Haruto stood in front of a massive fortress built from stones. Sharp teeth like metal bars protrude from the gateway like gaping maw, waiting to devour him. Stonewall and sharp metal fence encased the periphery giving off an imposing look.
It's hard to think that such a structure is merely a dormitory. It gives of a different vibe then the rest of the buildings he encountered so far.
It looks old. The walls full of scratches seemingly witnessed countless battles. The stones feels ancient as if it withstood the test of time.
Haruto took a deep breath before taking a step in.
Inside, there is actually an open-roof space, an atrium, where some students hang around.
Haruto ignored such crowded area and instead lowered his head, fearing of unwanted interaction especially getting recognized.
A lot of male students wanders the halls and the more he sees, the faster he speeds up walking until he was now half running.
'Crap! Some of them looked my way as if they have something to tell me!'
Meanwhile the person in question was left with his mouth hanging and a half raised hand. The corner of his smile sadly drooped as he stared at his own hand.
After a few stairs and turns, he finally arrived before his room numbered 68.
Opening the wooden door, he didn't expect it to be quite simple and unfurnished. He remembered Yuna's room in game doesn't remotely looks like this. At the very least, hers is a lot bigger and have quite an exquisite interior design. Compared to hers, his looks like a dirt shack beside the road.
His room was small although enough for one person to live in. There is only a wooden bed, a window with a dark wooden framed, a wooden table with a single fabric treated as table mat paired with a wooden chair, a shelf with a few pieces of books, and two rectangular slabs with magical engravings. Beside the slabs is a wooden chest containing his uniforms. 2 pair for summer and winter each.
he noticed a mirror on the wall beside the door. with a laundry basket underneath.
'Come to think of it, I never knew what I looked like in this world... shoot am I ugly?'
Carefully, Haruto approached the mirror. Once he laid his eyes on his reflection, what stared back at him is a young man with black hair and black eyes. His features isn't too sharp nor to dull, just a perfect blend that would be pleasing to look at but not too much that you can't look away. Overall, he rated it as above average.
"Not bad... I look nice."
He spent some time doing poses and shouting anime lines.
Haruto plopped down on the wooden bed.
"Ow. That's a little hard."
Haruto's mind drifted to the events that has happened from the beginning. To be honest, he's actually had been full of anxiety since earlier. There is a lot of new faces and places. Paired with the thought of getting exposed somehow, added to his growing internal turmoil and unease.
Although he did already have a general plan on his course of action, what if it didn't work? What if he failed the test? He doesn't know this place at all! All he knows is the general events that will happen in the school and if he also lost that? He will no longer know what to do next.
Earlier, the only time he genuinely felt energized was when he discovered magic. It felt novel and mysterious. As if a new door appeared before him showing him countless possibilities to explore.
But now, he felt empty again.
"Why does this keep happening to me."
Haruto lied down in the wooden bed staring at the stone ceiling. The light from the glass window hitting half of his face. He stayed there for a while. No thoughts. Just looking at the cracks in the stones, as if searching for something hidden.
*knock* *knock*
A sudden knock startled him awake. He immediately stood and half run to the door.
"Coming!"
He tried opening it but the door didn't budged, only to realized it was locked. He must've unconsciously slid the lock in earlier.
Opening the door, he was greeted by a familiar sight. How can he forget that silky straight black hair and that smile that completely mesmerized him earlier?
"Hello again, my fellow student Haruto-san. My arrival might've come at a surprise considering we just talked earlier. I hope you don't mind."
"R-Reina-san? Sorry but I don't -uhh have time for a meal right now."
Haruto was a little nervous and can't think very clearly. He was not prepared for this interaction.
Reina raised her hand Infront of her mouth and let out a faint snuffle.
"Of course I am not here for that. I found some books while cleaning and thought that you might need it so I came to give it to you."
"Oh thanks."
Haruto smiled weakly and Reina noticed something off with Haruto.
"Is there something bothering you Haruto-san? I will do my best to help if it is within my ability."
"I-it's nothing. I was just worried about the exams."
"Then would you like to study together? I can also help in your training."
"Ah. I don't really want to bother you too much. Also, I am a little more comfortable in doing it myself. But I will look for you when I don't understand something or needed help."
"Then I wish for you the best. If you are looking for me, just send me a message using the Managram. That would be all. I will not take any more of your time Haruto-san."
