"I think Jay will try to get him on his side. Some say he's the Tower Master's grandson, even though he denies it. Either way, even if you disregard his potential, he'll be a good connection to have."
Solomon forced the whispers out of his mind, saving his mental state from whatever propaganda the gossipers were trying to spread.
A few minutes later, a short old man with curly ginger hair entered the room with a book in hand. His mere presence spread a wave of silence across the gossip-filled room. He walked up to the lectern, which was slightly taller than him. Reaching upward, he placed his book down before dragging over a small step stool from behind the desk. With his setup ready, he slowly climbed the steps until his head was finally visible to the seated students.
"Good afternoon, everyone. I am Professor Oni, your mana collection instructor for this semester," he greeted with a bubbly expression that perfectly matched his bright, round eyes and flushed, chubby cheeks.
"Since this is a beginner class, we won't be discussing complex or hyper-efficient methods of mana collection just yet. Heck, even the most basic breathing technique is still far too difficult for some of you." Oni's voice lilted playfully; he was clearly messing around.
"However, these fundamental concepts were grasped by some of your peers when their brains were still developing, so it shouldn't be too difficult," he added sarcastically. "But before we start our practical experience, we first need to establish a background on what mana actually is."
Oni jumped down from his stool and walked out in front of the lectern. With a wave of his hand, a burst of sparkling, faintly bluish particles began to glide through the air, encircling the entire room at a steady pace.
"A simple magic spell for the wizards in this class. This falls under the wind tree of magic—a spell known simply as 'Gust' by the common folk." Oni waved his hands around the room, and the sparkling particles followed his path as if he were a conductor leading a symphony.
"However, instead of its normal greenish hue and strong blasts of wind, I've stripped away layers of its structure. Now, you can only see the raw mana escaping my palms, gathering larger patches from the surroundings to fuel the spell," he explained. "Mana resides in all those who are compatible with it. I'm assuming that everyone taking classes here is compatible with said particle."
Hearing his words, Solomon and Hael both flinched slightly. However, Oni paid no heed to their reactions and simply continued his lesson.
"Through practice, usage, and—as we call it—mana collection, this internal reservoir, known as the mana heart, increases in size. And as you've all just observed, the energy inside the mana heart is what we magicians use to manipulate the ambient mana in the air. This allows us to perform magic through a series of mystical commands—something you will all study in your other subjects.
"Naturally, the more mana you hold inside your mana heart, the more mana you can control from your surroundings; hence, the stronger your spells will be. Ki is similar in nature but different in execution. Instead of using the energy inside you to gather energy from the outside, you use the internal energy as a physical power in itself. But Ki collection is not your class today."
Oni snapped his fingers, instantly dispelling the Gust spell. He walked back up his steps and finally opened the book on his lectern. "Okay, now that we have a basic idea of what mana is, let's delve into its history and what those nerds call 'the science behind it'."
...
After a few hours of mind-numbing theory, Oni's class finally concluded. Several students grumbled about having to endure an actual lecture on the first day, wishing for a simple orientation instead.
Solomon, on the other hand, had listened attentively despite the confusing subject matter, desperate to figure out how he could mimic what was expected of him.
Since it was lunchtime, he decided to head back to the dorms to research more about mana. However, just as he was about to exit the door, someone tapped his shoulder.
"Solomon, right? I'm Jay, the Crown Prince of the Jarus Kingdom."
Standing behind him was the red-haired boy with the sturdy build and feminine face. His arms were crossed, and despite being the one to initiate the introduction, he wore a smug expression, holding his head high with blatant arrogance.
Curious to see how this would play out, the remaining students turned to look at Solomon. Those who had been in his morning class wore mixed expressions, some already whispering gossip about how Solomon had previously brushed off Apollo.
"Oh... nice to meet you. I'm Solomon." He offered a simple, polite nod, but that was it. Refusing to stay for a drawn-out conversation, he immediately turned and walked out, letting the door close behind him.
"This..." Jay was left speechless, a visible vein throbbing on his forehead.
"Jay... relax," one of his lackeys whispered nervously. "That's the alleged Tower Master's grandson, the anomalous magician. Unlike Hael, you need to be careful with him. He has the highest potential out of everyone here, after all..."
"Hah... you're right. It wouldn't be fun if he submitted too easily anyway," Jay muttered. "Besides, he rejected that bastard Apollo, too. If I can get him on my side, wouldn't that prove I'm better than the Allflame Empire's crown prince?"
Jay grinned, sending a collective shiver down the spines of the students watching him.
...
