Chapter 6 — The First Lesson

  The training room for Class D looked more like a storage basement than a classroom. The walls were bare stone, the air smelled faintly of dust, and the mana lamps flickered like they were on their last breath. A few battered practice mats lay rolled up in the corner.

  Ren and I took seats near the middle. Other students filtered in slowly, yawning or rubbing their eyes. No one looked excited.

  A moment later, Instructor Varron stepped inside.

  “Up,” he said. “We’re not sitting today.”

  Everyone scrambled to their feet.

  “This is your first mana control session. Most of you will struggle. Some of you will fail. That’s expected.”

  He paced in front of us, hands behind his back.

  “Mana control is the foundation of every spell, every technique, every advancement you will ever make. If your control is weak, everything you build on top of it will collapse.”

  He stopped and faced us.

  “Form a line.”

  We did.

  Varron raised his hand, and a faint blue glow gathered around his palm.

  “This is basic mana shaping. No spell. No element. Just raw mana, stabilized.”

  The glow held steady, smooth and controlled.

  “Your turn.”

  A few students groaned.

  Varron pointed to the first person in line. “You. Try.”

  The student closed his eyes, inhaled, and focused. A faint shimmer appeared around his hand—then sputtered out.

  “Too tense,” Varron said. “Next.”

  One by one, students stepped forward.

  Some produced a flicker.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Some produced nothing.

  One girl managed a weak glow that lasted two seconds.

  Then it was my turn.

  I stepped forward, palms slightly sweaty.

  The system pulsed.

  Objective: Stabilize mana flow.

  Warning: Deathbound affinity incompatible with standard shaping.

  Suggested Approach: Minimal output. Conceal divergence.

  I swallowed.

  Of course it wouldn’t be simple.

  I raised my hand and reached inward, searching for the mana everyone else seemed to access so easily.

  Instead, something colder stirred.

  A faint, shadow?like pressure coiled beneath my ribs—quiet, patient, waiting.

  Not mana.

  Not normal.

  Deathbound.

  I forced it down and tried again, reaching for the surface-level mana flow the instructors talked about.

  A faint shimmer appeared around my hand.

  It wavered violently.

  Varron stepped closer.

  “Steady,” he said.

  I tried. The shimmer flickered, twisted, and—

  The cold pressure surged.

  The glow darkened for a split second—just a blink, barely visible.

  I crushed it immediately.

  The shimmer collapsed.

  Varron’s eyes narrowed.

  “That wasn’t bad,” he said slowly. “Unstable, but not hopeless.”

  I stepped back into line, heart pounding.

  Ren whispered, “Dude, that was better than mine.”

  I didn’t answer.

  The system pulsed again.

  Hidden Progression Achieved:

  You have suppressed Deathbound influence during mana shaping.

  +1 Concealment Proficiency

  New Passive: Masked Flow — Minor reduction in affinity detection.

  I exhaled quietly.

  Good.

  I needed every advantage I could get.

  Varron clapped his hands.

  “Pair up. We’re moving to controlled release.”

  Controlled release?

  Ren groaned. “I barely managed a flicker.”

  I didn’t feel much better.

  We paired off, and Varron demonstrated the next exercise: releasing a small pulse of mana without losing control.

  Simple for normal affinities.

  A nightmare for mine.

  Ren went first. His pulse was weak but clean.

  Then it was my turn.

  I focused, trying to gather the faint surface mana again.

  The cold pressure stirred beneath it, hungry.

  Not now.

  I pushed it down and released a pulse.

  It came out sharper than intended—too sharp. Ren stumbled back a step.

  “Whoa,” he said. “That was… strong.”

  Varron’s head snapped toward us.

  I froze.

  He watched me for a long moment.

  Then he nodded once.

  “Controlled. Barely. Keep practicing.”

  He moved on.

  Ren leaned in. “Dude, what was that?”

  “Too much force,” I said. “I’ll fix it.”

  But inside, the system whispered:

  Deathbound energy seeks expression.

  Suppression will grow more difficult.

  Great.

  As the lesson continued, I forced myself to practice the exercises, keeping the cold pressure buried as deep as possible. Every pulse felt like walking a tightrope.

  By the time Varron dismissed us, my hands were shaking.

  Ren stretched. “Man, that was rough. You okay?”

  “Just tired.”

  We stepped into the hallway, and I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

  Two instructors were watching me.

  My affinity was unstable.

  The system was growing stronger.

  And I was running out of room to hide.

  The system pulsed one last time.

  New Objective:

  Seek a private location to test Deathbound energy safely.

  I swallowed.

  This academy was full of eyes.

  Finding privacy wouldn’t be easy.

  But I didn’t have a choice.

  Strength grows in shadows.

  And mine were getting darker.