The Level Difference Between You and Me
After mana theory class ended, practical training was next.
"Everyone, head out to the training grounds!" The Class 3 homeroom instructor led us out in a noisy group. The place he took us was the academy's expansive training field.
"Whoa."
In the middle of the field, massive rocks stood lined up in rows.
"Wow..."
They're huge...
Some were as tall as a person, others the size of a carriage. Every last one looked pitch-black and unbelievably solid.
What are they going to make us do today?
I quietly recalled the supply list I'd received yesterday. Today's practical catalyst was the Seagull Feather. Thirty gold for five sheets. More expensive than dragonfly wings, cheaper than fairy wings. A perfectly mid-tier catalyst.
Thirty gold, huh.
Of course, I had no intention of using even a single whole sheet. Yesterday I'd finished the dragonfly wing with nothing but a tiny crumb.
"Today's exercise is simple," the instructor said, pointing at the rocks. "Cast your spells and damage them. The more damage, the better. You must use a catalyst, however."
Rock breaking.
The calculator in my head spun up again. Damage required power, power required smooth mana control, and smooth control required a catalyst...
So in the end they want me to burn it anyway.
My precious seagull feather.
"Ugh..."
Just thinking about it made my hands shake. Still, I wasn't too worried. I'd realized it yesterday: the less I used, the stronger it became. A mere sliver should be enough to handle a rock.
Right then—
"Ganon~!"
A familiar voice called from beside me.
"I told you we should go together! Why did you slip out first?"
I came out early because of the silence accumulation.
Whenever this guy is around, my patience gets completely wrecked for some strange reason.
"I was just trying to grab a good spot first."
"On the training grounds...?"
Looked like I'd have to postpone the silence accumulation mission. Not that I couldn't find a way around it eventually.
"...Ahem."
"Anyway, let's set that aside for now!"
Neva trotted right up beside me and flung open her catalyst case with obvious pride.
Flash—
Inside was a dazzling array of vivid red feathers that looked ready to spill out. Each one was lightly dusted with gold powder.
"Look at this. Phoenix feathers."
Neva lifted her chin.
"Five thousand gold per sheet. Coated with gold dust on top of that. You can't even imagine how well it conducts mana, can you?"
Five thousand gold per sheet?
The calculator in my head crashed mid-calculation.
That's two years of my family's taxes right there.
And they coated it with gold dust on top of that?
The thing she's holding is probably worth more than our entire estate.
"What, jealous?"
Neva flicked a feather with her fingertip.
"You're going to use that cheap junk, right? If you ask nicely, I might lend you one. Since it's you, Ganon, I'll make a special exception~"
She was showing off so obnoxiously.
"..."
I stared at her for a moment. Then—
"...No thanks."
"Pfft. Pride again?"
Neva snorted.
"You'll probably fail to even scratch the rock and end up crying and begging me later."
"...I said no."
One of those sheets could buy me enough feathers for a lifetime. Honestly, who would turn down five thousand gold for free? But I just didn't want to accept it. Not from Neva.
Because anything gained from someone else eventually becomes a debt.
And more than that...
I didn't want to owe Neva any more than I already did.
My pride, which was already mortgaged, somehow came roaring back to life only in front of her.
"Neva."
"What."
"...I won't owe you anything."
"...What?"
Neva froze.
"What do you—"
"Never mind. I'll use my own."
I cut her off. Any longer and my face would have started burning.
So annoying...
I shook my head. This was the time to focus on the exercise, so—
"All right, starting with the first student!"
The practical training began.
Students stepped forward one by one in front of the rocks.
"Haaap...!"
BOOM—!
CRACK—!
Everyone burned a whole handful of seagull feathers at once.
"Haaap—!"
They poured their mana without restraint.
But.
"Huh? Why is it only cracking?"
"Ah, it barely broke..."
It wasn't nearly as effective as they'd expected. The rocks were apparently quite solid. Even after burning an entire handful, they only managed surface cracks. Almost none of them shattered the rocks cleanly.
