The Genius Magician Hides His Swordsmanship - Chapter 7

Chapter 7. The White Jade Apple.

Accommodation was a single room per person.

‘Wow, the bed is so comfortable.’

Could it be because a thousand years have passed? Or is the Delemars’ prestige just that great? This was a more luxuriously furnished room than most places I had been to in the past.

‘If anyone is educated in an environment like this, they can’t help but become stronger.’

I took out the white jade apple from inside my chest and held it up.

‘I’ll be able to try all of these things in this lifetime. It’s good to be in a prestigious family.’

[Still, you’ve come a long way. A thousand years ago, you were a man who had to beg to be able to eat until you were 20 years old.]

‘Still, I grew up well.’

Although I had good qualities that Oberon cherished, my growth had been slow compared to the children of prestigious families.

‘Well, we can just walk on a straight path from now on.’

Compared to then, this was like heaven on earth.
Chomp!
I immediately took a bite out of the white jade apple.

[Oh! How is it!]

My brows furrowed.

‘It’s so bitter?’

An average child would spit this out as soon as they taste it.

[Sometimes good things are bitter.]
‘Of course, I can’t spit out such a good thing.’

I held it in and chewed until the last bite. It is said that you could feel aura clearly, but I felt nothing at this point.

[Can you feel anything?]
‘Well, I don’t know yet.’

It would take time to absorb the energy of the apple, so it was natural that there was no immediate change.

[It’s going to change gradually. Then let’s train without a break today.]
‘Yes, that’s what I should do.’

I immediately got out of bed and took the squat position. I stood with my feet shoulder-width apart and my arms out in front of me. I then folded my hip and knee joints.

[Please act a little more carefully. Bend your knees a little more. Lower your hips.]

It wasn’t just a strength exercise. I tried to feel every single muscle texture. It was to feel the sense of the road that the aura traveled through.

‘Woah…woah…’

I was out of breath in an instant. It was because I poured all my concentration into feeling my muscles, just like when I had mana injected into me.

‘Huh?’

Bang! Bang!
At that moment, my heart started to shake again. The energy absorbed by the dark magic card was rushing towards somewhere.

‘…!’

Its destination was my stomach.
Argh!
The undigested white jade apple crumbled under the force of the energy. It split into smaller pieces and then shattered.
This went on for a long time.

‘Huh…’

The aura of the white jade apple was getting shattered until it could no longer be broken. It was spreading throughout my body.

‘The speed at which I absorbed the elixir suddenly increased.’

I didn’t even have time to think about what had caused it. I could only focus on the changes that were taking place.

‘Oh well, an elixir is still an elixir.’

I could feel my body screaming. My muscles were responding, not as strongly as they had that day, but they were responding, and it wasn’t just sore muscles.

‘Hey, Oberon.’
[Come on, straighten up, you’ve got 100 more to go.]
‘No, no, no. I think I made it after all.’
[What are you talking about?]

I couldn’t help the smile that tugged at the corners of my mouth in delight.

‘I mean, I can feel aura in my muscles!’

It was a result that surprised even Oberon.

[You can feel aura? Already?]

‘Thanks to the white jade apple, my muscles are much more sensitive than usual. I’m sure it’s similar to the sensation I felt when I was dying.’
[Huh! Really? So, my training hasn’t been in vain!]

By then, everyone in the dormitory had fallen asleep.

‘Holy shit!’

a constellation and a reincarnator exclaimed, hugging each other tightly.

That was how much aura meant to us.

* * * 

The next day.
The first class was held in the same auditorium where the test had taken place. Aloy had fully recovered and was back with his old playful face.

“Today we’ll begin training to feel mana.”

Thirty children’s eyes lit up at his words. They were about to take their first steps as mages. His words were precious.

“How many of you could feel mana before you came to the academy?”

A dozen kids raised their hands proudly. Aloy gave a small nod.

“That’s quite a few, then. Are there any who have gathered mana on their own?”

