The Path of Strength

As classes began, the days whirled by in a storm of activities.

I suppose the first lesson was meant to show us that to become stronger, we must sometimes remain still. Takeda taught us meditation—which, frankly, is rather boring. Hana said she felt good doing it, but I felt nothing but tedium. I know from the professor that my core is absorbing mana, but I don't feel a thing; that numbness is a problem.

The next day was, without a doubt, my favorite—the combat simulation class with Takeda and Tanaka was excellent. We started with individual training, which allowed me to practice a variety of strikes on truly durable targets, and then moved on to group training.

There, I noticed that almost everyone possessed a good aptitude for hand-to-hand combat. Even Hana, though a bit clumsy in that regard, was decent enough. Unfortunately, Kenji appeared quite fearful and would shut down at the slightest hit directed at him. I promised myself that when I'm free from this duel, I'll help him overcome his fear.

Then, for the first time, we encountered a different teacher. Praiwan Suksawat, the professor for Magical Beast Studies, taught a subject that was somewhat interesting—mostly memorizing the animals and their weaknesses. The only fascinating point he mentioned was that the lower-level beasts were mostly species that existed in our world before it collapsed.

Next came the class that really caught my attention. Professor Yue Ying, who taught Elemental Control, really drilled into me about my feeble manipulation of Darkness.

"You may be good with Fire and Earth, but you must improve your control over Light and Darkness if you want to be strong in the long run," her words still echoed in my mind. It was a difficult choice.

At the end of the week, History of Magic proved to be the most tedious and useless subject. I'm a soldier—I just need to know how to fight. Besides, Professor Chen, who wasn't a mage and was very old, moved at a snail's pace. When I was nearly dozing off, I decided to use his lecture to strategize for any elemental techniques Lee Min might possess.

And so the week passed. Every day, the corridors of the Arcane Institute of Yamato resounded with hurried footsteps and whispered conversations, while second- and third-year students maintained a respectful distance from us freshmen, as if an invisible barrier separated us.

Despite the initial incident between Lee Min-Jae and me, the atmosphere was oddly calm—like the silence before a storm. Yet, while everyone focused on their own routines, a subtle, unsettling change began to unfold beyond our sight.

In the high city of Tokyo…

"Son, when are you going to leave that room?" My mother's voice, laden with sadness, echoed. "I know how much you wanted to be a mage, but you didn't pass. I went through that myself, you know?"

There he was, sitting on a cushion in the center of his room, eyes closed in deep concentration. Sunlight streamed through the window, highlighting his pale face and disheveled brown hair that fell over his forehead.

"Don't worry, Mom. I won't give up," he said, his voice full of determination. "I'm not doing anything wrong by meditating. That machine helped me understand the process. If I can channel the elementals into my core again, this time I won't fail." Determined, he sat back down, concentrating with all his might to relive that experience.

Tears silently streamed down his mother's face as she watched him—her heart ached with the anguish of seeing her son so dedicated yet so frustrated. Every line of worry on her face reflected her love and her desperate wish to see him achieve his dream of becoming a mage. She remembered her own hopes and disappointments, feeling a mix of empathy and helplessness, wishing she could ease the burden he carried.

Over time, the room descended into chaos. Magic books were piled haphazardly on the floor, and, as always, they never held the answers. The door was now locked to avoid interruptions. The books blurred into a jumble, the sound of my mother's voice a distant echo. The only thing that felt real was the frantic pulse of mana in my body on the day of the test. Day after day, I pushed myself relentlessly, forcing myself beyond my limits. Even when hunger became unbearable, I persisted.

Suddenly, I awoke—"I fell asleep again... How long have I been here? Am I really not going to succeed?" I looked in the mirror and saw my haggard face, my dark circles enormous. I had no other goal. Ever since that man saved me, I had promised I would become a mage.

Returning to meditation for one last attempt, a final thought raced through my mind: If I fail, maybe I should give up everything. "Just a little more," I whispered, my voice barely audible through tears.

Those words repeated day after day, and soon nearly three weeks passed. Then, one day, an intense light flooded the room. A tremor ran through my body. The energy, once a thin thread, had become a raging river, overwhelming my senses. I opened my eyes to the sunlight bathing the room, and a triumphant smile spread across my face. Shouting a cry of joyous defiance, I realized: my dream was finally coming true.

Vision of Ryuji Takeshi Iwahara

"I'm nearly out of mana, Hana. But we have to try one last time."A small, intense flame began to form in her hand—Hana never seemed to pity me. "Focus. I have to make this count," I murmured to myself, striving to stay calm as exhaustion weighed down every word.

I braced myself, trying to sense the flow of elementals transforming the atmosphere. Unfortunately, the moment they left my body, I lost control. I pushed myself to the very last second as Hana's attack nearly hit me, but to no avail. In the end, though I couldn't quite explain how, I always managed to conjure a barrier to protect myself.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," I complained to Hana as she drew near.

"Are you sure you can't keep going? I think I can still launch two or three more attacks like that," she replied, breathless.

Hana's breathing was uneven, and sweat beaded on her forehead. "Even if you say that, you're exhausted too," I said, worried about her condition. "It seems my mana reserve is lower than yours. Recovering it takes far too long—I can't sustain long training sessions like this."

A heavy silence fell, broken only by Hana's footsteps as she sat beside me, hesitating before finally speaking. The past three weeks had been good; I felt I was making rapid progress. Training with everyone had accelerated my development—having nearly every element on our team was an advantage.

Yet, in the last week, I sensed that something was off; even though they were helping me, they seemed restless. Maybe this will hinder my training—better bring it up now.

