Imagine you are underwater, goggles on. If there's a different fluid, like oil or soap, even if colorless, you can distinguish it from the water if you concentrate.

  That's what Mana is to humans. Almost-invisible bubbles floating around, barely noticeable. Among these bubbles are those forming around every living being.

  “The Mana that passively emanates from you is called Dormant Mana. We can also call it Aura, a term used in magic systems that heavily integrate it with martial arts.”

  “While you can perceive and manipulate your Aura with your mind, shaping it as you wish,” the professor demonstrated, his Aura becoming a more visible golden liquid under a spell, “that alone is typically useless.” He formed the Aura into a giant sword and swept it through the class. The sword passed through students, desks, everything, like an illusion.

  “However, Aura is crucial for spellcasting. Each of you, do this: focus on a point within your Aura.”

  Professor Soren's Aura returned to a golden sphere, five feet in radius. Then, as if a finger tapped the surface of water, a point in front of him vibrated, emitting small circular waves.

  This was child's play. Even infants who became aware of their Aura could perform these tricks. What was more surprising was how seriously the students not in Academy uniforms were taking the exercise.

  “Good! You all seem to have no trouble with Humming. By focusing a hum on a point within your Aura, you take the first step in shaping Mana into a spell.”

  “Now, hum this sound into the sphere you were given earlier,” Professor Soren instructed, amplifying the sound for the students.

  The students tried to replicate the sound, some immediately seeing an effect on their spheres. The white cloud inside briefly turned red, then returned to white when the hum stopped.

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  “This is a Dummy Sphere,” Professor Soren explained. “It’s an artifact designed to react to your Hummings of the Twelve Constellation Runes. The rune we just used is ?? (Leo), the Essence of Fire. It changes the sphere’s color to red.” He picked up chalk and began writing the Constellation Runes in a circle on the board. As if the blackboard were enchanted, circles and lines formed around the Runes.

  “I will now demonstrate and explain each of the Twelve Runes.”

  “?? (Leo) - Essence of Fire. Color changes to Red.”

  “?? (Scorpio) - Essence of Water. Color changes to Blue.”

  “?? (Aquarius) - Essence of Air. Color changes to Green.”

  “?? (Virgo) - Essence of Earth. Color changes to Yellow.”

  “?? (Sagittarius) - Speeding Character. Cloud particles move faster and hotter.”

  “?? (Aries) - Melting Character. Sphere softens into a rubble ball.”

  “?? (Pisces) - Slowing Character. Cloud particles move slower and colder.”

  “?? (Cancer) - Hardening Character. Sphere hardens into a crystal ball.”

  “?? (Libra) - Levitating Character. Sphere lightens.”

  “?? (Gemini) - Diffusing Character. Sphere grows and multiplies.”

  “?? (Taurus) - Attracting Character. Sphere gets heavier.”

  “?? (Capricorn) - Strengthening Character. Cloud particles radiate brighter.”

  Professor Soren demonstrated and observed the class humming the Runes into their Dummy Spheres. As expected, they performed some Runes correctly on the first try, and others took two or three attempts.

  “Your homework is to practice Humming with the Dummy Spheres. As Spellcrafting requires precision, you must familiarize yourselves with the Twelve Runes, activating them fluently.”

  The professor concluded with a stern reminder.

  “This homework is crucial for what we’ll learn in the next class: Elemental Conjuration.”