"You are Kai, right?” Moria asks. “I do not know how hard this test will be for you since I have never seen someone with all E's in the Academy before…"
The laughing in the room intensifies.
“He says he’s going to beat Luna’s score, of all people!”
“Kai, show us your true power!”
I turn around, pointing at the audience, and exclaim, “Yeah! Today you’ll witness my real power! I didn’t want you imbeciles to feel bad on the first day, so I didn’t show you back then!”
“Shut up! An idiot like you doesn’t know what power looks like!”
“Yeah, imbecile! No one’s gonna believe that for a second!”
“I’d bet all of our team’s points that I’ll score higher than you!”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask with a smile. “I’ll agree to that with all the points I’ll earn then.”
“That’s not fair! We’ll bet all of our points too!”
“Us too!”
“No, it was my idea first! I don’t want to split 40 points between all of you!”
“Children, please!” Moria exclaims. “Trading points between groups in any form is not allowed! Please stay quiet while I administer Kai’s test.”
“Lame…”
The noise slows to a halt.
Lame indeed. I’m not going to let an opportunity to get revenge for all those times these kids laughed at me slip away. “Moria, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Can I make bets with other people if they don’t involve points?”
“Well…you are free to do as you wish, but I would advise against it.”
I point at the audience and say, “I’ll make a bet with anyone who wants to challenge me. If I score higher than everyone, then you have to apologize for all the remarks you’ve made against me and admit you were wrong. Keep your hand raised if you wanna play.”
Nearly the entire class raises their hand.
“Hold on, what happens if you lose?” someone asks.
“I’ll apologize deeply to everyone instead,” I say.
“That’s not good enough. You have to run a lap around the Academy in your underwear too.”
“I’ll run a full lap inside the Academy entirely naked if I lose if you guys agree to the same thing. That goes for everyone with their hands raised.”
The class laughs.
“You’ve got a deal! None of that matters since you’re gonna lose.”
“Ahem…” Moria interjects. “This is getting a little out of hand. I was not planning on interfering, but I think you are bullying Kai too much. I will give Kai an easier version of the test, to be fair.”
“What?! That’s not fair!”
“It is fair. He already has a severe disadvantage for someone who has the lowest grade of Mana for every type. However, I will not judge more leniently for the presentation.”
One by one, the kids around the room lower their hands. Only about half of the class remains.
“Big deal! Why’re y’all lowerin’ your hands? Only one of us needs ta score higher than him!”
“Yeah, right?”
It’s a shame this handicap Moria is imposing on me demotivated half the class from participating in the bet, but there’s still time to change that. I need to clarify something about the test first. “I have another question.”
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“What is it?”
“Is the test restricted to only Scrap Mana?”
“No…” Moria replies with doubt. “Unrefined Mana and Rich Mana are allowed, but most students do not even begin to manipulate Unrefined Mana until their third year. However, the device does accept other forms of Mana. Higher quality Mana will produce a stronger outcome.”
“I see.” I still haven’t thought of something good to present, but there’s one more possibility. “You mentioned that Luna scored one of the highest you’ve seen, but what was the highest score someone ever received?”
“Hmm… 180 points was the highest that I know of.”
“Is it possible that you can combine the presentation with the test? The test is too easy even without a handicap. Make the test harder so that it’s possible to score 200 points.”
“My… I wanted to make the test easier for you to give you a chance of winning against your classmates, but you want the opposite? It is good to have confidence, but this goes beyond that. Please, do not overestimate yourself. This is an insult to all who have attended this Academy.”
“So, I can’t do that?” I ask.
“I did not say that. I am willing to comply with this request, however… If you do not perform to my satisfaction, you will receive 0 points for your arrogance.”
“What the hell, Kai! What’re ya doin’?!” Hiro exclaims.
“Shut up and watch, Hiro,” Sitos says.
“But he’s gonna make us all—ow!”
“Sounds good,” I respond. “So, how will you make the test harder?”
