A Wild Man Has Entered the Academy

TLed by NolepGuy

Chapter 49

In the Soul World, there exist techniques that can evolve into traits.

First Aid lays the foundation for evolving into ‘Regeneration,’ and Condensation transforms into a trait as its mastery increases.

When a superior trait like Regeneration replaces First Aid, the previous trait disappears. However, it doesn’t vanish completely.

As I mentioned earlier, it ‘evolves’ into a superior trait, meaning it rarely just ceases to exist.

‘You have to progress step by step to obtain the superior traits.’

Let’s take boxing and combat as examples. If I acquire various techniques for Kara in the future, boxing will disappear and evolve into combat.

In this case, combat will encompass boxing, meaning it doesn’t truly vanish.

But my Condensation just went poof—disappeared. It wasn’t taken back, so I have no idea what’s going on.

Even searching through my memories, I don’t recall such a case. If nothing had appeared from the start, I might have let it go.

The only thing that comes to mind is the Red Mana. Since it’s said to be compatible with it, this might be deeply related.

Moving forward, the abilities Gloria will teach require us to manifest mana on the surface, so everyone is likely to pay attention.

“Now that things have calmed down, it’s time for me to teach you.”

After some time passed, during which I may or may not have mastered Condensation, Gloria began her lesson.

She kept glancing at me with an uneasy expression, likely because of my earlier actions.

Thinking I might need attention, she had Kara stick close to me—so close that even a slight movement would make our skin touch.

Luna is here too, so I’m not sure why she stuck Kara to me, but I’m sure she has her reasons. My job is just to learn.

“What I’m going to teach you is similar to Condensation. It’s called ‘Engraving.'”

“Engraving? Isn’t that a term used for refining gemstones?”

“Exactly. Let me show you what it is.”

Siiing—

Actions speak louder than words. Instead of explaining, Gloria pulled out her sword.

It was a rapier, perfectly suited for thrusting, clearly reflecting her preferred style.

Wuuung—

Soon, a blue mana band began forming around the rapier. This happens when mana is infused into a weapon.

“As you all know, infusing mana into a weapon grants various effects. The most representative ones are durability and cutting power. You’re aware of this, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then what happens if you push mana to its maximum limit?”

“Wouldn’t its power increase?”

Luna tilted her head as she answered. Technically, that’s correct.

The more mana you infuse into a weapon, the stronger its power becomes. The only question is whether the weapon can withstand it.

Back in the forest, we only had disposable weapons like stone axes or stone spears. At least Ragnarok has a high chance of enduring.

“That’s correct too. But unless it’s an exceptional weapon, it’s hard to contain mana beyond a certain limit. Here’s the problem.”

Gloria, who had been explaining gently, raised her index finger and posed a question.

“What happens if a weapon containing mana beyond its limit collides with another weapon?”

“Wouldn’t it explode?”

Kara muttered an answer, almost to herself. Her extensive combat experience made it an immediate response.

“Correct. They would go boom! and explode. Both sides would suffer significant damage as a result.”

“Then can’t you just increase the limit with Condensation?”

This time, it was Luna’s question. Since she had just learned Condensation from Chronos, it was a reasonable thought.

However, as Gloria explained at the beginning, Condensation and Engraving are similar yet different.

Gloria, seemingly anticipating this question, smiled softly and began her explanation.

“That’s one way, but Engraving isn’t about that. The key is how sharply you refine the mana exposed on the surface. While Condensation greatly expands storage space, Engraving is the process of meticulously refining the mana itself.”

“Hmm······”

Luna let out a contemplative hum, tilting her head. She still seemed unsure.

To make it easier to understand, let’s use clay as an example. Condensation is like kneading clay to make it as small as possible.

“It’s natural to feel confused. In reality, Condensation and Engraving complement each other. Mastering Condensation will help you grasp Engraving, and vice versa.”

And Engraving is like shaping that clay into a form. This is why they are complementary.

At first glance, one might wonder why not skip Condensation and focus solely on Engraving. After all, the larger the clay, the easier it is to shape.

That’s fine, but Condensation is essential because it maximizes storage space.

Additionally, while larger clay is easier to shape, the increased volume makes the process more labor-intensive.

“Then why not just learn one? I’ve always been taught that focusing on one thing leads to mastery······”

Still puzzled, Luna tilted her head and asked another question. She still didn’t seem to fully understand.

“That’s a valid point. But such cases are extremely rare. Have you ever heard the phrase ‘All rivers flow to the sea’?”

“Ah! I’ve heard of it. Doesn’t it mean that all streams eventually merge into one?”

Luna, unusually animated, answered enthusiastically. Her usually dim eyes sparkled with energy.

Even Gloria was taken aback, muttering, “Oh?” in surprise. There was a specific reason for Luna’s excitement.

‘Because it’s something her master taught her.’

