"Hey, you were awesome, man! That woman--"

"Professor," Emile stressed.

"Alright. Have you seen that she was so startled by what happened there in our classroom. You should've seen Damien's face," Timothy cheered and slapped on Ermand's back in appreciation.

"I was surprised to know that my element was air... I thought it would be earth," Emile interjected.

"Yeah. That's some sense you're talking. I thought it would be fire for me but it was air. Timothy also got air too, I thought you'd be earth," Charlie muttered.

"I thought Odin would be air rather than water," Timothy suggested before leaving for the mess hall for lunch.

"What is it for lunch anyway?" Charlie raised a brow.

"Mutton chops, grilled lobster, and chocolate pudding with ice-cream as dessert?"

"In your dreams. I think it would probably be mashed potatoes with peas and broccoli, and that porridge made with carrots and beans. Hopefully, a roasted chicken to savour the time," Ermand shrugged.

"I hate that porridge. Yuck!" Timothy cringed at the thought of it.

"Hold your tongue, it's the best food you should consume to maintain a healthy diet," Emile intervened.

"Like stare at all those chickens swallowed down into others throats and peacefully eating grass? It shouldn't be good if we eat what animals consume," Charlie chuckled.

"Eat it once a week."

"Thank you very much Professor Waps for your healthy diet plan but I'm just eating as long as I get to eat them."

When Ermand reached the mess hall, he didn't expect to see Damien waiting for him.

"Hey, Chisel!"

Ermand didn't bother to turn at him and walked toward the counter to get his tray.

"Did you not hear me you scumbag!"

Ermand again pretended not to hear and walked to a lonely bench, far opposite to Damien.

"I'll get you," Damien muttered and gritted his teeth.

The lunch was enough for any man's appetite. It was just as Timothy had predicted except that it wasn't chocolate pudding with ice cream as dessert rather it was cherry pie.

While they were eating, a girl in her high ponytail, standing as straight as a linear line smashed on one of the desks.

"Hey, isn't she the one who punched you?" Charlie tilted his head to get a clear view of her.

"Yeah," Timothy grunted, pausing to eat the mutton piece pierced by his fork.

"I bet she's a Trainor," Odin remarked.

"Of course she is. No wonder her arrogance and that valiant part of her to punch me on the face. My nose still hurts," Timothy scoffed, gripping tightly on the fork in his hands.

"Get up," she commanded.

Two boys and a girl immediately jumped from their seat, grabbing their silver trays. The Trainor slumped on the bench with her tray clanging against the table. She gave a deadly glare at the students staring at her.

"Why are the Trainors so aggressive... and callous?" Ermand faltered.

"Probably because they got the last stand in the high grade Clanship," Timothy snarled before grumpily eating his mutton piece.

After finishing their meal, they didn't stay in the mess hall for long and slipped out through another exit that led them into a confined little yard where the boys in the dorm usually spent their leisure time.

Finally, it was their last class for the day. The only class everybody was keen to attend. The Defense class.

A man, quite short, peeped through the door into the classroom. The students watched him curiosity, scanning his actions.

"Good afternoon my dear friends!" He jumped into the classroom.

He had removed his cloak and was in his white shirt and brown pants. His young black hair was nearly brushed on his bald head. He also had a long stick in one of his hands.

"What was that supposed to do with our class?" Timothy leaned toward Odin.

"We'll probably see."

"I'm Professor Brandr Chisel. Your Professor for Defense. How keen are all of you in being a Defender?"

"Well, my father's a Defender. He works in the Defense department of the ministry," Gavril Grottin said.

"Both of my parents are Defenders. They work in the militia. They've inspired me to be a great Defender like them," Verbena Qorder raised her hand.

Only the high grade clans and the upper middle clans raised their hands to support their choice of choosing the Defenders while for the other, choosing Defense was a path for survival and moving life from the edge of poverty. Professor Chisel knows this but he had to put a blind eye to the injustice.

"I hate theory. Do you?"

"Nothing more irksome than that," Timothy commented from the back bench.

"I know, I know. But we need a little bit of introduction before we continue with the action," he nodded curtly and walked left and right.

"Have you heard about... Aslehm?"

Suddenly, the class rose to life. Everybody leaned over their desks as the words rolled out of the Professor's tongue.

"Wouldn't that make us powerful?" A boy guessed.

"An Aslehm is a tool that can be a

weapon for the Defenders or something else for Spellcasters belonging to other departments that enables the owner to a new level of spellcasting and charms. The first process is to know your true self, then fighting your insecurities, overcoming your barriers you set for yourself and finally laying hold of the Aslehm. You are all lucky that you'll be the only Defender in Iyerth to gain their Aslehm in your first year."

"Professor Chisel," Emile raised a hand. The Professor inclined his head in agreement.

"How can an Aslehm take our powers to a new level?"

"It can help you in a variety of ways. If you achieve your Aslehm, the normal incantation will not be required, you just have to think solely about it. In other words, an Aslehm for you not only works as a weapon but also boosts your spellcasting powers."

"How do we gain it?" Isodora Lewcent asked, shifting toward the edge of his seat.

"I told you the four simple steps but yes, it requires learning some spells. And when I mean some spells, it wouldn't be just some. You'd have this whole year's time until your finals."

"What if we don't gain it by then?"

"Do you know any student in our college that hasn't gained his Aslehm within the first year?"

Most of the students' faces grinned, their faces bloomed by his words.

"Of course there were students who hadn't gained. They have to leave the college."

The grinned faces of the students turned into a gasps.

"That is why your seniors tell you that a first year in Agledon is a challenge period that decides whether you're staying forever until your sixth year or not."

"Will we be trained or something?"

"Of course. The whole first year partly emphasises on this because for a Spellcaster, an Aslehm is very important. Your quest for the Aslehm begins now. Make sure you find it before it becomes too late. Keep in mind that a Defender without a brain is a correspondent to a cloud without rain."

Until the end of the three hour lasting class, the Professor talked of the significance and some tips on reaching their milestone which left the students intrigued during the whole period.

When everybody was excited and planning their moves to achieve their Aslehm, Ermand's mind was sunk in deep thoughts.

How will I ever gain it? I don't even know basic elementary magic, how will I ever do right? Moreover my insecurities and barriers are never gonna shed off.