Mana and Emotions

As she gazed at the gilded ceiling of her bedroom, Anna felt frustration piling up in her chest.

Yesterday's battle had shown her that she was in an unenviable position. Despite her overwhelming victory over Ivar, she knew that being the weakest among the top ten would make her a target for anyone aspiring to enter the ranks.

All the nobles would start challenging her repeatedly, exhausting her beyond measure.

But she didn't want to lose.

No, she couldn't lose.

She could never afford to lose her place in the top ten, or the gap between her and him would only grow wider with time.

After lying on the bed for a while, lost in thought, Anna finally stood up and began preparing for class.

A while later, she left her room dressed in her school uniform and started walking down the empty corridor. She liked leaving early—she had no desire to mingle with the rest of the top ten. In fact, she didn't like socializing with anyone at all.

After some time wandering through the academy's deserted halls, Anna noticed a student walking with his head lowered.

Upon seeing him, she couldn't help but sigh. She knew the student, after all—he was what one might call a "childhood friend."

When he noticed Anna heading in the same direction, he smiled and moved toward her.

"Hey, Anna. How are you?"

"I'm fine."

Seeing her cold response, the student neither flinched nor showed disappointment. He had known her long enough to understand that this was just how she was.

"Well, I heard from some of the other students that they're planning to gang up on you one by one, so I thought maybe I could help."

Anna was already drained from yesterday's ordeal and from thinking about what lay ahead today. She had no time for anyone's nonsense.

"No, thanks. I don't need help. And even if I did, how exactly do you plan to assist me, Zion?"

Hearing her sharp words, Zion awkwardly lowered his head.

"I don't know… Maybe I could take one of them on?"

At this, Anna couldn't suppress her growing frustration and scoffed.

"Take one of them on? With your strength? How long would you keep them occupied—fifteen seconds? And even if you could fight them all day, what difference would it make if only one opponent out of dozens disappeared?"

"Anna… I… I was just trying—"

She didn't let him finish. Turning toward him, she snapped angrily,

"Enough. I don't want to hear any more of your nonsense. If you really want to help me, then get out of my way."

Without waiting for a response, Anna hurried toward class, leaving Zion standing there, his head lowered in embarrassment.

As she walked, she replayed the conversation in her mind.

Normally, she was a calm person, rarely prone to anger. But all the nonsense that had piled up over the past two days…

On her first day at the academy, her archrival—who had vanished for more than two years—suddenly reappeared. And she had been powerless against him due to her weakness.

On the second day, a spoiled noble had challenged her to eleven consecutive duels, leaving her utterly exhausted.

And today could very well be her last day in the top ten.

After twenty minutes of walking, she finally arrived at her classroom. The place was empty—no one else had arrived yet.

Of course, she didn't care. She liked solitude, though she wasn't sure when she had started to love it.

Gradually, students began to trickle in until the classroom filled up.

Not long after, Professor Lawrence Bergnorth entered.

Standing at the podium, he addressed the students,

"Alright, who among you has read *Mana, Emotions, and Will: Their Interactions* by Roland Bergnorth?"

No one raised their hand.

Seeing this, Lawrence frowned slightly and said,

"What a bunch of slackers! How do you expect to succeed in my class when you can't even read a single book?"

"In any case, I'll start explaining the effects of emotions on mana, so pay attention. This knowledge might just save your life."

"When mana first appeared in our world, our ancestors treated it as a dangerous energy source. However, they didn't truly grasp its peril until the first Rank A human emerged."

"And why do you think that was?"

He didn't wait for an answer. Waving his hand in the air, he conjured a hologram of a warrior with unnaturally red skin and a crazed expression.

"This happened because the more mana a person possesses, the more it is influenced by emotions such as anger and resentment. And when emotions become too intense, they affect the mana, which in turn amplifies those emotions—leading the warrior into a state we call 'Loss of Control.'"

With another wave of his hand, the hologram changed to display a crystalline sphere filled with screaming faces.

"Of course, losing control due to overwhelming emotions is not the only way one can lose control. Consuming others' mana cores—or potions made from them—can also cause a loss of control or weaken one's natural talent.

Even though the original owner of a mana core perishes, a part of their will and emotions—what we call obsession—remains imprinted on the stored mana within the core.

Thus, consuming too many mana cores—or one stronger than oneself—carries the risk of being affected by that obsession. Of course, the obsession is weaker in mana potions, but this only reduces the risk—it does not eliminate it."

"Another danger is the corruption of one's own mana. A portion of it could fall under the control of the obsession, rendering it unusable."

"And in the worst-case scenario, a warrior's mana core could explode, killing them. In the best case, part of the core would be excised, weakening their talent."

Lawrence paused briefly before gesturing again, replacing the image of the haunted sphere with two mages. Above one of them was a label reading Calm, while the other bore the label Angry. Both were casting fireballs, but the angry mage's fireball was significantly larger.

"Of course, mana's interaction with emotions is not purely a disadvantage—it has its benefits as well.

For example, emotions can enhance mana.

For some reason, intense emotions amplify spells of certain elements. An angry person, for instance, can unleash a fire spell more powerful than someone who is calm or sad."

Lawrence proceeded to explain how different emotions influenced mana, the various forms of enhancement possible, and the emotions required to boost each elemental power.

After about an hour and a half, he concluded the lesson.

"In the end, while we understand how mana interacts with emotions, we still do not know why it does so. For now, we can only accept it as one of mana's many strange properties."

"And with that, today's lesson is over."

Saying this, Lawrence turned and left the classroom.