According to the setting, Luna’s master had taught her that phrase. She likely had no idea it originated in the East.

The fact that it was something she knew, and that it was connected to her master, made her excited.

“So that phrase came from the East? I had no idea.”

“······Anyway! Both Condensation and Engraving ultimately lead to the vast ocean of mana. In the end, they’re just processes, and the outcome depends on the individual. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.”

“One thing to remember is that mastering mana doesn’t automatically make you skilled in martial techniques or magic. Please keep this in mind.”

Just because someone has a deep understanding of mana doesn’t mean they can slice through space like Rod.

In fact, even though my mana grade is Ex, my techniques are completely empty. I’m just ridiculously strong.

My hardware is top-notch, but my software is a disaster.

“I’ve gone on a bit too long. Let me show you what Engraving is.”

Wuuung—

Gloria infused mana into her rapier once again. A faint blue band formed around her sword.

At this point, it seemed like an ordinary situation. If you simply infuse mana, that’s what happens.

“Now, if you use Engraving······”

Wuuung!

As Gloria trailed off and focused, the blue band grew even brighter.

The change was so noticeable that even Luna and Kara watched in amazement.

Thud—

At that moment, Chronos silently dropped an axe onto the sword. It was the same axe he had smashed down with his fist earlier.

Unlike before, the axe fell slowly, starting from the blade. Normally, it would just collide and stop, but······

Srrk!

It was cleanly sliced in half, instantly demonstrating the cutting power of Engraving.

Thud—

The halved axe rolled pitifully on the ground. For some reason, it felt strangely forlorn.

“As you can see, the cutting power has increased to an incredible level. This is the power of Engraving. Unlike Condensation, it’s difficult to learn and even harder to master, but you all surely······”

“Like this?”

While Gloria was explaining, Luna pulled out her sword to show. Her blade, though not as bright as Gloria’s, was surrounded by a clear blue band.

Gloria and Chronos’s expressions were priceless. Their disbelief was written all over their faces.

Luna’s genius, capable of absorbing just by watching, left Kara dumbfounded as she asked incredulously.

“Hey. What are you?”

“What do you mean?”

“How did you do that?”

“I just focused, and it worked. I used the Condensation we learned earlier.”

“··· ···”

Kara let out a dry laugh at Luna’s infuriatingly simple answer. Both her earlier mastery of Condensation and her genius were on full display.

By now, Gloria and Chronos were probably seriously considering bringing Luna back to their homeland.

In fact, this even led to arguments. But in the end, it was like cutting water with a knife—they always reconciled.

“But this is a bit difficult. I had to focus hard to barely manage it.”

“Th-that’s right? Normally, it’s a little······ hard to learn······”

Gloria spoke in a voice that had lost all confidence. In truth, Engraving is much easier to learn when taught by someone.

Humanity isn’t stupid; they’re fully capable of coming up with the idea of refining mana sharply.

It’s just that self-teaching is difficult, so people end up clumsily infusing raw mana. In other words, Luna is abnormal.

‘What should I do? This messes up my plans.’

‘I don’t know either. I could’ve guessed she’d pick up Condensation quickly, but Engraving too? That’s unexpected.’

Their originally planned schedule must have been thoroughly disrupted. You can tell just by how they’re whispering like this.

Thanks to my sharp hearing, I could catch their entire conversation. Their bewilderment was palpable even from here.

They had planned to use teaching Luna and me as an excuse to enjoy a sweet romance, but that plan has been cut short.

‘It’s fine. There’s still Student Sivar, right? And Student Kara too.’

‘That’s true, but······ what if those two learn everything as well? Then what do we do?’

‘We’ll just teach them something else. I heard Student Sivar is learning martial techniques from Student Kara. You can help out with that.’

‘Alright. That could work.’

The secret couple busily revises their plans while whispering. Their ability to juggle work and love is truly exceptional.

With such quick improvisation, it’s no wonder they’ve managed to keep their relationship hidden all this time. They’re remarkable in many ways.

“Ahem. Ahem. Student Luna? Even if you learn quickly, mastering it is a different story. Especially with Engraving, the results vary greatly depending on individual capacity.”

Gloria, having calmed her flustered mind, spoke to Luna. As she said, Engraving is one of the more challenging abilities to master.

Moreover, unlike Condensation, Engraving doesn’t evolve into a trait. One might ask, doesn’t that make Condensation less advantageous?

“Then doesn’t that make Condensation relatively less important?”

“Absolutely not. Engraving requires so much focus that it consumes a significant amount of mana. Plus, if your focus breaks, you can’t perform Engraving at all.”

Strength is like a hearty stew, and agility is like a returning king. Condensation aligns with strength, while Engraving suits agility.

Condensation is advantageous for prolonged battles but lacks decisive impact. On the other hand, Engraving delivers a powerful blow but is disadvantageous in prolonged fights.

