location: Magicon Empire; Magicon System; Terra; Imperia; FBC

On Sunday, I finally have time to relax. No Nobles, no Tim or other guys, just me, myself, and my roommates. We all decide to take it slow, as it’s our last day before the real lessons start. It’s Beginner Space Magic for me, meaning, I’m without the other girls tomorrow morning. On an exciting note, we’ve got our first get-together for the Exploration course on Monday afternoon.

Anyway, we stroll a bit over campus and grab a few bites to eat here and there. Later, we’re back in our dorm room and play a few board games, Alina brought with her. I don’t know them, and Lucy and Lydia don’t know them either, so it’s no surprise, that Alina wipes the floor with us. We still have fun and play until it’s evening.

There is one more surprise though today. Clara informs me that I’ve got a few messages in my inbox. When I open them, I grin. It’s a bunch of apology letters from different restaurants and bars throughout the tower we were on Friday night. A lot of coupons as well. I grin and flip a hand to send the message to the room’s holographic projectors. “Looks like we’ve got a lot of options for the next weekend, girls!”

Alina looks at me wide-eyed. “How?” She asks. “You were banned and now they all send you apologies? That’s ridiculous. Who are you?”

Oops, that went more out of hand than I imagined. I shrug. “I’m just a normal girl… Our friend Charles on the other hand messed up and broke some rules of the Noble Game, so we’re going to benefit now.”

Alina shakes her head. “You acted like a total fool when dealing with Mr. Junbun, knowing nothing about proper demeanor concerning Nobles, and now you talk about the Noble Game like it’s an old friend of yours? Wait, did you know all along and just wanted to get that reaction to profit from his mistakes? That’s devious! Holy shit, you read him like a book, and completely outmaneuvered him.”

Uhh, now she’s coming to a lot of crazy conclusions… I don’t think she would believe me if I told her the truth right now, as stupid as that may sound. “Ehhh, let’s just say that might have been the case, okay? It was a one-time thing anyway.”

“Okay but promise me to teach me about this later on. This sounds like an interesting way to gain power without marrying into a Noble family… I want to marry someone I love someday, and not just for status, as my parents probably demand of me soonish. We’re an important supplier for Armortec after all…”

Oh, so there’s more behind this… From what I’ve learned from Chris, this makes even a bit of sense. Like the baker giving free stuff to the Noble to secure a better future for their children, Alina is the magical prodigy, who can cement the standing of a lower-end Noble family and lift her family at the same time.

Crazy, now that I think of it. All those hidden dynamics. Everything sure is a complex system. And Chris navigates it like a pro. No wonder he says, it’s fun. One thing crystallizes in my head though: I’m not going to let Alina down!

“Sara, are you alright? You’ve been silent for a while…” Alina looks at me in concern.

That shakes me out of it. “Sorry, I spaced out for a moment. I can’t promise to teach you, unfortunately, as what happened pretty much was completely random, even if you don’t believe me. What I can promise you though, is that you don’t have to worry about marrying some random Noble. I’ll make sure of it!”

Alina nods and wipes a single tear away, then she hugs me. “Thank you, Sara!”

The next day, it’s finally Monday. We all wake up early, and Lucy surprises us with a homemade breakfast in our room. We all thank her profoundly and eat our fill. It’s really good, I didn’t know Lucy could cook actually. After that, we say our goodbyes and go our respective ways. My Space Magic course is in building 03, this time above ground, as there should be way fewer people. Space Mages are a rare breed after all.

As this course aims at Novice and Junior Space Mages, I should share it with Tim. It should be mostly Juniors though, as I’ve learned that Novices are normally immediately advanced to Junior. With a shrug, I decide to give Tim a call while walking toward building 03. A quick flex of Utility magic later, a connection forms, and Tim is quick to pick up. “Yo, Sara, what’s up?”

Huh, that’s new. He sounds more relaxed? “Hi Tim, I was wondering if we’re in the same Beginner Space Magic course, as I’m heading there right now?”

I can almost hear him shrug. “We should be… Building 03, right? I still find it weird that you are bothering with the beginner course. You’re a Master after all. This should all be old news for you.”

I send the impression of a shrug right back. “I didn’t have that broad of a magical education… I’m just trying to fill some holes. Who knows, maybe I’m missing an important spell? Anyway, wait for me at the entrance please, I’m about five minutes out.”

“Sure, see you.”

