2 hours after my triumphant entrance to the academy, all the students gathered in a huge hall, Livia was not with me as only students were allowed to enter, the servants were waiting in a different room.
The students were murmuring excitedly and nervously about the person who was about to appear.
-Step Step
With the sound of the footsteps the room was completely silent, a man who looked no older than 30 years old, was walking up the stairs in a calm manner while his imposing footsteps did not stop resounding.
He had long white hair, his eyes glowed a mysterious blue color and he exuded an indescribable aura.
"So this is what an archmage looks like?"
An archmage, the chasm to which all wizards aspire, are beings so powerful that they can even influence the laws of the world in some way.
"And this guy is the most dangerous."
The headmaster of the academy.
"Very good morning to you all, future students."
An archmage who controls the most powerful world law.
"I am Acrom Zerkim, headmaster of the Athena Academy."
The time
"Let's get along."
He said with a captivating smile
"It's him!!!"
"The legendary archmage!"
"I want his autograph!"
The students began to cheer excitedly for the person in front of them and no wonder
Acrom Zerkim, is a hero who has led humans to victory in countless wars, it is said that for this the goddess Athena gave him as a gift the ambrosia, an exclusive fruit for the gods that could grant immortality to any mortal who consumed it, that's why he looks so young despite being about 150 years old.
As thanks, Acrom built this academy in his name to raise more warriors who can lead the humans to victory.
"I know you are all excited but you don't have to let your guard down."
The students were silent once again at Acrom's words.
"At the Athena academy we breed warriors, nothing more and nothing less, if it turns out that you don't measure up then we won't hesitate to discard you."
Everyone began to get nervous at the weight of his words, but Acrom smiled and continued speaking
"But, you don't have to worry excessively about that either, everyone has different talents, different aspirations and different mentalities. If you see that you are not advancing in a certain area then discard it and move on, try, experiment as much as you can in the 3 years you will be here, good things will not come to you voluntarily, move on and take them into your own hands, if you want to be the best swordsman then swing your sword, if you want to be the best magician then memorize the formulas and perfect your magic, if you want to be the best alchemist then learn all the mixtures and herbs that exist and if you want to be the best blacksmith then hammer the hot iron until you can't feel your arms."
The eyes of the previously nervous and depressed students began to glow with determination and excitement, completely immersing themselves in the headmaster's words, I admit that I too felt excited by his words
"Only through hard work will you be able to achieve your goals or dreams, it will be a road full of cracks, potholes and obstacles, but if you can get up and keep going, I am sure you will reach the end someday."
Leaving those last words behind, he left the room and the students erupted in cheers.
Several other teachers came on stage shortly after and began to sort the students and take them to their rooms.
***
"Poof~"
I plopped down on the huge, comfortable bed in my new room.
"I'm exhausted"
The 2 days of traveling, the heroin teasing, and the principal's speech all left me drained of energy
-Clack
I heard a noise and when I looked up I could see a cup of hot tea along with some sweets, Livia was standing there but she didn't say anything, and she didn't need to either.
"Thank you."
I said as I stood up to drink the tea.
"Don't worry, it's my duty"
"Thanks anyway"
The tea smelled good and its taste was...mild? I don't know, but when I drank it I felt my body warm up and my muscles relaxed
"Ja~you are the best maid did you know that?"
"That's something I don't doubt."
"Haha, presumptuous."
***
Today is the day when classes start, I got up early and when I finished dressing I headed to what would be from now on my classroom.
I opened the door and as it was early there were not many people but the few that were there stared at me until I sat down in one of the middle seats.
Little by little the rest of the students arrived until the class was full.
Well, except for one seat
The door opened and in walked a woman with big glasses and messy green hair just like her uniform.
She walked lazily to the center of the classroom and cleared her throat before speaking
"Hello~ I'm Vivian, your teacher."
""...""
I don't think it needs to be emphasized how little reaction her introduction got
"Eh~ how unenthusiastic, how can they not be excited by a beauty like me~ the standards of beauty have changed or something~ no, that wouldn't make sense, I'm beautiful no matter what the standards are."
The students just stood in silence as they watched their new teacher lose herself in her monologue.
"Ay well never mind~ I will be your teacher from now until you graduate, I will be teaching you mainly, magical theory and monster biology. I guess the first thing for now is to check the attendance list."
She sat down at her desk and began to check the list
"Let's see, Rufus Adams."
"Here."
"Monica Vercheti"
"Here"
"Lucas..."
The teacher called out the names of the students one by one until she reached the last one
"Kein West"
No one answered
"Kein West?...Mm, he doesn't seem to be here-"
"Excuse me!!!"
Suddenly, the door burst open and a black-haired young man shouted panting surely from running too long
"Ha...ha...excuse me...the delay."
