The Academy and the Price of Survival

Two more days passed. By day, I cleared the towers; by night, I learned the Elven language. Once the towers surrounding the village vanished, wild beasts began to roam the vicinity. Naturally, the villagers, who had been starving for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so long, hunted them with a desperate, life-or-death intensity.

"Thank you so much. I truly don't know how I can ever repay you..."

The village chief and the other residents approached me with tears in their eyes. While there wasn't any tangible benefit to increased affinity, I felt a sense of pride knowing I had prevented the village's collapse.

"It is a meager token, but please, take this."

The chief held out a small, purplish stone.

I had heard they made their living through mining before the towers enclosed them, but to think such a treasure remained. "I will accept it without refusal." Considering the hardship of clearing towers while eating nothing but grass, this was a reward I rightfully deserved.

"If you say you came from our village, you might be viewed with suspicion. In that case, show them this."

The worn piece of paper the chief handed me bore his signature. This was the only human village near the small city. Since communication had been cut off for so long due to the towers, suspicion was inevitable.

"We will surely repay this debt of gratitude."

"And about us..."

"Of course! I will keep it a secret that an Awakener was here."

On the road to the small city, I chewed over the Elven language Ariel had taught me while examining the books I’d obtained as loot. Basic Magic and Mana Application. Aside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the technical jargon, it was readable. Before magic, I had to understand mana. The Mana Vessel. The capacity to hold mana is predetermined. It is truly the realm of innate talent. No matter how much one polishes themselves, they cannot catch up to someone born with a large vessel.

"So, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humans being the weakest of all races means we fall behind in every aspect?"

"As of now, yes. Especially in the case of magic, you are overwhelmingly in last place."

An overwhelmingly short lifespan and inferior physical abilities. Plus, a race with low mana capacity? I’m practically less than an NPC in a game.

"Hmm."

According to the book, the priority was to grasp my own vessel. Inhale... Exhale... I closed my eyes for a moment and focused on my senses. It was said that mana spreads throughout the body via the heart.

"'Reading the flow of mana'..."

I felt nothing. That was expected. There was no way a regular human could suddenly realize what mana was and control it. Once more. I took a deep breath and tried to read the flow of mana.

"..."

It was silent. Reading the flow of mana is the most basic of basics. It was the fundamental step required to use magic. Yet, I couldn't read it.

"Try to focus for a moment."

Ariel's palm pressed against my chest. Perhaps due to the sudden contact, my heart began to pound violently. Thump-thump. It felt as if I had been electrocuted. Starting from my heart, my whole body tingled. It was a pleasant tingle. It wasn't because of any fluttering emotion.

"That is the feeling."

As soon as Ariel's hand left my chest, the tingling vanished in an instant.

"I channeled a little of my mana into you. Do not forget that sensation."

"Ah... I see."

What I had felt was purely Ariel's mana. Still, learning the sensation of mana moving was a huge harvest. If I had been alone, there was a possibility I might not have realized it for a very long time, or perhaps ever.

"Is it okay for you to help me like this?"

"It is an apology for my rude behavior."

If she meant rude behavior, was she talking about the look of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠distrust she gave me while teaching me Elven?

"I'm grateful, but weren't you not supposed to intervene?"

"At the current point where Choi Suhyun's information is hidden, it does not matter."

"What? If that was the case, I should have asked for help sooner."

Given Ariel's sharp personality, I doubted she would have helped easily, though. I didn't want to miss this opportunity that might never come again.

"Can you help me one more time?"

"This will be the last time."

I closed my eyes again and poured all my focus into my heart. The moment Ariel's hand touched my chest—Zzzzt! Perhaps because I was intentionally paying attention, my body flinched along with a powerful spark. The pain felt like my heart was burning. I tried to disperse this pain to as many parts of my body as possible. It hurt. Is the human body unable to withstand mana? Only a gut-wrenching pain remained where the mana had passed.

Eventually—

"Cough!"

As I coughed up blood, Ariel withdrew her hand.

"You pushed yourself too hard."

"Now I know why humans are the weakest."

Pain I never wanted to feel again. Paradoxically, that pain was so deeply etched into my mind that I clearly understood what it felt like to read the flow of mana. I felt the remnants of Ariel's mana still inside me. A small vibration felt from the heart. This time, without pushing myself. I carefully moved the vibration. Thump. Little by little, slowly. Mana began to wrap around my entire body.

"So this was the feeling."

