Overwhelming Mana Measurement and Magic Circle Practice

The second morning at Arhen Magic Academy dawned as calm and quiet as ever.

Clear sunlight stretched long across the antique stone corridors, where magic students of every description, neatly dressed in their uniforms, dispersed toward their lecture halls.

Yushin pushed open the heavy door of the practical training classroom and strode in with his usual unhurried, self-assured gait.

With nothing more than a light flex of his fingers, the enormous mana that had soared to A-Rank overnight—after resonating with the legacy of his ancestor Go Damdeok in the restricted section of the Great Library—spread quietly along his meridians, permeating his whole body.

Even without flaring his mana or exerting himself in the slightest, there was an overwhelming sensation that the mana particles in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the surrounding air parted and arranged themselves in perfect order wherever Yushin stepped, as if yielding the way of their own accord.

Each time he idly waved a hand, a subtle yet weighty pressure—the presence of a sovereign—flickered through the atmosphere.

But most of the noble students sitting in the classroom never caught even a glimpse of the profound change at its core.

Flipping through books and chattering idly, or staring blankly out the window while yawning—to the dull eyes of ordinary people, Yushin's mana looked no different from the harmless aura of a common civilian.

One person, however, was entirely different: Erika, the class representative seated right beside him.

The instant Yushin reached his seat, pulled out his chair, and sat down, Erika's large emerald eyes flooded with shock, her pupils quaking violently as if an earthquake had struck them.

Her slender white fingers began to tremble.

Her neatly worn school blouse rose and fell roughly with her ragged breathing, and her heavy G-cup breasts—swollen taut as though the buttons might tear free at any moment—surged with a dizzying upheaval.

Erika bit her lip, trying with all her might to compose her expression while minding the eyes of the students around her, but the goosebumps prickling across her skin and the excitement coursing through her were impossible to hide.

She leaned her upper body close toward Yushin, close enough that her breath brushed his chin, and whispered in a voice that shivered at the edges.

"Y-Yushin-ssi...! What on earth happened last night?! The density of the mana pouring out of your body... it's enormous, almost on par with the Headmaster herself...!"

The sweet scent of vanilla and the faint perfume of magical blossoms rising from Erika's closely pressed body stabbed deliciously at the tip of Yushin's nose.

Yushin rested his chin on his hand, gazed at her for a long moment, and lightly pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shh. You're being too loud, Miss Class Rep."

Erika reflexively clamped both hands over her mouth.

Across her hushed face, shock and excitement—and some strange, inexplicable flutter—bloomed a rosy pink.

Yushin chuckled softly, laid his hand on the desk, and gave the A-Rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana inside him the barest of shakes.

Ssssss...

There was no physical sound, but the air around the desk dropped in an instant, and the space itself seemed to hold its breath, centered on Yushin's very existence.

The ordinary students simply sat there blankly, but Erika, with her exceptional mana sensitivity, felt a crackling shiver race up her spine at that fleeting, overwhelming pressure—and squeezed her thighs together.

"This is... truly, impossibly unfair..."

Hot breath escaped between Erika's lips.

"What kind of secret training did you do in the middle of the night? Hm?!"

"Who knows. A man has all sorts of secrets."

When Yushin replied with a relaxed smile, Erika puffed out her cheeks slightly and fidgeted with her fingers in a pout.

"Hmph... I thought we'd gotten a little closer after going to the library together yesterday... that's so mean of you."

She muttered it in a voice no bigger than an ant's, but to Yushin's superhuman senses, her adorable grumbling came through crystal clear.

This girl is even more innocent and cuter than I thought.

While Yushin was still smiling, the front door of the classroom burst open and the strict-faced practical instructor, Teacher Shuka, strode in.

Shuka slammed a massive transparent mana-resonance crystal orb down onto the podium with a resounding thud and called out in a sharp voice.

"Attention! Before today's regular practical, we will precisely test each student's current total mana capacity. We'll be assessing your individual potential and tailoring your magic circle instruction accordingly—so come up to the podium in roll-call order and pour your mana into this orb!"

