A big hit

While the skinny teacher explained the theory behind the Arcane Dart which Jay obviously didn't comprehend in the slightest from that, the crowd had formed a semi circle around Wizley.

That gave Jay the chance to confirm it really had been Elena whom he spotted there.

He was about half done analyzing the class when they got asked to take their spots and practice.

Glad he wasn't in the first batch, Jay watched and listened the first one cast his spell but it was a failed attempt. In the group next to them an ordinary looking guy managed to fire his spell successfully so Jay paid attention to his second try.

Through this he understood that the spell was nothing but a lesser version of his (Arcane Missiles) where more than half of the spell was missing to the last sequence. Not sure if it really was this simple, Jay soon had the chance to test it out as he was the next one in his group to practice.

Until that point only two persons of the seven groups had managed to finish their chant and fire off the spell.

After he took his stance, Jay concentrated and chanted the spell in silence like he had heard it before from the other guy. Once he reached the point where it derived from his Missiles, Jay simply infused a bit of magic and then switched to the last sequence of his higher skill.

The result was a dart of about double the size from what he had seen fly off towards the closest target. It was no more than a "poof" once it hit the dummy, but the charred spot on it told Jay it really wasn't without any power.

About to go for his next try, Jay noticed it had gotten a bit too silent around him. Looking to his right to see what was up, he found the eyes of all six groups to his right looking at him.

Even the teacher was no exception.

Deciding to ignore them, Jay went for his second attempt and even aimed for the next target a bit further away. With the same sound coming from ten yards away, he got another hit in. This time he directly went for his third and last round.

As he had noticed his last hit went in lower than the first and he this time aimed for the same target, Jay infused a bit more mana.

***

Spell integrated:

(Arcane Dart LVL1)

***

Not sure if it was due to him infusing more mana, the number of finished spells or simply just pure luck, but Jay had managed to integrate a new spell. He closed the notification in his field of view as he turned around and got his next surprise.

Everyone there looked at him in astonishment and even those chanting had stopped to look at his result.

The dummy Jay had just hit was still smoking a little as he had stepped back.

Only teacher Wizley seemed not pleased with Jay's performance and even asked the "youngling" if he was positive for the next practice as well. A bit provoked by the man, Jay was wondering what that next practice might be as he watched the rest of the groups training.

In the end, only about half of the class managed to fire off their spells successfully.

Wizley called them all together and then announced that those who didn't manage would take the last three practice spots while the rest would come with him to the first one. They would hold a little target contest, with the winner being who hits the highest marks out of three targets.

As the groups had split up, Jay saw that even the orced Elena was in his group but it didn't really matter to him.

Once at the place Jay's group had been using before, Wizley went ahead, took his stance and began to explain that one could infuse more mana into the spell before initiating the launch sequence for more potent results. Done with his speech he fired an Arcane Dart bigger than normal but not to the extent of Jay's last one.

After two perfect hits to the red marked center of the targets, the last one had been slightly off but was still impressive, Wizley turned back around to the overwhelmed students. They then got asked to queue in line and try themselves while the teacher would watch and rate them.

As eleventh in line, Jay had to watch the miserable aims of the others with only a few even hitting all targets.

When it was finally his turn, he first chanted the spell once more and achieved a perfect hit as well. This had already been enough to get all students around to admire him.

But as Jay tested his new Ability (Arcane Dart LVL1) next that resulted in exactly the same hit like before, they were head over heels for him.

Wizley though still looked at Jay with disdain what led to Jay loosing his temper.

For the last target he simply used an (Arcane Missile LVL2) that didn't exactly ignore the given task as their teacher hadn't specified the spell to use.

Even though he held back and abstained from his maximum Level, it still resulted in the target completely blasting into smithereens.

Turning away from the still smoking debris, Jay this time found not only the students but their teacher as well with eyes wide open and mouth agape.

The moment he passed Wizley he calmly gave him a comment before he left.

"This is a waste of time for me. Sorry, but I'm off…" J.

On his way over the campus, Jay encountered nearly no other students what didn't surprise him as most of them should be in their lessons. Jay noticed he really had gotten hungry over the last hours.

