The nun prayed to the statue. Kneeling in front of it, the devotion she released to the goddess was boundless. In her reverence to the divine, she often failed to percieve what was happening around the sanctuary.

Her old age didn’t allow her to kneel for so long, however, she found her strength in the goddess. If not for healing the students, she wouldn’t stand up.

However, the time came when she had to break her connection with her lady. A person came through the front doors. With a quick kneel towards the altar and the statue, he walked towards the nun.

She struggled to stand up with her frail body, but managing to finally turn around, the nun saw the boy she had been seeing a lot lately. He was the one that she felt obliged to help. It was a deep feeling that came from the center of her soul.

Glancing up at his shoulder, she could see an open wound. Her first thought was that a sword pierced through it, but taking a closer look, it was more like a dagger that stabbed through it completely.

“I’d like to buy the healing service, please.”

The red-haired boy said, to which she stretched out her hands.

A green light surrounded her hands. Soon, it transferred to the bloodied shoulder of the injured.

“Thank you.”

Handing a silver crown to the tray on his way out, he left the contemplating nun to herself.

‘For him to have such ties with the goddess, he must be a chosen one.’

Oblivious to her thoughts, Conall stretched his shoulder before leaving the building.

Walking through the academy grounds, he saw as the path in front of him was inhabited by a horde of students. A lot of them were probably going in the same direction as he was.

He was headed for his lectures in magic circles and mana control. From a certain professor, which wasn’t Morgana.

The class was unique in the fact that the professor taught over a hundred students at one time, a privilege that not many of the teachers had. The reason for that was simply because of the lecturer's popularity.

Not only was she popular because of her beauty she also taught mana control to many of the greatest mages of the previous generation, despite herself being stuck in Grade B.

She was both pretty and effective, which invited a lot of the students, almost all of the ones that practiced mana, in fact. However, Conall didn’t care for that.

His argument for going to the class was that she was the first Calamity of the academy. There was no way he could ignore it.

Entering the room, he was immediately caught off-guard by the huge size of the hall. It was also big in the game, but it wasn’t something one could compare with real life.

Almost every seat had been taken already, yet the lesson still had five minutes to start. It was amazing that she could still teach in these circumstances. The chatter of over a hundred students would add up very quickly.

Finally finding a decent three-student desk far away from the entrance, he sat down comfortably, awaiting the arrival of the professor.

Though someone sat to him a minute or two later, his gaze was locked onto the black chalkboard. However, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the omitted newcomer.

“For you to not even take a glance at me, you must be pretty deaf and ignorant, huh?”

Already realizing who the person beside him was from his voice, he turned around slowly before going back to his pleasant position from before.

The male elf beside him blinked a few times, not recognizing this behavior. It was definitely new for him. To receive such a blatant look of carefreeness, his head ran rampant.

As soon as he heard the girls that were glancing at him and the small guy next to him, he somewhat realized who he was.

‘Conall? Wasn’t that the guy everyone called the Nuts Pants?’

With his royal, cheery voice, he called out to him, melting the hearts of the girls watching them interact.

“You’re Conall Agael, right? I heard about you. I admire your efforts to become stronger, despite carrying the fate of being the worst.”

“Man, you sure sound like your sister hates you.”

Without even turning around, Conall said with an exasperated tone.

With a side glance, he saw as the golden was barely holding it together. The veins on his arms popped as he clenched his fists, blood flowing through the palms of his hands.

Just as he was starting to move up, readying to reach out to his bow, a wave of mana descended on him, sitting him down in place before he could move. The appearance of the professor saved his image.

Every student in the class suddenly quieted down as they looked ahead. Standing in the middle of the room, her mysterious appearance was the first thing they noted down.

It was as though she was the epitome of a witch. Long robes that covered every part of her body alongside a hat pointed upwards. There was a broomstick next to her that she hadn’t used, but carried.

Soon, words started to unravel above her.

Motionlessly, with indifference on her face, she controlled the mana around her to show itself, only to transform it into stable shapes. Even just that was so impressive that many of the students had their mouths agape.

The mass of mana she controlled finally calmed down, revealing a name many, if not most of them already knew.

“My name is Silvana. This course’s name is Mana Control and Magic Circles. I hope you do understand what that entails. This lecture is about training your control for hours on end, as well as learning of the magic circles and their properties. Like any other subject, every three months, there will be an exam, however, only a practical one.”

