A nerdy-looking girl raised her hand.
"Yes, Valerie," Emily said, nodding toward her.
"Rankers are divided into two paths based on their innate talent at birth," Valerie began confidently. "Warriors, who use aura to reinforce their bodies, and Mages, who manipulate mana. While aura strengthens the body, mana allows users to manipulate reality, enabling them to cast spells like fireballs!"
Emily smiled, clearly pleased. "Good explanation, Valerie. As she said, rankers are divided into these two categories. I know that in this class, there are individuals from both paths. Some of you might believe that one path is superior to the other, but the truth is, neither Warriors nor Mages are inherently better. What makes the difference is the strength and skill of the individual."
A few students exchanged doubtful looks. Noticing their skepticism, Emily sighed. "You may not agree now, but you'll understand as you gain more experience."
She turned to the board and quickly sketched a small circle next to a larger one.
"When you start your journey as a ranker, you all begin at F- rank, regardless of whether you're a Warrior or a Mage, or whether you're talented or untalented. Everyone starts at the same point, with what we call 100 units of either aura or mana."
Pointing to the small circle, she explained, "Your core at this stage will be like this—a tiny sphere. In reality, its size is closer to that of a small pearl. When you exhaust your mana—and I'll use mana as an example since I'm a Mage—you'll absorb ambient mana from the air, causing your core to grow."
She gestured toward the larger circle. "How much your core grows per session depends on several factors: your natural talent and the concentration of mana in the air. That's why training rooms equipped with Aura and Mana concentration arrays are so valuable. As you rank up, your core will continue to grow larger until it reaches the limit at SSS+ rank, beyond which further growth would destroy your body from the inside."
At this point, Mikael raised his hand.
Emily noticed him and said, "Yes, Mikael?"
"You just mentioned that a core grows based on a person's talent and the mana concentration in the air. But does the size of the core itself influence the growth rate? In other words, does having a larger core make it grow faster?"
As Mikael finished speaking, a boy nearby snickered. "Dumb commoner doesn't even know basic knowledge!"
Mikael gave the boy a quick glance and immediately recognized him as one of the students who had seemed upset when Amelia smiled at him the day before. 'Simp,' he thought, before responding coldly, "Are you braindead?"
The noble's face flushed with anger, and he opened his mouth to retort, but Mikael didn't give him the chance. "I mean, we're at an academy to learn. If I don't ask questions when I have them, how am I supposed to learn? It's only logical. Or are you just the dullest tool in the shed?" Mikael gave him a pitiful look, further enraging the noble.
The boy's face turned crimson, and he seemed ready to explode, but Emily quickly intervened. "Alright, boys, that's enough!" she said firmly, silencing the room, which had become filled with murmurs from the other students.
The noble, still fuming, protested, "But Miss Emily, the commoner insulted me!"
Emily sighed softly. "Kenzo, calm down. Yes, Mikael wasn't the most polite, and he did insult you. However, you also had no reason to mock him for asking a question."
She turned her attention to the class as a whole. "As Mikael rightly pointed out, this is a place to learn. If you have a question, no matter how simple or 'dumb' you think it might be, you should ask. That's how you grow and improve."
Once the matter was settled, she returned to Mikael's question. "Now, to answer your question, Mikael: unfortunately, the growth rate of your core remains constant, no matter how large it gets. This is why ranking up to higher levels takes more and more time. However," she added, "you could argue that the process feels faster in a way, as ranking up enhances the potency of your mana or aura. While you gain 'units' at the same rate, each unit becomes more potent as you advance. I'll explain this concept more in-depth later."
She paused briefly before continuing. "First, let's talk about how ranking up works. To rank up, your core must reach its maximum capacity. For instance, an F- rank mana core starts with 100 units. As you exhaust and refill it, the core grows until it holds approximately 500 units. Some individuals might cap out slightly lower, say 480, or slightly higher, like 520, but the differences are minor."
"When your core reaches five times its initial capacity, it hits its saturation limit and cannot grow further. At this point, you condense the core, shrinking it back down to roughly its original size. Once this process is complete, you officially become an F rank."
Emily turned back to the board, drawing a diagram to illustrate her explanation. "However, the increase in potency during a rank-up can vary greatly, depending on several factors. The first is how much mana or aura your core holds before you begin compression. For example, compressing 500 units into 100 will yield greater potency than compressing 250 into 100. This is why attempting to rank up before reaching the saturation limit is considered foolish."
"The second factor is your talent. Depending on your innate talent, your potency boost will vary. With a Trash talent, you'll gain a 20–27% boost. A Bad talent grants 28–40%. Average talent offers 41–53%, while a Good talent ranges from 54–65%. Those with a Genius talent gain 66–80%, and finally, the extremely rare Monster talent provides an extraordinary 81–100% boost at each minor rank-up."
Emily's tone became more serious. "During major rank-ups, the potency gain is doubled. Lastly, control also plays a crucial role. With high control, you can achieve greater potency increases than your talent alone would normally allow."
