Because of the sheer destructive potential of sorcery, teaching it indoors often led to the roof being blown off. Consequently, Sorcery was held in the open air.
The training ground was enclosed by a chain-link fence. Inside was a vast expanse of sand, with limestone boulders of varying sizes half-buried throughout. The surfaces of these limestone targets were pitted and scarred from the impact of invisible forces.
Wang Yue searched for a while but couldn’t find a “parking spot,” so she simply tethered her mount by the entrance.
She leaned over to unbuckle her shoes, pulled them off, and then gracefully peeled away her long black stockings. Her toes were round and fair, her arches narrow and elegant. After folding her socks and placing them in the storage area, she stepped onto the sand barefoot.
A refreshing chill seeped through the soles of her feet. Some of the more playful students had already treated the class location like a playground, frolicking in the sand.
Dorothy, for instance, was crouching down and digging with both hands. “Bury me! Bury me!” she shouted.
“Childish,” Lilith muttered, a cold sneer in her eyes. Dismissing Dorothy with contempt, she looked away.
When she spotted Wang Yue walking in, Lilith immediately tensed as if facing a great enemy. She raised her wand, striking a dueling pose as she pointed it from afar.
“You’re finished. Sorcery class includes dueling sessions. I’m going to knock you flat on your back and see if you can keep up that act!”
“Childish,” Wang Yue muttered, a cold sneer in her eyes. She might be a little girl, but she’s a huge pain. I just want to focus on school. She looked away, only to spot an unfamiliar little girl walking in.
The girl looked exceptionally young, perhaps seven or eight years old. Wang Yue assumed she was a faculty member’s child.
The little girl was adorable, with her hair tied in a lopsided braid held by a star-shaped hair tie. Her eyes were large and round, her long, curled lashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Her cheeks were pink and plump, and her tiny hands were chubby enough to melt anyone’s heart.
Wang Yue leaned down, pinched the girl’s cheek, and said with a smile, “Hey there, little one. Sorcery class is about to start, and it’s very dangerous. You shouldn’t hang around here, okay?”
“Little girl, what did you just say?”
As soon as the child spoke, her voice carried an air of seasoned authority. She drew a polished, ancient-looking wand from her sleeve and used it to tilt Wang Yue’s chin upward.
“…”
“I am your Felidology teacher, Vida Lee. Professor Sabrina is busy today, so I’m substituting for this Sorcery session.” She glared at Wang Yue and snapped, “Childish!”
The students of Class Five began to whisper among themselves.
“What? She’s a teacher?”
“I heard the Felidology teacher’s name was Vida Lee. That must be her.”
“She’s just subbing.”
“She’s so cute! So tiny.”
“I really want to pick her up and put her on my lap.”
“Shh, she looks really strict.”
“True, she’s a teacher. We can’t be too rowdy.”
“What if she likes hugs? Hehe…”
Hearing the chatter, Vida’s cheeks flushed red. “Quiet!” she shouted in a sweet, crisp voice. At the same time, she waved her wand, summoning a gust of wind that sent a chill through the students. They immediately fell silent.
“Six to a row! Line up properly!”
Once the students had spread out, she flicked the tip of her wand. The sand in front of each student churned and rose, forming hard, dense desks of sandstone.
Vida marched over to a miniature podium that was even shorter than the desks. She turned to face the class. “Are your wands ready?”
“Ready!” the class shouted in unison.
The teacher was so small that the students in the back could only hear her voice without seeing her person.
“Before we begin, there is one very important rule: Never point the tip of your wand at another person. Do you understand?”
“Understood!”
“To prevent those who are forgetful or malicious from breaking the rules, I have placed a Law Hex. No one’s wand can be raised above the waist. The hex will only lift when I instruct you to practice. Now, open your textbooks to page one.”
The little teacher walked between the desks with her hands behind her back, her chest puffed out in a majestic stride. When she reached Wang Yue’s desk, she stopped and pointed at the half-eaten book. Her tone was stern.
“What happened here?”
“Evidently, due to an uncontrollable external factor, it was damaged.”
“Why haven’t you replaced it?”
“Because it happened last night, leaving no time for a replacement. I reported it to the Housemother this morning, and the earliest I can get a new one is noon,” Wang Yue answered calmly.
Vida had intended to give the girl a stern warning to reclaim the professional dignity lost when her cheek was pinched. She hadn’t expected the girl to answer so fluently.
No, I have to establish dominance, otherwise how will I control these brats?
Vida remembered clearly when she first started two years ago. She hadn’t maintained her teacher’s dignity with a freshman class and ended up becoming the “class pet.” The girls had taken turns doting on her and playing with her like a doll. The experience had been harrowing.
She steeled her heart and asked a pointed question. “Why didn’t you borrow one from another class?”
“I don’t know anyone.”
“Don’t make excuses! This is your responsibility!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Vida felt a twinge of regret. Poor girl, getting scolded like this on her first day. She’s definitely going to cry.
She looked away, unable to bear the sight of Wang Yue’s eyes turning red or welling with tears.
“I’ve transcribed the contents. I just hadn’t taken the notebook out yet.”
Wang Yue pulled a notebook from her bag and flipped to the pages she had copied. The handwriting was neat, and she had even included the diagrams. It was clearly today’s lesson material.
This… this child… what is she?
Vida coughed to hide her embarrassment. “Good. Excellent self-management. Everyone should learn from her.”
Having been outplayed, Vida retreated to the podium and began the lecture.
“Today, we shall learn sorcery.”
“What is sorcery?”
“In short, sorcery is a derivative of magic power.”
“Magic power is gentle and can be stored within the body. Sorcery, however, cannot. Humans are like fragile reeds; such violent energy would destroy bodily tissues.”
“The key to sorcery lies in ‘Runes.’ By using magic power to trace the corresponding rune patterns of a spell, you can release it.”
“Next, we will start with the simplest sorcery—Magic Missile. Its rune pattern is a simple circle.”
