BOOK TWO: Chapter 45: The Mastery of Air and The Ascent
### Dismissal to the Sky
The **Yellow (Air Affinity)** Mages, a group eager for action, followed **Professor David Vance** out of the lecture halls. David, whose twin brother was the serious Professor Isaac Vance, exuded a relaxed, confident energy. He led them through the main administrative building and toward a wide exit that opened onto the campus grounds.
By the doorway, a simple shelf held a stack of lightweight, rugged tablets. "Grab one, please," David instructed. "These are your **Instructional Tablets**. They're customized to track your progress and manage your lessons on balance and basic wind manipulation."
As the students filed past, a calm, familiar voice resonated from the tablets and the walls. It was **Earth**.
**"Welcome, Air Mages. These Academy-issued tablets contain foundational physics principles essential for flight and human-body aerodynamics. Your ability to stabilize your own lift is the cornerstone of Air Magic."**
### The Air Mage's Goggles
Professor Vance reached into his robe and pulled out a pair of sleek, **lightweight flight goggles**. They were a matte-black alloy, clearly custom-made. He slid them over his eyes, and a small, green heads-up display flickered to life.
"These are one of the perks of working for **Earth Academy**," David said with a grin. "Another masterpiece from my brother, **Professor Isaac Vance**, built with help from the boss."
**"Professor Vance's goggles utilize the campus Border Bubble technology to provide real-time data,"** Earth explained. **"The display currently shows his altitude, wind shear, and—critically—it tracks the precise location and count of every Yellow Core in his class. He will never lose track of a single student, no matter how far or fast you learn to fly."**
### Flight and Balance
David Vance led the students onto the sweeping, open lawn. The landscape outside the Fortress Foundation was breathtaking—a mix of rolling hills and dense, vibrant forestry that stretched to the horizon, all contained within the shimmering, invisible dome of the **Border Bubble**.
"First lesson is demonstration," David announced. "**Levitation**—human flying. You need to see what perfect mastery looks like, then we'll work backward."
He took a few slow steps, focusing his core. He didn't jump or push off the ground; he simply lowered his center of gravity. A low, powerful vortex of yellow mana gathered around his feet. Slowly, gracefully, he lifted from the ground, ascending ten feet, then twenty, until he was hovering almost two hundred feet above the class.
He performed a series of effortless maneuvers: a full 360-degree spin, a sudden dart forward, and then a quick halt, hanging motionless in the air. The children below gasped, utterly mesmerized by the sheer freedom of movement.
"The wind is not your vehicle; it is an extension of your body!" David's voice, amplified by his affinity, echoed down from above.
### Basic Manipulation: Acute Levitation
He descended quickly, landing with the gentle precision of a feather.
"Our first practical exercise focuses on **basic manipulation** and **fine control**. No one is flying today," David stated, preempting the groans. "You must crawl before you fly. Now, open your tablets to Lesson 1. It details the **Air Pressure Gradient**."
He pointed to a large oak tree nearby. "Your job is to use your core to isolate a single, fallen leaf. You will then use the most minimal amount of wind magic to lift it and keep it suspended in the air. The goal is to keep the leaf floating for sixty continuous seconds without tearing it or letting it drop."
David picked up a leaf and gently lifted it an inch off his palm with an invisible current. The leaf wobbled slightly, then held steady.
"This exercise, which we call **Acute Levitation**," he explained, "is what teaches you the crucial balance between lift and precision. **Obtuse Levitation**—controlling something larger or heavier than your body—comes later. Fail to control your output, and you'll shred the leaf. Fail to maintain the pressure, and you crash. Begin."
The children immediately scattered, their faces alight with the challenge, pulling tiny, erratic bursts of yellow mana from their cores as they tried to command the air. Professor Vance smiled, putting his faith in the sophisticated tracking of his new goggles and the rigorous system that was now the **Earth Academy Flight School**.