Lessons

As the sun rose over the Institute, the air buzzed with anticipation. Students shuffled to and from lecture halls, their expressions ranging from eager to overwhelmed. Among them, Leon navigated the maze of corridors with a calm demeanor, calmly receiving the whispers that followed him.

His first day began with a strict schedule that would span the entire morning and stretch into the early afternoon. Morning classes covered the fundamental Laws of Existence, split into distinct subjects taught by various experts in their fields:

8:00 AM: Law of Mass - Instructor Mardak

9:00 AM: Law of Motion - Instructor Mardak

10:00 AM: Eventuality - Instructor Kairen

11:00 AM: Causal Threads - Instructor Kairen

Each class was housed in its own hall, tailored to the nature of the lessons. The Law of Mass lecture took place in a circular chamber, its walls adorned with intricate engravings that seemed to ripple and shift, mimicking the unseen forces binding all matter together.

Professor Mardak, a stern man with graying hair and a piercing gaze, began the lecture with the commanding air of someone who had mastered his craft. "The Laws of Existence are not arbitrary rules; they are the framework upon which our world is built. Each of you must unravel their mysteries to wield power effectively. Let us begin with the most fundamental: the Law of Mass."

Leia, seated a single row behind Leon, furrowed her brow as the professor's words washed over her.

Mardak's explanation delved into the microscopic realm, drawing parallels between their world's understanding of Laws and the discovery of atoms in human science.

"Everything you see—every rock, tree, and even your own bodies—is composed of infinitesimal units. These units are bound by forces that dictate their interactions. To manipulate the Law of Mass is to influence these units at their core."

Leon leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with interest. He sketched diagrams and made notes with the efficiency of someone who had already pieced together the basics. Leia couldn't help but notice how quickly he absorbed the lecture. As well as how he wrote—Leon was ambidextrous.

Not everyone was impressed by Leon's aptitude. A student seated nearby, tall and dressed in an immaculate uniform, raised his hand with a smirk.

His voice carried an air of arrogance. "Professor, it's distracting to have someone pretending to understand what you're saying. Some of us are here to actually learn."

The words caused a ripple of murmurs across the room. Leia tensed, her gaze flicking to Leon, who looked confused by the insult. His hand paused mid-sketch, pencil hovering over the diagram he had been meticulously annotating.

Professor Mardak's eyes narrowed, his piercing gaze settling on the smug student. "Name yourself, boy."

"Orick Greth," the student replied confidently, straightening his posture as if the name carried weight.

"Well, Orick," Mardak said, his voice cold, "if you believe this lesson is beneath your understanding, perhaps you'd care to explain the binding force that allows mass to retain form."

Mardak had some of his attention on Leon's notes since he began the lesson. So he knew that the 4 year old was not only ahead of his age, his comprehension surpasses those older than him.

'I can see why Garthem was worried. At least the boy is not hiding his excellence. A man must be fearless.'

Orick hesitated, the faintest flicker of uncertainty crossing his face. Still, he forced a confident tone. "It's... the innate energy within matter, held in balance by its natural properties—"

"Wrong," Mardak interrupted, his tone sharp and cutting. "That is a half-truth at best, the kind of superficial answer that exposes a shallow grasp of fundamental concepts." He turned to the rest of the class, his voice rising to address them all.

"The binding force that allows mass to retain form is far more complex. At its most basic level, it is influenced by resonance."

He strode to the board, chalk in hand, and began to draw overlapping waves. "Picture this: matter is not a solid, immutable construct. Rather, it is a collection of infinitely small particles"—atoms, if you will—"held together by the resonance of their interactions." He paused, scanning their faces.

"These particles vibrate at specific frequencies, creating stability. Without this harmony, matter would collapse into chaos. This is why we speak of resonance as the true binding force."

He turned back to Orick, whose smug expression had vanished, replaced by a mix of embarrassment and confusion. "Perhaps you should worry less about others and focus on your own inadequacies, Mr. Greth. Mastery of the Laws requires more than arrogance—it demands understanding."

Leon, meanwhile, resumed his notes, his expression calm but intent. He drew parallels between Mardak's explanation and his earlier readings on harmonic vibrations and molecular bonds. His notes flowed seamlessly, weaving scientific terminology with the mystical framework of Laws.

Leia, watching from her seat, felt a surge of vindication at Mardak's reprimand of Orick. Yet her frustration lingered. While Orick had floundered, Leon seemed unfazed, piecing together the intricate details as though it were second nature.

Her own notes were a jumbled mess, full of gaps where her understanding had failed to keep up.

The lesson ended without further interruption, but Leia's mind was already struggling to keep up. The following lectures only compounded her frustration.

The Law of Motion class emphasized the interplay of momentum and energy, with the same Professor Mardak drawing comparisons to celestial bodies and their orbits.

"You must not only understand motion but predict it. A true master of this Law can manipulate the flow of battle as if they were conducting a symphony."

By the time the students moved to Eventuality, Leia's head throbbed. This subject delved into the inevitable decay of systems, with haunting implications for those who wielded it recklessly.

"Entropy is a Law of endings," their instructor, Kairen explained gravely. "But within endings lie opportunities for renewal. To master Entropy is to wield both destruction and rebirth."

Causal Threads, explored the interconnected web of causality. It was the most abstract subject, demanding creative leaps of thought as students visualized the unseen connections between people, objects, and events.

By the time the morning concluded, Leia's mind was a tangled knot. She watched Leon conversing with instructor Kairen, his tone casual and confident. And the instructor herself almost running out of answers.

