POV Dex and Echidna:
They had arrived ten minutes early.
Sylvia was still in the corridor when they disappeared, leaving only a trail of disturbed air. Dex and Echidna had crossed the academy campus at a deliberately measured speed—fast enough to be untraceable, but not as fast as they could have been.
When they opened the doors to the Applied Magical Analysis classroom, they found the room almost empty. Only Tiamat.
But it wasn't the same Tiamat they had expected to find.
She was hanging beneath one of the ceiling beams—literally, her tail wrapped around the beam while her body hung upside down, studying magical diagrams that floated in the air. Her white hair formed an elegant cascade toward the floor, and even inverted, there was something predatory about her grace.
When she sensed them, she descended with feline movements, her tail loosening from the beam as she spun through the air, landing with perfect precision a few meters from them.
The professor's uniform she wore was... different.
Tiamat had chosen a less formal version—the golden details more pronounced, the cut slightly looser, allowing the brilliant scales on her shoulders to be more visible. Her silver hair had been released, rather than held in the rigid posture from before, and it gleamed in the light of the room as if capturing every individual photon.
Her pearlescent eyes met theirs—and there was a different gleam in them. No longer that of a professor inspecting anomalous students. Something closer to... calculated interest.
"You arrived early," Tiamat observed, walking slowly toward them. "Very good. You almost make me forgive you."
'Is it my imagination or is she trying to be... attractive?' Echidna whispered telepathically.
'Definitely is,' Dex replied, his tone cautious. 'But... why?'
"Professor Tiamat," Dex greeted respectfully, maintaining distance. "We appreciate that you didn't file a complaint about how we left."
Tiamat didn't respond immediately. Instead, she walked in a semicircle around them, her tail swaying slowly like a pendulum. The gesture wasn't threatening—but it was decidedly uncomfortable.
She stopped near one of the tables and her tail slid across the surface, leaving a trail of softly gleaming scales. When she looked back, there was a smile on her lips—small, but present.
"A complaint?" She finally said, her voice low enough to sound only for them. "No. That was... my fault."
Her tail found Echidna's free hand—not aggressively, but exploratory.
Echidna took a deep breath, maintaining composure, but Dex felt the surprise radiating from her.
'Is she trying to seduce us?'
Tiamat then moved to the professor's desk and settled into the chair, her fingers drumming slowly on the surface.
"After class ended, I examined the mana and aura crystal in the hall, and I discovered that the energy pattern seemed to change abruptly after a few minutes of you both beginning to meditate."
She opened one of her notebooks with a magical gesture. The page showed diagrams made by her—attempts to replicate what she had seen.
Echidna looked at Dex. Tiamat was literally showing that she had tried to understand their system.
"And analyzing it, I came to a conclusion," Tiamat continued, turning to them with a slight inclination of her head. "If you were simple half-dragons..."
"You would have turned into minced meat."
Tiamat rose fluidly while leaving the book on the table.
Her eyes met Dex's and she slowly approached him.
And her tail touched one of the twins—this time Dex. Lightly on his right arm.
"And then I heard about your feats in battle," she said while using the membranes of her tail to wrap around him from his sleeves. "Defeating Kael and despite him not being able to use aura, that doesn't change the fact that any first-year would be completely crushed by him."
Dex, his arm massaged by the tail that could have cut him in half so easily, could only hear the words of the young dragon. Accompanied by an envious Echidna who wished to trade places with her spouse.
"After all this I came to a conclusion—you are not—"
And as if fate prevented her from continuing, the classroom door opened.
Sylvia entered first, followed by a flow of other first-year students following her.
Tiamat immediately pulled away, returning to her position of authority. Her tail, which moments before seemed to move in seductive motions, returned to normal.
"After class," she said silently. "We will speak properly."
...
A few minutes had passed and all students were now seated in their places.
However, among the male students and some of the young female students passed only one thought: 'The professor today is... hot.'
But they quickly lost that thought upon hearing her.
"Welcome," said Tiamat, her voice resonating through the classroom. "Today we will explore various questions and concepts that most of you probably don't know about. We'll have an hour and a half of theoretical discussion, after which we'll continue with yesterday's cultivation."
She then rose from her chair and walked through the room, her tail swaying with professional elegance now.
"So," Tiamat continued, stopping in the center of the room, "we'll begin with a simple question: how many of you know the true biological age of the different races?"
Silence. No one raised their hand.
Tiamat smiled slightly. "Exactly as I expected. I'll explain."
She created a series of magical diagrams in the air, showing different humanoid figures.
"Vampires," she began, pointing to the first figure, "reach biological maturity at 60 years of age. This is equivalent to a human of 15 years. A 60-year-old vampire can reproduce, has all physical attributes fully developed, and is considered an adult in their society."
A second diagram appeared.
"Elves," she continued, "reach maturity at 45 years—equivalent to approximately 18 human years. They are fully developed, can reproduce, and are legally responsible for their actions."
Sylvia was paying particular attention, her golden eyes fixed on Tiamat.
"Dwarves," said the dragon, pointing to the third figure, "reach maturity at 25 years—around 22 human years. Fully developed, legally adults."
She paused, observing the next figure.
"And finally, the beastmen creatures. Beastmen reach biological maturity at 12 years of age. This is the fastest life cycle among the major races."
