Chapter 33

Chapter 33

[Mana Test]

<After the End of the Century District>, a law was enforced that required all children to have their mana tested at the age of compulsory education.

So, a few days after the entrance ceremony, Doan Elementary School was testing the mana of its first graders.

The staff dispatched to conduct the test were from the Korean Mana Management Agencys dedicated mana measurement team. The man in the black suit had been measuring the mana of up to 180 children since morning.

Oh, it wont hurt, right?

The mana measurement for class 3 was nearing completion. Hayang had been worried since yesterday about the fact that there were only a few turns left.

Its not like Im giving you an injection. I saw Yeonsungjin and Mabangjin in class 2 do it earlier, and they said it didnt hurt at all.

Minji shared what she knew with Hayang and the other anxious girls. Despite the fact that the semester had only just begun, her energetic personality had made her a favourite among them.

Well, its just touching the crystal ball.

Still keeping his distance from the children, Eunha leaned against the wall and blurted out.

The mana test was a simple matter of touching the mana-sensing crystal ball. They couldnt ask the children to do complicated tests if they didnt know how to handle it, so it was just a matter of determining how much mana they had in their bodies.

What if I have a lot of mana?

Huh, now my hidden power will be known.

Eek, my inner Black Flame Dragon is going on a rampage!

While it was understandable that the kids were excited to test their mana for the first time, Eunha was annoyed that they had to wait in line for such a simple task.

The kids were sensitive to Eunhas reactions. None of them approached him, especially since he was wearing an impression of a wild-eyed maniac.

Captain, its our turn!

Except for one.

Haa.

The semester had begun and the kids were forming their own groups, or cliques, in the class. Most of the kids were struggling to get into their current clique, or trying to hold onto the ones they already had.

Eunha wasnt interested in socializing with the kids. He purposely gave off a dont come near me vibe, so they didnt approach him.

The problem was Eunhyeok. Min-ji and Hayang were trying to socialize with the girls, but with his head full of sword thoughts, he only followed Eunha around. And because of Eunhyuks friendliness, the boys would occasionally talk to him.

I want to quietly go through school life.

Huh? Whats wrong, boss?

Haaa, never mind. So, do we have to get in line now?

Yes! The teacher is coming soon!

When I got back to my seat, Yoo Ji-na was lining up the kids. It was her first time as a first-grade teacher, and she was having a hard time dealing with innocent children.

Okay, kids, be quiet! Who wants to be the first to be tested?

Me!

As the kids shied away from the mana test, Yoo-na looked for the one who wanted to go first.

The first one to raise his hand was Eunhyuk. He jumped up from the crowd and shouted that he wanted to be the first to be tested for mana.

Okay, Eunhyuk. Do you want to go first?

Yes!

Eunhyuk stepped forward with great momentum.

The Mana Management Bureau staff, who had already dealt with about 90 children, tiredly pointed to the crystal ball.

Just put your hand over there.

Hehe.

The crystal ball on the podium was so large that Eunhyuk had to look up. Curious, he placed one hand on the crystal ball.

The crystal ball was designed to measure the mana that children unconsciously shed.

Recognizing his mana, the crystal emitted a pale light from its center. The light filled an area halfway across the crystal before slowly fading.

What do you think, what do you think?

Well, compared to his peers, he has more mana.

Among the kids tested so far, there were not many who had an unusually high amount of mana. Most were average.

But Eunhyuk was different. He was well above average, which made them wonder about his future.

The employee who had been recording similar numbers looked at Eunhyuk with interest.

He was pleased to hear that he was above average and walked down the podium.

Does anyone want to be recognized first? If not, well go in order of attendance~

Attendance number one got up on the podium and began to measure their mana.

The mana bureau employee lost interest again when he saw that the childrens mana wasnt even up to the average. Although they were past the age of proclaiming themselves to be the center of the world, the children who had some expectations couldnt hide their disappointment when they saw their mana levels.

Well, if my mana is average, whats the big deal. Isnt it?

Minji was equally disappointed. She crossed her arms, looked at Eunha, and blurted out.

Its like you already know the answer and just want me to say it. This is totally unfair.

