Etyna walked over to her podium, standing before the class as she began to speak, “Today, we’re gonna learn about the Soul Vessel.” Ersak’s face went stiff as he whispered, “What the hell is a Soul Vessel?” Sitting next to him, Quiness leaned toward Ersak’s desk with a smile.
“A Soul Vessel is like a flow within everyone.
It’s just like currents flowing inside every single person.” Etyna extended her hand forward.
Thin, sky-blue streams of light emerged, drifting and swirling all over her arm.
“This is the Soul Vessel.
It acts like everyone’s personal energy.
The color will also vary depending on your element and type.” Clenching her fist, the streams of light vanished.
Etyna stepped down from the podium and paced back and forth.
“You guys probably learned this in middle school already, but the Soul Vessel can make you stronger through reinforcement, and it can also help you cast spells.” A purple-haired girl up in the right corner section raised her hand and said, “Ms.
Etyna, does that mean every single person has one?” Etyna pointed at the girl.
“Excellent.
That’s a very good question, Lisa.
Yes, everyone is born with a small amount in their body, with zero exceptions.
But if we look at it from the perspective of someone who willingly sacrifices their entire Soul Vessel, they might end up with no Soul Vessel left, but they’ll gain a unique special ability instead.” Quiness raised his arm, asking with a curious look, “Based on what you just said, when someone has a special ability, do they still need to rely on the Soul Vessel to use it?” Etyna clapped her hands, walked over to the blackboard, and tapped it, facing the students.
“Another great question from Quiness.
Look up here.
The yellow sphere represents you, and the sky-blue circle is the Soul Vessel.” Images began to appear on the blackboard.
A yellow sphere popped up next to a minus sign, along with a sky-blue circle that equaled a red circle with swirling gaseous currents trapped inside.
“Even though you trade it away to gain a special ability, after making that sacrifice, you have to train to recover your Soul Vessel.
Only then can you actually activate your special ability.” An arrow appeared next to the circle, pointing downward.
A red circle popped up with a plus sign next to a sky-blue circle, equaling a red circle shooting out bursts of light.
Oohs and aahs echoed across the lecture hall.
Etyna took a few steps forward and smiled.
“It’s not something you can just get whenever you want.
Even if you have a massive Soul Vessel, if you don’t meet the required conditions, you still won’t be able to get a special ability.” A student in the hall asked a question, and Etyna looked up.
“Then what are the conditions, teacher?” Etyna brought her hand up in front of her face.
The glowing lights manifested, shaping themselves into small beasts that flew around her head.
“There’s no proof or anyone who can specify what those conditions are, so it completely depends on luck and innate talent.” Etyna turned her head toward Lusia, Hawen, and Enmie sitting by the window.
“Enmie, can you come over here and help me out for a second?” Enmie blinked in confusion.
“Huh?” She stepped over to Etyna, standing beside her while facing the class.
Etyna gestured with an open hand toward Enmie as she continued, “Some people are born with special abilities, and some use their Soul Vessel to undergo a transformation, but for most, it happens completely at random.” Etyna glanced at Enmie and whispered, “Can you deploy your Soul Vessel?” “Sure.” Enmie raised her hand as blazing red streams of light emerged, swirling all over her arm.
Etyna looked up at the class and kept talking.
“Soul Vessels differ from one another, but only when you possess a special ability or if your Soul Vessel is stronger than average.
Under normal circumstances, it’ll actually have a pale blue color like mine, unlike this field agent’s.” The fat boy sitting in the upper rows raised his voice.
“Ms.
Etyna, what does it feel like when you deploy a Soul Vessel like that field agent is doing?
Does it feel like the elemental attribute or the type of the person using it?” Etyna lowered her hand, and the streams of light around her arm vanished.
She took a few steps forward and said, “Actually, the Soul Vessel itself doesn’t feel like anything.
It’s just like streams of air.
You won’t feel the Soul Vessel at all unless you shape it into a spell.” “Alright.” Etyna clapped her hands, turned around, and walked back up to stand at her podium.
“You can head back to your seat now.
Thanks.” As Enmie walked back, Etyna began her lecture, “As I mentioned, the Soul Vessel is an energy that helps you use magic.
All mages utilize their Soul Vessel to unleash their techniques.” Etyna raised a finger next to her face.
“It also has many functions, like healing and plenty of other uses, not just for combat.” “For your first lesson, the assignment I’m giving you will be simpler than the other classes.
Focus on controlling your own Soul Vessel to form streams of light swirling around your hand, just like I did earlier.” The students immediately got to work.
Some used both hands, straining so hard their faces contorted, while others used a single hand with their eyes shut tight in concentration.
Quiness positioned both hands apart to leave a space between them.
His face tightened with focus, his eyes squeezed shut.
Ersak’s eyes widened as he stared toward Quiness.
“Ah?!” Pale blue streams of light moved slowly up from Quiness’s hands.
As the light reached the empty space between his palms, it began to move faster.
More and more streaks of light gathered, swirling around to form a sphere between Quiness’s hands.
Ersak broke out in beads of cold sweat, unable to believe his eyes.
Quiness opened his eyes and spoke up excitedly, “Ha!
Ersak, look at this!
I did it!” Ersak uttered a bewildered gasp.
Up in the rows, the blue-haired boy—Oxer—let out a lazy yawn, a Soul Vessel already swirling around his hand.
With a smug expression, Oxer sneered, “A bunch of low-lifes, acting like something this simple is hard.” Quiness glared up at the boy with an irritated expression.
“Oxer, since you already did it, why don’t you shut your mouth?
Nobody asked for your input.” Oxer grimaced, gritting his teeth.
“Tch!…
This guy…” Quiness turned his head back to the dazed Ersak.
“Hey, you try it.
I think it’s pretty easy.” “Oh…
okay…” Ersak raised his hand in front of him, opening his palm as he closed his eyes skeptically.
Excited shouts erupted from the other students.
“I did it!” “Look, I can make it move faster!” Ersak’s face contorted as he squeezed his eyes shut.
Etyna walked over, stopping right in front of Ersak’s desk.
Quiness sweated silently, waiting to see what would happen.
The entire room suddenly fell dead silent as the pair watched Ersak, waiting.
“Haa-!…” Ersak let out a long, heavy sigh, dropping his hand onto the desk.
He muttered softly in sheer disappointment, lowering his head as he closed his eyes.
“I can’t do it…” Quiness forced a smile and spoke up, “Come on, try it again.
Nobody succeeds on their very first try.” Etyna let out a soft laugh, making both Ersak and Quiness look up at her in confusion.
She tilted her head slightly and said, “Just try it again.
Focus hard this time.” Ersak sighed, raising his hand in front of him as he squeezed his eyes shut.
“I’m positive he has a very unique amount of Soul Vessel.
There’s no way he can’t do it.” Lusia glanced over, startled.
“What do you mean?” Hawen maintained a strictly serious expression, staring intently at Ersak.
“When he fought you, Enmie and I saw a very strange Soul Vessel radiating from him.
I’m certain he’s hiding his true skills.” Sitting by the edge of the window, Enmie swung her legs back and forth as she chimed in, “Who knows?
What if it was just a coincidence?
Besides, we can’t exactly prove he can even control it.”