《Reborn with a maxed out intelligence skill》


 1. Prologue

    I used to hate people that lived a better life than me. Well, hate is a strong word so I probably shouldn¡¯t use it here, but I did harbor some kind of dislike towards them. People that had richer parents than me; people that had better grades than me; people that enjoyed their life more than me. The list goes on, but the only thing that mattered was my pride.


    Well, I was just a stupid child that didn¡¯t understand how the world worked. My ego was too big to let me see the things that I had, and it made me look at my neighbor. Now that I think about it seems funny, because I don¡¯t have feelings like those right now.


    I don¡¯t think I can even feel envy¡­


    I opened my eyes and looked at the ceiling of my room. It looked old; made from stone, it seemed like something that was taken from a castle. Well, you could say that I was living in a castle now.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I don¡¯t want to wake up¡­¡± I said to myself, and closed my eyes once again but the sleep wouldn¡¯t come. I waited like this for a moment, and after that I got up and sat on my bed.


    ¡°It¡¯s so messy.¡±


    The room that I was staying in looked like something from a bad dream. Books were laying everywhere, accompanied by papers and documents that were covered in a nice layer of dust. To avoid looking at them I turned to the window, that was now letting the sunshine come into my room.


    After that I stood up and approached the old desk that was in the corner of the room. It was just as messy as everything else in the room, but it also had something I needed. A sheet of paper folded in half, on which I wrote yesterday.


    ¡°On the flow of mana in offensive spells¡­¡± I read the title of my homework after opening it up, and then I walked towards the ancient-looking wardrobe that was on the other end of the room.


    From it I took my bag and my school uniform. Changing into it from my pajamas took me few moments, and when I was ready I checked myself out in the mirror near the door.


    ¡°The same as always, aren¡¯t you?¡± I said, playing with my black hair ¡°I just can¡¯t get used to it. No matter how many times I see it.¡±


    The uniform looked neat. Under a black jacket I had a white button-down shirt and a blue tie. I was also wearing nice, black trousers and boots in the same color. I looked like a nice boy if I could say so, but there was this feeling of unease that wouldn¡¯t leave me.


    Those big, green eyes¡­ They don¡¯t suit me at all¡­


    After looking at myself I opened my bag and put my homework into it. I didn¡¯t have any classes today that required books, so at least I didn¡¯t have to carry them today. Some of the more important tomes can be really thick, so I was glad that today was a rather easy day.


    As it seemed that I was done, I approached the door and slowly opened them. I was living in the dormitory for men, but I would rather avoid meeting people so I tried no to attract too much attention. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Well, that was what I wanted to do, but someone decided to destroy my plans. A sixteen years old boy that was having his classes with me. He decided to come to my room earlier than normally.


    ¡°Oh, hey Matthew. I was about to knock on the door but you just opened it.¡± Ryan said with a little smile.


    He was wearing the same clothes as me, but they were bigger because of his height. He was a lot taller than me, and he was also probably much stronger. I could imagine that girls must have really liked him because not only was he tall, but he he was also quite handsome. Under his short, brown hair was a really nice face.


    If I were to describe myself then I would say that I still looked like a normal boy, but it wasn¡¯t the case with him. Even if he still looked young; you could tell that his face was a lot sharper, and more handsome than mine.


    ¡°Yeah, what an unpleasant surprise it is.¡± I responded to his words, and he looked at me with his kind, brown eyes.


    ¡°You will have only one friend if you won¡¯t change the way you speak.¡±


    ¡°Oh, one friend? Who are you talking about? I don¡¯t know any person like this.¡±


    Ryan seemed to enjoy my little joke, because he laughed loudly. I imagine that he came to wake me up. The bells that always ring in the morning are too weak to wake me so he comes to help me. Of course, today was the day that I woke up by myself, so his little help was not needed.


    ¡°Anyway, I see that you got up by yourself. It¡¯s good¡­ You should learn to wake up in the morning because you live alone.¡±


    ¡°Well, for me living alone is an advantage. I didn¡¯t really want to share my room with anyone.¡± I responded to Ryan, and looked at him.


