Professor Medici

John walked into what looked to be a library. Bookshelves lined the walls, and there were six tables arranged in two rows. A professor’s desk was situated in the front of the room, looking regal compared to the other tables. Each table had four chairs arranged around it, and two green library lamps on it. Every table was occupied by at least one student, most of them hosting four students. There was a general hubbub, the students murmuring excitedly to each other. John walked towards an open seat at a table in the back of the room with only one student at it. It was as he sat that he noticed something strange. Unlike his other classes, this class was mostly males. He sat next to one of the three girls in class. The girl was breathing heavily and staring quite intently at the table. John was going to ask if she was alright when a woman walked into the room and it went silent.

She was stunning. Her hair was shoulder length and a lustrous black. She had heterochromia, her left iris red and the right one brown. She wore a white blouse that could barely restrain her ample bosom, and a pencil skirt that hugged her shapely ass. Her heels clacked against the floor, loud in the silence.

She commanded the attention of everyone in the room as she stood behind her desk. The male students waited with bated breath, their expressions ones of total admiration. The girl sitting across from John was trembling now. He didn’t notice, so intent was he on finding out what the woman had to say.

“Good afternoon, class.”

Her voice was like Italian silk, smooth and unquestionably Mediterranean. Her accent was faint but still noticeable, a slight lilt in her speech.

“We have a new student today, a Signor Newman. Will you please stand and introduce yourself?”

John was snapped out of his near trance and stood. The guys all looked at him with undisguised annoyance. He mumbled a “Hi” and sat back down.

“Welcome to my class, Signor Newman.”

She walked out from behind her desk and started pacing back and forth in front of it.

“Today we will be covering enchanting inanimate objects to be animate. Does anyone know a procedure for this?”

She waited a minute, then continued.

“I see. The most common procedure for this is simply taking power from within yourself and pouring it into the object. This, however can be very messy and taxing. My preferred procedure is using the power within myself to combine an energized object with the inanimate object I wish to animate. Does anyone know what this procedure is called?”

She waited a minute, her face expectant. She continued undaunted, no one raised their hand.

“It is called Sourcing. When you source, you give an object that doesn’t have a source of energy to animate it a source of energy.”

She walked behind her desk and opened a drawer. Then she took out a large gem, it filled her palm. It was iridescent blue, green, and deep purple. Then she walked up to the bookshelf behind her desk and picked out a book seemingly at random. Walking back to in front of her desk, she held up the gem and said,

“This is a power source. Can anyone identify it?”

The hand of the girl sitting across from John shot into the air, still trembling slightly.

“Yes, Signorina Viorica. Tell me.”

“It’s an Aura Crystal. A full one.”

She spoke quickly, as if it took all of her willpower not to shout.

“That is correct. Your detection skills are developing nicely, Signorina.”

The girl, whose first name John didn’t know, jerked her head in an awkward nod.

She must be really shy.

John tried his best not to look at her, in an attempt to make her less uncomfortable. Professor Medici continued lecturing.

“I filled this Aura Crystal myself. It takes time to fill a crystal, but manipulating one’s own aura is much easier than manipulating someone else’s. Now, would anyone like to guess what I will do with this crystal and this book.?”

All the boys’ hands shot into the air, waving frantically to try and get the professor to call on them. It was comical, and John barely held in an amused chuckle.

They’re acting like kindergarteners.

The professor smiled, happy to see the class finally participating in her lecture.

---

Layla sat in her Enchantment class, trembling with excitement. Professor Medici had asked a question and the buffoons that were her classmates were all answering stupid things, trying to get her to laugh at them. But that didn’t matter. She wouldn’t snap at them today. No, today she would talk to him.

John. John Newman.

The name floated around in her head. It made her heart flutter. She had underestimated the effect his aura would have on her, though. Like on the train, it left her nearly speechless. She could barely mumble without stuttering. This would not do as a second impression.

Not like the first impression was all that great either. We inconvenienced him, and he swatted us away like flies. So powerful then, and even more powerful now. But even though I annoyed him that day, he chose to sit next to me.

She smiled, and tried to look up at him. She couldn’t. Even looking at the table, she could see his aura: Bright orange, flaming, and full of sparks. That was the sign of a powerful fire mage. But that wasn’t all his aura told her. It also had waves, and whirlpools in the palms of his hands. It was unmistakable, he was a water mage as well. Though he was much more adept at fire, and he obviously had learned that first, the water was still there. He was an Elementalist. The first one in centuries. He spoke, and her head shot up to look at him.

“You’re going to fuse them and make the book fly.”

He had answered the Professor; the same answer Layla would have given. The correct answer.

“Correct, Signor Newman.”

The guys aren’t going to like that. They usually try to milk the easy question and answer for at least ten minutes.

He looked at her, and they made eye contact. He smiled at her. Her heart skipped a beat. Then he turned his attention back to the lesson.

He smiled at me! Yes! We’re going to be together forever! He’s going to be mine, and I’ll be his. We’ll live happily ever after, the most powerful couple in the Abyss. We’ll take down Romulus and set ourselves on top. There won’t be anyone that can stop us.

Her thoughts were a jumble of half-thought-out plans of world domination and weddings, with more than a few kinky honeymoons.

