Even in the darkest of times, one can still find light. They just have to look at the stars.
Humans have been blessed by the Divines. For centuries, civilization has flourished, and mankind has rapidly progressed with the use of innate magical power...
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"All right, everyone, gather around!" Professor Khohn yelled to the students spread throughout Practice field B. The class, finishing the last straining reaches of their warm-up stretches, formed a circle around Khohn at the field's sideline.
Set about a hundred yards off from Hero Street were four rectangular fields the Hero Program used for their practical classes. Perfectly groomed green grass stretched to a wide treeline in the back of the plain and winding stone paths led to white-chalked sidelines. These sidelines separated the fields evenly and were where students laid their bags and other personal belongings.
Thankfully for the Newbies, Khohn had no surprises for his students since the Showing. After which, the class had met at Practice Field B for each of their subsequent classes.
It had only been three days since Riarshi embarrassed himself at the Newbie Showing. He foolishly displayed his strength in front of the rest of the Newbies and thousands more from across the country.
Despite his best attempts to keep his head low and remain unnoticed throughout the previous week, he still ran into the occasional insult or jeer around campus from other students who recognized him.
It was like high school all over again.
Khohn clapped his hands once all the students formed their tightly-knit circle. With his hair tied in the usual messy bun and wearing a light-green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled, Khohn addressed his class.
"Okay guys and gals, today you will partake in your first graded, practical assignment. Hey! Why the nervous looks? It will be a fun one, I promise you. Today, we will explore the topic of magic reserves. Then, we will test just how much stamina each of you possesses."
The class listened intently, since they had just covered this topic in one of their academic classes, but only glanced upon the specifics.
"Each of you has a certain amount of magical energy stored within your cells. Your body uses this energy throughout the day in various amounts. Think of it like a bank account. Your body withdraws from it every time you perform a physical activity such as walk, run, lift, or push. Spells, however, also draw from this account. And the stronger the magic required, the more energy the spell will withdraw when used." Khohn cleared his throat and re-rolled a sleeve that had fallen down.
"Today, we will test your magical capacity by having a little competition-" He pushed his glasses higher on his nose. "-kinda like the Showing," he said with a large smirk, earning a flinch from a few in the class.
Khohn bent over and dug through a box that he had sitting on the sideline. Rising with two arm-fulls of something Riarshi could not distinguish, Khohn walked around the circle of students. The professor handed each of the twenty Newbies a small handheld device no bigger than a cellphone, a scarlet-red glowing along its plastic edges.
Professor Khohn snapped his fingers and a large green wall shot out from the grass.
Upon closer examination, Riarshi saw each student's name written on this wall in a bright white text. The grass shone even greener than it did already beneath the wall's intense glow.
