Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 138: VOL 2 - 83: The first class.

"Who wants to try it?"

At Erik's question, the three siblings raised their hands one after another with shy expressions, though the excitement they felt was evident in their eyes, which made Erik smile in satisfaction. He then pointed to Sofía and spoke in a calm tone.

"Since Sofía raised her hand first, she'll go, but don't worry, everyone will get a turn."

Following their Boss's words, Sofía stood up a bit timidly and quickly straightened her elegant black uniform before heading to Erik's side, her eyes practically on fire with excitement. At that moment, the star-haired young man explained.

"Well, even though what we're going to do is somewhat basic, try to keep your mana under control and send it in the most stable and regular way you can to the magic circle. The mana crystals will help provide the extra mana you lack, since you're still just an Initiate-level and your reserves are quite limited."

"Understood, Boss!"

Sofía exclaimed, brimming with enthusiasm. She quickly placed her hand on the magic circle and began channeling her mana, trying to do so as steadily as possible. Anyone could see it was a rather strenuous task for her, as beads of sweat even formed on her forehead.

Before long, the geometric runic circle came to life, glowing softly, which provoked a surge of excitement in the young woman. She watched, almost hypnotized, as the lead ingot at the center of the circle slowly changed color until it became pure gold, revealing a bright golden hue.

"This is awesome!!!"

Sofía exclaimed in excitement, only to cover her mouth in embarrassment moments later as she looked at Erik with a hint of panic. The star-haired boy merely laughed pleasantly and patted her shoulder in a friendly manner as he spoke.

"Hahaha, nicely done, Sofía. Now let's make it change shape."

"Yes, Boss!"

Sofía replied with shining eyes and her delicate fists clenched tightly. Meanwhile, Erik moved the gold ingot to the second magic circle, setting aside the wolf figures he had made earlier. With chalk in hand, he proceeded to make the same modifications he made in the first one, to the second circle, integrating it with the mana crystals, and then spoke warmly.

"Now I'll create a frame with my mana, and you'll fill it with yours to shape the ingot."

"Yes, Boss."

Sofía answered with a nod of her head, much like a chicken pecking at grain, which inevitably made her siblings Clara and Martin burst into laughter, both equally eager to try something so 'magical'.

Seeing Sofía's obvious excitement, Erik smiled gently and quickly created with his mana a frame of a dragon and a phoenix—something that definitely had nothing to do with the fact that there were two spirits mercilessly digging their claws into his poor shoulders, almost threatening to tear his uniform while casting envious glances at the wolves.

Following Erik's instructions, Sofía soon managed to give the gold ingot the shape of a majestic dragon and a beautiful phoenix, both boasting an impressive level of detail. The pair of spirits then relaxed their grip on poor Erik's shoulders, prompting him to let out a small sigh of relief as he turned to look at the second twin.

"Now it's Clara's turn."

Clara, who was even shyer than Sofía, approached Erik and did exactly as her sister had. However, the figures she created were two women of ethereal beauty with voluptuous, sensual figures, dressed in the uniform of the Arcane Order—something that definitely had nothing to do with two Masters shooting piercing looks at the poor star-haired boy.

"And lastly, Martin." While the twins stared in fascination at the figures they had created, Erik called the last sibling, who immediately responded in a firm voice, clearly tinged with excitement.

"Yes, Boss!"

Martin approached the desk and managed to go through the same process, though he needed a bit more help from Erik, since his mana reserves were even worse than his sisters'—which were already quite poor. A pleasant surprise, however, was that his mana control was quite outstanding.

The figures Martin created with his Boss's help were one depicting Erik himself alongside a beautiful maid with an elegant and professional appearance—something that naturally arose from the meaningful smile a certain maid gave the star-haired boy, while holding a tray of delicious cookies. And he, being a wise man who knew how to adapt to circumstances, instantly knew what he had to do.

"So, what did you think of your first practical alchemy experiment?"

Once the siblings returned to their seats, Erik asked in a cheerful tone while munching on a special cookie from the tray resting on the desk. The siblings answered excitedly.

"It was incredible!" Sofía exclaimed, brimming with excitement, quickly followed by Clara who, though she appeared much calmer, had an unmistakable sparkle in her blue eyes that betrayed her true emotions.

"It was really educational."

"I had a lot of fun." Martin added last, clenching one of his fists with delight.

Meanwhile, Eleonora, Sigrún, Ignis, Ebonique, and even Seraphina and the wolves picked up the detailed gold figures with their respective shapes and began examining them with pleased smiles on their faces.

"Well then, let me give you a little reminder..."

Without stopping his snacking, Erik took a lead ingot in his left hand, and a beautiful runic-geometric circle formed in the air above his hand. It was far more complex and intricate than the ones he had drawn on the desk. He transmuted the ingot into gold, and shortly thereafter changed its shape, turning it into three figures of the siblings.