That's why they can't break them.
I stood with my arms crossed, watching. To be precise, I wasn't just watching—I was analyzing the problem in my head.
"Hmm..."
Their spells definitely weren't lacking in raw power. They'd burned a handful of feathers, after all; conductivity must have been excellent. The reason they weren't breaking was...
The force is dispersing.
The answer came immediately. The moment the magic detonated, the light exploded outward in every direction. By spreading the mana across multiple points, the power couldn't focus. The widely scattered force only struck the rock's surface broadly.
It's the same as trying to pierce a wall with your palm instead of a nail.
No matter how hard you slap a wall with your open hand, you won't make a hole. But drive a single nail in with the same force and it sinks right through. The same power becomes far stronger when concentrated at one point.
These guys are all slapping with their palms.
Wide and shallow. That's why they couldn't break anything.
While I was thinking that—
"Ahem... Hey?"
It was Neva's turn.
"Watch this, Ganon."
Neva grabbed a handful of phoenix feathers and infused them with mana.
"This is my true skill!"
BANG—!
Something exploded from her staff with a roar and burst of flame, then—
WHOOOSH—!
A blazing red pillar of fire swallowed the entire rock.
KWAAAANG—!
The carriage-sized boulder shattered with an enormous crash.
THUD. THUD.
Fragments rained across the training ground.
"...Wow!"
"As expected of Lady Argent!"
The students burst into applause.
"Hmph...!"
Neva turned to me with a smug look.
"See? That's real magic. Not stingy like you—bold and flashy."
Neva was acting incredibly arrogant toward me, but...
How many five-thousand-gold sheets was that handful?
My stomach hurt for an entirely different reason. Ten years of my family's taxes had just gone up in that pillar of fire.
My heart's pounding too hard to watch.
I steadied my racing pulse and thought, Come to think of it, Neva isn't that different from the others.
Watching her spell had taught me a few more things. First, it was ultimately the same principle as before. The power was enormous, but it had still scattered in every direction. The sheer magnitude of that power was what blew the rock apart.
When you swat a mosquito on the wall, it dies even from a light palm strike. No need to pin it with a finger. Same idea. She'd burned thousands of gold to generate enough force to obliterate the entire boulder.
Insanely strong, but...
In terms of efficiency, it scored zero points.
Well... it's not entirely thanks to the catalyst.
Neva had been born with an enormous mana capacity. That was why she'd always stood above me.
"Hmph...!"
When Neva saw me standing there blankly, she assumed I was overwhelmed by her power and smiled with satisfaction.
"Now you understand? Magic is an investment. Spend some money for once."
"..."
I don't agree, but playing along is probably smarter.
"...Yeah, I kn—"
"Oh! Can you even afford an investment like this? Since you have nothing~ right?"
"...Hey."
"What? Did that sting? You~ po~ vert! Pfft!"
Those words finally shattered the control I'd been barely maintaining.
You really crossed the line.
You've always crossed it the moment I let my guard down.
"If I offer to help, just accept it~ Stop living so pathetically!"
"..."
She'd gotten full of herself again after I went easy on her these past few days.
"Ha..."
I sighed and spoke.
"...No."
"I'm not jealous at all."
"...What?"
"Are your ears clogged?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Because what you did wasn't an investment. It was pure waste."
"...WHAAAAAT???"
Neva's face flushed crimson.
"Hey! What did you just—!!!"
"Next up... Ganon Pedro!"
At the perfect moment, the instructor called my name.
"Whew..."
I walked casually up to the boulder.
Neva seems...
"Eeeek...!"
Pretty angry.
Her face was turning red and blue by turns.
Who told you to throw the first punch?
"..."
I glanced around once in front of the boulder. Slowly, every eye in the training ground locked onto me.
"Oh, it's that genius from last time."
"What'll he show us today?"
Amid the buzzing chatter—
"Hoo..."