"What this means is that before ranking up, you need not only to have reached your saturation limit but also to have developed a high level of control. It's better to remain at F- rank for a while than to rush a rank-up and end up with only a small gain in potency!"
As Mikael heard her words, he immediately frowned and began to think, though he remained attentive. Multitasking wasn't an issue for him thank to his Intelligence stats that were beyond the human limit. 'The talent system is even worse than I thought. It doesn't just allow faster growth, which I expected, but it also determines your strength…'
'Yeah, that's unexpected, and it puts me at a massive disadvantage. With my talent level, my aura or mana will become only 41–53% stronger with each rank-up. Meanwhile, there are people in this class with genius-level talent who get a boost of 66–80%.'
'The real problem is that this difference will snowball with every rank. By the time I'm at C rank, someone with genius talent could have aura or mana 10 times stronger than mine.'
He rested his hand under his chin, deep in thought. 'The only way I can think of to bridge the gap would be to unlock the Advanced Race Gain System, but it costs 50,000 points. In all my time in the Records, I haven't even come close to that amount, so that's out of the question for now.'
'If that solution doesn't work, what else could I do?' He paused. 'Hmm, maybe I could focus on improving my control to an inconceivable level. My Intelligence stat enhances my mind as it grows, which might allow me to reach a level of control unattainable for a normal human. From what I know of this world, ranking up doesn't seem to affect mental faculties, so that could be my advantage.'
'Another edge I have over the natives of this world is the Spiritual stat, which boosts the overall potency of my energy. Right now, it's around 50, making my aura or mana five times more potent. That's what allowed me to hold my ground against Amelia. Without it, her aura attacks would've crushed mine.'
'Still, no matter how good this all sounds in my head, I'm at a significant disadvantage compared to more talented individuals. I shouldn't dwell on that, though. Instead, I should focus on increasing my combat power by refining my fighting style. I already have several ideas, and once I can implement them, each one will multiply my battle power!'
"…And that will be all for today class," Emily said, her voice snapping Mikael out of his thoughts.
Despite being lost in thought, he hadn't missed a word of her lecture, thanks to his ability to multitask.
As the class ended, the students around him began chatting amongst themselves. However, the atmosphere in this elite class felt very different from that of a typical school. Mikael noticed he was the only commoner in the class, and the rest of the students were busy forming connections with nearby nobles.
Lower-ranking nobles were sucking up to those of higher status, and some groups had already formed around certain influential students. Mikael didn't pay it much attention. He stood up, deciding to head to the cafeteria for a meal before exploring the Academy's training facilities since he didn't have any other classes for the rest of the day.
As he walked past Kenzo, he noticed the noble glaring at him angrily. However, Kenzo made no move to confront him. Having already been defeated by Mikael during the second test, Kenzo knew he was no match for him.
He exited the class amidst the chatter of students who didn't seem to be in any rush. After a short walk, he arrived at the large cafeteria building. It was still a little before noon, but the place was already bustling with students.
He avoided drawing attention and quietly joined the queue for food. The wait was shorter than he had anticipated, and soon he stood before the cook. After paying 3 credits, he received a small plate with an appetizing steak accompanied by some golden, crispy French fries.
Mikael found an empty table and sat down, uninterested in socializing. He'd always been more of a loner—content with his own company but functional in social settings when necessary. Being alone in a corner suited him just fine.
He took a bite of the steak and couldn't help but think, 'This is incredible. I've always heard that school cafeteria food is bad, but this is surprisingly good.'
While he ate, a few people nearby took notice of him due to his growing reputation, but no one bothered him. At least, that was the case for a while. That changed when a group from his class entered the cafeteria, including Amelia Mournsky, Lucas Henker, and Aria Cliffborne.
Their arrival drew the attention of the nearby first-years, sparking whispers and chatter. Mikael, however, only gave them a brief glance before returning to his meal.
A moderately handsome boy with blue hair and matching eyes approached Mikael, his expression brimming with self-importance. In a loud voice meant to draw attention, he declared, "So you're the commoner who won the battle royale? Hah, doesn't look like much!"
Mikael turned his head and responded with a mocking smirk. "I don't look like much, huh? You say that, but I won the battle royale among the students. And you—who are you? I don't even know you. You're not in my class, which means you're not in the top 20. That means you were eliminated like trash during the test. So why are you acting so self-important?"
The blue-haired student's face turned red with anger. What irritated him even more was the laughter from the students nearby, who had been drawn by his loud voice and were now snickering at his expense.
"Fucking commoner!" he yelled before throwing a punch at Mikael.
The attack was slow and clumsy. Mikael effortlessly caught the boy's fist and yanked him forward. Grabbing his head, Mikael slammed it against his rising knee.
BAM.
The sound of the impact echoed through the cafeteria, drawing gasps from the onlookers. Mikael had controlled his strength, ensuring nothing was broken, but the hit was hard enough to hurt.