"Hmm… Does any of you know why we have this class?" Professor Axel Seddon asked as he placed his cane to the side and leaned on the pulpit stand.
A few students raised their hands so he just randomly pointed to one and gestured for him to answer. It seems that he has no idea about their names but it's quite normal since it's only their first day.
"I think it's because we also need to prepare ourselves when we're out in society. We're no longer at war so we need time to socialize and maintain this peace. Learning Music and Arts might be helpful in doing so." Neil answered.
"Thank you… Are there any other answers?" The professor asked.
At this point, many of them started raising their hands so Professor Seddon pointed at a few people and allowed them to answer.
"I believe that this subject will also allow us to discover our talents in this field."
"Learning Music and Arts will teach us to understand the world around us so I think it's necessary to learn this subject even if we're studying the Dark Arts."
"It's good for recreational activities since it might give us peace of mind. I heard from my father that learning Dark Spells and some serious rituals had adverse effects. Perhaps, by using this entertainment, we'll be able to remain in control of our emotions."
Felicia, Reid, and Alvin answered.
"Good answers…"
The professor nodded in acknowledgment. However, he was still unsatisfied.
Then, Professor Seddon looked at Vale as he prompted him to answer.
Vale was already thinking of his answer even before he was called so he wasn't too nervous when he was randomly called.
"I think that the 'Music and Arts' subject that we will learn is also part of the Dark Arts so it's normal to learn them."
At this answer, Axel showed a smile and made a follow-up question. "Why do you think so?"
"I've read a few books. One of them is Cabbalistic Philosophy and Radical Omens. This book mentioned how old rituals use dances, music, stone engravings, and other forms of art in order to communicate with mysterious existences. Since we're in the Academy of Dark Arts, I just assumed that the Music or any Arts that we will learn is quite different from the ones we will learn outside the Academy."
Vale answered as his classmates were stunned for a moment.
"Cabbalistic Philosophy and Radical Omens? I also have that book but most of it was written in Oardic… Are you already fluent in Oardic?" Chad Bulmung asked in surprise.
"Eh? The ones I read were written in Soineti." Vale answered as he recalls the first book he picked up on the shelf of the laboratory before.
Although he already started learning Oardic over the past year, he wasn't fluent yet.
"Your family is better than I expected."
"Indeed…"
Chad and Aubrey muttered as they seem to have no access to the Soineti version of that book.
"Good… All of your answers are correct. This subject is indeed something that will help you all merge into society quite easily. The most important thing is that you'll also gain knowledge about various rituals that require Music and Arts." Professor Axel Seddon said as many of his students felt a bit surprised.
Most of them hadn't connected Music and Arts to the rituals made in the Darkness Arcane Path. They didn't think too much of it before aside from being a form of entertainment.
Some of them even started considering the Music Club as their option when joining a student club.
"Professor, I've never heard of a ritual related to Dark Arts that requires dancing… I've also never heard of anyone using it. Is this unpopular because it's inconvenient and not too useful compared to normal Dark Spells?" Dalton asked curiously. Although he has a toothache, he couldn't help but ignore it to satisfy his curiosity.
He seems to be hinting that he's uninterested in it unless it will be very useful in combat.
Professor Seddon didn't answer immediately and looked at his students.
"Are you all thinking about this?" He asked with a faint smile on his face.
"No, Professor. Although I haven't seen anyone use music or other forms of art to complete a Dark ritual, I've seen various churches use music, dances, and paintings to worship their gods. Now that I think about it, their actions may not be really useless. Perhaps it truly has an effect on the gods they're worshipping."
This time, it was Chad Bulmung who answered as he somehow connected this to the church. The other students also started thinking about it and they couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Indeed… The churches have these rituals. However, I have never connected them as a form of arcane ritual. I thought it was only a form of tradition." Blair added as his family is actually connected to one of the churches.
Professor Axel Seddon was satisfied with their words as they are showing interest in this subject.
"The churches predominantly use musical rituals to connect to their gods aside from their normal prayers. We will go deeper into this topic later on so I can only say that the spirits connected to another realm like music…" He said mysteriously astounding everyone in the room.
"Ah? Is that real?"
"Spirit that is connected to another realm?"
"I've never heard of this before. This idea sounds great!"
"This isn't simply an idea. It's the truth…"
"This is why we're studying here in the first place. We don't know much about the world of mysticism."
"I wonder if that realm is the Deity's Realm? It sounds cool."
"Is it different from the Spirit World where Mennena originated?"
Various comments were heard as they discovered another new word today.
Vale felt really satisfied that he was able to attend the academy. After all, he believes that he'll learn a bunch of things here that he can never touch upon in normal society.
The class ended after Professor Seddon informed them what to expect in his subject for the whole academic year.
This made everyone excited and also nervous at the same time since this subject is actually more dangerous than any other in their current classes!
