Chapter 91: The Meeting I Wanted to Avoid.
"The current world has only two official languages. Ryo and Orin. Orin is the language spoken across all three continents and is known to almost everyone regardless of their origins. Ryo, on the other hand, is the Language of Light, the language of the divine and the one used to communicate with the Gods."
"While Orin is used for daily communication, Ryo is used for prayers and to seek divine blessings. It is said to carry spiritual power within its words."
A beautiful professor with soft green hair and blue eyes spoke, her voice echoing throughout the vast hall.
"But there is one more language that most people know almost nothing about, the Language of Magic, Meya. It is said to be the oldest language ever passed down, but nobody knows how it is spoken or pronounced and it exists only in written form."
"And the words carved using that language are called Runes."
"The Runes are something carried over since long forgotten civilization. Some say, it is the language the Gods had taught us mortals for our development while some say this language is passed by the world’s will itself but nobody knows the truth why it possesses such power."
She took out a sheet of white paper from her storage ring and held it up for the entire class to see before drawing a symbol made of four lines extending upward, enclosing it within a perfect circle.
"This is the basic Rune of Wind."
With those words, she infused a small amount of mana into it. The paper lit up completely before a gentle breeze burst outward, while the paper itself crumbled into countless pieces.
"By using the symbol meant for wind and infusing mana into it, I was effectively able to use an affinity I do not even possess. And this very system, when used with mana stones, is what makes much of our current technology possible."
"The elevator and the Air Carrier are among the best examples of the Rune of Wind being put to use."
She said as a warm smile appeared on her face.
"And I, Streya Walkwood, will be in charge of teaching you the basic theory of Runes. Although it is a subject filled with great difficulty and little immediate payoff, since you cannot exactly use runes effectively in battle, it is also a subject that can earn you a great deal of money if you master it."
"Because even the smallest pieces of modern technology rely on Runes."
***
At the back of the class, I barely paid any attention to the information Professor Streya kept going on and on about.
And it was definitely not as easy as she made it sound. She was simply trying to bait as many students as possible into choosing her elective before introducing them to the harsh reality that not everyone could use Runes.
What she said about it being the Language of Magic was true but only partially. Meya was the language of the soul as much as it was the language of magic.
In a sense, it used one’s own soul as fuel and mana as a catalyst to create an element one did not even possess.
And to use it, a person had to learn and comprehend countless different runic symbols, then attune their soul to each of them one by one. Only then could they use them with as much ease as Streya had just demonstrated.
And comprehending even one Rune could take months or even years depending on talents and this damned Professor Streya herself was over a hundred years old.
But naturally... rents were high and these damned elective professors needed students to keep working and earning money, so she wasn’t about to drive away her own customers.
Or at least, that was how Seles had explained it to me in my previous life when she regretted ever taking this elective.
But honestly, that was exactly why I had chosen it.
It was related to the soul and my mana cultivation manual was also related to the soul, so I was certain learning it wouldn’t be useless.
More importantly, my Master had actually advised me to learn the Runic Language in my previous life but I had ignored her out of sheer laziness while she was still alive.
And... after she died, I became too blinded by revenge to ever go back and learn it.
So, this seemed like the perfect time and place to at least learn the basics of Runes.
But at this moment, I was worried about something else entirely.
The two girls sitting on either side of my desk.
On my left was the orange-haired princess, smiling as she diligently took notes throughout the lecture while on my right sat a blonde girl who barely seemed interested in it and somehow forced herself to sit through the class.
Seles and Lily.
I knew why Seles was here but I still couldn’t understand why Lily had chosen this elective despite it already being nearly fifteen minutes since the lecture had started.
Hell, I had even asked her why, only for her to answer that it was none of my business.
Normally, I wouldn’t have cared about the small change of her being here... but I didn’t want these two to interact this early.
Both of them were kind of crazy in their own way and there was no telling what would happen if they started talking.
And more than that... I had a bad feeling about this whole situation.
***
The class continued as usual while I remained lost in my own thoughts.
Seles would lean closer to me every time I fell behind on taking notes, while Lily kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye with a completely calm expression.
And the more nonchalant Lily acted, the further Seles pushed, as if some kind of womanly rivalry had already begun.
Though I did try to keep my distance... but it was useless.
Only once the class ended did Seles pack up her things, get to her feet, and walk towards Lily.
I was about to say something to distract her but before I could, she extended her hand towards Lily.
"I couldn’t thank you earlier but I am truly grateful for your help. I am Seles Divus Auremont and it’s nice to meet you."