Magic Academy - Curious Cat

The rest of the class passed in silence for Jace. Even Lyra glanced at him a few times, brows furrowed slightly, but said nothing. A few students whispered, clearly curious why Professor Meralda had singled him out again.

When the bell rang to end the session, most students gathered their things and rushed out.

Jace, as instructed, headed straight to the principal's office.

Whispers trailed behind him as he walked through the hall.

"Why is he always getting called?"

"Did something happen during class?"

"He didn't even light up the slate…"

He ignored them.

When he reached the tall double doors of the office again, he knocked once.

"Enter."

This time, Professor Meralda was already inside, standing beside the principal. The silver-haired man glanced up from his desk, folding his hands together calmly.

"Sit, Jace," he said.

Jace obeyed.

Professor Meralda wasted no time. She stepped forward and held up a small enchanted copy of the standard casting slate. The circle was glowing faintly—but unevenly—pulsing in strange, irregular patterns.

"This is from class," she said. "It was the standard Tier 1 kingdom circle. I had Jace pour mana into it—no spell, just the flow."

She placed the slate on the desk.

The principal leaned forward, studying it. "And this is the result?"

"It refused him," Meralda said. "Multiple times. It rejected his mana like oil refusing water."

Jace added quietly, "It's like my mana and the circle couldn't agree on anything. No flow. No connection."

The principal's fingers tapped once on the desk.

"His custom circle from yesterday was stable," Meralda continued. "But kingdom-standard formations behave like they're being attacked when he casts."

A long silence stretched.

Then, the principal leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "That's not something that can be explained by education or lack of exposure. That's something… deeper."

He looked directly at Jace. "You'll be going to the west wing of the academy this afternoon."

"The west wing?" Jace asked.

Meralda chuckled softly under her breath. "That's where he is."

The principal gave her a side glance. "Yes. Him."

Then he turned back to Jace. "There's a… specialist on campus. Not an instructor. Not officially on staff. We call him the 'Mana Maniac.' Not to his face. He's one of the leading researchers in experimental magical compatibility."

Meralda added, "If anyone can understand what your mana is doing—and why it won't accept traditional circle structures—it's him."

The principal reached into a drawer and handed Jace a sealed parchment with a wax emblem. "Show him this. He'll know it's official."

Jace took the parchment and stood.

"And Jace…" the principal said just before he turned.

"Yes?"

"Be careful around him. He's brilliant… but not exactly normal."

Jace gave a respectful nod and turned, about to leave—

BANG!

The doors suddenly burst open without warning. A whirlwind of energy in the shape of a young girl—probably around Jace's age—stormed in with a scowl on her face and a wooden spoon in hand.

Without hesitation, she marched straight up to the principal and smacked him on the head.

Smack!

"Granpa!" she shouted. "You're ignoring me again!"

The principal winced, rubbing his head. "Neria… must you always enter like a charging boar?"

"You didn't take your medicine!" she said, hands on her hips. "You promised yesterday, and the healers said this one might finally work!"

Jace blinked, frozen in place halfway to the door.

The girl—Neria—finally noticed him and paused, brushing back her slightly curled auburn hair with a sheepish grin.

"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt…" she mumbled, then shot the principal another glare. "But he always forgets. Or pretends to. He's sick, you know!"

The principal sighed. "It's not a sickness anyone understands yet, child."

"That's why you should drink it. It's made by the top alchemists of the capital! Don't make me bring Grandma back here!"

That made the principal flinch ever so slightly. "Fine, fine… I'll drink it."

Neria grinned in victory, pulling a small glass vial from her pouch and placing it firmly on his desk. She then turned to Jace with a curious tilt of her head.

"You're the weird magic guy, right?"

"…Excuse me?"

"You're the one who made a circle that spins the wrong way and eats normal magic, right?"

Jace blinked. "Sort of."

"Cool." She gave him a thumbs-up, then spun around. "Okay! I'm off to bully my grandpa into not dying. Later!"

With that, she stormed out the same way she entered—fast and loud.

The principal let out a long sigh, uncorked the vial, and drank the medicine in one smooth motion.