Tiamat expanded the diagram slightly.
"It is important to understand that this means a 12-year-old beastman is fully biologically developed. Their body is that of an adult—developed musculature, full strength, complete reproductive capabilities. The beastmen race simply matures much more rapidly than humans or elves."
Her gaze passed briefly over Lyra, who continued observing with her characteristic neutral expression.
"A 12-year-old beastman is truly an adult. This is not a matter of opinion or cultural preference—it is scientific biological fact. The differences in timescales between races mean that a young beastman possesses the body and capabilities of an adult of any other race, simply because their biology matures rapidly."
"And a perfect example of this are your classmates," she then pointed to Lyra and another male beastman student. "Both are clearly fully developed."
Tiamat erased the diagrams.
"In any case, what matters to understand is that at all these ages, individuals are biologically fully developed and can reproduce. This is scientific biological fact. Nothing more, nothing less."
She continued without pause.
"Now, second topic: Why are there only two main classes? Mages and Knights? Why not other variations?"
She created a new diagram—this time showing the flow of energy through a body.
"The answer is simple: aptitude," said Tiamat. "Each individual is born with a natural tendency—either for mana or for aura. Rarely are both equal."
She pointed to the diagram on the left.
"Individuals with high aptitude for mana, those whose bodies naturally absorb and channel environmental energy, become Mages. They form magical circles, deal with external energy."
Then she pointed to the diagram on the right.
"Those with high aptitude for aura are those who carry a will that exceeds their body's limits and reach new heights—they become Knights. They awaken souls, channel internal energy."
Tiamat turned to face the class.
"Although in certain accounts of some legends there exist individuals with balanced talent for both. These individuals were normally called heroes, but nowadays are considered merely a legend."
"Now let us move on to another topic."
...
An hour and a half unfolded and various topics were covered—combat strategy, mana theory, history of magic. But when Tiamat finally turned to the star classification system, every student in the room stopped to give complete attention.
"Finally, let us discuss the Star Classification System, recently implemented by the Central Academy and adopted by this institution."
She created a new diagram—a series of ten stars, each growing in brightness and intensity.
"Approximately five years ago, scholars of Magic and Warriors gathered to create a standardized method of measuring all relevant statistics. The result was the Ten-Star System."
Tiamat pointed to comparative diagrams.
"First thing important: this system correlates directly with Soul levels for knights and Mana Circles for mages. A knight with First Star Strength corresponds to a first Soul. A Fifth Star Strength approximately equals a fifth Soul—and so on."
She expanded the explanation.
"But here is the critical detail: Fifth Star Strength measures only the raw strength they can exert without any aura or mana fortification. It is pure physical strength. When a knight activates their aura to enhance attacks, this value can increase dramatically—sometimes doubling or tripling."
Dex felt Echidna paying special attention.
'Like our system,' Dex thought, recognizing the structure. 'Objective measurement without amplifiers.'
'Exactly,' Echidna replied.
Tiamat created a glowing table showing multiple categories.
"You will be evaluated on: Strength, Speed, Endurance, Vitality, Agility, Mana Capacity (if applicable), Aura Capacity (if applicable), and two types of Intelligence."
She pointed specifically to the Intelligence column.
"Here we need important clarification. Intelligence means completely different things for knights and mages."
Tiamat created two diagrams side by side.
"For knights, Intelligence measures information-processing speed. Someone with Fourth Star Intelligence might be less intellectually brilliant than someone with First Star Intelligence, yet can read a book a hundred times faster. Can analyze combat patterns in real time. This is decisive when facing enemies with highly repetitive attacks."
She pointed to the second diagram.
"For mages, however, Intelligence divides into two additional branches beyond processing speed."
Tiamat created the first branch.
"Spatial Intelligence: governs how well a mage can manipulate the space around them. How they can confine their magic to the limits of physical reality. A mage with low Spatial Intelligence might have enormous mana capacity, but their spells will become uncontrolled easily. One with high Spatial Intelligence can create devastating effects with relatively little energy."
She created the second branch.
"Imagination: accesses the unlimited side of magic. Allows a mage to create absolutely anything they can envision, using the element or power with which they share the strongest connection. A mage without imagination is restricted to known spells. One with exceptional imagination can invent magics never before created."
Sylvia raised her hand.
"Professor, what is the relationship between these two concepts?"
Tiamat smiled—it was the perfect question.
"Excellent question. The fusion of these two concepts—the finite through Spatial Intelligence and the infinite through Imagination—is what defines the true essence of magic in this world. A mage must imagine without limits, but keep that imagination confined to physical reality. It is the tension between what we dream and what is possible."
She created a final diagram showing overlapping circles.
"Uncontrolled Imagination without Spatial Intelligence = unstable and dangerous spells. Spatial Intelligence without Imagination = mage limited to known spells. Both in balance = true magical power."
Tiamat erased all the diagrams.
"The evaluations for your stars will be administered at the end of the semester and you will receive official classifications in each category. Any questions?"
Seeing that no one raised their hand, she then continued.
"Since you all seem to have understood, I think we can head to the training hall."
Tiamat then observed the room with satisfied expression, her tail swaying slowly. And her eyes met Dex's only for a second while she began guiding the students to the hall.