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Efficient Learning

This piece from an artist known as Kenjiii back in December of 2020 marks one of my earliest standalone short stories. Though there were lore tidbits in all of my posts up until this point, and my Volpes work was just getting off the ground, this was the first time I had actually written something with dialog between characters.

And while it’s far from my best work, I’m happy to see that it at least reads well. It’s rough, but it reads well.

“You didn’t read the material?” The scowl on the mind mage’s face spoke more than words could as he brought his elbow onto his desk, gently rubbing his temple.

“Of course not. It was a two-thousand-page book and you expected us to read it in a single day!? I don’t have that kind of time between all the training we do.” His apprentice barked back in retort. Never one to disguise his emotions, steam was practically fuming out of the tiger’s ears, armed folded tensely across his chest.

Raising his head to make eye contact with Edmund, Enigma squinted at his apprentice, puzzled at the nature of his protest. “‘Don’t have the kind of…’ Are you manually reading the text!?”

It was Edmund’s turn now to throw back an equally curious glance to his instructor and friend. The tension in his features began to relax. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, I see.” Inhaling, then audibly exhaling, Enigma wore a wry smile, saying “Come to the library in an hour and bring the textbook with you. I’ll have a room reserved for us.”

At the appointed time, Edmund came as ordered. His teacher motioned for him to have a seat, and asked him to open up the book that was the source of their recent consternation. It was at that moment that the young man could feel the telltale buildup of mana that meant his teacher was up to something.

“I’m going to show you a little trick I developed when I started having trouble keeping up with my own studies. I’ll expect you to be able to do this when we’re done.” A glow began to emanate from the tome, flowing like a river into the palm of the mind mage. With the connection established, he started projecting the flow further, connecting to the mind of his apprentice.

His eyes glowing, Edmund could feel the currents course into his mind. With clarity, the words and content on the pages poured into their new vessel. Chapters that Edmund knew he had never read before could suddenly be “recalled” in perfect detail. Once the process had run its course, and the book was firmly cemented in his mind, the young apprentice looked at his mentor. “How come you never showed me this before?”

The mind mage took a moment to compose himself, releasing the excess mana, before he turned to face his student with a knowing grin. “I did; First day of class. I teach all of my students this trick. Sometimes I wonder if it’s why people bother to show up.”

Tilting his head and ears down, the tiger realized just how much trouble he could have been in if his professor was less understanding. “O… oh. Uhh…”

Putting his hand on his student’s shoulder, Enigma spoke firmly, but fairly: “Let this be a lesson to you. Lesson 1: Listen to my lectures. Lesson 2: If you need help with something, say so. I can’t help you if I don’t know there’s a problem. Now come on, I know you’ve been practicing your hand-to-hand. Maybe you can show me a few moves.”