33 Homework

Nova sat in class waiting for Reagan to show up.

The class was a lot more empty than yesterday, with Nova being the only current one sitting in it.

『...The big class from yesterday went like a blur..』[Nova]

A voice came from the other side of the door.

『Really? That so?』[???]

Jenny came in with Thomas.

『You guys..』[Nova]

『I can't believe you went that far!』[Thomas]

He swung his fists a few times, imitating Nova.

『You had him on the ropes!』[Thomas]

『Haha, he didn't even fight back. He just ran away. If he was serious, none of us would have passed!』[Nova]

『But still, to think that all of those people we were talking to are gone..』[Jenny]

『Well, you can't count me with all of them.』[???]

Standing under the doorway was Jade, the girl who helped Nova out during the exam.

『Still, I would've been if it wasn't for Nova. Thank you.』[Jade]

『Not at all. All I did was take my chance. You did that all on your own.』[Nova]

She walked into the classroom and sat down.

『...』[Jade]

『Well, that's right. In the end, it was all us.』[???]

The voice came from behind them, and the source was the other girl from yesterday, Sophia.

『Although.. I wouldn't have been able to land that if it wasn't for you. Thanks.』[Sophia]

Suddenly, the door burst open.

『Hello hello!』[Katherin]

『It's Kat and Marn!』[Marn]

『Uh?! Hello, hello!』[Jenny]

『You don't have to play along with them, you know?』[Sophia]

『Huh?! But it seems wrong not to..』[Jenny]

『Oh! Nova, Nova!』[Katherin]

『Yeah?』[Nova]

『So, there's the boy who's said to be in a relationship with Anastasia!』[Marn]

Nova nodded his head intently.

『Yeah! The Conqueror! A boy with blue flames!』[Katherin]

Then, he started to begin to sweat.

『And you have blue flames!』[Jenny]

Now, he was starting to internally panic.

『And when Anastasia caught you yesterday, she looked at you with dre-』[Marn]

Out of nowhere, Marn went flying across the classroom and hit the wall.

Sitting in a previously empty seat was Anastasia.

『...Yeah. Some people call me the "Conqueror"..』[Nova]

『What?! You didn't say anything about it!』[Thomas]

『Titles are embarrassing..』[Nova]

『Wait, no! What happened to him?! Is he alright?!』[Jenny]

Marn lied on the floor, unresponsive.

『I.. I think… my ribs are broken..』[Marn]

『Are they really?!』[Jenny]

『Oh, he's probably fine.』[Katherin]

The door opened, and Reagan walked in.

『...Shut up and sit down.』[Reagan]

Everyone hurried to take their seats, and Marn was slowly hobbling over to his seat.

『..There's a class clown every year, huh?』[Reagan]

Marn looked around, before realizing it was him.

『..Huh? Me?』[Marn]

『Who else? Take a seat, idiot.』[Reagan]

He hobbled over to a seat and sat down.

『...I feel.. Very hurt.』[Marn]

『Yeah, yeah. Alright. Like I promised, an introduction. I'm Reagan. My house name is of no importance.』[Reagan]

He pointed at Jenny.

『You, loud girl. Introduce yourself.』[Reagan]

『..Loud girl?! I'm a girl with a very NORMAL VOLUME! ...Fine. My name is Jenny Quartz. I'm the middle child an-』[Jenny]

『Yeah, yeah. Next one. You go, clown.』[Reagan]

『Me?! Well, I'm Marn Pence. That's all. 』[Marn]

『Okay, not bad for a clown. Now, you.』[Reagan]

He pointed at Jade.

『I'm Jade Esparanza.』[Jade]

『Okay, annoying girl that let Nova pass. Good introduction.』[Reagan]

She looked just a little irritated.

『...』[Jade]

『Next, Wind cutter 2.』[Reagan]

『Me?! I'm not wind cutter 2! I'm Katherin Tefna! I'm at least wind cutter 1-』[Katherin]

『Okay, maybe I'll call you loud girl 2 instead. Now, spinny boy.』[Reagan]

『I'm Thomas Reinholt. Nice to meet you all.』[Thomas]

『Okay, points for that introduction. Now, Anastasia.』[Reagan]

『...Anastasia Soryl.』[Anastasia]

『Okay. Nova.』[Reagan]

『Nova. That's it.』[Nova]

『Yeah, I'm not even sure why I even felt the need to let you go. Whatever.』[Reagan]

He took out a marker and began to write on the board.

