Mana (3)
Mana (3)
Before I knew it, the learning objective had already been met.
Professor Liana had handed me the Crystal Orb and given me a look that seemed to say, "Just give it a try." So I did. I solved it in a flash, with a completely clear mind.
I pushed mana into the Crystal Orb, drew it back out, and siphoned it straight into myself for storage.
A simple process. It took thirty minutes at most. Was it supposed to be this easy? I tilted my head.
"For a beginner... especially someone who's just started, it's absolutely not something you can do easily."
Professor Liana firmly shook her head.
She'd figured that my sensitivity—my ability to perceive mana—had already exceeded expectations. That's why she'd immediately brought out the Crystal Orb, which requires applied manipulation.
Professor Liana explained that it usually takes half a day just to connect to the orb's mana and draw it out, and roughly two days to absorb it.
Absorbing even twenty percent of the total is considered a lot.
So today, she'd planned to cultivate the manipulation skills required to connect to mana...
"...You finished it all at once."
[That's a good thing, right?]
"It's incredible."
Professor Liana, shaking her head in disbelief, answered decisively.
"It's still only the very beginning, but with this, the talent evaluation is completely over. It's definite."
From her tone, it was clearly a positive outcome. I'd been a little nervous since I'd never properly used Mana Affinity before, but hearing Professor Liana say that, Mana Affinity really must be a useful unique ability after all.
"The lesson ended far sooner than I expected."
Professor Liana, fiddling with the Crystal Orb that had now turned gray, gave an awkward smile.
"Now that it's come to this, there's nothing to do."
Just as I worried the plan had derailed, she collected herself and announced in a confident voice that she had a backup strategy.
As expected. She must have prepared a contingency in case the first plan failed.
"Let's just relax and rest!"
"?"
Is this really right?
.
.
.
Even though things seemed to be going smoothly, a secret impatience crept up on me—was I actually moving too slowly?
After all, I possess knowledge of the original work. By this point in the story's later iterations, the protagonist was already devouring every Hidden Piece in sight and ramping up their specs.
Clearing unconquered dungeons with sneaky tricks using records from previous iterations, stuffing themselves with all kinds of spirit medicine and high-grade artifacts... conveniently finding, killing, and looting the right characters...
Those iterations didn't just brute-force their way through. They relentlessly pursued the most efficient, fastest choices and showcased absolutely bizarre growth curves and limit thresholds.
"That's a commendable thought, but a no is a no."
I'd asked if she could teach me something else since there was time left.
She flatly refused. Her attitude was quite firm.
"To be precise, even if I wanted to teach you, rest is better for you right now. Doesn't your stomach feel a bit off?"
I considered Professor Liana's words for a moment. She had shaken her head as she said it.
Now that she mentioned it, my stomach really did feel bloated, like I'd overeaten. Not enough to actually throw up, but definitely uncomfortable.
"See? That's naturally what happens when your mana reserves suddenly increase. Rather than pushing yourself with training now, it's better to wait until your body gradually stabilizes."
[Yes. I understand. I'll rest for now.]
"Good. What an obedient and well-behaved cadet."
Professor Liana's logic was undeniably sound. It was definitely better to accept her advice and rest rather than stubbornly demanding she teach me more now.
I nodded to show I understood.
She smiled contentedly, then reached out and began to stroke my head.
I flinched at the sudden contact.
"?"
"Ah, did that make you uncomfortable?"
No, it wasn't that... I was just surprised by the sudden contact...
When I shook my head, feeling a bit awkward, she let out a relieved smile and kept gently stroking my hair.
Although the touch felt almost like she was petting a puppy, which was odd, it also gave me a strange, fuzzy feeling inside.
"If you really insist on having a lesson, I'll give you a simple bit of teaching. Here and now... the art of falling asleep anytime!"
Professor Liana, after stroking my head for a bit with a satisfied expression, clapped her hands together—smack!
The art of falling asleep right away. Not really understanding, I tilted my head. On the surface, it didn't sound particularly practical.
Seeing my confusion, Professor Liana clicked her tongue—tsk-tsk—and wagged her index finger.
"Let's think about this carefully. Whether you become a hero or a hunter, some tasks will finish quickly, and others will take a very long time."
There are dungeons that can be cleared in a single day. But the vast majority of dungeons require at least a few days to properly clear, assuming the dungeon has been fully analyzed and enough personnel are deployed purely for subjugation.
Exploring a dungeon filled with unknown threats—grasping its laws and traps, staying vigilant against monsters that could emerge from anywhere—can't be resolved in mere days.
That's where the significance of detection-type unique abilities comes in.
Even for dungeons whose layouts were mapped long ago, it's strongly recommended to bring a detection-type ability user just in case. To enter a dungeon you've barely started to analyze without one? That's a perfect recipe for a total wipeout.
"Dungeons inherently consume time, and so does maintaining vigilance. On top of that, if you're ever deployed to a frontline, weeks can easily fly by."
In other words, mission periods often get extended significantly.
"Positioning on a frontline, more than anything else, requires the skill to 'fall asleep anywhere, anytime.' Are you starting to see why now?"
It was only then that I fully understood.
I'd occasionally seen it on Mitube. Soldiers in trenches, sleeping peacefully through falling artillery shells.
The image of them clutching their firearms even in their sleep was so striking it stuck in my memory for a long time.
It was definitely a lesson worth learning. Now that I thought back more carefully, I also seemed to recall there being a lecture related to sleep among the shared general courses.
