I was late.
I had tried my best, but this academy has a weird structure... Or was I bad at directions?
I was currently standing before the door to my class, with a sign showing
S Class
above it.
I could hear an adultâs clear voice, probably the teacher.
Haa...
Steeling myself, I pushed open the door.
The class shifted its attention toward me.
"Student Frost... You are late."
The female standing at the podium spoke in a measured tone.
Her red hair freely flowed up to her waist with curls in between.
Elsa SenorâA senior instructor at the academy. At this time her rank should have been around... Diamond 2.
I just nodded at her words before walking through the entrance.
If it had been someone else, they would have surely received a good amount of scolding and a session about discipline.
Elsa was the typical strict teacher at the academy.
Only because I was the top ranker, a Frost, and it being the first day of the academy seemed to have saved me.
There were a seat or two empty in the first row, but avoiding them completely, I moved towards the back.
The front seats were always reserved by the scholar students... And I certainly wasnât one.
I mean, there had to be a difference between a scholar and a genius!
As I moved to the far end of the class, everyoneâs gaze was focused on my back.
I didnât need some monstrous senses to feel that.
And when I returned it, the students quickly avoided eye contact, not wanting to offend me.
Hehhe.
This felt good.
There was an empty seat at the far right corner that I was currently moving towards.
Taking the seat, I placed my backpack down... and focused my gaze on Elsa, who was also looking back at me.
"So where were we?"
"Mana creation," a student at the front answered.
Scholars!
"Yes, mana creation. So as I was saying, all the research so far has only concluded one thingâ
Mana can neither be created nor be destroyed."
Elsa paused as a girl raised her hand.
"Yes?"
"If mana cannot be created, then how is the mana used by us replenished in the world?"
A valid question, to which many nodded their heads in understanding.
"That was quite a good question, Miss..."
"Amelia," the girl spoke up.
"So Miss Amelia, if you think carefully about the question you asked, then you will find the answer in the question itself."
Amelia had a serious look on her face as she tried to remember the specifics of her question.
A total nerd.
I too was engaged in my own thoughts, but not about the class...
This girlâAmelia, she was supposed to be some main or near-to-main-level character in the game.
But I couldnât exactly remember her background.
Hm?
I looked at the student to my left. What was the need to remember if there was a boy next to me?
Boys may not be able to excel in all fields, but one thing was for sureâ
These bastards always had every girlâs name along with her entire background etched in their minds.
Honestly, I wasnât one of them.
I was what one could call...
A gentleman.
"Her details?"
"You mean the one with red hair."
Huh.
Now that I see it, Amelia had red hair too, just like Elsaâonly hers was on the shorter side, with the top half tied in a ponytail and the rest open, freely flowing up to her shoulders.
It was what they called a Half-Up Ponytail.
It gave Amelia a mature look with hints of being... cute.
But I wasnât the one to care for looks.
I nodded at the guy.
Getting the cue, he began to explain.
"Thatâs Amelia Dracoth... the second princess of House Dracoth. She is the type thatâs more interested in researching than combat, though I wouldnât deny her combat prowess. As for her hobbiesâ"
"Thatâs enough."
I patted his shoulder.
Seeing that Amelia still hadnât reached the desired answer, Elsa turned towards the rest of the class.
"Anyone?"
Expecting an answer, she alternated her gaze between each of the top students in the class.
More preferably the royals... whom she believed could have some knowledge about the subject.
But none of the students could answer.
Werenât these guys supposed to be the top class in the academy?
Elsaâs gaze soon found me as her attention turned toward the back.
I could have just remained silent, but...
"The theory answers the question itself."
My voice was low, but the silence in the class was enough for it to be heard by everyone.
Every head turned towards me.
My expression was steady as I kept looking into Elsaâs eyes.
"Could you please explain it further, student... Kael."
The answer wasnât anything complicated.
"It is believed that mana can neither be created nor be destroyed. So the basic assumption is that mana just keeps on changing its form."
Elsa nodded with a hint of appreciation in her eyes.
I had said
believed to be
because the method of mana creation hadnât been discovered... yet.
Seemingly satisfied with my answer, she then went on to explain the rest.
"As student Kael said, mana keeps on changing its form."
Elsa stopped for a moment before conjuring a small fire on the palm of her hand.
"Right now, I have used the mana in my core to create this fire. So the mana transformed from its form in my body to create this," she looked at the fire in her palm.
"Each particle of mana that is used to sustain this fire gets dissolved in nature again. It might be through heat, light, or any effects of the activities for which you have used the mana."
Amelia raised her hand again.
Seeing Elsa nod at her, Amelia stood up.
"But if the mana is used for creating the fire, then shouldnât it vanish entirely? How can it transform and be used at the same time?"
Another valid question, but the answer was still basic.
"There has always been a misconception about the use of mana. Mana can never truly be used. The state of creating a fire in itself is the act of transforming the mana in my reserves."
Amelia tilted her head in confusion.
"You see, we never really use mana, nor can we. We just go through the process of transforming it to get the result that is the desired effect for us. Like in my case, creating a small fire was the desired effect."
Seeing the concept become clear to the students, Elsa continued her session.