    He seemed to be in a nice mood. I could understand that because today was a rather easy day, but something wasn¡¯t right. It didn¡¯t matter if the classes were easy, he hated them anyway. So why is he so happy?


    As I thought about this I noticed his muddy shoes. If I recall correctly, his shoes were clean when we returned from classes yesterday. I didn¡¯t think that he went out yesterday¡­ No, he couldn¡¯t go out.


    We had too many classes, so when we returned to our rooms the gate to the dormitory was being closed. If he didn¡¯t go yesterday, then he must have gone today. And this smell. This smell must mean¡­


    ¡°Hey, you have been looking at my shoes for some time. Something happened?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s just you have some mud on them, that¡¯s all.¡± I responded, and he raised up one of his legs.


    ¡°Yeah, you are right. Probably from yesterday¡­ Well, I will clean it later.¡±


    From yesterday?


    ¡°It¡¯s not from yesterday Ryan.¡± I said, and he smiled.


    ¡°Well, who knows from when this is? Why would you even¡­ Wait. Is this one of your games? Is this one of those things?¡± he asked, and looked at me with witty eyes ¡°What now? Are you going to tell me that I didn¡¯t do my homework because of the wrinkles on my shirt? Or maybe I need to go the toilet because of the way I¡¯m walking?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ I just think that you are meeting a girl.¡± I responded, and he blushed a little.


    ¡°Wait, w-what? How did you¡­ No, I¡¯m not meeting with anyone. You think I¡¯m meeting someone because of the mud on my shoes?¡±


    ¡°Because you smell like perfume. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t use perfume Ryan¡­ Well, not women¡¯s perfume.¡± as I said those things, he started to sniff himself. Then, after a moment he looked at me.


    ¡°You are right¡­ But how did you even smell that? It was hard even for me¡­¡±


    ¡°Who knows, maybe I was a dog in my previous life? Anyway, we can¡¯t waste time just chatting in here. Let¡¯s go to the class.¡± I said, and locked the door behind me.


    ¡°O-Oh, yeah. Let¡¯s go¡­ Hey, wait. Don¡¯t tell anyone, okay Matthew? And don¡¯t smell me again.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I replied, and smiled a little.


    I wasn¡¯t a dog in my previous life. Of this thing I was sure.

 2. A school of magic

    Walking through the corridors of the dormitory wasn¡¯t a thing I was fond of. The reason for that was rather simple - my status. People that were taking the classes in the schools for magicians were almost always born in noble families. Of course, there were some exceptions but you could say that to become a magician you needed to be from a well known family.


    I wasn¡¯t born to a family like this. My father was a blacksmith and my mother took care of the house. Can¡¯t say that I was poor, but my family wasn¡¯t even nearly as influential as those of the students around me.


    ¡°Look, it¡¯s him.¡± I heard a quiet voice of a boy that just walked past me.


    ¡°Excited to take the classes? Isn¡¯t he just a commoner?¡± someone else replied.


    I couldn¡¯t really understand what he meant. I didn¡¯t think that I looked like someone who was excited, nor did I do anything to make him think that I was. There was a time when I would be more lively, but I changed after some time.


    As I looked around the corridor I noticed the sunlight that was coming through the windows on my right. It illuminated the old looking wooden floor, that was polished with a great care.


    It wasn¡¯t hard to notice that the building I was in wasn¡¯t normal. On the walls there were beautiful decorations, and the doors leading to the rooms of the students were massive, with each one of them having a golden knocker on them.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind them speaking behind your back? To tell you the truth, it pissess me out a little.¡± Ryan said to me, and I looked at him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really mind.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you at all?¡± he asked with a curious look.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother me at all.¡±


    Moments later we approached the stairs. They were big, wide and old looking. We took them every morning, because both of us lived on the second floor. The dormitory was rather big and it had many floors, so the second of them wasn¡¯t that bad. At least we didn¡¯t need to climb down for too long, considering that I didn¡¯t like to move too much.