Balancing these while simultaneously raising mana stats is crucial. Everything is interconnected.

‘Playing as an agility character felt like playing Dark Souls.’

To make the game easier, strength-based characters are preferable. Agility characters embody the concept of a “glass cannon.”

Thus, veteran players often focus solely on agility and opt for speed runs. I’ve done that myself before.

“Whether to invest in Condensation or Engraving depends on Student Luna’s choice of combat style. For prolonged battles and contests of strength, Condensation. For powerful attacks and evasion, Engraving. Something like that.”

“Then what should I focus on? I’m a devout follower of Lord Gulak.”

At that moment, Kara raised her hand curiously and asked. Unlike the commonly divided job classes, she is a faith character.

Even mages can gain various effects by learning Condensation and Engraving. Condensation enhances magic power, while Engraving improves accuracy, for instance.

However, faith characters are a bit ambiguous. Mana is important, but faith plays a more significant role.

“Student Kara is······ a bit tricky. I’ve met countless clerics, and except for one thing, they’ve all been vastly different.”

“What’s the one thing they had in common?”

“Their devotion to the god they worship. Beyond that, their directions vary so much that it’s hard to give specific advice.”

Faith influences overall stats to varying degrees. Just think of Porori.

He’s much smaller than me, yet he’s incredibly strong and fast. He was always like that, but after gaining lightning, he became even faster.

The same applies to Kara and Hector. The moment their bodies were cloaked in lightning, their overall stats and abilities skyrocketed.

One might think, doesn’t that make faith characters great? But if you raise one without understanding, you’ll regret it.

They’re absurdly weak in the early stages. Moreover, their versatility can turn into mediocrity, making growth extremely challenging.

‘If you happen to fall under Chaos······’

It’s truly horrifying. In fact, the faith route might as well be abandoned.

[You have insulted a god. Faith decreases.]

······Or so it almost said! Long live Lord Chaos!

[Faith increases.]

‘Phew······’

I let out a sigh internally, feeling like I was oscillating between heaven and hell.

I’m not even on the faith route, so why do I have to manage faith?

I didn’t even choose to come to this world in the first place. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I get.

“Student Sivar? Would you like to give it a try too?”

While I was lamenting my situation internally, Gloria called out to me. It seems I’m up next after Kara.

This might be a good chance to learn more about Red Mana. I raised my hand hesitantly in response to her call.

Woong!

Soon, Red Mana surged in my hand, transforming into a shape reminiscent of a beast’s claw.

Ragnarok was entrusted to Rod, and I was too afraid of an explosion to use another weapon.

For now, the only option is to demonstrate mana through my hand.

“······Red? Why is your mana red? Do you know······”

“Ahem! Ahem!”

Gloria, startled, almost let something slip. Chronos covered it up with a loud cough, but it might still raise suspicion.

“Red? Is there such a thing as red mana?”

“Who knows? I’m not sure either.”

Of course, Kara doesn’t know anything about it. Thankfully, their attention was entirely on my Red Mana.

Judging by their reactions, it seems no one here knows much about Red Mana. That’s a bit disappointing.

“Gloria······ isn’t all human mana supposed to be blue?”

“Generally, yes. But there are rare cases where the color of mana changes. Most of the time, it turns green or indigo.”

“What do those colors signify?”

“Green indicates severe mental issues. To be precise, it’s seen in individuals with significant cognitive impairments, making normal reasoning difficult. Occasionally, highly intelligent monsters use it too. Such monsters usually have some grasp of language.”

Mana has been said to have a strong connection to intelligence. When there’s a problem with that intelligence, the color of mana changes.

Humanity ranks relatively high, capable of using blue mana among the spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

Despite divine assistance, the establishment of a vast civilization proves humanity’s remarkable intelligence.

“Conversely, indigo is used by those who have grasped the Heavenly Principle, like Lord Rod. But red······”

In other words, red mana implies not just mental issues but the complete absence of intelligence.

At least, that’s what the principle suggests. But I’m definitely not an idiot.

“Me.”

“Huh?”

“Not. An. Idiot.”

So I protested. The mana might be strange, but there’s nothing wrong with my intelligence.

Thanks to this cursed faith, speaking is difficult, but that doesn’t mean I can’t understand words.

“Aww, is that so? Our Sivar got upset because I called him an idiot?”

Regardless of my protest, Kara pinched my cheek and teased me, clearly amused.

Knowing further protests would only make me a bigger target for teasing, I stayed quiet, though I didn’t erase my sulky expression.

“As I thought······ my guess was correct.”

But why does Gloria look so certain? What exactly did she figure out?

Before I could dwell on my doubts, Gloria clapped her hands and spoke in her usual gentle tone.

“The important thing isn’t the Red Mana. What matters is whether you can use Engraving. Student Sivar, would you like to try?”

