"Vern, are you going to participate?" Edward asked, his voice carrying a mix of curiosity and nervous energy as they walked side by side toward the Basic Mana Knowledge classroom. His hands fidgeted at his sides, occasionally clenching into fists as though he were already imagining the coming battles.
Vern, however, remained silent for a moment. His gaze drifted across the stone-paved path, calm and unreadable. The faint morning light outlined his sharp features, giving him an almost distant, aloof air.
Ever since Instructor Vikel's announcement yesterday, the academy had been drowned in whispers and speculation. A competition that gathered every student from the first to the fourth year—it was no small event. And the prize was enough to make even the most disciplined students lose their composure.
The Room of Nature. A sacred cultivation chamber whispered about with reverence, said to hasten one's comprehension of mana and hastens the speed of cultivation . Two full years inside… it was an opportunity so rare that many would spill blood for it.
"I'm going to participate," Vern finally said, his voice steady and without hesitation. "A chance to enter the Room of Nature is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It will push my cultivation forward by leaps… so yes, I'll be joining."
He paused, his expression still composed, though his eyes reflected a quiet weight of consideration. "But it won't be easy. Mages will be competing too—and from what I know, they hold the advantage over swordsmen, at least until one reaches True Severance. Crossing blades with them will be difficult."
Vern's words carried no complaint, only a matter-of-fact clarity, as though he were stating a simple truth.
"Hm? You're right," Edward said, lowering his tone as they neared the classroom door. His brows knit together, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "I heard that Eliza and Reeta aren't going to participate in this competition… but there's the Saintess candidate. She's in her second year and already at Second Severance. For her age, that's… quite exceptional." His voice carried a mix of genuine praise and appreciation.
"Saintess candidate?" Vern's eyes narrowed slightly, though his expression remained calm. He tilted his head, recalling faintly what Edward had mentioned before. "Ah, yes… you told me about her. But aren't there others—students from the third or even the fourth year—who'll be joining as well?" His words were quiet, deliberate, as though measuring the weight of the competition even before it began.
"So, when is this competition going to start?" Vern asked calmly as he pushed the door open, stepping inside with Edward close behind.
"I heard it's the day after tomorrow," Edward replied quickly, his voice tinged with both excitement and anticipation. "It'll last for three days straight."
The moment they entered, a wave of noise washed over them. The classroom was already crowded, far more than what Vern had seen in the Swordsmanship Department's Class A. Here, the air seemed alive, buzzing with countless voices as students whispered heatedly about the upcoming competition. Some spoke with excitement, others with dread, but the anticipation was thick enough to feel pressing against the skin.
Vern and Edward made their way through the rows, their footsteps muffled by the hum of conversation. They slipped into their usual seats, Edward fidgeting slightly while Vern remained composed, his sharp gaze calmly scanning the restless faces around them.
Just as their discussion about the competition was fading into the background noise, the door creaked again. A hush rippled through the room as a woman stepped inside. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, her features strikingly elegant, framed by smooth black hair that fell neatly over her shoulders. Her deep purple robe flowed with a quiet authority, the silver insignia embroidered at its edges marking her as someone of status.
With each step she took toward the lectern, the once-boisterous classroom fell into silence. Her presence alone seemed to command attention
"Good morning, class," the instructor greeted, her voice smooth and confident, her smile warm yet carrying a subtle authority.
"Good morning, Instructor," the students echoed back in unison, their earlier whispers dying down completely.
She clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes sweeping over the rows of faces. "So… what's our topic today?" she asked lightly, pausing as if testing their attentiveness. Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully before she nodded to herself. "Ah, right. Today's lesson is—why mages hold the advantage over swordsmen until one reaches True Severance." Her words carried an almost teasing lilt, as though she already knew most of them were eager to hear this explained.
"Now then," she continued, her eyes scanning the room with deliberate patience, "can anyone tell me why that is?"
Silence lingered for a moment, until a boy in the second row tentatively raised his hand. "Is it… because they can cast spells of different elements?" he asked, his voice uncertain, his shoulders shrinking a little as if he already doubted his own answer.
