“What the hell is wrong with you!?”

Lionel did not expect such a soft-spoken and cheerful person to blow up like this. Eva’s hair was a mess from her pulling it in stress. They were outside the school’s courtyard. The news traveled fast, well, of course it did. The girls who were with Jonathan immediately made a fuss about it and Jonathan started yelling at Lionel.

When Lionel left the school to head to the dormitory, he saw Eva in the distance, running towards him. She pulled him aside and started to yell at him.

She was pacing back and forth now, sweating.

Lionel didn’t have an excuse, not that he did plan to evade or anything. He was honest and forward with his intentions, to avenge Jane Addawick and to stop Jonathan from going after anyone else.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“How can I not worry?!” Eva snaps, “You’ve barely caught up to the lessons?! How can you fight him?!”

“That’s why I’ll study right now.”

“No, no, it won’t be enough!” Eva says, “The things that go on the test paper are randomized. There are things that you won’t know no matter how much you study! There are things even Jonathan won’t know! Well, unless the two of you finish the whole textbook and you know how thick it is!”

“I can do it.” Lionel insists.

Eva sighs, “Lionel, you don’t get it. You could…”

“I could die, I know, but something has to be done.” Lionel replies firmly, showing no hesitation. Eva could already tell that he was a stubborn kind of person, the type that won’t go back on their words.

Lionel continues, “Jonathan Astor is sick in the head, and he needs to be put in place. He could hurt so many people if I don’t do anything. He could even target you!”

“Don’t play the hero here.” Eva advises, “That’s dangerous.”

“I’m not trying to be a hero.” Lionel says, “I just don’t like seeing others hurt, like what happened to Jane Addawick. I don’t want to see something like that ever again.”

“...” Eva sighs in defeat, “There’s no convincing you, is there?”

Lionel shakes his head.

“...Okay fine, I’ll help you.” Eva places her hands on her hips. “Let’s go to the classroom, I’ll lend you my notes. What subject are you two taking?”

“Mana Biology.” Lionel answers.

“Come along then.”

The two travel back to their classroom and to their desks. Eva pulls her drawer open, causing Lionel’s eyes to bulge out at the sheer amount of notebooks and textbooks she managed to cram in there.

She takes a dark green notebook out, handing it to Lionel. It's thick and heavy with all the ink and writing. Lionel skims through the pages and purses his lips inward.

“See? This is how far we are.” Eva says, “Though I hope my notes and summaries can help you. You can ask me if there’s anything you find confusing. I…I also want to beat Jonathan Astor, I hate that guy.”

Lionel finally smiles genuinely for the first time this day, “Thank you, Eva.”

“Hey, I’ve got your back.” Eva grins, “You should get to studying. I won’t disturb you anymore.”

The two exchange farewells and Lionel heads straight to the Male Dormitory. He goes to the kitchen and grabs some wrapped bread and a cup of water.

He ignores everyone looking at him, making comments about his challenge to Jonathan Astor. They were obviously mocking him, but they fell deaf to Lionel’s ears.

The moment Lionel shuts his door, he begins to study right away.

Before he knew it, the sun began to rise.

Test day.

A yawn escaped from Lionel’s mouth; he felt lightheaded, yet the thumping in his head held him somewhat grounded. He tousled his hair and released a deep sigh. Dismissing the slight daze and slight odor, he collected Eva’s notes, his own notes and his textbook on Mana Biology.

He ignores everyone on his way to class.

Someone even pointed at his unkempt appearance.

He makes his way to class silently, bumping into Eva on the way who gasped the moment she saw him.

She fussed over his appearance, hands reaching out then retracting, not knowing where to start. Eva could see a bit of darkness under the boy’s eyes and he was clearly exhausted, but he pushed forward.

After every class, Lionel used the break time as a time to study for his upcoming test. Eva looked over Lionel’s shoulder to see that Lionel had highlighted so many things in her notes, she could only hope that it actually stuck to Lionel’s head. Studying like this wasn’t healthy at all, both physically and mentally, but Lionel had to or else…

A few hours later, it was finally four fifty in the afternoon, ten minutes before the test. Everyone had already left the classroom, leaving Jonathan Astor and Lionel Wesholm in the room with Mrs. Dewitt. The pair stood in front of the teacher’s desk.