"Alright, lie down now!"
Prodded by Professor Liana's urging, I ended up carefully lying down on the grass. Through the ground, I could feel faint vibrations.
"And then close your— I'm sorry. That was a slip of the tongue. I really mean it. I had no bad intentions..."
[It's fine.]
"I'm really so sorry..."
A minor accident occurred in the middle, but we let it slide. Perhaps because fatigue had already built up, just lying down started to bring drowsiness creeping in little by little.
"Hm-hm. There are two things you must keep in mind while falling asleep."
One: do not fall into a deep sleep, in case an emergency arises.
Two: set fixed intervals and sleep in short, broken segments.
"It's easier said than done. It's more of a habit than a technique. But preparing for it little by little from now on will definitely help you in the future."
After hearing that, I nodded.
'Hoo...'
To fall asleep, I cleared away all unnecessary thoughts. Then, focusing my attention on those two key points, I let my consciousness sink.
It was naturally more uncomfortable than my bed. There was no warm blanket to cover myself with, and no pillow to support my neck or to hug.
But it had its own kind of charm.
The mana extraction from the Crystal Orb had taken maybe thirty minutes. Time still hung in the earliest hours of dawn, and the peculiar atmosphere of dawn possessed a subtle, captivating allure.
"Aren't your major classes difficult for you?"
While I was quietly letting my consciousness subside, Professor Liana, who had been comfortably sitting nearby and idly looking around her, suddenly turned to me with a careful expression and asked.
Major class... she means Professor Atra's lecture.
'Difficult, huh...'
On the first day, running to the point of nearly passing out.
On the second day, running. Then sword sparring...
On the third day, running, spear sparring...
And besides all that, various other grueling tasks...
I mulled it over for a moment before tapping my smartwatch.
[It's fine.]
Of course it's hard. It hurts so much during sparring that tears almost trickle out. It's absolutely something I don't want to do.
Surely only a minority with very specific tastes actually want pain. I'm not the type to derive pleasure from pain, nor do I have the disposition of a hard worker who voluntarily seeks out difficulty.
But how many people in this world truly want to suffer? Who would ever voluntarily take on burdensome, painful tasks?
Everyone hates it. Everyone dislikes difficult, painful things—but everyone still does difficult, painful things.
Because you cannot live otherwise. You have to do something in order to keep on living.
I'm exactly the same. There's nothing special about me in that regard.
It's certain that if I don't grind myself down right now, my future will become much more miserable. That's why I'm grinding myself down like this, here and now.
In response to my answer, Professor Liana tilted her head with an unreadable expression on her face. She seemed to mull something over for a moment, and then, letting out a soft chuckle, she made a completely unimaginable remark.
"Professor Atra's personality is seriously messed up, you know."
"...!?"
I stared blankly, my mouth falling open.
I never expected such words from Professor Liana's mouth, much less something that directly insulted Professor Atra.
"Heheheh. Look at that reaction."
Finding it utterly hilarious, she burst out laughing. She covered her mouth with one hand and stifled her giggles for a good while before her laughter finally subsided.
"I'm somewhat close with Professor Atra. You know, we often crossed paths on the Africa Front."
Africa.
Land that once belonged to humanity, but is now territory stolen by monsters.
It's the most representative region that comes to mind when one thinks of the Demon Realm, and it's the place where active heroes and hunters work the most.
"We'd happen to get tangled up together during missions, operate as temporary team members, things like that... I've worked with her several times, but she's just so fundamentally rigid and prickly, the type you simply can't reason with. Ugh, I can't even tell you how suffocating it was back then."
"If only she'd been talentless, I would've just smacked her upside the head." Professor Liana shook her head vigorously, as though she was completely sick of it.
"It's not that her core nature is genuinely bad... or... well, is it not? Maybe she's a little dirty, or rather, her way of expressing herself is just dirty... Mm, it's really hard to explain properly."
[Was Professor Atra also active on the Africa Front?]
"Oh, she wasn't only active in Africa. I believe she wandered around various different places, but for the past few years, she did end up settling down there in Africa."
I nodded with an ambiguous feeling.
Professor Liana and Professor Atra. I had never anticipated the two of them would have a personal connection to one another.
I also recalled hearing that Professor Atra is a top-grade hero, someone who has earned recognition for her distinguished service on the Africa Front.
It was a genuinely fascinating story. Professor Liana, as though talking took no effort at all, kept chattering away with a gentle smile about the times she'd gotten involved with Professor Atra.
"If the lecture is too hard for you, it's okay to speak up and say you don't want to do it. From Ha-yul's perspective, she might seem like a witch with nothing but a filthy temper, but she does have her own circumstances that made her personality that way... so if you tell her, she'll probably change her methods."
I also received the advice that if I truly felt like I couldn't endure it, I could quit altogether.
When I think about it calmly, Professor Liana's treatment of Professor Atra is rather harsh.
A messed-up, dirty-tempered witch... though considering how she always walks around with a hardened expression, maybe some of that description is a little accurate...
That idle chattering washed over me like a lullaby, and my consciousness slowly began to sink into it. The reassurance that Professor Liana was right beside me, that nothing strange would happen, encouraged the drowsiness further.
'One hour. I'll wake up in one hour...'
And don't fall into too deep a sleep.
I kept repeating it to myself. But at the sensation of her hand gently patting my head, my consciousness gradually sank down into deeper depths.
"...He's already fallen asleep."
Professor Liana's strange, enigmatic expression was the last thing I registered.