Standing Out (2)
“Leonard just stopped by the room a minute ago. Looked like he was boiling mad.”
As Ellen opened the door and stepped inside, Kinber spoke with clear concern.
“Ah. I ran into him on the way here. Whether he’s angry or not doesn’t matter to me, so don’t worry about it.”
Ellen sat straight down on his bed and began gathering mana.
He felt the ambient mana around him and drew it into his body.
It was only a faint trickle.
Yet that mana traveled once through his veins and sank into his heart.
He doesn’t rest for even a second. No wonder they call him a genius.
Kinber watched Ellen start mana collection the moment he entered the room and could only marvel.
All he ever does in here is gather mana or read books.
From what Kinber had seen, Ellen’s knowledge of magic could rival even the academy instructors.
Still Ellen never stopped reading magic texts.
Every other free moment was spent solely on gathering mana.
That’s what effort worthy of talent looks like, I guess. I can’t just keep loafing around either.
Meanwhile Ellen continued collecting mana through the Hameron Breathing Method while turning over his future plans.
Top priority is breaking into a Magic Tower. No matter what it takes, I have to become a true mage.
The discrimination and inferiority he had suffered bone-deep as a Magic Assistant in his previous life seethed inside him once more.
This time, merely becoming a mage isn’t enough. I have to climb far higher than any of them.
Living a life far more respected and dignified than before—that was Ellen’s ultimate goal.
To achieve it he would have to reach the highest floor of a Magic Tower.
With Chantless Casting alone he already possessed enough talent to become an excellent mage.
But to realize his final aim he still needed a fundamental solution to his mana capacity problem.
Ellen possessed records of countless dungeons and the firsthand experience of clearing them.
He also held a roadmap of the major events that would unfold in the years ahead.
Using that knowledge he could acquire rare artifacts and earn enough money to buy mana elixirs, solving the immediate shortage.
Yet none of those measures would ever be a true, lasting fix.
In five years the war with the Brizen Kingdom will break out.
Five years from now the Prode Kingdom and the Brizen Kingdom would go to war.
In his previous life, after barely scraping through the academy with failing marks, Ellen had volunteered for that war the moment he graduated.
War was the arena where magic’s power reached its absolute peak.
Consequently combat magic focused on slaughter, siege, and survival had developed far more than the everyday utility spells.
Ellen had hoped to hone his skill through the crucible of battle.
The reality of war, however, had far exceeded anything he could have imagined.
Right beside him skulls shattered, limbs were severed, men burned alive or were crushed beneath falling stone.
In that hell he had barely kept his sanity.
I never want to see that again.
Of course, after years as a mercenary he had later killed people as readily as monsters, yet those particular scenes of carnage had never left his mind.
Anyway, I need to think harder about a real solution to the mana problem.
Three months had passed since the start of the academy term.
In that time the students had not studied theory alone.
They had also taken practical courses covering mana collection and the manifestation of 1st Circle spells.
Now the examination period had arrived—the time when every student would be measured by the results of those months of work.
When Latard stepped up onto the platform, the students swallowed dryly as one.
“We will now begin the mana-collection examination.”
At those words Ellen drew a steadying breath and calmed himself.
Even in his previous life he had been called a genius at the start of the academy year.
His gift for grasping the theories the instructors taught, then perfecting them through review, had been exceptional.
But as the practical subjects increased, more and more people began to doubt that talent.
This examination was the decisive turning point.
The mana-collection test.
It measured a student’s ability to gather mana using the methods they had learned—how much they could collect and how efficiently.
In short, it was a direct evaluation of magical talent.
“Things are going to get much harder from here.”
While Ellen mulled over the exam, nearly every student finished their turn.
As expected, many returned to their seats looking crushed.
No matter how gently Latard tried to phrase the results, the students already understood exactly how this test would reshape their lives at the academy.
“Next, Commoner Class—Leonard.”
“Yes.”
Leonard walked forward with no sign of tension whatsoever.
“Begin.”
Once Leonard was ready, Latard placed a hand on his head.
Leonard started gathering mana.
Exceptional talent.
When Latard’s evaluation did not come immediately, the other students began to murmur.
Until now, if a student’s talent was lacking Latard withdrew his hand the moment collection began and delivered his judgment at once.
The longer the evaluation lasted, the better the result.
And just now Leonard had broken the record for the longest collection time of the day.
Both the volume of mana and the efficiency are outstanding.
Thud.
Only then did Latard lift his hand from Leonard’s head. Satisfaction filled Leonard’s face.
“Truly outstanding talent. I have rarely seen a student of this caliber.”
“Thank you!”
Leonard gave a slight bow and returned to his seat.
Even among the Noble Class, some looked at him with open admiration.
Hmph. Idiots. What’s the point of burying yourselves in theory all day? Magic can be used just fine without any of that.
Leonard shot a glare toward Ellen.
From what he had seen so far, Ellen’s practical grades did not look nearly as brilliant as his theory scores.
This was the perfect chance to flatten that bastard’s nose.
“Next, Noble Class—Rick Chedleton.”
At the name, every eye in the room focused.
“Yes.”
Chedleton stepped onto the platform and began gathering mana at once.
Not a trace of nervousness could be found on him.
Heavens… this is absurd talent. So that was why House Chedleton made such a fuss.
Latard’s eyes went round as he observed Chedleton’s collection.
The rare flicker of expression on the normally impassive instructor’s face told the students everything they needed to know.
“You are gathering the absolute maximum mana possible with the basic collection method.”
First-year students had learned only the most elementary mana-gathering technique so far.
Once a mage advanced past the 1st Circle the method was effectively abandoned; it was easy to learn, yet the quantity and efficiency of mana obtained were extremely low.
“Thank you.”
Chedleton turned on his heel and returned to his seat without waiting for further praise.
Clap, clap, clap!
“As expected of House Chedleton’s heir.”
“You can tell the difference even from the bud.”
Commoner and noble alike marveled at the evaluation Chedleton had received.
Of course. I wasn’t using your pathetic academy method.
In truth he had employed his family’s basic mana-collection technique.
Even a foundational method from a prestigious magic lineage was far more efficient than anything taught at the academy.
“Next, Commoner Class—Ellen.”
“Yes.”
At last it was Ellen’s turn.
When the name of the academy’s rumored next top student was called, every face turned toward him with open expectation.
“Begin.”
Seated on the platform, Ellen activated the Hameron Breathing Method.
Tap.
In that same instant Latard’s hand fell away from Ellen’s head.
The students’ anticipation instantly curdled into disappointment.
No one had been dismissed so quickly.
“I have seen this level of ability only once before.”
Yet Latard’s next words were completely unexpected.
Every ear strained for what would follow.
“Hameron… the talent I believed I would see only once in my entire life—I am seeing it again in you.”
The Hameron Breathing Method, a collection technique of efficiency unimaginable with the knowledge of thirty years past, was an application of the very method Hameron himself had used to gather mana.
The absolute quantity of mana Ellen had collected was not dramatically higher than that of the other students, but its efficiency approached twice that of Chedleton’s.
“I look forward to your future, Ellen.”
“Thank you.”
Ellen gave a small shrug of his shoulders and returned to his seat.
“What the hell is that guy, really?”
“Is there anything he can’t do?”
“If you’re good at theory you’re supposed to suck at practicals, right?”
“That level is just a monster.”
“I heard he does nothing but study even in his room.”
“They say he already has a master—some mage’s disciple.”
In their eyes Ellen had become the perfect image of a genius who possessed both effort and talent.
This much should be enough.
Feeling the envious gazes of the students fixed upon him, Ellen offered them a quiet, knowing smile.