He had been in this class… several times, and he was still trying to understand when degrees came into the equation.

At this point, he was convinced runes had less to do with magic and more with geometry.

Every curve, every slant, every crossing line and even a single misplaced tilt of a stroke changed the rune's function entirely.

It was maddening.

Still, he forced himself to focus but he had to admit… Sylvie made drawing runes look like it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

Azel sighed under his breath. "When did math start getting involved in magic?"

Mynes turned slightly, her voice was sharp even though she hadn't heard him clearly. "Something to say, Student Azel?"

"No, Professor," he said quickly, sitting up straight.

Sylvie had performed the rune three more times and Azel didn't know if she was doing this on purpose… If she was though, this was divine bullying.

Regardless, he soon finished his own Rune of Cancellation and Mynes nodded in approval before he dispelled it.

They both looked toward the board as Mynes tapped it again.

He hoped the next one wouldn't be half as bad.

"The second rune we'll be working on today," Mynes began, "is called the Rune of Containment."

Her cane pointed toward the next design, and Azel's eyes traced every line carefully.

It consisted of an upward-facing triangle and a downward-facing triangle, drawn over one another to form a six-pointed star.

In the very center sat a perfect little circle like the core of a gemstone. Around the outer edge, between each point of the star and the surrounding ring, were three evenly spaced dashes.

At first glance, it looked beautifully simple. But to Azel's trained eyes, it was deceptively complicated.

If a line curved just slightly wrong, or the dashes weren't equally spaced, it would lose it's whole design.

"This rune," Mynes said after clearing her throat and jabbing the rune with her cane, "is the foundation for most magical artifacts including your storage rings."

Sylvie's eyes flickered down to her own ring, a delicate silver ring with inscriptions along its edge.

The gem at its center shimmered with pale blue mana. It was elegant and expensive-looking, as expected of someone in a Royal family.

Azel made the mistake of glancing at it.

He regretted it immediately.

'It seems even in this world, I'm being oppressed by the rich' he thought. The ring was custom!

Everything about it screamed royalty, even the way Sylvie subconsciously stroked it while concentrating.

He turned away quickly, wondering how much she could store with that ring… Not that it mattered though.

"Professor," Sylvie began, "do you mean that these runic patterns exist within the very matrix of our storage rings?"

'Why does she speak so formally?' Azel thought, while it wasn't too weird… People did speak a bit modernly in this world, she spoke as if she was in some ancient era.

"Yes, Sylvia," Mynes replied, tapping the board again. "Artifacts are made of multiple runes working together, but the Rune of Containment is the most important. It's what allows the ring to capture and hold what you put into it. The stronger your rune's structure and mana alignment, the more storage space it can support."

She turned and gave Azel a smile. "So… create a containment rune powerful enough to hold your desks."

Azel blinked. "Our desks?"

"Your desks," she confirmed cheerfully.

Hee raised his hand and began gathering the mana that would form his rune into the shape he wanted.

He decided that this time he wouldn't even focus on Sylvia or whatever she was doing with her rune… He was trying to increase his own drawing speed, not gawk over hers.

Besides there was no way that she could finish it instantly so he still had some time to see if he could pass he-

"I am finished, Professor," Sylvie said a few seconds later. "It was quite the stimulating challenge."

The rune above her palm glowed with mana and her desk, along with the books upon it dissolved into shimmering light and vanished entirely.

Azel's mouth fell open slightly.

'I haven't even gathered mana yet.'

"That's excellent, Sylvia," Mynes said, clearly pleased. "You're quite skilled with rune projection. Stay after class, and I'll give you extra guidance on refining your technique."

Sylvie's eyes brightened, and she bowed slightly in her seat. "It would be my greatest honor, Professor."

Azel just exhaled quietly and continued focusing on his own rune.

The triangles finally closed, the circle connecting perfectly at the center. His rune glowed before his entire desk disappeared into it, vanishing without resistance.

Mynes looked between the two of them and smiled. "Nicely done."

Sylvie turned to him with a polite smile that somehow felt both genuine and competitive.

"Marvelously executed, Mister Azel. Your precision appears to have improved."

He forced a smile back. "Thanks."

"Now," Mynes said, "the Rune of Containment not only holds objects but can release them as well. Try it."

Sylvie lifted her hand gracefully, and her rune flared back to life.

A breath later, her desk and books rematerialized in front of her, every page still in perfect order.

Azel did the same, his rune flashing gold before the wooden desk flowed back into place with a thump.

"Very good," Mynes said approvingly. "That's how you use the rune. Don't underestimate yourselves… Many take weeks or months to grasp this level of projection. You're both progressing splendidly."

Azel glanced sideways at Sylvie.

She didn't look even remotely tired, while his fingers were trembling from the mana drain.

'Is she trying to make me feel better?' he thought dryly. 'Because she's doing the opposite.'

Sylvie had been a prodigy from the moment she was born… Spells, Runes and Enchantments… as long as it had magic, she didn't have a problem with it, that was one of her abilities as the Heroines.

And then there was him.

He'd learned rune projection less than a week ago and was currently just glad nothing exploded.

'There's no competition here,' he admitted inwardly. 'I'm just trying to keep up… and figure out how to deal with the Skinbutcher before it gets out of hand.'

"Now," Mynes said, rapping the board again, "let's move on to the third rune… the Rune of Logic. As for this rune's use, I'm sure you'll love it."

"The Rune Of Logic can be used to decide how your runes or spells will react. In short, you can perform conditional magic."

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