“It looks like you are serious…” Moria says and then sighs. He walks over to the magic devices. He puts his hands on the ground, and soon after, a stone wall appears all around the two magic items, leaving only the space above the devices open. He walks back to his seat and says, “In addition to the obstacle, you must use at least Unrefined Mana to activate the devices, and you must be turned toward the class.”
“Is that it?” I ask. This is still a simple test for me. Even Luna’s demonstration would be harder to pull off. If there are no more rules, I can do something outrageous that I never thought I would be able to do. “So, you’re saying that I can do anything as long as I follow those rules, right?”
“Yes. I will give you one more chance to apologize and go back to the previous test,” Moria says.
“Why would I do that?” I ask. This way, more people will participate in the bet. “I’ll tell you right now what I’ll do. I’m gonna activate the devices with Rich Mana.”
Moria frowns and shakes his head. “Go ahead and take the test.”
I turn around to face the angry class. Luna is smiling, as usual. I don’t know if that’s a front, but even so, I’m glad. Sitos, too, patient with my rash decisions for all he knows, is a complete bluff, given my perceived talents.
“If he’s going this far…maybe he was hiding his talent…” someone says.
“Yeah, I’m out.”
“Nah, he’s just an idiot.”
“More like delusional. He needs to be put in his place. You heard teacher, right? He’s insulting all of us.”
My proclamation actually had the opposite effect evident by the numbers of participants decreasing to just five guys, but I recognize them. They’re the ones who have smeared my name the most out of everyone, so this is fine.
“You guys scared?” I ask. “I only see five hands now.”
“Hurry up and show us your Rich Mana Manipulation!”
I said I would use Rich Mana, but that was a lie. I’m going to use my Mana instead. I won’t activate it until it reaches the destination. The walls around the device will conceal the Mana that I will use. Since I have the devices’ location memorized, it’s as simple as instructing the Mana to travel above them and down. I’ll make it move slowly for a climactic buildup.
With my arms as rest and palms pointed toward the wall, I release Mana from both of my hands. Done. I smirk and walk back to my seat. My group gives me strange looks as I sit down. I cross my arms and look at Moria, who looks just as confused.
“What? Did he do anything? I can’t see it.”
“He did, in his mind! We can’t see it because it’s not real! It’s his imagination!”
Suddenly, Moria stands up, knocking down his chair. He gapes toward the magic devices.
“Hey Kai, get ready to show the entire school your—“
The Mana I released finally activates, subsequently triggering the devices. A roaring burst of noise resounds. Water pours out from the space between the walls that rocket toward the ceiling. It’s supposed to be two spheres of water, but I guess there’s too much overlapping space. It’s more like a mushroom now made up of two symmetric parts, so I know that I didn’t make a mistake on the two devices' activation timing. The water crashes into the ceiling, releasing another deafening explosion as the entire room begins to shake.
Screaming and chaos erupt as a large amount of water violently splashes across the room, probably capable of drenching the furthest seated students wet. I stand up and gawk at the wave of water heading my way. Whoa! I didn’t think it would be this powerful!
I close my eyes and mouth as the wave of water hits me. My face melts into a grin after it passes, and I gloat loudly. The screams have ended, and it’s just me laughing and the sound of dripping water. I turn to face the people behind me, point, and exclaim, “You see, this is my true strength! Fools!”
I turn around and ask, “So, did I perform to your satisfaction?”
Moria stands soaking wet in the same place as he was, still gaping at the space above the magic items. Several seconds pass before he moves from his position and faces me. “Oh, yes… That was… Magnificent.”
He shakes his head and continues, “I still cannot believe what you accomplished. I want to give you my most sincere apology for my rudeness.”
Moria lowers his head and bows to me for several seconds before continuing, “As only a beginning second-year student, you have demonstrated complete mastery of Mana Manipulation by flawlessly activating Rich Mana outside your body! You deserve 300 points for this feat!”
“Yeah!” I exclaim and clutch my fist, raising it in the air.