“...” Lionel looked at the eight-page test paper on the desk with a calm expression, although he was uncertain if he truly appeared calm. He didn’t want to show any vulnerabilities to Jonathan.

Jonathan takes the papers with a smile, heading to his seat. Lionel gulped and took the papers, moving to sit in the third row of desks of the class. Since they could choose any seat they liked for the test, Lionel chose to sit—

Lionel could hear Jonathan snort from far away. “Sitting at her desk, huh?”

“So what if I am?” Lionel glares at Jonathan.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Woah, don’t be like that.” Jonathan smiles.

“Ahem.” Mrs. Dewitt clears her throat and gains the attention of the students.

“It is the eighteenth of this month, five o’clock in the afternoon. The main subject is Mana Biology. Your time limit is exactly one hour. Jonathan Astor, A-Class student against Lionel Wesholm, F-Class Student. Before we begin the test, are there any requests or comments from the two of you?”

“I want the results to be announced in front of the class.” Jonathan immediately requests.

“Do you have any objections, Mr. Wesholm?” Mrs. Dewitt looks at Lionel.

Lionel shakes his head.

“I acknowledge Jonathan Astor’s request. With this, you may begin answering.” The teacher snaps her finger, starting the hourglass timer. They immediately flip their test papers and a painful pang shot straight through Lionel’s head. He silently curses as his vision distorts and shakens.

He used to do all-nighters back then when studying and training, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as this.

“Focus.” Lionel whispers.

[Explain the 3 main Mana Absorption cycles and illustrate the cycles.]

[The concentration of [Raw Mana] = 5.05 x 8 RM combined with a fire crystal solution. Calculate the Average Mana Output value. Is it artificial spellcasting or natural spellcasting?]

[How is the energy released in spellcasting channeled into the production of a mana?]

[Explain each stage of the Mana Transfer Process]

[Illustrate a Mana Heredity Tree with the following organisms.]

Each question jumped from one topic to another, making it difficult for his brain to focus or recall specific information. A part of him is telling him to give up, but he couldn’t. There was so much at stake, including his life. The life and dream he so desperately clings onto is what he had left of himself.

He sweeps through all eight pages with a heavy breath, he was sweating a waterfall and his hand couldn’t stop trembling.

And so an hour passed and it was time to submit their papers.

Lionel observed Jonathan’s state. He appeared weary, but confident at the same time.

He smirks at Lionel before he walks up the stairs, leaving the classroom.

“Is there anything else, Mr. Wesholm?” Mrs. Dewitt questions, seeing as he is standing still like a statue in front of her as she collects their papers.

Lionel blinks and answers, “No ma’am.”

“Go get some rest.”

Rest? Would he actually get any tonight? With so much weighing in his mind, would it even be possible? Lionel thanks Mrs. Dewitt and excuses himself.

…

…

…

The next morning came and everyone went about their usual routine.

Lionel drags his heavy body through the halls, bumping into Eva like yesterday.

“Your eyes…” Eva gasped at the dark circles under Lionel’s eyes. His hair was an absolute mess, messier than the day before. It’s sticking all out everywhere and he was pale, he looked like he was about to fall over any second.

Lionel acknowledges her with a nod and the pair walk to class together in silence.

When Eva opened the door for them, almost everyone in the classroom turned their heads to acknowledge their arrival. Eva grits her teeth at the noise Lionel drowns out. Lionel doesn’t care anymore, they could say whatever and he wouldn’t hear a thing.

Lionel and Eva moved to their seats, Lionel settled into his chair with his head lowered.

Jonathan is already in class. He leaned his check on the palm of right hand, propped up with his elbow against the desk. He looked self-assured.

Almost everybody’s thoughts were the same.

It would be impossible for Lionel to reach their level, to even get the passing score. He’s the new kid and it’s been what? Three days since he started classes? What likelihood is there for him to catch up with them?

