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I opened my eyes slowly. Blur, then light. White ceiling overhead. A soft mattress beneath. To my left, a large picture window let in the day's sunlight, almost warm and... soothing.

"Ugh... it hurts?" I whispered, barely aware of my own voice.

I scanned my body. Minor cuts. They were already healing at a rapid rate.

Looking around the room, I found the IV stand and a softly beeping medical monitor nearby.

Infirmary, I guess.

"You've been administered a low-grade healing potion," a voice said.

It was a calm voice.

I turned my head. At the far end of the room, a woman sat at a desk. White coat, formal shirt, tie, stethoscope. She was probably in her mid-thirties.

A physician.

She studied me with a strange smile. "You're a rare one. Ten years in this profession, and yet I've never seen someone with your level of mana deficiency," she said, drawing out your like I was some kind of specimen. "No internal damage, though. That's good news."

I nodded. Didn't trust myself to speak.

'Right. Nano couldn't have healed the visible wounds since I prohibited it from doing so. But it healed all the internal damage.'

I laid down, unable to help but think about what happened.

During the fight, my mana was depleted, and I lost consciousness.

The physician told me that exhausting mana sends your body into a dead zone. Your soul's melody becomes arrhythmic, causing you to lose touch with the living world. Briefly.

This was the first time I'd ever used mana… I wasn't aware of its weaknesses.

'So my body has this new weakness,' I thought.

[Refreshing data...]

Suddenly, a red flash appeared in my vision.

"What?"

[Update: Bio-synthesis reserves at 90%]

"Bio-synthesis reserves?" I asked, puzzled.

[Bio-synthesis reserves are the nanite network's internal stockpile of essential chemicals and substances, vital for maintaining and enhancing the host's physiological functions.]

I tried to sit up, but it became clear I was more exhausted than I thought.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and began to think of the events that led me here. It still surprised me that I came so close to defeating that girl.

What surprised me more was how things didn't go the way they did in the novel.

"What substances do you need?" I whispered to Nano.

[Chlorine, phenyl, ketone, (OPDA)….....]

Nano listed out a series of chemical compounds—some easy to acquire, others hard to derive from just my meals.

Thinking about it, I sighed softly.

"Status."

──────────────────────

┌─────────────────┐

│ 𝐒 𝐭 𝐚 𝐭 𝐮 𝐬 𝐖 𝐢 𝐧 𝐝 𝐨 𝐰 ➙

└─────────────────┘

𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞: Noah Grey ⇔ 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤: (G+)

𝐀𝐠𝐞: 16 +(23?)= 39?

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: Homosapien

𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬: None

■𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒 →

⌜ ⌝

Health: (G+) 180/ 180 (+0)

Mana: (G-) +1/ 100

Strength: (F-) +190/ 200 (+0)

Dexterity: (F+)

Intelligence: ???

Mana Capacity: 0

⌞ ⌟

■𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒→

⌜ ⌝

Armor: (G-) 1.1

Resistance: (F) 12

Stamina: (F)

Charm: (E)

Durability: (G+) 8

Flexibility: (B)

⌞ ⌟

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐒:

Momentum Transfer [Allows user to...]

Perception [Allows user to...]

𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐒: None

𝐀𝐑𝐓:

None

𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲: None

𝐌𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬:

[Mystery of telepor...]

𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:

[Legendary Achievment! Acquired...!]

──────────────────────

My mana was replenishing, though at a sluggish pace.

And while it was possible for the body to replenish mana on its own, without a mana core, the process couldn't be any slower.

I had only managed to recover a single point out of a hundred.

If it were Aeravat, he would've recovered his mana in seconds.

That's why, without a mana core, fighting in a real battle was hardly feasible.

"Oh right, it should be about time for the main event?"

Checking the clock, I muttered, "I should get going."

Before I left, I made sure to request a mild prescription for painkillers under the guise of 'preventive measures.'

I was going to use the prescription and copy the physician's handwriting using Nano's Script Emulation to reccomend myself a list of medicines that contained the drugs and chemicals Nano needed. Can't just pick up medicines from the pharmacy.

***

A figure with gray locks sprinted at full speed, taking massive leaps with a sword in her hand. She was Tiya Taylor.

Chuck! Pew! Fwosh!

Three arrows quickly zoomed in on Tiya, aimed with deadly accuracy.

She rotated, brandishing her sword and expertly deflecting two of the projectiles while dodging the third one.

Meanwhile, Emily Reed used a three finger draw and released two more arrows.

Tiya, noticing the incoming danger, cut through the air and ran at full speed.

Swosh!

The two arrows raced with precision towards her.

Tiya prepared to deflect the incoming attack, but the arrows in her peripheral vision were just a distraction to blind her of, the third arrow!

With a swift style, Tiya cut the incoming attacks, only to see a third projectile closing on her.

She attempted to counter the attack, but it was too late to either dodge or deflect the arrow.

Unbeknownst to Tiya, this whole sequence of attack was a part of Emily's plan.

