The classroom Zeun entered had a total of six seats, excluding the teacher's, but it wasn't small at all. The rest of the room remained empty, and he chose a corner seat close to the window.
Not long after, other students started entering, taking their respective seats. They couldn't help but occasionally cast curious glances at Zeun. However, seeing an unfamiliar face, they refrained from approaching him.
Zeun projected an air of "Don't you dare come near me and cause trouble," subtly intimidating the other kids by releasing a small amount of mana pressure circulating around him.
Among the five children who entered the class—three boys and two girls—all were around 7 to 8 years old. Zeun was the oldest among them.
Zeun continued looking outside the window, not bothering to bat an eye at the other students. He believed, being the eldest, he wouldn't stay for long, and he had little interest in making friends.
Not long after, he felt another presence enter the class. When he finally glanced at the newcomer, assuming it was the teacher due to all the seats being taken, he was surprised to see a cute girl, slightly taller than himself. Zeun couldn't help but notice that her face resembled King Russel de Voldemort.
'Hm... might be the youngest Princess, about whom I overheard gossip from the maids—the most talented of all her siblings,' he mused.
"Hey, Princess Amelia is here," someone whispered.
However, her eyes immediately furrowed into a frown as she entered the class.
'What is this suppressing mana pressure? It's not much, but it's at an equal level as mine...' she thought.
Looking around, she noticed a boy in shabby clothes already in her seat. Her irritation flared at such audacity, and in response, she too emitted a mana pressure, intending to instill fear in the other student.
Approaching him, she ordered in an authoritative tone, which Zeun found rather amusing and endearing.
Princess Amelia huffed, her nostrils flaring like an offended dragon. "You can't just barge in here and throw your magic around! We're supposed to learn together, not be scared of each other. Also, move away from this seat; it's mine."
Zeun was about to apologize when a thought crossed his mind. 'Why not start practicing the great art of shamelessness and arrogance with this little girl? I can't try it on anybody else, but starting with a child for practice isn't a bad idea, I guess.' He then examined all visible corners of the chair and desk before him, as if searching for something.
Confused, the Princess asked, "What are you doing?"
Zeun replied, "Didn't you say it's your seat? Where is your name written?"
Princess Amelia's jaw dropped. Her face scrunched up like a crumpled napkin, anger and confusion battling for dominance. "My seat?" she spluttered. "Of course it's my seat! Everyone knows that!"
Zeun, undeterred by her outburst, tilted his head and gave her a playful smile. "But is it truly yours, Princess? Did you etch your name upon it in royal decree, or perhaps inherit it from the noble lineage of chairs?"
Amelia sputtered, momentarily taken aback by his cheeky response. No one dared sass her, let alone question her claim to a measly desk chair.
"Everyone knows it's my seat!" she declared, her voice regaining its haughty edge.
Princess Amelia puffed up her chest, her usual bluster momentarily stuck in her throat. Zeun's unblinking stare and the mocking glint in his eyes had made her doubt herself. No one had ever questioned her so blatantly.
"There's... there's no writing," she admitted, her voice shrinking. "But everyone just knows!"
The triumphant smirk on Zeun's face only fueled her indignation. "Fine!" she huffed. "I don't need a silly name to claim what's mine. Move!" Yet, her command lacked its usual bite. A tiny seed of uncertainty, planted by Zeun's audacity, lingered. The once clear-cut hierarchy of the classroom felt a little less rigid, a little more open to question.
Zeun simply cocked his head, his amused grin unwavering. The princess' reaction, a mixture of fury and fluster, was far more entertaining than he'd expected. This little exchange had just become a game, and Zeun was ready to play.
"Everyone?" he challenged playfully. "Does that include the ghosts of chairs past, or perhaps the invisible gnomes who weave the fabric of desk ownership?"
The classroom, which had been holding its breath during their exchange, erupted in stifled giggles. Even Amelia's lips twitched, despite her best efforts to maintain her regal facade.