He originally wanted to directly leave and head back into the city, but decided to pay the Academy's cafeteria a visit. Like last time he picked some food that was new to him and then went back outside to sit on a bench in the park.

Done with his meal and surprisingly happy with the choice, Jay took out the magic lock he had received from the principal to give it a try. But not even three minutes later he already had enough of it as he simply had no clue as to what to do.

About to put it away, the shadow of a person halted in front of him. As Jay looked up he recognized Dellis who had just come by to say hello after he spotted Jay alone on the bench.

"Yo Dellis, 'been a while. How have you been?" J.

"Can't tell bad news. How about you? Got a new toy?" D.

Dellis had hinted towards the magic lock in Jay's hands while he sat down next to him. Jay then explained that it was given to him as practice tool until he would go to another school.

As Dellis inquired about his progress, Jay shook his head and told him that he had absolutely no clue.

A bit proud he could teach Jay something, Dellis explained him the principle of those locks and how he should fare with it.

He should start with a comfortable amount of mana that he could thin out until it reached the form of threads. Then those threads would have to get stuffed into the gaps inside the lock until it was completely filled.

Doing as he got explained, Jay managed to open the first of five locks. Dellis only shook his head after he heard the clicking sound, commenting how absurdly talented Jay was. To that, latter stored the lock away and they continued to chat for a while.

Jay even told him about Geffen and learned that Dellis was going to the University next year as well, but only to the Aldebaran School of Magic.

Upon inquiring he got explained that it was the Magic university for the Royal Army, so in reality it only fell short to Geffenia.

He still was a bit envious though.

To change the topic, Jay asked for interesting classes what resulted in Dellis nearly falling from the bench from laughing. Once he calmed down, he told Jay he should instead go to the library or if he was interested and had the skill for it, take part in enchanting practices.

Then he rose from the bench and stated it really was time for him as he had afternoon lessons as well, so the two said their farewells and Jay promised he'd pay Dellis a visit in Aldebaran.

Not having the slightest interest to look through countless dusty books and with one very special to learn already in his inventory, Jay chose to pay that enchanting practice a visit. The class even was pretty close to the cafeteria so within two minutes he arrived there.

The granny teacher only looked at this student batch once and noted his name, then concentrated back to the matter at hand.

She had already started to teach the group of students there about temporary enchants. While most of the students kept listening to the teacher, some of them had already started to practice resulting in a minor explosion somewhere in the ranks of the auditorium.

As he listened to the granny teachers explanations that really had been interesting for him, Jay had noticed the other students all had books or scrolls on their tables. Once she had finished her lesson, the teacher walked closer to him and noted that he was a new face so he probably had not gotten any documents.

As she asked what kind of enchants he was interested in, Jay mentioned weapon and combat related ones were what he was looking for.

She seemed surprised but not opposed to this and after she fetched an old parchment from the shelve, she even explained Jay the basics of the spells. It was the only one she knew in that category as most of the students were looking for physical or mental boosts and the likes.

But even though he got quite a lot help from the teacher and even some of the students, it took Jay close to an hour until he finally had figured out how to use the spell described on the parchment. He was a bit reluctant to test the charm on his newly reforged Wingblade, so Jay took out one of his simple spare swords and directly went to work.

At that point, most of the other students stopped their practices and watched him. While the theory behind the spell was not that difficult, Jay still failed his first attempt, resulting in some of the other students snorting and commenting that it was crazy to come there for the first time and directly try an enchant.

But as the Blade was still intact he went for a second try, this time a bit slower and with even more concentration.

***

Spell integrated:

(Windblade LVL1)

***

The whole class went silent when Jay lifted the temporary enchanted sword. As the spell would wear off in no more than two minutes, Jay excused himself and directly went outside to give it a try.

To his surprise nearly half of the class followed him, even the teacher.

Grabbing the hilt tight, Jay aimed for the closest tree there and swung the sword. Just like in the description, the tree that was still five yards away got a deep cut even without Jay hitting it physically. While a real hit from him would probably have felled the tree and there was no physical feedback at all, the spell still would come in handy at some point.

After his spectators had clapped and congratulated him, Jay asked the granny to excuse him as he had to leave for today.