She knew that the practice arrows would hardly cause any real damage as long as Tiya fortified herself with

mana.

And so, Tiya concentrated to fortify herself with mana.

But, the third arrow Emily launched was not meant to cause damage in the first place!

Instead it was enhanced with a certain wind spell. A spell which Emily liked to call 'push you the fuck away.'

Thwok!

Push you the fuck away struck Tiya, carrying a forceful gale along with it. The force propelled her through the air, pushing her out of the arena.

Just that much. And Emily won.

Emily didn't use brute force or some shiny special attack. She used a very simple attack, which wasn't even meant to cause real damage! An extraordinary display of skills and trickery.

"Match over! Emily Reed is the victor!" Professor Riya's voice boomed across the room.

All eyes turned to Emily, their expressions a mix of shock and awe.

Not only had Emily ended the match in under thirty seconds, but she'd done so with remarkable skills. It would not be an exaggeration to call her a prodigy in archery.

"That was amazing, Emily!" Sophia, her friend, cheered, beaming with pride.

—"Yay! Emily! Emily!!" A group of boys cringley cheered, clearly part of the 'Emily Fan Club'.

***

Noah's POV:

Making my way through the corridors of section A, I couldn't help the placidity.

The last match of the day was set to be between Aeravat and Takahashi.

I wanted to see how they fight with my own eyes. This was a world of magic, how can I miss the opportunity?

Slowly but steadily, I got closer to A21 Training Ground.

Even though I knew the outcome of the match, I was eager to see the match with my own eyes.

Thanks to Nano, my physical condition had fully stabilized.

But, despite being in good condition, my mana was extremely low. It had been five minutes and the best I could do was replenish a mere fraction. It was ridiculous.

I approached the training ground, the sounds of cheering echoed through the hall.

Without hesitation, I pushed open the door.

What entered my eyes was truly a beautiful sight.

A blonde haired guy with white complexion was leapt in mid air holding a giant black shield which was glowing white as he made his descent like a rocket—Boom!

The ground shook with a loud sound as the shield hit the ground.

Aurora dodged back just in time.

'He is using shield as a weapon?! Who is that guy!'

-"Hairy Butt! GO! Beat her!"

A sneering cheer came from the crowd.

Harry Butts gave a frowning look toward the direction before quickly refocusing his gaze on Aurora.

'Harry Butts huh? I remember him from weapon selection. He was with that other nunchuck guy, Buster Cherry.'

"Hah, seems like he and his friend really choose unique weapons, intresting," a dry chuckle left me.

Intresting for npcs honestly. They have potential.

"Oh, you are here?"

I looked to see who called me, and who could it have been but, "James. Yes they gave me a healing potion so it wasn't really a big deal." I shrugged my shoulders.

I moved closer to the disc arena, watching the ongoing fight.

James remarked,"You really fought well back there."

I let out a small, amused chuckle,"Is that so? Haha."

Together, James and I made our way closer to the arena.

It seemed like this Harry guy was giving Aurora some trouble which was praise worthy.

Suddenly, Aurora elegantly lifted her rapier into the air before forcefully plunging it into the floor.

Soon enough, just a few meters away, a blue electric bolt shot out of the ground like a fish jumping out of water before diving back in.

In a similar fashion, the bolt began making its way through the ground, diving in and out.

'She's using her propensity?' I thought, recognizing Aurora's signature move.

This process continued as the bolt flowed in and out of the floor like a wave, rapidly making its way towards Harry, who frantically tried to evade it.

But is it really possible to evade an electric attack? His efforts were futile.

The bolt hit him with a resounding buzz!

"Ahaa!" Harry screamed before collapsing unconscious to the floor. His shield lay by his side.

Harry was using a shield only meant that he had a tank class. And tanks usually can handle a lot of punishment before giving up.

And sure enough, Harry was also giving Aurora tough fight before she used her propensity.

But Harry lost in just one attack, when Aurora... It didn't make any sense.

It was too early for Aurora to be this strong. The academy has just begun?

'She is strong...' I frowned. Main characters, do they even need a reason to be strong?

"Halt!" Professor Riya's commanding voice echoed through the arena as she swiftly made her way towards Harry.

With practiced ease, she assessed his condition before calling for the medical staff.

I watched the scene and my mind was fixated on the battle that just ended.

The crowd erupted into a joyous pandemonium, but I wasn't paying much attention to them.

My focus was entirely on the dramatic aftermath on Harry.

'If Aurora ever used that move on me... if it was me, how would I counter it?'

Well, one way to counter it would be to let the electricity flow to the ground through a safer medium and...wait.

'Why am I thinking how to counter her?'

It's not like I was ever gonna fight her?

It was only when Professor Riya silenced the uproar that I became aware of my surroundings again.

"Aurora Lewis Victor!" she announced.

The crowd, well mostly boys cheered.

After the cheers had died down, Professor Riya announced, "Final match, Aeravat Indrath vs Takahasi Aoi."