"I don't particularly mind even though I don't qualify as the chosen representative participant," Cæ remarked.
"You lie," she raised an eyebrow with disbelief. "This is one of the biggest opportunities to start off with a skyrocketing magic career. The Magic Contest is essentially an avenue for all magic-oriented industries and sectors to scout new talent. If you perform well, you are guaranteed to start off extremely high as a mage."
"Yes, well, I don't intend to have a career in magic, per se," Cæ replied calmly.
Yet, his words inspired a double-take in Mileila as she gazed at him with stunned green eyes. "What?! What does that even mean?"
Cæ's eyes shifted to her with askance. "Exactly what I said. I don't intend to pursue a career as a mage who provides services."
She stared at him blankly. "…Then why even learn magic?"
Cæ huffed. "Magic is power. Why wouldn't I learn magic?"
"But you don't intend to use that power."
"I don't intend to make a career by providing services with that power," Cæ corrected her. "Rest assured, I intend to put my magic to extremely good use."
She stared at him for a moment with a quizzical expression before shaking her head. "You're a strange one. Do you truly intend to become a businessman exclusively? Why not go to a business school then?"
Cæ stirred. "I did. It turns out that you can do more business if you can do magic."
"That's an odd mix."
"Wealthy businessmen all gain the ability to wield magic with their great resources, whether they had magic aptitude or not."
"That's different," she insisted. "They use magic because everybody is obsessed with it, including them. Nonetheless, integrating business and magic is a very interesting choice. Why do you go for something so niche instead of a simple and more straightforward magic career? Your business is not guaranteed to thrive, but with your magic talent, skill, and rate of growth, you are guaranteed to achieve great success as a mage."
"I am confident in my success," Cæ replied, leaving it at that.
Before Mileila could even inquire into his thoughts anymore, their attention was drawn to the door.
"Ah!" A middle-aged woman quickly scurried into the lecture hall, smiling apologetically to the seated students. "I'm so sorry for being late, dear children! Don't worry, we will start soon!"
Her voice was boisterous and loud as her tone fluctuated with vigor and life.
Cæ's eyes sharpened as he studied her attire.
An extravagant one-piece dress that was a light beige in color, brimming with magical power, encrypted runes, and magic circles that glowed dimly. Her hands were covered in elegant, thin, light blue gloves that went up to her elbow, while a small hat of the same color sat atop her head.
Cæ could instantly tell that she was from an affluent family.
It was interesting because most of the teachers hired at the magicademy were not from such a background, he had noticed, or if they were, they were extremely good at hiding it and not letting it affect their teaching.
This teacher, however, struck him as particularly friendly, even if a little clumsy.
"Ah, my dear children, once more, I am truly sorry for being late. Now let us begin without any further delays." She directed a sweeping gaze across the lecture hall. "I am Professor Mieruko, and all of you have gathered here with one purpose."
A knowing glint lingered in her eyes.
"The Six Greater Elements."
She cupped her hands, gazing down at them with a profound gaze as simple runes appeared before her.
"Light and darkness."
A white and black ball of magic appeared in her hands.
"Heaven and earth."
A spherical tornado and a sphere of layered sediment appeared next.
"Life and death."
A golden sphere and a gray sphere appeared.
The six spheres revolved in her hand in a circle, opposite to their respective pairs.
"These six elements are greater than all other elements we can conceive," Professor Mieruko continued. "And together, they encompass our entire world. From the land and soil beneath our feet to the winds and skies above our heads. From the light during the day to the darkness during the night. From the moment we come to life to the moment we come to death. It is even said that the six elements give rise to all other elements in the world."
The students grew engrossed in her enchanting words and display of power.
"In this course, I endeavor to help all of you learn and master your elements of affinity," she began with a smile. "In this course, I help you learn as much about the six elements and learn to harness their power as much as is possible. When you are done, you will gain a fundamentally deeper understanding of the six elements and, in particular, the elements among them that you are inclined to master. This greater understanding and mastery will help you in all other pursuits that involve the elements, and trust me when I say most things do. Now, then, any questions?"
Several hands flew up.
"Yes, you."
"Professor Mieruko, will you be teaching us about the six elements yourself?"
"Of course, my dear."
"Does that mean you are a polyelemental?"
The student's tone was amazed.
The teacher's simple smile gained a hint of pride. "Indeed, I am. However, I was merely born with an affinity for light, life, and heaven. I persevered to cultivate an affinity for the other three my entire career as a mage."
A wave of murmurs washed over the students as Cæ ignored several glances converging on him.
"Is it possible to cultivate affinities for elements, professor?" one student asked with a stunned expression.
