Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: The Girl Who Is a Genius, But Not a Genius (3)
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Lunchtime.
Anne sat in the school garden outside, her face clouded with gloom.
It was a shock.
She had thought she had improved a little, but her mana capacity hadn't changed at all over the past year.
At ten years old, she was still in her growth phase, and it was only natural for it to rise even a little. Even Heon had increased by 20P.
It wasn't that she was trying to dismiss her, but unlike Heon, the fact that she hadn't gained even 20P filled her with even greater self-loathing.
'Am I really not suited for the path of a mage?'
Anne recalled her past consultation with Siegfried.
"Anne. What do you want to become?"
"A mage! I want to become an amazing mage!"
"Why do you want to become a mage? Is there a reason?"
"Well...... Our family is a mage family, and also......"
"And?"
"Our family is going through tough times right now. So I want to become an amazing mage and revive it. That's why I want to be an amazing mage!"
"You could revive the family without becoming a mage."
"But the Mayer family is a mage family. I don't want to do anything else if I'm not a mage."
"......You'll definitely be able to do it, Anne."
She had a rough idea of what Siegfried had wanted to say back then. But using her youth as a shield, she had managed to keep him from saying it.
She knew.
That she had no real talent for magic.
If she devoted her whole life to it like this, she might reach 4th class.
Sacrificing her life for a mere 4th class.
The world was overflowing with 4th class mages. That was exactly the realm an ordinary person could reach by pouring in all their effort.
At that level, she wouldn't be able to revive the family—she'd barely manage to maintain the status quo. Her father, the current head of the Mayer family, was also a 4th class mage.
"Find another path......"
Anne hugged her knees and muttered, her lips curling downward.
She had never even considered a path without magic.
A ten-year-old seriously worrying about her future might seem strange to others, but for mages, their potential was largely determined from birth.
In fact, if no promise showed by the early teens, many sought other paths.
"No. It's too early to give up. Finn too. Finn's fourteen, and he's just now seeing the light."
Finn had stubbornly attended the academy due to his own determination. She had heard that even his family and the academy had urged him to drop out.
But what happened today?
Finn had exploded with growth, as if his pent-up potential had finally burst free. He would proudly advance to the intermediate division, surpass the advanced division, and become a proper mage.
"There's nothing I can't do either. I......"
She said that, but no confidence welled up.
As Anne let out a quiet sigh,
"Sis."
A familiar voice came from behind. Turning, she saw a boy with sky-blue hair and half-lidded sleepy eyes.
It was Anne's younger brother, Ami Mayer, who had just entered Phoenix Academy this year.
"Why are you moping out here?"
He had been taking a walk to familiarize himself with the academy grounds when he spotted his sister sitting alone and approached.
"Amiiii......"
"Whoa! What's with you?"
Anne suddenly hugged him while still sitting, and the startled Ami pushed her face away with his hands.
She clung stickily like a slime, refusing to let go easily.
After struggling to pry her off, Ami panted heavily.
"What's your deal?"
He asked his sister with an utterly annoyed expression.
"Well...... We had the mana capacity test today, and it hasn't changed much from last year. A whole year passed with no results. What do I do? I guess I'm really no good at magic......"
Ami listened quietly, sighed deeply, shoved his hands in his pockets, and said,
"If you have no talent, sis, then 90% of the academy kids should quit and go home."
He plopped down beside Anne, glanced at her face, and sighed again with a look of extreme annoyance.
"Remember what Mom said? Everyone has something they're good at."
"Yeah."
"You're smart, sis. It's a shame your mana growth stalled, but most mages would have to bow their heads to you."
"Why would they bow?"
"Because they'd get slapped for being dumb."
Anne didn't understand why they'd get slapped.
Reading her expression, Ami clicked his tongue and said,
"Just take my word for it. Explaining is too annoying. What I'm saying is, you don't need a ton of mana—you can do anything."
"But mana is important for a mage. Without enough, you can't dream of becoming great. Forget reviving our family, it might get even worse."
"Why are you worrying about that? Anyone hearing you would think we can't even afford rice."
The Mayer family had fallen far from its past glory and was now a name-only noble house, but it wasn't a desperate situation.
They lived comfortably enough in their small territory with the locals.
"Still, they say our family used to be amazing."
"True. But there's no need to revive it, right? Just live as we are."
"You easygoing punk."
"You're overthinking it, sis."
"You cute little thing! You're all I've got for siblings!"
"Gah!"
Anne hugged Ami tightly again.
Ten and eight was just a two-year gap, but at that growing age, two years made a huge physical difference.
Ami yelled to get away, but there was no escaping Anne's grasp.
After swinging him around like a doll until she tired herself out, she let him go.
Anne flopped onto the grass, utterly limp.
"No more hugs from now on. It's exhausting."
"By the way, there's this kid in my class named Finn......"