    After getting down we saw the door that was leading to the outside of the building. The day was still young so we didn¡¯t encounter too many of the students, but good things like that happened only in the morning.


    ¡°Ahh¡­ I don¡¯t want to study.¡± Ryan said, as he opened the door.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t say things like that. It¡¯s easier than normal work.¡± I replied to his words while following him outside.


    There, I was greeted by a big, open area covered in grass and various kinds of flowers and plants. All of them looked nice, like some kind of garden that was planted just before before the dormitory. Through the middle of this garden cut a stone road, leading towards the school.


    It took about ten minutes of a slow walk to get to it, and you could see it from here without any problems. It was made from a red brick, with a large tower in the middle of it. Near the large entrance four white columns were placed, which made the building look like something from a fairytale.


    As I looked at it, a small breeze hit my face and coveredit with my still messy hair. The trees that were in the distance danced a little and I looked at them with a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s still hard to believe that this is happening.¡± I said, and Ryan looked at me.


    ¡°What is happening? Are you talking about learning in this school? If anyone deserves learning in here, it¡¯s you.¡±


    It¡¯s not about that. I¡¯m talking about my new life. A life that sometimes still feels weird. As if it is a dream¡­


    How could I say a thing like this?


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right.¡± I responded, and we started walking towards the school.

 3. A staring girl

    The Glahphis University of Magic.


    It was supposed to be one of the most well known schools for magicians in the kingdom of Alesta. I didn¡¯t know if this was true, but there was something to it for sure. With many buildings and a gigantic amount of terrain, it was easy to get lost or even walk from one class to another.


    I looked at one of the white columns that were placed near the entrance. It took us a moment to get here from the dormitory, but the entrance of the main building always impressed me. A big door lead to the place where most of my classes were taking place, and it was also one of the biggest buildings in the campus.


    ¡°You can go to the class first. I need to take care of something.¡± Ryan said, while we were walking on the stairs towards the door leading to the inside of the building.


    It¡¯s not like we had too much time to begin with, and I didn¡¯t think that he would just be late for our class without a special reason. That¡¯s why I looked at him with curiosity, and he avoided my gaze. His behavior didn¡¯t have to have a special meaning, but it was rather interesting to me.


    ¡°Waiting for your girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°What do you care? You envy me or something?¡± he asked, and smiled a little.


    ¡°Not really. I¡¯m not good with stuff like this.¡± I just responded, and he laughed.


    That was the truth. I wasn¡¯t good with romantic stuff, and I didn¡¯t really want to have someone special. It might have seemed weird, but that was just the way I was. Or maybe it was they way I have become? I can¡¯t really tell¡­


    ¡°You won¡¯t ever find a girlfriend if you will live your life like this.¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Anyway, I won¡¯t pry into your business. See you in class.¡± as I said this Ryan just nodded, and I approached the door.


    It¡¯s not like I had that much time, and I didn¡¯t really want to talk with him about his love life. That¡¯s why I opened the door and went inside. There, I was greeted by a big hall. Under a high ceiling many students were walking from one class to another, and some of them were resting on many benches laying inside.


    The building was big and old looking. On all of the four floors normal classes were taking place, with the exception of old magic that was taught in the tower, that rose from the middle of the building. The reason for that was simple - old magic was stronger the closer you were to the stars. That¡¯s why many of the older magicians still lived in towers. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    A lot has changed from that time, and now magic is mostly used with the help of normal flowing mana. It doesn¡¯t require a special place, but rather special items like runes, scrolls and potions.


    ¡°Offensive spells¡­¡± I said to myself, and started walking towards the stairs that were to my right. My first lesson was about spells that could be used to hurt, and it was also a lesson that I had to make my homework for.


    While walking through the old looking corridors I thought about the things I had to do today. My classes were rather easy, and I would probably have a lot of free time that could be put to a good use. For some time I wanted to visit the library to read some of the old books that they had there.