『Congrats on passing my exam. As a reward, you will be put into hell. Don't worry. It's hell for me too.』[Reagan]

『Hell? What do you mean?!』[Jenny]

『I mean as a teacher, it's my job to make you strong enough to survive. And if there's any chance something can kill you- that's not strong enough. Just to let you know, I will constantly push you, and eventually, I will break you.』[Reagan]

He continued writing even while threatening the class.

『By the way, all of you have to be the strongest in your class. If you do, I get a raise. So.. let's see. I'm counting on Anastasia and Nova.』[Reagan]

『Strongest would mean...』[Thomas]

『Gardenia and Gladiolus. That's right.』[Reagan]

『Huh?! Don't you know about the legend about that, Reagan?!』[Marn]

He stopped writing, before turning around and glaring at Marn.

『...Legends are just legends. That's all they amount to.』[Reagan]

Reagan then turned toward the students.

『Alright. Then, let's begin studying the theories of Seeds. The widely accepted theory behind a seed is that it will help the owner of it pursue their dreams or desires. Moving on, you need the proper knowledge, mana, and development of self to strengthen your seed. 』[Reagan]

He picked up a small book and started leafing through it.

『Nova. Did you already advance your seed?』[Reagan]

『Oh! Yeah, I did!』[Nova]

『And did you awaken something that was similar to your first spell?』[Reagan]

『No. Not at all.』[Nova]

『Then, this most likely means you don't have a clear idea of how you're going to get to your goal yet. That's fine. Either that or you're someone with multiple goals.』[Reagan]

『Probably the latter.』[Nova]

『Then, I'll work you to the bone. You will keep your mana on at all times, even while sleeping. Use less mana and figure out your own pace. That's your homework for this weekend. You succeed when you can do it for 24 hours straight. Use too little, and you're going to not feel a difference in growth. Use too much, and you'll run out.』[Reagan]

『Yes!』[Nova]

『Wait, is that even possible?!』[Marn]

『Of course it is. You think I'd assign something impossible?』[Reagan]

『...If it's you? Yeah..』[Marn]

『Then, can you circulate your mana for an hour?』[Reagan]

『Nope! No way.』[Marn]

『Well, you'll have to do at least that to catch up to the two strongest in our class.』[Reagan]

『Then, you mean they can?』[Katherin]

『Yeah. Nova can probably do it for an hour already.』[Reagan]

Marn looked at Nova with a shocked expression.

『..Crazy.』[Marn]

『Here. Take a bracelet.』[Reagan]

He threw a different bracelet from yesterday's across the room to Nova.

『If you look at the screen inside that by pushing the button, you can see your rate of mana consumption, your maximum capacity, and more information.』[Reagan]

He proceeded to assign everyone a different type of homework, depending on their progress.

-------

Nova was sitting in his room wondering how he could circulate his mana for 24 hours straight.

『You having trouble, partner?』[Reischneid]

『Yeah. How am I going to circulate my mana for 24 hours straight?』[Nova]

『Hmm… you know that training for capacity your teacher was talking about?』[Reischneid]

『Uhm.. Stop your mana flow, then let your mana slowly build up?』[Nova]

『Yeah. Do that, then use enough mana to weakly strengthen your entire body. That's the most efficient training method for you right now.』[Reischneid]

『How long do I have to do this before I catch up to Anastasia in strength?』[Nova]

『Well, if you can keep it up for 2 whole weeks, you can catch up to her easily.』[Reischneid]

『Keep training for a full 2 weeks?! No matter how I see it, that's impossible.』[Nova]

『No, never. If you have me by your side, I'll guide you.』[Reischneid]

『...Thanks.』[Nova]

『Now, just mathematically doing it- the best way is to use just under the amount of mana you regenerate. This in turn, will make you hungry- which is perfect, seeing how your girlfriend overfeeds you.』[Reischneid]

Nova stayed quiet with a red face.

『...Anyways, if you take a video game's stance on it, you have 3 bars.』[Reischneid]

『Hold on, you know what a video game is?』[Nova]

『Yeah, of course I do! Don't you know how awesome they are?』[Reischneid]

『But, how?!』[Nova]

『Man, if I can talk to you in your mind, I can read your memories too.』[Reischneid]

Nova just kept silent, then motioned him to go on.

『So, the 3 bars would be mana, hunger, then EXP. The ideal is having more mana regenerate than you are using. Then, the realistic way is to make sure your hunger doesn't completely disappear between meals. So..』[Reischneid]

Reischneid kept teaching Nova how to properly maintain his continuous mana circulation into the night.