Free muttered, "Whose voice was that just now?"
Instructor Boger called out to Free loudly again, "Free!! What are you doing!?"
"Sorry, sorry, sir..."
Free started at the magic release area, raising his hands and attempting to cast magic.
A sequence of words flashed in his mind, and Free began speaking them aloud, unleashing an unusual attack.
"Curse Impact!"
Chunks of gem stones shattered, releasing everything contained within.
All the absorbed power scattered in every direction.
Everyone present was shocked by what happened and fell silent in awe.
"Phew, it worked," Free felt relieved after finishing. The nervousness he had felt earlier was now gone.
Gil approached Free and praised him. "Free, what was that? Amazing."
Seria responded to the event, "That's not magic, that's a curse."
Gil replied matter-of-factly, "No wonder I didn't sense any magical energy nearby."
"What? I don't have magical energy?" Free was puzzled by Gil's statement.
Gil clarified, "You do have mana, of course, but your mana isn't reacting."
Free responded with a blank expression, "You're only telling me this now?"
Instructor Boger scolded Free for acting against instructions. "Free! This isn't a Shaman class. We're practicing basic magic."
Free grumbled inwardly upon hearing that.
'Well, what's the difference… so annoying.'
"Sorry, sir, I still can't control my mana to use it properly."
Instructor Zen, who was quite kind, eased the tension and gave encouragement.
"It's okay, this is only the first day. Alright everyone, class ends here for today. Practice and develop your magical energy!"
"Don't be lazy… you are the hope of this country and of humanity. Dismissed!"
Instructor Boger's words hit like a gunshot.
0
All the students dispersed—some returned to class, some practiced with others, or just wandered around the Academy.
Free, Gil, and Seria went their separate ways.
Free walked down the corridor bored, not knowing what to do.
He was confused about what he wanted to do. Gil and Seria… they both had their own matters, so this time Free was alone.
"What should I do? I was told to practice… but alone… whatever, practicing alone might be more fun. Maybe the forest would be good… which forest? If I'm not mistaken, there's a forest near Jurga, maybe I'll go there."
Free went to the forest casually. Upon arriving—
Crrreeeek
!!!!
"Who's there!?" Free asked cautiously.
???: "Shock Bolt!"
A shock attack of wind magic flew toward Free at high speed.
Free used the curse from words to defend himself. "All attacks are meant to be reflected, Reverse Mirror!"
A mirror appeared, reflecting the Shock Bolt back at its user.
"Ahhhh"
A loud scream was heard.
Free approached the source of the sound and found someone fully covered in clothing. Free asked cautiously about their identity and why they attacked him.
"Why are you attacking me? And who are you? I don't remember doing anything that would make me your enemy."
Free asked carefully, trying to stay calm.
"You think I'd talk just like this? Don't joke. Besides, what did you do with my attack just now? Reverse Mirror? I've never heard of it. And that's clearly not magic."
The answer he received was unsatisfying; Free didn't understand any of it. "I don't understand… who are 'they'?" Free thought to himself.
"That just now was a curse; I turned words into power, as I said…" Free replied hesitantly.
"I see… whatever it is, I don't care… My goal is still to eliminate you. Because my companions have arrived, you'll end here." He said with a hint of sarcasm.
From all directions, the person's companions appeared—standing on large tree branches, behind bushes, basically everywhere.
"You're a bit troublesome; I don't want to get into conflict with them," Free muttered, holding his head and realizing how annoying this was.
However, Free felt neither fear nor danger. He even changed his mindset, thinking this could help him train his magic.
The attackers began to assault Free with magic and physical attacks, trying to injure him with their weapons.
But Free remained unharmed. Every attack they launched stopped and reflected just a few inches away from him. They were stunned and couldn't believe such power existed. They tried their strongest magic, but it made no difference.
"What did you do! None of our attacks hit you, can a curse really do that!?" one of them protested.
Meanwhile, Free tried to sense the flow of mana in his body to control it, hoping to use magic. But all he could use was curses. Frustrated, Free couldn't control his magic.
They lost confidence and began to flee. But Free, frustrated, wouldn't let them escape. He used his curse to erase them. "You've played enough, haven't you? Now it's my turn… the living never live, the dead never exist, all laws obey me, you all… vanish." A phrase imbued with unimaginable power erased all the attackers completely.
Free felt slightly irritated that he couldn't use magic. After the incident, he continued practicing until evening approached.
As night fell, Free returned to Jurga and went back to his dormitory. Upon arrival, Gil was already waiting, with Seria beside him. "Where have you been? It's the first day; did you get lost?" Seria asked, slightly worried.
"No way he got lost—maybe, considering this morning."
"I didn't get lost, just wanted some fresh air after practicing mana control."
"And did you succeed?" Seria asked curiously. "Not at all, I only used a curse earlier."
"Yeah, I figured, nothing can be mastered that quickly, especially for someone just starting," Seria replied firmly.
"Well, it's okay if you can only rely on curses, especially since yours are really strong. There's also a Shaman class here—learning and developing curses. The important thing is not to give up!" Gil encouraged Free.
"I guess you're right. I'll clean up… You're getting ready for dinner, right? I'll catch up."
"Alright then, we'll go ahead. Hurry to join us later."
Gil and Seria left Free and went to the cafeteria to prepare for dinner. Free also cleaned himself up before heading to dinner.
"What a… tiring day, and troublesome too."
It was his first day. He enjoyed it enough and couldn't wait for the days to come.