The atmosphere in the classroom stretched taut with tension in an instant.

The students filed up to the podium one by one, laid their hands on the crystal orb, and forced their mana into it with all their strength.

Some sighed as their mana glowed the faint red of E-Rank, while a handful of promising noble children preened as theirs shone the blue of D-Rank.

And then, at last, came the turn of the class representative, Erika.

A look of nervousness on her face, Erika took a deep breath and carefully placed both hands on the crystal orb.

Vmmm!

The orb blazed brilliantly in a radiant teal, belching out a weighty pulse of mana.

Teacher Shuka's eyes narrowed with satisfaction.

"Erika, mana C-Rank. To have already broken through the C-Rank barrier as a student—truly outstanding, as befits our class's top student."

"Hehe... thank you, Teacher!"

Erika returned to her seat, her face flushed, utterly unable to contain her joy.

When her eyes met Yushin's, she gave him a shy, crinkled-eyed smile and sat down.

Teacher Shuka flipped through the attendance ledger and cast her gaze toward the very back of the classroom.

"Next—special transfer student, Go Yushin. Come forward and have your mana measured."

Every gaze in the classroom snapped toward Yushin at once.

Erika's childhood friend, a boy, stood with his arms crossed and a spiteful smile on his face, as if to say let's see what you've got, while the other students whispered among themselves with curious eyes.

Yushin rose from his seat and sauntered up to the podium with his hands casually thrust in his pockets.

Then he simply laid his right hand lightly atop the transparent crystal orb.

There was no need to wring out his mana or force it out.

He merely let a single thread of the A-Rank mana flowing through his dantian slip into the orb, the way one might loosen a strand of silk.

But the result was nothing short of catastrophic.

KWAAAAAANG—!

Inside the orb, a blinding storm of golden and silvery mana swirled and surged upward.

The orb's pedestal shrieked and rattled violently, and the windows throughout the entire classroom groaned and rattled in their frames, unable to withstand the waves of mana.

Enormous letters inscribed themselves across the surface of the crystal orb, stark and vivid.

"...A, A-Rank?!"

Teacher Shuka's voice cracked over as she read the orb's measurement.

As if doubting her own eyes, she snatched off her glasses and frantically checked the orb and the attendance ledger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in turn.

"Wh-what?! The transfer student is A-Rank?!"

"No way! Isn't the machine broken?!"

"A-Rank means... he's on the same level as this academy's Headmaster or the imperial court mages, doesn't it?!"

The entire classroom erupted into an uncontrollable riot.

The noble students' faces went ashen, and the childhood friend who had been glaring at Erika stood there trembling like an aspen, his jaw hanging wide open.

Only Erika clasped her hands to her chest and stared at Yushin with eyes lost in rapture, a gasp of admiration welling up inside her.

I knew it... I was right. Yushin-ssi really is a monster beyond imagination...!

Teacher Shuka swallowed dryly with trembling hands and slammed her palm down on the desk.

"Qu-quiet! Everyone be silent and spend the remaining time on self-study! Class representative, control the classroom! And the transfer student... you, come with me right now!"

Teacher Shuka whisked Yushin out of the classroom in a flash and headed straight for the Headmaster's office on the top floor.

As they stepped through the door of the Headmaster's office, Yushin shrugged and asked.

"Teacher, why did you bring me here?"

Shuka leaned back against the door, breathing hard, and shook her head.

"You're already beyond my authority. You're not at a student's level—you've soared far past the domain of magic I'm even capable of teaching. The Headmaster must take you in hand personally."

Her voice was laced with fear and awe—and the tremor of a woman overwhelmed by Yushin as a man.

From the sofa at the back of the office, the blue-haired beauty who was the Headmaster—Ervain Phileosia—waved with a gentle smile.

"Good work, Teacher Shuka. I'll take charge of the transfer student, so do go back to your classroom."

"Understood, Headmaster."

