"Quiet down, or I'll increase the assignment to 10 pages."
Instantly, the classroom became even quieter and more somber than a funeral where everybody's eyes are drier than the Gobi Desert. No students enjoyed receiving more work, and even if they did, they wouldn't dare mess around at such an occasion. Professor Burbank nodded after seeing these students acting quieter than a mouse trying to steal cheese.
"Now that you know the basic magical fields, we can delve into real study: Rune Theory." Professor Burbank waved his hand, and all the previous writing on the central blackboard disappeared, leaving it as clean as a fresh bank sheet of paper. Holding the chalk, he slowly drew two magic circles, with a smaller one inside the large one. Then, he followed up by drawing an isosceles triangle in the smaller triangle, right in the middle of the magic circle.
Lastly, the professor drew three runes in the space between the two circles, directly above each of the triangle's vertices: the one above resembled three horizontal wavy lines connected by one point, the one in the right was just the swirling pattern in narutomaki with a cross at the center, and the last one was two connected dots, with the one in the right slightly bigger than the other.
"What a perfect diagram," Zane thought. Even with his steady hands and weeks of practice, he has never drawn such a perfect circle, let alone the entire spell model. For a moment, he wondered whether this was the result of talent, years of practice, or the professor's use of mana channeling to steady his hands.
"This is a simple water condensation spell used by mages to ensure they have plenty of drinkable water in any situation. Can anyone tell me which of the three runes is the Water Runes?"
Professor Burbank looked around, and no one raised their hands. A few students even lowered their heads, fearing he might select them. A hidden smile crept at the corner of Professor Burbank's mouth as he remembered his time in school, when he was on the other side of the situation.
"Mr. Skylar, do you know the answer?"
"I'm sorry, professor, but I don't," Zane calmly replied.
"I didn't expect you to know, but I do want you to infer. Of these three runes, which one looks like the Gremorian word for water?"
Zane squinted his eyes. Gremorian was a logophonetic language, meaning it used both symbols to indicate meanings — similar to Chinese or Ancient Egyptian — and also a phonetic system, similar to English or other Indo-European languages. As such, even by using only the logograms or characters for the word "water," there are a few. Regardless, since the professor asked him, he would try his best to answer.
"It seems all three runes share similarity with different ways of saying water."
Professor Burbank glanced at him for a moment before nodding, "You are correct. All three sub-runes combined formed the [Water Rune]. The Runic Language is the code of reality; each of them is created from a fundamental truth of the universe. And by combining them with mana, which is also a power or energy source from a higher dimension of existence, a mage can manipulate reality and create miracles."
Professor Burbank wrote the most common word for [Water] in Gremorian, followed by the three runes underneath. "Most runes are composed of at least 3 sub-runes or more, and the number of sub-runes is based on the complexity of the matter at hand. For example, Space Runes usually have the most sub-runes. Moreover, most spells require more than one rune working together to be effective."
"Do you have any questions?" Professor Burbank asked the class. However, after not hearing any sound, he turned to face the class. "Rune Theory is one of the most crucial things you will learn as a mage, and it's one of the most challenging. So, if you have a question, don't hesitate to ask. For this section of the class, I can even overlook any stupid questions."
Zane immediately raised his hand.
"Go ahead, Mr. Skylar."
"The chemical formula for water is H2O. Is this why the Water Rune has 3 sub-runes?"
Professor Burbank glanced at Zane, thinking to himself. "Rune Intuition? Is this what it's like to have endless talent?" Luckily, he had passed the age when he felt jealous of his peers, let alone younger students.
"Yes. Runes were created by mages based on their observation and understanding of the laws of nature," Professor Burbank nodded.
"Not all runes are created based on scientific principles, right?" Zane asked, remembering the field of Dark Magic. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light, but in the magical world, it's an entire field involving the manipulation of emotions, gravity, and even space.
