Broken Desks

The way the group paired its members was a wonderful thing as far as Devias was concerned. It allowed the members to get to know other members who they might not have known before. And in the Hel'Sarie's case, nearly everyone fell into that category. This was going to be an interesting time, he thought.

He had only interacted once with Naoko, and that was when they decided on a place to meet. It wasn't an extensive interaction either, but this will allow both of them to get to know each other just a bit more, even if they'll just be quizzing each other.

Devias took a while to get there as the room they were supposed to meet in wasn't a familiar one to him, and so it took a little longer to find, but he got there only a few minutes late. "Please excuse my tardiness," he'd say as he entered the room.

"Yes, I understood that. I used some of the empty rooms myself to get my notes for the archives arranged in one sitting. It proved to be an efficient method." His dorm room wasn't the best location. Too many distractions and not enough space to work comfortably, but could still work in a pinch, or if he really couldn't find the time to go to empty rooms.

Devias' eyes scanned the numerous desks in the room to pick out the ones that didn't look particularly broken. It didn't take much time to find one, and after testing whether or not it was stable, he used a handkerchief to dust it, making sure to kick up the least amount of dust possible and positioned the desk adjacent to Naoko's.

A face-to-face configuration was the usual setup for Devias when it came to studying, but considering that mathematics was a subject better tackled side-by-side for easier explanation on the methodology, this was the better choice without a doubt.

"Yes, I was just thinking about that. Best we get that out of the way first before anything else." Retrieving the textbook from his satchel, Devias flicked to the chapter they had recently taken up, which was marked by a sheet of paper with solutions to the practice problems found in the chapter. The letters, numbers and symbols were small and neatly written and the graphs were so precisely made that it was like it was computerized then printed as a handy leaflet.

Devias set it aside as it covered up the important bits of the book. Turning to Naoko, he asked, "Should we start here, or do you think we will also be quizzed on previous chapters?"

((OOC: I assumed the desks looked like the ones you see in anime. I can edit it if that's not the case.))

Devias thought for a moment and elected to go with what Naoko figured, that they won't be quizzed heavily on previous chapters. If anyone were to know how quizzes in this world went, then it was definitely someone who was here longer than he was. These lessons were actually quite simple for someone who dedicated his life to knowledge wherever it may lie. While not exactly the same, Devias can see a parallel to these lessons and those he was already exposed to in their home world.

"Since the lessons are arranged in a linear fashion, we can look back if we're ever confused on one procedure. I believe that would be a quick way to get through this while at the same time testing and strengthening our memories of the formulas and methods.

"I think we should start with some diagnostics." He flipped to the page which had a number of problems to be solved. "I believe this item will be a suitable one to start off with," he pointed to a problem, the 8th one out of 15. "From this selection, this one seems to fall in the middle in terms of difficulty. Is that alright with you?"

Devias looked up from his sheet of solutions to address his study partner's questions. At first he raised his eyebrow questioningly, but came to the conclusion that his partner didn't know that Lorencia wasn't his sister, although they might as well be considering how close they were.

"By mundane, I suppose you're referring to the continents outside of Manta Carlos, in which case, no, we aren't from that realm, nor are we from this one. We are from a different world entirely, or 'dimension' as some have taken to calling it. For the record though, Lorencia and I aren't siblings, but cousins. That seems to be the common assumption people have given us, but that's not unique to this world. Back home some people have even referred to us as couples."

A nearly-nonexistent smirk inched out in the corner of his mouth as he reminisced. "As I understand it, there's a person in the club that is close to you, who I believe has been paired up with Lorencia. Might I ask what relationship you two share?"

Elias. Yes, that was the name Lorencia mentioned before when they got assigned their partners. So him and Naoko were childhood friends among a sea of ever-changing faces. A classic way for bonds to form for children. It wasn't surprising, but Devias could appreciate such a bond. In most cases, a bond forged in childhood would last for a lifetime and sometimes it would bloom towards something intimate. He has seen examples of it before, personally. That isn't to say that's what he thought was happening or going to happen for those two.

He did however learn something from this summary. That most people who come here were in their adolescence when they arrived since that's the point where they had matured enough to exhibit their powers. It might not seem much to anyone in this world, but this revelation was important for Devias. Another entry for his study on this world.

"Home?" He echoed. "It was a small place filled to the brim with magic. Every creature, every blade of grass, and even rocks had magicial attributes and properties. Before I came here, I never knew just how much was actually in them. Here, this place is almost barren compared to home, however it has its own charm as well. It fascinates me that this world could survive with this little magic available. And the views are simply breath-taking. On Sol, our skies were simply swirling clouds. We had to open windows to other worlds to see stars, and before then, our ancestors didn't even know what they were. There were records and star maps from before Sol was ripped from its original world to reside on its own, but as the generations passed, stars became legends. Myths even.

"The most intriguing part for you might be the fact that our archipelago... floats in space. We didn't have a sea of water for our islands, they simply floated in the air, being kept up by the world's magic. Now that I have understood your world's concepts, I can say for certain that you would find our streams and rivers to defy gravity, yet still follows a path. At first it would look like a normal stream, flowing on the ground, however, as it falls down the edge of the island, it doesn't immediately drop to the abyss below, it continues to flow through space, following an invisible path that would link to other islands, most stopping in lakes, while the rest fall to the bottom.

"I used the term abyss, but that is inaccurate, as the 'bedrock' of our world is condensed magic. You can actually fall into it and be fine. In fact, that is usually where young Void Walkers are taken to hone their skills as it is much easier to conjure up spells down there, and it also reduces the risk of harming others and damaging property." He paused, realizing that he had been talking for too long. "My apologies, I didn't mean to speak for so long. And it seems that I may have drifted away from your question."