Haruto watched Reina walked away before he retreated back to his room. He looked at the books in his hand titled, "Magic spells for beginners", "History of the world", "How the Asterion Academy came to life" and some more foundation books for physical and magic training.
Haruto smiled. He really needed this. He doesn't know why a supposedly still stranger Reina is helping this much that she would still come here herself just to give him books. Even though she is just an acquaintance, this shows that she care. Even though it probably is just her passion of helping fellow students, Haruto still felt warm inside.
He remembered how he actually lived in his previous life. It was not as peaceful as it seem, and it all kept gnawing at his mental state. The only time when he felt genuinely free is when he plays his games. Now, those memories feels fragmented. He only remembers things from time to time. Maybe due to his recent obsession of playing Asterion Academy, those memories actually stuck like glue, although he still needs to put an effort to remember it.
Reina's goodwill fueled Haruto with a new found strength. He doesn't have time for these useless self doubt.
With the books in hand, he sat on the wooden chair and begun thinking. He tried hard to remember the main plot of Asterion Academy.
At first, the story started from Yuna being admitted to the academy. She joined a class called EX-class.
Haruto didn't know where the memory came from, but all he remembered is the fact the students like her is called a seedling and is treated by the academy with great care. It probably means they were excluded from the rest of the students and the reason why at the time of his gameplay, he only really interacted with his classmates and only have one professor. As if they were being personally nurtured.
It seems like he will not be able to interact with those special students.
There are three major events in the game before the grand finale. Each occurring at some point near the end of the year. The first one is a berserk student necromancer that the EX-Class handled. Although necromancers looked evil, it is not really treated harshly in this world, although they are indeed rare. Mana Attribute seems to have some effect on people's personality and therefore the discrimination due to their weird personalities isn't gone either.
He remembered some of the game's gameplay that although you are playing as a healer, you are mostly like managing the entire class. Each student have different skillset and at some events, you can only use certain characters. These are one of the things he genuinely enjoyed.
After the Berserk necromancer, They got sent out to execute different small missions issued by the empire. They of course have a teacher as a guide. However, what if that teacher is a spy by the enemy empire you got sent to? Just the thought of going to the enemies maw to served yourself in a silver platter sent a chill in Haruto's spine. It is genuinely one of the hardest part of the game. If not for the game giving you a secret character that is op, it might be impossible to finish.
And lastly, There will be an invasion where cultists tries to invade the academy and released the dragon underneath the academy. This will also lead to the inevitable awakening of the dragon spelling the end of the game.
This is what Haruto mostly remembers. Although it is weird that he clearly remembers Leonhart Ainsworth, his characteristics and likes, he can't remember the other characters. It's as if he just remembered him due to him seeing him in person.
'Wait, if the events happen at the end of the year, isn't it almost the end of the year?'
The realization struck Haruto! He could be in danger right now! But soon he realized that would only happen if the Main Character Yuna is the same year as him. he urgently needed to know and see her in person. Might as well check the calendar too.
Since there is nothing for him to do right now as the sun is already setting and he is afraid to go out and get called out by someone, he finally started looking at his things. He needed to find who he is in this world.
First, he grabbed his academic profile again. He unrolled it and immediately found his name.
Name - Haruto Kobayashi
Age - 18 years old
House - House of Kobayashi
ID - 50813954
'Hm... House Kobayashi. Is it just a coincidence it was the same as my old one? I'm curious what are their place in this world. I'll need to look for information about them at some time in the future... wait. Is this written in English? I didn't noticed earlier but the main language here seems to be English. Is it because the game's main language is English?'
Designated Subjects:
Introduction to Mana - 8:00 - 10:00 [MWF] - M301
Physical Education I - 10:00 - 12:00 [TTh] - Physical Training Grounds
Beginner Spells - 10:00 - 12:00 [MWF] - Magical Training Grounds
History I - 8:00 - 10:00 [TTh] - M301
Introduction to Alchemy - 12:00 - 14:00 - Philosophers' Lab
Introduction to Magitech Engineering - 12:00 - 14:00 - Magitech Engineering Workshop
Looking at such dense list of subjects, Haruto got a momentary shock remembering his school days. Although the amount is lesser, it is no less intimidating.
