{Mana Control I, Mage Academy of Efthimia, Kingdom of Solovok}

{Leonidas POV}

I stared at the glowing crystal in contemplation as I waited for my mana to recharge. It was the result of the stupid competition that I was having in my head with Emilios. My hands and stomach were tingling as I dealt with the effects of overdrawing on my mana pool. Even if using more mana is good in the long run, it doesn't mean I like feeling the effects of mana-over exhaustion in public.

Still, the most depressing thing was that I lost the contest, even after trying my hardest not to waste any mana. Somehow, someone with a Tier-3 affinity had either better control or more mana than me, both of which seem impossible.

'How though, the only possible way I could think it would happen is if his {Processing Power} stat somehow dwarfs mine... which is just absurd. What did he do before coming here.' I concluded.

Emilios Charis seemed interesting to me yesterday. Even though he performed normally and didn't stand out, there was one thing that was different about him, there was no deference in his eyes. He didn't feel like he needed to obey or please me, and that felt interesting for a while. Plus, he was a Tier-3 affinity user, so I could use him as a part of my team even if the family would not accept him for some reason.

Even if losing an imaginary competition was a blow to my pride, I have been comparing myself to a Tier-5's progress for months now, ever since I turned 18. Feeling demoralized was a part of my daily routine. What I now need to know is how he had such a high mana pool.

"Alright, everyone," I turned to look at Uncle Marios spoke. His voice had a different tone as his words reverberated around the room before his voice went back to normal, "Look around you. The people who have been able to get the hang of controlling their mana outside of their bodies have a glowing crystal in front of them. That's it for today. Tomorrow, we'll try a different exercise, hoping the rest of you can gain the {Mana Control} skill as well."

He looked around the classroom, likely noticing many disappointed faces. "Cheer up! The next week is very important for your future accomplishments. What kind of wizard you make depends on how you persevere. Oh, and you can take the crystals with you, given that you'll be bringing them back tomorrow. Good Luck!"

'He always loves his theratics...' I thought as I ignored my uncle and instead focused back on Emilios next to me. It was hard to focus on what he was doing from just my peripheral vision, but I didn't want him to notice that something was up. From what I can tell, he was already too calm and mature about everything yesterday.

I watched him stand up and leave with the newly discovered Polyxeni. That surname still held some power in the kingdom, even if his affinities were too weak to reach the same heights. I also collected the crystal in front of me and moved, shadowing Emilios and Polyxeni's movements as I and my entourage left the class.

"Emilia," I got her attention as I thought about it some more, playing with the pros and cons of the decision. "Get Korina to switch targets. She's going for Charis."

My words were met with widened eyes. "Are you sure? He's a Tier-3, while Michael is Tier-4. Korina is the only one we have who's had an agreement with for now. Early contact is needed to reduce suspicion. She's a precious resource right now." She questioned. Her words were defined by logic, but he had a hunch for now.

"Yeah, just do it. We'll find someone else for Michael." I nodded, and after she looked at my face to see that I was serious, she nodded her head. Her dark locks drifted away as she left to follow my instructions.

I looked back to Emilios's fading back and sighed.

'Why couldn't everything be more simple.' I cursed before I controlled my swaying emotions and looked around. The mysterious youth was purged from my mind as I locked eyes with a pair of long green legs.

'It's not like I'm any better. Our conditions are not very different; our status is just...' I stopped myself from going too far into this train of thought and started walking toward her. I had refrained from having contact with her since I was busy talking to the rest of our faction yesterday.

'Hopefully, she doesn't have a grudge against nobles...'

...

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{Emilios's Room, Mage Academy of Efthimia, Kingdom of Solovok}

'Today wasn't so bad. No obnoxious self-important noble blocked my way and demanded my fealty, no complications, just focused on magical learning.' I sighed. I was a little worried that something insane would happen on the first day. Some ominous warning about the demon invasion or something.

'Speaking of the demon invasion, my next class is about history. Maybe I'll learn more about things like past wars or something.' I hummed as I walked over to the lamp beside my door. I had placed these back in their initial places after waking up.

I picked up the glowing lamp and removed the lampshade. The glowing yellow crystal was so similar to the one that I had practiced all day during classes. I hesitantly touched it, and once again, it defied my expectations. Instead of boiling hot like I expected it to be, the surface of the crystal was cold to the touch. It was fixed on top of the lamp with something like glue or maybe something else.

I lifted the lamp and once again looked at the inscription at the bottom. The whole script had several symbols, and I had no knowledge of what to do, but still, considering that there were five lamps in my room, it should be an indication that I could experiment a little bit. I focused on my mana.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Until now, I had only tried it with the luminous crystal in hand. Monopolizing my mana was a bit harder, but it didn't take long. With some effort and focus, I was able to sense mana streaming inside of me once again. The problem arose, though, when I tried to think of a way to release it.

'With the crystal ball, I was able to manipulate the connection. What now, though? Could I touch the runes?' The options seemed feasible, so I pointed my index finger and touched one of the symbols etched onto the bottom of the lamp. Nothing happened, and no connection was made, so I moved on to the second symbol and then the third.

I was about to give up, but when I touched the fifth symbol, a connection was made. I paused and then thought about opening the connection. I was able to control the connection with barely any effort, more of my mana streamed into the lamp, and suddenly, the room brightened. The crystal was now glowing brighter than before.