Minji, who was making friends, came over to talk to Eunha, and something seemed to bother her from hearing that her internal mana was average.

Im worse than Choi Eun-hyuk.

That was it.

Eunha stared at her in disbelief.

Why?

Do you know what the stupidest thing in the world is?

What?

Of course, its hard to accurately measure body mana with the naked eye. Eunha could only make an educated guess based on the mana flowing out of their bodies.

Thats why he was curious about the Hayangs mana. He wondered what would happen if she touched the crystal ball since she was visibly shedding a lot of mana.

Theres only Hayang left.

Teacher, Hayang is over there!

Yes. Hayang, can you measure your mana now?

Yes, yes!

After going to the restroom with some girls, Hayang hobbled up to the podium.

Hmm.

The staff didnt pay much attention to Hayang.

No wonder.

While Eunha was teaching Eunhyuk about mana, he was also teaching Minji and Hayang how to handle it.

Hayang especially needed to know how to handle mana. As in the last case (her mothers case), monsters would be able to feel her mana to feed on it.

Hayang had been subconsciously harvesting the mana flowing out of her body for some time. She had a good sense of mana management, and thanks to Eunha, she had stopped letting it flow out of her body indiscriminately.

It was impossible to get even a rough idea of her mana without testing, and the staff, tired from testing after testing, didnt focus their eyes on her.

The crystal ball would measure her hidden mana anyway.

Ah, it wont hurt, will it?

She placed her hand on the crystal ball,

wow.

I was expecting a bang, but I wasnt expecting a blast.

Eunha was speechless as he watched her fill the entire area of the crystal ball with dazzling light, bathing the auditorium in a world of light.

Gah!

Hayang pulled her hand away in surprise as the crystal ball emitted blinding light.

Then the light from the crystal ball faded,

Crack!

Ah.

The crystal ball cracked and shattered.

Hayang was left standing there with a face on the verge of tears, unable to do anything.

What in the world

I never thought the crystal ball would collapse.

The employee looked at Hayang and the shattered crystal ball with a stunned expression on his face.

Sir, do you think this was already broken from the beginning?

The employee was thinking that they should take Hayang to the Mana Management Office for a thorough examination.

Eunha had been standing nearby since Hayang stepped onto the platform, suspecting that something serious might happen. As soon as the crystal broke, he stepped forward and shielded Hayang from their view.

Broken? You mean it was already broken?

Well, that was possible.

The employee nodded instinctively. There was no way a child with enough mana to break the crystal could still be alive. Their mana would have gone out of control and they would have died long ago.

The employee didnt know the details of the situation. Before they knew it, they were concluding that the crystal had been overloaded from being used in several schools.

Sigh, what should we do with her then? We dont have a new crystalwell have to do it next time.

Nah. Its probably just average anyway.

Hmm.

The gentleman said that youre average

Really?

Yeah.

Hayang, who didnt realize how extraordinary her mana was, looked up at them with tears streaming down her face. Eunha patted her head and left the platform with her.

Phew, that was a relief.

The reason why she hadnt gone into mana overload until now was because she was unconsciously controlling it, and because of the food her father, Jung Seok-hoon, had made for her that stabilized her mana.

Without knowing this, the staff could only assume that the crystal ball had overloaded, as Eunha said.

By the way, Ive been eating food made by her father.

His cooking must have contributed a lot to Hayangs high mana levels. She had been consuming potions to increase her mana since she was a child.

Inwardly, he was envious, but he couldnt help it. Eunha realized that he would have to visit the white cafe more often in the future.

Meanwhile, the employee who had to write a report about the broken crystal ball,

Come to think of it, I had a broken crystal ball a few years ago. No was it Euna? Yeah, its not the first time this has happened.

Because of the prior history, the staff member didnt recommend that she get it checked.

And Eunha was troubled to hear that the previous case was his sister.

Sis, you didnt tell me your crystal ball was broken.

Euna had only told them that her mana had been measured at school and that her bodys mana was higher than average.

Now he realizes that she didnt tell her parents about the shattered crystal ball for fear of getting in trouble.

My sister, I thought you couldnt lie, but youre surprisingly good at it.

Eunha has discovered a new side of Euna.