Basing it off magical energy alone, most of the people here weren't half bad. But that's if you only look at the surface. If you dive deeper into how honed their bodies were, as well as how refined their mana was, then it would tell you a different story
Take this person for example. She's a blue-haired cutie that seems to be a weapon-type mage who uses a sword. It's only natural that her body would be buff so that she could handle her fighting style, but her magical energy was top-class as well
Just as how the muscles could be improved upon by exercises. A person's magical energy could be better through continuous use, in which your capacity to hold and produce mana would be enhanced compared to before
So it was clear to me that she was not only well-experienced in combat but adept at magic as well
And the green-haired girl beside her who was chowing down on some cheese wasn't anyone to scoff at either. She may put up an aloof face, but it was clear to me that she was being cautious. Her eyes were darting around the place, trying to sneakily asses the people nearby her just like what I'm doing
Top it off with her magical energy, her center of gravity, how rough her hands look, and her silent footsteps all told me a story of her being a hitman or some sorts...A strong one at that.
And If I had to guess where she was from...Hmmm, let's see...She originally looks like someone from the Tengoku alliance, but she could be from Vanis as well...
Either way, It doesn't really matter. I could just ask them once I've got the chance...
They seemed to be talking about something and were constantly whispering to each other. Not gonna lie, I wanted to listen to the conversation. But If I were to enhance my hearing in this big of a crowd, then my eardrums would burst...
So for now I'm stuck to only watching
And as my eyes continued to wander, I saw my second person of interest. He was a robust-looking boy who seemed to be the same age as me. His hair and eyes had a brown hue, and he had a bow hanging at his back.
Even looking at it from afar, I could tell that it was very well done. It was made of a shimmering silver steal that had magical runes engraved upon it, which made it an excellent catalyst for spells. The string of it also seems to be lightweight, and very durable...
However, the quality of his weapon was in direct contrast to his clothes, which was...not so great
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say...Dogshit...
And someone who values the quality of their weapon but not what they wear means they're placed in a constant situation in which they couldn't give less of a crap about it. Meaning a battlefield or some sort. And there are only three careers in this world that pay good dough for that
Soldier, mercenary, or adventurer
But the soldiers of this world, especially ones in the Empire, take immense pride in what they do and tend to keep up appearances like wearing fancy clothes with their medals when they're out in public, which means he isn't that. So it's either of the two
Or maybe he's a bandit that just got good loot, I dunno
But the thing that caught my eye wasn't really that. His weapon was cool, but it wasn't special by any means. There were others out here with even higher-quality weapons
What piqued my interest was the flocks of women surrounding him like a bunch of hungry hyenas. Be it young or old, and poor or rich. It didn't matter. So long as they were a lady, they would literally walk up toward them with heart-shaped eyes
And they weren't just hungry, they were STARVING
At first, I thought that they were all his... acquaintances of some sort...but as time went on I began to think otherwise. Even the girls who just entered the room, seemingly all normal, would be mesmerized the moment they laid eyes upon him. It's as if they envisioned a life of them having kids and a family in a split second...
And all of them would join the pack that was on him
And they were all screaming things like;
"Marry me!"
"Please let me have your children!"
"I would literally pay you a mansion if you'd just hold my hand, please!~"
"I want to consume your soul and become one under blasphemous matrimony. We will be a couple that will be remembered in the minds of every mortal creature in this realm until the end of time! Our union shall shake this world as we know it, and our kin will be the strongest of creatures that would rival the rule of the great gods and usher forth an age of twilight that will dawn upon-"
"I wanna suck you cu-...I-I-I mean your blood! C-Cause you know, I-I'm a vampire and all...E-Ehehehe..."
He was living every man's dream. I could feel the sharp glares of every guy out here who was out for his blood. The semester hasn't even started yet, and I could already tell that he'll be bullied for the rest of his stay
My condolences I guess...
...But every man's blessing is sometimes a curse...
