Chapter 7: Chapter 6: Magic

I paused in bewilderment when I opened the door of the magic classroom. My mana radar showed me a lecture hall, again like one you would see in a fantasy school-life anime. However, instead of ending with a blackboard the length of the wall, it opened into a packed-dirt arena the size of a couple basketball courts. The teacher’s desk and wheeled blackboard were in their expected places, at least.

“Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to let us in so we can be on time?” snapped a young dark mage tapping her foot behind me. I let out a squeak and quickly slithered inside, which is to say I found myself in line with the central aisle of the lecture hall before you could say “mamono.”

I turned around, unconsciously bringing my tail in close and shifting my pointy, scaled ears down and back. I tracked the intimidating dark mage’s movement as she found her way to a seat in the second-to-last row and kicked up her feet. Where the scent of her mana before had sent me panicking across the room, now it simply conveyed boredom. Was she one of those prodigies or something? Judging by the volume of mamono mana coming off her, she certainly could be.

I once again shook away my fright from the encounter. I had more important things to do, like finding a seat. I decided on one just a little in from the left end in the second row, plenty far away from the bratty mage. Also far from the door, but that wasn’t important.

After everyone had chosen a seat and settled in, a succubus appeared behind the desk with a small flash of fire. I couldn’t see the fire itself, but the bright red mana it used marked it clearly as magic. She looked toned, like a gymnast, and had thighs that looked like they could crush anything that fit between them. I wonder if she would let me put my head–

I shook my head violently. She’s my teacher, and she’s a woman. Even if it weren’t for the professional distance she has to keep, she probably isn’t interested in little girls. 

Little girls, I repeated in my head. It felt funny to be included in that category. It sent little butterflies through my stomach that threatened giggles every time I was reminded of it.

The teacher was looking pointedly at me, and her mouth was moving. Shoot, I was in class. Needed to pay attention.

“Sorry, what?” I said, causing a ripple of giggles through the hall.

“You are Lily Elapida, yes?” the teacher stated with a sharp look. 

“Um, yes,” I answered, my tone more subdued.

After that, she finished the roll call and turned around to face the blackboard. Picking up a piece of chalk, she began to write, and said, “My name is Elise Blackwell, but please call me Miss Blackwell. I will be your Foundations of Magic teacher.” After writing Elise Blackwell and Foundations of Magic on the board, she turned back around.

“Now, I know you are all eager to jump right into practice, but we must lay the groundwork first. Without the knowledge of how to properly direct your mana, things are liable to blow up in your face. Especially,” she paused, “if you have not had your first heat yet, which is when a mamono’s magic capabilities are fully released.”

Uh, heat? I thought. That means, like, right before your period, right? That sent a shiver of disappointment through me. I haven’t had that happen yet. Then a shudder of panic. Shit, periods. I guess I’ll get those now since I’m a girl. Shit, I am not looking forward to that.

I decided that that was a topic better reserved for when I wasn’t busy with a class, so I returned my attention to the front. I saw from the faint ripples of chalk on the blackboard that Miss Blackwell had begun to go over the basics of mana flow in the body; namely that the mana core was located in the center of the torso and that channels similar to blood vessels circulated mana throughout the body. 

She then explained how, in order to actually harness that mana for spells, you had to take control of its flow. She compared it to controlling your breathing, and apparently it was just as simple. 

“Now, the next part is where it gets tricky,” the teacher explained. “While you feel your mana flow, you need to take some of it and redirect it to somewhere outside your body, like on your palm for example,” she said, raising her forearm out with her palm up, before a small flame ignited in the place she said. A small chorus of gasps and “oo”s went around the room before settling down again.

You are reading story Monster Girl Reincarnation at novel35.com

“Now, this is a simple Mana Shot spell which has taken on a fire aspect from my affinity,” she explained. “This is the simplest of all spells, and the one we will be performing for the first month or so while you gain control of your mana flow. All of you will more than likely have an element added to it; a ‘pure’ Mana Shot, one without an aspect, is very rare and indicates an affinity with either no elements or all of them.”

“Now, we do have targets set up down here, but you do not have to aim at them unless you want to. The other option is to simply shoot into the sky, where it will dissipate into the air after it gets too far. With that said, you may come down and begin to practice, and I will come around to help you one-on-one.”

After those words, the ones everyone had been waiting for, all the other students stood up and made their way down to the arena. Some sprung out of their seats and dashed like it was a rush for the cafeteria; others were calmer about it. I noticed the dark mage seemed to stand up last and sauntered her way down with a smirk playing across her face. Myself? I couldn’t do magic yet, the teacher said I had to wait until my first heat.

I ignored her and turned to watch the other students. Each one was lit up more than usual, and I could see little pieces of their mana silhouettes detaching themselves and shifting color. After that, the little balls of color would shoot from their palms into the air or towards the straw dummies set up on the left side of the arena. And oh there were so many colors, pastel green and royal blue and rich brown and deep purple and pale yellow and so many others. I found myself mesmerized by the show.

The sound of someone clearing her throat from beside me brought me out of my trance. I turned to my right to find Miss Blackwell standing next to my seat.

“Did you need help to get down there, Lily?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that,” I responded. “It’s just, I can’t do magic yet,” was it getting hot in here? “since I haven’t had my first… heat… yet,” I explained, feeling like my cheeks might spontaneously combust.

“Ah, I see. Well, don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll be fine–”

A flurry of gasps from the arena drew our attention, and it took me a moment to remember that closing my eyes wouldn’t change anything. A ridiculously bright ball of pure white light had appeared over the middle of the packed-dirt floor. I could barely make out the figure holding it, for there was indeed someone holding that spell. A cocky grin and twinkling eyes, a wide-set stance and a tall pointy hat, told me all that I needed to know.

Miss Blackwell gasped and began rushing down to the field. “That is amazing, Heather! You have every affinity? Have you been trained yet?” she said in excitement. 

“Yep, by the best that money can buy,” the dark mage preened. 

Oh, she’s one of those, huh? I bristled. Guess we’re hitting all the tropes, huh? If I think about it that way, then I’m probably the shy love interest. Who would be the main character, though? With how energetic she is, it would probably be A–

I shook my head violently to dislodge any stray thoughts. Definitely don’t want to set up any flags.

Things continued to settle down after the surprise of Heather’s Mana shot, and class was quickly over. Science class came, and I learned a bit more about the nature of the world. Seasons and lunar cycles behaved almost identical to Earth’s, even including how. Since it was middle school, we did an activity about the phases of the moon, and pretty soon that class was over as well.

Now it was time for the most daunting class of all for social recluses like me, the favorite “class” of many, the class where shit went down in school stories: Lunch.