By the time they left the dining hall, they had already crossed paths with several first-year students.
The atmosphere out here felt different.
Unlike the dining hall, where people were still talking about Elora’s accident, most conversations now revolved around Kael and his spectacular disaster.
The whole thing had happened yesterday, yet people were already talking about it like it was a permanent part of academy history.
“I’m telling you, it wasn’t even that bad,” Kael was saying as they passed a group of students near the courtyard.
“Hey Kael, where was all that fire control a few hours ago?
That chair nearly died, and you almost got all of us killed.” Everyone burst out laughing.
Once again, Elora felt a little sorry for him, but there wasn’t much she could do about it.
He had brought it on himself.
At least now they were both suffering from unwanted attention.
Elora continued walking alongside Lyra and the other students.
Their next class was located on the opposite side of the academy, and by the time they arrived, most of the first-years had already taken their seats.
The classroom looked very different from Professor Sorn’s.
Instead of reinforced walls and practice circles, bookshelves covered most of the room, while floating diagrams drifted lazily near the ceiling.
One displayed a network of glowing mana pathways, while another showed a collection of elemental symbols rotating slowly through the air.
A moment later, the classroom doors opened and an older man entered carrying far more books than any reasonable person should have been holding.
Unlike Professor Sorn, he looked genuinely happy to be here.
His silver robes were slightly wrinkled, his glasses sat crooked on his nose, and he nearly dropped half his books before reaching the front desk.
“Good afternoon, everyone.
My name is Professor Aldric, and today we’ll be learning about Affinity Theory.” He placed the books down and turned toward the board, where he wrote a single word in large letters.
AFFINITY.
“Let’s begin with a simple question,” he said, turning back toward the class.
“What is an affinity?” Hands shot into the air across the classroom.
It was clear that affinity theory interested a lot of first-years.
Professor Aldric pointed toward a student near the front.
“Fire.” “Incorrect.” The student blinked.
Another hand rose.
“Water?” “Also incorrect.” At this point, Elora had no idea what answer Professor Aldric was looking for.
Judging by the increasingly confused faces around the room, Professor Aldric was enjoying this way too much.
“You’ve all spent the last day hearing people talk about fire affinities, water affinities, wind affinities, and every other affinity imaginable,” he said.
“The problem is that most people use the word incorrectly.” “Fire is not an affinity.
Water is not an affinity.
Those are classifications.” The word on the board disappeared, replaced by a glowing diagram of flowing mana.
“An affinity is the natural relationship between your mana and a particular aspect of the world.” “Think of affinity as compatibility,” he said.
“Everyone has mana, but some people naturally connect better with certain types of magic than others.
That’s what an affinity is.
It doesn’t decide your limits or determine how powerful you’ll become.
It simply influences what comes naturally to you.” Streams of blue light flowed through the diagram before branching toward symbols representing fire, water, wind, and earth.
“If two students cast the exact same spell, the student whose affinity aligns with that spell will usually spend less mana, require less effort, and achieve better results.” Professor Aldric raised a finger.
“That does not mean the other student cannot learn it.” “Many first-years make the mistake of believing affinities determine what you can do.
They don’t.
Your affinity influences what comes naturally to you, but it does not determine your limits.” Elora found herself paying closer attention.
Then it hit her why the lesson sounded familiar.
Professor Sorn had already spent an entire class teaching the exact same thing, only with a lot more insults.
A hand went up near the back of the classroom.
“Professor, is it true that the Headmaster has every affinity?” Professor Aldric adjusted his glasses before answering.
“There are many stories about Headmaster Arkhavel.” The response was met with a chorus of groans.
“Professor, that’s not actually an answer.” “It is the answer you’re getting.” The classroom laughed.
“The Headmaster is one of the most accomplished mages alive,” Aldric continued.
“Beyond that, I suggest you focus on passing your exams before worrying about reaching his level.” That earned another round of laughter before the lesson moved on.
That seemed to open the floodgates.
Whispering broke out again, and Elora caught Lucien’s name more than once.
As far as anyone knew, nobody actually knew what Lucien’s affinity was.
Some claimed it was a rare affinity, others insisted he had multiple, and a few seemed convinced he was hiding it on purpose.
The only thing everyone agreed on was that nobody had a real answer.
Honestly, Elora was starting to think half the Academy survived on rumors.
If gossip were a mana source, nobody here would ever run out of power.
Professor Aldric allowed the discussion to settle before moving on.
“Now that we’ve established that most of the Academy knows absolutely nothing about Headmaster Arkhavel’s affinities, let’s return to the lesson.” “Affinity is easier to understand when you see it in practice, so I’d like a volunteer.” The room lost all enthusiasm.
Professor Aldric looked around expectantly, but nobody moved.
Then someone near the back raised a hand.
“I nominate Kael.” The entire classroom erupted into laughter.
Kael looked genuinely betrayed.
“Why me?” “Because you’re experienced.” “You set one chair on fire and suddenly you’re the expert,” another student added.
More laughter spread through the room.
Kael buried his face in his hands.
“Respectfully, I’d rather not become today’s example again.” Professor Aldric blinked.
“I’m afraid I need context.” That only made everyone laugh harder.
“Nothing, Professor,” Kael said quickly.
“I’d prefer if the context stayed dead.” Professor Aldric looked intrigued but decided not to press the matter.
“Very well.
Since Mr.
Kael seems unwilling to demonstrate anything today, I’ll choose someone myself.” Around the room, students busied themselves with absolutely nothing while carefully avoiding eye contact with the professor.
Unfortunately for them, Professor Aldric had already made his choice.
“You,” he said, pointing toward a girl near the front row.
“What’s your affinity?” “Water, Professor.” “Excellent.” The girl stepped forward as Aldric summoned a small glowing construct above his desk.
The sphere hovered in the air, pulsing softly with blue light.
“I want everyone to pay attention,” he said.
“This is a simple demonstration, but it explains why affinities matter.” The student nodded.
“Guide a small amount of mana into the construct.” A thin stream of blue mana flowed from her hand and into the sphere.
The construct brightened before transforming into a ribbon of water that circled lazily above the desk.
“Because her affinity aligns naturally with water, the process is efficient,” Aldric explained.
“Less effort.
Better results.” The ribbon continued circling through the air before dissolving back into mana.
Back in her seat, Elora found herself thinking about something else.
At this point, every professor in the Academy seemed determined to repeat the same message: stop obsessing over affinities.
What was her affinity?
Yesterday, she’d been worried about it.
Now, she wasn’t even sure it mattered.
Even so, part of her still wanted an answer.