Vol.01: Ch.22: Burden of Mana - The Consequence Of Depletion

The blue-haired girl led the group toward Athena's office.

She glanced behind and noticed the group silently walking behind her.

She noticed Emma and Ariel glaring at her and she smiled while thinking, 'These two are so protective of their men. It seems that the rumors are true. Lady Emma and Lady Ariel are madly in love with Darell and Eric. So cute! I can't help but tease them.'

She smirked at them and turned her head back forward and continued walking but she began to swing her hips seductively.

Emma and Ariel noticed the girl changed the way she was walking.

They glared at her and both of them had the same thought, 'This vixen is trying to seduce them!!'

They quickly looked at Darell and Eric to see if they were staring at the girl's swinging hips.

But, what they saw made them sigh in relief.

Darell was staring at the ceiling and he thought, 'The ceiling is soo beautiful! Just plain white and golden colors mixed together. T-This is s-so b-beautiful!'

Eric had his head down and he was staring at the floor as he thought, 'Wow! This floor is soo... c-clean a-and i-interesting.'

When Darell and Eric noticed Emma and Ariel looking away, they sighed in relief while thinking, 'Saved!'

A few minutes later, they arrived at Athena's office.

The girl motioned them to proceed.

Before walking away, she deliberately sent both Darell and Eric flying kisses.

She laughed at Emma and Ariel's reaction and walked away.

Then, they turned their attention to the office.

Darell asked, "Sooo... who's knocking on the door?"

He looked around and noticed them staring at him.

"Me?", He pointed at himself and they nodded.

He sighed and said, "Fine!"

He knocked on the door lightly.

* KNOCK *

* KNOCK *

Then, they waited.

A few seconds later, they heard a voice from inside, "Come in!"

Darell cautiously opened the door and saw Athena.

She was diligently arranging stacks of paperwork.

Without disturbing her, they entered her office and closed the door behind them.

Sensing their presence, she swiftly completed her task and directed her attention towards the group.

"Now that Darell is allright, may I assume that the rest of you are fit to resume your studies?", Athena asked expectantly, "I cannot tolerate any form of disruption in my classes."

Darell and his companions nodded in unison.

"In that case," Athena declared, "You would join your classes starting today."

She then, dismissed them with a wave of her hand.

They thanked her and turned around to exit the office.

However, just as they were about to exit the office, Athena ordered, "Stay behind, Darell. I have something important to discuss with you."

Darell nodded as he stayed behind while the rest left.

Athena narrowed her eyes at him and looked him up and down as she thought, 'Is he really okay? What if there is something wrong inside him? Do I need to cut him open to check?'

Darell felt a shiver run down his spine suddenly.

He asked nervously, "I-Is there something wrong with me, Instructor Athena?"

But, instead of answering, she fired back a question.

"Do you know why people fall into a deep slumber when their mana is depleted?", she asked.

Darell pondered the answer for a moment, then he shook his head.

A sigh escaped Athena's lips and she said sympathetically, "You should have known this but no problem. I would tell you."

He listened intently.

She explained, "When a person's mana is depleted, typically after using a skill, they can replenish it by consuming a mana potion. However, should one deplete their mana reserves as thoroughly as you did, the dormant mana within their body resorts to a drastic measure—it draws upon their own blood to restore itself."

She noticed the scared expression on his face and smiled as she continued, "This strain causes the heart to toil relentlessly, pumping additional blood to facilitate the mana's revival. Yet, this burdensome demand takes its toll not only on the heart but also on the brain."

She emphasized, "You have endured such an ordeal and emerged alive. You have been very lucky to do so. I ask you to take this chance seriously. "

He nodded earnestly, fully grasping the significance of the chance that he had luckily received.

She asked, "Did you understand?"

"Yes, Ma'am!", he replied.

"Very well then, go to your classes," she dismissed him before saying, "And remember, Darell, there are individuals who place their trust in you. Don't make them regret it."

Darell nodded and bid her goodbye as he exited the office.