    It didn¡¯t took me long to get to my class, as it was on the second floor near the stairs. When I noticed the students from my course I stopped, and leaned against the wall. It seemed that the teacher wasn¡¯t there, and others were just waiting for him. I didn¡¯t have a reason to join them so I just observed them from the distance, making sure that I didn¡¯t attract too much attention.


    I wasn¡¯t popular at all, and most of them rather disliked me. It was understandable because I was different. While most of them were from powerful families, I was the son of a blacksmith and there wasn¡¯t anything special about my birth.


    That¡¯s why I preferred to avoid them.


    That¡¯s why I¡­


    ¡°Hmm?¡± I noticed someone that was now staring at me.


    She had long, black hair and big, blue eyes. Her face was cute, maybe because of her small nose or beautiful lips. She was wearing a girls uniform that looked similar to the boys one, but was more girly and instead of trousers had a blue skirt.


    Emily¡­ I knew the name of every student in my class, but hers was the easiest one to remember. Well known and popular among the boys because of her good grades, and especially her good looks. She was rather petite and thin, with a pale face and long eyelashes.


    I could imagine that having her stare at any other boy would make his heart flutter, but I was a little different. It made me uncomfortable, especially because she was the daughter of the one of the most known magicians in the kingdom - Adam Dalton, that was now teaching in this school.


    A powerful sorcerer known for his spells, but mostly because of his cunning personality and clever thinking. He wasn¡¯t really that high in the hierarchy of wizards, but for some reason every magician in the kingdom was wary of him. And now, the daughter of a person like this was now staring at me, even after I noticed it.


    What is it? Does she just dislike me because I¡¯m a commoner? Or is it something else? I thought about those things, as I looked at her. Her bag was full, even if today we didn¡¯t have too many classes that required having books. Was she planning to use them today? How much time does she spend on studying?


    I pondered about those things as I heard the steps coming from the stairs. They were loud, and slow, so it couldn¡¯t be Ryan. It could have meant only one thing¡­


    ¡°Good morning.¡± a rather old man said, as he approached my class ¡°Are you ready for some offensive spells?¡± he then said, and smiled.

 4. Offensive spells class - 1

    I didn¡¯t like ¡°offensive spells¡± too much. It¡¯s not like I hated it or anything. It wasn¡¯t even the most disliked class for me, but I still didn¡¯t like it that much. It was a rather unpredictable lesson, where sometimes you would just listen to the lecture for a long time, and sometimes the teacher would have a great idea to show off his skills, and he would start casting spells.


    I didn¡¯t like this unpredictability, so I didn¡¯t like this class.


    ¡°Okay¡­ Are you all seated?¡± an old man said moments after we entered the class.


    Professor Arras - a rather peculiar teacher that wore a brown suit, and came to every class with a big bag. It was like he needed to be ready for anything, but that was his charm. His face looked old, but he was still handsome even with his wrinkles and white hair. That was probably because of his sharp, black eyes, that felt like they could see through you.


    ¡°Yes Sir.¡± some of the students said, and he looked at us with a smile. After that he quietly approached a small desk that was on the front of the class. There he put his bag, and after that he sat on the chair near it.


    ¡°Let me take the attendance then.¡± he then said, and opened a small book that he brought with him, and started reading the names of the students.


    As he was doing that; I looked around the room. I was seated in the left, down corner of the classroom near a window. From there I could see everything that was happening around me, and this old looking place. The walls that were covered with damaged paintings of well known wizards in the field of offensive spells, and green walls that made the room look a little obscure¡­ Everything seemed to be affected by the passage of time, including a gigantic blackboard that was behind the teacher.


    ¡°Anna Egerbell.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    ¡°Ethan Estnell.¡±


    ¡°Present!¡±


    As more of the names were read, I looked at the empty chair before me. A chair that was normally taken by a boy that now had a special ¡°date¡± with someone. It¡¯s not like he had too much time, because this lesson was normally taken by small groups of students. There were more or less than thirty people in the class right now, and his name was going to be read in a moment.