And from how he was putting up a strained face, I could tell that he considered this the latter. In the first place, how was he even able to smite so many of these chicks by just looking? I mean, his face isn't anything special, and while his body was quite ripped, there was an orc beside me who was much more buffed than him...
But just as I was thinking about that, the university staff was able to finally notice the chaos that was brewing and sent out a bunch of burly men to retrieve the man like a package and take him away to a separate room
The girls began to chase after him of course, and the staff had to erect a magic barrier to prevent the swarm from running after him...
And after a full minute of the boy being gone, all of them seemingly went back to normal and acted as if they hadn't just spouted the most degenerate things that could possibly come out of a woman's mouth...
"Hmmm, so that's how it is"
I muttered under my breath as I let out a smirk...
He seemed to be amusing, so I'll keep tabs on him if he ever passes on admissions...
With him gone, I continued to glance around for anyone interesting. There seem to be quite a lot of candidates in this room who could be strong enough to be my hero, but all of them seem to be lacking a certain something...I can't really put my finger on it...
But I suppose that doesn't really matter much. Over time, they could grow to be even better so I think it's just best for me to wait and see how it goes from the sidelines so-
"Uhm, excuse me..."
"-!"
I suddenly heard a voice behind me, and my body unconsciously stepped back and widened the distance between us. It was a black-haired man with long bangs that stretched down to cover one of his eyes, he had a spear in his hand, and was wearing light armor...
I was ready to unleash a spell then and there, but I realized that the man before me bore no hostility whatsoever. I only saw him reaching out a familiar brown sack in one of his hands. Upon seeing it, I unconsciously tapped on my pockets...
"It dropped off while you were looking at the spectacle earlier. Here"
"O-Oh...thanks for that bud. Those were the only cash my parents gave to me so I would've been dead meat..."
I put up a smile and took it from his hands...
Or at least, that was the plan. But he suddenly tightened his grip...
"You...have we met somewhere before?"
Honestly, I wished we had some sort of history in the past. But upon carefully searching every inch of my memories in my head, I was able to safely conclude that-
"No, I've never seen your face before"
He stared at me like a hawk for a few seconds before giving the sack to me
"Is that so? Apologies, It's just that I usually have a hard time remembering faces. Anyways, make sure you don't drop it next time. The others here won't be as kind..."
"Sure, thanks again..."
I send him off with a wave as I carefully watch him walk toward the desolate part of the room. My smile immediately collapsed the moment he was far enough, and I began to take a look inside the sack to see if all my money was still there. And thankfully enough, it was...
But that makes it all the more confusing...
I was under the impression that he was doing a sort of gimmick in which he'd pretend to return back my stuff despite being the one who stole it in the first place, but there were no signs of that. And in the first place, how was he able to get so close to me without me noticing?
I was constantly activating my radar spell so as to keep myself safe from ambush. And that guy wasn't detected through it. Was it because I was too focused on what was happening earlier?...That seemed to be plausible, but looking at him closely...
"He barely has any magical energy..."
Normally, such a thing would be impossible. In this world, every creature has magical energy, it's the one thing that literally gives life. And while this guy barely seems to have any, he was still standing strong...
if an ordinary person would posses as much magical energy as he has, then they'd be bedridden...
"Is he suppressing his magic like I am?..."
Such a thought crossed my mind, but I immediately dismissed it. There were a series of steps to hide your magic like that, and that man seemed to be doing none of it...Or maybe it's just another front of his and he actually has a lot of mana?...
Whatever the case, this guy is incredibly mysterious and seems to have some sort of power that he's hiding. I love it. He has incredible potential, and I decided to keep my eyes on him as well...
I couldn't help but chuckle under my breath as I continued to look around. There were so many interesting people that I'd find it to be a crime if I were not able to amuse myself by watching them go about their days...
I was thinking of blowing up everything here if it turned out to be boring...But maybe staying wasn't so bad after all...