Much had happened in the span of half a year.
The business developed reasonably smoothly as Feidin fleshed out an organizational and management structure while Celiphaz had begun developing the micro-housing unit prototypes.
Cæ, on the other hand, had immersed himself in magic.
As the time passed, theory began growing increasingly sparse as the students gained a foundation in their understanding of magic. Mastering magic became increasingly important.
The students began spending more time on their eidos mastery, relying on the Memory Model of Eidos to master runes that would help them weave eidos through triggered associated memories.
Magia was a vast, vast language with countless runes created by various mages of the past. No one man or woman had entirely mastered Magia, not even the most powerful Magi.
Every mage needed to choose what kind of magic they wanted to master, whether it was healing, combat magic, artificing, enchanting, and so on, and begin learning the runes associated with the field.
The Apprentice Program merely exposed them to these fields in theory, it was far too soon to actually begin pursuing any of these fields when they had yet to fully gain a foundation in the field of magic.
For now, they were all still struggling to cast the most basic types of magic.
"Focus."
The professor's voice was calm.
Soothing.
"Magic requires the simultaneous convergence of form and physicality. You cannot cast it easily."
The man walked across a training hall with dozens of students, each seated in their own compartments. His overcoat and wizardly robes gently swaying with his movements, as directed, swept a sweeping gaze across the students.
"Focus on any of the three tasks before you."
Before each of them were three items.
An enchanted projector projecting a three-dimensional projection of a transparent cube hovering midair.
A house of cards.
And ice in a cooling containment.
On each of them were magic circles.
Within each circle, a different shape was embedded.
A square, triangle, and a pentagon, respectively, with several runes aligned within them.
"The three Fundamental Forms are the very foundation of magic," the professor reminded with his gentle tone. "Without gaining proficiency in them, it is impossible to master magic. It takes time, effort, and perseverance. Do not let failure impede you."
His words led to a renewal of efforts from the various students.
The three Fundamental Forms referred to the three categories of eidos based on the outcome.
A vast majority of magic could be divided into three fundamental categories.
Manipulation. Change. Conjuration.
These three encompassed a vast majority of magic that often boiled to one or more of these fundamental categories, leading to their official recognition and classification as some of the very foundations of eidos.
Of course, there was plenty of magic that wasn't exclusively comprised of these three Fundamental Forms, but they were beyond the Apprentice Program. The three Fundamental Forms were not only, well, fundamental, but were also the easiest to master.
They were associated not with runes but with the very structure of the magic circle.
Manipulation was associated with a triangle.
Change was associated with a square.
And conjuration was associated with a pentagon.
These shapes were also part of the hypnosis program, and were strongly associated with the phenomena of manipulation, change, and conjuration. When embedded in a magic circle, they could allow mages to evoke eidos of these respective fundamental forms, allowing them to cast magic of said category.
The three items before them were three exercises.
Manipulate the cards enough to make the house of cards fall apart.
Change the ice to melt.
Conjure the cube as projected.
These were the three exercises associated with the three Fundamental Forms, offering the bare minimum as far as each exercise went.
"Do not rush yourselves," the professor's gentle voice encouraged them. "Simply close your eyes and center all your concentration on your breathing to center your focus. You will find it easier to create eidos and drive mana with mana-motive force. You have trained either individually and now it's time to do both together and cast magic."
This was the purpose of the magic training course.
It was to help students combine eidos training and mana-motive force cultivation together and successfully cast magic for the first time. Of course, the professor did not expect any student to succeed only months into their first year.
However, every year, at least one such student succeeded.
A genius among even the gifted.
FLIP FLIP FLIP…
SPLASH…
The students across the training hall turned around with shocked expressions as their gazes converged in the direction of the sound.
Their eyes widened as they spotted fallen cards.
Melted ice.
And an actual physical cube, overlapping the three-dimensional projection.
They froze, stunned, as their eyes slowly shifted to the student who achieved the first breakthrough in magic.
Cæ's fake expression of surprise was perfect, just as he practiced.
He has carefully planned for this day after verifying that it wouldn't break any records or draw atypical and dangerous attention.
He had absolutely no problem being regarded as the annual genius of the country, but not anything beyond that.
And so, with an award-worthy performance, his eyes widened with shock as his body shook.
"This…" A fake stunned whisper escaped him. "This is…?"
"Remarkable, I say!" Professor Leonheart walked over to Cæ's little station with eyes lit with excitement. "All three at once! Truly gifted you are, Mr. Cæ!"
A wave of murmurs swept across the students as they gazed at him with an expression of envy.
An overwhelming majority of them were still sixteen or seventeen.
