The classroom was quiet for a moment as Amanda stared at the noble standing in front of her. The brat had his arms crossed, wearing an arrogant smirk that made it clear he thought he was better than everyone in the room.
Amanda narrowed her eyes. "You're late."
The noble scoffed, flipping his perfectly combed blond hair back. "Someone of my status doesn't need to worry about something as trivial as time." His voice carried the same pompous arrogance as Leon from the other night, but something told me this guy might be even worse.
Amanda's expression remained calm as she checked the papers on her desk. She scanned the list with practiced ease before focusing on the four girls standing behind the noble boy. "Are you Frey Arrow, Amy River, Arelia Livber, and Jiana Monican?"
The four girls exchanged confused glances before nodding.
Amanda gave them a polite smile. "I see. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Amanda Arrow."
The three girls all turned to Frey, whose face paled as she looked away, slightly embarrassed.
The boy, however, remained smug, not realizing he had just stepped onto a battlefield he was woefully unprepared for.
I grinned as I put the pieces together. This was going to be good.
Ark noticed my expression and tilted his head. "Jack…? What's happening?"
I smirked. "Just watch. I'll explain later."
Ark looked at me, still confused, but nodded and turned his attention back to Amanda.
Amanda's eyes flickered toward the noble, who still had his arrogant grin. "And you," she said, her voice even but firm, "What's your name?"
The noble straightened up, clearly expecting some kind of reverence. "Alphonse Arrow, next head of the Arrow family, or soon to be after I marry Frey and take it from her older sister."
A hush fell over the room.
Frey stiffened, her confusion growing as she looked between Amanda and Alphonse. Her expression wasn't just confused anymore—it was hurt and fear.
Alphonse paused, finally noticing that something was off, but he couldn't figure it out.
Amanda turned to Frey, her voice light yet laced with sharpness and amusement. "Oh? Have you already married this boy without telling the family, little sister?"
Alphonse froze.
Frey looked away, her face burning in embarrassment. Slowly, she shook her head.
Amanda nodded. "Then he has no claim to our family name. I hope you have a good excuse for being with a boy like this. You told me he was kind and humble, but clearly, that was a lie... though, it may be more he lied to you..." she paused and glared at Alphonse.
She cleared her throat and turned back to Alphonse. "As the eldest daughter of the Arrow family, I ask you, Mr. Alphonse Black, to not claim my family name before marriage…" Her eyes sharpened. "If there is a marriage anyway."
Silence.
Pure, stunned, slack-jawed silence.
And then the realization finally hit Alphonse like a brick to the face.
His entire body stiffened. His once-smug expression melted away as horror crept into his eyes.
His name wasn't Arrow, it was Black.
He had no right to call himself that; he just did because of the status he could have.
And to make matters worse, he just admitted to trying to take Amanda's position from her after marrying her little sister.
The rest of the class had the same realization at once, and a few of them chuckled, thoroughly entertained by the brat being humbled by his probably Ex-Future-Sister-In-Law.
I glanced at Frey. She wasn't laughing. She wasn't even looking at him. Instead, she stepped toward Amanda and whispered something in her ear.
Amanda nodded. "I see. We can talk later, but why don't you go and sit down?"
Frey gave a small, appreciative nod and turned to find a seat, away from Alphonse.
Alphonse tried to ask her where she was going, but she ignored him.
I caught the way she turned her head slightly when he looked at her. The way she avoided his gaze. The way her lips twitched ever so slightly, like she was disgusted.
I hid my smirk.
'So she only just saw his true self... good to know she learned who he was before anything major happened.' I thought to myself, amused.
Alphonse, on the other hand, still stood there, his face slowly turning red from anger and humiliation.
Amanda, ignoring him, turned back to the rest of the class. "Alright, then. Welcome to class 1-10. I am your—"
"What?!" Alphonse suddenly shouted. "This can't be class 1-10! This is the loser class!"
Amanda's eye twitched. She sighed and rubbed her temple before fixing him with a deadpan stare. "Although I am bound by the rules of a teacher, I do have certain values above the others."
She turned to the rest of us. "If anyone wants to humble this bumbling toddler so he doesn't interrupt me again, please do so now, and I won't report you to the authorities afterward."
Alphonse laughed. "Ha! As if any of these—"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Orin had already run up to him and punched him straight in the gut.
Alphonse doubled over with a wheeze, all the air leaving his lungs.
Before he could even process what had happened, I pressured him with my Aura. It wasn't enough for anyone else to notice, but to him, it was like a thousand-pound weight had just been set on his shoulders.
He trembled, barely holding himself up—
Only for Araki to sweep his legs out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor.
Aaron immediately stepped in, tying his hands together with rope while he was stunned.
And then, for the final touch—
Zek raised a hand, and ice shot out, encasing Alphonse in a frozen block, leaving only his mouth and ears exposed and room for his lungs so he could breathe and listen, but also encased in a way that he couldn't move or talk, thankfully.
I looked at Ark, who didn't do anything but saw him looking at me in confusion, probably wondering why I didn't act either, not knowing I used my Aura.
Everyone in the class gawked.
The three remaining girls who had arrived with Alphonse were completely still, too afraid to even breathe. Their eyes flickered to Orin, who stood nearby, his sheer size alone enough to intimidate them.