'Why do I not remember any of these subjects when I was playing? Now that I think about it, I just know that I can answer the exams based on my previous life's gameplay but when I actually try to remember any of the questions, I can't remember a single one. Do I need to review all these subjects?'
Taking another look at the subjects knowing if he do need to review it all, he will need to start from the beginning. Once again Haruto can feel the creeping anxiety eating away at his hope.
Haruto decided to not look at it anymore and leave it for later. For now, he turned his attention to the books Reina gave him. At the very least he thinks he might be a little talented at magic seeing he manages to grasp Reina's lesson earlier fairly easy.
He picked up a somehow peculiar looking book. Unlike the others with formal look and designs, it doesn't even have any background merely the words, "Magic For Dummies". It mostly looks like a notebook than an academic material, although the writings inside do look printed.
Opening the first page, written was the words, "This book doesn't correspond to the conventional use of magic nor it teaches in-depth use of magic. It merely aims to provide an out of the box approach in using magic. Contained in this book are my insight and thoughts in the control of mana."
'Conventional? What is the conventional use of magic?'
"In the Conventional use of magic, the modern mages have limited themselves by conditioning their heads to automatically cast the exact same magic via shouting the name of the spell."
'Did it heard my thoughts?'
"Yes-"
Haruto was startled.
"-, the exact same magic even down to the process and amount of mana used."
'It was just a coincidence. What am I doing being so distracted?'
"They were too obsessed with lowering the difficulty so everyone can be a mage that they forgot that the most crucial thing in magic is control. Once you mastered everything in this book, you won't be limited by the amount of mana you possessed but by the mana in your surroundings and your imagination."
'What?! Isn't this too good to be true? Did Reina-san got scam or something?'
"The thing they call physique that influences the mana you use is not real! They have been looking at this wrong and no one wants to believe what I say because they are too incompetent to prove it true. You are not supposed to use the mana in your body."
These words left Haruto dumbfounded.
'Isn't that how you are supposed to use mana? That's what they do too in anime and games.'
"Have you ever wondered why fire attribute mages doesn't get burned by the fire even though it sits on top of their hands? They say you can't get hurt by your own magic and when you let go, it is no longer yours so it will hurt you if it exploded on your hand. They didn't explained it clearly, but the main reason is because you wrapped the magic with your own mana of the same attribute. The mana is contained and therefore can't affect you. However, releasing the mana is like removing the protective coating of your magic."
'Wait... doesn't this mean, I can just coat myself in mana of the same attribute and I will be invulnerable to that attribute?'
As if answering him, the next words directly pour cold water to him.
"However, trying to create a net or barrier such as coating yourself with the same attribute and mana will not make you invulnerable to that same attribute magic. Although it will do make you more resistant to that magic by absorbing the portion of it, unless you can perfectly wrap your mana around the magic and letting it flow according to the fire magic's mana's current, smoothly wrapping around it and transferring the control of that magic to you, which with the control required would be near impossible, just a small friction between your and the fire magic's mana can trigger the release of the contained energy. Not to mention the ancient technique of adding impurities to magic by adding small amount of some other mana in order to stop others from taking control of the magic and easily penetrate defenses."
'So that would be too much for a small return... wait you can add other mana in magics?'
"Now returning to the mana in your body, those actually makes you less prone from magic attacks. Using them can make you susceptible to magic. What we are suppose to control is the world around us. This is the true path of magic."
After reading the introduction, Haruto feels like he found a different understanding of magic. It feels more real. As if the magic he knew was fake magic and this is the way to truly use it.
Then he noticed it was getting a little dark. It was already reaching night. Looking around, there doesn't appear to be anything he can use as a source of light.
"How am I suppose to read in the dark?!"
Once again panicking, he dashed to the wooden chest searching for anything that would look like it can provide light. All he found was some gold coins and a moneybag under his clothes.
He tried looking under the bed, the fabric, in his pockets, until he tried looking outside. He did found out that there seem to be a source of light at the ceiling of the halls, which is why the hallway is well lit. He noticed that there indeed seem to be a sphere embedded in the ceiling of his room, although he can't figure out for the life of him the mechanism to turn it on. So he just decided to go outside of his room and sit in front of his door to read.
"In order to start, you must first be able to control the mana in your surroundings. We will start with exercises that can help in familiarizing with the mana in the environment."
