Chương 76: New Excursionist

Rumours swirled about Ryland after the first day of the duels. An unsurprising development after his showing. It made complete sense that all the observers would be worked up about who he was in truth and what he intended to accomplish at the academy. Really, it was like Ryland's meeting with the leaders of Arcoryx City had now taken on a more public setting.

"I like the rumour where they said that you're a long, lost son of Grand Magus Stymphal," Bulgon said. The forgean student peered at Ryland with his crystalline eyes.

"You… aren't that, are you, sir?" They were all seated for another class of Intuitive Magic. The class period hadn't started, so they were just sitting around and chatting. Ryland wasn't normally one to appear too long before the class started, but he had run out of tasks and whatnot so had decided to pop in early for once. It appeared several students had the same idea.

"Not that I'm aware of," Ryland said.

"My parents were tailors in a small port town called Gildharbour." Viren choked on air.

"Sir, Gildharbour isn't a small port town anymore. It's basically Androvia's third most important city, behind Arcoryx and Prinseat."

"Is that so? Hmm. I suppose I need to visit one of these days."

"You should!" Viren was suddenly quite excited for some reason.

"We're going on an Excursion there. Eventually. You should join the Excursion Club, sir. Then you can take down two birds with one stone."

"Sir doesn't need to join a club just to go visit some place," Acrypha said. Viren shot her a soft glare.

"Acrypha, no one needs to do anything. But what's life without a little whimsy?" Acrypha looked like Viren had just said tasting poison was a novel experience. Her expression made Ryland laugh.

"I like the theory that he's an ancient mage," Nephrix said, exhaling a bit of smoke from her draconic nostrils.

"Posing as a student at the academy because he's bored with his other life."

"No, no," said her twin.

"He's actually a fugitive." Ryland winced, remembering how he'd been called much the same thing after the Entrance Trials.

"How is he a fugitive?" Nephrix asked. Nephrax sat up straighter, his dark blue scales glinting in the light.

"Well, I heard that he's actually a runaway from Ovrisiathe. He's being hunted by the Imperial Immortal." Ryland coughed loudly enough that several of the students looked over questioningly. Thankfully, the class period started so they could all actually start talking about actually important things.

"One of the main things about magic," Ryland said as part of his lecture.

"Is the unspoken rule that it's supposed to be private. That your Soul Glyphs are precious and need to be protected. That you should always hide your magic so that others cannot take advantage of you. That your spell circles should execute as fast as possible so as not to let your opponents learn what you're capable of." His students, as often, were hanging on his words, many of them noting it all down. They were saving their questions for later.

"Today," Ryland said.

"We're going to be working with that principle to improve our intuition with regards to mana. Let's begin." It was nice to see that his students were clearly curious about what he meant. Maybe it helped that Ryland had such a pedigree. Maybe after the way he had dealt with the duels, his students were extra motivated to absorb everything he could teach them. Whatever the case, he was thankful for it. That day's lesson mostly revolved around getting a feel for an opponent's magic before it was even properly cast.

Before magic actually expressed itself into whatever effect that mage wanted to enact, mana was already moving and changing and working as it was bidden. And it was this mana, this motion and shift in magical energy, that they'd be working with. Ryland didn't take too long talking and demonstrating the theoretical principles behind today's lesson. His students would understand it a lot better once they started actually following up on it and feeling out what was going on.

So, he started the official practice sessions before long.

"Many of you either have a Glyph of Perception inscribed upon your person," Ryland said, having already asked them about it a while back.

"Or are capable of casting it to enjoy its benefits. Both ways will work just fine. Our goal for today is to perceive the changes in mana as magic is cast." Ryland proceeded to pair up his students and have them take turns casting whatever spells they were familiar with. But the main point was that they had to cast them slower, give their peers the chance to actually sense the magic being cast. He made sure to show them just what he was hoping they'd achieve. The demonstration was simple.

All he would do was respond to his student's magic with its exact opposite. For instance, just as Viren started casting a spell with his Soul Glyph of Burning, Ryland was already calling out a spray of water through a rift. Which wasn't really fair since he was well aware of Viren's Soul Glyph, so he tried with other students too. Bulgon used his Soul Glyph of Concrete, which Ryland countered with a simple Glyph of Desiccation.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Simple to him. His students all stared at the glimmering, high Tier Glyph that had turned Bulgon's magic into dust. The point was that the demonstration was a success, so Ryland was able to get his students to start on their own exercise. Soon enough, the classroom was filled with all sorts of magic sparking to life here and there as everyone tried to counter-cast by feeling their opponent's magic.

Of course, unlike Ryland, the students wouldn't always know a counter Glyph or spell that would be most appropriate to a given spell. For instance, no one really knew how to ideally respond to Nephrax's Soul Glyph of Speed.

"You don't have to use the right magic all the time," Ryland said, reiterating the day's lesson.

"I am not here to teach you the right counterspell. This isn't Combat Magic. This is Intuitive Magic. We are here to understand magic at a level of unconscious comprehension." Which basically meant that if they could integrally identify the kind of magic their opponents were about to use, that was good enough for Ryland. So, he modified their practice session to include students quickly writing down what kind of magic was being used before it was actually cast. A little crude, but it was effective. And fun.

By the end of the class period, Ryland was happy with the progress they had made. They hadn't gotten it, of course. It was impossible to learn something like that in merely a single practice session. But everyone had made progress, which made him feel proud. Acrypha was once again the star of the show, easily identifying nearly everyone's spells with adept ease. Honestly, Ryland was more impressed with her typing speed than anything.

