Ranking Challenge I

Regardless of that horrible night, I was now capable of keeping the orb glowing for almost the whole day.

Even with an E ranked demonic core, I didn't expect that my mana ability would go up by two minor stages from E to E++, but I presumed that I had also increased my control recently which played into how the mana ability was calculated.

Leo gave me a mocking look. "What's that supposed to be? Are you pretending to be a lightbulb?"

"Why do you care? Maybe because you're not that bright?" I shot back immediately.

He immediately shrank back, unable to retort. A flash of regret shot through me.

Maybe I shouldn't have done that… I hope he doesn't use his hidden card over a petty insult…

Nothing changed, so I was sure that he hadn't used his hidden ace yet.

However, Leo did seem enraged even though he kept silent. Perseus seemed to tremble more than usual as he scooted away from the fuming white-haired boy.

Lucia examined the glowing device in my hands with some interest. "Have you been carrying this around the whole day?"

I nodded. "Pumping magic into it too."

The trick, I learned (through much trial and error), was to refine my mana into thin, focused energy like thread while meditating.

By feeding the highly-focused mana slowly, I could minimize the mana consumption and the refined mana leaked less from my body.

If before, I was pouring steam into a cup, now I was placing a thin trickle of water into the cup.

Throughout the week, I had noticed that I could last longer against Mr. Booker after refining my mana.

This was another detail that I had learned about mana that I didn't include in my book.

Most of the characters probably don't have to resort to these tactics since they have more mana…

The thought was sobering and depressing. I had to jump through these hoops just to stand at the same level as the worst students in Class A.

Of course, I still had pathetically little mana. Most of my classmates in Class A had at least D- ranked mana by now due to the heavy focus placed on magic studies.

Lucia whistled in admiration, snapping me out of my thoughts. "The whole day? That's really impressive."

Almost immediately, Leo scoffed at her praise. "Anybody could do that."

I raised an eyebrow. Why does he have a problem with me? Normally, he's apathetic to "irrelevant people," as he calls most people.

The white-haired boy clearly had developed some kind of enmity with me, but I hadn't done much more than some minor taunting after the wrestling incident.

Before I could react-- Thanks a lot, enhanced senses --he snatched the device from my hands. Immediately, the orb dimmed before going out completely as soon as it left my grasp.

He laughed at the dirty look I shot him, tossing the orb into the air several times before holding it in his hands loosely.

…

His expression shifted into one of confusion.

…

He scrunched his brow and stared intensely at the orb.

…

I noticed his knuckles whiten as he clenched the device with an aggressive grip.

And the orb remained dormant. Not even a tiny spark of light.

I bet he's just flooding the orb with mana like an idiot, I chuckled internally. The secret is a focused, constant stream of mana.

By this point, Leo's expression had turned into one of rage and embarrassment.

Lucia coughed into her hand, covering a tiny smile. Gauss and Rebecca looked slightly confused as well.

It was well-known that I was still one of the lowest ranked students in the class. The fact that I could do something that Leo, the second ranked student, couldn't do was clearly strange.

"Having a little trouble there?" I grinned lazily as I picked up my spoon and began eating.

Leo growled and chucked the device back at me. I barely managed to catch it before it knocked me senseless, my hand stinging from the impact.

Thanks, improved senses.

Lucia and Perseus immediately stood up and glared at Leo.

Rebecca's expression showed concern. "Leo, be more careful! You could've hurt… him."

"Mav," Lucia said shortly, a clear aggressive undertone in her voice. "His name is Mav."

A cold aura descended on the table as Leo and Lucia stared each other down. 

Rebecca held her hands up, trying to calm both of the fiery students down.

Meanwhile, Perseus had sat back down at Leo's menacing glare. Though, I couldn't blame him. The white-haired boy had a very intimidating gaze, which quickly turned on me.

"Are you just going to sit there and let some girl defend you?" he snapped.

I frowned. They're supposed to be friends…

My mind rapidly examined the current situation from the perspective of an author, the person who understood every individual at this table better than he knew himself.

…I bruised Leo's ego by lowering him in the weapons training class and saving him in the Artificial Gate Massacre, making him more aggressive than usual.

…Lucia is closer to me than she is with Leo and Gauss.

When these two characters clashed, they could no longer co-exist in a neutral manner until Leo's more positive side came out and made them good friends.

This is my fault.

Now, I had to deal with the deviations that my existence had caused in the plotline.

I didn't have any good solutions.

Though, one was very tempting.

"Then, we'll settle this like 'real men,' or whatever," I sarcastically sighed. "I issue a challenge to Leo Inazuma, second ranked freshman."

Suddenly, the entire cafeteria became deathly silent.

Besides me, both Perseus and Lucia froze for several seconds before turning to stare at me like I was insane… which I was.

Leo grinned with malice in his expression.

I need to teach him humility and speed up his character growth.

This is definitely not because I want to punch his lights out.

I swallowed another mouthful of pasta casually.

Delicious.