A few minutes later, the teacher arrives. The sharp sound of her heels echoed on the wooden floor ominously, the sole sound piercing the silence as it sent shudders through Lionel's body.

“Before we start class…”

Lionel kept his head down but his eyes were cast up. He watches Mrs. Dewitt placed three papers on the desk.

“I have finished checking the test results between Jonathan Astor and Lionel Wesholm. The two of you, please come forward and face your classmates.”

Jonathan stands up almost too quickly and Lionel gradually pushes himself off his seat and the pair make their way down to the front.

Mrs. Dewitt goes over the details of their test, “The test was conducted on eighteenth of this month at five o’clock in the afternoon in this very classroom. The main subject is Mana Biology with a time limit of exactly one hour. Jonathan Astor is an A-Class student while Lionel Wesholm is an F-Class student. As requested by Jonathan Astor and agreed by the two in front, their results will be publicly announced.”

Lionel’s heart raced uncontrollably, yet it went unnoticed by the owner. His eyes twitched and drooped, his body swaying slightly.

“Here are the results.”

And so, their results were presented, clear to one and all.

[Jonathan Astor - 86/100]

[Lionel Wesholm - 85/100]

“...”

The whole classroom remained silent, even the teacher, even Jonathan Astor.

Jonathan looked at Lionel’s exhausted face with wide eyes. His opponent was literally off by one point. However, what caused everyone’s disbelief the most was the fact that Lionel was able to reach such a score. They had expected the transfer student to get less than fifty as he had arrived late after all. How was he able to catch up to chapters worth of so many lessons?

After a few moments of silence, Jonathan grinned, though it looked crooked.

“I-I won! I beat you!” He cheered hollowly.

Lionel looked at him quietly, a shadow looming over his eyes. He looked more dead than anything, which caught Jonathan off guard. He stared at a lifeless figure—an empty husk, a puppet, and anything else devoid of vitality.

Where was the fear? The shock? The anger? Where were any of the emotions that fit this outcome?

Jonathan clenches his teeth, his first trembling, a vein bulging on his neck as his jaw tightens.

He raises his voice out of the blue.

“Hey! Don’t look at me like tha—”

“Jonathan Astor, congratulations.” Ms. Dewitt interjects, “Your points have been accumulated into your overall grade. There are no changes in ranking. As the winner, you will be rewarded and Lionel Wesholm will be punished.”

The teacher looks at Lionel, “For your punishment, you will enter the Dungeon of Knowledge for twelve hours the next day. Once again, congratulations Mr. Astor. You have the right to ask anything of the loser within twenty-four hours. If you do not officially submit your request to the faculty, your reward will become invalid.”

The fourth paper on the desk is quickly seized by Jonathan.

“I want to punish him right now.” Jonathan says through his gritted teeth. In a rapid flurry, he writes down his submission, every stroke of the pen charged with force and intent. His hurriedness almost causes him to shove the paper at his teacher’s face.

“Here.”

Mrs. Dewitt’s eyes gloss over the single sentence.

“You may.”

BAM!

A hard impact strikes Lionel’s cheek. In an instant, his body crashed onto the floor. He feels his collar being yanked and a fist strikes, he’s thrown to the ground again. An onslaught of blows begins to strike him—face, stomach, face again—one, two, three, four, five—too many to count. Numerous strikes cause blood to trickle from his nose, his complexion to shift to a deeper hue, one eye feeling as if it’s weighed down.

Everything felt like it was burning, crushing and ringing. His face feels wet and he’s sure he could taste metal. In time, Lionel felt as if he were floating in an infernal sea, yet he could barely register the torment any longer.

“Enough.” Mrs. Dewitt demands.

At this point, Lionel drifted into a state of blissful unconsciousness, oblivious to the world and what his body had come to. Jonathan lets go of him, letting him fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Jonathan spits, it splatters on Lionel’s darkened and crimson-streaked cheek.

“That’ll teach you! Don’t ever think you can go against me again!”