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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Magic instructor, Neville Briggs, looked at the students gathered in the classroom and said,
“54 out of 184. A bit more than I expected.”
He continued, addressing the murmuring students,
“I’m not being sarcastic. Most of you probably had no idea what magic or formulae were before enrolling. You likely only had vague images. It’s natural to gravitate towards the more familiar and accessible martial combat.
Oh, and perhaps some of you chose Magic or Support instead of Combat just to avoid being under that woman’s thumb.”
At his words, a few students quietly averted their gaze.
“There’s no need to be ashamed. Avoiding danger is wise. But remember this.”
Professor Neville fixed the students with a sharp stare.
“This Academy isn’t a cradle for the incompetent or lazy. It’s an anvil for forging capable warriors. To be specific, those who fail the periodic evaluations, which will be held three times, will be expelled, so pay close attention.”
A heavy silence fell over the classroom.
Having established a wonderfully oppressive atmosphere for the first official class, he continued, seemingly unconcerned with the students’ stiff reactions.
“First, we need to understand what mana is. Anyone?”
Lyla Everblaze Barhardt, the red-haired woman sitting near the front of the classroom, replied,
“It’s an unrefined power that exists throughout the world, and it’s a power possessed by all living beings, in varying quantities.”
“Correct. Then, what are the three criteria for evaluating a living being’s magical abilites?”
“‘Mana Capacity,’ which assesses the amount of mana an individual possesses.
‘Mana Control,’ which assesses how skillfully they can use their mana.
And ‘Mana Refinement,’ which assesses how quickly they can recover their depleted mana.”
“Good. You seem well-informed.”
Small gasps of admiration rippled through the students.
Lyla herself remained impassive, as if this was only natural.
“Mana is commonly found everywhere in the world. But mana in its natural state is too chaotic to control and inefficient. So, living beings instinctively refine and store natural mana within their bodies in a quantity and attribute suitable for them.
If you ignore this and try to store more mana than your capacity, or force unrefined mana into your body, your body will be unable to withstand it and self-destruct.”
Professor Neville continued,
“That’s also why, despite the existence of potions for healing wounds and neutralizing poisons, there are no potions for restoring mana. Even if you gather pure mana and store it in a potion, it’s no different from poison if you can’t refine it with your own Mana Refinement ability. The only exception is ‘White Light,’ which minimizes this rejection and is inherently compatible with the human body.”
Pino, the green-haired girl, raised her hand and asked,
“Professor, if that’s the case, wouldn’t it be possible to create a mana potion without side effects if it’s made with properties close to ‘White Light’?”
“The idea isn’t bad, but it’s currently impossible. The principle of ‘Imbuing’ is to modify the mana user’s constitution so they unconsciously refine mana optimized for a specific purpose. Even if you create ‘White Light’ mana in its natural state, it’ll immediately mix with other mana and lose its properties.”
I recalled a post written by a user in my previous life.
‘He said it was easier to understand if you think of it as a lake filled with various liquids and a container within that lake.’
In short, ‘Mana Capacity’ was the size of the container, ‘Mana Refinement’ was the speed at which filtered liquid entered the container, and ‘Mana Control’ was the ability to handle the filtered liquid.
‘Imbuing’ was the act of modifying the filter so that only liquids with specific properties entered.
If you ignored the filter and forced the lake water directly into the container, the container would be contaminated, or worse, corroded or melted by something harmful.
‘White Light’ mana was pure water that didn’t harm the container, the human body, and left no aftereffects.
Therefore, it was safe to store in other containers.
However, pouring it directly into the lake wouldn’t purify the lake; it would just mix in and disappear without a trace.
Professor Neville continued,
“Today, we’ll be checking your Mana Capacity, Mana Control, and Mana Refinement. It’s just a more detailed version of what you did during the preliminary exam, so there’s no need to be nervous. Come forward when your name is called.”
The students murmured, but the overall atmosphere wasn’t bad.
Most of the students who chose the Magic class had already received basic magic training from their families or achieved decent scores in the mana evaluation during the preliminary exam.
The called students were instructed to place their hands on a crystal ball the size of a soccer ball and channel their mana.
A young man, seemingly an assistant, checked the results.
Next to the crystal ball was a small notice:
Mana consumption per use for each formula rank:
Low-Rank: 1-9
Mid-Rank: 10-90
High-Rank: 100-900
Top-Rank: 1000+
Mana Capacity indicates the maximum amount, Mana Control the maximum amount controllable at once, and Mana Refinement the amount recovered per hour.
“Dudu. Mana Capacity 70, Mana Control Mid-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank.”
“Margaret Rose. Mana Capacity 150, Mana Control Low-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank.”
“Lotto. Mana Capacity 100, Mana Control Low-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank.”
The students’ expressions brightened or darkened with each announcement.
