Academi

After thinking about it for a while, I slapped my forehead, feeling stupid.

"I already wrote the chapter where the protagonist senses mana. All I have to do is imitate him."

Even though the idea seemed silly, I didn't have any better alternatives.

So, I sat in a meditative posture and focused on sensing the mana core inside my heart.

Surprisingly, it was easier than I expected. After just a few seconds, I suddenly felt my consciousness connect with something new. The sensation was strange.

It was as if there was a pool of some unknown liquid inside my body—specifically within my heart—yet I could somehow control it to a certain extent.

As I felt the mysterious liquid within me, it was as if I instinctively knew what to do. Without thinking, I began spreading mana throughout my body in a specific manner.

Suddenly, the world became clearer, and an unexpected surge of strength spread through my entire body. It felt as if I had taken some sort of stimulant.

The rush of power filled me with euphoria, but at the same time, I scratched the back of my head in confusion.

"How do I know how to manipulate mana?"

I couldn't answer that question. In fact, I was already too overwhelmed by the series of bizarre events happening one after another.

Besides, my excitement over gaining supernatural powers kept me from thinking too deeply about it.

So, I simply convinced myself that it was thanks to Edward's talent and muscle memory.

Then, I brushed off the thought and swung my fist at the nearby wall with full force.

Nothing happened to the wall. Instead, my hand went numb.

Yet, that didn't dampen my enthusiasm. I continued hopping around the room like a monkey for about five minutes.

After five minutes of jumping, punching, and kicking the wall, my vision started to blur.

Sensing this, I immediately stopped circulating mana throughout my body.

"Sigh."

"Looks like I've reached my limit."

I recognized these symptoms—they were signs of mana exhaustion.

Looking at the wall, which remained completely intact, I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Of course, it wasn't because I was weak. The most likely explanation was that the hotel walls were reinforced with mana.

"Anyway, now that I know how to manipulate mana, I need to train with a sword before entering the academy."

Thinking about this filled me with excitement—it was time to explore the city.

The city's streets were entirely paved, with no roads designated for cars.

Instead, everyone rode on what looked like floating metal disks. There were small ones that carried a single person and larger ones that carried dozens.

Seeing the floating disks made me hesitate. I really wanted to ride one, but I was also afraid of falling off.

In the end, I decided to drop the idea and walk on foot.

According to the map displayed on my screen, the training center was nearby.

After a short walk, I arrived at the training facility, which was located in the basement of one of the buildings.

Upon entering, I found myself in a simple reception room with no decorations, except for a wooden desk in the back.

Behind the wooden desk sat the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Her golden blonde hair shimmered like gold, and her gentle smile was mesmerizing.

Seeing the receptionist, I froze, unsure of what to say.

However, as soon as she saw me, she smiled kindly and said,

"Mr. Edward, welcome back. Let me check if there are any available private rooms."

Hearing this, I nodded as several blue holographic screens appeared in front of the receptionist.

After about thirty seconds of searching, she turned to me with a warm smile.

"You're in luck, Mr. Edward. There is a private room available at the moment."

At the same time, a blue holographic screen appeared in front of me, displaying the facility's map with a red dot marking the private room's location.

Seeing this, I nodded at the receptionist and began making my way toward the training room.

After wandering through the facility for a while, I finally reached the training room.

The room was spacious, with black flooring and an array of different weapons mounted on the pristine white walls.

In the center of the room stood several iron training dummies.

Seeing the vast selection of weapons, my blood boiled with excitement as I approached to pick a longsword.

I chose a longsword for several reasons—one being that it was the preferred weapon of many protagonists in novels, and another being that the Lightstar family was a lineage of swordsmen.

Weighing the sword in my hand, I examined it closely. It had no decorative elements, a simple black handle, and a flat metal blade with no sharp edges.

Since I could swing it with ease, I rushed toward a training dummy and struck it with all my might.

However, the only thing that happened was the sword flying out of my hands.

Seeing this, I felt both disappointed and embarrassed.

But before I could retrieve my sword, a humanoid figure made of blue light appeared, holding the sword in a specific stance.

Then, a mechanical voice echoed through the room.

"Spread your legs and grip your sword firmly."

Seeing this, I let out a relieved sigh.

"At least I won't have to train myself alone."

And so, for the next four days, I kept returning to the training hall, practicing under the guidance of the blue holographic figure that corrected every mistake I made.

Each morning, I would wake up in Edward's comfortable bed, and with each passing day, I became more convinced that this wasn't a dream.

Finally, after four days, it was time to head to the academy.

After taking a shower, I put on my academy uniform and made my way toward the building shown on the map.

Eventually, I arrived at a facility responsible for managing teleportation circles.

Inside, I found dozens of glowing blue rune circles arranged neatly in two rows.

In front of each circle stood a guard dressed in black.

After looking around for a bit, I approached a circle filled with dozens of students wearing the same academy uniform as me—an outfit consisting of two pieces in blue and white.

Interestingly, no one seemed to pay any attention to me. Everyone was too busy nervously looking around, probably not expecting the heir of a ruling family to use a public teleportation circle.

Even I was surprised that Edward didn't live in the Lightstar family's mansion. Despite being the author of this world, I didn't know everything, especially the pasts of side characters I hadn't written about.

After a while, when no additional students arrived, the guard looked at us and asked,

"Are you all ready?"

"Yes."

All the students answered in unison.

Hearing this, the guard nodded, and the teleportation circle erupted in a bright blue light, momentarily blinding everyone.

When the light faded, I was still standing within a rune circle.

However, besides a slight headache, the only noticeable change was my surroundings.

I was now in an endless field of green grass, surrounded by hundreds of other students.

Some had arrived through teleportation circles like us, while others had come via flying ships or massive iron airships.

Standing proudly under the sunlight in front of us was a massive white marble castle.

Seeing the castle, I felt both nervous and excited.

I had finally arrived at the academy.

---

Question: Do you prefer that I continue publishing at this same time, or would you like me to post at a different time?

If no one responds, I'll keep publishing at this time.