"Wow~ being late on the first day, that calls for punishment."
She said and put her hand on her chin trying to think of an appropriate punishment for the student who dared to be late on the first day"
"Well just don't do it again."
"That's it?!"
Thought all the students but no one said it out loud.
"Yes, I promise"
After that Kein came in and sat down next to Anisa, the two chatted for a bit before turning their attention to the teacher
"Alright, after this amusing altercation I think I can start with my class."
Vivian stood up and began to walk as she spoke.
"As you know, mana is an energy that is found everywhere and anywhere, we can manipulate that energy through the heart or the mana circuit, which are very different but very similar at the same time."
Everyone paid attention to the class and some also took out their notebooks to take notes.
"Both methods allow us to concentrate and manipulate that energy to use it as we wish, within the limits of each one of course."
-Step
The teacher stopped walking and looked directly at the students.
"But they have another thing in common."
-Click
She snapped her fingers and a not very complicated pattern was drawn in the air
"Formulas."
-Click
She snapped her fingers again and a chalk began to draw the pattern on the huge blackboard so everyone could get a good look at it
"Formulas are a means by which we can not only manipulate that energy, but also transform it."
-Step Step
She resumed walking with her arms behind her back
"Mana has no form, it has no properties, it is not solid, liquid or gaseous, cold, hot or warm, soft, viscous or hard, but through the formulas we can give it form and properties."
She pointed to the pattern that was drawn on the huge blackboard and continued with her explanation.
"The pattern here is the one used to create a fireball, one of the simplest spells there is. Many people believe that by this spell you can create fire out of nothing but that is not the case."
-Fuum
The teacher created a small ball of fire on the tip of her index finger.
"This is not fire, this is mana transformed to have the same properties as fire, Piu~"
The teacher shot the small fireball towards a student, the student was startled but when the fireball hit him nothing happened to him
"Eh?"
"See? you didn't get burned, fire doesn't do that, it burns you no matter how small it is."
She then grabbed a sheet of paper and put it under a fireball for several seconds but nothing happened.
"Because this is not fire but mana transformed by a formula, you can do fun things like this, oh if you want something more interesting..."
The eraser began to float erasing a few lines of the pattern
"Fireball."
-Fuu~
"What!?"
"Wow!"
The students were astonished at what they see, the fireball instead of shooting out flowed steadily from the teacher's palm
"Haha, this can't really be called a fireball though."
-Tik, Tik, Tik
The chalk changed the pattern of the magic circle again.
"Fireball."
-Fum
-Fush
This time the fireball did shoot out but it disintegrated after reaching a certain distance.
-Tik, Tik, Tik
"Fireball."
This time the fireball flew normally before suddenly changing is trajectory.
Tik, Tik, Tik, Tik
"Fireball"
This time the fireball split into smaller ones.
"As you can see, making a few slight changes to the formula can transform the spell completely, lower or raise the temperature, range, direction, number, everything can be modified through a small change, use your imagination to create unique things, after all, that's what magic is all about, experimenting and creating new things."
-Ring!
The bell rang signaling the end of class.
"Wow~ it's over already...well, I was hungry anyway, bye~"
Said the teacher before she left the room leaving all the students silent
"Th-that was amazing!"
"I know, I never thought you could use magic like that!"
"It's the best academy in the empire for a reason!"
But it lasted only a short while before the students began to give their opinions on the class
"Quite interesting."
Since the novel was written from the perception of the protagonist who is a warrior the topic of magic wasn't touched on much, but this can definitely come in handy
I got up from my seat and headed to the dining room.
"Let's go for round two?"
***
The academy's dining hall was crowded, but still there was enough space for everyone, the food they served was of the best quality with the calories and nutrients perfectly selected for healthy eating
"Hey commoner, move out of my place."
Everything would be quiet if it weren't for a certain student who loved to annoy others.
"You again? and what do you mean your place? we were here first."
Kein who was getting ready to eat together with Anisa was interrupted by Arthur's annoying foolishness.
"Hmp! people like you shouldn't have the right to enter this academy, that also applies to the ruined noble over there, a noble who isn't able to maintain his status is just a piece of trash!"
Anisa lowered her head in frustration at Arthur's words but Kein wasn't going to let it go.
-Bam!
He slammed the table and glared angrily at Arthur.
"Say that again!"
Arthur flinched but he didn't take a step backwards
"You dare speak to me in that tone a filthy commoner like you!?"
He said as he began to increase his mana
"And what will you do about it?"
Kein asked as he also began to increase his mana.
The people in the dining hall started to gather around him so they could see what was going on, Anisa who noticed this tried to stop Kein
"K-Kein, leave it it's not worth it."
