"Jiaoying... Jiaoying!"
A hard stick swiftly struck Xu Jiaoying between the eyes and made her refocus.
"We're done for the day, little lady. You may head back to your quarters."
Jiaoying stretched her body in her seat for the first time in what felt like hours.
"Already..? Seems like time just rushed right by me."
Master Abel stared at his former student calculatingly.
"…Is it really all right for you to be away from your post for so long? You could have refused my request easily, you know?"
"The Emperor has already given his permission; in fact, he seemed pleased with the idea."
"And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that his children are here."
Jiaoying's face showed a flash of tension. Abel placed her hand on his shoulder to quell her doubts.
"I know you won't give them any special treatment while you're here. It was not my intention to imply otherwise."
"Of course, master, I know that. And I'll endeavor to make sure your trust in me is not misplaced."
Abel rolled his eyes as he hobbled away on his cane.
"Children today… You're all too serious for my liking."
When Abel was around ten paces away, he suddenly paused in his tracks.
"I forgot to ask... how is he doing as of late?"
Jiaoying grimaced. Her hand unconsciously went to her neck.
"I... don't know."
Abel suddenly regretted asking.
"I see... I'm sorry about that."
Jiaoying stood up, forcing herself to smile. "It's for the best."
She left the training hall shortly after the unpleasant conversation, wondering how she should spend the rest of her day.
As she pushed open the doors to the outside world, her mind settled on another hunting expedition to pass the time by.
While she began to head back to her room to collect her things, she suddenly stopped when she felt someone following her.
"Commander Xu."
Jiaoying paused. All of her nerves stood on end.
She turned around slowly with a forced smile on her face.
"Princess Canari. How good to see you."
A young, golden-skinned woman stared back at Jiaoying with a robotic gaze.
The knight commander hated interacting with any of her liege's recognized descendants. They were always so unnaturally tough to read, and overbearing to boot.
"I was not informed that you would be traveling here to assist the instructor."
"Once a pupil, always a pupil. If my master calls, I heed him. The emperor approved my sabbatical since the empire is in a stable period."
"...You seem to be forming new connections now that you're here. And with some particularly unbecoming characters no less."
Jiaoying tilted her head. "Unbecoming, princess..?"
"The albazian. You seemed quite familiar with him when I observed you earlier."
The knight commander wouldn't exactly say that she was close to Solomon. She had difficulty even remembering his name.
"He seems like an alright kid. Talented. Reminds me a lot of myself, actually, the way he winds up in places he shouldn't be in." Jiaoying shrugged.
"He is a belligerent annoyance." Canari said in a hard tone. "He has slung mud on the name of the great Eirbanes, and I request that you give him appropriate course correction-"
Jiaoying held up her hand.
"Princess. Your father, as well as the Dean, were both quite clear. I am not to lend you or your brothers any kind of assistance in my time here. Any and all difficulties that you encounter must be dealt with on your own."
Jiaoying turned around before she could hear anything else that would violate the oath she'd just made with her master.
But there was another reason why Jiaoying hated dealing with the recognized heirs.
They were all treacherously tenacious.
"…I see. That is a pity. Perhaps I will write a letter to my older sister. I'm sure she'll agree with me that we need a new captain of the guard."
Jiaoying froze.
-
Across the campus, Solomon was staring at a brilliant suspended crystal that was almost as large as he was.
"Place your hand on the stone. That should help us get a better understanding of what you are capable of." Yari smiled.
Doing as she requested, Solomon took a step towards the crystal with a wary expression in his eyes.
He pressed his palm against the smooth, cool surface, not expecting much of anything to happen.
However, a moment later, there was an explosion of pure, white light. So strong and bright that it nearly blinded everyone, including Solomon.
"Ugh... clear and radiant... a conjurer through and through." Yari winced, unprepared for the sudden brightness that occurred. "Now, if you don't mind, it would help if you would infuse a bit of aura into the stone as well."
Solomon noted Yari's very polite and patient tone. Wondering, once again, why she seemed to be so much more patient with him than everyone else.
His mind was already drawing up a very particular possibility.
Nevertheless, Solomon did as she requested and infused a bit of aura into the stone.
And complete pandemonium ensued as a result.
Yari had already expected that, since Solomon had pulled water particles out of the air earlier, he might be a water mage, and the stone would produce a clear stream.
She didn't expect the stone to conjure forth a raging storm right in the middle of her classroom.
Bombs of water pelted every surface, person, and textbook inside the lecture hall.
At the same time, sand poured out of the bottom of the gemstone and pooled onto the floor, rumbling with a violent anger.
Spontaneous flames combusted all across the room. The hair of several of his classmates caught on fire.
Hail became mixed in with the rain. The temperature of the room dropped well below zero.
Solomon began to get flashbacks instantly.
He ripped his hand away from the surface before plague could manifest.
Even though he hadn't done anything physically strenuous, his breathing was heavy and labored.
The room gradually returned to normal soon after Solomon removed his hand.
However, the evidence of what Solomon had done never went anywhere.
The looks of shock and horror around the room were fully deserved. Solomon thought he was about to be in for a mound of trouble.
However, when he turned to Instructor Yari, she was not only completely fine, but she was also staring at him with a look of unrivaled fascination.
"A prodigious student as I live and breathe... marvelous..!" Yari said breathlessly.
Solomon looked around, embarrassed. "You have my apologies about the room.. I'll clean-"
"Oh, pish, posh. Let's not worry about that for now."
He was shocked when Yari grabbed him by the arm and began leading him towards the strange door at the back of the room.
She snapped her fingers and the room returned to it's prior condition. Undamaged and polished.
Solomon couldn't even begin to guess what kind of magical power Yari possessed. Or what kind of level she was at.
As they passed her desk, Yari picked up a small velvet sack with something hard inside.
She placed it in the middle of Solomon's palm and opened the door for him.
"Please, step inside and select a circle to stand in. Once you're ready, remove your shirt and wait for the ritual to begin."
"I... alright." Solomon freed himself from Yari's grasp and stepped beyond the threshold of the doorway.
Once he was inside, Yari turned around and stared at the rest of the class, her usual blank and emotionless stare returning in full force.
"Well? What are the rest of you waiting on? Come down and collect what I have for you so that we can get started."