He kills the connection, and I continue walking. Maybe I’m even walking a bit faster, but that’s certainly my imagination speaking. Less than five minutes later, I spot building 03 after I turn the final corner. Right next to the entrance is Tim, sitting on a boulder while tapping a few things in the air before him. He hasn’t noticed me yet, so I continue walking until I stand right before him and clear my throat. He jumps a little, then blushes. “Hi there,” I say, chuckling.

He gets up and hugs me while saying his greeting. That’s also new. “Shall we?”

I nod, and we walk inside. A few other people are lingering in the entrance lobby, and a few others are walking purposefully toward the elevators in the back. I bring up my lesson plan real quick and check for our room. Looks like we have to ascend a bit. Our lesson is on level 21. We join the small crowd waiting for the elevators and exchange a few words with them.

A few of them are even Space Mages and are about to join us in class. A bit later, there is a ringing sound, and the far-right elevator door slides open. Luckily, it’s big, and we all fit inside, even if it gets a bit crowded.

We only do one stop at level 15, and a few people leave. Then we reach level 21, and the majority leaves with us. The Space Gang. I suppress a snort. Just a few meters further down the hallway is our classroom, and we are quick to enter. It’s bigger than I thought. About 500 seats, arranged in a semicircle around a lectern in the middle. The seats in the back are slightly raised, so that everyone has an unobscured view. From the looks of it, the room is already three-quarters filled, and we are immediately assaulted by the sound of excited conversations throughout the classroom.

Tim jerks his head to the left, and I notice a few empty seats in the front third of the seat rows. I nod, and we walk over there to sit down. I nod politely to my neighbor on the right, while Tim takes the seat to the left. We talk a bit about the weekend, and I tell him, that I managed to get the ban completely lifted. He looks a bit surprised.

“Huh, how’d you manage that so fast?”

I shrug. “Well, after you started the process, I called my cousin and he managed to get the attention of some people further up the ladder. Apparently, Charles violated the rules of the Noble Game. Then everything took a quick turn. I now have coupons from almost every establishment in the city.”

Tim nods sagely. “Well, that makes sense. The Noble Game is sacred. I’m a bit surprised though that you know of it… You acted so clueless back then.”

I feel my cheeks heat a bit. “Well, I’m a fast learner,” I manage to wink at him, and he rolls his eyes.

“Fine, keep your secrets…”

Before I can respond and tell him I don’t have secrets, the doors of the room snap shut, and I feel Space magic gathering behind the lectern. My head turns quickly, and I catch the sight of a rather young-looking man appearing. All the others in the room continue talking, and even Tim didn’t bother to turn his head to the front.

The young man, who is probably our instructor looks me right in the eye. There is a glint of curiosity there. Then he clears his throat and the sound echoes through the classroom. Over the next thirty seconds, the conversations slowly stop, and all heads turn toward the instructor.

He chuckles. “Good morning students, my name is Quentin Renner and I’m your instructor for Beginner Space Magic.”

Instructor Renner steps in front of the lectern and indicates himself. “A few words about myself. I’m a Grandmaster with cores in Space and Utility and an FBC graduate as well. Afterward, I did a lot of work on various starships, until I finally decided to retire and take on a teaching role. That was almost 200 years ago, and I’ve been an instructor for Space magic ever since.”

He does a little twirl, then teleports back behind the lectern. Showoff!

“That’s one of the things you are here for. Personal Teleportation. Either learning the spell or refining it until you are ready for the real Teleportation spell. Other than that, the first half of the course is all about showing you the basics of Space magic, to bring you all on the same level so that we can take a step beyond the basics for the second half. There will be a practical test midterm where you have to qualify for those more advanced lessons. This is necessary, as without mastering the basics the more advanced spells would be useless for you.”

He stops and I look around. Most of the others nod slightly at the instructor’s words, but there are also a few with various expressions of unease. Tim on the other hand looks confident, as do a few of the others. They probably know the Personal Teleportation spell already.

Instructor Renner starts speaking again. “Good, now with the boring stuff out of the way, let’s start with something more interesting. Who of you already know the Personal Teleportation spell?”

About a hundred hands go up, Tim’s and mine included. That’s more than I thought considering the expressions they showed earlier. But it makes sense. I mean I learned the spell at sixteen in a Mage-hating nation of all things.

“Fantastic! That’s almost a fifth,” his next words are barely a whisper, I don’t think he intended them for us to hear. “I wonder how the other classes are doing…”

Some other students must have heard him as well, as a young woman in the front row lifts her hand. Instructor Renner blinks a few times, then focuses on the girl. “Yes, Miss Tsuki?”