    ¡°Matthew Smith.¡± the professor said, and I looked at the desk where he was sitting.


    ¡°Present.¡± I said, and he nodded while looking at the next name.


    ¡°Ryan Stoneville.¡± a short silence occurred after the words of the teacher, and some of the students started looking at the chair before me ¡°Is Ryan Stoneville present?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Was it worth it Ryan? Those words suddenly appeared in my mind, as I thought about my friend that was now absent. Of course, I didn¡¯t feel bad about him that much, mostly because he was so smug in the morning.


    ¡°Professor Arras, I think that Ryan isn¡¯t here¡­¡± a loud noise came from the door, as one of the students was talking. There, my friend was standing while panting heavily. After that he looked at the teacher, and smiled a little.


    ¡°Ryan S-Stoneville is present.¡± he then said, while still trying to catch some air. Was it just a dumb luck that he came and said those words, when professor Arras was looking for him?


    Was it even going to work? I thought to myself, and looked at the teacher. His expression didn¡¯t change much, and he gazed at the book that he was holding.


    ¡°Okay, you can sit.¡± he then said, and Ryan sighed loudly making some of the students laugh. A quick stare from the professor calmed them down, as Ryan approached his desk.


    ¡°I thought I¡¯m done.¡± he then said, while still trying to catch some air.


    I could understand his nervousness. You need to have a perfect attendance on some of the classes to even think about passing them, which made appearing in class that much useful. Offensive spells wasn¡¯t one of them, but the teacher always looks different at a student that always comes to their class.


    And borrowing the notes from others is rather tiresome.


    ¡°How was your date?¡± I asked quietly when he sat down, and then he looked back at me nervously.


    ¡°I told you to keep it a secret.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being quiet. Your weird behaviour is more suspicious.¡± as I said this, he seemed to think about something and then looked down.


    ¡°It was nice.¡±


    Oh? What is it Ryan? Are you that embarrassed by it?


    ¡°If it was nice then it¡¯s ok.¡± I responded to his words, and he looked at me weirdly.


    I didn¡¯t know much about romantic stuff, but I wanted to understand him better. It¡¯s not like I was that interested in it or anything; I just was grateful to him. If I were to describe it, then I was like a father that didn¡¯t want her daughter to be taken by some weird man.


    Now that I think about it, it sounds weird.


    I looked around once again, and I noticed a girl that was looking at me from time to time with her big, blue eyes. Black haired girl that for some reason seemed to be interested in me. Should I do something about it?


    ¡°Hey, look¡­ The class rep is looking at you¡­¡± Ryan said quietly, and smiled a little ¡°Maybe it is the start of your youthful adventure?¡±


    ¡°Or maybe she doesn¡¯t like people talking in class?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that is probably the case.¡±


    I didn¡¯t think that it was the case, but I knew that Ryan would just make fun of me if I told him that she also looked at me before. It¡¯s not like it mattered, or rather I thought it didn¡¯t.


    ¡°Okay, it seems that everyone is present. Now, I hope you remembered that you had to bring a homework for today.¡± professor Arras said after taking attendance, and smiled mischievously.


    Well, I brought my homework so I didn¡¯t really¡­


    ¡°Shit.¡± a quiet voice said before me, and it belonged to no one else than Ryan.


    This was to be expected.

 5. Offensive spells class - 2

    Can¡¯t say I was surprised by Ryan¡¯s nervousness. He was one of those students that almost always brought their homework late, making his grades suffer some pretty big consequences.


    ¡°What? Forgot it once again?¡± I asked quietly, and he looked at me with anger.


    ¡°If you knew something like that would happen, you could warn me.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t want to disturb your date.¡± I responded, and smiled.


    Did I know that something like that would happen? Probably¡­ You could say that I was too lazy to take care of things like this. Or maybe it was something totally different.