'Is this the Outer Circulation Reina was talking about? Isn't that for higher years? Did she accidentally gave me this book or maybe she just gave it to me in advance.'
In the next pages are illustration of a clearly hand-drawn figures doing different things, with words underneath.
"Here are exercises for each attributes that you can do in order to master and familiarize in them. If the attribute you would like to master isn't any of these note that the concept of these exercise is merely repeating an action using mana continuously that you will subconsciously control the mana like it's one of your appendages."
Haruto immediately skipped through until he found the one with the wind attribute. That was the one he was most familiar of and by familiar, he used it once.
In the page was an illustration of a figure with some line the looks like it is blowing to him.
"Feel the mana around you. Try to find the mana that feels like it is windy. Mana in the surroundings is quite composite and is a spectrum of other manas. You will need to look quite thoroughly. If your only experience is using mana from your body and never tried to dissect the mana in your surroundings, this might take you a couple of months if you are not talented"
"Months?! I don't believe it!"
And so with the belief that he is a talented person, He spent the whole night trying to sense the mana in the surrounding without even knowing how to dissect them. The only thing he managed to achieve is to sense that there is indeed an indescribable chaotic amalgamation of an energy like the mana he sensed earlier and he noticed in one of his mental breakdown episodes that there is actually a clock at the top of the doorway. That was when he realized that he spent 6 hours to only prove that mana indeed exist in the surrounding.
Haruto felt tired and exhausted mentally and physically and decided to call it a day. He might as well look for Reina's help again tomorrow instead of stubbornly wasting time for little results.
He laid down the wooden bed, before deciding he likes the cold and smooth floor more and laid there.
He was not even able to close his eyes before the thought that he only have less than a week and he also still need to review 6 subjects from scratch, learn to fight both physically and with magic, and gather information about the world and himself.
He had another meltdown before he laid there like a dead fish and drifted to sleep.
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"I don't get it."
"Is that a pentagram?"
Dark circles under his eyes made Haruto look like someone sucked the soul out of him.
Beside him is Adrian no less miserable looking than him.
Apparently, Adrian sneaked out to do midnight training and was on the way back, but there was a random person in the hallway. He can't let anyone see him since he would get reprimanded as there is a curfew set after 22:00, so he waited till the student go away but they just sat down and stayed there for a few hours in the hallway. When they finally left, Adrian already fell asleep in the bushes. When he got back, he can no longer fall asleep.
Meanwhile in the morning, Haruto took quite a while to find the way to the bath house of the boy's dormitory. He didn't know there is a cabinet at the lower part of the shelf. That was were the casual clothes were stored, so he actually just slept in his uniform.
They were now back in the classroom with a professor upfront discussing something about pentagrams as a way to store magic in scrolls. Unfortunately, none of the two understood a word. They finally finished and were allowed to leave.
"You got some plans?"
Adrian asked Haruto that seems to be lost in thought.
"Yeah. There is something I don't understand. I was going to ask Reina-san, the Student Council President, for help."
Adrian looked at Haruto in shock.
"I never knew you were braver than I thought! You two know each other?"
"I met her yesterday. She helped me with things. She's very beautiful and kind. Her partner is definitely a lucky guy."
Adrian sighed and shook his head as if he just lost a loved one.
"Of all people, it just has to be her! Why would you fall for that devil! She might be accommodating and kind, but that was just on the surface. People say, when she got a hold of a business as a test from their house, all of her competitor just disappeared and she got monopoly in that area. Who knows what will happen to you if you cross her. That's why people tend to avoid her and when she run as the president, she won uncontested."
"I never said I liked her that way! We're just acquaintance and I still think those are just rumors. I believe what I see."
Adrian patted him on the shoulder and looked at him with pity.
"My friend. I think you are long gone. Don't worry, I will pass on the message to your family when you went missing that you are an unfilial son and ran away with a lady from another house."
Haruto looked at him dumbfounded. He can't resist to playfully grab him by the neck with his arm and rub his fist on top of his head.
"I'm serious brother! She's a red flag you should avoid h-"
Suddenly, Adrian's laughter got caught in his throat and his expression turned horrified. In front of them is a female student with silky black hair.
"I-I-I-I-"
"Oh, Reina-san. Don't worry about him. He's just joking."
Reina smiled.
