[No title provided]

"Things you're told not to break usually end up broken."

"A vessel?"

"Yeah! A vessel to hold mana."

"Do I need that?"

"Of course you do!"

Adrian spread her wings as if the question was absurd.

"And it's gotten bigger?"

"Yeah. It's way bigger than the vessel I gave you. Originally I was going to expand your vessel with mine and take you to the village soon."

"Village?"

"You need a little stimulation, after all. Having other dragons' mana speeds up the growth."

"I see."

So I almost got thrown into a dragon den.

"That's right. But since you expanded the vessel on your own, I might as well do a little extra work."

With that, she stabbed her own chest with her long nails. Gurgle, gurgle — blood dripped out. Then she gathered the blood into a clump, moving as if it were alive.

"Hey, hey, wait a second."

I knew what came next. That damn painful thing!!

"Does it hurt more if you move?"

Adrian smiled and shoved the blood clump into my eye again. I could feel the dragon mana spreading around my eyes.

"Gyaaaaaaah!!!"

The damn messages pounded my ears, but I couldn't hear a single one. Still, it hurt less than last time.

"Want to try using mana?"

I pulled up my mana. Just to my fingertips. Right before it reached my staff. Hmm. The sensation was a bit different from usual. The mana felt a little heavier.

"Hmm... I was planning to work on the other eye too, but it's not working out."

Huh? So I could have opened both eyes with Dragon Eye! What the hell, that would have been cool! It's a rule that magic eyes get stronger when you have both.

I asked with regret.

"Is that bad?"

"No, it's actually quite good. It means the nature of your mana itself is strong."

"I didn't feel anything like that."

"That's because you're still extremely weak."

Hmph. Can't argue with that.

"Honestly, I was planning to expand your vessel step by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠step from the beginning, but since it's already grown enough, there's no need."

"Is that good?"

"It's good. This is the most time-consuming part."

"So what about magic?"

"You can use it. But teaching you dragon magic is a bit..."

"Too little?"

"More like nonexistent."

"I see."

I had already expected that given the amount of mana she had.

"For now, let's start by getting you used to handling dragon mana! Even without anything special, you'll be able to strengthen your mana and use it!"

"How do I handle it?"

"I don't know!"

"Huh?"

"I've only seen other humans do it, I've never actually done it myself!"

She said it proudly. What the hell is that supposed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mean.

"No, then at least introduce me to a teacher. Where are those other humans?"

"All dead?"

Eep.

"Then can't you squeeze out dragon mana and make potions?"

"...Potions? Why would you..."

Adrian tilted her head, then suddenly exclaimed as if she remembered something.

"Ah! You're human, so you needed that!"

"You little— just because you have a lot of mana, you're making discriminatory remarks against humans."

"Extracting dragon mana externally is simple! Just concentrate mana at your fingertips like this..."

Adrian focused mana at her fingertips. Then, a dark red liquid-like substance dripped down. I instinctively knew it was dragon mana.

"Oh, wait."

I held out a test tube. I'll use this as potion material too. But as soon as the dragon mana flowed into the test tube, the inscribed magic circle vibrated wildly and then—

—Clang!!

The test tube shattered.

"Agh!"

That was the best one!!

"That won't work. Especially not with dragon mana of my level."

"Isn't there a test tube designed for dragon mana? No, considering my financial situation, it would probably easily exceed gold units. Sigh. Such is my fate."

"So I have to earn money after all."

"Huh? Money? If I sell my body a little..."

"That sounds weird!"

If I accepted that, I'd feel like a total piece of trash! And I've already been receiving too much from her!

"Ugh, forget it. As long as I can make a living, it's fine."

I decided to just move forward without thinking. As always.

"Ugh, why is this damn practice room so high and such a pain..."

"Is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it really that hard...?"

Eighth floor, eighth floor. It's not hard, it's just sweaty and annoying.

"I haven't really exercised, but now I have to wash up."

"So I routinely picked up my staff and chanted.

"Let's just finish ten times and go down to eat. Casting..."

Yesterday, I hadn't realized. What it meant for dragon mana and my mana to mix, and what it meant to use magic with dragon mana.

—Thwump!!

"Whaaaaat!"

A clear crater in the wall. Aris let out a shrill scream. Half the practice room wall was destroyed, revealing the other side.

"Eeeeeek!"

A half-naked male student who had been practicing blushed.

"W-what is this..."

I hadn't made a mistake in power control. So there was only one possibility. My control had decreased and the power had doubled. I don't know what Adrian fed me yesterday, but my mana capacity had also doubled. Even though I only had a little while eating chicken and beer.