---

The guys’ answers were beyond stupid and ridiculous.

This is a fourth-year class? They definitely need to test more than just combat for these entry exams. Seriously.

John raised his hand and waited for a bit. The professor seemed amused by his classmates’ antics. She smiled at some, and giggled at others, shaking her head the entire time. Then she called on him.

“Yes, Signor Newman. What do you think?”

“You’re going to fuse them and make the book fly.”

The girl sitting across from him yanked her head up and stared at him, a beautiful smile on her face.

“Correct, Signor Newman.”

Half of the male students looked back at him with murderous looks. John didn’t care. He looked at the girl, and their eyes met. A sense of connection passed between them.

You’re as annoyed by these idiots as I am.

He smiled at her. She really was a pretty girl. Her black waist-length hair was tied back in a braid, and her hazel eyes were mesmerizing. Her full lips were parted in a dazzling smile. John was about to look further down to assess the rest of her assets when Professor Medici continued speaking.

“As Signor Newman predicted, I will fuse these two objects. You will be practicing this method soon, so please pay attention.”

Her hands glowed with a teal aura, and she placed the gem on the book. Then she took a deep breath and slammed her fist onto the gem. There was a flash of blue, and then the gem was no more. She let go of the book and it floated in midair. She smiled at the class.

“As with most magic, there are many ways of doing this. You may not feel the need to use such , but I like to make sure that the objects fuse fully.”

She walked behind her desk and reached into another drawer. She pulled out a piece of chalk and began drawing on the desk. It glowed teal, and she pulled a box out of her desk. An item summoning circle.

“I have procured enough Aura Crystals for everyone, but they aren’t filled. Your task will be to fill them and use them to make an inanimate object animate. This project is due next class.”

There were a few groans. She smiled.

“Come now, it will be fun.”

More groaning and grumbling. She frowned.

“Come up to my desk and take an Aura Crystal. You have no say in the matter. If you fail to complete the assignment on time, you will receive no credit at all.”

The grumbling stopped immediately. One by one, the students got out of their chairs and took a Crystal. John got up and, looking at his table partner, decided he would get one for her too.

She’s still trembling. She probably won’t be steady on her feet.

He walked up to the desk and reached for the last two crystals.

“Ah-ah, Signor Newman. Only one Aura Crystal per student. No being greedy.”

“It’s for the girl at my table. She doesn’t look like she’s in the condition to stand right now.”

The professor looked at the student in question and nodded.

“Yes, she gets that way sometimes. It is very considerate of you to think of her. Bene, take them.”

He nodded and brought the crystals back to the table. He cleared his throat and she looked at him, still smiling. He handed her the crystal and said,

“Here, you didn’t look like you were getting up, so I got one for you.”

She reached out and put her hand in his, it was soft. She left her hand there for a while, her eyes boring into his. Then she took the crystal and held it in both hands, pressed against her ample chest.

“Th-thank… you.”

Her face turned red and she looked back down at the table.

Wow. Talk about social anxiety.

He sat and looked at the Crystal. It was a perfect dodecahedron, and fit almost perfectly in the center of his palm. It couldn’t have been more than an inch wide. It was as clear as glass. He cast observe.

D-Class Aura Crystal: Uncommon Item

A small gem cut into the perfect dimensions for channeling energy. 0/150 mana. Fill?

Yes No

John read it and smirked.

I can fill this in one sitting. I wonder if she gave us weaker crystals so we wouldn’t do anything crazy. Hers was definitely bigger.

He looked around. All of the students were staring at their crystals with intense concentration. Except for the girl in front of him, who was cradling hers in her arms.

Maybe she wasn’t listening to the instructions.

“Hey,” he whispered, “you’re supposed to be trying to fill it.”

She looked at him with a startled expression, then down at the crystal in her arms, and then back up at him. Her eyes widened in shock.

She didn’t realize what she was doing, did she?

“Oh.”

Her voice was shrill and tiny. She started staring at the crystal with glassy eyes. John took that as an indication that it was safe to tap yes.

-150 mp

Aura Crystal Filled

John felt lightheaded as he saw a stream of orange aura flow out of his fingertips and into the gem. It took on an iridescent red, orange, and yellow hue, making it look like there were flames dancing deep inside. The girl across from him whimpered and mumbled something unintelligible. He looked at her, but she was still staring at her crystal.

Is she okay?

“Are you okay?”

She looked at him with a dreamy expression.

“More than okay, John.”

She’s not in her right mind. Maybe she’s tired.

He nodded.

“Glad to hear it.”

“Okay, class. Our time together is almost over, let me see how far you managed to fill your Aura Crystals.”

John looked at the professor, and then at his completely full crystal.

“I’ll cover for you, if you want.”

“What?”

“You don’t want people to know how powerful you actually are. Especially these idiots. They’ll try to gang up on you like the idiots from this morning. It’s how it works at Firesmith. The powerful are feared, and unless someone has their back, they get eliminated. It’s only a matter of time until a bunch of eighth-years try their luck against you. If you keep your head low, though, you can give yourself time to train and be strong enough to beat them. Or at least survive.”

“Why would you help me?”

“Because, I-”

The bell rang, and John was teleported to his last class.

“God damn it!” Layla screamed. The guys still in the classroom with her rushed to get out.