The yellowed candlelight filtering through the silver Arcane lampshade lit the entire room with unusual brightness as Annick, Reilia, and Heidi worked away on paper, calculating and analyzing the exercise problem Lucian had left them: "On the Elemental Equations and Structural Diagrams Behind the Apprentice-Level Spell, Acid Splash."
This carefully chosen spell would help them memorize certain elemental symbols, master the fundamental theorems of Arcane geometry, learn the calculation methods, and understand the principles of mapping elemental equations onto structural diagrams.
The three children, all around fourteen, were focused intently on their analysis, a faint weariness on their faces.
Knock, knock, knock — the sound of knocking came at the door, and Annick shot upright, looking left and right in a daze as though startled from a dream.
Reilia and Heidi set down their Feather Pens a half-beat slower than he had, saying with a mix of worry and apprehension, "Is it Mr. Evans back already? Is there another Arcane analysis problem? Or is it more spellcasting in the practice room all afternoon again?"
During this period, Lucian had spent each morning guiding them through a set of exercises, each afternoon having them practice spellcasting over and over — restoring their mana, depleting it again, restoring it again — to shorten their casting time and deepen their understanding of the fundamentals of Arcane Magic through practice. Evenings were for reviewing and explaining the day's exercises, plus Arcane analysis problems that took several evenings of hard work to figure out, so that whenever the three teenagers heard the footsteps of Lucian — this official magician who wasn't much older than them — their scalps would tingle, fatigue would wash over them, and their spirits would sink.
Yet when they saw spells that had been difficult to learn and cast before now flowing from their own hands, a powerful sense of accomplishment and joyful satisfaction welled up inside them.
Annick shook his head. "Mr. Evans would just push the door open and come in."
Hearing Annick's certainty, both Reilia and Heidi patted their chests in relief. "Thank goodness it's not Mr. Evans."
"Let me go see who it is. Huh, it seems night has fully fallen already. Why do I feel like we just had dinner and saw the crimson-red evening clouds?" Annick shook his head, feeling that after these days of intense study, he kept experiencing a sense of temporal disorientation.
Pulling open the door, Annick was surprised to see Sprint and Katrina standing in the doorway — the two who paid him little attention and carried themselves with a touch of arrogance, having become the leaders among the apprentices thanks to their outstanding talent and rapidly growing strength. "Sprint, Katrina — what can I do for you?"
Whether he liked to admit it or not, whenever Annick saw Sprint and Katrina explaining the fundamentals of Arcane Magic to the other young apprentices, or watched them cast spells naturally, quickly, and fluidly, he felt a pang of envy. They could achieve that level without the grueling practice that he and Heidi and the others had to endure — they truly had reason to be proud.
When Sprint heard Annick's question, a look of surprise appeared on his young face — already sharp and well-defined at his age — and he couldn't help but say with amusement, "Annick, have you worked so many problems your head is spinning? Today is the day we leave for the Parliament headquarters!"
"What? It's already the seventh day?" Heidi had just bounced her way to the doorway when she heard the news, her expression one of utter shock. Then she counted on her fingers: "One set of exercises, two sets of exercises... ugh, it really is time to leave. I completely forgot!"
Reilia, pale from exhaustion, glanced out the window at the night scenery, her normally clear voice made hoarse from an entire afternoon of incantations: "Has it really been seven days already?"
A trace of sympathy appeared on Katrina's proud face. "Annick, Heidi, Reilia — just look at the state of you! Mr. Evans just started studying Arcane Magic himself. If his guidance isn't right, you need to speak up. You can't just let him experiment and torture you."
"Hmph, what's the use of locking yourselves in every day doing those repetitive, simple exercises?" Sprint said with his head slightly raised. "I can see your fundamentals in Arcane Magic are still quite poor."
Reilia shook her head instinctively. "I think they're very useful. If seven days ago I couldn't even find where the door to Arcane Magic was, then now I've at least touched the edge of that door."
"Reilia is right," Annick said, rubbing his aching forehead, speaking clearly and methodically. "Mr. Evans is an official magician. The learning sequence he's laid out and those repetitive, monotonous, simple exercises — I think they're all very useful. At the very least, I can now independently study the material ahead of time without feeling completely lost."
Heidi also set aside her usual liveliness and said with a serious expression, "In the practice room these past few days, didn't you see the progress we've made in spellcasting? That's all because Mr. Evans is a great teacher!"
After the three teenagers finished expressing their support for Mr. Evans, each of them silently added in their hearts: "If only there were fewer exercises, it would be perfect!"
Sprint snorted. "Of course spellcasting requires a great deal of repetitive practice — Mr. Evans is the authority on that, no question. But that's not what I was talking about." He seemed about to say something more, but opened his mouth and swallowed the words. "Forget it. Just keep suffering, then. Remember to gather in the study hall at ten o'clock."
Katrina glanced at Sprint's retreating back as he turned to leave, and added, "Ten o'clock sharp, study hall. Apparently once we reach the Parliament, we'll be placed in a magic school to systematically learn the fundamentals of Arcane Magic. If you're a bit behind now, it won't matter."
"Why won't they just believe us?" Heidi said, looking at the other two with a sense of grievance. "I really feel we've improved a lot. Before, I'd get a headache just reading the textbooks!"
Reilia puffed out her cheeks in agreement. "I mean, I also think we're exhausted and pitiful, but our improvement in Arcane fundamentals is really quite obvious."
"Heh, it's fine. As long as we keep improving, they'll believe us eventually," Annick reassured them. But as he spoke, his face fell. "We still haven't finished our Arcane analysis problems, and today is the deadline Mr. Evans set."
Reilia and Heidi immediately forgot all their grievances, saying with a mixture of determination and eager anticipation, "Let me take it on!"
…………
They immersed themselves once again in the world of Arcane Magic, only jolting back to awareness when someone patted them on the shoulder.
"Mr. Evans." Annick turned his head to see Lucian's refined, gentle face — and the indescribable fear it always stirred in him. "I'm almost done with the analysis."
Hearing that name which inspired both reverence and dread, Reilia and Heidi scrambled to their feet. "Mr. Evans, I still have quite a bit left to..."