I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

"Ohh…" Raph found himself intrigued by the phenomenon, as this was the first time he had seen a practical example of how magic worked.

Great families like the Merlin were naturally gifted and had a high affinity towards magic.

It enabled them to cast spells without the need for circles or incantations.

"That's not all, Let's say I want to summon the 3rd tier spell, Fire bullet".

Sasha began again, cutting him off from his thoughts.

"I'm sure most of you here should have mastered at least that before enrolling. The incantation is not a difficult one to learn".

They nodded in response, and she smiled at them in satisfaction.

"Well then, how can one explain the relation of incantation to spell casting?"

A quiz for the class it seemed, and this time, a lot more hands were raised.

Sasha scanned through, when her gaze met a particular student she had not expected to find in her class, but it drifted away towards a girl that caught her attention.

"Yes, Introduce yourself first, then answer".

Canary stood up from her chair, a smile plastered on her face as she said. "I am Canary Yellowstone".

Then, taking a glance at the fireball, she began to explain. "At times, the intricate patterns on a magic circle are not enough for a spell to fully activate.

That is why we have incantations, to help foster it".

Sasha nodded as the girl returned to her seat, but her gaze wasn't satisfied with that response. How could It? When there could be something better out there, just waiting.

She locked gazes with the daughter of the Merlin household, and her intuition cried out.

"Ciara, is there something you would like to add?"

Clara remained still as the rest of the class turned to her in unison. Did she have a better explanation? Maybe, but one couldn't deny the prodigies of the Merlin household.
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As she looked up towards the table, her body stood up.

"I will add a few pointers. Incantations are the intricate patterns that form a magic circle. Reciting them doesn t just help us cast it, but connects it.

Incantations work hand in hand with imagery, and with the help of a circle, a mage can create a proper spell".

Her statement was as expected. Explained in such refinement, that understanding each word opened up a new world of possibilities. It was an extraordinary feeling, and Sasha was very pleased by it.

She nodded, as the girl took her seat while she turned towards the class.

"Of course, magic circles and incantations are important to a mage, but there is one thing that forms the fundamental of it all". She dropped the magic stone and brought out an orb from a pouch that was tied to her slim waist.

The orb was translucent white and an aura of ethereal mana exuded from it. "Can someone guess what that is?"

Raph raised a brow at her question. 'I mean from Fiona, other than the three rules of Casting, there is one more thing that affects how good of a mage you can become'.

A brief silence suffused the classroom as no one replied or gave any effort in trying to reply.

Sasha chuckled. "Of course, I'm referring to Affinity. One's affinity comes a long way when it comes to magic, and we all have at least one of those within us".

'Yeah, that's what Fiona said as well. Affinity is born within all of us, both aura and mana users, though only mana users specialize in using it, and how strong our affinity is helps determine how far we can master It'. Raph thought, placing his finger under his chin in deep contemplation.

'The entrance examination also had one of those, a mana orb, and I was able to confirm my affinities with it.

Fire and Wind'.

"Sometimes we are born with one, two, three and in very rare cases, all four.

Though, having an affinity doesn't stop us from using other elements, though to a rudimentary level compared to our element with the greatest affinities". Sasha continued to explain as she walked down the podium, her gaze scanning through the theatre when a girl raised her hand.

Amber Rodrick, a level 15 water mage and a friend of Canary stood up. She had raven black hair and blue eyes, and an elegant aura exuded her figure.

"I have a question,", She said when Sasha pointed at her.

"Go ahead". She said with a welcoming smile.

Amber slowly stood up, a few eyes lingering on her figure as she did so. "Well then, how does the system come about with affinities?"

"Oh?" Raph muttered with curiosity sparkling in his eyes. Except for the bare minimum, information on the system was lacking even for the Great families.

They couldn't comprehend how it worked, or how it formed this "point system" that helped them grow.

What they knew was simply their levels and how their rare professions increased their strength when compared to other system users with the same levels.

Simply, the system had a lot of unknowns, and they could hardly trust it, even if it originated from the goddess Mayura.

"Well, system users and non-system users are not that different. System users also have an innate element they have an affinity to, and it's what most professions specialize in. For example, what profession are you?" Sasha asked, resting her figure on the table.

"....A water mage".

"There you have it. Your affinity is water" Her smile widened as Amber took her seat. "Well, there are times when people with affinities don't discover their rare professions on time or don't have it at all.

In that case, our affinities are usually the first elemental skill granted to us regardless of whether it is a subdivision of the major element".

She slowly raised her right hand, extending her fingers at the same time as iron strings suddenly shot out from the tip of all her fingers, attaching themselves to the wall in the blink of an eye and causing a deep hole.

"For example, my first skill was string control, but it's a division of iron and a subdivision of earth".

She clenched her hand into a fist, and the strings retreated, and instead, she raised her other hand.

"The soil of the earth, the gods mould thee,

Third tier Spell: Earth spike"

Bits of rocks attached over her hand until it formed a large spike, the shape of a baby's head.

"so, therefore, I have an affinity to Earth"

Raph furrowed his brow, as his thoughts began to reel in. Something seems amiss with her explanation. Did all have a derivative? He wondered, unable to come up with a solid conclusion.

'Well, it's not something I need to be bothered about. I'm not a system user after all'.

The system seemed like a blessing to most, but for powerful figures like the 12 Great Families, it could have only become their burden.

It seemed to limit them, even if they were granted much reward for using it, there should have been a corresponding price to pay.

'Well, that is up to them and their goddess'.

With a sigh, he changed his line of thoughts as Sasha continued with her explanation.

"An affinity doesn't mean you will be able to use the magic immediately after birth.

It only guides you in a predetermined destiny to the path that best suits you".

She held the ball in her hand while the rock spike disappeared into nothing.

The ability to summon magic from nothing was an advanced mastery and most of the new years up till their third year had yet to master it, though it was an easy occurrence for the great families.

Yet, another thing to envy about the great families.

"Well then, before I end this class in the next twenty or so minutes, I hope we all have at least an inkling of an idea of what I've said so far. Let's have a pop quiz shall we?"

A pin-drop silence descended upon the classroom as their eyes slowly bulged open in shock. Once again, It seemed like another lecturer was out to get them.

"Enhhhhh?" They cried out in protest while Sasha chuckled.

Raph's eyes bulged open in surprise as their protest began to increase in volume.

A pop quiz? On their first day? How absurd was that?

Some of them who stayed weren't even part of the class, and it seemed like they could be implicated in this predicament.

"A pop quiz on our first day?!" A particular girl was insistent in her protest.

Flora Kite, another mage friend of Canary, but unlike the other two, she had not found her specialized element yet.

She was a girl with ginger hair and black eyes, with a slightly bigger build than most, and her plump cheeks were red in exasperation as she protested.

"Mages are people that are expected to predict the unpredictable. If a simple test can throw you off guard, then how would you react on the battlefield?" Sasha asked, dismissing the girl's remark while she gathered some papers from her pouch.

'She's….serious' Raph thought when he felt someone tap him. He turned to his right to find Elsie standing up.

"Um, you–you see, I have somewhere to be….I'll–I'll find you later".

'Oh, even the vicious Elsie is scared of tests?' Raph thought as a smug appeared on his face. 'How amusing'.