A/N: Sorry for the late update, I'm busy with my life xD. Here's a long chapter and thank you for waiting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zuriel immediately walked away from Dale after she saw a bright flash of a camera.
An atrocious idea appeared somewhere in her mind that someone really took a picture of them together outside the Cafeteria.
It's a bad thing as someone might cause her a huge amount of trouble, especially Dale.
If it's known to the public.
As he's unknown to this school and a commoner.
That shocking picture will give him a really hard time due to discrimination, scandal and many problems in this school and a really lot of difficulties inside and outside of this campus if it's released in public people's eyes.
So she quickly ran to the camera girl who took the picture and quickly grabbed this diabolical camera.
She smashed it immediately leading to this camera being crushed.
The journalist girl is shocked at the action of one of the most famous freshman progidies of this prestigious school, Zuriel Althea Poenix.
She instantly handed out 3 Altrean Silver coins as compensation for that stupid camera in the journalist girl.
For reference, a dozen Bronze Altrean coins equate to 1 Silver coin. You can spend for good amount on food and things that you can buy.
A dozen Altrean Silver Coins, on the other hand, equates to 1 Gold. You can buy a lot of things with this money. You can even rent a nice bungalow in the capital with this money.
And there's a Platinum Coins that equal to a dozen of Gold Coins. You can buy even a nice mansion with this amount of money.
She also cautiously warned the girl.
"It's enough to buy you a new camera. Don't ever take a picture of me with that man because I will immediately know the person who took it and it's you. I will remember you."
After that conversation, she swiftly returned to the place that she and Dale talked to.
But Dale was nowhere to be seen.
So she just went to her first subject in this School year named as Types of Swordsmanship Class.
As she went to the room, many students were already inside and they saw her.
"Is that...her? The daughter of the Marquis Fredo? She looks really beautiful."
As the girl astoundingly gazed at her.
"So the frantic rumors about her beauty are even an understatement in those talks. She is much more beautiful in person."
The boy said clearly infatuated with her.
However, she just ignored this pointless gossip and rushed in embarrassment to an empty chair at the back of the room and sat down there.
The Professor of this class is a well-known Tier 3 Sword Knight from the Country of Syker Kingdom.
A Country prominent for idolizing the Sword Path and one of the Kingdoms included in the Round Table of Altrean.
He's one of the rising stars in the Sword World due to his monstrous talent in the sword coupled with his high status as a son of a Viscount and one of the youngest people to achieve Tier 3.
Even she will have difficulties in breaking through that realm.
As he talked to the class.
"Hi everyone, my name is Luke Deir Weiger. From the Kingdom of Syker. But you can call me Mr. Luke.
I'm here to teach you many kinds of swordsmanship that are known to man and even those that I know of and familiar with."
As he looked at her with those strange deluded eyes.
It's chilling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dale's POV
As I entered my next class known as Basic Mana Knowledge.
I walked through the corridor of the class and I encountered many mage-like figures in the corridor of the room as they used long robes as a part of their clothing outfit.
They also have some weird accessories that are shining and contain some sort of that abundant energy in this world known as mana.
But there's some difference between the mana of these accessories and the natural form of mana in this world.
Some people, however, are the same as me.
A swordsman who wants to learn about this subject to either counter the mages they have to deal with in the future or to know how to cast spells and have an advantage in real deadly fights with magic.
My goal is to have a foundation in mana and gain some knowledge about it.
As it will help me in the fights that I will have in the future in this world.
Similar to what Zuriel told me before.
A Swordsman is almost a mercenary who fights with sword and finds jobs by fighting such as guarding important people, fighting monsters, doing mercenary tasks, going into portals, fighting monsters in the Valhalla Realm and many more.
On the other hand, Mage are the ones being found by the job.
They always become rich she said.
These mages are the attacker in the back of the frontlines that deals the highest firepower. They are paid a hefty amount of money for this.
Even in the tough times of war where monsters are pouring like rain every day on the Frontline of the Second Apocalypse.
Mages always serve a special role in killing the important monsters in war or the known Alphas and are named as the leader of monsters or the pack.
As I entered the room and found the furthest placed chair in the class.
I waited for the teacher to come into my second class this School Year.
These mage-like people also entered the room as the class was waiting for the teacher.
The room became full of robe-wearing mages and robust swordsmen that it looked like a ritual site of robes and muscular people.
Finally, the Professor arrived after those people entered.
She introduced herself.
"I'm Alicia Rosein. A 3-star Mage who is
specialized in flame and water magic and right now, the first thing that I will teach you is all about mana down to its even smallest details."
"Mana is the energy that flows in this world. It is the energy that comes from nature and when you absorb it. It's called Mana Absorption and the start of your rise to power."
"You must make a Mana Circle that serves as a storage of this absorbed mana in your heart."
"Mana Circle Technique is one of the most efficient known techniques used to form a Mana Circle in your heart. This technique was discovered and improved by the Witch of the Stars, Helen Alenzia."
"By forming these Mana Circles, you can improve your absorption of the mana, have a storage for this mana in your heart and make much more complicated spells through this mana and your mana stored in those Mana Circles."
"However, too much pressure on those Mana Circles might cause it to break."
"So be careful everyone!"