“...”

As Silvana introduced the course and explained its small details, a few hours had already passed since they started their first practical lecture.

Many of the students stayed behind after the class to ask her questions, which she answered like a robot. Precisely and correctly, but also tersely.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

The sun gazed with its tired rays through the tall windows of the lecture hall, illuminating it with bright, warm colors.

Seeing as everyone left, he finally made his way towards the teacher, who seemed unwilling to answer him.

“Was I being that disrespectful?”

“If you consider almost starting a fight, as well as not following the professor’s instructions as disrespectful, then yes, you were.”

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he saw the Daughter of Calamity slowly leaving the classroom. Conall was about to venture into unknown waters. He couldn’t be in the state as he was right now back in the game, so, for once, he didn’t know the future.

“Professor, how do you treat a mana core?”

Her movement subsided, stopping a few steps before the doors.

“What sort of ailment? A mana core should gradually recover on its own.”

“And what if it’s gone?”

“What are you trying to do, student? That’s impossible. Without a mana source, life cannot be sustained. Without a medulla of the being, your cells wouldn’t be able to regrow nor would healing spells work on you.”

Her cold eyes stared at him, who was questioning her knowledge.

“What if there was? Would you be able to help them?”

“No, that’s impossible. A full recreation of the core is something nobody has ever accomplished. The core’s design is almost as elaborate as the brain itself.”

“I… see. Thank you for your answers, professor.”

With a gutted tone, he began to head towards the doors near the upper rows of the lecture hall.

However, in the middle of the planked steps, it was him, who was stopped this time.

“That doesn’t mean I won’t be willing to try. Judging from your tone, it’s you, yes?”

He nodded, facing her yet again.

All of a sudden, the mana in the room fluttered. A blue, ethereal hand stretched from across her chest, quickly grasping onto him.

An unfamiliar sensation spread through his skin, coming from the inside of his chest.

“Unbelievable. So it’s true.”

Silvana muttered with curious eyes. Conall waited for her to end the inspection. It was vastly contrasting to when Juliette scanned his heart two days ago. The duke’s daughter sent out gentle, graceful pulses of aura that allowed her to witness a clear picture in her head.

The witch’s one, on the other hand, felt like she put an eye inside of him that monitored his organs and vitals.

It was a stark difference, however, it allowed her to get a clearer picture.

“You’re as fascinating as I thought. Come with me to my lab.”

Looking at the witch staring at him with a deadpan face, he felt like was treated as no more than a bizarre beast that she could exploit.

With a sigh, he walked toward her, who was steadily waiting.

Entering the door that connected her class with her lab, a special privilege allowed only for her, he walked through the underground corridor before finally witnessing the area that was blocked off in the game.

There were countless accessories and equipment he couldn’t wrap his head around. Cauldrons filled with various ominous liquids and self-stirring ladles, shelves in which countless spells were being performed, yet the glass didn’t break on any of them, and there were many more things he couldn’t realize the meaning of. He looked at the walls, which were filled with numerous vials of potions, as well as magical powders.

The most bizarre thing, however, was the tall, tubular glass in the middle of the lab. Inside, he could see a large bone that was floating in a green liquid.

“Professor, can I ask what that thing is?”

“That? Don’t trouble yourself, it’s not that important. Take a seat here and wait for a second.”

Sitting on the chair near a white desk, he watched as Silvana carried an empty syringe. Across from him, she stared at his yellow eyes as though she waited for something.

Rolling up his sleeve, he laid out his left arm on the table. With a nod of approval, the professor cleansed his arm with mana before piercing through the protruding vein above his elbow.

Scarlet fluid started to fill up the barrel and before he could feel anything, she was already done. Considering the fact that he felt five times the pain, it was pretty impressive.

He watched as Silvana walked around the lab, trying to find the device. Out of the hundreds of different flasks on her shelves, she finally found it.

Taking out a yellow glass, she emptied the syringe contents right into it. Instantaneously, once the blood touched the material, blue aura-like energy started to get released once she closed the lid.

After a minute, the blood turned fully black while a concentrated gas sat at the top of the flask. Pondering for a few seconds, Silvana explained.

“As I expected, you have normal mana composition in your bloodstream. Well, no, it’s actually above the standard, despite you having no core.”