Each of them had yet to ride off the high of being accepted into the Elendir Institute of Magic, even in the past few months, as the academic year began. They dreamed of being the chosen one with their exceptional gifts and talent.
Many of the wealthier and more affluent children gritted their teeth with a hint of frustration.
In their minds, the thinly-veiled challenge that he had issued to all of them during his honor student addressal on the very first day of the Apprentice Program appeared.
Many of them had decided that they needed to humiliate him no matter what.
Unfortunately, most of them were not up to the task.
Those who were both rich and extremely gifted, having already mastered magic even before they entered the magicademy.
"Even then, they would have taken years to reach the stage that you have in months," the professor nodded with amazement. "Mr. Cæ, you are truly gifted for magic. To think that you are able to cast single-circle spells this early."
Spells, represented with magic circles, had different tiers based on complexity and the amount of data. Single-circle spells, like the name suggested, were spells represented with a single layer, usually representing a single operation.
Shifting a card.
Melting ice.
Conjuring a cube.
These were things that Cæ could effortlessly do from the very get-go after he learned about magic, but required more than a year of Magia Hypnosis and mana-training for most people.
Spells gained additional layers when their complexity rose, although Cæ had yet to try multi-circle spells, with pure magic or Magia. He didn't dare use the latter on campus premises. It would be the height of foolishness.
He yearned to learn more complex magic because then he could use his pure magic in disguise more frequently.
"You have a vast potential for excelling in the field of magic."
The professor's tone was encouraging. "Make sure you don't let off on your training and your practice. Don't grow arrogant or self-assured in your ability just because of this. Talent without an equal amount of hard work is worthless."
Cæ nodded at the well-meaning advice.
BEEP BEEP
The professor glanced at his pocket watch. "Oh dear, looks like class has ended. Well, no matter. Reflect on all the progress you have made up until now and use the experience to understand what you can better do next time. The road to magic is one of inquiry and mindful efforts."
Class was dismissed soon enough as Cæ departed from the training hall with a sigh of relief.
He had finally earned himself the first disguise for his pure magic.
Now, as long as he wove together the trigger magic circle, he could basically use pure magic with complete impunity, for there was no magic that allowed one to peer into the mind of another.
Nobody would be able to tell if he was using pure magic or conventional magic as the runes and magic circle he used weren't entirely different from the output.
"That was incredible!"
"You're a genius…!"
"In just a few months, you finally cast magic…"
Kelton, Natana, and Sorenon had long grown accustomed to buzzing about him. The boys, in particular, had grown several inches since the academic year commenced as their voices cracked and grew deeper.
"How did you do it?" Kelton marveled at him.
Cæ shrugged. "It just happened."
That was a lie.
He had put a lot of thought into making it seem like it had just happened.
"How does it feel to cast magic for the first time?" Natana asked with sparkling eyes.
Cæ fell into thought. "…It feels surreal. Like the images in my head became reality. Like my mind could alter the universe."
This was the truth.
Casting magic was one of the most amazing sensations in his entire life.
It made him feel omnipotent.
All-powerful.
"…At this rate, you will finish the Apprentice Program in just another half a year," Sorenon keenly realized. "Incredible."
That was exactly what Cæ wanted to hear.
He has purposely aimed to acclimatize people with his rapid growth and generous predictions.
This way, nobody would bat an eye when he completed the course in the next six months.
"Let's eat together tonight so you can tell us more," Natana suggested with an eager expression.
Cæ shook his head. "I'm afraid not, unfortunately. I have a business meeting to attend."
"Ehhh…"
"Come on, big bro!"
"Don't abandon us!"
"You can survive one day without me," Cæ huffed lightly. "I really cannot afford to miss this meeting."
His eyes glinted with excitement.
Six months had passed since Seliphaz had begun working on the development of the micro-housing unit prototype. The meeting tonight was meant to produce an official status report on the product's developmental progress.
Although Cæ had received progress reports, they never particularly dove deep into the field, for he was not particularly qualified to understand all the details and jargon. At least, not yet.
He wanted to get a good understanding of the product that Celiphaz had been developing along with the team of structural engineers that Feidin had hired for the task.
He bade his three young friends goodbye as he headed to his dorm room, immediately changing into fitting clothing before departing from the Elendir Institute of Magic.
The meeting was to occur at a booked office space.
Feidin had avoided the decision to buy a base immediately, for there was still half a year until the product would be completely developed. Thus, they sought to minimize expenses for a base until it would truly start mattering.
Additionally, this early in the product development, their supply chains and inventory requirements had yet to be decided, which would certainly affect the end outcome of the business.
Soon enough, Cæ found himself arrived at the location, heading into the office with eager eyes.
CLACK
He opened the door to several people seated around a table.
"Was I late?"
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