Chapter 264: Ch264: First Class

For a moment, the young shamans exchanged glances, curiosity flickering across their faces. Then, one by one, their attention shifted toward Daniel as he rose from his seat.

To most of them, he was a complete stranger — a new face they had never seen before. However, a few recognized him from the previous night at the training ground.

Their eyes lingered on him, narrowing slightly as they remembered the unfamiliar young man who had fought alongside Harley and Tristan.

Whispers almost escaped their lips, but none of them dared to speak. The atmosphere around Daniel felt unfamiliar, and he carried himself like an introvert, quietly approaching the stage while occasionally glancing at the other students.

Daniel walked toward the center of the classroom, the sound of his footsteps echoing between the rows of benches.

He stopped beside Magnus and straightened his back, trying to maintain a calm expression despite the faint nervousness flickering in his eyes.

"Welcome to your first class, Mr. Dikson. I’m Master Magnus Crowley, your instructor," Magnus said, his deep voice carrying across the quiet classroom.

He gave Daniel a measured nod before continuing.

"Since you’re joining us later than the others, you may feel a little out of place at first. But don’t worry. Take your time, learn what you can, and treat every lesson as an opportunity to grow stronger."

Magnus gestured toward the class.

"Now, Mr. Dikson, why don’t you introduce yourself to your fellow shamans?"

"Okay," said Daniel before turning his gaze toward the others.

The hands that had been resting behind his back dropped loosely to his sides. His shoulders relaxed, and the slight nervousness on his face vanished.

He stood before the class with an easy smile, his gaze sweeping across the room.

"Hello, everyone. I’m Daniel. It’s nice to meet you all. I’m looking forward to learning alongside you, so I hope we can get along well."

The young shamans exchanged glances before a few smiles appeared on their faces. Some nodded, while others gave him small waves from their seats.

Magnus watched their reaction with a warm smile.

"Come on, students. Give our new friend a round of applause."

*Clap! Clap! Clap!*

A wave of applause swept through the classroom before gradually fading into silence.

Magnus’s gaze returned to Daniel.

"Before we head toward the Southern Barrier, I want to know something. What forms of Lightning have you learned so far, Mr. Dikson?"

"Uh, so far... I’ve learned the First, Third, and Fourth Forms," Daniel replied, his expression calm.

Several students sitting on the front bench leaned forward.

Magnus’s eyebrows lifted slightly. "You mean you haven’t learned the others, or you can’t?"

"I can’t learn the second one. At least that’s what Master Marco told me. And I haven’t reached the Fifth Form yet."

"Marco... you said?" Magnus murmured.

He pressed his index finger against his chin and slowly paced toward the corner of the classroom.

After a moment, he reached down and picked up what looked like an ordinary wooden stick. As he turned around, Daniel noticed the object wasn’t a stick at all.

It was a staff.

A small yellow pearl was embedded at its tip, its smooth surface reflecting the light from the windows.

"Mr. Dikson, please cast your First Form of Lightning at this." Magnus raised the staff. "I want to see how you’ve practiced so far."

He glanced at the students.

"And I’m sure everyone else would like to see it as well, right?"

"Yeah!"

"Of course!"

"Let’s see it!"

The young shamans responded almost immediately, their voices filling the room. Meanwhile, Daniel didn’t seem bothered by the sudden attention. He simply gave a soft nod.

Magnus raised the staff and said, "Focus, aim, and shoot."

Daniel lifted his right hand.

*BzZzT~*

A faint crackle of electricity emerged from his palm.

Then another.

*Bzzzt... BZZT!*

Blue-white lightning crawled across his fingers like tiny serpents. The air around his hand began to tremble, and several strands of hair on the students sitting on the first bench stood upright.

Daniel slowly closed his fingers. The scattered lightning began gathering toward his palm. The electricity compressed into a small sphere.

It grew denser. Brighter. The crackling sound became sharper as more and more lightning was forced into the tiny ball.

The young shamans sitting at the front instinctively leaned back. A strange tingling sensation crawled across their skin.

Magnus’s eyes narrowed. His attention locked onto the sphere. For a brief moment, he completely forgot about the staff in his hand.

The sphere was beautiful. It wasn’t simply bright — it was dense, almost as though countless strands of lightning had been compressed into a single point.

Magnus’s expression slowly changed. ’This is... the First Form?’

Even some of his top students couldn’t condense lightning with this level of control.

Daniel extended his arm.

*BzAap!*

The sphere shot forward.

The moment it left his palm, it stretched into a long streak of lightning, tearing through the air with a sharp crack.

*Boom!*

It struck the yellow pearl. Nothing happened. The classroom fell silent. The pearl didn’t glow. It didn’t flicker. It didn’t even tremble.

The students stared at it, confusion spreading across their faces.

Normally, the pearl would immediately illuminate upon contact. The stronger the attack, the brighter it would shine. They had all seen it countless times during previous lessons.

But now...

Nothing.

Then, a thin fracture appeared across the surface of the yellow pearl.

Magnus’s eyes widened.

*Crack! Crack! Crack!*

The fractures rapidly spread across the pearl, branching outward like a spiderweb.

"What...?"

Before anyone could react, the yellow pearl exploded.

Fragments of its glass-like outer shell shot outward as Magnus instinctively ducked and released the staff from his hand.

*Clatter!*

Silence descended over the classroom.

Every pair of eyes slowly turned toward Daniel.

Daniel stood there with his arm still extended, staring at the shattered remains.

’Uh-oh.’

He slowly lowered his hand. A faint trace of nervousness flickered across his face. He quickly turned away, placed both hands behind his back, and returned to his usual innocent-looking posture.

"What?!"

The classroom erupted.

"He broke the testing pearl!"

"How much power was that?!"

"Wasn’t that the First Form?!"

"How could the First Form do that?"

"What the hell just happened?!"

Whispers and exclamations spread from one end of the classroom to the other.

Magnus’s expression hardened.

"Silence!"