Episode 5
Episode 5
Mana.
Mana, magical power, referred to as 'qi' by certain tribes in the East, called 'ether' by scholars who love to posture, and stubbornly labeled as 'Divine Power' by priests—this force, known by many names, was the foundation of all mages.
The power to change the world!
Every time magic was cast, one had to draw upon and expend the mana within themselves. Naturally, inexperienced young mages with poor control and skill often suffered from mana depletion.
But to attempt it seven times and still remain standing?
"Your name, student?"
"Lee Han."
Professor Troll, Garcia, smiled faintly.
He was pleased that the boy had given his own name instead of his family's.
A noble—no, a high noble at that. It was rare for someone of such lineage to omit their house name.
This suited the academy's principle of 'equality' quite well.
"Come here."
"Uh..."
Lee Han approached uneasily.
'Should I have pretended to stagger?'
It was true—while everyone else was swaying from mana exhaustion, standing perfectly fine on his own was a bit suspicious. He wondered if he had failed to cast the spell properly.
"Hmm. Hmm. I see."
As Garcia held Lee Han's wrist and nodded, Gainando, standing behind him, whispered to Yoner.
"Hey. Shouldn't we save him?? What if he gets eaten??"
"...Idiot, the professor can hear you. Shut up."
"!?"
Garcia released Lee Han's wrist and spoke.
"Lee Han, stay behind after class."
"Ah. Yes."
After that, <Understanding Basic Magic> didn't involve any further magical training.
Instead, Professor Garcia sternly lectured them on the mindset of a mage.
"When you've exhausted your mana, you must rest unconditionally. The weaker you are, the more crucial this becomes! Don't panic over mana depletion. With training, your mana reserves will grow, and as you refine your control, your consumption will decrease. Every year, there are freshmen so overzealous they secretly practice magic until they collapse. If you're unlucky, you could get seriously hurt—so don't do that. And, student. I don't eat students."
"S-sorry..."
Gainando trembled as he apologized.
"Alright, that's all for today's lecture. Aside from mandatory courses, elective classes are being held all over the school. Go attend a few and consider what you'd like to learn. If you're unsure, you can always come to my office and ask."
"......"
"......"
The students exchanged glances.
-You'd go for a one-on-one consultation in a troll half-blood's office?
-Are you insane?
...That kind of silent exchange.
"Wardanaz. Be careful."
"Right. Trolls are weak to fire and acid."
"Neither of those are here, though?"
"...Wardanaz. Be careful."
Amidst the 'encouragement' of his peers, Lee Han stood before Professor Garcia.
"Actually, I'd heard about you beforehand, Lee Han."
"??"
The unexpected remark made Lee Han freeze.
What?
"Would it speed things up if I said the headmaster told me?"
"...!"
At the mention of the insane lich headmaster, Lee Han's face stiffened.
Garcia chuckled.
"No need to worry. The headmaster might seem like a deranged bastard at times, but deep down, he's a good person."
"...Excuse me??"
How does that make sense?
But Garcia continued, pretending not to hear.
"At the start of every year, the headmaster observes the freshmen and gives the professors a brief rundown."
Though the students didn't know it, the lich headmaster possessed an incredibly sharp eye.
The freshmen entering this academy were newly adult boys and girls of all kinds from across the empire.
To prevent disasters, keen discernment was necessary.
-That dwarf kid—watch him. Looks like he'll burn down the dorm at least three times.
-Hah! That one's a demon hybrid. Professors who use Divine Magic, be cautious. No need to get hurt unnecessarily.
-Isn't that kid from the <White Crow> guild?? A pickpocket?? Professors, be careful. Surely no one would complain about getting pickpocketed by a student, right? If they do, toss them in the dungeon.
Of course, there were also professors who ignored the headmaster's words.
The Lich Headmaster possessed keen insight, but...
He was equally endowed with a madman's temperament.
-That orc girl... I have a feeling she'd be good with a spear.
-But she comes from a long line of renowned swordsmanship families?
-Shut up! Tell her to use a spear.
-......
Regarding Lee Han, the headmaster had this to say:
-That kid has the makings of 'Great Foolhood'.
-...??
'Great Foolhood'.
It meant 'extremely foolish'.
Of course, the professors weren't stupid enough to take those words at face value.
There was a famous proverb from the eastern part of the empire:
-'Great Foolhood' is akin to 'Great Wisdom'.
A demeanor that appears extremely foolish often shares common ground with one that is profoundly wise.
It was an age-old adage warning against being deceived by appearances and urging one to seek true wisdom.
Thus, the headmaster's words implied this:
-Though hard to discern now, I sense the potential for future greatness.
The professors' reactions were split down the middle.
Some thought, 'If he's saying it like that, there must be some talent there,' while others wondered, 'Did someone from the Wardanaz family treat him to a heavy round of drinks yesterday?'
And Professor Garcia now thought he understood the headmaster's meaning.
'So that's what he meant.'
"Uh... What exactly did the headmaster say about me?"
Lee Han felt slightly uneasy.
Being favored by a professor had its pros and cons.
Favor could lead to good grades and recommendation letters—undeniable advantages.
But...
Once the favor exceeded a certain level, conversations like this would inevitably begin:
-Kid. It'd be a waste to let your talent rot like this.
-Thank you!
-Right. You must come to graduate school!
