Dupont watched as Cohen left the room with the rest of the class and noticed that Dorin and Johan were still in their seats.
"Do you have any more questions for me today?" he asked the two young mages.
"I'm at element number eight," said Dorin.
"I'm just waiting for him to close his book," said Johan.
"I had no idea that elements look so different up close!" Dorin said in awe, "I've never actually thought of looking at them at this 'atomic level' you speak of..."
"That's because the books you have been reading were quite outdated," said the professor. "There have been much advancement in science in the past decades, and this class can help you learn all about them."
"But don't this stuff just complicate things?" Johan asked. "At the mines, we just look at the rock and we can tell if there's silver or copper or gold or some other mineral in them."
"Yeah, it's easier if you know what they look like," agreed Dorin.
"Then what about gasses?" asked Dupont. "Most gasses are not visible to the naked eye, some are even tasteless and odorless."
"You have a point there..." Dorin looked up from his textbook. "I guess that's where magic comes handy."
Upon saying this, Dorin held his hand, palm up and mumbled some words. Dupont stepped back as an arcane circle appeared on top of Dorin's palm and was joined by two more.
"Should I make a pair of glasses or a magnifier?" Dorin asked his professor, his head tilted.
"You... you're summoning arcane symbols and plan to create a device out of thin air?!" Dupont asked wide-eyed. "That level of alchemy is meant for top tier arch mages!"
"Oh, Sebastian told me the exact same thing!" said Dorin with a grin.
"So what does it do?" asked Johan who looked at Dorin's palm with little interest.
"I guess I can use it as a magnifier..." Dorin touched his pointer to his thumb to make an 'okay sign', he then raised it up for Johan to look through.
"Take a look."
"Woah!" Johan pushed Dorin's hand away after peeping through his fingers. "What are those bugs floating in the air?"
"Probably dust mites," said Dorin. "Should I magnify it more?" he asked the professor.
"Much, much, more, I'm afraid," answered Dupont. "You can place the spell on your eyes and activate it with a word so you can free your hands."
"Is that what you do?" Dorin asked Dupont who simply smiled.
"It's like a built in binoculars, then!" said Johan.
"That's right, and once the spell is cast, you can use it any way you wish, even as a powerful microscope."
"Cool! Can you spell me one, Dorin?" Johan asked.
"Sure! Just come up with a word to activate it!" said his companion who summoned another set of arcane symbols which appeared before Johan's eyes.
"Amazing... did your mother teach you how to use these symbols?" Dupont asked as he watched Dorin work.
"A bit..." Dorin replied. "She gave me an alchemy book once and showed me a couple of spells and told me to try the rest on my own. It was very useful, especially when she leaves for work."
"So, you are basically self taught?" Dupont inquired with interest. "This is 4th level alchemy, did she teach you how to draw the basic symbols, at least?"
"Oh, she didn't need to, since I'm good at remembering stuff I've seen once. I just remember what symbol to use and call on the magic and draw it from memory like so..."
Upon saying this, Dorin made a golden arcane symbol materialize in thin air. These symbols are actually made of tendrils of magic and are thus, much more potent than simple drawings. It was also more difficult to manifest, especially in places where the magic is thinning out.
"That is the symbol for water," said Dupont, just as a glob of water materialized from within Dorin's magic circle.
"That's right," said the young mage. "I usually collect moisture in the air to form water, but with this symbol, I can conjure water out of nowhere."
"Likewise, a fire symbol can summon flame," said their professor who created an arcane symbol of his own. A flame ignited on top of it. "It eats up the mana in the vicinity, though, so it's better to just stick to written spells which make use of the castor's magic that is saved on paper."
"Hmph. It's much easier to just ignite the dust in the air," said Johan who snapped and trailed a blue flame with his index finger.
"That's right, that's also what I do to make fire!" said Dorin who did the same.