I lifted my staff and pulled a single seagull feather from my pocket.
The power increases the fewer resources (mana, catalysts, materials) you use.
Yes. If I layered Miser on top of that, the less I used, the greater the power would become.
Use less. Concentrate it at a single point.
The instructor said "cause damage." He never said "shatter it," right?
No need to break it dramatically.
Breaking it big would mean spreading the force, which was wasteful. A single hole still counted as damage.
"...Huu."
Frowning, I ignored Neva's squawking and focused every ounce of attention on my fingertips.
Yes. The one advantage I had even before gaining this ability.
Control.
Maximize mana control. Minimize the feather. Concentrate the power at a single point. Small but deep. That was the cheapest method.
Good. Here we go.
I held the feather in my right hand and pulled a small knife from my pocket with my left.
"...?"
My actions drew puzzled looks from the students and even the instructor, but...
Fools. This is my way.
With the tiny razor I sliced off the smallest possible piece of feather and placed it on my palm.
Mana... to the absolute minimum.
Without spilling. Without leaking.
Compress this tiny, minuscule amount of mana even smaller...!
Only at a single point. At the tip of the staff.
As I poured energy into it—
"Huu..."
A light slowly formed at the staff's tip.
A bean-sized orb of condensed energy. Small, yet strangely dense.
"Watch carefully, Neva."
"...What are you babbling about now!"
"Something you can't win with money."
I aimed at the exact center of the boulder. Tap. I flicked it lightly.
Pew— The sound was light too.
Whiiing—
The bean-sized orb flew in a perfect straight line and sank into the rock.
Thud—
"..."
A fist-sized hole had been cleanly pierced through the center of the boulder.
"........."
".......?"
"...Huh?"
That was it. The rock remained perfectly intact. It hadn't split or shattered. Just one perfectly round hole in the middle.
Of course the damage condition had been met, but that wasn't the problem.
I didn't expect it to be this weak.
Did Miser not activate?
But if it's like this...
"..."
The training ground fell deathly silent.
Then—
"Pfft."
Neva broke the silence first, bursting into laughter.
"Puhahaha! Hey, what is that!"
She was holding her stomach, laughing her head off.
"I blew up the whole rock and you only made one hole! Pfft—!"
"I knew it! That last time was just luck, right? What genius? That Ganon is no genius!"
"Ha..."
I let out a long sigh.
Guess I just earned myself a lifetime of teasing material.
This is a little embarrassing...
But.
"—Wait...?"
Neva's words gradually trailed off.
Something was strange. No one was laughing along with her. The other students weren't looking at me. They were staring at what lay beyond me.
Far away. At the edge of the training ground.
"Uwaa..."
With their mouths hanging open.
"...Huh? Why are you all like that?"
Only then did Neva follow their gazes. I looked too, and—
At the far end of the training ground stood multiple layers of stone walls. Thick, solid barriers encircling the entire area.
And those walls had holes in them.
Fist-sized holes.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five.
In a perfect line.
Every stone wall along the straight path of my shot had been pierced in the exact same spot, the exact same size.
Beyond the holes, the distant sky was clearly visible.
"..."
"..."
The laser I'd created had pierced through five layers... no, six including the boulder itself.
"..."
I did that?
"..."
"Uh..."
...I was screwed.
That was my first thought.
Uh. Maybe it was too strong.
Cold sweat ran down my back. Any cheers or joy were secondary to the terror of reality.
What if they send me the repair bill for those walls?
They wouldn't actually charge me, right?
That looks insanely expensive...
That was what worried me most.
But Neva—
"..."
—had gone completely pale. She was staring blankly at the pierced walls. The mouth that had been laughing so loudly was now shut tight.
"...Th-that."
Her voice trembled.
"You did that?"
Only then did I snap out of it upon hearing Neva's near-panic voice.
Yes... still.
I turned to her with the most arrogant expression I could muster.
"Hey, Neva!"
"?"
Neva looked at me, still stunned.
