Breathe... Visualize the spell model... Chant slowly... Yes... He could feel it building up... It was coming... He opened his eyes. "Release!" he yelled, thrusting his fist out.
...
Failed again.
"Pant... pant..." Zephyr wiped the sweat trickling down his brow. He'd been at this for hours now. It was already evening, and he was one of the last few who still hadn't seen any real success in casting the spell.
The only other two were a chubby kid, who looked like he couldn't care less about anything, and a timid-looking guy that kept fumbling the spell as some people occasionally watched them.
Everyone else had managed to cast the spell at least once. Although their casting speed was slow and the spell power itself was pitiful they didn't care. They were laughing, goofing off, and showing off to one another.
"Don't drain your mana core, you fools!" Mr. Wilson barked again for what must have been the tenth time today. He couldn't really blame them though. He also remembered the feeling of casting a spell for the first time, seeing the natural laws bend to your will... it gave you a kind of thrill... an addictive feeling.
He turned to the last three struggling students. He could tell only one of them was still really trying, while the other two were just biding their time, here to get things over with.
The air shimmered faintly as Zephyr clenched his fist again, building up air pressure, then he stepped forward and punched out.
Whoosh—
Pop!
"Yeahhh!—" Zephyr yelled, pumping his fist into the air before he caught himself.
He'd done it. Although it was terribly weak, just slightly more powerful than his regular punch, he was still happy. The yell just came from the depth of him, he couldn't help it. For all his trying to stay low-key he found that he kept letting his emotions— emotions he'd never really displayed in his life— come out.
"Nice, Zephyr." Cedric gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. He had to give the guy credit. Everyone could see how hard he'd been working all day. Unlike himself. This hadn't been much of a challenge to him. He'd been the first to cast the spell successfully, long before anyone else. He'd even spent the rest of the class trying to enhance the spell's power.
Mr. Wilson walked up, giving Zephyr a nod.
"Good work, kid. You even finished before those two over there—which, by the way, are going nowhere until they successfully cast the spell today!" he announced loudly. The chubby kid's face turned pale, probably thinking of how he'd miss supper if that happened, spurring him into putting in real effort immediately. The timid boy did the same, although just to avoid getting stuck here.
Mr. Wilson shook his head before turning back to Zephyr.
"While I'll commend you for casting the spell successfully—especially with your handicap—your casting time was way too long. You basically took about twenty-four seconds to cast the spell."
"In a real fight, even at your current level, that's way longer than the average of fifteen seconds. Cedric here can do it in eight." He gestured towards him.
"You need to work on reducing your casting time. Practice as much as you can, more than your peers even. The more you practice, the more familiar your mana node becomes with the spell model." He offered his final words before walking toward the remaining two.
"Thank you sir," Zephyr called after him.
"Hoo..." He breathed out, preparing to have another go at it immediately.
"You're jumping straight in again?" Cedric asked.
Zephyr nodded.
"You shouldn't tax your mana core too much man, didn't you hear Mr.Wilson?"
Zephyr opened his eyes sighing as he focused inwards towards his mana core, and... it was actually basically half drained?!
He'd only just successfully cast the spell once, with great difficulty too. And his core was nearly drained by half? Wasn't it enough that his casting was slow, he still also had terrible efficiency on top of it. That was too much of a handicap.
To be fair though, one should also take into account that he'd been trying unsuccessfully all afternoon. That had to have drained some of his mana, though not by much. Still, compared to others who had been casting the spell successfully over and over, the difference was clear.
Just as Zephyr pondered this, Mr. Wilson announced the end of class, dismissing the recruits for their voluntary vocational period. All except the two unruly kids who had yet to cast the spell, much to their dismay.
Zephyr and Cedric both walked together in stride toward the dorms, each lost in their own thoughts. Most recruits were rushing ahead, eager to relax now that the remaining time was for voluntary activities.
Zephyr perked up when he heard his name being called. Anna and Helga were making their way toward him, also just done with their own class.
"Hey, Zephyr! What'd you guys learn?" Anna asked in her usual bright tone.
"Nothing much. Just some basic enhancement stuff. What about you?"
"Oh boy. First off, Adept Francis is a really great teacher!" she beamed.
"—Adept Francis? The old man?"
"Yeah, he's just a super cool teacher."
"What's with the 'Adept' title?" Zephyr finger-quoted in the air.
"It means he's a Tier Four. That's when mages start getting those titles," Cedric explained.
"Anyway," Anna waved her hand. "He taught us a firebolt spell. It was really hard to learn though, you have to tweak so many parameters." She sighed dramatically, tossing her head back.
"But Adept Francis broke it all down for us in a really good way. I can technically cast it already, but I don't think it even qualifies as a proper firebolt spell yet." She then leaned sideways, exposing Helga. "But guess who learned the spell first?"
"Oh, Helga?" Cedric asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Yep! Turns out she has a knack for fire magic."
"It's— it's nothing much." Helga stuttered.
Anna wanted to tease her more but decided to spare her, turning her attention to Zephyr.
"So what vocation do you plan on taking, or are you planning on going to rest instead? You actually need it though."
"No, we were just following the crowd actually." Zephyr slowed his pace as they all paused, watching where the some of the others were headed.
"I was thinking of joining the runesmith department. Or something in rune inscription or blacksmithing."
They all turned to look at him in surprise.
"You're a runesmith?"
"Yeah. Been doing it since I was way younger."
"But... without mana?" Anna looked puzzled.
"Yeah, I got some... specialized tools," he shrugged.
"Actually, I should probably grab them first before looking for the department." He turned toward the dorms, then paused. "So what are you guys planning on doing?"
"Well, nothing as fancy as runesmithing," Anna laughed. "But I dabble in spearmanship. I'll probably find the class for that."
"Same," Cedric added, "but I use the warhammer instead."
They turned to Helga.
"I... I'd also like to learn how to use a weapon," she said softly.
"You don't have one you've practiced with before?" Cedric asked.
She shook her head.
"Hmm... I don't know, but I'd recommend the warhammer."
"For some reason, I think you'd look very good with a large warhammer. It just feels like the most sensible choice." He gave her a thumbs up.
'How is that a sensible choice?' Both Anna and Zephyr thought at the same time.
"Well, let's meet afterwards then, at supper." Zephyr waved as he split from them.
Time to go do some runesmithing, he cracked his knuckles with a grin. It's been a while actually.