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"Trenton showed me that I'll also need people to help me if I want to progress," Cerlius said.

Lance scrunched up his lips: "Putting aside your secret lessons with Trenton, you do look different - more mature. Change however, is not always good."

Cerlius scanned the Reach, lingering at the students' flickering, half-formed magic circles. Jersin, in particular, was completely red-faced and screaming at his students. "So I noticed."

Lance sighed. "It's been a rough week." He gestured to Cerlius's book, changing the subject. "Were you satisfied with the notes I left you?" As he caught Cerlius up, his students drew closer. They dissipated their raw, unrefined magic circles and patiently listened in.

Cerlius pretended not to notice, assuming the attention to be negative as it usually was. His classmates' looks however, were anything but. "Actually," he said as he pulled a paper out of his spatial ring. "I was hoping that you could give me some pointers on places I got lost. If you wouldn't mind, I wrote all my questions down on this list for you."

'Cerlius,' Larque's voice rang in Cerlius's head. 'There's something wrong.'

'There must be something wrong if I'm hearing from you,' Cerlius responded in surprise. 'What? Are you hungry for my anger again, you parasitic demon? It can wait.'

'There was a reason I was quiet for so long.' Larque responded.

'So what was it?' Cerlius asked only to get no response.

Lance smiled, but not just because of Cerlius's list. The class was together, gathered around Cerlius like a warm campfire. They were a far cry from joyful or acknowledging, but it was a step away from their ignorant misconceptions. "I'm your instructor, am I not? I'm here to teach, and nothing will-"

"Hold it," the shrill voice of instructor Jersin drowned Lance's words out. He stormed over to Lance. Uncharacteristically loud thunder echoed from the swamp below, yet no one seemed to bat an eye. There were more dangerous things about. His rusty cane tapped right up to the group. "The Reach is for experience and testing, not lectures. Cerlius, you don't get an excuse just because of your injuries. If you're here, you're here to work, just like everyone else."

'I would hardly count Jersin as a threat, not anymore,' Cerlius thought. 'But I appreciate the heads up.'

'I've been asleep like most demons around this time,' Larque warned. 'There are however, exceptions.'

"No," Lance argued as he gestured to Cerlius's list. There was a certain edge to each word, and Cerlius narrowed his eyes. "This was simply-"

"Simply what?" Jersin insisted. Lance wiped a bit of spittle away from his face and scowled. Cerlius's classmates sighed and began to back away. They had seemingly looked forward to Cerlius's list. "Answering questions; would you not call that breaking the rules? I will repeat myself: there are no excuses. Cerlius, you should go practice elsewhere." He waved his hand dismissively.

Cerlius remained on the spot with a wide grin. "Of course. I understand. I would never dream of breaking the rules after being reminded in such a direct fashion."

"That's right," Jersin nodded. He turned back, whipped around, and swept his cane into Cerlius's cheek with a sharp, painful crack. "No excuses. No exceptions."

Cerlius fell to a knee having been caught off guard by the strike. His vision snapped to the left as Jersin landed another hit. "You broke the rules." Blood trickled from searing lines across his face. Jersin had aimed for the cheekbones, where the skin had been trapped between bone and metal.

"Jersin!" Lance blurted out, more shocked than anything else. "Cerlius just made it out of the medical wing. He can't take your kind of punishment."

Cerlius felt the sides of his face, closed his eyes, and focused. 'The rules allowed him to hit me so he did. I can't retaliate, yet.' The searing pain chilled to a pleasant warmth. A small huff of life essence restored all but the surface level of his wounds. 'I can only get what I want acting within the rules.'

"That's due punishment," Jersin said. "For breaking a rule." He stared down Lance, daring him to challenge his decision. Lance was going to do it. Cerlius had known him long enough to recognize the signs; signs such as the unconscious twitch of his left hand.

"Fine," Cerlius said. A bit of power that even he didn't understand came out with that one word. It wasn't life essence nor was it mana. It was simply him. Lance opened and closed his mouth but no words came out. He stepped back.

"I see the attack has humbled you somewhat." Jersin continued, alternating his gaze at them, then at the rest of the class. "You'll do good to remember how weak you are." He dusted his robe off and turned around. "Now if you excuse me-"

"Maybe if I were an instructor that'd change," Cerlius blurted out.

"Excuse me?" Jersin whipped around and smacked him for the third time. This time, Cerlius did not fall. He did not curse at the pain nor did he cry out. He slowly turned his head back towards Jersin.

A small groan came out of Lance. The instructor's entire body was shaking, trying to resist Cerlius's will.

'Do you see it now?' Larque thought. 'They're not acting right.'

Jersin went to swing again but a sudden burst of air changed his directory. The rusty cane sunk an inch into the ground. "At least let him elaborate." The word squeezed out of Lance's gritted teeth. "Before you strike my apprentice in front of me."

Cerlius nodded. "Thank you. I said "maybe that'd change if I were an instructor". I was referring to getting punished. I figured you instructors are excused from breaking the rules, seeing as how instructor Jersin did so with such blatant ignorance. Is it not immoral to burst into another instructor's lesson? After all, experiments must be guided like everything else in this academy. The class needs input and Lance is giving us input."

Instructor Jersin scanned the crowd. The class may have dispersed but they were still within earshot. "Lesson? What Lesson? Did you think I would let you talk back to me since the Head Mage allowed you to talk back to him? You are not special." He pointed over his shoulder at the chaotic scene behind him. "All the other classes are in line, except this one. I am not stopping a lesson, I am helping a coworker deal with his disrespectful brats."

'Good,' Cerlius thought to himself. 'I got him to switch the blame from just me to the class and me. All I had to do was suggest that the class needs input. Jersin doesn't know what he just did. Acting within the rules is fine, but the social dynamics will always win.'

The class stiffened at their collective admonishment. They stepped closer to Lance and subsequently Cerlius. "All the other classes are suffering through injuries because they are so dedicated," Jersin continued. "Stopping to chat is an insult to all their progress."

Celsius's smile weakened. He went to argue, but another student piped up, Pince. "Let Cerlius ask his questions," he said. "He needs them to learn, and so do we. Practical lessons need guidance."