[Chapter 14:]

  [2 Months 29 Days Until Tournament...]

  "Ughh..." Crow let out a silent groan as he sat in his chair.

  He was currently in a university-style room with rows and rows of seats, with him being seated near the middle row.

  He let out a silent murmur under his breath, "Damn you, Rammy. How am I supposed to go to class every day if you're gonna be trying to kill me every morning and night?"

  The subtle sensation of multiple taps rubbing against the Crow's caused him to furrow his brows and mutter, "Is this bastard laughing?"

  Yet, his inner thoughts were interrupted by a feminine voice, "Crow."

  "Huh?" Crow looked to his right to see Aya giving him a strange look.

  "Aaah..." Crow let out an awkward smile, "Just thinking out loud."

  Aya gave a judging look before shaking her head towards the front, "Well, pay attention, today Master Lucus himself will be giving us a lecture."

  Yet, when Crow gave her that same blank stare, Aya rolled her eyes as she leaned forward and whispered, "He's one of the most knowledgeable scholars in the entire continent. He rarely goes out, and if not for my Master, we wouldn't even get this opportunity."

  Crow nodded his head in understanding as he shifted his focus back towards the front.

  The man in question, Lucus, looked quite ordinary.

  He was sporting a long white robe that one would lounge around the house in, not necessarily to present in a prestigious school.

  He also had a fluffy snow white beard that covered his lower 3rd, giving him a very senior appearance despite his sharp gaze and tuft of messy white hair atop his scalp.

  This "knowledgeable scholar" was standing with his back to the classroom with the doors wide open before suddenly...

  BOOOM!

  With a flick of Lucus' hand, the doors slammed shut, beforehe turned around, a light smile on his face.

  "Hello, class. I'm very busy, but in respect to my friendship with N0r, I will teach you the fundamentals today."

  The class beamed with excitement as they leaned forward in their seats, and even Aya was no exception. Going to show the notoriety of this figure.

  Lucus continued after seeing he had the class's attention, "Can anyone tell me how we control Concepts?"

  Nearly the entire class's hand shot up before Lucus picked a random girl to answer.

  "Yes, the ability to control the Concepts comes from the Gods above who bestow us with these gifts."

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  Lucus nodded his head, causing the girl's face to beam with a proud smile.

  Many of the classmates around her inwardly lamented as if they had the same answer in mind, "Good answer..." Lucus responded.

  "...But not quite."

  Like glass shattering, the entire class was stunned as Lucus spread out his hands, causing wooden tendrils to spread out from the floor, forming images as he continued, "Concepts exist all around us, even now."

  He then spread his hand above his head, causing the tendrils to rise into the air, forming different shapes. "Water, fire, earth, wind, even obscure elements like blood or poison, or perhaps the ones who have elusive Gods like darkness and light, perhaps some even beyond that."

  The class watched in awe at not only the explanation but the performance.

  Lucus continued, "While the Gods may be powerful, it's best to see them as 'representatives' of said Concepts."

  He then smiled and lowered his hand, allowing the tendrils to fall and the floorboards to return as if it had never morphed in the 1st place, "Can anyone tell me what separates us from the Blessed?"

  Once again, nearly the entire class's hands shot up into the air as this time, Lucus picked a random boy to answer.

  "The Blessed come into this world anointed by the Gods from the beginning, while we must strive to earn their approval." The boy spoke with the poignancy of someone who came from high society, and Lucus nodded his head, causing the boy to beam with pride.

  "No."

  Once again, the entire class's worldviews were shattered.

  Lucus spread his hands once again, causing the tendrils to rise and form the shapes of 2 human-shaped figures above him.

  "The Blessed," he emphasized as a tendril pointed to the wooden figure on the left, "Have great potential; however, so do we."

  The tendril pointed to the figure on the right.

  "What truly separates us is the route we take. While it's true, the Blessed are given certain privileges, it goes deeper than that, watch."

  At that, the entire class became so quiet that one could hear their own heartbeat as they watched Lucus close his eyes and slowly inhale through his nose.

  SHOOOOOHHH!

  Lucus spread his arms out to his sides, with his fingers out, giving a subtle green glow.

  He slowly rotated his arms clockwise to form a huge circle that slowly shrank before his hands were now directly in front of him with both hands' index fingers pointed outwards, until the distance of his arms was the size of an apple.

  BOOOOOM!

  Suddenly, a great dragon made of wood tore through the floor, letting out a sky-shattering roar.

  The students were too stunned to move at the sudden display of power, and some even passed out.

  Finally, after 10 seconds, Lucus brought his palms together, causing the dragon to disintegrate into green particles.

  Crow's eyes widened at this sight, thinking of the gold particles he had seen during the Players' deaths, 'Is there a connection...'

  Lucus smiled at the class as he let them regain their bearings.

  After about a minute, most of the students had recovered, and so he continued, "You all probably know by now what my Concept is, it's wood."

  The class all nodded at this as he continued, "I've received my Source from the Goddess Sylva, and while I may attain power through training and gaining more knowledge, what if I told you the Blessed didn't need that?"

  The class went into a fervor from that, with some students around the room even yelling out, "WHAT?"

  Lucus, as if amused by these shocked responses, nodded his head, "It's true. You saw the arm motions I did just now. Those arm motions I just performed are called 'Keys', and it takes time to master both the coordination of those motions and the channel of Tempor through your inner pathways. Pathways which we call Tempor veins."

  He then lifted a single foot to show a glowing green sigil underneath, "Even this sigil, which takes time to set up, can be used not only to not require Keys and save energy consumption, but it can even be used to add certain attributes to tools and equipment. Plus, I'm sure you've guessed by now, but it's been quite helpful for managing these."

  He pointed to the tendrils above him.

  He let out a light chuckle.

  The class was staring at him, hungry for more answers, a pleased smile on the Lucus's as he let out a sigh, "The Blessed..."

  "...Don't need to do any of that."

  Once more, the classroom went through a wave of shock with those same passionate students now being joined by more who couldn't help but scream out, "WHAT?"

  Crow had to cover his ears, shooting an annoyed glance at Aya, who was among the students who let out the sudden outburst.

  Noticing Crow's glare, she gave a sheepish grin before the pair returned their attention to the front.

  Lucus nodded his head as he continued, "The Blessed are gifted the skills themselves. Without the need for keys or sigils, so while we may both employ the same levels of ability, they hold quite the advantage. Add to that their supposed immortality."

  Crow couldn't help but shift his thoughts away from the front of the classroom, gazing down at his own hands, 'Is... everything I'm working towards just a waste of time then?'

  Yet, Rammy, as if sensing the doubt, gave a double-tapping nudge against his thigh, causing Crow to smile and pat his pant leg as he let out a quiet whisper, "I appreciate you, buddy."

  Once more, the student's attention was pulled back by Lucus' voice, "Now I have another question for you all."

  The class gave each other nervous looks, now doubtful of their own knowledge.

  Lucus chuckled as he raised his hands, "And don't be nervous now, there's no right or wrong to this answer, I just want your thoughts."

  The class gulped and reluctantly nodded their head as Lucus asked, "Who here thinks it is possible to control a concept without the Source or Blessing of a God or Goddess? Anyone who thinks it's possible, raise your hands."

  The class let out a collective smile at being given such a free answer, as they all kept their hands at their sides.

  That was when they saw Lucus point to someone in the back, "You there, why did you raise your hand?"

  Crow's eyes widened, quickly looking around to notice he was the only one raising his hand, even Aya was giving him a pitying smile.