I wondered idly how the instructor managed to get a shirt on, what with the rather sizable protrusions from his skull. And also how much they weighed. Did they get caught on things? Did he shed them seasonally? I shelved the line of questioning for later when he continued speaking.


    “Let’s not waste any time then!” he said without preamble. His voice was cheerful in tone, almost bubbly, but more manic as it carried effortlessly through the room. A sharp contrast when combined with its medium-deep, growling, and almost rattling sound. As if his chest was hollow, in a way that didn''t make much sense if you thought about it, but was undoubtedly the impression given. “So. Welcome back to Black Magic 101." A short chuckle, which I myself only barely suppressed. "I hope that you remember at least some of what I said yesterday?" Here he cast his gaze visibly about. When nobody seemed forthcoming, even wilting from his attention, -myself most certainly not included, of course- he sighed briefly. His eyes narrowed shrewdly and his face scrunched as he considered the mass of uncomfortably shifting students.


    Suddenly, an arm snapped out to the side, one long finger pointed unwaveringly at a rather minuscule orcen student. Small for his people, that is, being that his arms -biceps? triceps? I never could tell which was which- were only almost as large as my head. The only one present actually. Oddly, now that I looked, the class seemed almost entirely composed of elves, with only a smattering of others. I wondered why?


    "You!" The voice scattered my train of thought, accusatory and suddenly aggressive. "What is the definition of Black Magic?"


    The student in question shivered, shoulders hunching as he visibly wilted. It seemed a bit excessive of a reaction to me. Sure, the man -if indeed that was what he was, I wasn''t quite sure- was unsettling, but I didn''t think it warranted such fear and terror. A supernatural source perhaps? Most likely, I thought.


    "It''s..." the orc -I really needed better ways to refer to people whose names I didn''t know- hesitated, eyes dilated heavily and darting wildly in apparent terror. His voice, a gruff and slightly gravelly thing, wavered. "Uh... Li-Lingering magic? Curses?"


    Wen''s brow furrowed in confusion. "Well, you''re right, if simplisticly, but why are you so..." he leaned in, squinting at the poor soul, whose already pallid grey flesh grew a shade... darker? Eh, probably just a quirk of physiology. The jagged crown of antlers loomed over him like a forest of thorns, casting twisted shadow across the student and wall behind him. Which didn''t make sense, given the overhead position of the light. Sudden realization bloomed across Wen''s face, followed by a scoff and brief muttering.


    "Right. Right, forgot about that..." As he trailed off, I caught something about ''weak minds'' and ''making adjustments.'' He closed his eyes and squinted for a moment before opening them and looking about the room, smiling widely. Which clearly displayed the long fangs of his upper jaw. "How''s that? Tolerable?" I wasn''t fortunate enough to catch the gaze directly myself, but there was considerably less shivering as he turned about. "Good! Sorry, I haven''t had to worry about that for... a while, actually. Now where was I?" An extended pause. "Right! The basics."


    "So! You were right. Black Magic, or curses, consist of any effect which is negative to the subject and lasts for a long while. I already told you that yesterday. We''ll go over it in detail today. But first! I have something else to say." He ceased his pacing and stood directly in front of his chalkboard, folding his hands and sighing. Clearing his throat, he spoke in a grave tone, "I am bound to tell you this. Hear and listen. I will not repeat.


    "Black Magic is, instrically, harmful. By its nature it is, without fail, a horrible thing, a curse. All uses, all applications of it are shaped by this. It is, conceptually, aggressive and fundamentally impossible to use in any way that will not bring pain and suffering, minor or major." He lifted his head and stared directly into the eyes of every student. His rectangular pupils met my round, and I froze as a cold hand seized my spine. "If this is not what you wish to be taught, leave. If you do not want to bear that weight, stand now, and go. Choose another course. You will not have another chance to do so after this."