"Granddaughters," he muttered. "More terrifying than warlocks."

Jace, still standing by the door, finally allowed himself a small laugh.

After the chaos in the principal's office, Jace finally stepped outside, feeling like he'd just survived a storm.

He took a deep breath.

West side of the academy… mana maniac… sounds promising.

The western wing of the academy looked different. It was less polished, less formal. Vines crept along the walls, old scrolls were stuffed in open windows, and faint pulses of magical energy flickered in the air. Strange runes glowed from signs that looked like they were drawn in a rush.

At the far end, surrounded by scattered equipment and bubbling cauldrons, stood a man hunched over a table.

Wild silver hair shot out in every direction, and his robe was patched with burns, stains, and even claw marks. He wore mismatched gloves—one made of leather, the other of some shimmering scale.

Without looking up, he spoke. "You're the kid with the spell that tickles the laws of mana until they cry, right?"

"…Excuse me?"

The man finally looked up. His eyes were sharp—too sharp. One pupil was narrow like a lizard's, the other wide and glowing faintly blue.

"I'm Professor Kael. They call me the Mana Maniac, but I prefer 'Magical Theorist Extraordinaire.'" He sniffed. "Though I have been banned from five departments."

Jace stepped in cautiously. "The principal sent me. I created a strange magic circle—Professor Meralda said it resisted normal mana, and—"

"Yes, yes, I heard. Fascinating." Kael clapped once, then tossed Jace a strange metal disc covered in rotating runes. "Let's get to work. Try replicating your circle with this."

And just like that, Jace's trial began.

What followed could only be described as magical torture.

Kael made him recreate his unique circle over and over using chalk, mana-infused ink, even steam. He had Jace pour magic into different materials—crystals, bones, dirt—while muttering complex equations and theories like, "See how your mana resists traditional conduction? Intriguing, but dangerous!"

At one point, Kael dumped a bucket of cold water on Jace's head "to reset your aura alignment."

Jace coughed, soaked and shivering. "Was that necessary?"

"Absolutely not," Kael grinned. "But it was funny."

By the end of the day, Jace's arms were shaking, and his head throbbed with magical exhaustion. His robe was smudged with ink, dirt, and soot, and his mana core felt like it had been wrung dry.

Kael finally called a halt.

"You're a mystery, boy," the old professor muttered, squinting at one of Jace's recreated circles. "This thing you've made… it's not just a spell. It's a language. It rewrites how mana flows. If you can stabilize this, you'll either revolutionize magic… or blow up half the kingdom."

Jace groaned softly, too tired to even feel pride.

Kael looked at him with a smirk. "Get some rest. Come back tomorrow. We've only just scratched the surface."

By the time Jace stumbled out of Kael's lab, the sun was already dipping behind the academy walls.

His limbs were trembling, his mana felt like it had been scraped raw, and his mind was foggy from the overload of arcane theory, magical experiments, and Kael's nonstop, erratic commentary.

He trudged through the academy grounds like a soulless husk. A few passing students gave him odd looks.

"…You good, man?" one of them whispered.

Jace didn't answer.

He reached his dorm room, collapsed face-first onto the bed, and passed out still wearing his soot-stained uniform.

---

The Next Morning

A knock pounded at his door.

Jace groaned into his pillow, peeled himself up, and remembered.

Mana test… right.

He cleaned up as fast as he could, changed clothes, and made his way—still slightly zombified—back to the west wing.

Inside the cluttered lab, Kael was already bustling with energy, holding a glowing orb the size of a melon in one hand and sipping from a suspiciously bubbling coffee mug in the other.

"Ah! Good, you're alive. Barely," Kael said, squinting. "Time to test your core."

Jace blinked. "My core?"

"Your mana type, boy!" Kael banged the orb onto the table. "There are four types of natural mana affinity found in awakened humans. Most people are 'Common'—your basic, flow-stable kind. Some lucky ones are 'Natural'—harmonious with life, plants, and wild essence. Rarer still are those with 'Mythical' mana—imbued with ancient echoes, often tied to beast bloodlines or forgotten magicks. And then—"

Kael grinned wickedly.

