Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 25
>Chapter Title: That Guy, That One
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He showered the budding sprouts with all the scorn they could handle, then suddenly switched to a profound, quotable tone to smooth things over.
‘That guy, that one…….’
His guts must be twisted up real good.
Pretty clever, too, in his own way.
Anyway, it seemed to work pretty well—the tension in the room eased up considerably. Thanks to that, the lesson flowed naturally into the next phase.
“Alright, now one by one, come up front and we’ll measure your mana. Arjen?”
“Yes, sir!”
“You’re the class rep for M3 Magic Division. Your first answer was impressive. Step forward and record your classmates’ mana levels.”
“Th-thank you, sir!”
As Arjen stepped up, Yorvi handed her the clipboard he’d been holding.
Then he whisked away the cloth next to him, revealing an object that drew fresh gasps from the kids’ lips.
“Ah!”
“Is that the mana gauge?”
The structure hidden under the black cloth had an unfamiliar shape.
A square stone slab etched with all sorts of runes on its surface, topped with a lone crystal orb.
And behind it, a towering crystal panel like a backdrop.
“Everyone seeing one for the first time?”
“Yes!”
The classroom atmosphere had lightened up by now.
The freshmen took in the mana gauge with admiring stares.
‘Makes sense for this era.’
At this time, even prestigious families didn’t have easy access to mana gauges.
Word was, some central kingdom had developed them, but they strictly controlled production and sold them on a limited basis.
‘Being able to quantify mana opens up all sorts of possibilities.’
Once you could measure what couldn’t be quantified before, magical studies would advance by leaps and bounds. That’s probably why they limited sales.
To keep other groups in check.
For whatever reason, places where you could buy a mana gauge were few and far between, so it wasn’t surprising that academy students eyed it with envy.
They were kids, sure, but they were all mages.
Of course they’d want to know their exact mana levels.
“Alright, let me explain how to use it. Class rep, want to go first?”
“Yes, sir!”
Arjen nodded proudly, thrilled to get the first shot.
“First, place your hand on the orb here. Once your hand’s on, what next?”
“Inject mana?”
“Right. Inject mana, and the numbers will appear on the crystal slab… Let’s see. Arjen, give it a try.”
“Yes, sir.”
A moment later, as Arjen channeled mana into the orb.
*Beep-beep, bing.*
An odd mechanical sound echoed.
Right after, the crystal panel shifted—magical formulas filled the background, and soon a number popped up in the center.
“Ooh!”
“Wow.”
The kids gaped at it.
Probably would’ve been the same even if you swapped in any mage, academy student or not. Mages don’t care about age when it comes to stuff like this.
Yorvi gave the young mages time to marvel, then continued once things quieted down.
“First off, the magical symbols around the slab are a bit tough for you to parse yet. And you don’t need them just to check mana purity anyway. What matters is right here in the center.”
Yorvi’s finger pointed to the number in the middle.
“This number here is your purity level—your mana’s quality. It’s divided into stages from 1 to 10. Let’s see…”
Yorvi read the number.
“Arjen, you’re at stage 4. Last year’s freshman average was 3, so that’s not low at all. Above average, even—shows how diligent you’ve been.”
“Ah! Thank you, sir!”
Next came mana quantity measurement.
The method was the same.
Just pour mana into the orb.
He explained the principles in detail, but I tuned it out—not interested, plus I already knew it, and all the jargon gave me a headache just to sound impressive.
The quantity stages were more granular, though.
“Quantity is divided into 100 stages total. Arjen’s at stage 17. Last year’s average was 15, so once again, a bit higher.”
One by one, the students followed Arjen to measure their quantities.
Unlike the Q&A earlier, everyone was eager to jump up first, but I hung back a step.
Most hovered around stage 15.
Some barely cracked 10, but that was about the norm.
That’s when Yorvi chimed in.
“For reference, academy entrants are rated as equivalent to imperial certified ranks 10 through 8. Meaning your current levels match certified 8th rank.”
The imperial certified ranks were one way the empire classified mages.
Normally, you’d need to visit an imperial testing hall for official ranking, but enrolling in the academy auto-bumped you to 8th rank.
Of course, it wasn’t just based on quantity and purity.
‘It’s more complicated than that.’
From 6th rank on, it factored in magical prowess plus other achievements.
‘Professor Parun was… 4th rank, I think.’
Karahen was probably around there too. Though with his loyalty to the Decullans, he wouldn’t bother with official certification.
Anyway, the measurements continued.
“Gotta focus more on breathing techniques.”
“Mine’s the purification process.”
The readings gave students a clearer sense of their weaknesses and where to focus.
Yorvi tossed in comments here and there, of course.
Then.
“Whoa!”
“Crazy!”
Exclamations burst from the crowd watching the measurements.
Peeking through, I spotted a black-haired boy standing there, arrogance radiating off him even at a glance.
‘Some noble house kid, huh.’
Side branch or direct, didn’t matter.
They all had that stuck-up air.
Anyway, amid the cheers, he kept a straight face—but his shoulders gave away how puffed up he was.