"That's because Johan is a fire mage, and it is easy to control the rest of the elements when you are a wind mage," said Dupont. "You can manipulate the movement of atoms which is the basic building blocks of all matter, thus, you can turn a metallic element malleable or change the phases of water by manipulating the atoms that make it up."
Johan stared at the professor, his mouth slightly ajar.
"I don't think I get it."
"I never thought of that!" said Dorin. "I just thought that I can do stuff because it's magic! After all, magic needs no explanation."
"Yeah, like molding metals into balls, right?" Johan piped in. "I just feel it in my bones. I don't need complicated science to explain things to me and tell me the things I do are impossible."
"Exactly, we just do it because it's magic!" Dorin agreed.
Dupont gave a soft chuckle.
"And I guess that's what makes the two of you stronger than the rest of the students here."
"What is?" Johan asked with a frown.
"You were never given boundaries," Dupont continued. "You use your powers without restrictions, and thus, you never thought of a limit to your capacity. While thestudents here are thought one step at a time under controlled environments, you were using your powers everyday, sometimes even in life and death situations, making it second nature. Experience is the best teacher, after all, and that made the two of you even more stronger."
Johan gave Dupont a blank stare.
"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he asked. Dupont laughed, while Dorin looked at their professor with understanding in his eyes.
"Then I guess mother left me alone in purpose to make me stronger," he whispered low.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a bell.
"Ah, I guess my class is officially over," said Prof. Dupont. "You better head to your next classes, I'll see you two in campus."
The two mages left the room together.
"My next class is on the third floor, how about yours?" Dorin asked Johan who was busy checking his list.
"Same. `Guess we both go up then," he said with a shrug. "Say, Dorin, is it true that your mom left you to fend for yourself throughout your childhood?" he asked as they climbed the staircase from the ground floor.
"Not really, my friend Eirian was there to keep me company `till I was three," he said. "They were just a bit older than me but could do a lot of things on their own. Then I turned 5 and mother brought Marcus to teach me hand to hand combat `till I turned 10."
"Marcus? You mean Major General Muller?" Johan asked.
"Yeah, we just call him Marcus. Mother always said that titles and positions were not important, unlike here where it's required for students to show respect," he sighed. "Those were happy times. We used to go on missions to clear up poachers and bandits camped out in the forest. I just don't know why he never showed me a gun before."
"What, you actually clear bandit camps?" Johan asked with a frown. "How exactly did you clear them?"
"Why, we kill them in their sleep, of course," Dorin answered matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I get bonus points if I finish the mission without any of them waking up."
"The hell..." Johan stopped one step above Dorin and looked down on the shorter wind mage. "You actually killed men sleeping defenselessly?!" he asked in disbelieve.
"Of course, it's faster that way."
"And where's the honor in that?"
"Where's the honor in bandits killing defenseless villagers in their sleep?" Dorin asked back.
"Well, why would you want to stoop to their level?"
"It's a well known tactic, the element of surprise, what do you want us to do, shout at them to wake up so they can have a fighting chance?"
"I still think it's a dishonorable act, I could never do something like that! Can't you fight them face to face?"
"Of course, we also get to face them during the day..." Dorin frowned. "Come to think of it, I remember seeing some weapons in their camps before. I always thought they were just a type of mace or something."
"You never saw them use it?"
"I remember them hurling a gun at me once... perhaps Marcus did something to the weapons so they don't shoot, he's an artificer, after all."
"Yeah, maybe, but still, you shouldn't attack people while they sleep," he continued stubbornly. "It's a dirty tactic used by those damn military men. They used to burn our tents in the middle of the night and shoot at us when we run out to save ourselves. At least we always give a battle cry when we attack them back."
"Do you win?" Dorin asked.
"Well... sometimes..." Johan frowned at the younger companion. "Much better than attacking without honor. Only cowards and weaklings stoop that low."
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind."
The two separated as they finally got to the third floor and went to their respective classes.