“Hmm······”

Condensation might be easy, but Engraving seems a bit harder. It doesn’t feel like something I can pull off as quickly as Luna did.

Moreover, Red Mana is inherently powerful, so I need to be extra cautious. With that in mind, I turned away from them and faced an empty space.

‘Using the sense I gained from Condensation······’

I began gathering the mana surrounding my hand toward the tip of my index finger. It was closer to Engraving than Condensation.

Back in the forest, I had used raw mana for butchering. That alone was powerful enough, so I hadn’t needed Condensation or Engraving.

‘If Condensation is like shaping clay into a smaller form, Engraving is like refining that clay into intricate details.’

Whoever came up with that explanation nailed it. I kept that in mind as I focused.

Gradually, I gathered the mana around my hand to the tip of my index finger, condensing it while simultaneously applying Engraving.

Since even Luna needed intense focus to use this ability, I had no choice but to concentrate fully. Plus, the sheer power made control difficult.

Wiiiing—

Before long, the Red Mana gathered at my fingertip formed a smooth, spherical shape, thanks to the Engraving process.

“······Isn’t that dangerous?”

“It’s fine. Even if Engraving fails, the mana just disperses; it doesn’t fly off anywhere.”

“That may apply to us, but Sivar’s mana is red. It feels ominous······”

I overheard Luna and Gloria chatting behind me. Luna seemed uneasy about my actions.

Well, considering the eccentric act I pulled during Condensation earlier, I can understand her concern. Ignoring them, I focused harder.

When the Red Mana at my fingertip finally formed a perfect sphere.

[Ability: Engraving has been acquired!]

A notification window popped up in front of me, announcing that I had acquired Engraving.

That’s when my concentration broke for the first time.

[Wild Instinct has been activated!]

[Ability: Compatible with Red Mana!]

[Ability: Engraving has been removed!]

Just like with Condensation, the notification that the ability had been deleted broke my focus a second time.

Normally, Engraving should naturally disappear when focus is broken.

However, was it because my Mana Stat was too high, or was it an issue with the Red Mana itself?

“Huh, huh?”

The Red Mana gathered at the tip of my index finger didn’t dissipate. Instead, it was thrashing around, trying to burst out in any way possible.

Right now, my instincts were screaming at me. If this continues, something terrible will happen. Do something, anything, to stop it.

Without even having time to panic, I hurriedly stretched my hand upward. Somehow, I ended up pointing my finger toward the sky.

Pew!

At last, the Red Mana shot out from the tip of my index finger.

Like a laser, it left a crimson afterimage in its wake as it sped toward the ceiling.

“What······”

Behind me, people gasped in shock and, like me, looked up at the ceiling.

The Private Training Ground is smaller in scale compared to the Shared Training Ground, but the ceiling height is the same.

In other words, the ceiling is quite high. The reason I’m mentioning this is because—

Kaboom!!!

The Red Mana, which had been fired like a laser, exploded the moment it hit the ceiling.

The ceiling briefly flashed red before shattering completely with a deafening explosion.

Crack—

“··· ···”

“··· ···”

“··· ···”

A massive hole appeared in the ceiling of the Private Training Ground. People stared at the hole, ignoring the falling fragments and debris.

Every single one of them had a look on their face as if they’d lost the ability to speak. They seemed utterly at a loss as to how to process this situation.

“Phew.”

Meanwhile, I looked up at the now wide-open ceiling and let out a sigh of relief. Honestly, that was really dangerous.

The Private Training Ground is usually built sturdily to prevent incidents like this. But I completely ignored that and destroyed the entire ceiling.

Even though I reduced the output to avoid an accident, it still ended up like this. The thought of what might have happened if I had pushed it even slightly further gave me chills.

At least for now, only the ceiling was destroyed. If I had gone a bit further, it could have been much worse. I now had a reason to focus on Mana Control.

‘Looks like I’ve gained a new ranged attack.’

Incidentally, I also gained a ranged attack. Up until now, the only way I could attack from a distance was by throwing weapons.

But as of today, I’ve secured a proper ranged attack. The fact that it consumes Mana is a drawback, but it’s better than having nothing at all.

By the way, what should I call this attack? I pondered for a moment before exclaiming softly, “Ah!”

“Death Beam!”

Today, I gained a sense of romance.

“······I don’t know what a Death Beam is, but······ I do know the Headmaster is going to be furious.”

“How do you manage to cause an accident like this every single day······”

Once again, I lost the trust of those around me.

Somehow, the situation was eventually brought under control.

“Keep your hands up! Don’t lower them until I say so!”

“This is hard…”

“Stop whining! I know you’re perfectly fine!”

Rod made me kneel and raise both arms. It was the first time he had ever punished me.

“Take your hands off the wall! Are you already trying to be sneaky?”

“Ugh.”

This is seriously hard.