Chapter 2: - Mana Evaluation (1)

༺ Mana Evaluation (1) ༻

[Congratulations! You’ve defeated the demon [Trevion the Evil (Lv 80)] and gained EXP!] [Level Up!! Your level has increased to 25!] [You have unlocked the achievement ❰Beginning of a Legend❱! You have gained an additional 15 bonus stat points!]

“Oh.”

A sudden increase of 5 levels all at once.

Also, along with every level up, each of my stats were increased by 2. The rewards for achievements appear to have been awarded as it normally would.

By the way, the overly-high level of the enemy just now was because of this scenario being on the Hell-level difficulty setting. In other words, even if the level difference between us was extreme, a wild explosion in levels would not occur.

[Status] Name: Isaac

Lv: 25

Gender: Male

Year: 1st

Title: Freshman

Mana: 305/320– Mana Recovery Speed (D-)

– Stamina (D-)

– Strength (D)

– Intelligence (D)

– Willpower (B)

‘Looks like my mana has increased by 20—. Meanwhile, all of my other stats are the same as before.’

A unique characteristic of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ was that, unlike most fantasy games, the player’s level-up didn’t have any kind of direct effect to their stats.

Sure, the higher the level, the higher the limit of the character’s stats were, but it was not a mechanic for me to concern myself with.

In the end, you needed to start training desperately if you wanted to actually raise your stats.

The stat points that were accumulated from a level up can be invested in a character’s ‘growth efficiency’, so as the game progressed, the stat level began to curve upward.

Therefore, it could be said that Isaac’s stats would start to see a sudden rise.

Putting that aside, another game mechanic was that the higher the opponent’s level was, the less damage it would end up taking. However, seeing as Trevion was only level 80 while I was level 120 at the time, the damage I had given him seemed to have been fully applied.

‘Oh, does it also give party experience?’

I glanced at Ian, who was still knocked out on the ground.

[Ian Fairytale] Lv: 31

Race: Human

Elements: Light

Danger: X

A sudden increase of 1 level.

In ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱, allies who fought together in battle received experience points according to their performance.

If the character was a damage dealer, it would be based on how much damage they dealt, if the character was a healer, it would be based on how much health they restored, and so on.

Additionally, the more characters in a party, the higher the total amount of experience would be. Therefore, it wasn’t the type of system where the experience points were split between party members.

It looks like the party experience system was the same as before, even after the unpredictable event where I had gotten myself transmigrated into this game.

‘The first bad ending has been prevented, and now–’

I should hurry up and head to the entrance ceremony.

The fact that I was still stuck in this world after three days no longer fazed me. It was a necessity for me to properly face all of the events that are going to happen in the future and to sort out each of them myself.

‘–Oh, right. Kaya.’

Come to think of it, Kaya Astrean hadn’t shown up yet. Plot-wise, Kaya Astrean was supposed to appear while Ian was in the middle of holding out against Trevion.

I tried looking around but couldn’t sense or see her anywhere.

However—

When I thought about it more, it made sense. In the game, Kaya had only appeared after Ian held on for a while.

But I had already killed Trevion in an instant. In other words, Kaya must not have arrived here just yet.

‘I’m glad.’

I felt relieved that I didn’t get caught in the middle of the fight.

Had Kaya, the second seat of the entire freshman class, seen me obliterate a level 80 demon in one attack– I couldn’t even imagine how things would’ve turned out.F0lloww new chapters at nov/(e)l/bin/(.)com

If I were to continue living within this world, I would have to prevent any possible bad endings in the future. I shouldn’t have such a setback in my plans this early on as a result of accidentally revealing my true abilities.

First of all, I had ended up making a lot of noise when casting [Frost Explosion]–, so it would be better to quickly get away from the scene before I get noticed.

After sorting out my thoughts, I began walking back towards the Academy for the entrance ceremony.

━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━◦○◦━

‘Wait, what?’

Kaya Astrean, who was currently hiding behind a tree, couldn’t keep her mouth shut from shock.

While wandering around Josena Forest, she had suddenly sensed a dense source of mana and quickly flew over with her wind magic.

Once she arrived, she saw that there was a confrontation between a strange-looking demon and a single man.

To begin with, the random appearance of demons is normally considered to be a natural disaster. There was nothing all that strange about the sudden appearance of demons in a remote place like this.

Danger: X

Then there was Tristan Humphrey, a vain aristocrat who had a hobby of looking down on those he considered weak as well as the commoners he saw as inferior. He was the typical blond-haired aristocrat who wore an arrogant smirk on his lips at all times.

[Kaya Astrean] Lv: 90

Race: Human

Elements: Wind, Ice

Danger: X

The second seat of the freshman and one of the game’s heroines, Kaya Astrean, was here as well. She gave a cute impression with two black ribbons tied to her light green hair in the style of pigtails.

– Wait, just why am I getting embarrassed now that we’re actually face-to-face? Am I shy?