Then their hands went down. There were only three hands still up. Me, of course, McDuff, and a girl named Ariel.

“Oh! What’s your last name?”

McDuff exclaimed triumphantly.

“I’m just a 1 star!”

He exclaimed, not having collected any mana from the Origin, but working hard elsewhere. McDuff’s face crumpled, however.

“I think I’m about to become a 2 star.”

Said the girl named Ariel.

“…I think I’m going to be a 2 star too.”

Continued by me.

[Why are you reducing it? It’s three stars.]
‘I don’t think it’s a good idea to stand out so much from the beginning.’

I didn’t want to brag about the difference between me and these kids.

“Wow, you guys are amazing…”

Aloy stared at the three of us for a moment, wide eyed, before turning to the kids who hadn’t raised their hands.

“Don’t worry about the rest of you, if you pay attention in my classes, you’ll be able to catch up to them in no time, then you’ll be able to get to 2 stars easily!”

He said, and their faces lit up.

“Then let’s begin our first lesson. Today’s lesson is going to be a head-to-head competition.”

He continued, as the kids shook their heads in disbelief.

“In short, there’s nothing like competition in education.”

Aloy gave a mischievous smile.

[He’s doing it again.]

‘Let’s see this.’

He divided the children into two sides.
15 on the left, 15 on the right.
A total of 30 kids stood facing each other. Aloy walked across the room and continued his lesson.

“Yesterday, you all felt the presence of mana forcibly injected into you through my mana. Is that right?”

“Yes!”

Aloy smiled with satisfaction as he watched the kids answer with enthusiasm.

“But that’s a rather ignorant method. Mana infused by others can be dangerous, so today, based on yesterday’s experience, we’re going to build on yesterday’s experience and take it a step further.”

He called out to the two children at the far end of both camps.

“Bella, Gamp, come forward.”

Aloy stretched out his hands to the two children he called.
Woo!
Dark mana emanated from his hands and latched onto their wrists. In the blink of an eye, the two children were connected by a single strand of mana.

“Now you two are going to play mana tug of war. It’s just like a normal tug of war. The only difference is that the rope is made out of mana.”

Aloy had barely finished explaining when Gamp tugged on his arm first.

“Ugh!”

But it was Gamp who fell. The moment he exerted his strength, the mana in his arms pulled him forward.

“Ugh! If you don’t feel the mana and just use your strength, you’ll end up like that. Mana doesn’t respond to people. It’s a game of mana, which means whoever has more mana wins.”

Aloy helped the fallen Gamp to his feet and continued.

“Feel the mana. Listen to what it’s saying. I’ve already shaped it, so it should be much easier than what you’d find in nature.”
“Yes!”

The kids nodded, even if they weren’t sure what it meant.
At that moment, the kids on the opposite camp started making noises.

[What is going on over there?]

McDuff was the one causing the commotion.

“Switch seats with me!”

One by one, he pushed them out of the way. Because of him being a Delemar, the children were forced to make room for him.

‘There he goes again.’

He stopped in his tracks, directly across from me. He smirked. He’d moved his seat to be closer to me.

[That idiot is looking to lose a limb or two. Doesn’t he know you almost knocked out Aloy yesterday?]

It was unknown that I nearly sent the instructor into a mana backflow. Today, it is time for me to educate this younger one, as a senior in life.

“Next! You two go forward!”

The turns passed quickly. None of the kids were particularly skilled at handling mana, so whoever could get the farthest away from the mana ropes of their opponent would win.
Of course, there was one who went down in flames, and that was Drew.

“Yuck!”

He exclaimed. He was up against Ariel, the girl who had created a stream of water yesterday.

‘She must’ve gotten an early education.’

As soon as the mana tug of war began, Ariel pulled on the blue rope. It was similar to what Gamp had done, but with a different result. It was no coincidence that Drew’s body leaned forward.

[Now it’s your turn.]