For all her training, all her father's lessons, she felt miles behind.

'He doesn't even realize how different he is,' Leia mused, a mix of admiration and envy in her chest. But another thought crept in, darker and more foreboding. 'How far will we be left behind.'

* * *

'I should thank Leia for showing me around the Institution.' Leon walked to the cafeteria. On his way, he was confronted by Orick Greth, his accuser.

"Hey faker." He said loudly, a frown on his face. "Show me your notes."

Leon hesitated, but reached for his notebook. Meanwhile, Orick was thinking; 'Why are his eyes white.'

He was in fact, miffed at Leon's looks, hiding behind his own thoughts by focusing on the eye color.

Orick grabbed the notebook and was greeted by an incredibly dense but orderly first page.

He had admitted defeat at this point, but continued flipping. "W-what the hell. Even if you took the entire lesson just writing and drawing, you would not have filled an entire fifteen pages with solid ink."

Orick's grip tightened on the notebook as he scanned the densely packed pages. Each line was meticulously written, the diagrams flawless in their precision.

The sheer volume of information seemed impossible to process, let alone record in the short time they'd been in class.

"I applied the Law of Mass." Leon began, a little excited. "And I think you forgot that I use both hands."

"What do you mean, you used the Law of Mass?" Orick's voice carried an edge of frustration. "That's—impractical! It's a beginner's lesson! How can that possibly help with writing faster?"

*

In the cafeteria, Leia as well as other students, overheard the conversation. "True, a pen's weight is negligible." Said one of the girls.

Leia answered, "But by increasing the effective density of the paper, you reduce the resistance between the ink and the page." She spoke with certainty, having glanced at Leon's desk a few times.

"It makes the ink flow more smoothly, and the lines don't bleed. It allows one to write faster without losing clarity."

She hesitated, but continued. "Except that would decrease the volume of the paper, if not just crumpling it."

The others seemed impressed, wondering why they didn't think of doing that with larger pages. But when they heard Leon's answer, they just smiled.

*

Leon tilted his head, his expression quizzical, as if Orick had just asked why the sky was blue. "Because it works," he said simply, as though the answer was obvious.

Then he grinned, an impish look crossing his face. "Also, it's kind of fun. The pen feels really smooth when you do it right." He said, holding out a pen that appeared out of thin air.

Orick blinked, thrown off by the boy's casual tone. "That... that doesn't explain how you filled so much space."

Leon looked down at his notebook, his brows furrowed, he had already explained once. "I squished the pages." He held the notebook out, as if that clarified everything.

Orick froze. "You what?"

Leon blinked twice, not out of annoyance but as if Orick had missed a really obvious point in a game.

"You know, squished. Like—" He mimed pressing his hands together. "—So the ink fits better. That way, I don't run out of space."

It was as Leia had explained to her friends.

Orick opened his mouth, then closed it again. His brain seemed to be lagging behind Leon's words. "That's not... That doesn't make sense! You're not supposed to do that!"

Leon's eyes slightly widened in surprise. "Why not? Isn't that what the Laws are for?" He smiled, clearly pleased with his own ingenuity. "It's like cheating but without actually cheating."

Leia, who had been listening from a distance, finally stepped in. She approached cautiously, her curiosity outweighing her hesitation. Taking the notebook from Orick, she studied it.

They felt perfectly normal, no different from any other notebook. Yet the sheer amount of writing packed onto a single page was ridiculous. She handed it back, frowning. "Can you explain from the beginning?"

Leon, now holding it, adjusted his grip on the notebook, the impish grin still on his face. "I used the Law of Mass to change the density of the surface material. Basically, I made the fibers of the paper tighter while keeping the structure stable. So now the ink takes up less space without losing clarity!"

Orick gawked blankly at the proper description.

Leia stared at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "So you really compressed the paper without actually crumpling it?"

Leon nodded, his expression brightening as he eagerly explained, "I used the Law of Mass to shift those fibers closer together, reducing the gaps and making the paper denser. That's why it didn't look crumpled—it's still smooth, but there's now more space to write because the fibers take up less room. It's like fitting puzzle pieces together more snugly."

Leia looked satisfied, but still had one question. "Shouldn't the pages have shrunken then? Where did those fibers come from, unless you can create matter out of thin air?"

"Ah, you see," Leon reached for the bag with his free hand, "I still have these." He held out crumpled pages, almost drenched in ink. Likely ones where he messed up the technique he employed.

Orick blinked, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "So you're not just writing faster—you're altering the paper itself to fit more text?"

"That's right." Leon replied.

Orick's hands twitched, he gawked at Leon as though he'd sprouted a second head. "You're using actual Laws... to take notes?"

Leon tilted his head. "Well, yeah. Isn't that what they're for? It's not like I'm gonna use them to move mountains yet. Might as well practice with something small, right?"

Orick, recovering from his stunned silence, stepped closer to Leon with a sneer. "You're just showing off. All these tricks won't make you better."

Leon blinked at him, then grinned. "That's okay. I don't have to be better than you—I just have to be faster!" His tone carried no malice, but it only made Orick's face turn redder.

Before Orick could retort, his stomach growled. He turned around as if he wasn't just the butt of that farce, and then stormed off.

Leia shook her head but couldn't suppress a small smile. "Come on, genius. Let's get you something to eat before you 'squish' your brain."

Leon nodded, putting the notebook in his bag as he followed her.