"Science usually has too many limits, and while the Laws of Magic have many things in common with the Laws of Physics, it also has its own operating rules," Professor Burbank explained. Zane nodded in satisfaction while the professor returned to the blackboard and wrote the word [Water] with four sub-runes beneath it, two of which differed from the other water rune.
"There is more than one way to express a rune; to be specific, there are three common ways. The First Water Rune I showed is the expression [Manipulation], which means the ability to manipulate, influence, or alter the environment, the state of a being, or an already existing substance/concept. In this scenario, this rune allows a mage to gather the Hydrogen and Oxygen molecules in the air to create water.
"There are already hydrogen and oxygen atoms in the air, and I'm manipulating them. Many Earth Spells are forms of manipulation, since there is usually an endless supply of soil and dirt around. Alteration is also a form of manipulation, but on the human body or life energy, and so are mind spells, which alter the human brain or soul."
"Sir, wouldn't this water spell be considered a form of transmutation?" a student asked.
"That's correct," Professor Burbank nodded. "1 point to Mr. Darren."
"Thank you, sir."
"The second rune expression is called evocation," the professor continued. "Its purpose is to transform mana into Water Elements."
"Sir, what's the difference?" someone hurriedly asked.
"I'm getting there," Professor Burbank waved for everybody to be patient. "At its core, evocation is a form of energy manipulation, for lack of a better word. Water Element mimics natural water, but it's not truly water. It has other properties that natural water does not, the most noteworthy being its ability to transform."
Professor Burbank raised his hand to instantly cast a spell. A lightning bird flew from his palm and circled the classroom. "Do you think water, fire, or lightning can transform into animal shape? No, that's only possible because of Elemental Transformation achieved through Rune Evocation."
The classroom watched the creature in awe, with the same childish wonder as when the world was still magical and fantastical. Zane was also awe-struck, but he was also a keen observer. As such, he paid closer attention to how some of the students' hair began to float due to the static electricity generated by the creature.
Professor Burbank clapped his hands, and the spell dissipated. Ignoring the student's sense of loss, he continued the lecture:
"There are other minor differences to note. Firstly, as I said, the evocation rune creates a form of energy mimicry; so, while the Water Element looks and acts like water, it's not water. In its natural state, without adding other runes, it lacks certain characteristics of water; primarily, it lacks water's nourishing capability. That's why mages use the manipulation rune for the drinking water spell."
"What happens if you drink the water from the evocation spell?"
"It will return into mana in your stomach after a few minutes," Professor Burbank explained.
"Oh."
"The second difference is in the type of damage they each caused. Manipulated Water causes physical damage, while evocation spells cause Magic Damage. I know you may not know the difference, but your practical class will cover this topic. Just know that there are many creatures with high resistance to magic or energy, and if you encounter them, you'd better stop using spells that deal magic damage. Well, there are also creatures with high physical resistance, so to be a good mage, you must learn to identify your enemy's strength and weakness, and choose which approach is the best to deal with them."
Zane continued taking copious notes. He also organized the information, even creating a chart on everything he had learned about the 16 magical fields or disciplines, the three rune expressions, and the usage of magic spells, such as offense, defense, evasive, the types of damage, and so on.
Professor Burbank wrote a third water rune on the board, and this one had nine sub-runes. "The third runic expression is conjuration, which allows mages to summon things from other locations, sometimes even other dimensions. As you can imagine, many of the Summoning Spells are expressed in the form of conjuration."
"Can these different runic expressions be used together?"
"Yes, but you don't have to worry about it for a while since most 0-rind spells focus on one expression or the other," Professor Burbank nodded. "Any more questions? Mr. Skylar."
"I have a few questions. First, can the sub-runes be connected?"
"Connected? I'm not following?"
"I mean, can I draw them together?" These sub-runes are essentially symbols that could easily be combined into a new symbol. For example, he could easily draw the two dots subrune in the Water Manipulation Rune, then connect them to the three wavy lines subrune.
"That's how Intermediate Runes are created, but that's something only 1-ring and above mages need to worry about."
