Raised in Dungeon

Petronella stood at the front of the class, her gaze sweeping across the assembled students.

"Since you guys are already Praeterea, I'll assume that everyone has learned the basics of amnis. But I feel like I should explain about my own version of amnis," she began.

Petronella started her class with a brief explanation.

"Amnis means river; it indicates which stream is in our body. Which stream will we give to the elemental spirits by giving commands through chants or the amnis we want to cast. So humans can only use amnis when spirit exist. Fortunately, " Petronella continued, " Headmaster Eliphas has full control over the dungeon, so all the spirits are present in this academy."

Petronella gracefully drew a circle of amnis, the ethereal lines shimmering in the air. With a swift motion, she conjured a small fireball that hovered in front of her, only to vanish in an instant.

"This is the fundamental amnis, and it's also a mandatory skill. Do you understand why mastering basic amnis is obligatory?" she inquired, her eyes scanning the room.

Hallie raised her hand quickly, blurting out, "Because it has the shortest cast time and can launch a quick attack!"

"I knew you'd say that, but unfortunately, that's incorrect," Petronella responded.

"Why? I'm positive about my answer!" Hallie protestested.

'What a smartass,' Petronella thought. 'She must always be challenging her teachers and championing righteousness.'

Petronella then directed her attention to someone with real-life battle experience in the room. And of course, he was,

"Allen," petronella pointed to him. "Why did I think she's wrong?"

Petronella asked.

Everyone looked at Allen,

waiting for his answer, though skepticism lingered in their eyes. 'How could he know? He's also a student who entered the academy without studying at secunda. The teacher is probably ignorant to put him on the spot,' echoed the unspoken sentiment among the students.

Allen replied, "I'm not sure,

amnis isn't my forte, but definitely not for a quick attack.

Such a small burst of fire is practically useless for an effective assault."

A basic answer that makes others think "oh right, why didn't I think of it?" and it made Hallie look at Allen cynically.

"Why was she angry?" Allen asked.

"Just ignore her, Allen. She just felt humiliated by the class because of you," Geirhild answered.

Rasheeda, the dark elf, gracefully raised her hand, taking the opportunity to contribute directly to the discussion.

"The utilization of basic amnis is used for daily life works. Apart from its practical applications, we can employ it as a diagnostic tool for determining which amnis is accessible," Rasheeda explained, her tone cool and composed.

Petronella confirmed, "Exactly," then she proceeded to draw another set of basic amnis, this time representing water, earth, and wind.

"Elemental spirits are not always around us, and we don't know when they are. Just now, Hallie was able to give a speculation like that because she only used the amnis in the academy, which could we confirm the presence of all elemental spirits.

But what if you're in the middle of nowhere? Or maybe in a dungeon?"

Petronella posed these questions to the class.

"For an enchanter, all one has to do is identify the presence of an elemental spirit. We can find out by using all the basic amnis of each element. If the amnis is active, then the spirit is there; if not, then it is not present around you," she explained.

Hearing the explanation, the students whispered, "What a hassle it is to be an enchanter."

"That's right," responded Petronella, acknowledging she had overheard the comment. "That's why to become an enchanter, you need to learn a lot. An enchanter doesn't just have to memorize one type of elemental amnis, but all types of elements. And even though it's troublesome, you all should know that enchanters have a broader future."

Curiosity sparked among the students, and Allen, turning to Felicia, asked in a hushed tone, "What does 'broader' mean?"

"Enchanters are highly educated and knowledgeable people, so even if they don't become real enchanters in the end, the knowledge learned can still be used for other things."

Returning her attention to the class, Petronella continued her exposition. "In Sekunda, it might have been explained that the most important thing about using amnis is the speed of drawing the spell circcle. That's important, but I think something else is more crucial."

She paused, and continue "That is mana control."

Petronella raised her hand and drew the same basic fire amnis as before. However,

-BURST

The fire shot was sharper and faster.

"Mistress! Did you just use advanced amnis?" asked one of the students, awe and confusion evident in their voice. And the reason of its confusion is, they could see the spell circle should be just to spell basic amnis.

"No, this is basic amnis."

"But it was faster and sharper than usual!"

Petronella smiled, getting a question that matched her prediction made her feel amused.

"I control the mana inside my body. You guys generally use mana to cast magic without preparing anything, but actually, we also have to control the mana that comes out and will be given to the spirit.

And the method is,

In your heart."

"In our heart?"