    ¡°I¡¯ll walk through the class, and I will take your assignments. If you didn¡¯t do it, you will need to make one for our next lesson, and you grade will be lowered.¡± professor said, as he stood up from the chair. His words made Ryan even more anxious, which was a little funny.


    Of course, I wasn¡¯t happy because my friend was suffering¡­ I wasn¡¯t this kind of person.


    As the teacher slowly walked through class, I took my assignment from my bag. A one sheet of paper folded in half, with a messy handwriting and many parts that were crossed out. It was made in a hurry, which could be seen without any problems.


    My homework looked like nothing, compared to some that were given to him by other students. Most of them looked clean and had many pages of content in them, that was carefully chosen. Some of them were probably even made with the help of books that were published by professor Arras, to gain his sympathy.


    I didn¡¯t have money to buy books only because my teachers wrote them, and even if I had I wouldn¡¯t do it.


    Oh, it¡¯s not because of my morals. I simply didn¡¯t need them.


    ¡°And where is yours?¡± professor Arras finally asked, when he approached Ryan ¡°I hope you wrote it. Being late for the class, and then not having your homework¡­ I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t do something like this.¡±


    Did he know? I heard that some of the teachers had a special ability to see if a student forgot their homework, but I never thought that it was true. Maybe I was mistaken?


    ¡°I f-forgot.¡± Ryan replied, while avoiding the teacher¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You forgot? That¡¯s bad, don¡¯t you think? Really bad.¡± which each word that came from professor Arras mouth, Ryan looked even more nervous than before ¡°You aspire to be a mage; you can¡¯t forget to do things like this. Do you understand?¡±


    ¡°Y-Yes sir!¡±


    From my perspective it almost looked like a comedy sketch. Professor Arras was a kind person, but he took his job really seriously. Well, he probably needed some rigor to educate the elite, and make sure that they would grow up to lead the country.


    As I thought about those things, the professor approached my desk and looked at me.


    ¡°What about your friend? He forgot his too?¡± he said those words, and then looked at the paper that I had in my hands ¡°Oh, it seems he didn¡¯t.¡±


    I didn¡¯t wait, and just handed it to him without saying anything. I didn¡¯t want to irritate him more than he already was, so there was no reason to talk to him. As he took it from my hand he looked at it for a moment, and then at me.


    ¡°It looks rather¡­ messy.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t deny, it did look bad. I didn¡¯t really care that much about the homework that they were giving us, so I didn¡¯t spend too much time on them.


    ¡°I¡¯m not judging your work based on how it looks, but rather based on what¡¯s in it. That is a normal thing to do, but this looks like something made in a few moments during your break. It shows how much respect you have for the subject, don¡¯t you think?¡± as professor said those words, some of the students started smiling and pointing at me. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Well, I was only a commoner so they probably thought that I made a stupid mistake or something. The truth was different; I simply didn¡¯t care. Who has the time to spend hours on a simple homework, only because they want it to look good? Who even cares about the way your handwriting looks anyway?


    ¡°I understand.¡± I replied slowly, while looking at the teacher. It¡¯s not like I was going to argue with him about it. That would be stupid.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯m not going to ask you to rewrite it, but have that in mind when you will be writing your next assignments.¡± he said, and started walking towards his desk. Some of the students were talking among themselves, so he just silenced them with his stare, and then he approached his bag. From it he took a small piece of white chalk while placing our homeworks on the desk, and then he smiled.


    ¡°Now that we have this out of the way, we can start our lesson. As most of you probably know, offensive spells can be divided into three categories.¡± Professor started explaining, while writing on the blackboard ¡°Elemental spell, that draw their strength from four basic elements - fire, water, air and earth. Dark spells, that by some are called evil spells. They draw their strength from the bad emotions of the caster. Anger, sadness, envy, hate¡­ Their mana is feeding on them, changing into disgusting spells that are able to even raise the dead. Finally, old magic that isn¡¯t really used that much today. It allows you to take the mana directly from the stars, and shape it into missiles of energy.¡±


    When he was done writing, he looked around and looked at the class. Most of the people were copying everything he wrote to their notebooks, with a few exceptions. I was one of them.


