It's been two weeks since I transferred into Blue Light Academy in the city of Blue.And two days since that party.
We, the diligent students, had taken two full days to rest after finishing our physical and reflex tests. Now, another exam awaited us.There were two left: the practical test and the combat test.
Of course, we'd start with combat first — the practical exam usually took two to three days to complete.That would surely be a "wonderful" time... but that was tomorrow's problem.
Today, Marcus was facing off against Jax.
Marcus, dressed in a simple white shirt, still managed to radiate an air of pride.Opposite him stood Jax — a short, wiry dwarf wielding two small blades.
In truth, for a dwarf, Jax was rather tall. Dwarves usually stood around 1.3 to 1.5 meters, but Jax reached a full 1.57.Still, that only made him look like a slightly underdeveloped human.
"READY—BEGIN!"
Proctor Will shouted, and in an instant, Jax's two blades spread wide, his long black hair whipping in the air.
Whoosh!
Marcus lunged forward, spear in hand. When only three meters remained between them, he swung down with both arms in a strange, almost ridiculous motion.
That bizarre stance caught Jax off guard, but only for a breath.Jax twisted — and vanished.
That was illusionary mana, the art of spatial distortion — manipulating the mana flow around oneself.By using it, Jax turned the five-meter radius around him into his own personal domain.
This was a duel between Jax, a Rank Four Core, and Marcus, a Rank Five.But that didn't guarantee Marcus's victory. It was just like a seventy-kilo man fighting an eighty-kilo one — an advantage, not a certainty.
Back to the fight—Jax flickered around Marcus, slashing from every direction.Shoulders, back, arms, legs — no part of Marcus's body escaped unscathed.
His weapon, a mid-range spear, should've been an advantage. But Jax was too quick; every time Marcus tried to reposition, Jax darted away.With dual blades and fluid technique, Jax kept deflecting and redirecting Marcus's attacks effortlessly.
Marcus took several steps back, eyes sharp, waiting for an opening.Then — he struck.
He thrust his spear straight into one of Jax's afterimages…Then suddenly let go of the weapon, spun around — and found Jax lunging from behind.
Even without his weapon, Marcus didn't falter.He wasn't panicked; in fact, he looked completely calm.
"JSFAFS!!" Marcus roared.
It sounded like… a mana incantation? I couldn't even tell what he said.
Immediately, his gray eyes turned golden, crackling faintly with white lightning.Strange runes glimmered across his irises — the ancient script of this world's laws.
BOOM!
The temperature in the hall dropped sharply.Where Jax once stood, a crater had formed.
Jax reappeared to Marcus's right, short sword aimed directly for his eyes.
In the language of mana, using the world's Laws came at a price — and vision was one of the sacrifices.Now, Marcus's eyes saw nothing but flowing mana runes — the supreme codes that governed all things.
"AFDDKA!" ("Vector!!")
Jax's strike veered sharply to the right, deflected by an unseen force.Marcus, though blind, had already anticipated the attack.
He had created a vortex of vectors centered around himself — a rotating field that disrupted any incoming trajectory.
But Jax wasn't done.He shifted again — this time above Marcus — both blades pointed downward.
Marcus, still standing motionless, smiled.A victor's smile.
His spear, discarded moments ago, suddenly returned to his hand.
Clang! Clang!
"Urgh…"
Marcus raised his arms, bending low to parry both descending blades.For a moment, time itself seemed to freeze.
Marcus, blind but grinning — because he had prepared for this.
A crushing pressure erupted from him, or rather — from his spear.
But that wasn't a spear anymore.It was a compressed mass of mana, shaped and solidified by will alone.
BOOM!!
The entire arena froze.The spear shattered into shards of frost, and Marcus's body was covered in patches of cold burn — his uniform torn, his hands trembling.
Jax, on the other hand, collapsed to the ground, his twin blades clattering away.
Marcus was the clear victor.
And me?I just sat there, jaw hanging open, speechless at his display.
And next… it would be my turn.
I'd given up. I couldn't understand why that damned proctor paired me against Kale.It was like he wanted me to fail.
"One day… I swear, one day…" I gritted my teeth as I walked through the cafeteria, a book tucked under my arm.
"The Chronicle of Magical Systems."
With Marcus recovering from his injuries and Emma busy elsewhere, it was just me and this book for company.I flipped it open to the page I'd last read.
"Every person is born with a primordial source of mana — the seed of inner essence."
"Anyone can learn various kinds of magic, but to truly master one, they must understand its nature and harmonize it within their body.Those born without innate mana affinity — or with a fixed core aligned to either Mind or Body — are the majority, destined to remain ordinary."
"Currently, two mana types — Heaven (lightning, water, wind, mist…) and Earth (fire, metal, stone…) — are considered the most accessible, as they can be easily sensed and absorbed from the surroundings."
"Heaven and Earth are the most developed types, boasting the greatest destructive power and widest usage."
"Each mana type connects to another through the language of mana. If you master one and are fluent enough in that language, you can eventually reach its counterpart.For example — Heaven and Earth, Mind and Body, Light and Darkness, Law and Chaos…"
"Each mana core has its own ranking system — for instance, Heaven has thirteen ranks, while Soul has seven…"
"On the subject of Gifts…"
"Wahhhh…" I yawned, snapping the book shut. I'd been sitting in the Blue Light cafeteria for hours.Maybe I should return it. Tomorrow, I wouldn't even be here.
Step… step…Tap tap tap…
My footsteps echoed down the corridor, blending with the soft sound of rain.It looked peaceful — the wet glass, the golden sunset after the storm.
I pulled out a familiar vial, uncapped it, and dumped the pills into my mouth.Crunch, crunch.
They tasted almost sweet now — like daily candy.
Soon, I reached the library.It looked the same as always, though emptier than before — most students were probably still recovering from the written exam.
I placed the book on the counter.But instead of the usual student librarian, there was an old elf.
His black hair was long and messy, and a pair of round glasses sat crookedly on his face. He looked like a scholar who'd spent too many nights reading.
"Excuse me, I'm returning this," I said.
His nameplate read: Frend Brond.
He looked up and smiled kindly."Just leave it there, Mr. Ron."
Before I could say anything, he chuckled."Hardly anyone comes to study these days. You're the only one still borrowing books, Mr. Ron."
"Ah… thank you. Have a good day, sir."
Feeling oddly uneasy, I thanked him and hurried out.
"If there's ever anything you need," he called after me, his gentle laughter echoing behind, "you can always ask me."
Something about his voice sent a shiver down my spine.
After I left, the elf closed his book and stroked the white cat curled behind the pile of tomes."I should've asked him to take this one too… hehe."
He smiled warmly, running a hand across the cover of another book —
"How to Manage a Chaotic Life."