[@Estylwen][@Psyker Landshark][@ERode][@AThousandCurses][@Sifr]

[b][h3]CLASSROOM 103[/h3][/b]

Alto held a smile of pride as Otis took the lead at the front of class. He'd occasionally nod his head approvingly at the boy's statements, acknowledging the words as true and proper. It was a powerful sense of self that fueled a Personal Barrier, at the end of the day - a strong ego of the psychological kind. It wasn't a perfect technique, burning one's emotional essence as fuel for a shield and temporarily losing pieces of the self as a result; but it was certainly better than dying.

Upon the conclusion of the diligent Strigidae's speech, Alto looked over to acknowledge Chunji's question, allowing himself to answer now that the time for further questions and answers could be tossed about. The Wund teacher's expression quickly soured, though, as a frown took over at the inquiry. "If you were to funnel your prime essence into your Personal Barrier to defend, you would become a truly unstoppable wall. The collective force of 'you' and all of your experiences lived and yet to be lived would rush forth to ensure your body endures the attack. You'd feel all of your positive emotions amplified twice over, allowing your true self to take tangible form in the outside world. It'd be a high unlike any other."

A pause hung in the air, dread filling in place of his words as he looked upon Chunji with eyes indicating a personal experience of some kind. Pained eyes, yet old, as if it were an aged emotional wound with only the scar left to show for it. "Seconds later, the worst rebound of your life would hit you. Depending on the severity of the hit, you'd die instantly and it'd feel incredible. Being generous, you'd lose several decades off your lifespan if you were otherwise protected or the attack was of a weaker sort. You might possibly lose the ability to channel essence such that you can't cast spells. Your Ethos might be forever lost to you, or otherwise never reach its full potential," he'd say, scanning the classroom to ensure everyone understood as clear as day. "Do I make myself clear? Last resort, that's it. There's no bringing back pieces of your prime essence, even with the magic of Arcmages."

From the back, Chloe silently bit at her fingernails while shooting a knowing look towards Rio. Davil leaned back in his chair after the words of both Otis and Alto flooded into his brain, eyes glazed over and cast towards the ceiling, drool pooling out of his mouth as he felt all passion leave him. It was too much. Too many words were said in too short a time and Davil was defeated, slumped expressionless against his seat as he emitted low gurgling, "gah, gahhh," noises from out of his open maw.

Rio turned around in his seat to stare at Otis, acknowledging the boy's passion for these subjects, and nodded. "I align with the divine conduit, myself. For me, it helps to imagine the eye of your worship casting out all things in the world except for the connection between you and them. Within the Personal Barrier I envision, only the two of us exist, me dancin' on the palm of their hand as they use their other to repel outsiders in our world."

A sudden smack rang out through the class, with a small bruise left on one of Rio's hands from Chloe's sudden strike with an open palm slap, an annoyed pout filling her face. "That's quite enough sharing from [i]you[/i] for now." All Rio could do was nod, then turn back to Otis with an unbothered shrug. 

"I suppose it is. Why not ask the kid having a stroke what his process is? I'm sure he's full of compellin' wisdom to share with all of us," he'd continue, looking over towards Davil.

Throughout the conversation, the classroom would gradually begin to grow hotter. It was almost as if the latent power of the primal essence within this enclosed space was beginning to awaken. For those perceptive in the flow of essence or otherwise channeling to determine it, the source would originate from Alto, who had a hand to his chin in thought.

"I've prepared a little exercise for all of you to partake in, so I'll give a few more minutes and then we'll see how you all adapt, okay? Nothing too serious, but a little bit of physical education never hurt anyone!"

Mr. Wund chuckled to himself at the last statement, his demeanor once more returning to something more welcoming as he waited.