Erik wiped a drop of sweat from his face, and the light magic aura surrounding the staff's top dissipated. He had managed to stop the spell before it could cause any damage.

Erik looked at Arnos. "It was actually better than what I expected," he added with a hint of surprise. "Though you overflowed mana into it, causing a huge fireball instead of a normal one."

Isn't that a good thing? Arnos wondered in his mind. I mean, a big fireball would possess more destructive power, wouldn't it?

"Isn't that a good thing?" Arnos asked hesitantly to Erik.

Erik gave a disapproving gaze. "It is not. Fireball isn't a spell where you should spend a lot of mana. There are higher-efficient spells in fire affinity that might be more effective with that mana output," Erik added.

"Ah, is that so? I am sorry for messing up," Arnos added in a slightly apologetic tone as he looked down.

"It's nothing to feel sorry about. The spell was perfect, only the magnitude was wrong. Having high mana level doesn't mean you should use it less proficiently now, does it?" Erik said with a neutral look.

Arnos nodded at this.

"Your mana level's A, isn't it?" Erik questioned Arnos.

"Yes, I have A-rank mana level," Arnos replied. How did Erik find out about it though? he wondered to himself.

"Well, that's a really nice mana level, but it's not an excuse to use mana lazily. It's not like you have S-rank or something," Erik added in a slightly scolding tone.

"Yes, sir," Arnos added, looking at the floor. S-rank huh, I am curious how much more mana does S-rank have in comparison to A-rank, Arnos wondered to himself.

"Let's do the test then," Erik added. "Use your ability and cast a fireball after that," Erik said as he turned around and moved twenty steps away from Arnos, he stood in the centre of training arena.

Ability and fireball, Arnos said in his mind as he raised his right hand to shoulder level. I have to be quick, he mentally added as he looked at Erik.

"Envelope," Arnos mumbled, and as he said this word, his right hand got covered in a layer of flame. Arnos winced in pain, feeling the burn from his special ability. Immediately, he chanted, "Fireball."

This time, no fire materialized in front of Arnos's hand. "Release!" Arnos shouted. The layer of fire on his hand dissipated, leaving behind a red burn mark on his hand that began to heal.

It didn't work, Arnos thought to himself as he looked at his burned hand. It's not hurting as bad as my leg, but still it hurts.

Arnos's thoughts were interrupted by Erik. "It didn't work, huh," Erik said as he walked back towards Arnos. "Don't worry much about it. Using a special ability and spell together in unison is hard to do," Erik added as he stood next to Arnos.

Erik took a quick glance at Arnos's hand. "I think we should wait for Seras's remedy before we continue though," Erik said with a stern look.

Arnos nodded. "I think I got overexcited today," Arnos added. "I should've known about my limits and how much I can handle," he said.

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"I was totally expecting you to say 'I can handle this' or 'This pain is nothing for me' or something like that," Erik added with a chuckle, amused by Arnos's response.

"I can't handle this pain," Arnos added with a defensive tone and a scared look.

This only made Erik laugh harder. Erik put his right hand on his face, trying to hide his laugh before getting back to his senses.

"Okay, that was perfect," Erik said as he gave a pat on Arnos's back. "I like juniors like you," he added, hitting him twice on the back.

Is knowing your limit something unusual in kids? Arnos wondered. That's when his thoughts went back to the S rank mana level topic.

Arnos looked at Erik's face. "Can I ask something, Erik?" he asked in a polite tone.

Erik nodded. "Yes, go on, I am listening," Erik said, folding his hands and looking at Arnos attentively. "Just don't make me laugh again," he added with a small smile in a sarcastic tone.

"How much more mana does a S-rank individual have in comparison to a A-rank individual?"

"You aren't talking about the rank of adventurers by S rank and A rank are you?" Erik asked as his expression changed to a slightly sincere one.

Arnos shook his head no at this. "No I am talking about mages. I am talking about mana level," he clarified.

Erik took a moment to think. "I am pretty sure the multiplier is ten times from C rank to above. Prior to it, the difference between C, D, and E rank isn't much though," Erik added.

"So, if you possess A rank and the other person possesses S rank mana level, it is approximately ten times more than your pool," Erik added with an amused smile.

"Ten times more?" Arnos repeated with a shocked expression.

"Yes, that's correct," Erik replied.

"Hey, Arnos, what about the other juniors? I am pretty sure they are Princess Emily and Marcus Levile, the Duke's son. But how are they? Like, were they nice to you?" Erik questioned with a hint of curiosity.

Nice to me? Ahhh, Marcus sure was nice to everyone, Arnos said in his mind. But Emily, hmm, I can't say she was nice, but she did apologize at least, so that sure is something, Arnos added mentally.

"They are nice people," Arnos said to Erik with a calm expression.

"That's good. And do they possess any ability as well?" Erik questioned.

Arnos nodded at this. "Marcus has a ability called life steal. He can steal his enemies' mana after killing or incapacitating them. Emily doesn't have any special ability, though; she didn't tell me about it yesterday," Arnos said.

"Ah, so the Duke's son is the more talented one in the family," Erik added.

"Emily had S rank mana level, though," Arnos added nonchalantly.

Erik looked at Arnos with a surprised expression. "Say that again."

"She had S rank mana level. I am pretty sure of it."

"I take my words back, She is practically a once-in-a-lifetime talent, if she posess s rank at this age" Erik added with a completely serious look.

Is she that extraordinary? Arnos questioned himself in his mind. Is she starting from a position that's unattainable for anyone but her? he wondered.

Arnos's thoughts were disrupted by someone shouting his name from the dorm.