"I know. Anyway, I was actually thinking of acquiring the land around your marquisdom. May I discuss the matter with you, Adrian-san?"
"Y-Y-You-"
Adrian almost passed out on those words.
"Oh my, I was just joking. I would never dare to acquire those piece of land where the entire livelihood of the house Crestfall lies. That would be quite disrespectful."
Reina covered her mouth and let out a faint laugh. Haruto seems to understand now where Adrian is coming from.
"Why are you here Reina-san? Do you have class in this floor?"
"Yes. The designated room for my class is quite near."
"Actually, I was going to look for you because I got stuck at something I can't understand. Would you mind eating in the cafeteria together?"
"Of course not. I would love to be of help."
At this point Adrian once again came alive on Haruto's arms and tried to get away but before he could take a step, the temperature went cold as ice formed underneath Reina towards Adrian's feet, locking the sole of his shoe in place. Adrian looked at Haruto with the word help written on his face.
"Adrian-san, would you like to join us to have lunch?"
"C-can I pas-"
Without even letting him finish, the ice suddenly crept up to the side of his shoe.
Meanwhile, Haruto was more focused on Reina's use of magic.
"Ah- Y-yes I will join please let me go Reina."
Without a warning, the temperature dropped a few degrees and Adrian's lower legs was incased in ice.
"I never let you use my first name."
"AH! Please let me go Miss Reina, Lady Reina, the most beautiful lady on this world, I still love my legs..."
"Reina-san that's a little too far."
Haruto now too, looked at Reina, begging to stop.
Reina snapped out and smiled at Haruto.
"Don't worry I didn't actually froze his legs. I just encased them in ice. I just want to tease him a little."
Immediately right after, the ice around Adrian's legs broke and disappeared. Temperature returned to normal.
Adrian hurriedly checked his legs. Nothing seemed to be wrong, and his shoes and pants isn't even wet as if all that happened is a bad dream.
Adrian's fear of Reina magnified by ten-fold. He now understand why he heard some calling her the ice devil.
"Then let us head to the cafeteria. I am sure you would not like to waste anymore time, Haruto-san."
'You're the one who wasted our time!'
Of course, Adrian only said it in his head.
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In the cafeteria, Haruto and Adrian sat together with Reina sitting across them. The sight of Reina sitting across two male students garnered some strange looks from others. It's not envy though, but more of pity.
Adrian ate meekly with his head bowed down as if trying to not make eye contact.
"What would you like to ask of me Haruto-san?"
"I read one of the books you gave me yesterday. It was the 'Magic for Dummies' one. I was having a hard time sensing the wind mana in the surroundings. All I achieve is sense a chaotic energy."
"Oh, you started reading that one first?"
"As expected, is it for higher years? Was it a method for Outer Circulation?"
"Not necessarily. Outer Circulation is merely making use of the surrounding mana to replenish your own. However there are parts in that book that is not taught anywhere else. You are quite fortunate Haruto-san. That book is something I cherish, although yours is a mere copy and the original is still in my possession."
Haruto was surprised she would give something that valuable to someone else.
"Then isn't this too valuable to give to me?"
"It is a token of thanks for the wonderful time we spent together. In any case, not everyone can understand nor would like to use the contents of that book as you most likely already read, it doesn't teach the conventional ways of magic. Not only is it harder to learn than what they teach us here, those who is already very deep at the conventional magic will find it nigh impossible to revert their magic paradigm to learn it. As for the problem you encountered, would you like to train with me? I assure you Haruto-san, I am the most suitable person to teach you the contents of that book in this school."
Adrian who has his head down the whole time finally raised his head a little, peeking over the two. His eyes narrowed down to slits full of suspicion looking at the two.
"Well, if it isn't too much trouble."
Reina clapped her hands and smiled.
"That's settled then! I will be waiting for you in the Magical Training Grounds."
Right after she spoke, Haruto noticed the familiar blond hair approaching. She no longer wear a maid dress but a female uniform with a pin engraved with a dragon.
'She was a student?'
Mina leaned over and whispered something to Reina's ear before flashing Haruto a faint smile.
"It appears I have some urgent matter to attend to. It was a pleasure to dine in with you two."
Reina stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Only then did Adrian finally regained his energy.
"Did you fed her something? What did you do my dear brother Haruto."
Adrian looked at Haruto, his suspicion fully unconcealed.