"'Forged' mana. Artificial, forced, or mutated. Usually unstable, sometimes… explosive."

Jace gulped.

Kael motioned for him to place his hand on the orb.

"Let's find out what you are, you little anomaly."

Jace stepped forward and laid his palm on the cool surface of the orb.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—fwwoom!

The orb pulsed with a strange, chaotic mixture of lights. It didn't settle into one color like it was supposed to. Instead, multiple hues swirled—blue, silver, violet, and even black—colliding and reshaping themselves.

Kael's eyes widened. "That's… impossible."

The orb cracked.

Not shattered—but thin lines splintered across the surface like it was struggling to contain the reading.

Jace pulled his hand back instinctively. "Is that bad?"

Kael didn't answer at first.

He carefully picked up the orb, examined the cracks, then stared at Jace like he'd just grown two heads.

"You don't have one mana type," Kael said slowly. "You have a hybrid. A Forge-Mythical fusion… and it's adapting."

"Adapting?" Jace echoed.

Kael ran his hand through his wild hair, clearly both disturbed and fascinated. "Your mana isn't just raw. It's alive. It's learning. That's probably why your magic circle doesn't work with conventional mana flow—it wasn't made for it."

He paced the room like a man possessed.

"This is… this is enormous. This changes everything about magical theory. You're like a walking paradox. A mistake that shouldn't exist… but does. And now I have to figure out why."

Jace blinked. "So… do I die, or…?"

Kael grinned. "Not today. But don't use too much mana until we understand how it reacts under pressure."

The professor paused. "Or you might turn into a walking bomb."

Just as Jace turned to leave, Kael raised a hand.

"Wait," he said, voice more serious than before. "There's one more thing I need to do."

Jace hesitated. "More tests?"

"No. This one's… different." Kael placed both hands together and muttered an incantation under his breath. His eyes glowed faintly, and runes shimmered in the air between them.

"I'm going to peek into your soul's mana structure. Not many mages can do this—too dangerous, too intimate—but I need to see what's really inside you."

Jace's brows furrowed. "Is that safe?"

Kael smirked. "For me? No. For you? Definitely not. Hold still."

Before Jace could argue, the runes flared, and a wave of magical energy surged forward, touching his chest like a whisper of wind.

The world around Kael shifted.

Suddenly, he wasn't in his lab anymore.

He was inside Jace's mana core.

It was dark. Cold. The mana around him moved unnaturally—twisting, writhing, pulsing like something alive. Black vines of energy crept along the edges of this realm, and a faint rumble echoed in the distance like a creature breathing in its sleep.

Then he saw it.

A monstrous presence, crouched in the depths of Jace's core like a shadow given flesh. It was massive, hunched over, with long claws curled around itself like it was waiting… or dreaming.

Its body pulsed with Mythical energy—not of this world. Horns curved from its head like a beast of ancient legend, and eyes like burning violet stars briefly flickered open and locked onto Kael.

Kael's breath caught.

The monster didn't move. But it knew he was there.

In the next heartbeat, Kael broke the spell and stumbled backward, nearly knocking over his chair.

Jace grabbed his arm. "Professor! Are you okay?"

Kael blinked, sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm fine. Just… soul diving always leaves me dizzy."

He looked at Jace, his expression unreadable now.

But inside, Kael was shaken. That thing inside Jace—it wasn't just mana gone wild. It was a living entity, bound to him. Something ancient, dangerous, and possibly not human.

He couldn't tell the boy. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

Instead, Kael placed a hand on Jace's shoulder and offered a smile.

"You're not just rare, kid. You're singular," he said softly. "There's only one person I know who might have answers. Someone who's studied anomalous mana and mythical soul bonds."

Jace perked up. "Where can I find them?"

Kael stepped back and reached into a drawer, pulling out a small envelope with a silver seal.

"Lipines Kingdom. You'll need permission to travel and some backing. This man is… strange, even by my standards, but if anyone knows what's inside you—it's him."

He handed Jace the letter.

"Don't open it. Just deliver it. You'll understand why once you meet him."

Jace nodded slowly, staring down at the seal.