"That's good to hear," Zane nodded. "My second question is, what is the relationship between these runes and the Gremorian Language? Were those runes created based on the language?"
"I can't answer whether those runes were created from the language, or the language was created for the purpose of better understanding these runes; you would need to consult a linguist for an answer," Professor Burbank explained. "However, they are indeed intrinsically linked."
"Since runes are created based on language and observing the universe, there must be other types, right?" Zane continued. Language is developed from cultures and locations. With countless dimensions, there should be different runes.
"Yes, there are different Runic Scripts throughout the Astral Cosmos, the most famous ones being the High Elf Runes, Dragon Runes, and Divine Runes. However, Gremorian Runes reign supreme because it's universal — any creature with a soul can use it — and because it is the most suited for the human race."
"How can it be the most suitable for humans and also the most universal? These two statements seem antithetical to each other," someone said.
"Remember the three examples I gave," the professor explained. "High Elves and Dragons are two races, and Divinity is both an Extraordinary Path and also a Race. Can't you tell who created these runes and who can use them? Gremorian Runes do not have their limits. Although humans created it, other races can use them as long as they have a soul."
"I understand now," the student nodded.
"Mr. Skylar, anything else?"
"No, that's it."
"Good, 1 point to you. Anyone else?"
"Sir, I remember seeing in the exchange list that there was a course on Elven Runes. What's the point of this course if humans cannot use it?"
"First of all, Mr. Foghorn, you should change this utilitarian mindset you have about learning. Just because something isn't useful doesn't mean you can't learn about it. Secondly, a proper mage should be knowledgeable about various subjects to handle any situation. What if one day, you have to deal with an Elf? If you're ignorant of their magic system, then your chances of dying will dramatically increase.
"Finally, many talented mages have broken down the racial barrier and successfully mastered Elven and Dragon Runes. A perfect example is Lord Drakken. In fact, there are even records of genius mages who invented ways to use Divine Energy and Divine Runes."
The professor paused briefly, "I recommend you guys take some time to head to the Biography Section of the library and read the most popular one. Although 99% of them are dramatized, their content can still open your mind."
Many students nodded. Reading a boring book might be out of the question for most of them, but reading an epic biopic of a genius mage was right down the alley of many people. As such, this recommendation was highly popular.
"Who else?" Professor Burbank asked.
"Sir, you said there were three common types of rune expression: manipulation, evocation, and conjuration."
"Mr. Laurey, why are you summarizing what I previously stated?"
"Oh, my question is whether there are uncommon expressions?"
Professor Burbank glanced at him for a moment, "Yes, there are, and we will probably cover them in next week's class. Good question, though, 2 points for you." Just like that, a new name was added at the end of the score list. The students, suddenly inspired by Mr. Laurey, began asking a bunch of questions, and Professor Burbank answered them all, even the ones he considered stupid. Sadly, he did not earn a single point, which immediately dampened their excitement.
Then, after not seeing any raised hands, Professor Burbank proceeded with the lecture by writing 14 runes on the board, one for each of the magic fields he had introduced, except for Time and Transmutation, which is a field focused on manipulation. He also added three distinct runic expressions to each field, if applicable. Zane recorded everything while secretly shaking his head. The number of sub-runes for Space and Divination was the largest, with the former having as many as 24 sub-runes.
"Anyone who majors in these fields probably does not have much hair left," Zane thought.
"These 14 runes are the foundation for every 0-ring spell. Know them by heart, and from now on, you'll be able to recognize which type of spells is being cast," Professor Burbank stated while looking at the student's reaction. Most were not happy. After all, although there were only 14 runes, the number of sub-runes was over 100. The worst part is this is just to identify which magic field is being used — not what the spell actually does.
Professor Burbank did not comment on their reaction. What he showed them today was the bare minimum to become a capable mage. Right now, he was just asking them to memorize the runes, not understanding the role of every sub-rune. So, if they couldn't even handle such a small study load, then they're not cut out for this extraordinary path.