Kein listened to Anisa's words and was about to leave until he heard the words Arthur said afterward
"You should listen to her, after all, you commoners should only follow the orders of the nobility."
At that moment a bitter memory came to Kein's mind.
-"You commoners should only follow the orders of the nobility."
Losing control he lunged forward to punch Arthur in the face.
-Pam!
The blow echoed throughout the dining hall but failed to hit its target.
"Fighting on the first day of school? you kids are really hot-blooded now."
A stout man with black hair and yellow eyes caught Kein's fist with ease.
'This man...he's very strong, the strongest I've ever seen besides my grandfather.'
"I don't think this is a good way to introduce myself but I will anyway, Lucius Belmut, your combat teacher."
He said with a beaming smile as he released Kein's fist.
"I can see you both have a lot of potential, but you're wasting it on these stupid fights."
"That guy started it first!"
"You dare to point at me!"
"Fine!"
Lucius shouted causing everyone to cover their ears.
"I see that this problem can't be solved so easily then I propose something."
He put his hands on both of their shoulders and said.
"How about you two have a duel in 2 weeks time? what the winner will win you can decide"
Kein didn't think long before agreeing
"Sounds like a good idea, if I win then you'll have to stop bothering us."
"Ha! you think you can win? if I win then you'll be my slave for the rest of the school year".
"Good, then it's decided, the duel will take place in 2 weeks, don't fight until then okay?"
They both nodded and the lunch break was over.
"I look forward to seeing your duel!"
-Pam
"Ack!"
"Phew!"
Lucius said before slapping them both hard on the back and leaving.
Arthur just threw one last glare at Kein before leaving as well.
"Kein!"
Anisa who until recently was silent ran up to Kein and started shaking him.
"Are you crazy? Why did you do that? It's Arthur Reclesia we're talking about now!"
"W-wait Anisa, stop shaking me first!"
"Ah!. S-sorry, no! Wait! Why did you accept that duel!"
"Come on, you know it won't stop bothering us if we don't do anything"
"But if you lose..."
"Don't worry about it, I'm strong."
He said with a wide smile as he flexed one of his arms.
"Sigh~ it's okay."
Resigned she stopped insisting and decided to rely on her new friend to get her through this situation
***
Lucius was walking along with his colleague while talking.
"And how about this year's students?"
She asked
"Well, today I met two who almost got into a fight on the first day."
"Haha, that sounds problematic"
"But they really surprised me, one of them had a huge raw strength and a tough body, I'm sure he will be a very powerful warrior in the future, but the other one caught my attention more."
"Oh? why is that?"
"His body was also tough but also flexible, it was a polished body that can only be achieved after arduous training."
"Oh really? who was it?"
"Mmm, I think it was..."
Lucius rubbed his chin as he tried to remember the student's name.
"Ah yes! I remember now, Arthur Reclesia, that was his name."
Suddenly his companion stopped walking at the sound of the name.
"Wait, wait, wait, are you sure it was Arthur Reclesia?"
"Yeah, I'm sure it was him, what's up?"
"You don't know...that guy has the reputation of being a playboy who only drinks and goes to the brothel every night to spend hundreds of gold coins."
"Really? but his body was definitely not that of a person with that kind of lifestyle."
"Maybe you were wrong"
"No, it's impossible for me to be wrong about something like that, although now I'm more curious"
He said as he thought about what happened a few moments ago in the dining room.
When the black haired boy threw the punch he felt Arthur saw it coming even before he threw it, but he didn't move an inch from his spot, as if he knew I would intervene
"Arthur Reclesia"
Suddenly he felt like their duel would soon begin
New chapter!
"Ja~you are the best maid did you know that?"
"That's something I don't doubt."
"Haha, presumptuous."
I really like this moment. At first glance it might seem a little pointless, but it's actually a nice bit of characterization for Livia which I feel is sorely needed. Good job author!
"As you can see, making a few slight changes to the formula can transform the spell completely, lower or raise the temperature, range, direction, number, everything can be modified through a small change, use your imagination to create unique things, after all, that's what magic is all about, experimenting and creating new things."
If mages have that much control then an artifical mana vein would have to be possible. Isn't launching a fireball essentially just moving mana? Just launch enough fire balls at the same spot to raise the mana density to the correct point for a long enough time, and boom you've got yourself a proverbial gold mine of alchemical goods. Although considering that it isn't done, maybe there's a reason for it? Gods are present here after all. Perhaps they've outlawed it for some reason?
