"Welcome to the External Magic Theory class. Here, you will learn to harness the energy around us and make it your own to cast spells. As most of you know, this external energy is called elemental mana. Mana is a source of energy that comes directly from nature. Humans can absorb it for a short time and use it to fuel their magic."

  "Each person manifests different attributes from birth. There are four primary attributes: water, earth, air, and fire. There are also secondary attributes such as ice, nature, lightning, metal, and all neutral magics, like barriers. To improve your external magic, you need to train three main factors. Can anyone tell me what they are?"

  Among the students staring silently at their desks, a playful-looking blond boy raised his hand.

  "Yes, yes, I know, Professor McQueen."

  "The main trainable factors are: the speed at which mana is absorbed, the capacity to contain it, and the efficiency with which it is used to cast spells."

  A murmur ran through the class. Not many expected such a precise answer from someone with such a carefree demeanor.

  Short, blond hair, green eyes. I don’t recall anyone like this. He can’t be a noble. But he seems pretty capable.

  "Exactly, Finn. Excellent explanation."

  "Hehe, thanks."

  "As your classmate said, these factors are fundamental. But in battle, experience, reflexes, the ability to read a fight, and many other qualities matter—things you can’t gain from training alone, but from practice."

  "Very well, Finn. Since you answered so well, how about giving a small practical demonstration?"

  With a playful smile and a light voice, he replied:

  "Sure! I’m coming right away!"

  "Show your classmates a wind spell."

  "Okay!"

  Finn’s playful expression vanished instantly. The air around him began to stir, creating a sudden gust that ruffled the clothes of nearby students.

  Then everything settled.

  With a swift diagonal movement of his hand, a blade of air formed in front of him, cutting through the air with a sharp hiss and slicing one of the training dummies in the room.

  For a few seconds, there was silence. Then applause broke out.

  "Well done. You may return to your seat."

  Finn went back to his desk, his playful demeanor returning as if nothing had happened.

  He’s definitely as skilled as me, if not more. Better gather more information.

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  "What you just saw was a two-star spell: Air Slash. The goal of this course is to improve your ability to manipulate mana. That’s it for today. Next time, bring proper attire. We’ll be doing practical exercises."

  With that, the professor left, and the students were finally free.

  The lesson was over. It was time to train.

  With that thought, I made my way to the training hall.

  **

  I entered a huge training space. There were rooms with enhanced dummies, long-range target rooms, sparring arenas, and even areas designed to train reflexes.

  Wow… this place has everything. I could train here for hours.

  I immediately got to work, launching my two-star lightning spell at the dummies.

  My goal was to improve the precision of Spark Bolt and the speed at which I absorbed mana.

  With each attempt, I tried changing something: the angle of my arm, the timing of release, the amount of mana concentrated. I needed to find the right balance between speed and power.

  "Hey, you train in an interesting way, you know?"

  An annoyingly cheerful voice reached me from behind.

  "Instead of just throwing lightning around, think about every move you make. Not everyone can do that. Impressive, hehe."

  I sighed.

  "What do you want?"

  "Such coldness! I just want to make a new friend."

  "I’m not interested. I don’t have time for this."

  "Come on! Let’s do a sparring session to get to know each other better."

  "I told you, I don’t have time."

  "Please! It’ll definitely be better than hitting those poor dummies."

  Actually… this could help me gauge my level compared to the other students. And it would be more useful than solo training.

  "Eh… fine. But let’s make it quick."

  "Yesss! Let’s go!"

  We entered the arena.

  The air seemed to grow heavier.

  Without wasting time, Finn swung his hand, and an Air Slash shot toward me. The air cut sharply with a hiss.

  I rolled to the side just in time.

  I countered with a Spark Bolt. The lightning shot forward quickly… but Finn easily dodged it.

  "Let’s get serious."

  His tone changed.

  Suddenly, he lunged at me. I noticed immediately that one of his eyes had changed color.

  Damn… an ocular ability.

  Instinctively, I tried to increase the distance while gathering mana. I had no idea what effects it might have.

  Finn continued advancing.

  I cast another bolt.

  Before it could reach him… it vanished.

  My lightning dissolved into nothing.

  An Air Slash struck from the front almost immediately after.

  I activated my ability. The world seemed to slow down for a moment. My vision tinged red. I managed to move just a few inches—enough to avoid the direct hit.

  A line of blood ran down my cheek.

  My magic… it disappeared.

  Could he cancel spells?

  Finn lunged at me again.

  "Don’t get distracted while you fight."

  I cast more bolts, one after the other.

  They all vanished before reaching him.

  I think I understand.

  Every time his eye changed color… my magic disappeared.

  I couldn’t beat him from a distance.

  At this point, I had only one option.

  I gathered mana, faking another attack.

  His eye activated again.

  Just as I was about to release the bolt… I canceled it and charged forward.

  Straight at him.

  Finn looked surprised for a fraction of a second, then reacted.

  We closed the distance at the same time.

  This would be the decisive strike.

  ...

  "You lost. That was a good fight."

  I was on the ground, short of breath.

  "…"

  Finn canceled his magic and held out his hand to help me up.

  "You understood my ability right away. Well done!"

  I took his hand.

  "I got it… but I still lost."

  "Well, you always have time to improve."

  Then he smiled with that annoying smirk.

  "Anyway, since I won, I’ve decided that we’re going to be friends!"

  "No."

  He looked amused.

  "You lost, and yet you speak like that?"

  I took a slow breath, trying to regain my calm.

  "Fine. We’ll be… ‘friends.’ Happy now?"

  "I don’t like how you said it, but yes!"

  He turned and started walking away.

  "Now I have to go. See you tomorrow!"

  I was left alone in the arena.

  Damn… I need to get stronger. I won’t beat anyone in this school like this.

  Outside the hall, Finn chuckled to himself.

  "What an interesting guy… He has no internal energy, yet I almost lost to him. He’s much stronger than I expected."