Once Shuka bowed respectfully and withdrew, and the door closed behind her, Phileosia rose from her seat and approached Yushin slowly.

Her deep, mystical blue eyes gleamed with a seductive light as she felt the pure wave of mana coiling around every inch of Yushin's body.

"Heh heh... So you did visit that restricted section last night ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after all, young Yushin?"

"Yes, well... something like that happened."

Phileosia drew right up to Yushin's nose and teased him with a hand hovering just short of his chest, letting out a gasp of wonder.

"So the preparations the founding Headmaster left behind for the future Wanderer truly did exist. Wow... the texture of the mana wrapping your whole body is so pure and so deep. It feels like standing face to face with an ancient pureblood dragon out of legend."

Her fingertips trembled as they lightly brushed across Yushin's firm pectoral muscle.

Behind the dignity of an archmage and Headmaster, the instinctive allure and curiosity of a female in the presence of a powerful male oozed through, drop by drop.

Phileosia caught her breath, then drew from within her robes a heavy ancient key engraved with a mystical silver sigil and placed it on Yushin's open palm.

"Teacher Shuka probably believes I'll be the one instructing you, but honestly, teaching someone who's reached this level is beyond me. This is the key to the academy's secret training ground—the next step forward. It's a treasure I was never supposed to hand to anyone, but for you? I couldn't think of a better use."

As Yushin looked down at the key in his hand, a welcome notification from the system entity Yurang-i rang through his mind.

The corners of Yushin's mouth curled up beyond his control.

"Thank you, Headmaster. I'll make very good use of it."

"Heh heh, I can see you already know exactly what it's for? Whether you attend classes or use the training ground is up to you... but if you ever grow bored, come visit this office anytime. Your big sister here will give you some special mana tutoring."

Phileosia tossed him a wink and blew a sweet breath right past Yushin's ear.

Yushin gave a light nod and returned to the practical training classroom.

He decided to save the training ground key for later—for now, savoring his sweet school life with the alluring, busty class representative Erika appealed to him far more.

When he returned to the classroom, Teacher Shuka's magic circle practical was in full swing.

"Every magic circle of every attribute has a unique seal that anchors its energy. These seals cannot, as a rule, interfere with one another—but with flawless control backing you up, exceptions arise. Now, all of you, deploy a basic fire-attribute magic circle in the air!"

The students each began tracing magic circles in the air, brandishing their wands and fingers.

But most of them failed to overcome the unstable recoil of the unique seal—their circles warped, burst with a pop, and left them draped in black smoke, one after another.

Yushin sat beside Erika with his chin propped on his hand, and lightly let his mana flow from the tip of his right index finger into the empty air.

Sssss.

An invisible crimson mana line settled into place in the air, drawing a perfect, ruler-straight geometric circle.

And toward its center, Yushin gently swept down the fire attribute's unique seal.

Crackle!

Along the rim of the circle completed in an instant, radiant ruby-red flames bloomed soundlessly upward.

No explosion, no leakage of unstable heat—a fire magic circle of perfectly restrained, ultimate artistry.

"Ooh... this is actually pretty satisfying."

As Yushin marveled and snapped his fingers, the flame swirled through the air like a living butterfly before scattering away.

The moment the students in the classroom stared, spellbound, at that flawless deployment, Erika—who had been standing beside him—kindled a small flame above her palm and edged carefully toward Yushin.

"Y-Yushin-ssi! I did it—I successfully deployed the fire seal!"

Erika pressed in so close that her voluptuous breasts brushed against Yushin's arm, holding out the flame on her palm as if to show it off.

Her emerald eyes begged for praise like a little child's.

Yushin gazed at her flushed cheeks and trembling fingertips, then gently stroked her head.

"For a first attempt, that's excellent work, Erika."

At that single warm word of praise, Erika's face blazed far redder than the crimson flame blooming on her palm, melting into a smile of pure happiness.

Deep within the everyday life of the magic academy, the blind, devoted pure love—and the deliciously corrupt affection—that the busty class representative Erika harbored for Yushin was taking deep root.