Scribbling through the pages of textbooks, someone could be seen studying extremely hard for the upcoming tests, and who could that person be?
Me.
"Come on, why does nothing seem to enter?" Elior said holding the Alchemy textbooks in his hand.
"Enter, please enter— I was the damn author."
Not that he didn't understand what they were being taught, but Elior had paid no attention to the practical classes and at this point he was bound to fail.
Failure meant getting an earful from Lyra; Elior didn't want to find out.
The silence just filled the air, Elior was alone in the library and it was seven p.m. Nothing seemed to enter and it was obvious that he did not understand.
'I solely blame myself.'
'I got carried away with the Astralis Massacre and forgot about the semester tests.'
Elior just up and left in frustration.
As Elior walked out of the library, students could be seen enjoying their youth. Elior sighed
"I am definitely screwed, aren't I?"
Elior continued walking back to Veryven hall in defeat as he resigned himself to failing the test next week.
As Elior entered the hall, a voice cut in.
"Why is your head down young man?"
Elior froze. Professor Eldrich sat there with a book open on his lap, eyes glinting over the rim of his glasses.
"Nothing really," Elior said shaking his head
"Is that so? I can smell test fever all over you."
Elior gulped and just decided to speak honestly
"To be honest, I don't really understand Professor Kael Moren's Runic Architecture class and your Alchemy and Potion Craft class"
"I am not really surprised"
"You are not"
"Yeah, even when I spent time at the academy, I struggled too with alchemy and spellcraft theory."
"You did?"
"Yeah"
Elior held the books tightly; this was not the time to act cocky. He needed to pass
"Can you please teach me, Professor Eldrich?"
"Hmmm, Okay Elior. Follow me to my study"
Walking through the hallway, it was extremely quiet. Students were either sleeping, out with their friends or just in their rooms.
'I can't blame them, who loves to be in Veryven Hall'
Entering Professor Eldrich's study, Elior could see dozens of experiments, rune symbols stacked upon each other as documents.
Elior just stared
"Going to just keep staring?"
"Sorry sir"
Walking towards the center of the room, Professor Eldrich signaled for Elior to stop where he was.
Before Elior was a gigantic rune-like structure, Professor Eldrich signaled for another gigantic stand to appear.
"Can you generate a similar structure?"
"I think I can" Elior said nodding.
Elior started drawing the structure, as Elior continued to draw, Professor Eldrich stopped him halfway.
"Why are you acting like it owes you money?"
"I don't understand"
"Runes are not obstacles. They are sequences. Curves, angles, and intersections follow a logic, like steps in a dance. Stop fighting the pattern; follow it step by step."
He paused, then tapped this structure. "See here? This curve isn't random. It's the result of the energy flow from the anchor point to the nodes. Trace it with your mind, imagine the energy moving along the line. Feel it. Now the rune starts to make sense."
'I think I understand now'
Elior constructed the rune according to Professor Eldrich's instructions, and surprisingly he got it right.
"Impressive, especially after listening to my explanation just once."
"I have a good professor"
Professor Eldrich constructed another one quickly and Elior followed him accordingly constructing it properly and effectively.
'He seems to tailor whatever I construct perfectly'
'Let me see if this would work'
Constructing the rune perfectly, Professor Eldrich waited to see Elior's construct.
Elior constructed it, following all of Professor Eldrich's footsteps. After constructing it according to Professor Eldrich style; Professor Eldrich was mesmerized. It was like Professor Eldrich was watching himself reconstructing the rune himself.
"Done"
"Let's test it!"
Starting the rune, it flickered showing signs of things going smoothly but then a short circuit occurred and BAM, the whole rune broke apart.
"What did I do wrong? I followed every step, "It should work," Elior said, clearly worked up.
"You did well actually. The only reason why it didn't work was because it was an Initiate-level rune technique"
"Oh, thanks"
"Let's talk about alchemy, shall we?"
"Yes"
Professor Eldrich flicked his hands as spell bottles appeared out of nowhere. The entire rune construct disappeared as it was replaced by an alchemy like construct.
A table and chair appeared, as Elior and Professor Eldrich sat down.
"What don't you understand?"
Elior opened a potion recipe
Professor Eldrich grabbed the textbook and began explaining "Take this concoction. Most students memorize ingredients and steps. I want you to feel them. Each component reacts in a specific way. Firewort ignites; Moonleaf cools; Essence of Drift balances. Imagine the reaction before you even start mixing. That's how the theory clicks into practice."
Elior nodded slowly, a spark of hope igniting. "So, it's… about seeing the flow and connection, not just memorizing?"
Professor Eldrich just smiled as he was watching Elior create potions and recipes in awe.
Professor Eldrich continued teaching Elior and by the time Elior had gotten tired, it was 11:45 p.m.
Seeing the time, Professor Eldrich scoffed "You need to get some rest for school tomorrow"
"Yes"
Walking out, Elior had a new concept of understanding.
Elior stared back and gestured for Professor Eldrich's attention.
"Good night"
"Good night to you too"