Mana, magical power, "Ki" in some Eastern tribes, "Aether" to scholars who like to sound sophisticated, and "Divine Power" to stubborn priests—this force, known by many names, was the foundation of all mages.
The power to change the world!
Since casting magic required drawing from one's internal reserves, it was natural for inexperienced young mages to suffer from mana depletion.
And yet, after seven attempts, he was still standing perfectly fine.
"Student, what's your name?"
"Lee Han."
Professor Garcia, the troll, chuckled.
He found it likable that the student introduced himself with his own name rather than his family's.
Nobles—especially high-ranking ones—rarely failed to mention their family names.
Lee Han's attitude aligned well with one of the academy's core principles: equality.
"Come here for a moment."
"Uh..."
Lee Han approached nervously.
"Should I have just staggered like the others?"
Everyone else was swaying from mana exhaustion, but he stood there unaffected. It was bound to raise some questions.
Had he done something wrong in casting his spells?
"Hmm. Hmm. I see."
As Garcia grabbed Lee Han's wrist and nodded, Gainando whispered to Yonere behind him.
"Hey, shouldn't we save him?? What if he gets eaten??"
"…The professor can hear you, idiot. Shut up."
"!?"
Garcia released Lee Han's wrist and said,
"Stay behind after class for a bit."
"Ah. Yes."
For the rest of the Introduction to Basic Magic class, there was no additional spell practice.
Instead, Professor Garcia gave a strict lecture on the mindset of a mage.
"When you've used up your mana, you must rest. Especially when you're still inexperienced! Don't get anxious over mana depletion. With training, your mana capacity will increase, and as you gain experience, you'll learn to use it more efficiently. Every year, some overenthusiastic freshman secretly practices magic and collapses from exhaustion. If you're unlucky, you could seriously hurt yourself, so never do that. And for the record, student—I don't eat people."
"S-sorry!"
Gainando shivered as he apologized.
"Alright, that's it for today's lecture. There are various elective courses being held throughout the school. Go check them out and think about what you want to learn. If you're unsure, feel free to visit my office and ask."
"..."
"..."
The students exchanged glances.
-Would you dare go to the half-troll professor's office for a one-on-one consultation?
-Are you insane?
It was that kind of look.
"Wardanaz, be careful."
"Yeah. A troll's weakness is fire and acid."
"Neither of which we have here?"
"...Wardanaz, be careful."
Hearing the other students' "support," Lee Han stepped up to Professor Garcia.
"Actually, I've already heard about you, Lee Han."
"??"
Lee Han froze at the unexpected words.
What?
"It's easier to say I heard about you from the headmaster."
"…!"
At the mention of the insane lich headmaster, Lee Han's expression stiffened.
Professor Garcia laughed and continued,
"No need to worry. The headmaster may seem like a crazy bastard sometimes, but deep down, he's a good person."
"…Excuse me??"
Did that even make sense?
Ignoring Lee Han's reaction, Garcia went on.
"At the start of each year, the headmaster evaluates the new students and gives us professors a brief overview."
Most students didn't know this, but the lich headmaster had an incredibly sharp eye.
The academy's freshmen were a mix of young adults from across the empire, fresh into adulthood.
To prevent future disasters, keen insight was essential.
-Watch out for that dwarf. He looks like he'll burn down his dorm room at least three times.-
-Hah! That one's a half-demon. Professors who use holy magic, be cautious. Don't want any unnecessary injuries.-
-Wait, isn't that kid a pickpocket from the "White Raven" guild? Professors, stay alert. I better not see anyone coming to complain about being robbed by a student. Those who do can enjoy a nice stay in the underground prison.-
Of course, some professors simply ignored the headmaster's warnings.
After all, while the lich was highly perceptive…
He was also undeniably insane.
-That orc kid… I feel like he'd be great with a spear.-
-Uh… he's from a prestigious swordsmanship family…-
-Silence! Tell him to use a spear.-
-...-
And as for Lee Han?
The headmaster had said:
-That one has the potential for Dae-U.
-"...??"
Dae-U .
It meant "great foolishness."
Of course, the professors weren't dumb enough to take the words literally.
They recognized it as a reference to an old Eastern Empire proverb:
-Great foolishness leads to great wisdom.
A person who seems incredibly foolish often shares traits with those who are deeply wise.
It was an ancient warning against judging by appearances and urged people to seek true wisdom.
In other words, the headmaster's remark meant:
"It's hard to tell now, but this kid has the potential for greatness."
The professors had mixed reactions.
Some took it as an insightful evaluation of Lee Han's potential.
Others wondered if the headmaster had just been bribed with a heavy drinking session by the Wardanaz family the night before.
And now, Garcia felt like he was finally starting to understand what the headmaster had meant.
"Ah… so that's what he meant."
"Uh… what exactly did the headmaster say about me?"
Lee Han was starting to feel uneasy.
Being favored by a professor was a double-edged sword.
On one hand, it meant better grades and strong recommendation letters—nothing to scoff at.
But on the other hand…
It also meant dealing with conversations like:
-"Kid, your talent is too good to waste like this."
-"Thank you!"
-"Yes. That's why you must go to grad school!"
-"Wait, what? I never—"
-"Do you even know how fierce the job market is right now? If you go to grad school, you can get a better position, earn a degree, and most importantly, pursue the field you love in greater depth! Isn't that amazing?"