-Huh? I've never really thought about—
-Do you even know how fierce the competition is out there? If you go to grad school, earn a degree, you'll land a better job, and most importantly, you can delve deeper into the studies you love. Doesn't that sound great?
-Now that you mention it, I suppose it does.
Meeting a kind-hearted professor was one thing.
But if you encountered an evil, deranged professor, hell would begin.
And the Skeleton Principal...
'He's absolutely the last person I'd want to get close to.'
Lee Han wanted to graduate with stable grades and solid connections, not become chummy with the headmaster and tread some dubious magical path.
"Ah, sorry. I can't repeat the headmaster's exact words... But I can tell you what he said about your talent. His message was along these lines."
"!"
Lee Han's eyes widened at Professor Troll's words.
His talent?
'My talent... was worth mentioning separately?'
Back in the Wardanaz household, Lee Han had never heard any particular praise about his abilities.
Sure, it was confirmed that he had magical aptitude.
After all, even his father, the family head, had said:
-How is my talent?
-Hmm. Your magical ability is quite decent.
-Thank you.
And that was it.
So hearing sudden praise about his talent now was a bit bewildering.
'This isn't bad news, is it?'
Lee Han seriously began considering whether he should team up with Yoner to secure funding and open an alchemy workshop.
"Lee Han, your mana capacity is exceptionally high."
"...Huh? That's it?"
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
Not 'You have issues casting spells' or 'Your constitution rejects light magic, so you'll never wield it'—just that his mana pool was large.
Well, at least it wasn't bad news, but...
Was this really worth mentioning separately?
'I thought everyone's innate mana capacity varies, and it can be overcome with training and technique? Is it really that significant?'
"Of course, that's not all."
"Ah... I figured."
"Lee Han, your mana capacity is seriously, insanely, ridiculously, extraordinarily, unbelievably high."
"...???"
"Like, really, truly, madly, absurdly, incredibly high?"
"Ah."
Only then did Lee Han understand why Professor Garcia had called him aside so seriously.
After hearing the detailed explanation, Lee Han thought:
'Isn't this a good thing?'
Magic required mana.
If mana was insufficient, one had to draw in ambient mana, gather it separately through magic circles, or use magic stones containing mana as substitutes.
But with abundant mana, such measures weren't necessary.
An extremely useful talent for a mage...
"I'm afraid this is unfortunate."
"???"
Yet Professor Garcia was looking at Lee Han with eyes full of pity and concern.
That gaze made Lee Han realize something was seriously wrong.
"Isn't having more mana a good thing?"
"Normally, yes. But Lee Han, your mana is truly, insanely, absurdly abundant. Water in a glass bottle is easy to handle, but controlling the waters of a vast ocean would be extremely difficult, wouldn't it?"
At the professor's words, Lee Han's expression hardened as he grasped the gravity of the situation.
So right now...?
'Does this mean the difficulty of magic becomes insanely higher?'
Even today, when learning the extremely basic 'Light Emission' spell, not a single student had succeeded yet.
That's how difficult magic was as a discipline.
Drawing out mana, focusing it, binding it with willpower...
All of this required superhuman concentration.
And now, if the mana quantity became overwhelmingly vast beyond control, the already high difficulty would spike even further.
"Here. Take these bracelets."
Rough, heavy iron bracelets.
Professor Garcia fastened one to each of Lee Han's wrists.
"They're mana-absorbing bracelets. They should help."
"!"
Lee Han was moved that the magic school immediately provided a solution.
"With these, there shouldn't be any major problems!"
"Hmm? No. Even with these, it'll still be damn difficult."
"......"
"Your mana is so overwhelmingly vast that nothing can fully contain it. We're doing this because it's better than doing nothing."
Professor Garcia was relatively kind and gentle, but she was still a mage.
Mages never sugarcoat such matters.
"...Any other advice?"
"Well... If you cast an enormous amount of spells to expend your mana, that might help somewhat. You can practice basic magic training alone, Lee Han. There's absolutely no risk of mana depletion accidents."
"...Thank you."
In a way, it was a special privilege, but Lee Han didn't feel particularly happy about it.
'Ah. Should I take non-magic subjects then?'
Though called a magic school, not all subjects required spellcasting.
Take alchemy, for instance—it rarely involved magic.
Exiting the professor's office, Lee Han's mind was in turmoil.
'If I plan my curriculum carefully from first year and manage my grades well, I won't regret it when graduation comes...'
"You're alive!"
At the foot of the stairs, Gainando and Yoner were waiting.
Gainando, seemingly genuinely worried, scanned Lee Han up and down.
"What are you looking at?"
"Checking if the professor left any bite marks."
At Yoner's remark, Lee Han stared at Gainando incredulously.
'Well, after seeing the Skeleton Principal, it's not strange to suspect the professors.'
"What did they say?"
When Yoner asked curiously, Lee Han shrugged.
"Told me to practice magic a lot."
"How dare...!"
Gainando flared up as if it were his own business.
How insolent—telling a scion of a great family to practice magic more!
What an outrageous remark!
'If he gets this mad just hearing that, if he fails an exam and has to retake it, will he challenge the professor to a duel or something?'
"Never mind that. Before the next required class, I want to check out some electives. Any recommendations?"
"Alchemy, of course."
At Yoner's answer, Gainando openly sneered.
"Pfft. Alchemy is for servants and slaves!"
"......"
Lee Han could clearly see it—
Yoner's fists clenching tightly!