"I know. The older guy in elementary?"
"Yeah. He was stuck in place forever, but today he finally shone. I only ever saw him struggling...... Good for him."
Anne's face smiled as she spoke, but it also looked sad.
"I got jealous, envious. Your sis is pathetic, huh?"
Ami looked at her profile as she lay there, then sat up.
"Pathetic why? Mom and Dad said before I enrolled: Everyone gets jealous of someone sometimes. But don't hate them. Don't waste energy on hate—use it as motivation to grow stronger."
"They said that to me too."
"So it's fine. When you're jealous, use it as fuel and push harder. Mom and Dad have never been wrong."
"Our little bro's so mature today?"
"No hugs. Or I'll shoot fireballs."
Sensing something off, Ami stepped back a few paces and struck a weird pose.
He meant it as an attack stance, but to Anne, it looked like he was just clowning around in front of his big sis.
Thanks to him, she managed a small smile.
Ami smirked seeing her expression soften a bit.
"Oh yeah, I heard some kids in my class suddenly got way better too."
"Hm?"
"I wasn't here last year, so I don't know details, but our homeroom teacher was super excited."
"Names?"
"Don't remember one clearly, but the other was...... Ivan. Yeah, Ivan."
"Ivan?"
"Yeah. His grades started improving bit by bit late last year, and the teacher was thrilled about his mana growth this time."
Ivan was a student Anne knew well.
He worked hard, but saw no results.
Anne was good at studies, but Ivan struggled with both academics and magic. She remembered talks of him dropping out.
'Come to think of it, Betty mentioned something like that.'
Her roommate Betty had brought up Ivan a few days before the semester started.
Said his grades improved a lot after drinking Apophis X.
Back then, she hadn't believed a mere supplement could boost grades. She thought Ivan had just worked hard enough for results to show.
'Wait. Finn was drinking Apophis X too......'
She had seen him chug three bottles a day at the academy.
He had offered her some occasionally, but she never accepted.
"Now that I think about it, the teacher said those kids improved a ton compared to last year."
Listening to her brother, Anne felt a strange incongruity.
But she soon shook her head.
"No way that's possible......"
It was just speculation.
Mana didn't increase just from drinking some supplement.
She had first seen Finn drinking it just a week ago. A hundreds-of-points mana surge in a week was impossible.
Just coincidence.
Apophis X was a trendy supplement these days. Anyone drinking it wasn't odd.
A week had passed, but Siegfried's words still lingered in his mind.
'Damn. I should just let it go in one ear and out the other, so why does it keep popping up?'
Jamie rubbed his eyes irritably.
Disciple, my ass.
Ridiculous.
He had planned to take a different path from his previous life, but taking a disciple was off-limits.
This time, he absolutely would not take one. Having a powerful being he raised himself turn into an enemy was horrific enough.
And having to kill them personally.
"Focus on the next class."
Jamie swept back his hair and headed to Beta Class. Today was the day for the Beta Class lesson, known as the elementary average.
"Teacher Jamie."
Then, Javelin's voice came from behind.
"Heading to class?"
"Yes. It's Beta Class day."
"Ah. How's teaching going?"
It had been a week since he started as a student teacher.
Now was the time to settle into academy life.
"Not bad. Lots of standout students."
"Haha. That's a relief. I was worried it might not satisfy you."
"What wouldn't satisfy? It's just a month, right?"
"True."
"You didn't call me just to chat, did you?"
"Well, sort of. I'm your mentor, after all. Haha."
Javelin was a man who laughed a lot.
His usual expression was smiling, and he often laughed out loud while talking. On one hand, it masked his true feelings, making him hard to read.
Like 1st Elder Offen Ginger.
"Anyway, I called to check if you were adjusting okay."
"I see. No class for you today?"
"Nope. Oh, hold on."
Javelin checked his wristwatch. A subtle light rippled; tapping it with his finger, mana flowed into his body.
"Gotta go for a call. Good luck." "Yes, 3rd Elder."
Javelin excused himself and walked off talking to the 3rd Elder.
The sudden mention of the 3rd Elder caught him off guard.
'They don't match at all.'
Serpent Gerol and Javelin Cutter.
Their personalities were total opposites; he hadn't expected any connection.
But who cared who hung out with whom.
Jamie shrugged and resumed walking when a student approached from the opposite direction.
His wide eyes had bloodshot whites, and his mouth muttered nonstop.
Curious, Jamie listened in.
'Spell formulas?'
Memorizing, probably.
But why mutter them with such a scary face?
'His way of studying, I guess.'
People focused differently; best to respect it.
But as Jamie walked on, he stopped and looked back.
The student with the scary face memorizing formulas was already gone.
"Just my imagination?"
He had felt something odd from the student, but couldn't pinpoint why.
Probably nothing.
Jamie thought so and headed back to Beta Class.