Later, Solomon found himself waiting in line at the cafeteria. Just as he was finishing assembling his meal on a tray, a small nudge tapped him from behind.
"Being an anomalous magician is quite fun, isn't it? You get feared by the lower nobility, and you become a prized chess piece for the higher ones." A familiar blond boy smiled at him, a plate in his hands. It was Apollo.
Seeing that infuriating smirk, Solomon wanted to punch him straight in the face. Thankfully, he had enough self-control—and a strong enough sense of self-preservation—to know that was a terrible idea.
"Oh, hello there, Your Majesty. I was actually just on my way to eat with my friends. Did you need something?" Hoping to escape the situation, Solomon decided to lie. He greeted Apollo with a polite smile, completely ignoring the provocation.
"Oh?" Hearing this claim, Apollo examined Solomon's smile with renewed interest. "Alright, get going then. We wouldn't want to keep your friends waiting." Apollo grabbed a tray of his own and began selecting his food.
Solomon immediately scanned the massive hall for anyone he recognized. At first, he looked for Selene. She was relatively friendly and meek, and considering her rank as an imperial student, she likely wouldn't mind him sitting with her. Unfortunately, she was nowhere to be found.
As Apollo slowly approached the checkout line, Solomon realized he had to act fast to keep his lie intact. Spotting some familiar faces, he decided to just go for it. He honed in on two students who had asked a long list of questions during Jarius's morning class.
One of them was the inquisitive boy himself, and the other was the girl who had been sitting next to him. The boy wore round glasses that matched the shape of his eyes. He had short brunette hair that paired well with his deep-brown pupils, giving off a clean, highly formal vibe. Given his barrage of questions earlier, he was a model student to a tee.
The girl looked remarkably similar, sharing his brunette hair and brown eyes. Her medium-length hair fell just below her shoulders. Unlike the boy, she had remained silent during the morning introductions. But rather than Selene's shy and awkward silence, this girl emanated a quiet, unbothered calm. Her eyes drooped slightly at the outer corners, giving her a permanently sleepy, resting expression.
"Michaela and Julius, right?" Solomon approached their table, catching both of their attention.
They both flinched simultaneously, with Julius visibly taken aback by the sudden greeting.
"Uh, yes?" Julius replied slowly, thick with hesitation.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" Solomon asked.
"Y-yeah, sure. We can mov—"
"Shall we move seats? No, carrying these trays around will be a hassle. I think here is perfectly fine," Solomon interrupted smoothly, quickly sitting down to prevent Apollo from noticing his desperation.
Julius and Michaela looked at him with blatant doubt. A few seconds later, however, they exchanged a silent glance, nodded slightly to one another, and settled back into their seats.
Catching a glimmer of pity in their eyes, Solomon couldn't help but feel a misunderstanding brewing. Did they think he was just socially inept and lonely? To be fair, they weren't entirely wrong. Considering the massive societal gap between his life in the slums and this academy, he was completely out of his depth. But for now, it was a good enough cover.
"So, anyway, I've been meaning to ask," Solomon started, trying to ease the awkward tension. "Are you two siblings? You look very similar to one another. But since you're in the same year, I wasn't entirely sure."
"Yeah. I get the confusion," Julius said, scratching his head awkwardly. "We're from the Robtos family, a baron house of sorcerers. We hold the Emblem of Unity—or at least, that's what we like to call it. It doesn't have an official moniker, but it's how our magic manifests."
Noticing the curiosity in Solomon's eyes, Michaela finally spoke up. "In short, our emblem results in perfect magical coordination with your twin. As a side effect, every single birth in our family results in twins, regardless of sex or identical appearance. It doesn't make much scientific sense, but it's just how it has always worked."
"I see... that's quite interesting," Solomon nodded.
"But let's talk about you. Even though we didn't formally introduce ourselves, we already know who you are," Julius said, his curiosity taking over. "Aren't you the anomalous magician? Why are you taking a sorcery class? Shouldn't your specialization be closer to wizardry?"
"Well, I'm not entirely sure myself," Solomon replied vaguely. "But if I had to guess, it's probably just to help me figure out the full scope of what I can actually do." Having deflected the question, he finally started to eat.
"Makes sense. Emblems do have mutations, so a lot of us spend the first semester just figuring out our own capabilities," Julius agreed.
As their conversation deepened, Solomon casually glanced toward the lunch line. Apollo seemed to have given up on checking on him and had moved on. Satisfied by the sudden turn of events, Solomon couldn't help but smile genuinely. Although this connection was born out of sheer deceit, it seemed he had actually managed to find some decent people in this academy.