    ¡°Of course, those three schools of casting offensive spells aren¡¯t the only ones, but they are the ones that are used the most. We don¡¯t know everything about the mana, and there are cases of healers casting things that could be described as a ¡°holy missiles¡±. But those cases are rare, and those spells are rather weak in comparison to the things that can be done using normal methods.¡±


    As he was explaining, I looked at the things he wrote on the blackboard. They were mostly names of spells, and the years they were created in. Nothing worthy of taking notes.


    ¡°Now, you might ask yourself which spells are the most powerful ones? The answer to that is simple - it depends. I wouldn¡¯t want to fight with a caster than can use water magic while standing near the ocean. The closer you are to the element of your choosing, the stronger you can become.¡±


    Some of the students raised their hands after his words, and he looked at them.


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°But professor, if the magicians become stronger while being near the element that they specialize in, wouldn¡¯t it be better to be good at air or earth magic? They are always around us.¡± one of the students that were sitting in the first row asked, and the teacher smiled.


    That¡¯s a naive way of thinking¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s a naive way to think about it. Of course, it is true that those elements are everywhere and they can be used without much problems, but¡­¡± as he said those words he casted an air spell, and pointed it at the students in the first rows, blowing their hair a little ¡°If this was a fire spell, you would be burning right now.¡±


    It shocked some of them, making them look at him with scared eyes. Maybe they didn¡¯t appreciate being told, that their teacher could kill them in a few seconds? Well, I could understand them. If I were a teacher I wouldn¡¯t do things like this, but I¡¯m not one.


    ¡°Fire is the easiest element to shape, and it can deal the most damage with the smallest amount of mana. In the time that it would take me to cast one air missile, I could cast ten fireballs.¡± as he explained this, the looks of fear from students changed into the looks of admiration ¡°Of course, it would be stupid to specialise in only one element. If I were to explain it to you, everyone that wants to even think about fighting with another spell caster needs to know air and earth magic. Even if only to defend themselves from spells of those types. For example, earth magic is slow, but everyone stands on earth. That¡¯s why it is good for traps, and surprise attacks. Air magic burns quickly through your mana, and it¡¯s hard to mold, but it can be used for creating barriers and deflecting spells.¡±


    A good enough explanation? It is easy to imagine why fire magic can be deadly, but water magic can be as scary. Many of the massacres performed with the use of magic were done in the rain.


    ¡°Availability of the element also becomes less important in time, because powerful mages can summon rain, or burn whole forests to gain easy access to their element. But I wouldn¡¯t worry about those things too much. You can¡¯t cast spells in the school grounds without the permission of the teacher anyway, and I don¡¯t intend to teach you anything dangerous in your first years of study.¡±


    That was to be expected. I just couldn¡¯t imagine young students casting fire spells, in classes with so much wood. Not that it wouldn¡¯t be interesting¡­ Well, most of the magicians don¡¯t really study offensive spells that much. It¡¯s true that it can be deadly, and the army pays well the people that took those courses seriously, but most of students just don¡¯t do it.


    Offensive spells are good for one thing - fighting. Fighting means war, and war means death.


    ¡°Now that we talked about this, let¡¯s start you on the easiest air spells that even you can¡­¡±


    ¡°Teacher, I have a question.¡± a weak, and beautiful voice echoed in the class. A voice of a girl I knew ¡°What about the dark spells? How strong are they, compared to the other ones?¡±


    Sitting somewhat in the middle of the class was Emily, and for some reason she was now looking at me.

 6. Offensive spells class - 3

    ¡°Dark spells? Well¡­¡± the teacher replied after some thinking, and then looked at Emily ¡°I didn¡¯t really want to talk about them too much. There are explained better later into the course, and talking about them so early would be a waste of time.¡± after that he smiled a little ¡°But what would be a class without some hard questions? I¡¯ll make it quick.¡±


    He seemed to be excited, as he quickly approached the blackboard that still had his earlier notes on it. Then, with a simple water spell he wiped it in a moment, and grabbed a piece of chalk.