"Hana, you can speak freely. We're friends. I don't know what you mean, but if it's something delicate, I'm sure you know I won't react badly."

She turned her face toward me and said, "Aren't you a little too obsessed with this duel?" Her question caught me off guard.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, confused.

"Ryu, you're fixated on this fight. Professor Yue has scolded you several times in Elemental Manipulation class. You only worry about improving your skill with Earth and Fire. What about the other elements? Are you just going to ignore them?"

"At this moment, this duel is the most important—it will define how our squad is seen. That's why I'm only training these elements; they are the ones I have the greatest affinity for and are the strongest in combat. You know the professor wants me to improve in Darkness, but right now, it's pointless—I'm having too many difficulties with it." I couldn't understand why Hana thought it was wrong for me to want to win; after all, that's one of the paths to becoming the strongest.

"That's the problem—you're the leader, but you're only thinking of yourself. Every day after class, when you rush here to the training field, you use up all your magic and end up too exhausted to really talk with us," she said, sounding a bit irritated.

"You know why I have to win—it was your idea for us to be the strongest, and I'm doing what's necessary."

Suddenly, she stood up and, still with her back to me, said, "Ryu, understand that you are our leader; you can't only think about yourself. The numerous complaints from the professors about you are hurting our image, and that's exactly what you've been doing for the past two weeks." Her tone grew louder.

I also stood and replied, "You speak as if this happens in every class, when it was only in theory—and Professor Yue's complaint was just about one element. It's not a big deal. Besides, whenever you need me as a leader, I'm there."

"And Kenji, you're here for him too."

I searched my mind for anything unusual about Kenji. "He's just a bit quiet; he probably needs some time. I don't understand—he seemed completely normal. He even said he doesn't like to talk much."

A deep sigh filled the space. "If you think he's normal, then fine, leader—but if something happens, it will be your fault." Hana began walking toward the exit. "And please, care more about the classes. It's not just your image at stake."

"I'll continue doing things my way. Even if our image gets a little tarnished, once I win, they'll forget all about it—I'm sure of it."Maybe it was true that they were drawing attention to me because I wasn't paying enough attention or because my ability with Darkness wasn't evolving—but they'll forget if I win.

"And if you lose?" Her words hit me like a punch. I thought she'd support me.

"If you keep training the way you do now, I won't win. You should support me—after all, this duel is happening because you wanted to show off in class."

For the first time, Hana looked at me, her face burning with anger. "This duel is happening because you wanted it," she said as she stepped toward me. "When I asked you to protect me, you simply stepped in front and challenged him."

"I only did what a leader is supposed to do—and you were one of the people who put me in this position. I never wanted it, but no one is competent enough to handle the role." A wave of heat surged through me; sweat immediately broke out on my forehead, and my hands began to tremble.

"I don't want to hear that from someone weaker than me." Her words cut like blades, and I felt my heart race, my chest tightening with irrational anger.

"You might have a bit more mana and better control over it, but I stepped in because you freeze up when something real happens. It wasn't like that with the boars—imagine it in a real duel." I panted slightly as I finished speaking.

She moved closer until we were only centimeters apart, raising her hand with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "If you wanted to impress me by protecting me, it didn't work at all."An explosion threw me backward, and a searing pain spread through my body, as if a thousand burning needles were piercing my skin.

I only saw her back as she stepped into the portal. I lay there, trying to recover. "I can't believe she did that," I thought, staring at the burn on my chest. I expected an alarm to sound, but nothing did—my watch merely confirmed that I had a painful injury, though not life-threatening. A few minutes later, I managed to get up and head to the portal leading back to the dorms.

Each step home felt like torment. A soft female voice began to speak: "If you want to recover quickly, go to the bathtub—I've already filled it for you."

Unable to think straight, I went without hesitation. As I immersed myself, I watched my burned skin slowly regenerate. Still, the pain was excruciating, every fiber of my body burning. After a few minutes and some spasms, I finally managed to relax; only a small scar remained on my chest. That was the healing magic at work.

"Why did I say that?" I asked myself, a long sigh escaping as I relived every word, every reaction. The sharp pain in my chest was replaced by a crushing weight of regret.

The first two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Amidst exhausting training sessions and theoretical classes, time slipped through my fingers, always with the nagging feeling that I wasn't doing enough. My classmates and I had to devote ourselves entirely to our studies, for in a normal school there was nothing about magic—everything was entirely new.

The History of Magic class, held on Fridays, always left me utterly exhausted, and I ended up dozing off. Professor Chen had to wake me twice with a water bottle. In this case, Hana was right—I decided I needed to adapt and avoid sleeping in class again.

I'd still have to endure Professor Yue's complaints for a while, but I couldn't see how improving my control over Darkness would help me against Lee Min. Winning this duel was the only thing on my mind.

I headed straight from class to the training field, where I wouldn't leave until my mana core was completely depleted. I couldn't understand why she got so angry about a complaint that only happened within our group—only we knew about it. Anyway, I'd have to talk to her about it tomorrow.

The only question was where. It was disconcerting how the older students watched us, as if we were a display. They maintained a respectful distance, yet it was still uncomfortable. Except for the incident with Lee Min-Jae, interactions between the grades were minimal. It made me realize something: we are only 19, but it seems there are over seventy students in each of these classes.

In the end, I should never have said I didn't want to be a leader. I have to take that back—since I accepted that responsibility, I have no right to complain. I even earn more, although our salary hasn't been deposited yet.

"Man, I was such an idiot."

After a difficult shower, struggling to walk, I got dressed and returned to my room. "What an exhausting Sunday," I thought, reflecting on the need to adjust my attitude toward the team. With nothing else on my mind, I fell asleep, preparing myself for the next day.