Miss Tsuki lowers her hand. “Uh, I thought I heard you saying other classes, are there more than ours?”

“Ah, yes, of course. While Space Mages are rare, we aren’t that rare,” he stops for a short chuckle. “There are six Beginner Space Magic courses running in parallel right now, each with about 500 students, so we have about 3.000 Junior Space Mages and a few Novices in total this year.”

Miss Tsuki nods and asks another question. “Thank you for clarifying, instructor Renner. May I ask why we are split into six classes? Wouldn’t it be more convenient to teach us all at once?”

“It would, yes, but 3.000 students for one or two instructors is a bit much. The other reason is with the rooms. You see, we’re currently inside an anti-gravity-capable classroom so that the few Novices among you can use their spells as well. Training without gravity also makes it easier for most Juniors in the beginning.” He indicates the classroom. “This is about as big as we can make them, so our classes can’t be bigger than 500 people.”

Ohh! I didn’t expect that. Miss Tsuki nods her thanks, and the guy to my right lets out a breath of relief. Probably one of the few Novices then. I wonder why he didn’t get his advancement. Is it someone like Adrian? I give him a reassuring nod. No one knows the struggles as a Novice better than me!

The first lesson goes on with very basic information. Power levels and possible jump distances, the recovery process after expending a lot of power, and ship sizes. I already know the normal size limitations from my time at the republic’s Mage Academy, but what’s new is the enhancement with Magitech. Lydia already told us about it, but now instructor Renner gives us concrete information.

Unfortunately, the Novices are the worst off, again. This power level is really unfair, and I see why they are immediately advanced normally. While starships can go over the 350-meter length limit with the help of Magitech, it’s only up to 500 meters. Junior Mages already enjoy a factor two multiplication in ship length and Seniors up to factor five, enabling them to navigate truly enormous ships like the Maxima. Master rank is exempt from size limitations.

After explaining all that, instructor Renner calls for a half an hour break and most students step outside to catch a breath of fresh air. A few even teleport to the next jump room after asking the instructor. I’m about to do the same, but when I turn to instructor Renner to ask him, he’s already looking at me.

“Miss Green, may I have a word with you?”

Huh, what’s that about? I nod. Suddenly, a Space spell starts enveloping me, and I naturally resist with Space Sense. A frown enters Renner’s face, and he waves me over.

He waits for me at the bottommost seat, close to the lectern. When I arrive, he waves a hand, and a blurred bubble surrounds us. The noise of the classroom drops to a minimum.

“Miss Green, why are you here? I thought some AI had messed up with your power level, but when you resisted me just now, I had confirmation. You are overqualified for this course. I can’t grade you like this. This also doesn’t count as an exploit; It leans more into the direction of cheating.”

Oh shoot, I didn’t think of it like this. But I obviously have an enormous advantage compared to all the others in this course… “Uhh, I’m sorry instructor Renner, I honestly didn’t even think about my grades. You see, I don’t know that much about Space magic… My parents pretty much stuffed me full of power enhancements, bringing me all the way up to Master. I’m missing pretty much everything in between. That’s why I thought it would be a good idea to take the beginner course as well.”

Instructor Renner stares at me wide-eyed. “That’s reckless of your parents!”

Channeling my inner actress again, I jump onto his train of thought. “Yeah, I know, the Doctor said the same, but they wouldn’t listen. I also didn’t want to disappoint them, so I accepted. They want me as a figurehead. A Master Space Mage, maybe even Grandmaster of the Green family.”

Instructor Renner shakes his head. “Greedy bastards…” Then his eyes fly wide open and he backtracks. “No offense! I’m sorry.”

I grin back at him. “None taken, but can I please stay in your course? I could really use a solid foundation.”

He scratches his chin, deep in thought. Finally, he has an answer. “You can, but I still can’t grade you, meaning you’re pretty much wasting your time, at least academically speaking. If you’re really missing all the basics, it’s still a valuable life lesson. Would that be okay with you?”

I nod. “Yeah, while I would have loved to get a grade as well, I can understand why that’s not possible. At least I can stay in the course, thank you.”

“Good, do you need me to talk to the faculty to get you into another course or do you have enough?”

I shake my head. “No, it’s fine, I’ve got my full eight, and I’m playing taxi for a few other courses.”

He barks a short laugh. “Hah, I see, you’ve got a busy year ahead. Anyway, I won’t hold you any longer. Have fun, and I’ll see you probably in advanced Space magic on Thursday?”

“Yeah, if you’re our instructor there as well. Thank you again!”

“I am, now off you go, the break is almost over!”