'Is it a kind of mana control switch? Dial?' I thought before I tried to limit the mana, and although the light dimmed, it didn't shut off. Controlling my mana after making the connection felt easy, like an arm I didn't know I had before. I didn't even have to think about it. It moved and obeyed my will on its own.

'Maybe the on-off switch is different.' I thought and pulled my finger away before touching the rest of the rune script one by one. One more rune, shaped like an 'O' with a weird rectangular dot in the middle, allowed me to form a simple connection, and by just pushing some of my mana, the light turned off.

"Fuck yeah!" I cheered. I walked over to a different lamp and picked it up, repeating the gesture and getting an identical result.

'Good, the same runes have the same function. Now let's see if the shower has a similar rune scheme or not-'

*Knock* *Knock*

'Hmm,' I turned to look at my main door in surprise. I was not expecting anyone to knock on my door. A little curious, I walked over and opened the door. A flash of pink indicated to me that the person on the other end was from the opposite gender.

...

[Korina Nomiki]

[Basic Earth Mage]

[13]

...

'Hmm, 13, that's not too bad. Is she a Tier-3 as well?' I thought as I looked at her, gave her a small nod, and asked, "Yes?"

"Uhh, hi!" She exclaimed. She seemed a little nervous as she adjusted her bangs, pushing them behind her ear.

"Hi?" A question accompanied my greeting, which seemed to put her more on edge as she fidgeted in place.

"Sorry if I interrupted you. I..." She bit her lips and looked around. "My name is Korina Nomiki. I'm an Earth mage as well. Can I talk to you in private?" she questioned.

I gave her another look and then nodded. She was quite pretty, which seems like a stupid reason to allow her entry into my room... but she was really pretty okay.

"Sure, come in," I stepped aside. She nodded her head in thanks and stepped into my room. I closed the door behind her, and when I turned back, she was already examining the turned-off lamp in my room.

"You were able to do it?" her voice was full of delighted surprise as she exclaimed, pointing at the lamp.

"Yeah, I just tried it out before you came," I replied, keen to see what she wanted.

She was also able to see the questioning expression on my face as she deflated and replied, "I wasn't able to do it, in class."

"I'm sure you'll get it. I want to help you, but I don't think I know how to," I replied. I wasn't lying. Feeling and controlling mana almost came instinctively to me.

"Father warned me that this would happen. Some people get it quicker as they feel closer to their mana and have a high {Processing Power}... Look, can you do me a favor?" She asked with a hopeful expression.

"Certainly, I would try, but it would depend on the favor," I replied.

She looked pensive before she nodded. "I want you to turn on my shower. I was prepared to go through this entire ordeal of using clean towels and drinking water to wipe myself, as striking deals with Nobles is a bad idea, at least according to Father. But then you were able to figure out your mana, so I was hoping you'd do me a favor... Without asking for my soul in return."

'Well, that is easy. It is a good chance for me to see if I can gain some LP. Going by the name of the additional system that I had, doing something lewd like peeping on her would do the trick.' I thought.

"Please..." she pleaded. Her posture had shifted slightly as she pressed her hands together, enticing her cleavage a little more.

"Okay," I replied, my eyes straying down at her midriff a couple more times. If she was going to use her sexuality to get my help, then I don't mind taking advantage. I pointed at the gate. "Shall we try?"

"Thanks!" she replied, smiling. I was hoping for a hug or something, but taking things slow wouldn't be so bad. I walked over to the door and opened it, watching her as she walked out of my room before I closed the door behind her and followed her.

Her room was quite far away, almost at the end of the hallway.

'She must have followed me to my room. Girls really do get desperate over basic necessities like a bath, innit?' I thought.

"Here," she spoke as she opened her door. I could instantly see the differences in our room. While the decorations were the same, she had different bedsheets and pillows and a couple of extra cushions sprawled over her bed. The rest of the layout was the same, so it didn't take me long to locate the bathroom door.

She opened the door again as I walked into a similar-looking bathroom. My eyes stopped as I looked at the bidet.

'Thankfully, the academy wasn't as cruel as they could be. The toilets, at least, are auto-cleaning and need no input. Otherwise, there is no way I'm going to do that for someone else.' I thought as I walked over to the shower and looked at the rune scheme etched onto the wall where normal controls over the shower would be.

"Wait, your father's a mage, right? Then how did you use the bathroom back home?" I asked as I turned to her and extended my hand toward the 'O' shaped rune ring again.

"We have a motion sensing runic scheme back at home. It is a little more advanced, but it wastes more mana." She shrugged, her eyes locked onto my figure.

"Ah," I nodded as I focused. I had specifically positioned myself just under the shower. Suffering some misfortune while helping her would gain me some sympathy points. The threat of looking like an idiot is not a problem because I'm better at magic than quite a lot of other boys already in the rest of the class.

I was quite confident that I would be able to have at least a date with her, but my confidence quickly crumbled when I touched the rune, and nothing happened. No matter how much I tried to push my mana, it wouldn't leave my hand and connect to the rune.

'What happened? Don't tell me this is like a door with a security feature,' I groaned, and as I turned to Korina, she had a confused expression.

"It seems like I won't be able to help you out like this. I can't use my mana to interact with these runes. They feel locked to me." I replied.

She groaned as she threw her head back. I took the time to peek at her modest breasts as she sighed in exasperation. Quick to offer a solution and not miss a golden chance, I offered, "You can gather your clothes and take a bath in my shower. Granted, I could get it to work."

I looked at her wide-eyed look and the blush that was creeping onto her face.

'Too soon?

...