It was slow, but mana was traversing various parts of my body. Simply reading the flow of mana wouldn't allow me to do anything, but I had achieved the minimum requirement to use magic.

"The next chapter is..."

Basic magic using mana. Unfortunately, from the next stage on, it was filled with technical jargon I couldn't understand. Even if I asked Ariel, I didn't think she would be much help. The only place I could get help was the Academy.

Departing before dawn, I finally arrived at the small city by sunset. The city's name was written in various languages. The human language was written in very small letters.

"Briel, huh."

I had expected a rural appearance since it was a small city, but it was more developed than I thought.

"Oh, a human!"

We—no, I—drew everyone's attention before we even entered Briel. As the chief said, since the only human village had been surrounded by towers for months, it seemed there had been no human traffic.

"Where are you coming from?"

"I'm coming down from the village on the northern mountain peak."

"The mountain peak...? You don't mean the human village?"

Blocked by two giant Orc guards, I couldn't even enter. The only thing I could rely on was the paper with the chief's signature.

"Hmm, I didn't know they were still alive."

"How did you escape?"

"The towers surrounding the village have all been destroyed."

At my words, the Orcs' eyes changed.

"That can't be. There shouldn't be any talent there capable of that."

"And there's even less reason for an Awakener to go to that village."

It was a natural reaction. The human village I arrived at was so remote that it hadn't been discovered by any other participants.

"Excuse me, but if you have no grounds to stop us, may we enter?"

A hierarchy exists between races. Just seeing the Orc guards hesitate when Ariel stepped forward was enough to tell me that.

"Humans really are at the bottom of the food chain."

Before even entering the city, I knew exactly how low the status of humans was. Inside the plaza, Orcs, Dwarves, Elves, and others were mingling regardless of race. Only then did the reality that I was participating in a game start to sink in.

"Let's sell the raw stone you got from the chief first."

There was a fact I had momentarily forgotten over the last few days: I was penniless. Money existed in this other world, too. I had managed my room and board through the consideration of the villagers, but to live, I eventually needed money. And the most valuable thing I possessed was the amethyst raw stone I received from the chief.

"I haven't seen an item like this in a long time."

A Dwarf jeweler running a small shop examined the amethyst raw stone carefully.

"Where is the source?"

"It's an item I received as a token of gratitude from the village on the northern mountain peak."

"No wonder... that's why it's an item I haven't seen lately."

The Dwarf didn't seem to have any particular prejudice against humans. All he wanted was high-purity raw stone. The Dwarf, who had been examining the amethyst, soon placed a thick pouch on the table.

"I'll give you 50 gold for it."

Since I didn't know the cost of living in this world, I naturally looked at Ariel with the thick pouch in front of me.

Nod. Ariel gave a small nod.

"Thank you."

I trusted Ariel and took the pouch. And the moment we left the shop, Ariel spoke as if she had been waiting.

"Dwarves are a stubborn race. It would have been difficult to get more than that."

"Ah."

The nod hadn't been a sign of affirmation, but of resignation. Looking around at the other jewelry shops, they were all Dwarves. It was an environment where getting a good price was impossible from the start.

"50 gold, huh."

Most of the money would be used for room and board. I headed to a nearby inn to check the cost of living.

"30 gold."

I had deliberately chosen the shabbiest one among the many inns.

"H-here it is."

I had no choice but to hand over the gold with trembling hands.

"It'll be hard to even eat with the remaining gold."

At best, all I could buy was dry bread. 50 gold was barely enough to live on for a day. I had been foolish. Because I was solely focused on clearing the towers, I hadn't considered anything else. To earn gold, I could sell the loot from the towers, do odd jobs for the residents, or perhaps cling to other participants. Realistically, clearing the towers seemed the most convenient.

"I recommend you enroll in the Academy."

"I don't even have money, what Academy?"

"There is still a way to enroll."

Ariel steadfastly recommended enrolling in the Academy.

"There are some participants who enroll on the condition that they handle all the chores within the Academy."

How many participants would be earning money directly as soon as they dropped into this other world?

"What about you?"

"I will wait here."

Only participants or residents of this world could enter the Academy. It seemed the manager was an exception.

"Will it be okay?"

If it's chores, I have confidence from my various part-time job experiences, but... in the short period of one year, how much could I really learn?

"It is sufficient."

Ariel answered with a look of conviction. Since she was assigned directly by the operator, I had no choice but to trust and follow her judgment.