Zeun chuckled, his warm laughter filling the room.
"Ah, the elusive 'everyone knows'! A powerful spell indeed, but sadly, ineffective against the ironclad logic of unseen gnomes and forgotten chair ghosts."
With a flourish, he stood up and bowed mockingly. "Perhaps, dear Princess, you wouldn't mind sharing your seat with a humble commoner and weaving a new legend of shared desks, where gnomes and chairs alike rejoice in the harmony of magic students?"
Amelia stared at him, a mixture of annoyance and grudging amusement simmering in her eyes. Her initial anger had melted away, replaced by a sense of playful challenge.
Finally, a smirk tugged at her lips.
"Very well, commoner," she conceded, albeit with a slight roll of her eyes. "But only because I am feeling generous today. And because the gnomes, bless their invisible souls, would undoubtedly prefer some peace and quiet."
Zeun was thrown off by Princess Amelia's unexpected move, but his introverted nature made him recoil from further conversation.
Talking for an extended period, especially after the previous argument, was simply too much.
Zeun grinned, taking the offered seat with a wink. "Then perhaps, Your Highness, we shall be the first gnomes of this new legend, weaving a tapestry of friendship and magical mischief."
Zeun's cheesy words made Amelia flustered as she tried to hide her reddened face from the shameless bastard beside her. Zeun didn't say anything else as his jaw ached, yearning for the familiar silence of his two-year seclusion.
Just then, the teacher entered. A woman in her early twenties with an air of unconventionality, she sported sleek leather armor that accentuated her petite, muscular physique. Medium-sized breasts and a striking face completed her unconventional package.
Zeun couldn't help but notice her beauty—her big bust and succulent yet firm curves. Everyone in this world seemed blessed with above-average looks compared to Earth. Mages and Aura Users, infused with mana, were even more stunning, their beauty enhanced by their magical practices.
"Good morning, everyone," she said in an emotionless tone, interrupting Zeun's thoughts.
"Good morning, Miss Lisa," the students greeted back.
She glanced in their direction, and with a wave of her hand, a magic circle appeared.
A desk and chair materialized behind Zeun's.
"Thank you, Miss," Amelia murmured, moving to take her seat.
Lisa nodded at her before looking in Zeun's direction.
"Class, since we have a new student among us, I'll discuss the History of Magic Evolution and..."
Zeun gave the class his full attention as Lisa continued. To put it briefly, magic didn't always have the same reputation in this world as it does today.
Earlier, Mages were looked down upon because, in their initial stages, they were very weak compared to Aura Users. For instance, a group of Beginner Aura Users (Level 1) could easily take down a regular Rank 1 beast, but the same couldn't be said for a group of First Circle Mages. It seemed impossible, leading people to believe Mages were worthless.
That all changed when someone reached Grand Master rank and demonstrated just how powerful Mages could truly be. From then on, every race in Cerulean cherished Mages.
The continent primarily featured two major battle systems: magic and combat Aura Users.
Magic mainly focused on cultivating mind power and Mana. It didn't have a high requirement for one's physique, but it demanded significant mind power. Whether it was combat Aura or magic, there were ten widely known stages.
Before the fifth tier, battle Aura had an absolute advantage in combat strength, but after the fifth tier, magic gained the upper hand. Beyond the seventh tier, an Aura user of an equal tier was nothing before a Mage.
Moreover, battle Aura could only be trained to the tenth level at most, but a Mage's realm could still be improved, and Mana would also be converted into elemental power.
From a Mage to an Elemental Mage, one could truly control the power of a single element, or even multiple elements depending on aptitude. At that level, one could already fight against a powerful army alone. That kind of terrifying strength almost surpassed that of humans.
Elemental Mages were also divided into different levels: Element's Favorite ... (see Chapter 9)
Aura is the manifestation or embodiment of our soul. It bears our burdens and shields our hearts—the power to manipulate the subtle, luminous radiation that surrounds a person or object. It's a variation of Energy Manipulation, Field Manipulation, and Life-Force Manipulation.
