Renowned Professor

Man, it's been a whole decade...

Nowadays, his lectures are like the hottest ticket in town, especially for his area of expertise. I mean, even some seasoned wizards, not just apprentices, drop by every now and then, picking up on those subtle insights he dishes out without even realizing it.

But hey, can you blame him? After all this time, he's practically a master at those level 2 spell patterns and formations. Naturally, some of that deep understanding creeps into his explanations during lectures.

His classes have become so legendary that the tower had to officially request him to do another one, focusing specifically on level 1 spell patterns. But, stubborn as he is, he turned them down flat. They compromised by splitting his lecture into two parts: the first hour covers [Mastering Level 1 Spell Patterns] like usual, and the second hour dives deeper into the theory behind them.

The first half of his lectures are mostly filled with eager apprentices, while the second half attracts the big guns – official wizards, even the ones renowned for their expertise. The tower even had to expand the venue to accommodate up to 300 people.

And he never asked for all this attention, you know? He only realized he'd been slipping in that level 2 knowledge when all these big-shot wizards started showing up. When the tower management reached out, he knew he was in deep trouble.

To top it off, he's been ramping up his mana levels visibly for the past five years, hitting peak level 1 wizard status. Now he's being hailed as a once-in-a-millennium prodigy, giving Evangeline Ashwood, the head honcho of the tower, a run for her money. No wonder those old wizards have no qualms about sitting in on his lectures. 'But, trust me, there's a reason to his madness, folks!'

But hey, gotta give props to the tower for being super generous with the perks. Not only do they not take a cut from his lecture earnings or charge him for the venue, but they even toss in some extra points every time he holds a session.

With the lecture crowds growing and those bonus points from the tower, he's practically swimming in points. Dude's been using them to snatch up more level 2 spell pattern and formation books, diving even deeper into his expertise.

And get this, even though he's nailed level 2 spell patterns and formations, he's not branching out into other stuff like enchantments. Nope, his brain's already sniffing around level 3 territory!

He's this close, man, like just a thin veil away. But no matter how many level 2 books he devours, he can't quite crack it. So, he's on this wild quest, burning through his points hoping to stumble upon some divine revelation.

So, life's good, right? Well, almost. There's this urgent thing he's gotta deal with, which is why he's been cranking up his overt mana levels like there's no tomorrow.

Right now, he's strolling back to his room after his usual lecture. If you squint, you'll notice he's practically bouncing on his feet, itching to bolt to his room. But he's holding back, you know why? 'Cause all these apprentices in the corridor keep shooting him looks, whispering to each other. And every time he passes one, they're all like, 'Hey, Professor Zack, good evening!' Talk about attention, huh?

Man, every single apprentice he passed would give him the ol' 'Hey, Professor Zack!' treatment. And it's like a domino effect, right? One apprentice greets him, and suddenly, the whole corridor turns into a madhouse with everyone following suit.

Zack's eyes are practically doing a marathon with all the twitching from the impatience bubbling up inside him. Back in the day, he'd lap up all the praise like it was candy. I mean, the first time he snagged that 'Professor' title, he was on cloud nine, grinning from ear to ear every time someone called him that.

But ever since something went wonky with his mana core, all those stares just make him itch to bolt to his room ASAP. Problem is, he's like a magnet for attention now, and it's driving him up the wall. And yeah, that mana core issue? That's the urgent thing he's gotta fix.

He lets out this heavy sigh, now feeling a bit bitter toward the tower for slapping him with this title and all the unwanted attention that comes with it. See, the thing is, 'Professor' is a big deal. It's usually reserved for the top dogs in lecturing, wizards who've been around the block, honing their craft for years. Zack? He's the youngest to snag that title and the only one to get it just by talking about one topic.

Finally, when he makes it back to his room, he just collapses onto his bed, shutting off the mana outflow from his body. Instantly, the lightning particles around him zip right back into him like they're late for a party. Good thing he's in a mana gathering setup, or he'd be causing a ruckus outside.

As he meditated, his brow furrowed deeply. The thought gnawed at him: he couldn't keep this up any longer. He had to make the jump to level 2. But, even for a wizard prodigy, hitting level 2 before 40 was unheard of. Evangeline herself didn't hit level 2 until she was 40, according to the records.

And here he was, barely 24 and on the brink of leveling up. He could already picture the chaos that would ensue. But he had his reasons. First off, things outside the tower were getting crazier by the day for wizards. 

Wizards out there are living like rats, constantly dodging the Holy Empire's execution squads. Zack's got Fannie on his mind, wondering how she's holding up. Waiting around for another 70 years to hit peak level 1 naturally just ain't gonna cut it. I mean, 70 freaking years? Might as well bust out the dynamite and blast our way through the tower walls if that's the deal.

Thankfully, there was the "genius" pathway, where he could hit level 2 at 40 years old. But that meant waiting another three decades, and he just couldn't afford that. And that brought him to reason number 2: his mana had been ballooning for the past decade, pushing the limits of the level 1 magic circle that held his mana core. 