"Mana is influenced by the heart and emotions. All you need to do is use your imagination to deceive your feelings. If a substantial amnis can be cast when emotions overflow, then small and sharp magic can come out when you restrain your emotions.

 An emotional enchanter will fire powerful and destructive amnis but also consume a lot of mana. Whereas a calm enchanter would fire small but deadly amnis, and also use their mana efficiently.

The time is only one minute, while you are writing the command, you must force your body into a calm state while imagining the shape of the sharp amnis."

A profound silence fell over the room as everyone contemplated the intricacies of manipulating mana within themselves. Realizing the thoughtful expressions on their faces, Petronella decided to prompt them into action.

"Let's practice on the training field," she declared

There were numerous fields on the second floor of the academy, each allocated to the Praeterea classes that emphasized practical, hands-on learning. One field per three class was the norm on this floor, offering ample space for students to hone their skills.

"Ah, you are free to take off your outerwear. But this shouldn't be a physically taxing lesson, so whatever," Petronella informed.

Amidst the shuffle of students adjusting to the practical setting, Petronella observed the student as they began they practice of refining their basic amnis.

"Well, with this, my existence is no longer necessary. I can lazily read the book I just got yesterday," Petronella thought, a subtle smile playing on her lips. Her goal, it seemed, was to embrace laziness. By entrusting the students with the hands-on practice, she could indulge in a moment of respite—no need for constant supervision or extensive explanations.

However, if there was anything happened because of Petronella's ignorance, that would be…

"An accidents," she pondered. 'But there can't be accidents in a basic amnis training."\'

If there was any bad thing for what Petronella was doing now it was... accidents.

'But there can't be accidents with base amnis.'

The most potentially dangerous of the basic amnis was the fire-type amnis. Yet, even its effects were comparably mild, akin to a match tossed into damp wood.

"No matter how many times I try, the result is the same. At this rate, my mana will run out first," Sharik confessed.

"The point is you just need to empty your mind while thinking," Felicia explained.

"Wha-what? Empty your mind while thinking?"

"That's called calm. All you think about is the amnis you're going to launch in that short period of time."

Felicia demonstrated, and just like Petronella had done earlier, her amnis flame emerged sharper and faster. Onlookers watched with admiring glances.

Rasheeda followed suit, drawing a basic water amnis. What should have been ordinary running water transformed into a sharp, precise shot.

Observing the successes of others, Hallie couldn't remain silent. "Why can't I do it?!" she shouted in her mind, oblivious to the fact that such thoughts hindered her progress.

Meanwhile, Francis sat quietly, sharpening his sword, seemingly uninterested.

"Prince Francis, don't you want to try it?" asked one of the students next to him.

"I don't need to," replied Francis, seemingly unconcerned.

"Perhaps you can do it already!"

Francis, carried away by the praise of others, replied "That's it! I have no intention of showing anyone how it works! This is just basic amnis, my tutor had teach me in the castle."

"Amazing!"

"As expected of this royal prince!"

"I thought princes must all be geniuses."

Meanwhile, Allen.

He couldn't cast the amnis.

Let alone casting it, even drawing it gave Allen trouble. Difficult enough to make his head dizzy and break out in cold sweat.

"Allen, don't you want to try it?" asked Felicia.

"I-I'm trying."

Allen created an amnis circle, but his slow pace resulted in the mana dissipating before completion.

"Allen, what are you doing?" Felicia asked, confused.

'It's weird, my body feels heavier every time I try to use mana,' Allen thought.

"Is it possible that Allen can't do it either?!" Sharik exclaimed excitedly. "I thought so, we faculty fighters don't need to learn mana theory like this!"

"No, Allen should be able to do it, in fact, faster and more precisely than anyone else," said Felicia. However, she sensed something amiss with Allen. "It looks like he's just not feeling well."

'This is probably…' Allen guesed the reason of his headache. "My demonic mana overflowing inside the dungeon," he thought.

Because the academy itself was a dungeon, and in the dungeon, there was demonic mana, his use of divine mana was disrupted, making it difficult for him to use it

"That unsurprising thing we have here," came a voice from behind Felicia, walking towards them.

Felicia look behind, that was a man that previously sit next to Hallie, probably, Hallie's guard or something.

"There's no need to use the excuse of not feeling well. He can't use amnis, can he?"

"'Allen Boldenville,' from his name, he's your knight, isn't it?" said Hallie, appearing next to the man. "Get the family name because you don't have one, then the rumors are true, that you appointed a commoner as a knight, how pathetic."