Ethan got to the lecture hall early. Back row, left side. Good view of the boards. Low chance anyone would notice him.
He opened his notebook and waited.Students filed in. Some yawned. Adrian sat front center with his group. Catherine was ready with her quill. Elara crossed her arms at the end of the row. Seraphina helped a first-year sit down.
Professor Lorne walked in with crystal diagrams. He started right away. "Mana circuits. Primary channels control spell power. Weak channels mean weak spells."He drew lines in the air. Blue mana showed the paths. "Input at the core. Storage in the diaphragm. Output through arms and legs."Adrian looked tired. His eyes drooped.
Ethan checked the clock. Right on time. Adrian always got sleepy after drills.Lorne kept going. "Secondary loops manage extra mana. Overload them and you burn out."Half the class looked lost.
Elara wrote fast but missed some parts. Catherine tapped her foot. Seraphina took notes slow and careful.
Ethan drew the full diagram from memory. He knew it cold from the second life. He tore the page quiet. Folded it small. Aimed for Adrian's desk.
When Lorne turned to change crystals, Ethan flicked it. The paper slid under Adrian's notebook.Adrian found it later. He opened it and read. It showed the secondary loop fix. He copied it down quick. Then he scratched a test flow on his desk. It worked better.Lorne called for practice.
A first-year messed up. Elara went up next. Her input was good but output shook. Lorne said, "Core tighter. Better feedback."She went back to her seat.
Ethan saw her flex her hands. She was thinking it over.Break time. Tomas sat near Ethan. "That loop stuff is hard.""Think of it like water pipes," Ethan said. "One block and it backs up."Tomas nodded. "Makes sense." He wrote it down.
Seraphina walked by with water for the first-years. She asked if anyone needed help with notes. No one did.After break, they paired up to trace circuits on hands.
Ethan got Tomas.Tomas went first. His flow was weak in the middle. Ethan said, "Press steady here." It got better.Ethan's turn. Tomas traced okay but uneven. Ethan breathed even and fixed it in his head.
No big deal.Class ended. Adrian tested his new circuit at the door. Clean flow. Ethan had never seen that before.Outside, Adrian's group went to lunch.
Elara walked slower, still working her hands. Catherine kept up with Adrian. Seraphina helped someone with a bag.Tomas waved. "Lunch?""Maybe later," Ethan said.
He walked to the dorms. His communicator buzzed. Lina."How was class?" she asked."Channels and loops. You do diaphragm yet?""Yeah. Held good today.""Add the loops soon. Practice slow.""Okay. Miss you.""Miss you too.
"Ethan ate an apple on the way. He thought about the day. Adrian's circuit was fixed. Would help the group later. Elara got the core tip. Tomas liked the pipe idea.No one saw him do anything.
Good.Afternoon was free. He did sword swings alone. 150 reps. Shoulder hurt at 120. Old injury. He changed his grip and finished.One more day done.
Things moved forward a bit.Tomorrow was elective sparring. Catherine would show her problems there.Everything stayed calm.