"Next, Alex Edelhart."
The whispers stopped.
Alex stood up. He adjusted his blazer and walked down the aisle.
Here comes the fainting prince, someone whispered. Isn't he the theory nerd with zero mana?Five credits says he passes out again.
Alex ignored them. He wasn't nervous. He was calculating.
He had spent the last twenty minutes analyzing Cassandra's mana signature. He knew exactly how the spell worked. The formula was etched in his mind.
The only problem was the fuel.
System,Exchange Lust Points for Stat Points. Do it now.
[Exchange Complete. You have received 10 Stat Points.]
Put 5 into MP. Put 5 into Mana Resonance.
[Allocating...] [MP: 3 -> 8] [Mana Resonance: 1 -> 6]
System Note: Congratulations. You have upgraded from a AAA battery to a 9-volt. Don't spend it all in one place.
It was still pathetic compared to the average, but it was enough. Just barely.
Alex stepped onto the platform.
"Professor," he said, his voice steady. "I'm ready."
Cassandra raised an eyebrow. She remembered his pathetic fainting spell last week. She expected fear. Instead, she saw calm—almost arrogant—confidence.
"Interesting," she murmured.
She reached into the bubbling pot and pulled out a slip.
"Hmm. Manifestation," she read, looking skeptical. "Create a pure mana orb and fire it. Can you do it, Mr. Edelhart?"
"Yes, Professor," Alex replied.
A dummy target appeared downrange.
Teachers passing by the training grounds stopped to watch. A failure from the Edelhart house was always good entertainment.
"He's going to fail," one teacher whispered. "He has no mana."
"Watch," another said.
Alex extended his hand. He didn't just pour mana out; he structured it. He used his high calculation speed to weave the meager mana he had into a tight, dense lattice.
A white, glowing orb formed above his palm.
At first glance, it looked small. But Cassandra's eyes widened.
"That kid..."
She could feel the density.
"Compression Manifestation?"
It was an advanced technique. By compressing the mana during the formation stage, you could increase the output force exponentially without using more mana. It required insanely high calculation and sensitivity—skills usually reserved for high-ranking mages.
"Wow," a passing teacher muttered. "A first-year using Compression? That's B-Rank level control."
"He has talent," Cassandra agreed, nodding slowly. I misjudged him. He's not trash.
The orb shined with a dazzling light, humming with power.
"Go," Alex whispered.
WHOOSH!
The orb shot forward like a bullet, leaving a trail of white light. It was fast. Faster than Luna's. Faster than anyone's.
"Incredible," Cassandra thought. "With that speed, it will easily hit Rank A—"
And then, reality ensued.
Mid-flight, about ten meters away from Alex's hand... the orb flickered.
Phhht.
It didn't explode. It didn't hit the target.
It just... vanished.
Like a candle being blown out, the mana dissipated instantly into thin air.
Silence.
The training ground went dead quiet.
Cassandra blinked. "What?"
The teachers stood up, confused. "Where did it go?"
"Did it teleport?" "No... it just ran out of energy."
Alex stood there, his hand still extended in a cool pose.
Ah, he realized, sweat dropping down his neck. I calculated the trajectory, the compression, and the velocity perfectly.
I forgot to calculate the gas mileage.
His MP had hit zero. The engine stalled.
From the back of the class, a single, stifled laugh broke the silence.
"Pfft."
It was the spark that lit the powder keg.
"Pwahahaha!"
"Oh my god, what was that?!"
"Did you see that? It looked so cool and then—POOF!"
"He put up such a show! I thought he was a grand mage for a second!"
"Well," Hanks wiped a tear from his eye, laughing harder than anyone, "at least he didn't faint this time!"
Alex slowly lowered his hand.
[System Notification: You have successfully performed a comedic routine. +5 Lust Points.]
"Shut up," Alex told the System.
The System wasn't the only one laughing.
"Did you see that?!" a student in the front row wheezed, wiping a tear. "I recorded the whole thing on my crystal! Frame by frame!"
"Wow," another guy guffawed, slapping his knee. "He couldn't even maintain a tiny magic orb for two seconds. It just... bloop! Vanished!"
The laughter filled the auditorium, echoing off the magical barriers. It wasn't hostile, exactly—it was the kind of laughter reserved for a clown slipping on a banana peel.
"Ruined," Alex thought, staring blankly at the untouched target dummy.
His own greed had led to this disaster. He had gotten cocky. He had focused so much on the structure of the spell—making it dense, perfect, and powerful—that he completely forgot he was running on a gas tank the size of a thimble.
"Did that tiny magic orb actually cause a mana outage?" someone whispered loudly.
"Look how red his face is!"
"Man, I'd be dying of embarrassment. Poor guy."
"But why is he embarrassed? Isn't this an improvement? Last week he fainted. This week he just fizzled. That's progress!"
The pity was worse than the mockery. Alex wished he had a shovel so he could dig a hole, crawl into it, and die of shame right there in the arena.
He sighed, turning to look at the podium.
"Alright," he thought, bracing himself. "Just give me the F-Rank and let me go."
But Cassandra didn't speak.
The terrifying professor was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Her brows were furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line.
She turned her head, making eye contact with the two other judges—a grumpy old Wizard and a buff Battle Mage instructor.
The three of them leaned in, whispering furiously.
"Did you see the compression?" "Yes, but the result..." "But the formula! It was flawless until the fuel cut out." "How do we grade this?"
The students' laughter died down, replaced by confused murmurs.
"What's going on?" "Why aren't they failing him?" "Did he cheat? Maybe he used a scroll to fake the casting?"
After an agonizing minute, Cassandra straightened up. She cleared her throat.
"Student Alex Edelhart..."
Alex braced for impact.
"Your result... will be put On Hold for now."
Silence.
Alex blinked. "On hold?"
"We have differing opinions on the technical execution versus the practical result," Cassandra explained vaguely. "Please return to your seat."
Alex didn't ask questions. He turned and walked back up the stairs, trying to look dignified while hundreds of eyes bored into his back.
"On hold? That's never happened before." "They've been unanimous on everyone else." "He definitely used a trick. A scroll or an artifact. That's why they're checking." "Cheating scum. Just because he's a Duke's son..."
The whispers were venomous now. To the average student, Alex was just a rich failure who tried to buy his way out of a test.
But not everyone was laughing.
In the middle row, a girl with silver hair and eyes like ice sat perfectly still.
Emily Frost.