Chapter 30 (the spiral of energy)

Victoria strided back to the podium,

facing her colleagues. "Fill out and

submit your forms, and as soon as we're

done, let's change into the academy

training suit and move down to the Mana

and Aura assimilation chamber." She

said as she received their course form.

Mark stood from his seat. "Why don't

we discuss that as we move?" He said,

clenching his fist, that sadness could be

passive from his words.They all

submitted their forms except Xena, who

was not recognised as a student as per

principal Logan's instruction. They all

changed to ash-coloured, form-fitting,

round neck suits with blue stripes at the

seams.

Drake and Mark are fully dressed,

waiting for Xena. A few minutes later, "I

hope I am not late." A voice said beside

them. They both turned, looking at

Xena's beauty and stunned figure.

Drake's heat beats faster so loudly that

he could hear them. His face turned red,

finding himself captivated by the beauty

before him. Mark is equally taken aback. 

Xena stepped closer. "My Crux, is

anything wrong with my dress?" her

expression slightly uncomfortable. Drake

blinked, clearing his throat. "No, no. It's

not that. You just look a bit different than

usual," his eyes widened, and he

complimented her with a touch of

shyness. "The other students are already

on their way to the chamber building.

Let's catch up to their pace, he said as he

started moving. Xena rushed towards

him, wrapping her hand around Drake's

arm tightened to her chest.

The three of them are walking towards

the Mana and Aura assimilation chamber

building. "Hey, buddy, about what you

asked in the hall." He started to explain.

Six months ago, The Diamond Mage

Academy suffered a devastated and

horrified genocide during the current

senior student promotion test. Each

student was assigned a different task to

complete individually, but during their

assessment, they became prey to

lurking Crimson Rot at the Rotwalker

stage. These predators, like serpents in

the grass, attacked the promising

students as if they were tasked to do

so.Only 10 of the 42 students survived.

Among the dead is Mike, Mark's twin

brother, who tenaciously stayed to

protect the village he was tasked with.

Drake, who had been listening,

interrupted. "My deepest condolences.

But wait, if Mike is your twin brother, that

means you're the same age, right? Why

don't you join him at that time?" He

enquired confusedly.

"That's because we have different

beliefs about strength." Mark explained.

"He believed that by coming here he

could achieve his goal, while I believed

that by honing my strength using family

techniques I could achieve mine."

"Then why did you change your mind?"

Drake inquired. "I decided to carry on his

goal." Mark replied.

"I don't know him, but I'm sure he

would have preferred you achieve yours

instead of burdening yourself with his

own goal."

Mark raised his head, signing heavily.

"We both shared the same goal, which is

to become the greatest war mage. The

only difference is the process. So right

now, I'm carrying both mine and his goals

on my shoulders."

Their discussion continues as they

catch up with other students at the

chamber building. The Mana and Aura

assimilation chamber is divided into

three rooms: the Assimilation Vacuum

Chamber, a room with 50 suites

designed with special mana circuits that

help in mana absorption; the Mana and

Aura Check-In Room, where mana pool

and aura core capacity are examined;

and the Enchanting Chamber, where

mage students practice their spells.

In the Mana and Aura Check-In room,

the room humed with a thousand unseen

voices as students gathered around

Professor Leo. A stone circle alter crafted

in a concrete cylindrical shape with a 30

cm radius and a height of 5.9 meters

stands at the centre of the room, with

sigils etched on its surface.

"Let's begin today's class." Professor

Leo urged, clapping his hands. The noise

receded like a tide, leaving behind an

expansion of quiet.

"Today I will guide you through Mana

core capacity and Mana rings before the

evaluation. As we all know, the highest

mana ring a mage can manifest around

their heart is nine rings. Just like the

planets orbiting the sun, the mana rings

also required specific levels of mana

pool capacity to stabilise and function

properly as they increased. If a mage

attempts to create additional rings

around their heart when the mana pool

capacity is low, the extra ring will become

a burden on the mana pool, resulting in

hearts explosion during battle or even

during the ring creation process."

 . "This evaluation, traditionally, was

always conducted near the end of

training. However, two sets of students

before yours. progressed significantly

only to find their hearts exploded at the

end of the training. In response, the

academy had adjusted the school

program to conduct this evaluation

twice, once before the training begins

and near the end. This is to help students

understand their mana pool conditions."

He crossed his arms behind him.

"There are four stages for the mana

pool, which is also used in the mage's

ranking system. Mage from first circle to

fourth circles are called Mage

Apprentice, with 1,500-5000 units of

mana. Mage from the fifth and sixth

circles are called Mage Expert,

possessing 5000–12,000 units of mana.

The Mage Master stage, encompassing

the seventh and eight circles, has

12,000–30,000 units of mana, and lastly,

Archimage, the ninth circle mage,

boasts 30,000–100,000 units worth of

mana. So let's begin the evaluation.

The silence shattered into a thousand

pieces, each fragment a worried

question, a hopeful whisper, a trembling

voice.