Chapter 7 : Healer

"Alright, class, today we are going to start on something more practical today. We are going to actually use affinity testing to determine your field of magic."

A lady, Miss Lea, stood before the class. She was of a rather small stature with black hair indicating her Ohde origin, wearing an amber blouse and a long, maroon skirt reaching the floor, both obviously made of a high-grade cloth. Her face, a petite smile formed from her tiny lips, with those widely opened eyes, brought out a strangely feminine charm from her. Comparing her attire to the plain, crisp uniforms of the students, it created a strange atmosphere because the clothes didn't match the atmosphere of a classroom at all.

Katachi's fingers turned cold and numb.

K : (I've never considered it this far, but if the curriculum happens to have some way of discovering my secret, this could turn out pretty ugly. I need to avoid those risks at all costs.)

Focusing on the teacher's back, he imagined her without her blouse, showing her bare back.

Though it was a disturbing thought, it had to be done. Had he applied the Word of Power on the blouse itself, the entire point of using it despite the risks would be absolutely foolish.

K : (... 设定! Set thought pattern - Avoid detection of Curse Words!)

A faint 定 glowed on the teacher's back, but because her shirt was thick nobody in class managed to notice it.

K : (... I really hope the word works this way...)

L : "As you all know, the most common method of distinguishing a person's magic affinity, and any curse or form of magic afflicted on him, is to use a Lotz crystal, like this one here."

Tucking her right hand into a glove, Miss Lea reached into the purse on the table and picked up a translucent crystal.

K : (Oh God... Please don't tell me we're using that. It's as good as being busted...)

L : "However, Lotz crystals are incredibly expensive, and they must be handled with care. Also, Lotz crystals can only glow the color of the magic applied onto you, or present within you. It cannot clearly distinguish your magic specialty. Sad is to say, the legend of Lotz was his desire to see the world as it was through his color-blind eyes, and yet what he perceived as color was magical energy itself. Therefore, although useful for confirming foul play, it is not quite as practical."

K : (... Is that a 'We're not going to use this stone' hint?... This teacher's not very good, sidetracking and making me confused and all... !)

Katachi didn't quite understand where the talk was headed, since it jumped to Lotz's history all of a sudden, but he was more nervous as to whether anyone has seen the crystal actually glowing a very slight golden. The weather outside the classroom was sunny, with students sitting near the windows squinting to look forward. Maybe the glow camouflaged well with the surroundings, or maybe it was just the surroundings itself reflecting light into the crystal giving Katachi a false impression.

But, having the Lotz crystal glow, regardless of the cause, was something he had to be extremely wary of. Lotz crystals were not supposed to glow naturally without direct contact with magic, yet the one resting on Miss Lea's hand is.

The Word of Power could most likely be detected through that Lotz crystal.

According to the bamboo book in the church at Mielfeud, the Words of Power were created not too long ago, roughly 40 years ago, in an event caused by 292 great sorcerors. Lotz existed at a time far before that, around 4000 years ago, according to a biography in the library here at Sage Raufid. Technically, since event magic didn't exist during Lotz's time,  the Lotz crystal should be unable to detect any of the 292 Words of Power.

But image power is a scary magic to behold.

Image power could reinforce a branch so it can be as durable as a bar of steel. Image power could create things, objects, even weapons out of air. Image power, the greatest sin of every human magus, is the reason why Reincarnate Arts are so powerful, for in the midst of challenging the Gods' reincarnates, they have come to fear the Gods and the power worked against them, and that reinforced the Reincarnate Arts even further. Image power had been an influential power that has rocked the entire course of history prior to its discovery.

With image power, one could probably reinforce a Lotz crystal so it can detect any forms and traces of magic. The Words of Power were classified as a supernatural event, and thus can be considered magic, so there is a certain risk that the Lotz crystal could have been reinforced by image power to detect the Words of Power - In said case, it has, and the only saving grace rests on the fact that the room was already bathed in radiant light.

K : (I'd have to make the teacher put the cryst- ? What's she doing?)

The teacher placed the crystal back into the bag.

L : "Therefore, we shall be doing something more fun today! We are going back to the past, to how the magi of the old detected magic affinities without using the Lotz crystal! Class, form yourselves into pairs of two!"

Half the entire class heaved a sigh, almost as if in disappointment, while the other half of the class turned their heads and chatted excitedly with their friends, or rather, acquaintances in the class.

K : (... This is one really strange classroom. It's divided in such a weird fashion...)

Regardless, Katachi sighed in relief, and perked his ears up.

K : (I still don't know if that Word of Power took effect. I'd have to try it at some other place, or something else. The result from this is too vague.)

"Hey, new kid?"

K : "?"

Katachi turned to his right, to see a spiky-haired boy looking at him in enthusiasm. Wearing the uniform supposedly gave students a similar identity, but looking at this boy gave one the impression that he was different. He had passion in his eyes that would have anyone retract their heads slightly, in a subtle cry for personal space.

He was just that assertive.