    ¡°As you know now, dark spells draw their strength from the bad emotions of the caster. Anger, sadness, envy, hate¡­ They manifest themselves in the mana of the mage, making his spells go wild.¡± as he said those words, he wrote ¡°fireball¡± on the blackboard, and then looked at the class ¡°Fireball is the most used offensive spell in the world. Known even by peasants, it brings destruction on a small scale. But what does happen, when the fireball stops being a fireball?¡±


    After his question, the faces of the students seemed confused. Most of them didn¡¯t understand what he meant by it. Of course, that was to be expected. He was explaining things that were rather advanced for our class.


    ¡°Army noticed that some of the mages that have returned from war, showed a weird behavior in their spell casting. Theirs spells were chaotic; some ended abruptly, and some had a new and distinct way of behaving. It has been noted, that some of them started casting black fireballs that didn¡¯t become stronger while being near fire source, and they couldn¡¯t be extinguished with normal water. The fire that they left was black, and it always died out quickly. It was a rather long time ago, but it prompted the research of spells like this.¡±


    When he said this, he looked at the blackboard once again, and sighed a little. Then he started writing.


    I couldn¡¯t see what it was, because he was covering it with his body. Finally, after a moment passed he moved away from the board and I saw what he wrote.


    The Lich of Madiff.


    ¡°Of course, people knew that spells like those existed even before the army took interest in them, but the research at those times exploded. Hundreds of test were being carried out, and each one of them was worse than those before.¡± as he was saying that, he looked at the name he wrote ¡°This was the first artificial mage. He lived seven minutes after becoming able to use magic, and in this time he casted only one spell - Raise Undead.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Artificial mage?¡± one of the students asked with a curious look.


    ¡°Yes. People that never used any magic, and that are being subjected to a great stress which makes them able to cast spells. They always die in a matter of minutes.¡± as he explained this, he looked at us with sadness.


    ¡°It¡¯s horrible!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s barbaric.¡±


    Some of the students said without thinking. They were right; it was barbaric and horrible. Research on human beings was always wrong, but for some reason I could understand why they would do that. It was weird, because I knew that I shouldn¡¯t think like that. I knew that I wouldn¡¯t think like that.


    ¡°That¡¯s why it was banned. Of course, it wasn¡¯t the only reason. Those spells were too dangerous¡­ To answer your question.¡± professor said, and looked at Emily ¡°Dark spells are the most powerful ones, but the are also the most dangerous to use. I think it is easy to see after what I said.¡± after saying that he smiled faintly.


    That was a heavy topic. It seemed that I wasn¡¯t the only one in the class that thought this way, because other students also seemed to lost their fervor. They just sat there, looking at their desks while thinking. When you imagine a wizard you think about someone who can cast nice spells; someone who is smart, and maybe someone with a funny hat.


    You don¡¯t think about things like this. No one really does. No one really cares, before they need to face the reality.


    ¡°Thank your professor. But I have one more question.¡± Emily said, and the teacher looked at her once again ¡°Those people that used those dark spells¡­ Was there something in common among them? Certainly, not everyone that came back from the war started casting dark spells.¡±


    What a weird question.


    After hearing it, professor seemed to think about something. He looked at her for some time, and his face seemed to convey zero emotion. But his eyes¡­ They were somewhat different.


    ¡°You really are similar to your father.¡± he said while turning to the desk, and then he started walking towards it ¡°Most of the documents talking about those people can¡¯t be acquired by a normal person, and some of them were probably destroyed. But from my research there are two requirements that need to be met.¡±


    He sat slowly on his chair, and looked at us for a moment. Everyone was curious, and he had all of the students attention.


    ¡°Enormous intelligence, and near-death experience.¡±