“I, I did pretty well in the preliminary exam, so I was hoping…”
I spoke to Lotto, whose shoulders slumped,
“There are plenty of ordinary people whose Mana Capacity doesn’t even reach 1, so don’t be discouraged. 100 is about average for mana users, and Mana Control can be improved with training.”
These weren’t empty words of comfort; they were facts.
The mana cost of the most basic formula, Magic Missile, was only 2, but it could still pierce a human skull.
And a skilled martial combat specialist could enhance themselves with just 1 mana and break a tree with their bare hands.
‘I’m sure there are plenty of students in the Combat class who are worse than this.’
In that sense, Lotto’s talent was perfectly average.
Indeed, most of the 52 students had a Mana Capacity below 200, and their other stats were also Low-Rank or Mid-Rank.
Of course, there were exceptions.
The twin siblings from an old noble family of the Morian Kingdom were prime examples.
“Eagle Pendevig. Mana Capacity 3000, Mana Control Mid-Rank, Mana Refinement High-Rank.”
“Howe Pendevig. Mana Capacity 2000, Mana Control High-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank.”
As the surrounding students gasped in astonishment, the noble-looking twins proudly raised their chins.
The faint smiles on their faces were very familiar to me.
These twins were also important characters in ‘Planetarium.’ If Crow represented the pinnacle of physical combat, these twins represented the pinnacle of magic.
The older brother, Eagle, had a high Mana Capacity and fast Mana Refinement, allowing him to spam Mid-Rank formulae like basic attacks.
The younger sister, Howe, while initially weaker than her brother, had the powerful advantage of being able to use Top-Rank formulae single-handedly with equipment that boosted her Mana Control.
‘Many disliked them for their arrogance, but some players found that to be their charm.’
I was neither; I had never used them as companions.
While I didn’t mind their personalities in the game, I disliked how they needed to be used together to achieve their maximum potential, which restricted party composition.
‘Since there are no party size restrictions here, it wouldn’t hurt to befriend them, but would they even listen to me?’
They were quite aristocratic, and I doubted they’d react well to a nouveau riche trying to approach them.
“Pino. Mana Capacity 2500, Mana Control Mid-Rank, Mana Refinement Mid-Rank.”
“Wow, Miss Pino is amazing too.”
I nodded at Lotto’s comment.
“Indeed.”
‘Why wasn’t someone like her among the main characters in the original story? Did she fail the entrance exam somewhere along the way?’
It was possible, even with high mana talent, if she didn’t know how to use it.
In that case, I had stumbled upon an unplayed lottery ticket and hit the jackpot.
“Lavaul. Mana Capacity 5, Mana Control Low-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank. …Hey, you lot! Stop whispering!”
“…It’s alright. You don’t have to worry about me.”
“Uh, hmm. Mana aptitude isn’t everything, so don’t worry too much.”
Ignoring the assistant’s words of comfort, Lavaul returned to his seat, looking dejected.
‘Hmm, there are ways to increase Mana Capacity, but 5 is a bit too low.’
If Pino and the Pendevig twins were considered talented, Lavaul’s results were abysmal.
While it could be overcome with effort, the amount of work required made me want to suggest he choose a different path.
‘It’s almost my turn.’
I looked at Lyla, who was quietly waiting her turn in a corner of the classroom.
I wasn’t the only one; several other students were also glancing at her, and when her name was called, almost everyone’s attention focused on her.
Lyla, seemingly accustomed to such uncomfortable attention, stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal ball.
The measurement began, and the male assistant’s eyes widened.
“…Uh, um. Sorry, but could you do that again?”
“Certainly.”
Murmurs filled the room.
The assistant’s flustered demeanor heightened the students’ anticipation, and he finally announced the results in a trembling voice,
“…Lyla Everblaze Barhardt. Mana Capacity 8000, Mana Control Top-Rank, Mana Refinement High-Rank.”
“E-eight thousand?”
“Is she even human?”
“Oh, Lady Lyla!”
Shock, disbelief, admiration, envy.
Various emotions surged through the students, and the classroom erupted in an uproar.
Even the assistant’s calls for order were drowned out.
Bang! Bang!
“You lot. If you want to fail, keep making noise.”
Only after Professor Neville slammed his wooden staff on his desk a few times did the students quiet down.
Then, he called my name.
“Lastly, Chrom Midas. Your turn. Come forward.”
“Yes.”
I confidently walked to the front.
Some gave me pitying looks, having to be evaluated right after Lyla’s otherworldly results, while others looked at me with schadenfreude.
I ignored them, smiling inwardly as I placed my hand on the crystal ball.
Indeed, Lyla, the ‘Heir of Red and Blue Blood,’ was a genius.
She was beyond silver-spooned; she was platinum-spooned.
But—
“Chrom Midas. Mana Capacity 4000, Mana Control Low-Rank, Mana Refinement Low-Rank.”
—with enough money, you could at least imitate a gold spoon, even if you weren’t born with one.
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