Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer

The paper landed on Ashton's desk.

He picked it up and read it's contents. Just like what Aisha said, this list indeed contains the subjects available for first years like him and to his surprise, there is a lot in here.

However, he also noticed that there were already marked ones on the list. These subjects are the ones that he's already enrolled to; Magic 101, History, and Inscriptions.

These three subjects are already marked black, meaning that he's already enrolled to it. Aside from that, there's also subjects that are marked with red, this means that they are strongly recommended. The others are unmarked, these subjects could be taken if the student is interested in them.

"In case some of you still can't follow, let me explain..." Aisha said, "Those subjects that are marked black are subjects that you are already enrolled in and included in your schedule. The ones marked with red are the strongly recommended subjects. You can take them or not, it depends on you, we're just making a suggestion. As for the unmarked ones, they're available to you but again, it's up to you if you want to enroll in them."

"Homeroom and Magic 101 will be handled by me. Our schedule is every Mondays, 10:00am - 12:00pm. The first 30 minutes will be Homeroom and the rest will be for Magic 101."

"History will be for Tuesdays, 10:00am - 11:30am. A colleague of mine will be handling that so I'll let her introduce herself to you."

"Inscriptions on Wednesdays, 10:00am - 11:30am. You'll meet your Professor for that so just wait until then."

"As you observed so far though, your schedule is extremely lax. If it remains like this, you only need to attend school three days a week. That doesn't really sound bad. And indeed it's not. But I'm telling you right now, if you plan on taking it easy, then there's no way you'll last until the end of the school year here."

Aisha played with her hair and crossed her tiny legs.

"Those who are interested in enrolling to more subjects, pick one schedule and mark the circle next to it. Give me the paper later and I'll take care of the registration. You'll be notified through e-mail once the process is finished."

"I'll give you 15 minutes to make your decision. I'll return once the time's up. And we'll proceed with today's Magic 101 lesson."

After saying that, Aisha suddenly dissipated into white mist and disappeared from their view.

It was evident that some students were awed upon seeing a spell casted right in front of them but not Ashton of course. He had seen that disappearing act once or twice at this point, he's already getting used to it.

He once again turned his attention to the subject list on his hands and looked at the ones recommended to him and the other ones that are available as well.

'Not much when it comes to the strongly recommended ones. I only see Basic White Magic, Basic Black Magic, Herbology, and Crafting 101.'

'As for the rest, well they don't really look important. I should be fine without taking them.'

'But this one...Combat 101. I should take this. The diary said that this subject would prove extremely useful, especially for White Mages like me.'

'So, I'll get all the recommended subjects plus Combat 101. My schedule would be busy, especially since I have to work for at least 3 hours every weekdays.'

Ashton pursed his lips and then thought: 'It's fine. The schedules looked flexible anyways. I can scatter the subjects throughout the week. There aren't much to begin with.'

He did some mental calculations while marking the subjects he chose as well as the his preferred schedule. By the end, his schedule now looks like this:

• Mondays: Magic 101, 10am-12pm. Crafting 101 1pm-2:30pm.

• Tuesdays: History, 10am-11:30am. White Magic, 1-3pm.

• Wednesdays: Inscriptions, 10am-11:30am. Black Magic, 1-3pm.

• Thursdays: Herbology, 1pm-3pm

• Fridays: Combat 101, 10am-12pm.

• Sat - Sun: Off.

Yeah, this doesn't look bad to him. If he wants to, he can begin his shift before or after his classes. The Regal King said that work schedule is flexible so he should be able to do that.

"That's quite a tight schedule you created for yourself." He heard Mary saying beside him.

He looked at her and said: "Ah, it shouldn't be that bad. They look interesting anyway."

"Eh? White Magic is recommended to you? You're a White Mage?" She looked surprised.

"Yes. Did I not tell you?"

"No you didn't. I kinds left in a hurry last time, remember?"

"Yeah, I recall but...weird, I thought I told you three about that. Whatever." Ashton replied.

"Then...why Combat 101?" She asked, "I mean, since you've picked White Mage, that doesn't seem suitable for you. Weren't you guys supposed to heal?"

"Hmm..." Ashton looked ahead, "Learning some way to defend myself doesn't sound bad. I mean, just because I'm healer, it doesn't necessarily mean that I have to be fragile as well, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense." Mary nodded.

But Ashton could clearly see that she's not convinced. This made him think that a cliché must be in play here. He wouldn't have thought about this if not for Mary - who's parents are closely related to Cultivators due to the nature of their work.

Nevertheless, he didn't really need to reconsider his choice just because Mary doesn't seem to agree with it. This is his decision anyways. This doesn't mean that he trusts the owner of the diary more than Mary.

The one he trusts is the System since it has never done anything to fail him yet.

"Well, how about you though. Mind if I see your schedule?" He asked.

"I don't mind. Here you go." Mary shrugged and gave the paper to Ashton.

He then saw that Mary also had Black Magic on her list on top of the already available ones. She has Archery 101, Espionage 101, and Hunting 101 as well.

Her schedule seems action packed based on the names of the Subjects she chose. Ashton also noticed that Herbology is recommended to her as well but she didn't pick it. The ones above plus Magic 101, History, and Inscriptions are the subjects she chose for herself.

Ashton returned her paper after seeing it once, he didn't say anything about it since he's really in no position to do so.

"Really, you have nothing to say?" She asked.

"Well, that's your choice. My opinion's unwarranted anyway." He shrugged in reply.

Mary seems to have something to say but a disturbance prevented her from speaking any further.

The disturbance was Aisha.

She returned to the classroom with a drink and her pink sunglasses on, it's as if she just returned from her vacation.

"You done, Kids?" She asked.

The students felt weird being called 'Kids' by her but still, they nodded.

Aisha flicked her wrist and the papers suddenly floated on their own and flew towards her. They stacked neatly on top of each other and the professor kept them in a separate folder before whisking it away.

"Alright, with the remaining time let's briefly discuss about Homeroom before we go to Magic 101 proper."

Aisha once again flew up and sat on the edge of the desk, she took off her sunglasses and crossed her legs.

"Frankly, as your Class Advisor I don't really expect much." She said, "If you can be a decent human being, then that's all I could ever ask for. Respect me and the other professors, respect your fellow students and expect to receive the similar kind of respect given back to you."

"Attendance doesn't really matter to me. So long as I see one student present during my class, I will teach. If you want to be excused due to a certain event or activity, inform me ahead of time. If you just want to skip/cut classes, fine with me. Like I said, I don't really care."

"Just know that results is what matters to me the most." She took a brief sip of her drink, "I will inform you ahead of time if there will be tests or exams so you can prepare. Once it's done, it's done. Don't bother asking me for a re-take. If you're eligible for one, I'll inform you."

"I'm already sounding like a broken record her but let me emphasize this one last time. Your results depends on your performance. Should you fail my subject, don't come crying to me. That's your fault."

"If you have any concerns related to academics, come to me first. I'm your Class Advisor for a reason. Especially when it comes to breakthroughs."

"If you feel like you're going to have a Breakthrough soon. You have to inform me. If I notice that you attempted a breakthrough without my knowledge, I will instantly give you a mark down. Trust me, you won't escape my senses."

"Also, before we end today's schedule. I'll be needing to talk to each one of you in person before I let you go so stick around. It wouldn't take long, don't worry."

"Okay! That's Homeroom done. Let's move on to Magic 101."