Mana

"Let's start with mana. Mana is like oxygen that living beings can utilize. As for oxygen, we use it for breathing and cellular respiration. But mana is also something entirely different. We use it to disorganize our world at a quantum level—not just for our mana hearts. Making plants suddenly grow out of barren soil, shooting fireballs with no fuel at all, or creating tsunami out of thin air, are just examples of how we disorganize earth. It is also said that mana is actually a living thing that is very subservient, but also very giving..."

After explaining more carefully the points above, the instructor moved to the next topic.

"And with this brings the mana blessing. It is guaranteed for everyone who had their mana heart stimulated to have at least one blessing. In ancient times, when magicians plead to mana for their blessing, strange characters appear out of thin air, that when translated to human language, become something like a poem. But in this age, scrolls or paper—that are incubated in concentrated vapor mana for some time and are configured by mages with 'mana language' utility magic—easily do the trick of translating and imprinting the strange characters."

Zeel explained more of the topic at hand before moving to the next.

"After that, we go to incantations. Incantations are just means to an end. They are just a way for you to complete something. When you read your blessing from the scroll, you will automatically cast a spell. But the casting of that spell is not what we really care about. The image that formed in our mind and the sensation we feel during the incantation are things that you should take note of and give prioritize. If you can guide the mana in your body from that sensation, and also imagine that image in your mind, then you can instantly cast that spell even without using incantation."

Josh was eagerly listening to the instructor. Sometimes he writes on his yellow pad, while sometimes he writes on his palm. The things that he has read in the library about magic before seemingly got clearer. An instructor explaining topics is surely better than three middle-aged men showing signs of dementia.

"With all of these said and done, the plant magic department will give you two scrolls every year in your four years of stay in this department. The exchange for this is that you give a copy of your scroll given by the mana blessing. Rest assured, the scrolls we will give you are not subpar on quality. But this is not compulsory. And even if you don't give your scroll, you can also get these scrolls through academy points. But, of course, these copies of scrolls will vary in price according to the rarity of magic and also its effects. I'm telling you now, the prices of these scrolls are very high. So, I encourage you to just contribute to expanding the academy's scroll resources."

"Lastly, for you to move to the second year, you must be capable of instantly casting one spell. If you haven't done that yet, then you will only be eligible to attend first-year classes. You will also not get the two scrolls promised for the next year until you complete this requirement. This academy doesn't want magicians only capable of reciting poems. We want 'true and capable' magicians. And, if by chance, you got stuck in the first to the third year for six years, then you will automatically be dropped out of the academy. The probationary dormitories building only has limited rooms after all. We can't take care of slackers."

"That's all. Don't forget to get your free scrolls in the scroll store. Each student with only one magic will receive two, while those with nature magic and utility magic will receive four. Don't worry though. Only one incantation will come out of each mana blessing. So, you may buy more scrolls if you happened to be gifted with more than two blessings. Goodbye."