Glass mask

A beautiful young woman with long chestnut hair smiled as she walked through the school gates. Her name was Yurika Nihei, the top junior under 20 witch in Japan. She was a highly respected individual, dubbed a Yamato nadeshiko by many for her kind personality. Her glass magic was also a reflection of her serenity, mesmerizing the world of art with it's intricacy and splendor. Her only flaw, as decreed by society, was that she was of common birth.

"Prez! Your hair looks amazing today! Did you add the sparkle with glass magic?" a female student asked?"

With a chuckle, Yurika smiled and said, "Glass in my hair? That's a little dangerous, isn't it? You wouldn't be able to brush it."

The student began to go red as she slowly extended her hand towards Yurika's head.

"Go ahead, there really is no glass in it."

The student smiled and began stroking Yurika's hair. "It's so soft and silky. I want to stroke it forever."

"My apologies, but I doubt that will be possible after I become a priestess," Yurika chuckled.

"A PRIESTESS!? Congratulations, prez! You deserve it! So, when's the induction?"

"Oh, I have yet to be formally invited, but I deem it only a matter of time. Then the monetary funds from the position will flow to my family and they can be better off."

"You're so selfless! That's why we all love you!" the student clapped.

"Give up on it," a voice snarled.

The two turned their heads to notice a woman with a short magenta pixie, smoking as she leaned against the side of the school. This was Pixie Sadohara, one of the teachers at the school.

"Ms. Sadohara, with all due respect, I'm unable to comprehend why you dislike the priestess order so much," Yurika frowned.

"Yurika, show me your magic."

Yurika slowly cupped her palms together and held them out before a small glass dove materialized in them.

"Tell me how you made that."

"With magic."

"WHAT magic?"

"My glass magic."

"Wrong."

"Ms. Sadohara-"

"You forget the basics? There are only 8 different types of magic! Water, earth, fire, air, plasma, dark, ice, and light. Those 8 are the origins of it all! You're the top student, so you should damn well know this, otherwise, your "glass magic" is nothing more than a parlor trick."

"How so? I'm capable of creating far larger glass sculptures-"

"With me to the gym."

"Class-"

"You're student council president and the highest honors student here. You can survive missing your basic lectures on shit you already know."

...

In the gym alone with Sadohara, Yurika was once more asked to display her magic, this time creating a life-sized glass human sculpture.

"Now tell me how you made this. What spells did you use?" Sadohara asked.

"My glass creation-"

"How the hell do you make glass?"

"With my magic?"

"Tch, honors my ass... Though this isn't exactly the kind of stuff they want us teaching here... Yurika, how is glass made?"

"With magi-"

"SCIENTIFICALLY speaking!"

"Isn't it made by blowing?"

"I'll give you glass blowing, but your confused tone has me worried. Show me a fire spell."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Fire. Flames from your hand?"

"But my magic is glass-"

"LISTEN UP! When we reach a certain age, most are able to learn a specific spell, which then becomes the "root" of your future growth, so goes common theory. That's just culling bullshit. In gaming terms, you're allowed to choose a spell to master, but only one. You choose glass. The spell then becomes muscle memory, yet everyone fails to see the true worth of those spells, everyone except true geniuses, most of whom end up in the priestess' ranks."

"So if I want to be a priestess..."

"You learn the fundamentals of your spell. That'll allow you to master far more spells. Think of it like a skill tree."

"My apologies, but these gaming terms fly over my head. I don't play video games, you see."

"Then I'll use math. Your glass power is 10. How do you get to 10?"

"5+5."

"One way. There's also 5x2, 7+3, and so on. Now lets designate 7 as fire magic. How do you get to 10?"

"With 3?"

"What is 3?"

Yurika thought for a bit before giving her response.

"EXACTLY! We finally have some hope. Now the thing with spells like yours is if you can make them, theory goes you should be able to use any and all spells used in their creation. And if you know those spells, you can expand your learning tree. Now let's practice. I want you learning fire magic by the end of the day."

...

An exhausted Yurika stumbled into her house.

"You were late," a decrepit woman with long mangled hair, snarled as she began munching on a pack of what appeared to be candy.

"My apologies. I was told I needed to undergo proper training if I wished to be considered for the priestess-"

"YOU'RE NOT WORTHY!? I NEED THAT MONEY, YOU FILTH!" the woman roared as she leapt over the table and grabbed Yurika by the collar, eyes bulging and bloodshot.

A somber frown spread on Yurika's face as she glanced over at the "candy". That was in fact a new addictive drug, sweeping through the slums where she lived. This woman, her mother, had recently become addicted to it.

"I promise you, mother. When I'm chosen for the order, the money will come flowing. Then you can move to a better place, and live a better life. Yuze too..."

As if on cue, a young girl with dark indigo hair with buns, peered out from behind a wall, glaring at Yurika. This was Yurika's younger sister, Yuze, a third-year in middle school, yet lacking greatly in magical aptitude compared to her sister. As a result, the only value her mother saw in her was her looks, yet thanks to the drugs she had recently gotten addicted to, poor Yuze's face was beginning to see more bruises than not.

The mother slowly loosened her grip on Yurika and returned to the seat at the table. "I expect results... Yuze's beginning to lose her value... I need you to bring in the money."

Yurika nodded and retreated to her room. There, the perfect mask was shed as tears began to pour out of her eyes. "She used to think the world of us, overworking herself for our sakes, yet those nobles... They had to get her on drugs! Just for petty amusement! Though it defies my personality, I'd very much leap at the chance to disrupt the order of society and redefine the class system... I guess this means I should look in to applying to TIUMP once I graduate next year."