Chapter 26:Trivial Yet Important

"Mana is the essence of everything."

"Whether it is an awakened or unawakened, every being possesses mana no matter how small it may be. It's just the ability to control and freely manipulate mana that differentiates between the two."

"Everyone after awakening undergoes a series of transformations and becomes immune to several chronic diseases."Professor Telon walked back and forth on the podium while giving the speech.

He was taking the Mana And Awakeners Systematics class that teaches us the fundamentals of mana and about awakened ones.

"Mana prolongs life and makes an individual healthier by hastening self-regeneration and growth."

"However, as everyone knows humans generally have a low life span compared to other species. The unawakened Elves, Dwarfs, and Demons can live up to 200-300 years while the maximum human life span of the 9-Star realm is around 150-200 years which is a kind of partiality done against us by nature."

"And I am not taking account of forbidden methods and research to prolong lifespan."

Talon paused as he saw a student raising his hands.

"Yes, what doubts do you have?"

"Professor, is there a 10-Star realm or realm beyond it?"

Talon chucked and asked him to sit down.

"It's a good question and I think many of you might be curious about it."

"I can spout some nonsense here and no one could prove me wrong, however I will not. I don't like to mislead students and give you false hope by sharing false news about 10-Star."

Professor Talon took a deep breath and pursued his lips as if he was going to confess.

"In truth, I don't know. As per the records I have studied, 10-Star was attainable and there have been many records of 10-Star and above, though it's a matter of question whether they are true or false."

"However, all of this was before the Great Demon War. The plausible conclusion we have arrived at is that the world in a way suppresses a 9-Star realm expert and stops it from reaching 10-Star."

"The reason that we have arrived is due to changes in world laws due to The Demon King's forbidden spells that interfered with the world Laws."

"Dungeon is one such occurrence."Talon, pondering for a moment, started to speak about something else.

"Lives are lost and properties are destroyed due to the dungeon outbreak yet the society you live in would be different without it. The presence of dungeons hastened our society's development."

"The skills which had allowed warriors to fight head-on against Mages were first discovered in dungeons. Humans researched it and found ways to make skills later and there is no significant proof or record of any person inventing skills of his own. They are just baseless rumors."

' I see,' Lucas noted, rubbing his chin.

This was trivial yet one of the important points that prove that some things are different. In the novel, it was written that a warrior along with his mage friend invented a way to make skills but the professor is saying something else.

These minor things in a way make Lucas wonder if he should blindly believe in the contents of the novel because characters that were just one-dimensional and had no value before, now had their own story and depth.

A value, each person must surely hold some value in the world no matter how insignificant they may be.

Lucas cannot afford to treat all of this carelessly, thinking of this place as just a world of the novel.

Talon, who was in the midst of discussing dungeons, saw a student with dark sunken eyes and hunched back, raising his hands.

Talon waves his hands permitting him to proceed.

"Professor, I know this might be out of context but I wanted to ask about summoning magic."

"I tried to summon a creature but I failed. But after that, I started to hear whispers echoing in my ears which somehow made me sick."

"What!"Talon screamed and jumped from his place, shocking everyone.

"You need immediate treatment."

"Listen everyone. Don't ever try to summon magic carelessly otherwise your life would be in danger."

"For summoning you need to have taken it. Just like a warrior can't become a mage just because he wanted you can't become a spirit summoner without aptitude."

Wiping the sweat trickling from his forehead, he continued with a solemn and grave tone that drew everyone's attention.

"Spirits are of two types."

"One is those who are born in nature while the other ones are those of the deceased that are a portion of lingering souls of the dead that could not enter the cycle of reincarnation due to some problems."

"Spirits are all around us. They are invisible, intangible, and in semi-corporeal form and use our power to manifest themselves. If you had spirit eyes, you could easily see the spirits around you."

"Those born from nature are well-behaved and are easy to control. Even if we failed to make a contract with them there is no risk however in the case of later, you will be in deep trouble if you cannot subdue them."

"The spirits of the deceased beings are mostly evil having twisted and wicked emotions which will taint your heart turning you into a maniac or a mindless puppet who would manifest the behavior of their obsessions and regret which they had when alive."

"Even if the ritual failed, they would hover around you and would whisper into your ears which slowly makes you paranoid and turn you into a monster. So, if you have any of those symptoms visit the infirmary, get treatment and ask for help from a Senior Summoner and yeah, all of you take this seriously."Talon pressed his voice to make them aware of the seriousness.

"Those who have a higher bloodline or come from large clans and houses might have guardian spirits who might be contracted by your ancestors, and having guardian spirits generally negates most of the dangers that occur in summoning."

Everyone swallowed their saliva on seeing the profound gaze of Talon.

Lucas knew the possible dangers of summoning however the real danger was beyond his wildest dream.

And about guardian spirits, the members of many top families have tales and stories about them.

Frederick was said to have the guardian spirit of Thunder Loach and inherited his power.

But he still had not awakened but Lucas was sure it was going to appear in Volume 2.

Lucas took a deep breath and noted down important information to match the things he knew and also in case he ever forgets about it.

....

In the Gymnasium.

It was already half past 10 and Lucas was one of the few who was training till now.

Exhaling heavily, with an exhausted expression, he raised his sword vertically and then swung it downwards.

998....999...1000...1001...

Counting each swing, he glanced at the glossy wall reflecting his image, attempting to imitate the basic swordsmanship of others he had observed during the sparring match.

The lowest swordsmanship art from Horizon cost 400 points. He wanted to buy it but decided to wait for it after hearing Instructor Harris's suggestion.

Before using sword techniques, one needs to have a strong foundation in the basics and a swordsman should have a stable stance.

Since he lacked the two, he decided to fix his posture and stance with basic sword techniques consisting of slash, thrust, lunge, parry, and block.

Unbeknownst to him, every time he swings, he finds himself oddly fascinated by sword movements.

His heart wells up with excitement and whenever he makes a bad move, a bitter sensation seems to course through his body signaling him to do this properly.

Lucas, who was drawing his sword again, halted in his tracks when he heard a call from behind.