Finally, it was McDuff’s turn, standing at the far end. He strode forward with a determined stride toward Aloy.

“You’ll never beat me.”

He dared me.

“Do you know why? Because my qualities are far superior than yours. You’re just a bastard who was cursed from birth.”

It wasn’t worth fighting back. I looked at Aloy, and he shrugged.

“Let’s take our family squabbles elsewhere, then.”

Blue mana binded our wrists together.

‘I can’t just use my strength.’

Feel the mana. I remembered Aloy’s words and tried to sense it.
Oooooh!
Mana began to vibrate through my wrists. A blue stream of mana began to surge.

[What? You’ve already succeeded?]

No, I didn’t. I haven’t even controlled the mana yet. That could only mean.

‘…I think McDuff is doing this?’

The corner of his mouth curled.

‘Look at him.’

He fumbled with the mana, trying to control its flow, not just tug at it. Thanks to the white jade apple, it was much easier than yesterday when I tried to draw out Aloy’s mana.
Boom!
The mana stream between the two of us stretched fiercely. He must have a great talent as a descendant of Delemar.

‘Still, it’s not enough against me, who ate the white jade apple.’

It was even clearer than yesterday. The tight flow of mana was tangible, and the mana refined by Aloy was much easier to understand.

“Profit!”

McDuff simply drew in the mana. It was so easy to defeat such an ignorant opponent.
Ugh!
I released my grip slightly, and the mana rope snapped once more.
With a yelp, McDuff fell backwards. It was only natural.

[He looks good like that! What a foolish kid.]

The other kids giggled at the ridiculousness of it all. It didn’t last long, though, as McDuff glared at them with a pouty face.

“Oh! Did you just let go of the mana string on purpose?”

Aloy’s eyes narrowed. Yesterday, and today, I’ve shown clear mana control. It is hard to think of it as a coincidence.
But then, McDuff shrieked.

“He must’ve released his mana because he can’t feel it as well as I can! Why would he let it go on purpose?”

Aloy glanced at him for a moment to see if he would be bothered by him.

“McDuff Delemar. Being disrespectful to an instructor, one demerit point. You do know that if you accumulate 10 demerit points, you will be expelled from the academy, right?”

Aloy’s words distorted McDuff’s face. Aloy didn’t even look his way, his eyes were fixed on me.

“Ian, you let it go on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I thought it was important to feel the other person’s flow, rather than just tugging ignorantly.”

As I uttered the word ‘ignorantly’, I didn’t forget to glance over at McDuff.

“Ho-ho, you’ve gone beyond just feeling mana, you’ve read the flow of your opponent’s power. Very good, Ian.”

He praised me like it was a big deal, but to me, it was as natural as breathing. As a knight, using an opponent’s strength against them was one of the basics, I just applied it to mana.
[Still, where’s the fun in that? But you’re not going anywhere, are you?]
‘I’m not dumb enough to fight with that idiot.’

After feeling the mana, The first class was a success.

* * * 

When I got back to my dorm, I started training my strength. After completing 500 sit-ups, I said.
Hupp! Hupp!

I then started doing some push-ups.

[So, do you feel it today?]
‘I definitely can.’

I did strength training and pulled in aura. The aura practice method was so easy for me. Of course, it was only a problem because I couldn’t feel the aura itself before this.
However, is this all because of the white jade apple? Now, my finely shaped muscles sense something. Although, it’s so insignificant that I don’t even know if it’s energy. It seemed to be similar to mana, but it also felt alien.

‘Finally, the path ahead is lighting up!’

But it was a very familiar energy to me. Even if the quantity was just as small as one grain, I could recognize it.
It was aura.

[Aura is essential in this harsh world!]
‘Imagine a person who can use aura without running out of it! How cool would that be?’

When I made a sound out of my mouth in excitement.
Knock! Knock!
I had no choice but to keep my mouth shut. Someone was knocking on the door.