Chapter 150: Tutor

Wednesday Day 68:

After the morning class, Zane rushed alone to the cafeteria for a second breakfast before heading to the Tutoring Center. He followed Evelyn’s directions to the building, and when he arrived, he was shocked. Although his memory was terrible when numbers or things he didn’t care about were involved, he knew this building was not there yesterday.

"Eve said tutoring wasn’t supposed to start until next month. Did they build overnight because of us?" Zane wasn’t sure, but it looked that way. "I must say: I admire the towers’ efficiency."

Activating his soul crest, Zane checked the room number one more time before walking in. The inside design was like any typical American high school. A map hung near the entrance, and after checking it, Zane headed to his room. Evelyn, Keesha, and Tom sat at a round table, already waiting. Zane looked around as he walked toward them: white walls, five round tables that seated 4-5 people, and a blackboard. The tower seemed to love these old and dated blackboards.

"Didn’t Evans sign up?"

"His schedule didn’t allow it, so he selected another time slot."

"James is really dragging him down," Tom commented.

Zane shrugged. "Well, it’s his choice." As he told Evans, the people around him represent who he is. And since Evans refuses or feels he cannot drop James as his friend, he needs to live with the consequences of his choice.

"I wonder what the tutor will be like?" Keesha asked.

"I don’t know. I only know it’s a woman, and she’s a 3-ring mage."

"You didn’t tell us the cost or how much we owe you?" Tom asked.

"I picked the best package, so it’s very expensive. As for the cost? We’ll discuss it next week."

"Alright."

The four of them talked while passing the time. Keesha noticed something and started playing with Zane’s hair.

"Your hair is a bit long. Are you planning on twisting it?"

"Yes." After a couple of weeks using a potion to nourish his hair, it had grown quite a bit.

"I can do it for you if you want."

"You know how?"

"I work in a hair and nail salon."

"That explains a lot," Zane thought. Keesha’s hair is always straight, which takes a lot of effort to maintain. And that’s not to mention how pristine her and Evelyn—well, now Khadijah’s—nails have always been.

"If you don’t mind."

"It’s no problem at all. Set up a date and come to my dorm."

"How about Sunday morning? That way we can have all afternoon for guild mission."

"Sunday is departure day."

"Oh, right. Then, Saturday? We can do it after the Elite Class."

"No, I’m meeting my cousin. I’m free in the afternoon after the second practical class."

"That’s fine with me."

"What about payment? Do —"

"No need. Consider repaying the favor with the pictures."

"Alright."

At exactly 12 PM, a young girl walked into the room. "Hello, Earhlings, I am— It’s you?"

"Zulu?"

"You know her?" Keesha asked.

"She’s in the analytic club."

Zulu looked at Zane and felt she was about to pop a vein. First, the tower suddenly started the tutoring session early and chose her for the first group, ruining a lot of her plans. But then, she had to meet that stubborn Earthling whose very existence was a mockery to the Analytic Club.

"My name is Zulu Maliketh — your tutor. Before we begin, I’ve prepared a test for you to gauge your level. You have thirty minutes." Without saying anything else, Zulu handed a paper to everybody before starting a timer on her watch.

Keesha raised her hand. "I didn’t bring a pen."

Zulu groaned. "There are writing utensils on the front desk. Take it out yourself."

Keesha stood from her desk and retrieved a pen while everybody focused on the exam. Thirty minutes later, Zulu sat at the front desk and swiftly graded the papers. She frowned for a few seconds, then glanced at the group. "Besides Zane, why are all of you so terrible? All you can do is remember runes, and even at that, some of you fail to meet a decent standard."

"You can’t blame us. We haven’t learned any magic theory yet," Tom Nguyen swiftly said.

"That’s right. Magic theory doesn’t start until the sixth month mark." Zulu sighed. "That means we must start from the basics. Give me a moment." A hologram appeared from her left hand for a few seconds before a white light enveloped Zulu and teleported her away. Five minutes later, she reappeared carrying five books.

"Magic Theory for Beginners, written by Alieda Wentsworth," Zane read. "Hmm? Why does the author’s name sound familiar?" A quick mental channeling to his hippocampus instantly jugged his memory. "Isn’t she the name of Professor Malida’s mentor?" By now, Zane had figured out that Alieda Wentsworth was a famous analyst in the world of Alkira. Many of the students in his class purposely chose Malida as their professor because she’s a student of Grand Mage Alieda.

After handing out the books, Zulu looked at Zane. "It’s a waste of time for you to listen to my lecture. So, go to another table and read the first five Chapters. Once I’m done here, I’ll come discuss them with you."

"Oh, alright." Zane packed his bag and moved to the desk in the corner.

"What about me?" Tom Nguyen asked.

Zuly calmly looked at him. "You’re only marginally better than them." Tom’s face turned redder than red-bottom shoes, but Zulu ignored them, forcing him to lower his head.

"We’ll begin with spell analysis before opening up to the broader concept of magic theory. So open your book to Chapter 1," Zulu announced. "At its essence, spell analysis can be divided into three aspects: rune logic, spacing or rune arrangement, and finally, mana directive. Rune Logic is what runes to use to achieve the spell’s intended goal; mana directive determines the spell’s stability; spacing is the intermediary, determining a spell’s potency, mana cost, distance or scale, and stability. Let’s start with rune logic..."

Zane put on his headphones and the world around disappeared, leaving only the book in front of him. At first, he didn’t think he’d learn much, at least not in the first few Chapters, but he was immediately proven wrong on the first page. The way he was learning magic theory was the reverse: first learning advanced concepts, then learning the foundations or predecessors of those concepts; it’s like building a skyscraper from the ground up. However, this method had a flaw: Zane had many blind spots in basic or foundational concepts.

"I understand why Alieda is such a sought-after analyst," Zane thought. From this book, he understood Malieda’s popularity: she explained complex ideas in a digestible way through a marvelous approach. What is magic? A simple question, but one most mages probably couldn’t answer satisfactorily. The author understood this, so instead of answering or imposing some grand idea on the reader, she took a roundabout route by first introducing a byproduct of magic: spells.

By analyzing spells, Grand Analyst Alieda slowly introduces larger concepts, ideas, and theories about magic without giving a direct answer. In fact, Zane could already tell the book’s purpose is to help the reader develop their own interpretation of magic through a slow, methodical process. "I suddenly want to meet this Grand Mage," Zane thought. However, he swiftly shook his head and focused, since that was probably impossible.

An hour and a half later, Zulu approached Zane and observed his work without alarming him. Zane was doing one of the exercises in Chapter 5, and he didn’t notice anyone behind him. "I can’t believe he’s learned so much in just two months. How absurd." Zulu has been around magic all her life and started her formal training at 5 (just theory). But she didn’t achieve Zane’s level, at least not until she was 10 years old. She had always thought he was only staying in the club out of pride and stubbornness; she didn’t expect him to actually learn so much.

"And based on how effortlessly he’s been using mental channeling the entire class, his magical talent is probably on par with me." Unfortunately, she wasn’t a pure Grand Mage bloodline. Zulu’s mother became a Grand Mage five years after her birth, and her father two years later. As such, her talent was only S-Class.

"Maybe I should follow Mother and Father’s advice," Zulu thought. According to her parents, the first generation of Earthlings are extremely talented. Their magic talents are not only the best, but the divination spell used to select them also chose those with the best willpower, adaptability, learning ability, battle IQ, and luck. With these qualities, many of these people will become Grand Mages, and a few might even become Archmages.