“I must say,” Amalia starts, sitting down in the chair across from my desk. “When I heard I was being assigned to a new professor just starting her teaching career, I was a little taken aback and wasn’t sure if I’d done something wrong. And now, seeing that you are… so young, I can’t help but feel a little… inadequate.”
“I’m sorry, Amalia. And, please, we’re going to be working together this semester, so please, just call me Seraphina.”
“Are– Are you sure? I don’t want to impose or anything.”
“It’s no imposition. Besides, Amalia, I see some of myself in you. Already, I think we’re going to get along well this semester.”
“I– I hope that’s nothing bad.”
“Not at all,” I say. “Anyway, I’ll admit that this is my first time teaching others, and I can’t say that I know all the best practices. So if you know any tips or tricks or have any words of advice, I’d love to hear anything you’re willing to tell me.”
Amalia gives me a flat look. Which, I suppose, is to be expected. She’s just been assigned to work for me, and here I am, acting like I’ve got no idea what I’m talking about.
I take a deep breath, then pull my copy of my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] design schematics out of my [Inventory], setting it on the desk, proffering it to my assigned assistant to look through.
“This is all the notes on how my left arm functions, including the steps we took to build it, all of the formations used, the different iterations we went through, along with appendices on the runic patterning, the specific glyphs employed, and even some further details on some augmentations we wanted to incorporate but were unable to utilize for one reason or another. Mostly the [Ether] cost it would be to maintain its functionality compared to my [Ether] regeneration rate at the time.
“What I’m trying to say is that when it comes to Ethertech and Spellcraft, I’m… I’m not going to say I’m an expert, or even that I’m particularly good, compared with the potential the disciplines each have. But I do have enough knowledge on the subject matter, and the other faculty invited me to teach this course. But that doesn’t mean that I can claim to be an expert in teaching methods or how to properly conduct myself during a lecture. That’s why I’m asking for your advice.”
Amalia and I share a few moments of silence. Finally, after long enough that it gets a bit awkward, she furrows her brows at me and opens her mouth, hesitating for a moment before finally stammering out her question.
“That thing with the papers suddenly appearing. How does that work?”
“It’s just my [Inventory]. You should get yours as well when you reach Level 50.”
“Level 50?” Amalia’s jaw returns to the dropped position. I seem to be having that effect on people quite a bit today. “You’re telling me that you’re already at Level 50?”
“Almost to Level 60, actually. About 70,000 Experience away.”
“My God… And I thought I’d done my share of fighting. But here I am, casually talking to someone who could level this entire building with a thought. I am so sorry.”
I shake my head. “Not at all. And I’m sorry as well, both if that came off as a threat in any way, as well as for anything I might have said or done to make you uncomfortable. As I said before, I'm still new here, settling in, trying to figure out how all this teaching stuff is going to happen.”
“And I apologize for my own rudeness in assuming that you were just some girl who was given this new position without having properly earned it.”
“Honestly, I think you have a point about not having earned it.” I pause to center myself. “Back when we were working on building my arm, I was working with a professor of robotics— Dr. Cynthia Martinek. Middle-aged woman, about as old as my mother would be were she still with us. She said something that really stuck with me. About how being a woman in a male-dominated space like engineering or robotics means doing twice the work for half the recognition, all while everything we do is subject to twice as much scrutiny. And, frankly, I didn’t get that same experience, thanks to… well, cosmic fortune, I guess, that I stumbled into the right combination of Skills, hardheadedness, and sheer dumb luck not to die in half the dungeon runs I’ve done over the past four months.”
“How many dungeon runs?”
“Around ten. Getting close to the end of the Tower downtown.”
“Wait… No– Holy shit! You’re the one from that lecture like six weeks ago. I didn’t recognize you without the wings, but that arm should’ve been a dead giveaway!”
Silently, I wonder if there are so many eighteen-year-old women with blonde hair and prosthetic left arms here in the city that I could be so easily confused for another. Or maybe it’s just that my wings are so distinctive that people don’t look at my face. I guess I’d rather people stare at my wings than my breasts. At least for anyone not named Chloe Jacobs.
I stand up, sprout my wings, awkwardly twirl while trying not to catch the things against the back wall, then dismiss them and sit back down. “Yep, it’s me.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Jaw, back to the dropped position. Again.
“Anyway, water under the bridge?” I ask.
“Uh… sure. So, uh, Seraphina, what exactly did you want to ask me about? I know you said that you were interested in learning more about teaching methods, but I was wondering what specifically I might be able to help with.”