"Understand now?"
"...What."
Yes.
You crossed the line first.
"This is—the level difference between you and me!"
"..."
"..."
A brief silence fell again.
"—WHOAAAA...!!"
The moment the silence broke, the students' cheers exploded.
"WHooooooooooa!!!"
"You got Lady Argent in one hit!!!"
"Amazing, Pedro!!!"
If you win, you have to teabag.
"...!"
Hearing that, Neva hung her head and clenched her fists tight.
"...Ugh!"
"Ugh... Uwaaa!!! You, you...!!! How dare—!"
Steam was practically shooting from her head as she threw a full-blown tantrum. Watching her, I thought,
Hmm.
Teasing Neva really is fun.
-And about three minutes later.
After the cheers died down and even the crazy cat's shrieking finally subsided...
Gulp—
"C-crazy..."
Someone swallowed audibly.
"Is that even possible?"
"He concentrated everything at a single point. That's why the penetration is like that..."
"When we burned handfuls and only cracked the surface..."
"He used a single crumb and pierced five stone walls..."
The students began murmuring among themselves.
This time, no one called it "luck."
They couldn't. You couldn't pierce five stone walls in a perfect line with luck.
In fact, it was even more impressive than yesterday.
"It's not just raw power—it's the efficiency..."
"Using less mana and focusing it perfectly at one point... that's real skill."
Huh? They actually understood what I was doing this time.
Normally their reaction ended at "He's a genius." This time they'd accurately identified my technique: concentrating power at a single point.
Of course, it wasn't something only I could do. My mana manipulation was high, but only upper-middle at best.
"Wh-what is this...!"
I looked at the instructor, who was still standing there with his mouth wide open in awe.
Even he probably had better mana manipulation than me.
But the issue was the output. The larger the mana, the harder it was to control. That was why people used high-quality catalysts. The spell I'd just cast should have required mana on the level of a skilled mage.
But thanks to Miser, I don't need large amounts of mana.
I can draw enormous power from a tiny amount.
From their perspective, however, it looked like I was perfectly controlling a massive amount of mana using nothing but a sliver of a seagull feather. Both my mana reserves and manipulation must have seemed grand-mage level.
In reality it was such a tiny amount of mana that controlling it had been easy.
"G-Ganon Pedro!"
"Um...?"
The instructor came running over, face pale.
"Was that... concentrating the power at a single point?!"
"You can control mana to that degree?"
"..."
I thought for a moment. The truth was,
The feather was too precious so I only used a crumb, and I didn't want to break it unnecessarily so I just made a hole, but it came out stronger than I expected.
I couldn't say that. It would sound too casual.
For now...
"...Because breaking it widely is wasteful."
I chose the most plausible answer I could.
"Only as much as needed. Accurately at one point. That's what efficiency means."
"...!"
The instructor's eyes flashed.
"Only as much as needed... accurately at one point..."
"Th-this is! A new discovery...!"
It's just common sense. Why are you so shocked?
Looked like another misunderstanding had been added to the list.
=======
Neva was still staring blankly at the pierced stone walls.
"Uh... uh... ah..."
Then she slowly turned to me.
"...You."
Her voice was tiny.
"How did you do that just now?"
"..."
"Why. I invested too."
"...What?"
"Invest in your skills instead of wasting money on weird things."
I threw her own words right back at her.
"...!"
Neva's face turned bright red. She must have remembered laughing about the "one hole." Her ears flushed crimson in an instant.
"Th-this...!"
"...Work hard."
"Though I'll be taking the top spot, of course?"
With a dark, rotten smile I turned away, and—
"Hey...! What's with that look! You did that on purpose, didn't you?! Huh?!"
As expected, Neva completely lost it.
"Ahem..."
I pretended not to hear and quietly put the feather envelope away.
What I'd used today was barely a handful of crumbs. Almost the entire packet remained.
This should last me until next month.
...But.
They're not seriously going to bill me for the stone wall repairs, right?