Second period was advanced cultivation mechanics with Professor Reylan, who had the particular teaching style of someone who considered the material self-evidently important and was perpetually mild surprised that students required convincing of this.
William sat in the third row and took notes with the portion of his attention that the class required, which was more than some classes and less than others. Reylan was technically rigorous in a way that rewarded actual engagement rather than surface-level transcription, and William had learned early in the year that the difference between understanding the lecture and copying it was the difference between being able to use the material and simply being able to recite it.
He engaged.