“Well, there was a question I was wrestling with before you arrived. Namely, in regards to the university’s academic integrity policy. I know that we’re supposed to be diligent about preventing cheating, but now that people have superpowers, it’s a lot more nebulous what the line is between cheating and intelligent use of Skills. Not to mention, the use of Skills that would be nearly impossible to detect, such as some sort of [Telepathy] or [Mind Read] Skill.”
“Do such Skills exist?” Amalia asks.
“They do. One of my Skills allows me to telepathically communicate with my bonded partner. I can also talk to my swordstaff.” I gesture to Filia, resting against the corner of the room.
“I– I see. In any case, my advice would be to make it clear that you are teaching material with potentially hazardous consequences, and then enforce your rules strictly. I’ve got a friend— a rising senior majoring in chemical engineering. He’ll be finishing up his summer internship in the next couple of days. He can’t talk much about what exactly he’s working on, but he did mention that, early on, one of his fellow interns got a little… creative with the chemicals and the processes they were testing. Suffice it to say, she was escorted out by security pretty much on the spot, and will be blackballed from the industry for the foreseeable future. He told me he wouldn’t be surprised if they pursued further legal action.”
“I will keep that in mind. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, and that administration will back me up.”
“Actually, have you looked at your class roster? I have a feeling that even if there aren’t that many people actually taking the course for credit, there are going to be plenty of students and faculty alike who are going to try to audit the course. Learning how to cast actual magic? Like, if I weren’t assigned to be your TA for the semester, I absolutely would be trying to get a seat to listen in. Like, who wouldn’t?”
“Actually, that brings me to another point. I’m teaching two other classes this semester. Introduction to the System, and then Basic Combat Training. I’m planning to have someone else work as my assistant for Basic Combat Training, although you’re welcome to join in if you want. I know some professors have put their course lectures available online and I was planning on doing something similar with my Intro to the System class. If you know who I’d need to talk to about that, I would appreciate it.”
“I think that’s a question for IT about how they want to get all that set up. They’re… Actually, I think they’re here in this building… Actually, I don’t know for sure, but you should be able to send them an e-mail and at least start to get that set up.”
“Awesome. I’ll see about sending that e-mail out in just a bit. And I suppose my last question is pretty simple: Is there anything I can do for you? I don’t think my letters of recommendation are worth very much, I don’t know much about getting a professional job, and I’m probably not the best person to ask for advice if you are looking to do academic work. But if you have any questions about your Skills, your class, or anything along those lines that you want to go over with me, please, I’m all ears.”
“Hmm… Actually, I’ve been having trouble filling all of my Skill slots. Right now, I’ve only got four Class Skills and five General Skills.”
“And— forgive my asking— what is your current Level?”
“Twenty-four.”
I nod. “What can you tell me about your Class? I don’t need the specific name or any of the attributes. Just something to work with.”
“I took an [Engineer] Class. I figured that’s what I was going to do with my life, so when the System offered me the Class, I snapped it up.”
“Have you done any actual engineering? Even if it’s just hobby work, it’d help if you did something related to your Class.”
“Sadly, we don’t tend to do a lot of practical applications. We have to learn all the math and equations first. That’s why we all are expected to do summer internships, so we can get real-world experience with what we’re being taught in class.”
“Alright. I will definitely make class projects part of the course material. We can’t have my students only working on confidential projects for corporate America. In the meantime, let’s work on teaching you how to cycle your [Ether].”
“Cycle my [Ether]?”
“[[Ether] Manipulation] is the basic Skill for anyone who wants to take up the path of spellcraft. Fundamentally, the entire discipline concerns the utilization of glyphs to convert [Ether]— raw magical energy— into the various effects it can take. It’s also a Skill that I’ve found is a prerequisite or stepping stone to learning new Skills. Cycling it through your eyes to gain [Ethersight], your arms and legs for increased muscle efficiency, your brain for memory Skills, your skin for better defenses. You can even–” I channel a hundred points of [Ether] into the palm of my hand, forming the basic shape of a non-elemental [Ether Strike], before dispelling it back into the atmosphere. “–learn to channel and launch pure [Ether] as a weapon of its own.”
“Alright, Seraphina.” Amalia says. “I will eagerly accept your offer. Just promise me that you won’t blow up half the building.”
“I promise.” And I hope the System doesn’t end up being an asshole that forces me to skirt that promise. Damn me, jinxing myself like that.