"T-this is Basic Attack Magic!?"

"I don't think this is Basic Attack Magic either."

This was clearly abnormal. I had lightly shot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at a dummy as a warm-up, but the very sensation of handling mana had changed. Did dragon mana strengthen my own mana? If I seriously mixed dragon mana and used it...?

"Uh, what happened...?"

Just then, a guard appeared.

"What the hell is all this!"

"I have no idea."

"How did you break this place! It was designed to withstand all first-year level mana..."

The mustached guard looked at me, then suddenly said as if he remembered something.

"Wait!? You're the one who ran away last time, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"'That's right' is not the answer! We couldn't catch one first-year student, and our pride..."

"Is that something to be proud of?"

"Grr. For now, step back. I'll call in repair personnel. And go report the details to the first-year homeroom professor."

Ehh... I have to go to Karnaroff again?

"What a pain."

"It won't be a bad thing. Good grief. Breaking facilities from the first year... I've seen it all."

The guard scratched his head and took out a magic communication crystal. Well, nothing I can do about it.

We headed to Karnaroff's office. As soon as we entered, Karnaroff said to us.

"Sit down."

"Yes, sir."

I sat on the sofa I had sat on before. Karnaroff looked at me intently.

"Congratulations. Your mana density has increased."

"Huh?"

"I mean exactly what I said. The maximum mana capacity hasn't changed, but the quality of your mana has improved."

"So what's good about that?"

"First, mana efficiency and power will definitely increase. Of course, cases like yours where it rises so rapidly are very rare..."

I looked at Karnaroff again. He was still filled to the brim with monstrous mana. But I could now understand more clearly why I felt intimidated by Isabel or Karnaroff. The density was absurdly high. Each mana particle seemed like a compressed mountain-sized boulder. Compared to that, mine felt like a small stone fragment.

I suddenly wondered if Karnaroff could observe the same thing as me.

"Professor, can you see that too?"

"Hmm. If I had to say whether I can see it or not, it's fifty-fifty. I can see it, but not accurately. My eyes for seeing mana itself aren't very good."

"Then how did you know?"

"Since you wouldn't make a mistake in control, this was the only possibility."

"Hmm."

It felt like a compliment, so it felt good.

"I don't know if you absorbed very dense natural mana from somewhere or ate an elixir..."

There were too many possibilities to pinpoint one. Even my memory was hazy.

"Now you just need to gain practical experience. There's an exchange event coming up, so I'll have you participate as the first-year representative."

Was it my imagination that Karnaroff's eyes glinted slightly? I hope so. I don't want to work.

"Then can I go?"

"No, take this before you go. Aris Script, you too."

What was given to us was.

"An orange... key?"

"It's the key to the Level 2 personal practice room. The walls and training targets are made of much tougher materials than the Level 1 ones."

Karnaroff pointed to the 7th floor on the building map. Compared to the Level 1 practice room on the 8th floor, having to go up one less floor was a good point.

"No, but why didn't you give this one to me earlier?"

I had struggled so much using magic gently in the practice room. Even before the density increased, if I had used full-power magic, it would have broken just the same.

"It was announced. You just didn't listen."

Huh, is that so?

"Really?"

"Yes. If it is judged that the practice room's strength is insufficient for a student's skill, the key is given..."

"Ah."

"So next time, make sure to listen to announcements."

"Yessir..."

"Ah, and of course since your internal mana density is different, you need to reset all the variables in your report."

"Huh?"

Come to think of it, that's right? Unlike before, when I could just modify the existing one a little, now I have to recalculate everything from power onwards.

"Your proficiency will remain the same, so practice defense magic as well. At least five times a day."

But well, it won't be that hard. What I've been doing so far won't go anywhere. Defense magic... well, time will take care of it.

And so I received the key to the practice room.

Then I went back up to the 7th floor to practice and set up. Indeed, the Level 2 practice room was slightly wider and had a few more types of weapons and targets.

Then suddenly, this thought occurred to me.

Hmm.

"But if I break it again, won't they give me a key to an even better room?"

"Huh?"

"Aris, wait."

I entered the personal practice room.

"Casting, Bullet, Penny."

Penetration-type triple chant.

—Boom!!

"Aaaagh! This brat broke the wall again!!"

And so I received the yellow, that is, the Level 3 practice room key.

Hmm. So this one breaks too.

But the practice room key I had worked so hard to get was never used. Because I had to climb the tower. In the end, all that remained was the Level 6 practice room key and the tears of the guards.