Chapter 132: Eventful Morning 2
Alaric ran a hand through his black hair, trying to piece together the whatever had occurred to him.
None of it fit together into anything that make sense.
This isn’t the time for this, he told himself firmly.
Then suddenly...
"What are you daydreaming about?" A melodic voice came from behind him.
He turned to find himself facing a young woman whose beauty was immediately striking, not in the warm, approachable way, but with the kind of ethereal perfection that seemed almost untouchable.
Her sapphire-blue eyes held flecks of silver that caught the corridor’s lamplight, while her hair fell in elegant waves of pure silver with streaks of blue that seemed to shift color depending on the angle. The combination was alluring, though her expression remained carefully neutral.
"Ah, Lady Verelia."
The young woman gave him a small nod. "You don’t need to address me as ’lady.’ We’re engaged, so just call me by my name."
"As you say," Alaric replied.
He glanced at the schedule in his hand.
"Are you heading to Advanced Essence Theory as well?"
She nodded.
"Alright, I’m going to the same class. Let’s walk together then."
Then with that, they turned and moved, falling into a step beside each other.
They passed through the corridors that were starting to empty as students found their respective classrooms.
"How long have you been at the academy?" Alaric asked breaking the silence.
"I arrived yesterday."
"I see," he nodded. "Though I didn’t even saw you during the entrance exam."
"I got admitted through direct enrollment rather than going through the standard examination process." She replied, her tone was matter-of-factly, neither boastful nor apologetic about the privilege her status afforded.
Alaric just hummed in response.
The silence fell between them again.
Then they turned down another corridor, following the flow of students who were clearly heading to the same destination. The Advanced Essence Theory classroom was just up ahead.
The classroom door stood open, revealing tiered seating and the kind of complex diagrams on the walls that suggested this wouldn’t be a simple lecture course.
They both entered the classroom and began looking for empty seats.
As they walked, murmurs rippled through the room.
"Hey, that’s Lady Verelia, right?"
"Yeah, the Duke’s daughter from the East!"
"The Frost Queen herself..."
"I heard she can freeze water just by looking at it."
"She’s even more beautiful in person."
Verelia moved through the whispered conversations without acknowledgment, her expression remaining perfectly composed as if the fascinated stares and excited commentary were simply background noise.
"You’re pretty famous, aren’t you?" Alaric said, trying to strike up conversation as they moved through the rows of tiered seating.
But she didn’t reply.
He sighed and chose a spot roughly halfway up the lecture hall, patting the empty seat beside him in invitation.
Verelia paused, clearly intending to sit in the row behind him.
Her sapphire eyes flicked between the seat he’d indicated and the one she’d originally targeted.
For a moment, the calculation was visible on her face, weighing personal preference against public perception.
Finally, she settled beside him.
Not because she particularly wanted to, but because sitting apart from her own fiancé would raise questions and invite speculation she didn’t need.
Appearances mattered, especially when half the classroom was already watching their every interaction with barely concealed curiosity.
The gesture felt practical rather than warm, duty rather than choice. But at least they were sitting together, which was more progress than he’d expected given her earlier silence.
Around them, the murmurs continued as more students filed into the classroom, though the initial excitement over Verelia’s presence was beginning to settle into the more mundane business of preparing for class.
The conversations gradually died as footsteps echoed from the front of the lecture hall. Students straightened in their seats, notebooks appearing on desks with the rustle of turning pages and the soft scratch of quills being tested.
The professor who entered commanded attention through presence rather than announcement. He was younger than many of the faculty Alaric had encountered, perhaps in his early thirties, with dark hair that showed only hints of silver at the temples. His robes bore the crimson and gold of senior academy staff, but they were practical rather than ornate, suggesting someone more concerned with function than ceremony.
"I am Professor Lysander Voss," he said without preamble, his voice carrying easily through the tiered seating.
"I’ll be lecturing about the advanced essence theory."
He then paused, eyes scanning the room.