Meanwhile, within f the second-year students' dormitory,

Abel and his subordinates were kneeling on the floor, naked.

Their bodies were cut and bruised severely.

In front of them, a figure sat on a chair and it looked at them disdainfully.

The figure had a whip in it's hand and it aimed at Abel and hit him with it.

* CRACK *

"Aaaah!", Abel shouted in pain as he held his arm where the whip struck him and glanced at it.

He saw blood leaking from a huge cut due to the whip.

He looked back at the figure and trembled in fear.

"I gave you every opportunity to achieve what you wanted.", the figure said.

It shouted angrily, "I gave you so many chances to prove your loyalty in serving me. I gave you everything! Everything!"

Abel and his subordinates trembled in fear until...

* CRACK *

"Aaah!", they shouted in pain when the figure attacked them with the whip.

The figure, undisturbed by their pain, grinned evilly and asked, "Tell me once again, HOW... DID... YOU... FAIL?"

On the opposite side of the Academy, Lilith, Emma, Eric, and Ariel were in the classroom where Athena was teaching them the basic rules to follow when reciting spell incantations.

Since they had already learnt rank 03 spells, they were exempted from learning new spells.

So, they were learning about spells and it's interconnected complexities.

While the other students were wracking their brain to understand and recite the spell incantation, Lilith, Emma, Eric and Ariel were casually reading the advanced spellcasting books.

Meanwhile, Darell entered the vast library which was located in the eastern region of the academy.

The library had three floors. They were divided according to which year the student was in.

First floor contained books that were necessary to learn and read for first-years, second floor for second-years and so on.

Each floor contained hundreds of thousands of books, the topics covered spanned the entire breadth of human knowledge.

Darell was at the library's first floor where he wandered through the aisles.

While wandering around, he noticed two students whispering to themselves as they hid their faces by the books in front of them.

He ignored them, thinking, 'It's just two people talking.'

However, when he heard them mention Abel, he stopped and listened closely.

"Did you hear? Abel and his lackeys were brutally reprimanded by the boss because they failed to complete their given task.", One of them whispered to the other.

The other student nodded but he placed his finger on his lips and whispered, "Don't talk here. Even the books have ears."

The student nodded and they turned their attention to the books.

Darell quietly moved away as a whirlwind of thoughts formed in his mind, 'Boss? Who is this boss? Abel is following someone called boss? Did this... boss ordered Abel to make trouble for me after I got the Space ability?'

He knew people were jealous of him obtaining the Space ability. He had experienced bullying and harassment but he realized that Abel was pestering him long before he had even acquired his ability.

This meant that there was something far more sinister going on.

But, instead of feeling fear, he felt excited.

Why wouldn't he?

He had the system by his side. Nobody else did.

Now, he was thrilled by this revelation and he yearned to find out who this 'boss' really was.

He walked toward an aisle and picked up a few books which he began reading.

Hours slipped away unnoticed as he tirelessly scoured the pages.

It was only when his gaze fell upon the clock on the wall that he realized the passing of time.

With a sigh of both resignation, he reluctantly closed the books.

After organizing the books within the aisle, he exited the library and walked toward the training halls.

A few minutes later, he arrived outside the halls and was met with the smiling faces of Emma, Lilith, Eric and Ariel.

The other students along with them chatted with each other while they waited for their Instructor.

This chatter was broken when Lin arrived and every student turned their attention to him.

He stood on a platform and began his lecture.

He taught them some basic rules to follow while battling beasts, etc.

A few minutes later, he concluded his lecture as he said, "I would like to remind each and everyone of you," he glanced at Darell and his friends, "this is meant to be training. Just... training. Once you can't continue, end it. Don't try to be brave here. Be brave when you are fighting in a real forest where you can die in a split second. Also, remember, this training helps to mold your physical and mental fortitude."

He glanced at everybody and asked, "Did everybody understand?"

"Yes, Sir!", the students shouted.

Lin smiled and ordered, "Then, go and begin your training."

Darell and his friends nodded earnestly and entered the training hall.

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