Picture this: his mana core was shaped like an infinity symbol, with the level 1 magic circle holding onto the middle. Right now, that magic circle was hanging on for dear life, stretched to the max by the growing "pillars" of his mana. Give it a few more months, and that circle would snap like a twig once his mana core expanded even more.

You might be wondering, why couldn't he just put the brakes on his mana core growth? Well, he gave it a try, believe me. But now, his mana core's gotten so big that it's creating this insane suction force, like a cosmic vacuum cleaner.

Even when he's not meditating, all those lightning particles can't help but gravitate towards him. He's gotta constantly toss out just enough mana to keep up appearances, so other wizards don't start getting suspicious. Let me tell you, it's exhausting having to focus on your mana heart all day, tossing out mana like it's nobody's business.

If he doesn't keep up, he'd practically turn into a black hole for mana, sucking up lightning particles faster than you can say "Abracadabra." And it's not like he's meditating or anything – he's just trying to go about his day!

So, apart from teaching his classes and raiding the library for books, he's pretty much holed up in his room most of the time. Remember when he mentioned tossing out mana while conscious? Well, when he's catching a sleep, all bets are off. He's basically meditating against his will in his sleep.

That's why controlling the growth of his mana core's become mission impossible. He needs a level 2 magic circle to team up with his struggling level 1 circle and keep that mana core in check. He's even toyed with the idea of slapping another level 1 circle on top of the first one to lend a hand.

But then he quickly ditched that idea, realizing the massive gap between a fresh level 1 magic circle and his colossal mana core. It's like comparing a skyscraper to a garden shed. The only reason his current level 1 circle was barely holding on is because it had been nurtured by his mana core for years, stretching way beyond its natural limits. Plus, those basic level 2 symbols filling in the gaps were like the glue holding it all together.

Trying to copy his current magic circle was a no-go. The placement of those symbols was totally random, and he couldn't just wing it and hope for the best without understanding the whole deal.

So, he entertained another idea: creating a whole new core inside his mana heart. Technically doable, but here's the rub – he couldn't plop it down too close to the old one, or else the suction force would tear it to shreds faster than you can say "presto."

He'd have to stick it further away, where the old core's gravitational pull wouldn't mess with the new one. Luckily, his mana heart's got this "infinite" thing going on, so he's got space to spare. Problem is, he'd still have to manually redirect the incoming mana to the new core, which doesn't solve the issue of the old core growing while he sleeps.

But hey, at least it'd stop wasting mana getting sucked into the old core, right? So he went ahead and gave it a shot. With his mana levels off the charts, nurturing a new core to level 1 status – where the mana's pure – didn't even make a blip on the disturbance radar in his room.

He figured out he could just siphon off some mana from his ginormous old core to help his new one level up. Voilà! Introducing the world's first human with not one, but two mana cores! Yup, count 'em, two!

But here's the rub – his original problem's still hanging around like a bad smell. The old core's still gobbling up mana like it's going out of style. He can only divert mana to the new core when he's in meditation mode. During his daily grind, he's still gotta let out the excess mana he's sucking in. And guess what? His old core's still chugging along, growing even during those rare moments when he catches some sleep.

So yeah, his core conundrum's still very much alive and kicking. He's gotta hit level 2 to get a handle on that old core of his. That's why, for the past 5 years, he's been cranking up his mana to peak level 1, despite all the shocked looks from his peers. He figured he'd need to be legit to ask the tower for the level 2 advancement method.

But he also had a backup plan. If things went south and the tower tried to snatch him up for some sketchy experiment, he had his ace in the hole – his hidden mana stash and his mastery of level 2 spells. He was pretty darn confident he could take on the whole tower solo if he had to. No need to sweat it too much, right?

Naturally, he couldn't just unleash all his mana reserves – the sheer pressure would squish a level 3 apprentice like a bug. Plus, let's face it, that'd be way too abnormal. Who knows if the whole wizard community would brand him a monster and come after him if he pulled a stunt like that? So, he's just flexing the mana muscles of a peak level 1 wizard, playing it safe as usual.

Now, he's being hailed as another once-in-a-millennium genius, right up there with Evangeline Ashwood. And he's about to drop a bombshell that'll leave everyone's jaws on the floor: hitting level 2 at the tender age of 24. Boom.

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Name: Zack

Age: 24/150 (1000)

Occupation: Official Wizard (Level 1)

Contract: [Lightning Magic Tower - Official Member]

Hidden Contract: -

Mana: 1200/1200 (48,220/48,220)

Overt Talent: [Low Mana Manipulation Correction], [Low Mana Sensory Correction]

Hidden Talent: [Limitless Mana Well], [Advanced Mana Manipulation Correction], [Advanced Mana Sensory Correction], [Advanced Intelligence Correction] 

Hidden Boss Abilities: [Hidden Strength] [Thousand Faces]

HBP: 0

HB Progress Bar: 30/100% 

Expand Hidden Boss abilities Store? yes/no

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Author Note: Big shoutout to @Jonathan Bailey over on my Patreon for the genius idea of using the infinite mana well to pull off the multiple cores maneuver! Couldn't have done it without you, buddy!