"For those of you who believe essence manipulation is simply a matter of willing energy into existence, prepare to be disappointed."
He moved to a large slate board mounted on the wall behind his lectern, picking up a piece of white chalk with practiced ease.
"Essence theory is not about power. Any fool with sufficient bloodline can channel raw energy through their body and produce flashy displays." The chalk scraped against slate as he began drawing a complex diagram. "Theory is about understanding why essence behaves as it does, how to shape that behavior, and most importantly, how to do so without burning yourself out or worse."
The diagram taking shape showed interconnected circles and flowing lines that seemed to pulse with their own rhythm despite being simple chalk marks.
"You, miss," he said, pointing to a student in the front row without looking up from his drawing. "What is the primary limitation of essence manipulation?"
The girl straightened. "Personal reserves, Professor?"
"A common misconception. Next?"
Another student raised her hand. "Physical exhaustion from channeling?"
"Closer, but still missing the fundamental issue." Professor Voss then completed his diagram and turned to face the class. "The primary limitation is comprehension. You cannot effectively manipulate forces you do not understand."
He gestured to the complex pattern on the board. "This represents the basic flow of essence through a human body during active manipulation. Note the bottlenecks, the feedback loops, the points where energy dissipates if not properly controlled."
Alaric studied the diagram, noting how certain pathways seemed to branch and reconnect in ways that defied simple linear thinking. Beside him, Verelia had produced a notebook and was sketching the pattern with precise strokes, her sapphire eyes focused entirely on the professor’s explanation.
"Raw power without understanding leads to essence burn, permanent damage to your ability to channel energy. Understanding without sufficient reserves leads to frustration and mediocrity. Theory provides the framework that allows you to maximize whatever natural gifts you possess."
Professor Voss moved away from the board, hands clasped behind his back as he addressed the students directly.
"Over the next semester, we will explore the fundamental principles that govern essence manipulation across all schools of thought. Fire, water, earth, air, these are simply different expressions of the same underlying forces. Master the theory, and you can adapt to any elemental affinity."
He paused, letting his gaze sweep across the assembled students.
"Some of you come from families with generations of magical tradition. Others discovered your abilities recently. By the end of this course, such distinctions will matter far less than your willingness to think rather than simply feel your way through manipulations."
A hand rose near the back of the lecture hall. "Professor, what about bloodline limitations? Some awakeners can only manipulate specific elements."
"An excellent question that reveals a fundamental misunderstanding." Professor Voss smiled, though it held more challenge than warmth. "Bloodlines influence affinity, not capability. A fire-aspected bloodline finds flame manipulation easier, more intuitive. But the underlying principles remain consistent across all elements."
He returned to the board, adding new components to his diagram with swift, confident strokes.
"Consider this pathway here, the channel that regulates energy flow from core to extremities. In fire manipulation, this channel carries thermal energy. In water work, it carries kinetic force. The channel itself remains unchanged. Only the type of energy differs."
The lecture continued for another hour, covering the theoretical foundations that would underpin all their practical work. Professor Voss used specific examples and student questions to illustrate broader principles while maintaining a pace that challenged without overwhelming.
As the session drew to a close, he assigned their first practical exercise, a meditation technique designed to help students sense their own essence pathways more clearly.
"Remember," he said as students began packing their materials, "theory without practice is philosophy. Practice without theory is chaos. Aim for the balance between understanding and application."
Then he dismissed the class and left the room.
Sudents gathered notebooks and prepared to leave. Conversations already began forming about the complexity of the material and speculation about upcoming practical sessions.
Verelia closed her notebook with precise movements, her sketches of the professor’s diagrams were complete and detailed, nearly identical, though bit more clean.
"That’s really fascinating," Alaric commented, noting how thoroughly she’d written and drew it all.
She glanced at him.
"Knowledge is only valuable if properly recorded," she replied, her tone neutral but not dismissive.
It was the first real response she’d given him all morning, which felt like progress of sorts though.