"What? Why would you even think that?"
"All I see is a head over heels young maiden. I suspect she doesn't even have plans to eat here. I mean just look at her sit! She didn't even touched her food! I bet there is nothing urgent. She just left after getting you to promise to train with her."
"You're thinking too much. She's just very kind. Even if she does like me, it's not wrong nor it would be that deep. We just met yesterday."
"You're not that dense brother! She didn't even looked at me, nor her food. She's just staring at you the whole time! If stares can drill holes, you wouldn't be existing right now. Gone. Reduced to atoms."
"How do you even know what atoms are? After what you said to her earlier, no wonder she won't even talk to you."
"Then what about her book? Surely you wouldn't just gift something valuable to someone you just met?"
"Hm... It is a little weird."
"See?"
"..."
"..."
"Eh, you're just thinking things."
"Brother!"
Haruto just continued eating his food while Adrian is genuinely already pulling at his hair.
"I'm trying to save you. All I said earlier were not lies! That girl is trouble and it's better to avoid her."
"That's not nice. All I see is a nice and kind girl that like to help people and is just trying to make friends. Maybe she doesn't have a lot of friends because of people like you! You just judged her because of rumors."
"I- fine! If you really want to befriend her, I won't stop you! But I swear by my name that I, Adrian von Crestfall, will be always watching you two. If she wants to take my friend, over my dead body!"
"I'm touched, but that's creepy. Please don't."
"Well, you should get going then. Don't let the lady waiting. I will be at the physical training grounds if you need me."
Adrian then put his hand inside his uniform and took out a small pocket watch. Surprised, Haruto also tried searching for a pocket inside his uniform. He might also had some pocket watch to tell the time there, but unfortunately this uniform is new and he left the other one in the laundry basket.
Adrian finished his food and left while Haruto headed for the Magical training grounds.
It was quite a massive field. There are dummies everywhere built from different kind of materials. The field was enclosed by a spherical shaped structure with no roof. At the front is a reception desk. Beside is Mina in her uniform seemingly waiting for him.
"Apologies Kobayashi-san, but Reina-sama will take a while. I was task to guide you to the training area. Please change your clothes first into your training gear."
"I-I don't have a training gear."
For a moment, Mina furrowed her brows before smiling.
"It appears you are not very familiar with Training grounds in general. There is a room where you can find training clothes. They are provided by the facilities. Please follow me."
Cold sweat poured on Haruto's back. He can feel Mina's suspicion. He didn't know how to answer so he just chose to be honest.
Mina brought him to a room just behind the reception desk.
There, sets of training gears hang so Haruto just changed into them and went out. When he stepped outside, Mina is already in her training gear genuinely surprising Haruto but he didn't questioned it.
They walked for a while. The Magical Training grounds is actually quite huge. It's like they weren't inside a building although it's more like a spherical wall than a building.
At some point, they arrived infront of an elevated arena built from stone slabs.
"This is one of the arenas scattered around the facility. You will be training with Reina-sama in here. Please wait as I inform Reina-sama of your arrival."
Mina bowed before leaving.
Haruto, left alone, decided to continue what he left on last night and sat down on the ground. He once again tried to sense the mana in his surrounding. Last time, he only tried to sense the mana and all he found is some unrecognizable energy. This mana is supposed to be a mixture of different manas, but how is he suppose to find the wind mana in it?
Like coffee, once mixed, it's almost impossible to separate the water and coffee. So how does he separate the manas?
'Hmm... Outer circulation. Replacing Mana with the mana from the surrounding. But how do I control the mana from the surroundings?'
Unable to figure it out, Haruto just tried to make another air ball like last time. However, taking inspiration from the book about control, he tried to control the ball.
'This feels weird, as if I had another part of my body that is immaterial. It reminds me of those Chinese cultivation novels' Divine sense. Maybe I can shape it? But I will need to change the mana. I can't see air.'
Now, instead of wind, he called forth the fire mana in his body. A small flame sprouted on his palm.
"Woah! That looks so cool!"
Excited, Haruto immediately tried the concept written in the book. If Magic is just coated by your mana, and he control his mana, maybe by changing the shape of his mana can let him change the shape of his magic.
Haruto immediately went to work and controlled his mana and formed a skull with his flame. It was quite hard, but he managed to make a flaming skull although it deforms a bit sometimes. Satisfied, another thought came to mind.