M : "I'm Mafer. You don't seem to know this class very well yet, so I'll help you."

K : "Oh, uh, thank you. But I'm afraid that I'd drag you down, Mafer. I... I'm not too used to this class, you see..."

The boy widened his eyes a bit and nodded his head slowly, as if understanding the scenario.

M ; "Don't worry, kid. I don't need to find these kinds of affinity because I believe in Croxa."

K : "... ! Oh! A Croxa believer! I... I see." (But, if that were the case... Why is he attending the class, then?)

Katachi nodded in response.

Knowing one more person in this school could help his chances in winning the Sage Raufid Young Magus Tournament by just that bit, but Katachi would need everything he can get should he harbor any intent to secure that.

K : "Please... Please take care of me."

M : "Oh, pssh, spare the formalities! What's your name, new kid?"

K : "Katachi."

Mafer's head jerked back a bit.

M : "That name... It's from an Ohde descent, right? No wonder you're so polite."

K : "Uhh... Yeah?" (Technically, he asked if the name was a name of Ohde descent. He didn't ask if I was from Ohde, so it's still the truth... I think.)

M : "I knew it! Did you come here to, oh, you know... Spy on your fiance or something? Is it Miss Lea?"

It was Katachi's turn for his head to jerk back.

K : "... I... I- I- I don't know her... I really don't. I just came here for the lessons."

M : "Hoho, well, I'll leave you to your thing. Right now, we're partners."

Mafer grabbed an empty seat and sat next to Katachi.

L : "Alright class, first, I want one of you to form your fingers into a number '7' for both hands, and place them into the shape of the Tetear of Axia, just like this. Be sure to place your mouth over the medicine fingers and the pinkies. Also, make sure your thumbs are stretched to a right angle, or as close to it as possible. Image power will rectify that for us if it's wide enough."

Miss Lea shaped both hands so the thumbs and forefingers extended, and the rest retracted. She then placed the hands together, with the pinky fingers colliding into each other on the side. Positioning her hands onto her face, she demonstrated the actions necessary by extending the middle finger to indicate the lack of contact between the lips and the middle fingers.

Some discussions on who should do it arose between the groups, but soon enough, half the class followed suit.

L : "Next, the student who is not using Axia's Tetear should grab a pencil or a piece of charcoal, and place it between the two forefingers, like this. Once you do that, you can put it back to its original place."

A piece of charcoal floated in the air, and hovered between her forefingers pointed towards the sky.

The students followed suit.

M : "Just hold still now..."

Mafer placed the charcoal between Katachi's forefingers for a bit, and moved it away.

L : "Excellent. Now, the final part. Exhale through your mouth, into the gap between your pinky fingers. It should reveal your magic affinity!"

Katachi gently blew onto his fingers, and words formed between his fingers.

Words made from the dust of charcoal saying "Water (Healing)" formed before his eyes.

Katachi had an affinity for water magic.

Healing water magic.

A gentle magic that could prove to be his boon, or his bane.

M : "You're a healer, huh."

Mafer looked at him, still enthusiastic as before.

M : "You know, healers like you often become the nursing staff in this school. If you can learn to heal super fast, I bet you'd get a solid job in this place."

K : "I'll take my chances. Thanks, Mafer."

Katachi let go of his hands, and the dust before him fell onto the table.

*Cozy's Notes : Basically, that's the medieval age version of a personality test. Considering how magic in the story is frmed, it's pretty logical.*

*** ***

B : "Hey, Baka~"

Katachi ignored the annoying voice that belonged to a woman named Bael.

B : "... Baka?"

K : "I have told you that I refuse to engage in a proper conversation and remain unrelated to anything related to you calling me 'Baka', should you call me by that name."

B : "... You meanie. You're probably my only other form of actual entertainment around this school besides studying medicine and torturing others, and you're denying me of even that? I am heartbroken."

K : "Well, stay heartbroken. It's... ?"

A figure dashed past the corridor. It was fast, and hazy, but it looked like a brown-haired female student. It was strange how someone could even run in these halls controlled by directional magic, but that person must have used image power or something to overcome a simple obstacle like speed limit.

B : "?"

K : "... It's not like I see you romantically in any way or anything."

B : "Meanie."

Bael's eyes turned half-closed.

K : "Sorry to be mini-meanie me then."

B : "Anyway, I heard you entered the Young Magus Tournament."

K : "Yes, I did. What about it?"

B : "You've not even enrolled for 10 days and you want to join the tournament already? Talk about being overconfident."

K : "Judge me as you like it, but I'm going. That's final."

B : "It's useless, you know! You'd probably get wiped out even before the second round!"

K : "I don't mind~!"

Katachi walked into his room, and closed the door. Since it was a zone only males could enter, Bael was naturally barred from entering the room, in a similar fashion that males were barred from the females only zones.

And so Katachi escaped Bael for the day.

K : (I can't have her bothering me while I read... It may be against the curfew, but I guess I will have to go to the library at night.)