Amanda blinked. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "…Wow. I wasn't expecting… that much…" She paused. Then, under her breath, she mumbled, "Though, to be fair, I probably would've chopped his family jewels off, so I can't really say anything…"
Ark and I heard it. We exchanged glances before I had to stifle a laugh.
Amanda clapped her hands. "Alright, please take your seats and calm down so we can begin the lesson."
One of the girls who had come with Alphonse hesitantly stepped forward, knocking on the ice block. "…Is he going to be okay?" she asked.
Amanda turned to Zek, who examined his work with a proud grin. "He'll melt out of it in about an hour or two. He should be fine… probably..." he shrugged.
Amanda shrugged. "There you have it. He'll be fine."
The girl didn't look convinced. She turned toward Zek, but when she made eye contact with the small, lizard-like creature who just froze her boyfriend, she immediately turned away in fear and sat down without another word.
Amanda smiled and picked up a piece of chalk. "Now then—let's begin."
With a firm but warm voice, she began teaching.
"Today's lesson will be a bit more theoretical. We won't be casting any spells today, but I want to ensure everyone understands the basics of mana manipulation for our first class. Don't worry, we'll move outside for that when it's time to practice actual spells."
I could see a few students exchange glances at the mention of "moving outside." It was exciting to know that some of them would be able to do magic, but today, it was all theory.
I, however, didn't mind. I already knew the basics, but learning it again could shed some light on something I forgot or overlooked in the past.
"Mana is the energy that flows through all living beings," Amanda explained. "It exists in everything, from plants to animals, even in the air around us. For mages, it's the foundation of all magic."
She tapped the chalkboard, pointing at a diagram. "Now, inside every living being are mana pathways. These are channels that direct mana throughout your body, much like veins carry blood. However, unlike veins, these pathways are not physical structures—they are more like a flow of energy that can be strengthened or weakened based on how you train."
She looked at a few students and raised a finger. "Now, those of you who are fighters who use Ki, don't worry. The control of Mana is very similar to Ki. The only difference is that Mana can be turned into spells while Ki is used to reinforce your body and empower your physical attacks."
She paused and looked toward Ark, who had his hand raised, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Yes, Ark?" she asked gently.
"U-um... when you cast a spell, you lose some mana, right?" he asked, his ears twitching slightly as he spoke. He looked nervous, but I put my hand on his under the desk to calm him down.
She nodded in confirmation and let him continue
"Ok, um then, how do we get it back?" he asked.
"Good question," Amanda said, nodding. "Mana doesn't come from within you. You absorb it from the environment.
Think of it like breathing—you're always drawing in air, but you don't need to consciously think about it all the time. Mana is much the same. It's in the air, in nature, and even in the food you eat. As long as you eat, drink and breathe, you are absorbing it."
She paused before adding, "Though I should mention that your body can only hold a certain amount of mana. If you deplete that, then you have to wait for you to absorb more before you can do anything.
The mana you can store in your body is commonly referred to as a mana pool."
Amanda walked over to her desk and pulled out a glass and a water bottle.
She walked back and held the glass up for us to see. "You can think of it like this glass constantly filling with water."
She took the bottle and started filling the glass. "You can take out water to drink, and it fills right back up, but with the water constantly filling the bucket, eventually it can't hold any more, and you will waste the water from the overflow."
She demonstrated by pouring water into the glass to the point it was overflowing and spilling onto the floor.
"Is it really that simple?" a student asked
Amanda shook her head. "No. It's a little more technical than that, but it works for beginners. I will teach you a better example another time."
Several students nodded in understanding.
Amanda smiled and continued, "Now, not everyone absorbs mana at the same rate. Some people are faster and some people are slower. But if you practice and train your body and mind, you can eventually increase that rate."
She put the bottle down.
"Now we have discussed how to get more mana and your limit, can anyone tell me what happens when-" she then proceeds to take a sip from the glass and drink about half of the water. "You are at around half mana?"
Zek raised his hand. "You start to get the symptoms of mana exhaustion."
Amada pointed at Zek and said, "Correct! Can you please list the symptoms?"
Zek nodded, "At half, you start to feel tired and sluggish. At 25%, you start to get mental fatigue, and it becomes hard to concentrate. At 10% you start to feel sick and throwing up isn't uncommon, and when you run completely ou,t you cant cast may more spells and if you aren't prepared, you could pass out."
Amanda smiled and said, "Exactly. Now, can anyone tell me why this happens?"
Zek paused and didn't respond. Instead, he had a look of confusion on his face as he tried to think of an answer.
I smiled and raised my hand. "It's because for mages, mana is as essential as blood. Most of the symptoms are the same when you are losing blood. Though you would die after losing around 40% of your blood rather than mana, where you don't."
Amanda looked surprised that I knew that, but also happy someone did.
"That is correct, Mr Drovas. Do you mind if I ask how you know this, as it isn't common knowledge?"
I shook my head. "No, I don't. My mother was a powerful fire mage before she passed. She taught me a lot about magic before then, especially since my mana pool was so small I would pass out after casting a few first-tier spells."
Amanda looked shocked before saying, "I see. Well, I'm sorry for your loss, but hopefully you can use what she taught you to climb high."
I smiled, "That's the plan."