She jotted down just what spell was about to blast her several moments before her opponent finished casting. And then there were her sword and her cloak easily protecting her against any magic.

"You've all done very well today," Ryland said with a small clap of his hands at the end of the class.

"I'm proud of you. We're going to keep practicing until this becomes second nature to you, though of course, we will be adding new lessons as the semester progresses."

"Sir." Bulgon had raised his hand.

"Did you want to say anything about the midterms?" Ryland paused where he had been about to head out of class. Midterms. Hmm. It was a little silly, but he had completely forgotten about them.

"I don't believe so, no," he said. The students all blinked at him. Right. They were surprised he had nothing to tell them about such an important exam, so some clarification was necessary.

"I'm afraid I completely forgot about your midterms," he admitted.

"But don't worry. I will have something prepared soon, and next class, we can go over what exactly you'll need to know to pass."

"Pass?" Acrypha said.

"I don't want to just pass, sir. I want to score more than full marks." Ryland laughed.

"Naturally. But again, please be patient. I've taught you a great deal and I've seen that you've learned much of it too. I believe that, when the time comes, you will all do fantastically." Ryland had to seriously consider Viren's idea later that day. It turned out, joining a club was a mandatory part of a student's life even now in Arcoryx Academy. Unfortunately, this was true even for graduate students. He didn't blindly agree to join the Excursion Club, of course.

First, he toured several of the other groups and societies on offer to see if any would have fit him better. The Manabeast Tamer Society really wanted him to join up because they had been highly impressed by that day he had stopped a whole bunch of those Lightraptors by himself. Apparently, they were highly intrigued by just what exactly he had done even now. Especially now, in fact, because Ryland was even more of an enigma than he had been before. He wasn't trying to be, but things had just turned out that way.

At least two Knightly Conclave representatives hailed him down when he found himself passing them by, both of them offering him a fast-tracked position within their corps. Ryland had politely declined. He couldn't keep up with the Conclaves he was already a member of. There was no need to add even more along those lines. They had been surprised to discover that he had already been inducted into not one but a handful of Knightly Conclaves.

Ryland had decided against going into his sordid history during the Realmbreaker Wars. Several other groups had all tried to recruit Ryland. The Glyphtech Club had believed he'd be happy to sign on to their manifesto to declare official personhood for Glyphtech automatons. Arcoryx's Historian Society had hounded him for information about the past. And for some reason, the Bookkeeper's Club had decided he actually owed them money.

Needless to say, Ryland had eventually managed to get away from all the others to end up at the Excursion Club.

"You're here to sign up?" Alendra asked. Apparently, she was now in charge of inducting new members into the club.

"I am, yes," Ryland said.

"I hope there are no tests or anything involved." Alendra grinned at him evilly.

"Why, there are. We can't take everybody who applies to the Excursion Club, of course. This is a very rigorous group who needs its members to be at tip-top condition." Ryland arched an eyebrow.

"Is that right? I don't recall there being tests last time I was a part of the Excursion Club."

"Uh, it's a new addition."

"Hmm, I see."

"Right." Alendra cleared her throat.

"So the first step of the test is judging your physical condition. Why don't you give me thirty each of push-ups, pull-ups, cartwheels, and laps around the club field?" Ryland stared at Alendra. Alendra stared right back. Neither budged. That's when the door to the club office banged open, admitting Viren and Acrypha into the room. Both of them beamed at Ryland upon seeing him, though for Acrypha, it lasted barely a few seconds before her mask of neutrality was back in place.

"Sir!" Viren was nearly bouncing on his feet as he came to a stop right before Ryland.

"I knew you'd come. There's no club that can help you except for the Excursion Club, and it's all because I'm here." Acrypha shook her head exasperatedly.

"Well, I was attempting to join," Ryland said.

"But apparently I have to take some form of test…" They all looked at Alendra, who squirmed where she sat.

"Our poor friend here doesn't understand jokes," she said conspiratorially to Acrypha and Viren, like she was trying not to upset a sensitive patient at a hospital. Ryland decided to let it pass. With Alendra no longer in a position to carry out her full joke, all Ryland needed to do was sign some forms before he was an official member of the Excursion Club.

"There," he said.

"All forms signed. All rules acknowledged and agreed to. Good?" Alendra nodded.

"Now you're here to show me up at the Excursion Club too. So, not good. Annoying." Ryland laughed. He and the others left the Excursion Club premises. As an official club member, he had certain duties he'd need to see to. But they were honestly not that bad. Just being present whenever younger members wanted to conduct duels and occasionally accompanying the club on excursions, which was actually a selling point for him. Ryland turned his mind to other matters. In particular, there was a promise he needed to keep.

He had assured Alaric and Tyra that he would look into the matter of Academ Folis stealing a piece of himself. The distractions had lessened, so he needed to take care of it. Except, a new distraction decided to take up residence in his head.

"Sir," Viren said.

"Are you busy? You look a little preoccupied." He was right. Ryland hadn't even noticed Viren and Acrypha choosing to accompany him out of the Excursion Club office.

"What did you need?" Ryland asked.

"Well… I was hoping you'd be there for my duels." Ryland slowly smiled. It had slipped his mind, admittedly, but that was no excuse.

"Of course I'll attend. Now, who are you beating up again?"