The siblings watched their own figures in surprise as they floated toward each of them. At that moment, Erik spoke in a calm tone while he picked up another cookie from the tray.

"Well, with that, you now have a small idea of what we'll be doing from now on. Though we'll build a theoretical foundation—since it's required to pass the assistant exam—it'll be minimal, and we'll mainly focus on the practical side because that's what's most important to be an assistant." Seeing that the siblings nodded attentively, looking focused, Erik nodded in satisfaction and then asked calmly.

"Well, so now I need to ask you some questions to determine your current level of knowledge. First, how's your language proficiency? How many languages do you speak, read, and write?"

"Boss... we only know the Meridian language, though we can read and write it perfectly." Sofía answered with evident shyness, causing Erik to nod casually before asking.

"Alright, and what training do you have in mana control? Which mana control and Myst harmony techniques do you know?"

"We only got to attend school for a few years, so we only know the most basic ones like Mystic Breathing, a bit of Focusing, and the most basic mana control. We barely manage to draw mana out of our bodies..."

Clara was the one who answered in a clear, precise voice, though she obviously felt incredibly insecure and inferior—something her siblings seemed to share as they all hung their heads in embarrassment. Seeing this, Erik commented in a calm yet assured tone.

"Well, that's more or less what I expected. You're doing a lot better than I was when I started—I didn't even know how to read or write, much less what a mana control technique was."

Upon hearing their Boss's words, the siblings lifted their heads in surprise, only to find him looking at them with understanding and empathy. This made Sofía and Martin recall that he had once mentioned he actually lived on the streets in his youth, prompting Clara to ask in disbelief.

"Boss, is that really true?"

"Absolutely. As a baby, I was left in some random orphanage on a planet where they didn't even know traveling among the stars was possible. They threw me out of the orphanage pretty quickly, so I wandered the streets for a long time and never even got to learn to read or write in that planet's language. And although it's somewhat similar to the Meridian language, it's different enough that you wouldn't understand a single word if you heard it. Hahaha."

Erik answered in a relaxed and cheerful tone, all the while munching on his cookies with a huge smile on his face. For her part, Clara felt dizzy at the idea that someone with such poise and elegance hadn't been born among nobility and had actually been "just a simple beggar" like she was. In fact, her situation had been better; at least she had known her parents and lived in prosperity for a few years—he never had any of that.

Meanwhile, Sigrún, Eleonora, and Sigrún looked at Erik with complicated expressions before turning to look at each other, full of doubts. At that moment, Eleonora and Sigrún's minds were filled with Seraphina's clear and professional voice.

[Is it really okay to let him continue like this, without knowing anything about his origins...?]

[What else can we do? I already tried to tell him, but he didn't want me to. He wants to be strong enough to kill 'that scum' before he finds out...] Sigrún replied in a helpless tone, to which Eleonora added with a regretful sigh.

[I really feel sorry that Erik doesn't know how much his mother loved him or the sacrifice she made to give him a chance to survive...]

[It's really sad, but I believe Erik is right not to want to know right now. If he learns about it and isn't able to avenge his mother with his own hands, that could affect his mindset, which would seriously hinder his development and talent.] Sigrún commented in a serious tone, making Seraphina and Eleonora nod solemnly.

[That's true, although I think we should have everything ready for whenever Erik does want to learn more about his mother.] After a moment, Eleonora spoke seriously, and Sigrún and Seraphina nodded. That was when the perfect maid declared with a sense of duty.

[Leave it to me. I'll take care of searching for everything I can and have it all ready.]

[Let us know if you need anything.] Sigrún said firmly, to which Seraphina replied in a professional tone.

[I will.]

While the duo of Masters and the perfect maid conversed telepathically, Erik chuckled a bit at the siblings' astonished expressions. Then, in a cheerful tone, he continued while taking another cookie from the tray.

"Well, one of these days I'll tell you my whole story—though it's a bit boring. For now, let's get back to business. Regarding your shortcomings, for now, they're not so critical. We'll leave teaching other languages and delving into mana for later since it's not a requirement for the exam, although it's something you'll eventually have to master, so don't slack off and be prepared.

"But for now, your schedule—since you already know how to read—will be to focus on reading, with great dedication, the books I'm about to give you and to practice a lot. Also, twice a week, we'll hold a class like this one to answer your questions, review the mistakes you've made in your practice, and give you various exercises to work on. I'm counting on you to make an effort and master the knowledge you need to pass the exam."

"Yes, Boss!" the three siblings answered in unison, in firm and determined voices, which made Erik smile in satisfaction as he replied in a confident voice.

"I like that enthusiasm. So now we'll start the first class." Erik swiftly took a whiteboard out of his storage ring and set it behind him, then approached it and began writing as he spoke.

"Today we'll start with a basic introduction to the minimum skills you need to master in order to pass the assistant exam. So get your notebooks out and take notes—this is extremely important, and you can't forget it."

***

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