She had already understood he was no mere student for magic and wished him good luck on his travels.

On his way to the campus gate, Jay once again met Elena.

Instead of blushing and hiding in the group of three she was with, the blonde this time had taken a heart and walked over to Jay. Once she stood before him it took her a few moments to get a word out though.

"I just wanted to thank you for not telling about… me. My name is Elena by the way, may I learn yours?" E.

"I'm Jay, and why would I tell someone about another one's private matters? But won't a few people find out anyways?" J.

"May be, but until then I'll hopefully have left the city… Thanks again!" E.

"See Ya!" J.

"Wouldn't mind…" E.

With those words Jay saw her running back to the other girls and finally left the Academy grounds.

It had already started to get dark by then, so Jay was thinking about where to go. He originally had planned to stay at Allison's Gilded Rose Inn but wasn't sure if it was the best idea given the duel was scheduled for the next afternoon. That was something he had successfully erased from his mind until that moment, but just when he remembered it got him nervous again.

Halfway down the hill to the park he had come from, Jay spotted an interesting sign with a blue glow. The entrance to the bar had the same illumination and Jay remembered even Dellis mentioning the name of this bar in his talks.

As far as Jay remembered he had heard that the "Blue Recluse" might be a bit more expensive than the other pubs and bars in the district, but it was high quality and the tranquil atmosphere helped one clear their minds.

Interested in what he had heard about the bar, Jay stepped onto the adorned stairs leading up to the entrance even though it was a bit early for a drink and he hadn't even eaten dinner.

The hint to the "Blue Recluse" proved right the moment Jay entered.

Even the air in the room felt like it was filled with magic and it got illuminated by the same blueish crystals like outside. It was shaped similar to the Slaughtered Lamb, though not that long and narrow.

Jay thought it must be the basic shape of houses in this district as he walked along some cozy looking sofas and armchairs that were placed around low tables towards the long bar.

Most of the tables were occupied by single persons and only a few with pairs at most. The whole hall was very silent, so much that Jay thought there had to be some kind of magic dampening at work.

Directly opposite to the bar, Jay found a free table and took a seat there.

It didn't even take a minute for the middle aged waitress to come and welcome him. But the moment she placed a glass of fine looking liquor onto the table in front of him, Jay got irritated.

As he told the waitress that he hadn't ordered anything already, she answered "It's from the lady at the window over there…" while hinting the direction with her eyes.

Jay followed her line of sight wondering who it might be and got pleasantly surprised to spot the banker he had met before there. She rose her glass to him toasting at distance, so Jay did the same while nodding approvingly.

The woman in question was sitting there alone what initially brought Jay to think she wanted some quiet peace, but then she waved him over. Without wait he followed her request as she already went so far to buy him a drink and walked up to her.

"Hello, would you mind keeping me some company?" L.

"Hello to you as well, it would be my pleasure. Thank you for this delicacy by the way." J.

After the somehow businesslike greeting, Lorette seemed to ease up a bit and pointed to the empty armchair opposite to hers. Not thinking about declining the offer, Jay sat down while she commented that somehow he bought the drink himself as it was his money that paid.

A small smile formed on his face when he saw her smug grin, so he took her up on her teasing and asked what a beautiful Lady like her was doing here alone.

After they first chuckled to this and took a sip each, she continued in a more professional way again that she really had a big hit thanks to him. As she learned that day, she would be set in charge of the bank for it aside from the small fortune she had made and then had come there to celebrate.

His question still had remained unanswered, but Jay decided to leave it for another time and asked if she came there often. Once again she was a bit more up for flirting when she answered that until that day she seldomnly went out, but if she did so she had come to the Blue Recluse.

"It is something I reserved for special days, but somehow I have the feeling that there will follow some more thanks to you…" L.

Not sure about her flirting and professional demeanor switching repeatedly, Jay still took her up on the former and jokingly hinted that there really might be some more wealth on him.

After Jay asked in a teasing tone what bonus he might get from it though, the both of them laughed and then dropped that subject at this point. It seemed that both didn't want to taint their possible business relationship as they started to leisurely chat while keeping up the flirting in between.