Chapter 17
“No, I said I’d do it, so why are you insisting on asking someone else…?”
As if he’s not ‘someone else’ himself. With those sneaky eyes, of course I’d be reluctant. But I can’t say that out loud here.
Idnia glossed over the situation to avoid offending the petty-minded Gibles.
“Oh, it’s just that I’d feel bad bothering you, Mr. Gibles, with a personal errand when you already manage so many things at the academy.
Blackfang is going shopping anyway, but you’d have to go out of your way to a store you don’t need to visit.
And I’d have to ask you to carry heavy loads. How could I ask you to do that?
Transporting heavy luggage all the way to the academy is no small feat, is it?”
“Well, the living armors would carry them anyway… Hmm. Ah, it’s time.”
Gibles, disappointed that he couldn’t get Marie’s signature, swung the steward’s lantern.
“Servants, please leave. Students, move your belongings to the dorms and then gather in the auditorium!”
“Alright, then I’m off. Master. See you tomorrow.”
Blackfang took the list of items needed by Idnia and Marie, mounted his black steed, and left.
Once the servants had delivered the luggage and left, course registration began.
It was still preliminary enrollment before official classes, and since schedule changes were allowed for a month, Idnia decided to try every available class for now.
Now that I think about it, they didn’t teach me magic early at Betelgeuse either, saying it wasn’t good to learn too soon. Strange, isn’t it?
Having grown up believing that the earlier you start training or studying, the better, Idnia always wondered why magic was an exception.
And that curiosity was answered during her first class.
“Welcome to Basic Mana Training, everyone. As you may know, I am the Baroness of Bylem. Please address me as Baroness.”
Basic Mana Training, a recommended class for those who hadn’t learned magic beforehand and a core requirement, was taught by the Baroness of Bylem herself.
Hmm. They told me to be cautious, and now here comes that professor’s class right off the bat.
Idnia could feel the gaze of the Baroness of Bylem, just as Blackfang had warned her about. The baroness looked at Idnia with clear displeasure before clearing her throat.
“In this class, you will learn how to sense mana, how to move it with your will, and the method of amplifying it.
This is the foundation of becoming a mage—no, the most important subject of all.
In other words… your futures as mages rest in my hands, starting now.”
“……”
It sounded like she was saying that for someone in particular to hear.
“Now, those of you who’ve studied magic in advance, please come to the front.”
Students who had received prior magical education stepped forward. Among them were Crown Prince Rudolf, the General Commander’s daughter Isolde Volchen, and heirs of many electoral lords and royal families.
All prominent noble families with wealth were stepping up, leaving Idnia as the lone high noble who didn’t—making her look ridiculous.
The Baroness of Bylem began teaching the basics of mana manipulation to the students.
“Focus your magical energy with your will. Anyone here who’s studied aura?”
A few students raised their hands, but the Baroness shook her head.
“No need to raise hands.”
She continued, using aura as a comparison.
“If aura begins in the dantian and spreads through the whole body, mana starts at the crown of your head and travels down the spinal cord, branching out to your limbs. Adjust your breathing accordingly and send your will throughout your entire body.
Imagine there’s a network—like veins but different—a neural network, and you must recognize each part of it…”
Wait a minute…
Idnia faltered while following the instructions.
Whenever she meditated, she would instinctively activate her Tyrant Emperor’s Breath and start channeling aura.
In other words, her habit of training aura interfered with her mana control.
While she struggled, the other students seemed to be getting the hang of it quickly.
Some students even released a subtle glow around them, enough for Idnia to sense.
This is bad. At this rate…
She was going to fail.
The Baroness of Bylem, examining the students who had prior magic training, commented:
“Mana is essentially life force generated from one’s spiritual activity.
It accumulates in the human body as one lives and thinks. Not just humans—every living being, even inanimate objects without will, contain mana as natural spirits.
The problem is, although mana grows naturally with spiritual activity… if it isn’t periodically adjusted, one can’t use it properly. In fact, they might even degrade their ability.
That’s why the Academy discourages prior magical education.”
At that moment, Christian Dupont raised his hand.
“Even if we learned from Academy graduates?”
“Graduates from the Academy… They’re mostly just pushed out after basic classes. If someone was really capable of advancing magical science, they’d already be working in the research division.”
“……”
“Think about it. Tutors hired outside the academy are pressured to deliver quick results.
So whether or not you’re stuck in a rut later, as long as they get you casting spells now, they’ll be praised by their employers and maybe even get a bonus.
When you learn magic like that, your mana won’t rise from deep within your soul. Instead, it will only skim the surface of your skin with shallow depth.
Sadly, many students here are already like that.”
The Baroness clicked her tongue as she inspected their mana control.
“Many of those with prior education can’t use mana deeply. They’re worse off than complete beginners.
At least beginners don’t have bad habits to correct.”
“That can’t be…”
“To put it in terms of breathing—it’s like learning intense physical activity without knowing how to breathe properly.
At first, you huff and puff and think you’re improving because your breathing increases. But you’re only using the upper part of your lungs.
Eventually, you hit a wall.
Unless you learn the proper way to breathe and regularly adjust as your spiritual vessel grows, you’ll never wield mana properly.”
“……”
The students with prior training looked visibly shaken.
It was like being told they had wasted money on useless lessons.
They used to think Bylemhart’s rants about prior education were just mad dragon nonsense, but now they realized it really had harmed them.
On the other hand, Crown Prince Rudolf was flawless in the Baroness’s eyes.
“Oh, perfect. He even learned aura, yet his mana control is immaculate. A true genius.”
“Is there a problem with learning aura together?”
“Usually, if you learn aura, you can’t excel in mana control.
Both stem from vital and spiritual energies, but they operate on opposing principles. To master both deeply—now that’s what we call a genius.”
“……”
Students who had studied both aura and mana looked unsettled.
However, Prince Lorenzo of Mazdari and Prince Karl of Oxvach were known to have mastered both deeply, constructing advanced mana pathways despite learning aura as well.
“As expected of noble families.
Truly worthy of the Empire’s founding bloodlines.”
“Then… what should we do?”
“Of course, you all must work your bones to the—”