It's a compound formed by the digestion of Mana. The majority of human beings fall under this category; those who cannot (a minority) wield affinity with raw Mana, hence becoming Mages or tending to become Mages since they have more affinity with this world.
Mages have more inclination towards the planet, whereas Aura Users have more inclination towards spiritual power.
Then what's the function of Mana for Aura Users? It works as the "fuel" to "manifest"/materialize the Soul or Aura.
In the case of Aura Users, their mana veins dissolve with blood vessels, forming a compound resulting in Aura.
(Something like when blood mixes with Oxygen and forms oxy-hemoglobin to produce energy in cells, mitochondria in particular.)
Something similar exists in the bodies of humans there, but since there was no scientific progress—as they leaned on magic/mana in particular for all their necessities—they didn't need to wrack their brains like us Earthlings to solve every problem
For the people of this world, such concepts were "natural," but not for someone like Zeun, who hailed from Earth. Thanks to typical Earthling human characteristics, he possessed the curiosity to discover and understand, the very trait that fueled Earth's modern society.
Aura Users excelled in close combat and were adept at delivering pinpoint damage—piercing, slicing, cutting, smashing, and so on. Most Mages were proficient in AOE attacks, capable of wiping out armies of thousands. However, some Mages modified their spells to concentrate their power, achieving similar results to Aura Users.
Limitations:
Aura Users must be in control of their emotions. They may be vulnerable to Emotion Manipulation.Distance, mass, and precision depended on the user's knowledge, skill, and strength, as well as their power's natural limits.If connections were blocked, the Aura could not flow.
Mages, on the other hand, had to develop a stronger mind and extreme focus, as each of their spells demanded their full attention in the beginning. Their body movements were restricted when casting a spell, making them prone to enemy attacks.
Teacher Lisa continued:
"After a certain level, Aura Users can also gain Elemental Aura—like fire, water, ice, and so on—but they are not as strong or efficient in managing elements as Mages."
"Both Mages and Aura Users have a seven-rank, eleven-circle system so far. No one knows if that's the limit, though. Just recently, the tenth circle used to be the top, but some crazy person shot past it ten thousand years ago, reaching the eleventh circle!"
"Aura Users, on the other hand, get capped at Level 10. Millions of years passed, and no one's broken through yet. At least, not that we know of."
Next, Lisa explained the Awakening Ceremony and the Status Window. "Aha! So that's why they laughed at me," Zeun thought, remembering King Russel and Lady Mira's reaction.
"...Once you awaken, your status pops up with all your skills and stats: mana, aura, strength, charm, and so on," Lisa continued.
"The Status Window is directly linked to your soul."
Turns out, Status Windows doubled as contracts in this world—temporary, slave, money, business deals in millions of platinum coins... Pretty much anything. Paper contracts were quite rare here.
After the theory lesson, Zeun skipped the training as he had already trained his body to the limit of a 10-year-old. More would only do harm.
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end of chap
hope you enjoyed the info dump, it might be a bit boring but is crucial for the story development
elab and exp
Earthling Curiosity vs. "Natural" Understanding: The opening highlights Zeun's unique perspective as an Earthling, where curiosity drives scientific progress, contrasting it with a world where magic is "natural" and instinctive and thus less critically examined. This re-emphasizes Zeun's potential advantage in innovation.
Awakening Ceremony and Status Window: Lisa's explanation of the Awakening Ceremony and Status Window resolves Zeun's earlier confusion (and the humor of the King and Mira laughing at him). This is a common RPG-like element in fantasy, but the twist that Status Windows also serve as binding contracts for all manner of deals is a unique and significant world-building detail. It explains why paper contracts are rare and gives the Status Window a powerful legal and social function, potentially hinting at future plot points where Zeun might use or be bound by such a contract.