Asher drew the symbol that represented the Fire Element on the paper. He used the special quill and poured his mana as ink with a clear intent behind it.
The symbols didn't work without mana and intent. If even one of them was absent, the runes became an ordinary design with no purpose.
The Runes Neyman had given his class were the most basic ones, used to call an element or use the runes as the medium to utilize the element itself.
Asher moved the quill around the paper, which could bear his mana without tearing it apart. It was a special paper used to write runes on.
The other students struggled to draw the symbols perfectly, as even one wrong stroke would mess up the rune.
"Remember, if you mess up your runes, depending on the element, you might have a small blast happen in front of your face," Neyman casually spoke.
His words pressured the students even more, as no one wanted the piece of paper to explode in their faces.
"Once you have written your rune and your intent was clear, the runes will finally appear on the paper," Neyman said.
"And if the final appearance is the same as the one shown here, it means you were correct in your approach," he explained.
Asher moved the quill around as he made the first symbol. Knowing the rune was for the Fire Element, Asher's intent was clear.
'Flame' this was the word that was written on the hologram behind Neyman.
Asher mixed the intent of a flame into his rune as he finished it, and an orange rune appeared on the paper.
"Your successful result will appear in a color of orange," Neyman spoke.
"These colors in runes occur due to the presence of the elements. Although there are times when these colors get mixed with each other due to the complexity of the runes," Neyman's explanation cleared some doubts for those who wanted to know the reason behind this.
"We have a successful result here," Neyman said as he looked at Asher's rune.
"I am surprised you perfectly performed this rune on your first try," Neyman said as the students turned to look at Asher.
"Now, let's use this rune," Neyman wasn't going to do it today, but seeing a successful try on the first day, he saw no reason not to do it.
"There are two ways to use the runes. First, by using your own words, and second, is using Runes to make it an independent working rune," Neyman said.
"Independent Runes is something you will learn in the future, so we will only do Vocal Runes for now," Neyman said.
"The intent of the Rune was made by the word, 'Flame.' So use the same word to create the flame," Neyman said to Asher.
Asher took the paper and placed it on another desk beside him.
"Flame," Asher said as he looked at the paper.
Suddenly a small flame appeared on top of the paper.
"As you know, despite stacking multiple runes, the direct effect of the Runes is not suited towards combat," Neyman said, and most students understood.
A fireball was more powerful than the flame they saw just now, but Runes didn't require mana after their creation.
Those with low mana often tried their hands in Rune Arts, as it was one of the few subjects where a large amount of mana was unnecessary.
"This is your assignment for today: memorize these symbols and try to make successful runes," Neyman said.
"Don't worry if you fail because you will learn what not to do each time you fail. And if you find this is not for you, you can inform my Assistant that you want to change to new classes," Neyman said.
Although most of the students were thinking of leaving this class, they wanted to at least try it. But still, some students could never learn this, no matter what, and Neyman allowed them to change their classes earlier than they usually could.
"And seeing that you are done with your first rune, why not try the rest of the runes," Neyman pointed at the three runes.
"Okay," Asher replied and picked up another sheet of paper.
[ Runic Mastery Unlocked: Fundamental ]
A system notification popped up as Asher started working on a few other runes. He had grasped the fundamentals of the Rune Arts but was still far from perfecting it.
His motives for learning Rune Arts were obvious. He just wanted to learn until he could try and unlock the seals on his sword now that he had finally gained fundamental mastery.
Asher successfully created all four runes, surprising Neyman, who praised him.
"Well, that's enough for today. I would recommend certain books you can read that can help you improve even further," Neyman concluded his class.
Asher stood up first, as he needed to leave.
'I knew this boy was talented,' Neyman told himself as he saw all the students exit the class.
*********
After 2 hours,
Asher was inside the Faculty Block and met Professor Elsa, who was in charge of his class.
This time it was not an official vacation, so he needed to get confirmation from Elsa first to leave the World Academy.
Asher used his Year Representative Ring to gain access to Elsa's Floor.
Elsa was currently sitting in her office and reading the reports she had created for all the students.
"It's a pity that he is a swordsman," Elsa said to herself.
She had never seen a first-year be this good at reconstructing a spell into something else without changing the original foundation of the spell itself.
Knock Knock
Elsa looked up as she saw her Assistant come into the room.
"What happened?" Elsa asked as she put down her reports.
"Professor, Asher Greville wanted to meet with you," her Assistant informed her.
"Let him in," Elsa said as she removed the reports from her table.
'What happened this time?' Elsa said to herself.
From the moment Asher had joined the World Academy, all sorts of things were happening. This year was the most chaotic one Elsa had witnessed in all her teaching experience at World Academy.
Asher entered the room and looked at Elsa, who was looking at him.
"So what does our Rank 1 want?" Elsa asked.
"I wanted to apply for a week's leave," Asher said, but it made Elsa frown.
"This early?" Elsa asked.
"Am I not allowed?" Asher questioned her.
"No, you are allowed, but you might miss some of the classes," Elsa reminded him.
"I know," Asher replied.
"Well, you can avail up to 10 days each month, but you should try and return by the end of the week," Elsa told him.
"But these 10 days are only given to you because you were Rank 1 in all three criteria, and it is something that the Principal himself had allowed to happen," Elsa told Asher, who already knew about it.
Helena had told him she had talked with Farnus regarding allowing him to take on a similar difficulty as the Second-Year students, so he could guess why Farnus would allow him some extra days. However, instead of allowing him to compete with Second Year, Farnus compromised and gave him additional days if Asher needed to learn from Helena.
"Okay," Asher confirmed.
Elsa took out her ID Bracelet as she opened the Student List and allowed Asher to leave the World Academy.
"I will remind you again that it is better if you focus on World Academy," Elsa gave one last piece of advice as Asher left.
Asher just nodded and left the room.
Exiting her room, Asher's eyes turned cold as he touched his ID Bracelet.
He sent the confirmation message to Tom to get Dane and Kai ready for their first mission, which he would take part in.
He had gotten what he wanted from the auction, and that was his sword, so he could finally go on with his plans. Without knowing, Farnus had given more time to Asher instead of allowing him to compete with Second-Year students.
It was his way of slowing Asher's growth while allowing Kevin to have a chance to grow and catch up to him. None of Farnus's oaths were broken, as it was an extra favor.
Unfortunately, it would have been much better for Farnus if he had allowed Asher to grow stronger instead of letting him run free outside the World Academy.
