After the abrupt visit to the Arcadius manor, Michael returned to his dorm room only to see Melody and Rudy anxiously waiting for him in the lounge area. He felt a sense of warmth rise up upon seeing their obvious care for his wellbeing.

He dutifully explained the situation, glossing over the part where he'd almost been forced to stay at the manor against his will under the guise of protection. Thankfully, the mention of their new tutoring lessons was enough of a distraction that they didn't react.

Melody reacted the most positively to the news, whereas Rudy looked like he had swallowed a lemon. It was obvious that he was not happy with the idea of even more lessons—even if it was for something as necessary as spellcrafting.

Their biggest surprise was when he mentioned the tracking spell that the headmaster had cast on his emblem. The fact that the man had done so meant he was serious about protecting Michael, giving them some reassurance.

With the information relayed, everyone decided to get some sleep. It was only the second week of their second semester, there was still another four months until the end of their first-year.

But it seemed like things would only get busier for the trio.

It took a whole two weeks before the headmaster arrived back to the academy, lacking his usual calm and composed demeanor. The man looked tired, but he still treated Michael and the others with a sense of warmth.

When it finally came time for them to begin their first tutoring session, it was the headmaster himself who had teleported the three into the Arcadius manor.

Surprisingly, their teacher was someone they all knew—Professor Stark.

The tall and sharp-featured man evaluated the trio with an impassive expression, yet as his eyes landed upon Michael there was something mysterious in his gaze.

What followed was a brutal and mind numbing session filled with advanced theory on spellcrafting. By the end of the first session, Michael felt as if his brain was stuffed with cotton.

It wasn't that the theories were that difficult to follow, just that there was a lot of information. According to the tall professor, spellcrafting was the discipline which had received the most research since the end of the great war.

In fact, many scholars and mages alike believed that the state of modern spellcrafting exceeded that of the ancient mages—though there was no real way of proving this fact.

According to Stark, most of the magic that was lost was a result of missing runes. The light element was one such example—without it, their access to healing magic was promptly cut off.

This gave Michael more confidence that with the rediscovery of the light runes, it was just a matter of time before they could properly construct a usable healing spell.

It was clear that the headmaster trusted this man completely, since he was the only other person besides Sylvia that the man told about Michael's ability.

The final thirty minutes of the lesson touched on the subject, analyzing said runes and possible combinations. According to Stark, there were thousands of known runes, each with different meanings and uses.

What made it even more convoluted was the reactions between two or more runes that would result in a completely different outcome. This only compounded as one continued to construct the interior of the magic circle.

It was to the point where Michael even questioned how mages were able to create their own spells from scratch. With so many possible outcomes, how much trial and error would be required before a satisfactory result would be reached?

He voiced his concern to the tall professor, expecting a curt response—yet he was surprised upon seeing the man reply with a wry smile.

Apparently, despite their claims of having a stronger understanding of spellcrafting theory than the ancient mages—modern mages only used a fraction of the known runes to complete their spells. Often using similar spells as a blueprint, making small alterations to the structure to suit their needs.

It certainly made sense, though Michael felt it might even be a little shameless after making such a claim.

In fact, spell alterations was something that they would be learning in this years' curriculum. By the end of their first-year, they would be expected to create their "own" spell using this technique.

But compared to attempting to create a brand new spell from scratch, it was far easier. If it was any indication, Michael had yet to even settle on the use of a single rune despite he and his friends researching spellcrafting every night for the last few weeks.

He could only praise his own foresight in involving the headmaster in his plans. Perhaps even if Michael were to leave the academy and dedicate the entire four years to this one pursuit, he might not even make any decent progress.

At the conclusion of the lesson, Professor Stark gave them a thick and old looking tome. A single glance at its contents was enough for Michael's eyes to grow dizzy, so he swiftly placed it in his storage ring, vowing to research it in depth later.

A small smile pulled at the corner of Stark's lips as he replied with humor.

"That book details over five hundred of the known runes and their uses, I don't expect any of you to memorize it. I want you to work on substituting runes within tier one spells and noting the effects." He explained patiently.

Then, reaching into his pocket, he procured a small item before tossing it over. Michael caught it, evaluating the item in his hand.

It was a wooden slip of sorts. It was smooth to the touch and had the academy's emblem etched onto one side. He raised his gaze in question, waiting for the explanation of the item.

"This is a pass for the training rooms. Usually you wouldn't get access until your second year, but the headmaster has made an exception. You should be able to work on your experiments much easier in there."

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