And for good reason.
“Stage 6!”
“Didn’t he say average is 3?!”
Purity stage 6.
With academy average at 3, that was no small number.
I didn’t know academy baselines well, but it blew past everyone so far.
Just another day, I guess.
“Student, your name?”
“Purion.”
“Hoo, Purion. Impressive numbers. Gotta be from a noble house. Care to share which?”
Pride cracked through Purion’s blank expression.
“Dinai.”
“Ooh, Dinai!”
Same house as Dalia. His hair suggested a side branch.
Yeah, that tracked for Dinai. Overshadowed by the Decullans, but an elite house nonetheless.
No, elite didn’t cut it.
Without the Decullans, they’d be the top magical house on the eastern continent.
“Then, let’s check your quantity too?”
Yorvi fiddled with the gauge again.
All eyes from M3 Magic Division locked on.
The number appeared soon enough.
But compared to his purity, it fell a bit short.
“Aww.”
“20 stages.”
“Nah, 20’s still high. Anyone hit over 20 so far? We’ve been topping out in the high teens.”
Sighs of mild disappointment rippled out.
Not true letdowns, though.
These pure kids were just bummed the total didn’t match the sky-high purity.
Like, it doesn’t benefit me at all if it’s high, but you still wanna see how far it goes—that kinda itch.
Still, low only relative to purity; it was solidly top-tier for M3.
“Hmm, don’t be too disappointed, everyone. 20’s plenty high. Just a tad underwhelming next to stage 6 purity.”
Yorvi wrapped it up neatly.
Purion retreated, hiding his smug satisfaction.
Yorvi watched his back, then flashed a cryptic smile, like a whim had struck.
“Truly worthy of a noble house heir. But don’t despair if you’re not from one—personal effort can close the gap.”
The nuance felt loaded.
The kids didn’t pick up on it, innocently asking.
“How?”
“Hard work does it. Oh, and for reference, I’m not from a noble house either. No family wealth to bankroll me. But still…”
Yorvi placed his hand on the orb.
Numbers appeared.
[Purity: Stage 10]
[Quantity: Stage 82]
“Whoa!”
“Stage 10! That’s the top, right?!”
“82 stages?!”
Top purity mark. And quantity was no slouch—81, closing in on the max of 100.
‘Hmm.’
Honestly, no clue if that’s high or low.
But peg Purion as a standout Dinai side branch—academy-worthy, so yeah.
On that scale…
‘Pretty damn high.’
Made sense. Didn’t look a day over mid-to-late 20s, but assistant professor wasn’t a gig for just anyone.
“No mana gauges back in my freshman days, so no direct comps, but point is—anyone can reach this with effort, noble or not.”
As hopeful smiles spread across the kids’ faces—‘We can do it too’—
One guy wasn’t smiling.
“…….”
Purion, hit with the blatant comparison.
‘Tch.’
I shot him a pitying look, then Damian’s voice piped up.
“Yawwwn, what’s up?”
He’d been dozing sitting up, now stretching.
Woke up from the Purion commotion, probably.
Out of habit, I almost said—
“Nothing. Keep sleeping…”
But clamped my mouth shut.
‘Right, can’t sleep here.’
Academy class and all.
He wasn’t his usual hyper self minus nap time, so habit kicked in—but Damian had to measure too.
“They’re measuring mana.”
“Mana measurement? What’s that?”
“How much mana you got. And how pure it is. That kinda thing.”
No point in purity this, quantity that—he wouldn’t get it—so I dumbed it down.
He asked.
“Why measure it?”
“Dunno.”
“Measuring’s good, then?”
“Probably?”
If he asked why good, I’d have nothing.
‘Makes sense…’
I wouldn’t know.
Quantifying mana’s for scholars anyway.
For the academy, it’s a quick objective snapshot of students—mandatory step.
More quantity or purity was always better, end of story.
And for Damian…
‘He’s in a league of his own.’
Different environment from the jump.
Not to mention top-tier talent.
‘This guy…’
Sleeps all day, skips magic practice, but he’s light-years ahead of these academy kids.
For good reason.
‘Blandoga’s full backing means his quantity’s off the charts. Plus their secret arts are famed for purity.’
So he could just coast.
“Cool. I’ll give it a shot!”
Damian hopped up with gusto.
But right as things had hushed.
“…….”
“…….”
Every eye in M3 Magic Division zeroed in on him.
Two shocks, mainly. First, Damian looked way too young. Second, that hair.
“That’s him?”
“The… Blandoga young patriarch? Oh, and next to him… Aster, right? Yeah.”
Murmurs rumbled through as Yorvi spoke.
“Hoo, wanna give it a go?”
Sounded casual, but I could tell.
‘That guy, that one….’
His stomach’s twisted for sure.
Damian just nodded brightly, oblivious. Marched up to the orb like he owned the place.
“Channel mana here?”
Assistant prof right there, but asks me.
I nodded.
Then the numbers hit.
“…….”
“…….”
Silence blanketed the room.