Wearing Power Armor to a Magic School (69/?) WiP 1 (Patreon)

Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 69 I hope you guys enjoy! :D

That question, like many other challenges to my standing in the Nexian public eye, hit me with the courtesy of a purposeful door slam to the hand.

Being put on the spot, having all eyes suddenly turning on me after what seemed to be a smooth transition into the motions of class, was completely and utterly debilitating.

Or at least, it would have been, if it wasn’t for the armor acting as a very real barrier that I could now use as a crutch to escape the throes of social awkwardness.

Moreover, SIOP training, as gruesome as it was, was now paying its dividends as I deftly shifted my focus quickly from shock and embarrassment, to finding solutions to that unexpected challenge.

“Is education a prerequisite for the use of magic?” I parroted the man’s question within my helmet, my speakers on mute, as I mulled over the intricacies of the question for a few short seconds.

On one hand, it was an impossible question to answer with any degree of confidence without the appropriate prerequisite knowledge.

On the other hand, it was as straightforward a question as could be… if I decided to put my thinking cap on, and apply my ‘situational adaptability and personal initiative’ skills to the test once more.

“No, professor.” I responded confidently. “I wouldn’t say education is a prerequisite for magic, just as education is not strictly a prerequisite for the application of any force of nature.” I quickly added. “Because just as one can arbitrarily strike two rocks together to generate a spark to ignite some kindling, so too can one arbitrarily feel the ebbs and flows of mana in the manastreams, channeling it to perform spells and magic to physical effect. But it’s education, and the establishment of systems of learning and the institutions which facilitate it, that separates arbitrary practices from learned intent. Which is what unlocks the potential for a civilization to move from intuitive understanding, to reason and knowledge-based understanding, granting it the ability to maximize and iterate upon what would otherwise be actions without deliberate intent. Because whilst both paths offer the same ends at first, it's the second path - the path of actually comprehending the reason behind the process - that separates a lifetime of striking two rocks together from the creation of flint and steel.”

I just about channeled every disparate and formerly unrelated region of my brain in order to reach that conclusion. Having more or less pulled from the impromptu ad-libbing of Castles and Wyverns roleplays, the public speaking skills from SIOP’s speech classes, the recent knowledge of mana and manastreams gained from Thacea and the gang, as well as even some vague pointers from science class at one point. All of these seemingly random elements came to form an unholy answer that felt like it’d have been more at home in some really esoteric Castles and Wyverns campaign.

Yet despite that, and despite how I was flying by the seat of my pants here, what mattered most was how that answer was received.

And given Vanavan’s genuinely wide-eyed expression, and the various glares, stares, and gawks from the rest of the student body… I could tell it at least made an impression, if not an unexpected one.

“That is… categorically accurate, Cadet Emma Booker.” Vanavan replied in no uncertain terms, a certain degree of disbelief coloring what was in effect a voice that harbored a similar praising tone he’d used with Qiv not a moment earlier. “If this wisdom is truly of your own making, derived exclusively from your realm’s teachings, then I can foresee a very fruitful year to come of our classes.” The man paused for a moment, as if pondering his next few words carefully. The ponderings of which, for some reason, seemed to put the teacher’s pet - Qiv - on high alert if his hawkish eyes were of any indication. “Fifteen points to the newrealmer and her peer group, and to whichever house she finds herself in by week’s end.” The man finally announced, eliciting a drastic shift in the class’ atmosphere as gasps belonging to wildly different species punctuated the air, complementing the shock in Qiv’s eyes which transitioned almost immediately to a ferocious side-eye of competitive aggression directed towards me and me alone.

A sole second was all it took for that side-eye to develop into the raising of an arm. Except it wasn’t Qiv whose arm was being raised this time around. Instead, it was a certain bull who sat a few rows over, his eyes absolutely welling with a hatred that far outpaced Qiv’s. Which, unsurprisingly, was received all but graciously by the blue robed professor. “Yes, Lord Ping?”

“Your acknowledgement of the newrealmer’s answer is an insult to the very institutions of magic, Professor Vanavan.” The bull spoke in no uncertain words. His eyes however clearly weren’t trained on the professor himself, but me. And if this were anything but real life but instead a cartoon… I could imagine flames and smoke to be erupting from his nostrils right about now.

“Please elaborate, Lord Ping.” Vanavan responded, taking the bait.

“She speaks of the usage of mana, the practice of magic, as if it were a… a savage’s tool. Am I mistaken to assume that it is education, and the formalization of the process of studying, interpreting, and categorizing one’s actions in the manipulation of mana, that separates a civilized being from an uncivilized savage?! That it is these very institutions we construct, develop, and uphold against the unfeeling forces of the natural order, that enshrines what it means to be a sapient?!”

“You are not mistaken, Lord Ping.” Vanavan once more nodded, his calm demeanor acting as yet more kindling to the fire that was Ping’s growing vitriol.

“Then HOW is the newrealmer’s answer at all viable to your question, Professor Vanavan?”

“Semantics, Lord Ping.” Vanavan responded calmly.

Prompting Auris to all but stop in his tracks. “I beg your pardon?”

It was around this point that I saw Qiv’s reptilian eyes practically lighting up at that response, like a shark smelling blood in the water, he raised his hand; poised for a killing blow. A blow Vanavan seemed to be glad to permit with a nod of his head.

“If Professor Vanavan had phrased the question as such - ‘Is education a prerequisite for the practice of mana?’ - then you would have been correct in dismissing the newrealmer’s answer. However, not once did he say practice, instead explicitly referring to the use of magic. Which, in and of itself, is an important descriptor. Because as you phrased so eloquently yourself: it is the practice of mana that separates the savage from the civilized.” Qiv managed out in one smooth practiced motion, quickly handing the floor back to Vanavan with a deep bow of his head, leaving the bull stunned and dazed.

“Thank you, Lord Ratom.” Vanavan acknowledged, before pressing onwards by setting his sights not just on Auris, but the rest of the crowd as well.