Chapter 30 (the spiral of energy)

Victoria strided back to the podium, facing her colleagues. "Fill out and submit your forms, and as soon as we're done, let's change into the academy training suit and move down to the Mana and Aura assimilation chamber." She said as she received their course form.

Mark stood from his seat. "Why don't we discuss that as we move?" He said, clenching his fist, that sadness could be passive from his words.They all submitted their forms except Xena, who was not recognised as a student as per principal Logan's instruction. They all changed to ash-coloured, form-fitting, round neck suits with blue stripes at the seams.

Drake and Mark are fully dressed, waiting for Xena. A few minutes later, "I hope I am not late." A voice said beside them. They both turned, looking at Xena's beauty and stunned figure. Drake's heat beats faster so loudly that he could hear them. His face turned red, finding himself captivated by the beauty before him. Mark is equally taken aback. Xena stepped closer. "My Crux, is anything wrong with my dress?" her expression slightly uncomfortable. Drake blinked, clearing his throat. "No, no. It's not that. You just look a bit different than usual," his eyes widened, and he complimented her with a touch of shyness. "The other students are already on their way to the chamber building. Let's catch up to their pace, he said as he started moving. Xena rushed towards him, wrapping her hand around Drake's arm tightened to her chest.

The three of them are walking towards the Mana and Aura assimilation chamber building. "Hey, buddy, about what you asked in the hall." He started to explain. Six months ago, The Diamond Mage Academy suffered a devastated and horrified genocide during the current senior student promotion test. Each student was assigned a different task to complete individually, but during their assessment, they became prey to lurking Crimson Rot at the Rotwalker stage. These predators, like serpents in the grass, attacked the promising students as if they were tasked to do so.Only 10 of the 42 students survived. Among the dead is Mike, Mark's twin brother, who tenaciously stayed to protect the village he was tasked with.

Drake, who had been listening, interrupted. "My deepest condolences. But wait, if Mike is your twin brother, that means you're the same age, right? Why don't you join him at that time?" He enquired confusedly. "That's because we have different beliefs about strength." Mark explained. "He believed that by coming here he could achieve his goal, while I believed that by honing my strength using family techniques I could achieve mine."

"Then why did you change your mind?" Drake inquired. "I decided to carry on his goal." Mark replied. "I don't know him, but I'm sure he would have preferred you achieve yours instead of burdening yourself with his own goal." Mark raised his head, signing heavily. "We both shared the same goal, which is to become the greatest war mage. The only difference is the process. So right now, I'm carrying both mine and his goals on my shoulders."

Their discussion continues as they catch up with other students at the chamber building. The Mana and Aura assimilation chamber is divided into three rooms: the Assimilation Vacuum chamber, a room with 50 suites designed with special mana circuits that help in mana absorption; the Mana and Aura Check-In Room, where mana pool and aura core capacity are examined; and the Enchanting Chamber, where mage students practice their spells.

In the Mana and Aura Check-In room, the room hummed with a thousand unseen voices as students gathered around Professor Leo. A stone circle alter crafted in a concrete cylindrical shape with a 30 cm radius and a height of 5.9 meters stands at the centre of the room, with sigils etched on its surface. "Let's begin today's class." Professor Leo urged, clapping his hands. The noise receded like a tide, leaving behind an expansion of quiet.

"Today I will guide you through Mana core capacity and Mana rings before the evaluation. As we all know, the highest mana ring a mage can manifest around their heart is nine rings. Just like the planets orbiting the sun, the mana rings also required specific levels of mana pool capacity to stabilise and function properly as they increased. If a mage attempts to create additional rings around their heart when the mana pool capacity is low, the extra ring will become a burden on the mana pool, resulting in hearts explosion during battle or even during the ring creation process."

 "This evaluation, traditionally, was always conducted near the end of training. However, two sets of students before yours. progressed significantly only to find their hearts exploded at the end of the training. In response, the academy had adjusted the school program to conduct this evaluation twice, once before the training begins and near the end. This is to help students understand their mana pool conditions." He crossed his arms behind him.

"There are four stages for the mana pool, which is also used in the mage's ranking system. Mage from first circle to fourth circles are called Mage Apprentice, with 1,500-5000 units of mana. Mage from the fifth and sixth circles are called Mage Expert, possessing 5000–12,000 units of mana. The Mage Master stage, encompassing the seventh and eight circles, has 12,000–30,000 units of mana, and lastly, Archimage, the ninth circle mage, boasts 30,000–100,000 units worth of mana. So let's begin the evaluation.

The silence shattered into a thousand pieces, each fragment a worried question, a hopeful whisper, a trembling voice.