She said this with care and worry in her tone to these people in her class.
Many people have died due to their Mana Circle being broken into pieces.
Many that can't use their mana anymore leads them to their shame and sadness, even depression.
And that lastly emotional disturbances lead to unalive themselves.
"You can use the power of your environment through this Mana Circle."
"And there are four main energy categories in this world."
"The Water, Earth, Fire and Air.
But also, further variations that come from the combination of these elements are discovered such as Metal, Thunder, and Magma and some are not yet discovered."
"However, it's unknown where it comes from."
"Some theory suggests that this mana element is the one that caused the 1st Apocalypse. The arrivals of portals and mutations of the monster in the Valhalla Realm. We never know if it's correct or not."
"And one of the things that you must learn is."
"Receiving mana and releasing it is one of the basic applications of mana."
"Now- here's the activity for you everyone."
"Try to feel the mana in your body and tell me if you feel something. Remember to imagine a thing for the release of mana."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
However this challenge is confusing even for me, the Heavenly Demon.
As I can't use mana.
I tried to feel it, the mana in the environment.
And I remembered the first sword that I got in my past realm and it was broken in a deadly fight when I was weak.
It's given by my Sister Aina to protect myself.
I had it until I encountered a harrowing monster in the Body Tempering Stage.
It was a huge deal at that time at my low level and I experienced my first life-and-death battle in that bloody fight.
I almost died but due to that sword hanging on, I lived barely but that sword was broken.
That's why I also choose to complete my Way of the Sword according to that sword.
To protect.
And through that death battle, I learned the progress of fighting in those life-and-death battles and the thrill that I give off.
However, I lost that sense when I reached the highest peak and only loneliness accompanied me.
And then I died due to the betrayal of people I loved.
"A Sad Life for a Heavenly Demon, I guess."
But even though, I'm reminiscing.
I still did not feel anything as I completely raised my hand.
"Why can't I feel anything, Professor?" I said curiously.
"You're a swordsman, right? So I think that you might find it difficult to absorb mana. You should practice receiving mana until next week and after you pass that final examination or you want to stay in this subject, if you can't do it still- I'll give you a deduction in merit points."
Merit points are one of the things needed for you to pass a grade. In freshman year, the students need 200 points to pass the grading period
And when I'm trying hard to feel the mana as the best I can. Trying my hard to detect it.
I suddenly felt a really strong goosebumps in my body.
Following that, deep emotional anger and encroached pain disturbance washed up my whole well-being.
It's so dark and ominous that if I didn't hold it back.
I might turn this Academy into a Massacre Zone as I will really kill someone.
"Fuckkk...Grrrr."
As I'm trying my best to hold back the voice that wants to come out as I grip the chair that I sit myself to.
"Fuckkk...shit...s-stop." I said painfully as I felt this everlasting pain in my body.
"Ahhh...fuck."
It feels different as I thought of negative emotions in this fucking energy.
And when I slowly started to calm down.
I remembered the mana that Professor Mage showed us.
Her mana was a clear and transparent energy with its red and sapphire surrounding his flames which signifies the element that she had a strong control over.
"How about me? What does this mana look like?"
As I used my right thumb. A black fire with a tinge of blue comes up next to me and I immediately hide it.
"Why...is it..black and blue?"
And after I remembered something. I shockingly muttered.
"You've got to be... kidding me."
I tried to use it again to make sure that it was true and imagined an ember of fire.
The same color appeared just like before. It's black mana with a tinge of blue.
"Fuck, it's really bad news."
I said because this color is really fucking bad thing for me.
This mana energy color is almost an archenemy for me.
This dark energy symbolizes one of the most difficult powers in my realm to control due to its nature, negative energy and dark emotion.
It's known as dark qi energy in my past realm.
However, I didn't know what it was called in this world.
"Shit- it's the worst possible outcome."
This power can make you lose yourself and become a puppet of your dark emotions.
In Jiangshi Murim, if you have this type of power.
You will be killed immediately because you may bring bad luck or disaster to the place you live in. I also see people going insane because they can't handle their power of negative emotion and the dark energy that it brings.
"To think that this will be my mana. It seems like fate is playing with...me right now or----"
"Fuck...I'm screwed if what I think is true."
I quickly hide it as I might be turned into a heretic if anyone sees it.
And just stopped testing myself for now and sat in the chair.
I feel tired of the possible trouble that may come in my way.
"You can't go on?" Said the professor as she gazed at me.
"Yes ma'am," I said tiredly.
"You're...paled as a ghost." As she observed me.
"I guess...so."
She immediately stopped the class.
And she handed me a mirror that she picked up from her luxurious bag.
"I'm ghastly paled as...fuck."
These are the words I've said when I literally look like someone who had seen a ghost.
It's...me
"I will take you to the infirmary for you to be checked if there's any problem for you. Since something happened to you in our class."
"And pale faces-don't lie you know and don't worry, I'll pay you the opening expenses."
As she said to the class.
"For now, before our class dismisses. Your assignment will be releasing your mana in the appearance of a thing, whether it's a sword, wand or anything you want.
10 points are given to the most creative and 1 point to the ugliest. Good luck everyone."
"Class Dismiss."
She said as she hurriedly guided me to into the Academy Infirmary.