-"Now that you mention it… I guess?"
A kind professor might just be a little pushy.
A crazy professor, on the other hand…
Well, that's where the real nightmare began.
And the lich headmaster?
"Definitely someone I want to avoid at all costs."
Lee Han wanted to graduate with stable grades and good connections—not to get involved with the suspicious magic of the skeletal headmaster.
"Oh, sorry. I can't tell you exactly what the headmaster said… but I can talk about your talent instead. What he said was along those lines."
"!"
Lee Han widened his eyes at the troll professor's words.
His talent?
'Was my talent significant enough to be mentioned separately?'
Back in the Wardanaz family, Lee Han had never heard much about his talent.
Of course, it was confirmed that he had magical abilities.
Even his father, the head of the Wardanaz family, had said:
—How is my talent?
—Hmm. Your magical talent is quite decent.
—Thank you.
And that was it.
But now, out of nowhere, he was being told about his talent? It was a bit unsettling.
'This isn't something bad, is it?'
Lee Han seriously started wondering if he should team up with Yoner to start an alchemy workshop.
"Lee Han, your mana reserves are very large."
"…Excuse me? That's it?"
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
He had expected something like, 'There's a problem with your spellcasting' or 'You have an innate incompatibility with light magic and will never be able to use it,' but instead, it was just that he had a lot of mana?
It wasn't bad news, which was a relief, but…
Was this really something worth bringing up separately?
'I thought mana reserves were naturally different for everyone and could be overcome through training and technique. Is this really that important?'
"Of course, that's not all."
"Ah… I figured."
"Lee Han, your mana reserves are truly, tremendously, extraordinarily vast."
"…???"
"Really, seriously, insanely, unbelievably vast."
"Oh."
At that moment, Lee Han finally understood why Professor Garcia had called him in for a serious discussion.
After hearing the full explanation, Lee Han thought to himself:
'Isn't this a good thing?'
Mana was essential for casting spells.
If one ran out of mana, they had to draw ambient mana from the surroundings, gather it through magic circles, or use mana-infused stones as substitutes.
But if one had an abundance of mana, none of that was necessary.
It was an incredibly useful trait for a mage…
"I feel sorry for you."
"???"
However, Professor Garcia looked at Lee Han with a mix of pity and concern.
Seeing that expression, Lee Han realized that something was going terribly wrong.
"Isn't having a lot of mana a good thing?"
"Normally, yes. But Lee Han, your mana reserves are truly excessive. Think about it—controlling water inside a glass bottle is easy, but controlling an entire ocean is much harder, isn't it?"
Hearing that, Lee Han's expression stiffened as he grasped the severity of the situation.
So basically…?
'The difficulty of spellcasting skyrockets?'
Even today, when they were learning the simple 'Glow' spell, not a single student had managed to succeed.
That was how difficult magic was.
Drawing out mana, concentrating, and binding it with willpower—
All of it required inhuman levels of focus.
But if one's mana reserves were so vast that they became uncontrollable, an already difficult task would become exponentially harder.
"Here, take these bracelets."
A pair of heavy, clunky iron bracelets.
Professor Garcia placed one on each of Lee Han's wrists.
"These bracelets absorb mana. They should help."
"!"
Lee Han was touched by how quickly the magic academy provided a solution.
"As long as I wear these, there won't be any major issues, right?"
"Huh? No. It'll still be ridiculously difficult."
"..."
"Your mana reserves are just that absurd. There's not much we can do about it. Wearing these is just better than nothing."
Despite being relatively kind and considerate, Professor Garcia was still a mage.
And mages never sugarcoated things when it came to matters of magic.
"…Any other advice?"
"Well… If you burn through a massive amount of magic, it might make things a little easier. You can practice basic spell training on your own. There's no risk of mana depletion causing accidents for you."
"…Thanks."
In a way, he had just been granted a special privilege, but Lee Han didn't feel particularly happy about it.
'Should I take courses that don't require spellcasting?'
Even though this was a magic academy, not all subjects involved using magic.
Alchemy, for instance, rarely required active spellcasting.
Stepping out of the professor's office, Lee Han felt overwhelmed with thoughts.
'I need to plan my academic track and manage my grades well from my first year to avoid regrets later…'
"You survived!"
Waiting at the bottom of the stairs were Gainando and Yoner.
Gainando, seemingly genuinely worried, scanned Lee Han from head to toe.
"What are you looking at?"
"Checking if the professor bit you."
At Yoner's remark, Lee Han looked at Gainando in disbelief.
'Well… Given how crazy the skeletal headmaster is, it's not entirely unreasonable to be suspicious of the professors too.'
"What did he say?"
Yoner asked curiously, and Lee Han simply shrugged.
"He told me to practice magic a lot."
"How dare he…!"
Gainando flared up in anger.
How dare the professor tell a noble from a prestigious family to practice more magic?
What an insult!
'If he gets this mad just hearing that, is he going to challenge the professor to a duel if he fails an exam and has to retake it?'
"My situation aside, I want to check out some elective courses before our next mandatory class. Any ideas?"
"For me, obviously alchemy."
At Yoner's words, Gainando scoffed openly.
"Pff. Alchemy is for servants and slaves!"
"..."
Lee Han clearly saw Yoner's fist clench tightly.
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