The instructor tilted her head slightly, her expression unreadable. She neither nodded nor shook her head, only letting the boy's words hang in the air for a few moments. Then, with a faint smile, she turned her attention back to the class.
"Any other answers?" she asked, her voice inviting yet edged with challenge as her eyes swept across the students once more.
"Yes… you are half right," the instructor said at last, her voice calm but carrying a weight that made the student straighten in his seat. "Mages can indeed cast spells of various elements. But that is not the full picture."
She began pacing slowly in front of the class, the hem of her purple robe brushing lightly against the floor with each step. "On the other hand, swordsmen cannot wield elements until they reach the Third Severance. And even then, most can only command one—perhaps two, if they are exceptionally talented. Only in the rarest cases does a swordsman grasp three… or even four elements."
Her eyes swept across the room, pausing briefly on Vern before continuing. "Mages, however, are different. They can draw upon all elements through their spellcasting from the very beginning. And once they, too, step into the Third Severance, those elements grow even stronger, sharper, and more devastating."
She stopped at the center of the classroom, her gaze steady and voice firm. "This is why mages dominate the battlefield until swordsmen reach True Severance. It is not simply a matter of power, but of versatility, control, and overwhelming presence."
A quiet murmur rippled through the students at her words, the weight of the explanation sinking in.
"Three elements, huh?"
A faint chuckle escaped Vern as he leaned back slightly in his seat, his expression calm though his eyes glimmered with a trace of irony. Memories from his previous life surfaced unbidden, sharp and heavy. Back then, even after reaching the Third Severance, he had been pitifully limited—only able to command a single element, and that element had been darkness.
But now… things were different.
His gaze flickered briefly to his hand resting on the desk, his fingers tightening ever so slightly. In this life, it may change. After all, I can already use lightning to some extent… The faint pulse of energy within him stirred, subtle yet undeniable, a reminder of the True Lightning Physique he bore.
For the first time in a long while, there was a quiet sense of anticipation in his heart.
The instructor's gaze swept the room once more as she resumed, her tone steady and clear.
"The true reason mages hold an advantage over swordsmen lies not only in their versatility of elements," she said, pausing for emphasis, "but in how they channel mana itself. Mages can draw upon the ambient mana around them directly, weaving it into spells almost instantly."
She lifted her hand slightly, and threads of faint light shimmered around her fingers as if to demonstrate. "A swordsman, however, must first breathe in the mana, refine it within their core, and only then transform it—into aura, into Sword Force, into elemental energy, or eventually… into the Soul Sword."
A hush lingered in the room as her words settled in. Then her expression grew sharper, her voice taking on a weight that made the students unconsciously straighten in their seats.
"But everything changes at True Severance," she continued. "At that stage, a swordsman must abandon the very mana core they've relied upon their whole lives. They shatter it, discard it, and in doing so, bind their body directly to nature itself. From that moment on, they can channel mana just as freely as mages do—no longer limited, no longer bound."
Her final words echoed in the silence of the classroom, charged with a sense of awe and danger all at once.
Sigh… will there ever be a day when I reach True Severance? Vern's thoughts drifted as he listened, his gaze fixed on the instructor but his mind wandering. Well… if I can somehow manage to reach Third Severance within the next five years, then it's possible. As for True Severance… that would simply be the cherry on top. My real goal lies elsewhere.
He exhaled softly, shaking off the thought as the instructor continued her lecture—explaining methods of harnessing mana more efficiently, the subtleties of control, and the dangers of overexertion. Vern absorbed every word with quiet focus, his expression calm, while Edward occasionally scribbled notes in a messy scrawl beside him.
Time slipped by quickly. Before long, the ringing chime signaled the end of class. The instructor closed her notes and dismissed the students with a graceful wave of her hand.
Chairs scraped, voices rose, and the once orderly classroom dissolved into chatter. Vern stood, adjusting his uniform with composed movements, while Edward let out a relieved sigh as though he'd just survived a battlefield. Together, they stepped out into the corridor, the flow of students carrying them along as they made their way toward their next classes.