Persevering Through Adversity

"Ha." Aizen took a deep breath in a low voice. He wouldn't be surprised if Inkgrit got looked down upon by Dante or other professors who heard such nonsensical and vague explanations.

'Just like before, she's bad at explaining.'

The energy referred to by Inkgrit in the future would later be referred to as Aether. A new particle that was converting Mana into chaotic and violent primeval energy. It completely threw away Mana's gentle nature and took away vigor and vitality.

That was the main component of Magic Bullets. Because of that primordial energy, the bullets traveled faster with the force of a loud bang.

Even the physique of a Genesis Knight and certain beast races that had formidable bodies would get torn apart when the bullets were fired.

Aizen once felt how strong and painful the bullet was even though it was unable to rip through his flesh.

That was just one bullet. If dozens were shot at his body and he was too late to dodge or counterattack it, he would be injured and bleeding without a doubt.

In addition, Aether would later develop into a new particle called Quanta.

Quanta were particles that could be said to be imperfect because they were formed from Aether, which was originally Mana. Because of the unsullied process, Quanta was referred to as impure energy. It still carried the chaotic characteristics of Aether but also had its own unique properties.

Explosion.

Quanta would later become a major part of the Magic Cannonball and Magic Bolt.

Weapon technology that repeatedly made Aizen, the Supreme Knight, obsolete and had trouble stopping various wars.

"But, professor!?"

"It's fine. You can explain later when you get the words right."

Inkgrit wanted to protest that what she said was true. She wanted to manifest new energy from Mana by suppressing the density of that energy. But, she also didn't understand why what came out was instead the four basic elements.

She finally returned to her seat with a frown. She vowed to prove her words by actually manifesting that new energy from Mana.

Even though no one understood the incantation of Inkgrit's magic spells, almost all of the students were in awe of her.

Four basic elements appearing at once was not an easy matter. Remembering how hard it was to learn double casting, triple casting, and quadruple casting, their faces filled with admiration.

The technique required high concentration and a mental brain that was above average because it had to keep the manifestation of every magic stable and balanced, not overlapping with others.

On the other hand, now was the time for Aizen to step forward to perform a magic spell.

Dante persisted in his desire for Aizen to learn magic, even though he knew about the Nullifier.

"Student Barthomelo, here is your Mana Crystal."

Aizen took the Mana Crystal without a second thought and did as the other students had done before.

Immediately, the Mana Crystal glowed brightly. And Dante could feel that Aizen was adept at guiding the Mana in his body.

Unfortunately, that hope vanished when Aizen cast his magic spell.

"Magic of Fire, Sunblast!"

There was no fire magic coming out of Aizen's right hand or anywhere else in the class. He then thought of trying another magic spell that was not recorded in Dante's paper theory.

"Magic of Lightning, Thunder Arc!"

And once again, there wasn't any magic appearing on his right hand or anywhere else in the classroom. Indicated that he failed in Mana's manifestation of magic.

Ha ha ha!

He made the students laugh out loud because he tried twice and failed, even though he was already able to make the Mana Crystal shine brightly.

'Well, as predicted earlier, without awakening Reeva's power, no matter how much Mana I have, I won't be able to cast magic.' Aizen thought.

Dante could only lower his head and told Aizen to return to his seat and, at the same time, told the other students to be quiet.

Meanwhile, Arman clicked his tongue in displeasure at Inkgrit's previous abilities and the fact that Aizen really couldn't do magic.

'Damn it! I need to scrap the existing plans and start all over again. I need to know information about these two and a way to get rid of the fourth prince from around me.'

Arman realized that his original plan would not work with Aizen being able to use Nullifier and Inkgrit with her four basic elements.

Insulting the two of them in public would be complicated if he was lacking in preparation, even if he managed to get rid of the fourth prince.

'Should I ask the father's aide for help?

'No! Just make a plan first. Manpower issues can be taken care of later.'

Arman then smirked with his smug face. He couldn't wait for the moment when he would mortify Aizen and Inkgrit in front of all the students to happen.

'They will know who Arman Malajorg is!'

Meanwhile, Dante's learning of magic spells was over. And Aizen followed him back to his office.

"How can you use the Nullifier? That is the special ability of a Genesis Knight. No one has ever been able to do that apart from that rank."

Dante asked with a frown. He certainly couldn't judge on appearances alone because there was a possibility that a young person could become a Genesis Knight.

But in this case, Aizen didn't have Mana at all, even though he could channel Mana from the Mana Crystals in the class.

Knight, Grand Knight, and Genesis Knight were the ranks for knights capable of using Mana Aura. Even though they couldn't do magic, their bodies could accommodate a small amount of Mana, which was distributed throughout the physical body.

Apart from being used for Mana Aura, that little Mana would also give vigor and vitality to those knights so that they could have a long life like a mage.

And the Nullifier was indeed used without Mana. But, it could only be used by Genesis Knights.

So how?

"Nullifier isn't a difficult ability. And since I don't have Mana, I can use it easily. If you want, I can teach you the ability."

Dante lowered his eyes. He didn't believe Aizen's words. However, it was difficult to prove such dubious sayings wrong. After all, he only had as much knowledge about Genesis Knights as he had said before.

And he had never seen or fought directly with a Genesis Knight to know the details of the Nullifier. He only knew in theory and the rumors he had heard briefly.

Aizen dared to make up such random words knowing that the current warless era made the presence of Genesis Knights rare. No one knew much about the highest-ranking knight except certain people.

So, even if what he said sounded utter nonsense and couldn't be believed, there was nothing Dante could do.

Besides that, Aizen was a 20-year-old boy who could be categorized as not knowing what he was doing or saying.

"Fine. You may go. And please, don't neglect magic lessons. I still have faith in you."

Aizen smiled and bowed respectfully. "Thank you. I'll try my best to do that."

He was indeed capable of using magic later when Reeva's powers recovered. However, his magic would be limited to only the blue and yellow lightning elements.

It was already midday, and Aizen returned to knight class. He didn't want to waste time improving his physique.

Ainkrad saw Aizen coming and noticed that the weights were still on his hands and feet.

"You can do the exercise by yourself from warm-up to the end of the course. The others are already halfway through it."

"Yes, sir!

Aizen answered in the affirmative and started to warm up. After that, he immediately ran around the school ten times. This time, although he still felt tired, he no longer ran unsteadily, even though there was an additional 10 kg of weight on his body.

His breathing rhythm was also getting better. So, he still had a lot of stamina left after doing that run.

Meanwhile, the other fifteen students, including Ayduin, had to pant loudly because Ainkrad's training sessions were doubled for no apparent reason. And no one dared to protest, and they could only bite their fingers at the agony. In addition, the 10 kg weights have been added to their existing load.

This endless suffering was simply maddening!

All students only have such thoughts while doing exercises.

When it was late afternoon, all students had finished their courses. They could only lie on the ground while sighing irregularly.

Suddenly, they heard a gasping sound from inside the classroom's practice ground.

The voice was none other than Aizen. And that made the students wonder. Because so far, he had never been out of breath like that, even though his training was tough.

They peeked into the classroom and saw Aizen doing pull-ups without a shirt and wearing only his pants. They could also see the sweat pouring down Aizen's back, which had Maze-like line tattoos.

The students gaped at the realization that the white-haired little boy had gotten a bit bigger and muscles were starting to form.