Also Arthur being found out by that teacher is SUPER bad. He definitely should've taken precautions against this kind of expert appraisal sorta thing. He's in an academy of experts appraising him for christ sakes! If the school sees him as enough of a prodigy, that could make it significantly harder to get him kicked out of school. The school would probably be willing to overlook some personality issues they normally wouldn't if he could be an asset to the state. Throwing him out of the school would be "wasting" his talents after all. I hope Klein wins this duel because if he doesn't Arthur's plan is officially over. It can't be a close match either. It has to be a one side beat down. Even then the plan could still be in jeopardy. That teacher will endlessly be on his case and suspicious. I can't imagine the teacher will be subtle in his inquiries either. That leaves a trail Arthur's family could notice and jump on.
First of all thanks for the comment, I love your comments.
Secondly, what you say about the mana veins is not possible, in more advanced chapters I give to understand a little bit the point, but in summary, what people do to control the mana is to absorb it and then refine it and condense it in their bodies either with the circuit or the heart of mana, so they can only use the mana that is inside their bodies, they can not control the general mana of the atmosphere other than to absorb it.
Mana veins are formed when a large amount of natural mana is gathered in a single area, to achieve that with human hands would take at least the equivalent of 3 archmages to create a vein of mana that would not even last that long
@Papaslocas fascinating stuff!
Setting aside the bomb shell that is human bodies changing mana on a fundamental level, does that mean that humans can only absorb mana that they are physically in contact with? I always imagined the mana absorption process as the human body acting like a vacuum or a magnet and drawing in mana in a radius, but that would ultimately be making atmospheric mana move. With this explanation it seems like its more absorbing the mana that would constantly be making contact with the body presuming mana is constantly in motion. Sorta like how air is constantly making contact with you irl, but you just don't notice it.
A part of me is very interested in the insights that could be gained by examining the parts of the body that absorb and condense mana. Could these structures be replicated and applied in the field of artifact creation? What happens when you rip these parts out of the human body? Do they still work? If they don't, can you get them to work with machines like you what scientists have with dog heads? Of course those later questions are getting into unethical territory, but someone has probably been willing to test these things right?
There's also the question of demons! Do they have similar parts? If they do does that imply at some point humans and demons had a common ancestors or is it merely convergent evolution? If they don't does that mean demon have a completely different magic system? What would happen if one were to transplant a demon's magic organs into a human or vice versa? Would one be able to pass this demon organ research by an ethics committee?
Also how much stronger is an archmage than your average mage? Sure getting 3 archmages to work together on this would be difficult, but how about 10,000 normal mages? Depending on how many normal mages are out there, I could see a country managing to gather the manpower.
@Algunos conceptos65 Damn that's why I love your comments, you just gave me a bomb of ideas to experiment in the future, all the questions you asked will be answered in the future, the one about the demon magic system will actually be explained in the next chapters, but obviously I'm not going to ruin it for you by telling you now.
And on the subject of archmages, a single archmage would have the mana capacity equivalent to about 10,000 common mages.
@Papaslocas
Damn that's why I love your comments, you just gave me a bomb of ideas to experiment in the future, all the questions you asked will be answered in the future
I just try to be the type of commenter I'd like to see on my own stories.
I'm very excited to see how you answer these questions because there's a lot of potential conflict and moral dilemmas they propose.
For example these experiments could be a microcosm for human, demon relations. From what I've read demons seem like evil creatures, but are they evil enough to justify essentially butchering them just to see how their body works? How do these evil creatures view the humans doing these unethical experiments? Do they fear them? Are they outraged? Do they perhaps support it because of some twisted view?
Going back to the dog head experiments I mentioned before, that experiment was essentially a proof of concept. The scientists wanted to see if they could keep a severed head alive long enough to potential transplant it onto another body. When shown in that light there is a moral greyness to the experiment. One could make an argument that the experiments were for the good of humanity. One (an antagonist for example) could say 'Sure the dog had to be decapitated and put into a horrifying, awful circumstance, but think of the lives we could save if we could successfully perform a head/brain transplant.'
Of course this isn't a very empathetic argument. The one thinking it isn't putting themselves into the dog's shoes(and later monkey's because scientists went further with monkeys. Look it up pretty interesting, albeit gruesome, stuff). Imagine being the dog that's had it's brain put into another's head, waking up in a body that is not its own. Confusion soon turning into horror as you realize that something isn't right. When you try to move your body does move, but it's different. Incorrect even. The difference in leg size leads to a completely different gait. The difference in height is disorienting. The vertigo makes you want to vomit out your organs, but still you persist. When you finally manage to drag yourself in front of a mirror to see what is going on with your body, you don't see yourself anymore. You see what you've become. Something has decided to play god and it's created a monster. But wait hold on, lets back up a bit, waking up in a new body? Doesn't that sound familiar? Isn't that essentially what transmigration is? Thus a narrative through line is formed. The experimental subjects a mirror for Arthur. Arthur's reaction to the test subjects can then be used as a means of characterization to show how he feels about transmigration as a whole.
@Algunos conceptos65 hum hum