CHAPTER 16: FLASH AND EMA

Professor De Vale scratched at the stubble on his chin, seemingly ignoring the fear he had instilled in his students.

"Ah, yes, killing! You are not permitted to kill any other students under my watch, or else you will join the man lying on the ground!"

The students stood still, not daring to move and draw the man’s ire.

Noticing this, the professor rolled his one eye and rapped his knuckles on the podium.

"He isn’t dead. I hit him with a basic poison spell that paralyzes the body. In a few minutes, he will be right as rain. I’m a professor, not an executioner."

Everyone released a collective sigh of relief, Charon included.

’I really thought he killed him.’

He lightly grasped the chains crossing his chest, tugging at them to relax the tension in his shoulders. His face had gone white with terror, but rapidly regained some color as he calmed himself.

Clearing his throat, the professor continued, withdrawing a holo-pad and turning it on. A long screen appeared above it, showing a lot of text that Charon was unable to read.

"For this first class, I will be splitting you into archetypes based on your elements. You will then discuss with each other about your element and first spells. The information for these can be found on your holo-pads under "Personal Information" for those unaware. Now, please stand by as I call out your name, element, and grouping."

Leaning in closer to read the names, he began to call them out.

"Shia, darkness, attackers. Lance, plague, supports. Yval, pain, supports."

With every name, a student moved to the side. Groups began to form under the different archetypes Charon identified as attackers, defenders, supports, and summoners.

The largest groups were the first two, with supporters having a handful and summoners having next to none.

As Professor De Vale got closer to the bottom of the list, he suddenly stumbled over himself, his words mixing to become something unintelligible before he corrected himself. With a strange look, he glanced over the holographic words, looking right at Charon.

"Charon, soul, summoners."

Charon froze, unsure how everyone would respond to his element being outed. The High Priest and Emerius had been very interested in it, so it stood to reason others would be as well.

No one else seemed to notice, or care. Charon simply walked over to the other summoners, the professor watching him as he went.

’He must be surprised by my element. The High Priest did say it was rare. He teaches a magic class; he must be naturally curious about a rare kind of magic.’

Charon also noticed the other students couldn’t have cared less about the aspect.

’If it was something important, they would have commented. My element is just rare, nothing too incredible. Emerius had a higher upbringing, so he probably knows enough to be excited, but he never said it went beyond that.’

Although he acknowledged it was a good thing that it didn’t paint a target on his back, he couldn’t help but be disappointed at the lack of fanfare.

’I had begun to think it made me special.’

Looking at the other two summoners, he thought back on how the professor had announced them and remembered that the girl was a bone necromancer, and the boy was a flesh necromancer. The distinction felt obvious, but unnecessary.

’Shouldn’t necromancy just be one field? Why is the element split into flesh and bone?’

Extending a hand to the bone necromancer, an average-sized girl with black hair and brown eyes, he gave a friendly smile and introduced himself.

"Hey, I’m Charon. It’s nice to meet you both."

To his surprise, the boy took his hand, shaking it firmly. He looked eerily similar to the girl now that Charon checked, the only difference being shorter hair.

"I’m Flash, and this is Ema. She doesn’t speak, but we have our own method of communication, so I will translate."

Giving them both a sideways glance, Charon asked the obvious.

"Are you two related?"

Flash sighed, shaking his head. Ema rolled her eyes, hearing better than she spoke.

"No, we aren’t. I met her a few years ago, and before you ask, we’ve met each other’s parents. They also look similar. No, they aren’t related either."

His tone was exasperated and dry as if he was tired of explaining this.

Charon was unconvinced, but knew it wasn’t the time or the place to start a discussion about it.

’Those two definitely share some DNA, they just have to! Even their elements match up!’

Ema made the sign of an eight over her chest before drawing the two circles away with a squiggle, followed by shaking her fist and splaying her fingers. Flash saw this and repeated what she said.

"She is asking about your element, soul. Neither of us has heard of it before. Is it particularly rare?"

Charon nodded, satisfied that it still impressed at least a few people.

"As far as I’ve been told, it’s incredibly rare. I’m new to magic, though, so I can’t explain the details very much."

Flash’s eyebrows shot up.

"You as well? I had assumed everyone else here had grown up with magic."

Ema made a fist and rocked it up and down.

"Ema agrees. She and I grew up in the middle ring, and our planet had only a handful of mages. The only time we were able to witness real magic was when we celebrated our acceptance into this school."

Charon grinned, happy to meet someone else just as confused about magic as he was. It made him feel validated, like he wasn’t entirely out of place.

"I’m from the outer ring, so I’m in the same boat. I had never thought about the churches very much until I was sent here. Going from that to gaining magic powers in a matter of hours was quite the experience."

Ema pointed a finger up near her forehead, Flash jumping to translate.

"She says we understand what that’s like. Our families were faithful, but we seldom went to church. It’s a large shift to go from simply knowing about the gods to experiencing their powers firsthand."

Another series of knuckles rapping the podium interrupted their conversation. Professor De Vale was studying the four groups, a goofy smile on his face.

"I am glad to see you are all making friends! I encourage this, as it is one of the best ways to learn! Those who grow together, stay together, creating lasting bonds. Before you reach too deeply into each other’s stories, please share your first spells so you may discuss the significance and connections between your spells and archetypes!"

Ema quickly began signing a bunch of different words, Flash watching her without a word so she could finish. Unlike before, it took longer to finish, the thought more complex.

"She says that her first spell is a simple zombie spell. She can touch a corpse and bring it back as a mindless thrall, with the main limiting factor being the constant mana drain each zombie brings. At her current rank, she thinks she can support one, maybe two."

Charon listened to the translation closely, happy to learn about other spells.

’It sounds like basic necromancy magic. It doesn’t sound very strong if it relies on having access to a corpse. Needing a corpse to have any kind of value beats the purpose.’

"What about yours?"

Flash puffed up at the question, his chest extending and his chin raised.

"I happen to have a very rare ability called Bone Crafting. I can take bones and reshape them into pieces of armor and weapons that both people and summons can use. A few ranks, and I’ll even be able to have them provide special effects."

The way he spoke calmed Charon. He didn’t know if it was due to his willingness to share information or pure charisma, but it made him feel at ease.

’Roger would’ve loved him.’

"I have a summoning ability myself. I don’t know much about it, but it doesn’t require any corpses, just souls. I need more practice with it before I can figure out how it works."

His explanation was mostly true, only leaving out that he had already tried it and summoned the Warden. Something about the creature made him hesitant to mention it.

’An Archmage soul was traded for it, that can’t be common. It also has something to do with a realm Emerius didn’t know about. If his family is as rich and powerful as I assume, that should be warning enough to keep things quiet.’

Charon knew it probably didn’t matter, especially as he had told Emerius, but it couldn’t hurt to be cautious.

Flash whistled approvingly.

"A pure summoning ability sounds useful! Ema and I have been talking about how to get corpses for her to test hers, but they aren’t just lying anywhere. Rumor has it our first trial will take place in a war zone, though, so that should give us some more opportunities."

Mentally noting that tidbit of information about the first trial, Charon scratched the back of his head.

"So, what do we do now?"

A voice answered him from behind, so close it tickled his flesh.

"Whatever you wish!"