Looking around, once he was sure there was no one, he formed a sexy female figure with water mana. Then he somehow made it dance using his utmost focus.
He didn't notice a group of people approaching.
"Who are you and why are you in MY arena? Get your sorry ass out of here!"
Surprised, Haruto lose control of the magic and it exploded on his face.
"Huh? I am waiting for someone."
"I don't care! Everyone knows this is my, Uzled Rudigan's, territory. Unless you want a beating get out of here!"
Haruto doesn't know him. It was a thug looking wannabe with his piercings and dark makeup paired with his spiky hair. Even his two henchmen look the same. Is this still a noble?
"I don't know who you are, but this is where me and my friend agreed to meet. You don't own this place."
Uzled just went pass Haruto not without bumping to him with enough force to make Haruto lost balance and almost fell. Uzled just smirked and went up the arena.
"What's wrong with you?! I didn't do anything to you. Why are you being a dick!"
Uzled just spat at him with a mocking expression.
"You got a problem? Why don't you come up here for a beating?"
Haruto's fist curled to a ball. Veins popping up and he can feel himself steaming. However, he doesn't know the strength of the enemy nor how to fight with magic. If anything, the worst thing that could happen is a fight. Therefore, he can only stare at Uzled with rage.
"I don't like how you're looking at me."
Raising his hand, Uzled suddenly shouted "Fireball". Haruto didn't expect him to actually try to injure other student and was hit square in the face.
The knockback threw him to the ground.
Uzled just laughed.
"What a weakling! Can't even fight back."
In a place a bit farther away, secluded by trees, Reina sat on a branch with Mina standing under her.
"You're quite mean Reina-sama. You actually led him to that chunibyo. Can he beat a pure attribute mage? Look at him lying there. That must have hurt."
"I just want to test his strength a little. Although I didn't expect Uzled to be so bold."
The temperature dropped a bit as Reina's eyes turned cold.
"Although injuries can be healed, but he will still feel pain. Maybe a couple of hair burnt too."
Temperature dropped a couple more degrees.
On the ground, Haruto slowly stood up. Thankfully he remembered the words from the book and coated his face with fire mana before it hit him. It was not as ineffective as the book described and all he felt is just knockback, but it was rushed, and as a result, he can smell some burnt hair. This just made him snapped.
"Oh, wanna fight now huh? As long as you're not heavily injured no one will care! I hope you last dumbass!"
Haruto didn't talk. He just walked up calmly. Uzled once again raised his hand and shouted fireball, once again aiming for his face.
Without stopping, Haruto just raised his hand and slapped the fireball back. It flew towards one of Uzled's Goons and he flew back. Not knowing the technique of wrapping yourself in mana, it actually burnt his hair and some of his skin. He laid there unconscious.
"W-what?"
Uzled can't believe his eyes. He has never seen something like this before.
At the tree.
"D-did he just deflected a fire magic?"
Mina was shocked. She didn't expect this from someone that looks like he just learnt magic yesterday.
'Is he actually hiding his strength? Then that would meant he's just pretending last time. Could his motive actually be the young miss or something else?'
Meanwhile, Reina smiled.
"It seems he is more talented than I thought. He already learnt how mana flow in magic and how to transfer the control of magic."
In truth, it was just a gamble. Haruto earlier before he got hit in the face, as he was channeling the fire mana, due to him rushing made his mana scatter like spilling a liquid. He momentary noticed that he could actually feel that fire mana in his surrounding is getting pulled towards his fire magic and following it. Then the fireball first made contact with his fire mana, his mana actually got pulled as if there is a current in the fire ball making his mana wrap around the fire ball.
However, when he tried to control the mana to try and move the fireball, his mana got suddenly rigid from the control and stopped flowing along the current of the fire magic. This caused friction that made the fire magic explode.
Anyways, the fireball isn't actually too powerful, and it won't hurt to try.
As Haruto was laying on the ground, a thought came to his mind. What if he coat his hand with fire mana and make it flow the same way as the fireball earlier? This should allow him to hit the magic like a solid object without triggering it to explode.
Looking at the successful experiment, Haruto smiled. He's no longer mad at Uzled. Instead, he was actually thankful. He just gave him the answer on how to progress.
"This will be fun."