Anyways, Kaya Astrean had the personality of a kind-hearted and broad-minded individual. Sure, there were some edges to her personality here and there, but they were more like defense mechanisms she used to hide her shyness and embarrassment.

She also tended to follow those she admired, like a lost puppy. She is the number one type of girl who should be protected from pseudo-religion propagandists at all cost.

She is also very good at making a mountain out of a molehill. She was a cute heroine who would attach a deeper meaning to each and every action Ian would make without putting much thought into them and would often get excited on her own.

‘Woah.’

Having seen all of the characters from the game I always used to enjoy in the flesh, my heart was strangely feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden.

“Welcome, prospective wizards.”

Eventually, the front door of the lecture hall was opened and our professor entered the room.

As he appeared, many of the female students started making various exclamations like “Oh my–”, “Oh my God—”, and “So handsome–“.

The professor finally arrived in front of the podium amidst the commotion, staring at the students with a chilling glare as he stood in silence.

[Fernando Frost] Lv: 98

Race: Human

Elements: Ice, Water

Danger: X

Unlike the silver-rimmed student uniform, the gold-rimmed navy blue uniform was the attire that the academy professors would wear. His well-groomed silver hair, blue eyes, and tall stature exuded the aura of a professional.

Fernando Frost.

He was a cold individual who wore an emotionless poker face at all times, as if not even a single drop of blood or tears existed within his body.

In reality, however, he was a selfless humanitarian whose mind was always on the safety of and concern for his students.

Thanks to this appealing character trait, he was ranked 5th in the character popularity ranking of ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱.

Level 98. Although he was definitely at a higher level than most of his students, as a wizard, it was around average. For reference, the level of the characters in this setting was determined based on their direct combat power. The level of their knowledge is also involved to a certain extent, but in the end, the most important factor was their ability to use magic well.

If the setting of the criteria for a character’s level was to be theory-oriented instead, Fernando’s level would have been much higher. In fact, that would be the case for most of the professors here.

“I am Professor Fernando Frost. I am the professor in charge of the provisional 3rd class for this week.”

Professor Fernando said as such in a smooth, calm tone. The girls in the class seemed to be dying because of the slick charm he possessed.

I’m sure he was aware of how handsome he was. This kind of reaction would be normal for someone like him.

– I envy him.

“Let’s stop talking about any unrelated personal matters and just get straight to the point. Orientation will be held over the course of the next week. Then, when the class placement evaluation is completed and the classes have been properly divided, the lessons will finally start in earnest depending on the level of each class from then on.”

Professor Fernando continued to speak with the same impassive attitude as before.

“With that said, for the sake of the future evaluation and to make sure that you are aware of your current level, I will be measuring the amount of everybody’s mana from this point forward.”

“Our mana?”

Oh, right. The amount of everybody’s mana gets measured during the first orientation class. It’s a minor part of the story, so I always skimmed through the event whenever I played through the whole episode later on, which caused me to forget about it entirely.

Either way, the results of the mana evaluation will end up being useful for my future tests.

When the story begins, the main character, Ian Fairytale, is rated in the test as an ‘E’ rank, the absolute lowest level when it comes to mana, so he ended up becoming an outcast among the students.

But later on, as Ian grows rapidly over the course of the story, the students increasingly start to reevaluate him.

“Alright, come out one at a time when your name is called.”

Following the guidance of Professor Fernando, the students of the provisional 3rd class were able to safely arrive at the training ground along with everybody else.

It was a spacious training ground lined with seats for spectators and fine sand making up the floor.

In addition to the provisional 3rd class I belong to, several provisional classes all came out to the field as well. Ian and the heroines had caught my eye in particular.

“Here, I will be measuring the mana of each and every freshman belonging to the Magic Department.”

Professor Fernando used a small stick with a loudspeaker enchantment cast on it to explain the rules to the crowd of freshmen enrolled in the Magic Department, all of whom were standing together in an orderly manner. Simply put, he was basically using a microphone, although it was called a ‘loudspeaker’ spell here.

Meanwhile, the other professors of the provisional classes were sitting in the stands in order to observe their potential students.

“First of all, take this.”

At his words, the assistants began handing out objects to the students that had an appearance similar to hand grippers.

Of course, I accepted it as well. The translucent grip felt firm when I held it.

“This particular magic instrument is a tool that measures the maximum amount of mana of the user by looking at the concentration of their mana. All you have to do is hold it with a firm grip while allowing the mana within you to flow, and then your grade will automatically be displayed before you. That grade is what your current position will be within the academy, so this will be an important reference for any future evaluations.”

As usual, Professor Fernando gave his speech in a perfect deadpan.

“Whenever you let your mana flow while trying to measure the amount of your mana, magic commonly tends to come out as a result. With that said, for the sake of the student’s safety, I will be doing the measurements in an open space where there are no people for this evaluation. In each class, five people should come out, one group at a time in order from the lowest number.”

Thus began our first mana evaluation.

NOTE: More chapters will come soon, hope you enjoy these two for now.