"Indeed," she responded eagerly. "In fact, we will be going lightly into the reasons for this possibility. Many people think that elemental affinities are absolute, but that is just wrong. It is possible to cultivate affinities for elements. The reason that most don't venture down to do it is that the difficulty of doing so generally outweighs the benefits you gain. It takes too much time and effort to get through."
Cæ observed as she answered several questions with great eagerness and enthusiasm.
She didn't seem to discriminate against students based on their background at all.
Of course, that was to be expected, considering that the Headmistress was responsible for choosing the professors, ultimately. And considering that she was a master at personal divination magic, there was no way that she would choose someone who had even a shred of prejudice against different classes, in any way.
It made him glad that the branch of the Elendir Institute of Magic was this meritocratic.
"Alright, that's enough for questions," she drew his attention, clapping her hands together. "Now, to begin with our lecture, with a simple question."
Her gaze swept across the students.
"What is an element?"
Several hands flew up.
"You, my dear."
"Elements are categories of patterns of forms," she replied. "They are concepts and abstractions of phenomena that we empirically observe in the real world with our senses. We group the same or different, but highly associated phenomena with each other into another group. The metal element, for example, is merely a category of forms that correlate to the concept of metal inside our minds."
"Precisely!" The professor was enthused by her answer. "Indeed, elements are merely the magical equivalent of ordinary concepts. They are categories of forms of a certain pattern, while concepts are merely categories of patterns, experiences, thoughts, and emotions."
Several students grew curious at those words. "Professor, does that mean each and every concept is also an element? Including abstract or socially constructed concepts?"
"Good question!" she praised the student. "It might be tempting, indeed. However, what is magic fundamentally about?"
"Magic is causality born from the convergence of eidos and mana," one student faithfully answered with the textbook definition.
"Perfect." She nodded. "The keyword here is causality. It helps us understand the answer to your question. And in return, I posit another question to you all…"
She paused for a moment before continuing.
"Are all concepts rooted in material causality?"
The students frowned as they thought hard and long about the question.
It was more of a philosophical and metaphysical question than anything else.
"…No," Cæ answered with a thoughtful tone. "Not all concepts exist within material causality. There are abstract concepts like 'love' that are not materially causal. There are also prescriptive concepts in the domain of morality and meta-ethics, like the concept of human rights, that are also not rooted in material causality."
"Very good, Mr. Cæ!" she nodded with appreciation. "Indeed, there are many concepts that are abstract and prescriptive. These concepts are less drawn from empirical material observation of the real world and are more products of thought, emotion, desire, and imagination. These concepts, which are not firmly rooted in material causality, cannot be utilized in magic because magic is a materially causal phenomenon. And so, we arrive at Mimir's Law of Materiality. It states that no concept that is less than rooted in material empirical reality can serve as an element."
The students absorbed the teachings with an engrossed expression.
Mimir was a magus of old, born in the Age of Magic after the Awakening of Magic epoch that Great Magus Merlin had unleashed upon the world. He was a magic scholar who had contributed greatly to the qualitative and theoretical understanding of magic, which laid the foundations for the rapid spread of magic across the entire world.
"Professor," one student raised their hand with curiosity. "What is the difference between elements and things like the Fundamental Forms? After all, can't there be elements like change, conjuration, and manipulation?"
"That is a great question," the professor nodded. "Indeed, there is nothing strictly stopping them from being elements of change. But conjuration is an imaginative phenomenon without magic, and manipulation is as abstract a concept. However, the biggest reason that they are different is that the Fundamental Forms exist to categorize eidos by purpose, while elements categorize eidos by concepts. Change, conjuration, and manipulation are the purpose of the magic, while elements are what concepts the forms embody."
This distinction was quite enlightening for the students who gained greater clarity on how magic was categorized and conceptualized, allowing them to gain more understanding of everything that they had studied in the Apprentice Program.
"Coming back to elements and this course," she continued. "This course will be focused largely on cultivating your understanding of the respective elements you choose to pursue. Not only will we explore the concepts of heaven, earth, life, death, light, and darkness, but we will also have you master more runes through the same old memory model of eidos. Most elements have only one rune attached to them, but the six elements have their own little sub-language within the grand language of Magia. These runes were created by countless mages before us who researched these elements their entire life, and codified their contributions in the form of runes that can be mastered by many mages."
It spoke to the sheer volume and depth that existed not just within the six elements but also within the abyss of magic as a whole.
"And now…" she waved her wand, causing enchanted items to appear before the students on each table. "Time to confirm your elemental affinity. I'm aware that all of you have gotten your affinity for elements tested once before in the Apprentice Program, but the results will likely slightly differ from the original test results in that we will learn about your minor affinities, not just your prime affinities. This will help me tailor my teachings and training for all of you in particular."
Her smile was excited.
"Now, let us begin!"