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    I thought hard, considering. Did I want to learn something which could only possibly hurt people? To take on the responsibility of that power? Did I trust myself not to misuse it? It was a deep decision, I think, but a quick one in the end, and not particularly difficult. Being that yes, I did. Was there a chance that the path could lead somewhere bad? Surely. But when it came down to it, it''d be entirely my fault if that were to happen. And such was the case with all power anyway, so why forsake one source over another? Intentional misuse... that was also a possibility, of course, I wasn''t perfect, -not entirely- but again, such was the case. It was admittedly more of a case here though. But I didn''t foresee myself intentionally bringing misfortune onto another unless there was a significant drive. There was simply nothing I stood to gain from misery. At least currently. Also, what with the nature of my power and path, I''d have already been needed to exercise such control anyway.


    In the end, though some appeared to waver on their decisions, most shrugged it off, and nobody left. Not a single individual stood from their seat. After a bit of waiting, Wen nodded.


    "I didn''t expect any of you to go, really. Whether through coincidence, design, or consequence, those of the Warlock Class are not typically those of strict morality." That, I filed away for later. "With exceptions, of course. But I do have to check."


    "Ahem," he cleared his throat -again, and I wondered what was obstructing it so- and spoke in a slightly less serious voice. "Let''s get on with it then." My attention was drawn back inexplicably back toward the drawing board. Remember, the one with the wierd hook diagram thing? That one. "As you should know," he said, "while the minutiae of magic and Skills can be left to their functions, it is far more effective to execute them yourself. For curses, that starts with this.


    "This shape is known as a Curse Binding. Specifically, it is the basic universal attachment method of all unspecialized curses. It functions nigh identically for any element or magic type, and is the basis upon which the entirety of Black Magic is based. It functions as a method of adhering whatever magic you are working to the subject of the spell. It was first observed as the default mana structure used by System-operated affliction Skills, and was later added onto and adapted for specific uses. In the future, you will likely develop a personal binding that suits your energy specifically, but for now and the foreseeable timeframe, you''ll be using this." He paused again, as he seemed to have a thought.


    "Some of you," he looked pointedly at a few individuals, "may have already possessed knowledge of this kind. You might also be aware that the spread of such knowledge outside of a registered Academy is considered very illegal under decree of the Autarch."


    A beat of silence. I began to get the slight impression that Wen was perhaps not the most pre-planning individual.


    "The first unit of this course, as much as it is, will be focused on developing the skills -non-formalized- of mana projection and anchoring. The former of which being something that will be shared in nigh all of your magical courses. Seeing as it is the basis of any spell.


    "It follows, then, to get on with it."


    And on he got. To save you a bit of the lecturing, and the various charts and diagrams, he began with basic mana manipulation, which I had done just a bit of before, such as with my eye spell the first time. Anyway. There were meridians- favored paths mana liked to follow through the body, and which more efficiently conducted the energy. These were unique to the person, but tended to be generally similar. There were also gates, which were where mana entered and exited the body. These were always the same, and there were quite a few of them.


    The fingertips and that center-part of the upper back which had no name to my knowledge -the spot right between the shoulder blades- were gates. As well as the base of the neck and the eyes. Not to mention the soles and the tailbone. Apparently they each functioned slightly different, but that was more advanced than relevant. And all that just those for humans, the least magically inclined of the peoples. I did not care to remember the excessive amounts of the others. The elven diagram especially made me shudder with its complexity.


    It really was an interesting subject. The reasonings for the placements were unknown, or so we were told. I toyed with the idea, but didn''t see any reason to deceive on that front.


    Anyway, back to the person who actually knew what he was talking about.


    "We''ll begin with simple mana manipulation. Even at Level 1, each of you should have the requisite mental faculties to accomplish externalisation, barring deficiencies which I am not privy to.


    "This part is simple, and there isn''t much I can actually offer. Take your mana," he said, placing a finger on the center of his abdomen, "and draw it out off the core, along the path of least resistance." He traced a swirling path from his core up to his shoulder, then spiraled down the arm. "Once you reach the hand-gate, force the mana out. That''s it. Not that it''ll be easy. But it is simple. The objective of today is solely to expel mana from your body."


    Surely such a simple objective could not be so difficult?