A hand shot up in the front. "Mana is mana, professor. It allows us to cast spells and achieve all sorts of magic," Lilly—the girl who had the run-in with Felix yesterday—said matter-of-factly.

Professor Max seemed dissatisfied with her response. He immediately raised his gaze, searching for someone else to answer. "You there, next to the blue-haired miss."

What? Me?

Michael hadn't raised his hand, nor was he confident in answering the question. To him, mana was too foreign and ethereal to explain properly.

"I… I think mana is the essence of the world," Michael stammered, feeling his cheeks redden as all eyes turned to him.

"Hmm? Essence, you say?" Professor Max raised a hand to his chin, contemplating the answer. "Please continue."

Damn it! That's all I had… he cursed inwardly.

"Erm, well… mana is both ethereal, but also tangible in its different forms—yet it all comes from the world. I think calling it life essence wouldn't be too incorrect… maybe."

It wasn't pretty, but somehow Michael managed to verbalize his true thoughts, though he wished he'd had more time to prepare.

"Wonderful!" Professor Max clapped his hands together in delight. "Ten points for you, Mr… Blondie," he said eventually.

"It's Michael, sir…" Michael replied, feeling both relieved and confused.

Ten points? What does that even mean?1

"Anyway, as Blondie was saying," the professor continued, turning to the board. He picked up a piece of chalk and began to furiously write, though his handwriting was far worse than his magical script.

"Mana is the breath of the world—or life essence, as our friend so eloquently explained," he said, still writing with fervor. "It can be sorted into three categories."

"First! Ambient mana!" He slammed his chalk into the board emphatically.

"Present all around us—in the air, soil, and water. You can think of it as naturally occurring mana, produced by the world."

"Second! Personal mana." Professor Max turned, his gaze almost manic. "I think this is rather self-explanatory, but for those of you lacking fundamental reasoning capabilities—it's the mana inside us."

"And finally, infused mana. The type stored within magical objects." He finished with a fanatical grin.

"In this class, we will explore the endless possibilities of mana—manipulation, inscription, spellcrafting, enchanting—all these subjects are branches of fundamental mana theory."

Judging by the way the man spoke about mana, it was clear he was obsessed. While Michael liked to think he was passionate about mana theory, he couldn't hold a candle to Professor Max.

The professor straightened his robe, composing himself into a somewhat presentable state.

"Now, open your textbooks to page twelve. We'll be reading about the impact of different tiers of personal mana on spells." He waved his hand, causing all the written words on the blackboard to vanish.

"Um, Professor… We don't have our textbooks yet," a hand was raised by one of the students in the first row beside Lilly.

"Hmm? Oh right," the professor remarked distractedly, waving his hand again—causing a pile of textbooks to fall haphazardly onto the floor in front of him.

Unlike the headmaster, who could perform space magic, it was clear that these textbooks had been dumped out of Professor Max's storage ring.

"Come and get your textbooks, but take care of them—they contain precious knowledge," he said, turning his back to the class and resuming his writing on the blackboard.

"…"

Every first-year in the room stared at the professor incredulously, their thoughts in sync. The same person who had just dumped all the textbooks on the ground like they were worthless scrap was now advising them to handle the very same books with care.

"Hurry now, open to page twelve," Professor Max urged, still writing dutifully on the board.

The students hesitated for a moment before beginning to move to the front to collect their discarded textbooks, muttering complaints under their breath. It was especially inconvenient for the first-years at the back, who had to descend the stairs to retrieve theirs.

Rudy stood up, ready to follow suit—until Michael stopped him with an arm.

"Stay there, I'll get you one," Michael said, extending his left hand.

Drawing on the techniques he'd learned with Melody and Charles, Michael visualized a thread of mana extending from his palm—locking onto the three nearest textbooks.

Once they locked on, he pulled them back, sending the thick books flying toward them in the fourth row like shells fired from a cannon.

A few screams echoed from the girls in the front row as they felt the rush of air over their heads.

Just as it seemed like the textbooks would crash into Michael, he discharged a cushion of air with a simple release of mana, causing the books to float gently in front of him.

Without a word, he grabbed them, handing one each to Melody and Rudy beside him with casual ease.

"Whoa, dude! Can you teach me that?" Rudy asked, eyes wide with astonishment.

It wasn't just Rudy staring at Michael—nearly the entire class was. But it was the figure at the very front of the room, whose fanatical gaze was locked onto him, that made Michael the most uncomfortable.

Professor Max looked like a dog eyeing a delicious meal, his mouth practically watering. "A first-year who can manipulate mana outside their body on the very first day of class… How fascinating."

Michael shuddered, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end.

"It's not just me, professor," he called out, his head turning to Melody beside him, who froze as the professor's intense gaze fell upon her. "Melody is far more proficient than I am at mana manipulation.

"Two!? My oh my…" he exclaimed, adjusting his collar.

Michael felt a sharp pain shoot through his foot, nearly making him groan in pain. It didn't take long for him to realize that it was Melody who had stomped on it in annoyance.

"Ahem… Page twelve, hurry up, everyone," Professor Max said, managing to control himself. He turned back to the blackboard but not before sending another ambiguous look toward Michael and Melody.

"I'll get you back for that…" Melody whispered, her annoyance clear.

TEN POINTS TO GRIFFINDOR!

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