Although her analysis was correct, she still seemed perplexed by his situation. It was unlike any she had ever witnessed over her long life. Even in the Witch Tower, there were no records of such instances.

“Your mana veins are fine throughout your whole body. They are even filled with mana as we speak. But that shouldn’t be possible precisely because you don’t have a core. Since you can’t use the energy, your pathways shouldn’t be full of them.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily, I think? Somehow, it seems like your body autonomously gathers mana at a constant pace. It can also regulate itself, so you don’t end up overloaded with it.”

It was just like she said. Although he couldn’t use his mana at all, the benefit of the curse was immense. His body naturally had mana regeneration and rejuvenation at a much greater level compared to others.

Whereas others would get their mana replenished manually or through sleep, he had it all the time, without repercussions.

And, once he got back his mana core, not only would the regeneration increase, he could add manual mana breathing on top of it. He would be able to refill his mana even during strenuous battles.

After a brief period of silence, Silvana added a proposition.

“However, I also can’t get other readings with the equipment here. We will have to resume the tests another day. From now on, we shall meet here after class each Friday. Since you don’t have a core, you don’t have to attend my lessons.”

With a sincere smile, the coreless knight thanked her.

“I understand, professor. Thank you for your troubles.”

As he was starting to move towards the doors leading to the classroom, he was once again stopped by the witch lady.

“Wait a second.”

“Is something the matter, professor?”

He turned back, glancing at the girl. He thought the deal was done at that time, but he had forgotten a certain thing.

“What’s your name?”

“Ah. It’s Conall. Please feel free to call me that.”

With a slow nod, Silvana watched as the student opened the doors.

…

Conall slowly walked away, leaving Silvana alone in her lab. His little mission was accomplished, so his worries were eased. Well, he knew he would succeed either way, but he was still pleased. Silvana was willing to try anything in order to increase her mana control, and mana core study was nothing but enticing to her.

Being the vague area of scientific research as it was because of the lack of willing patients, she would gladly take on the offer.

As he left the classroom, a not-so-surprising guest awaited him.

“What were you doing in there for so long? Surely, you didn’t think Silvana would take you in as a personal student?”

The white-haired elf sneered, a contemptible gaze in his green eyes.

“Why would the prince like to know?”

“That doesn’t concern you. Losers should naturally answer winners.”

Eyneir said with his arms crossed, leaning on the window sill leisurely.

“Pardon me, but I’m a little uncultured. Is it an elven custom to choose a wimp as their crown prince?”

“Haha, and here I was, trying to pity your worthless talents.”

Suddenly, before he could react, the elf gripped Conall’s neck before tightening his hand. Immediately, the boy’s face started to gradually turn the same color as his hair. Raising him in the air, Eyneir stared at the worst knight with a clenched jaw.

“You think you can ignore me? You little fucker.”

He put more strength in his hand, however, to his surprise, Conall didn’t put up any fight. He simply stared back with calm eyes.

‘Is he already dead?’

Despite such thoughts, the elf threw the body with all of his might at the floor of the hallway.

Sliding across the empty corridor, he finally stopped, lying on the marble floor. After a second, the prince was already next to him, sending a kick to his stomach.

Bouncing on the floor yet again, he only stopped before the stairway.

“Huh, what was that?”

Eyneir squatted near Conall, his face close to his as he tried to make out what the little knight was saying.

With breathless grunts, Conall reached out to his face with a shaky arm. Grabbing onto his neck lightly, he slowly let go, powerless.

“I admit, you’re pretty tough, but that’s all. You better be careful in the future.”

With a punch to his face, Conall slid down to the floor once more, unconscious.

Finally, the prince let him go, leaving the floor before a professor would come here.

Opening his eyes, Conall quickly scanned the area before lightly stretching.

“Fuu, that was pretty invigorating.”

While he stopped his act, Eyneir already left the building, moving alongside the road of the academy grounds.

Somehow, his anger already subsided, and he started to feel weak. His legs started to feel heavy while his head experienced constant dizziness.

Not knowing what was in front of him, he kept on walking. Ahead of him, he saw a gasping elven girl.

“Your Royal Highness! Your neck!”

Confused by the blabbering, he touched his neck, only to see a hand smeared with blood. Gradually, he started to faint, while the girl ran to support him. Quickly, she carried him to the sanctuary.