Professor Sharon stood at the front of the ssroom, her gaze sweeping across the students.
"Today, we will be covering elemental attributes and their mathematical calctions in magic application," she announced, writing aplex equation on the board.
"Now, this might seem a bit tricky, but it''s crucial for advanced spellcasting.
Can anyone tell me the correct mana conversion ratio for this elemental spell if the ambient mana is 45 units and the caster''s internal mana is 120 units?"
The ss erupted into murmurs.
Some students, like Amy Bluerose, squinted at the board, furrowing their brows.
Others leaned in closer to their desks, trying to make sense of the numbers.
Noah, seated in the back of the room, stifled a yawn.
He had been skimming through his old notes on mana theory, barely paying attention to the lecture.
His eyelids drooped as the soft chatter of his ssmates filled the room.
Professor Sharon''s sharp eyes caught the yawn.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Mr. Ashbourne."
Noah jerked upright, eyes wide. His heart began to race.
"Uh, yes, Professor?"
"Why don''t youe to the front and solve the problem?"
Noah''s stomach dropped.
He hadn''t even been paying attention to the question.
He swallowed hard and got up, walking slowly to the front of the ss.
His mind scrambled for some recollection of what the problem might be.
He approached the board, staring at the equation.
Ambient mana: 45 units.
Caster''s internal mana: 120 units.
Calcte the conversion ratio for elemental spellcasting.
There was a form for this somewhere in his head, but it felt just out of reach.
Noah could feel the eyes of the ss on him.
He heard whispers—some confident, others doubting.
"He''s not going to get it," one student muttered.
"Maybe he''s just pretending to be lost," said another.
Noah''s palms began to sweat.
He didn''t like being the center of attention like this.
He took a deep breath and began writing down the basic steps.
He started calcting the mana ratio, dividing the internal mana by the ambient mana, making mental notes of the steps.
120 divided by 45… that gives you the baseline conversion factor.
Noah continued writing,pleting the steps as the ss watched in silence.
After what felt like an eternity, he arrived at an answer.
Professor Sharon stepped closer, inspecting his work.
"The final answer is correct, Mr. Ashbourne," she said, her voice neutral.
"But your method is wrong."
Noah blinked at the board, confused. He double-checked his steps.
"I don''t think it''s wrong," he muttered, almost to himself.
"It''s supposed to be like that."
Professor Sharon frowned but didn''t argue.
She moved to the other side of the board and began solving the problem her way.
The ss watched intently as she worked through the equation using a different method.
After a few minutes, she arrived at the same final answer.
The ss murmured again, some students nodding in agreement while others remained confused.
Noah stepped forward, eyes on the board.
"Actually, Professor," he began hesitantly, "you made a small mistake in the third step." He pointed to a section in her work.
"You overlooked the ambient mana fluctuation.
It''s subtle, but it affects the output.
That''s why my method works."
Professor Sharon paused, looking at the section Noah pointed out.
"I hadn''t considered that," she admitted, her tone thoughtful.
"Interesting approach."
Noah nodded, gaining confidence.
"There are probably other ways to reach the same answer, too.
The academy''s purpose isn''t just to teach us one method of doing things, right?
We''re here to be creative, to find different ways of solving problems."
The ss buzzed with murmurs again, this time louder.
A few students seemed impressed, while others whispered among themselves, incredulous that Noah had corrected a professor.
"Did he just correct Professor Sharon?" one student whispered.
"How did he even see that?"
Professor Sharon smiled faintly, nodding at Noah''s words.
"You make a fair point, Mr. Ashbourne. Creativity is key in magic.
It seems like you won''t struggle much with the uing cement exams."
Noah chuckled nervously.
"It would be nothing short of a miracle if I passed," he said, brushing thepliment off.
As the ss murmured and chuckled lightly at his humility, Professor Sharon nced at the clock.
"Alright, everyone. That''s it for today. Be sure to review this material—it may show up in your exams."
Noah let out a quiet sigh of relief as he returned to his seat.
His pulse had finally slowed down.
"Thay was unnecessary spotlight...d it''s over..."
He mumbled.
As he sat back down, he could still hear some of the students murmuring about his sudden turn at the board.
When the ss finally ended, Noah gathered his things, grateful the moment was over.
Noah stepped out of the ssroom, a slight frown creasing his forehead.
He nced around the hallway, half-expecting to see Maya waiting for him at the usual spot.
But she wasn''t there.
She hadn''t evene by the dorm this morning to get him, which was unlike her.
"Where is she?" he muttered to himself, starting down the hall.
As he walked, his mind still preupied with thoughts of Maya, a sudden jolt knocked him out of his thoughts.
He collided with someone, books scattering to the ground.
"Ah, sorry, I didn''t see—" Noah began, but his words trailed off when he realized who it was.
Amy Bluerose.
Her cheeks were flushed, and she avoided his gaze as she knelt down to retrieve her fallen books.
Noah instinctively crouched down to help, but Amy immediately stopped him, her hands trembling.
"I''ll do it!" she blurted, her voice a little too loud.
She fumbled with the books, nearly dropping them again.
Her head remained lowered, and before Noah could say anything else, she stood abruptly, clutching the books to her chest.
Amy then bolted down the hall, her pace hurried.
Noah stood there, confused.
That was definitely strange.
Amy was usuallyposed and sharp-tongued, especially in the ssroom.
But today, it was as if she couldn''t even look at him.
"...what''s up with her..."
Just as Noah turned to leave, Draven appeared behind him, cing a heavy hand on his shoulder.
"Don''t worry about her," Draven said, a knowing look in his eyes.
"Amy''s been stressing out about the cement exams. It''s been getting to her. She''ll be fine."
Noah nodded, though he still found her behavior odd.
Draven gave him a final pat on the shoulder before walking off, leaving Noah to ponder what just happened.
As he started to walk away, another voice called out to him, soft and hesitant.
"Noah?"
He turned to see a girl with blonde hair and bright blue eyes approaching him.
It was Ariana Snow, one of the quieter students in ss and a minor main characterpared to the others.
She fidgeted with her fingers as she stepped closer.
"H-Hi," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I… um… I was just wondering… about today''s ss.
The question Professor Sharon asked…"
Noah blinked, not sure where this was going. "Yeah?"
"I couldn''t figure out how you got that answer," Ariana admitted, her cheeks flushing pink.
"I''ve been trying to wrap my head around it, but it didn''t make sense to me.
I mean, not even Amy or Rn got it, and they''re always top of the ss… but you…"
Her words trailed off as she bit her lip, ncing at the floor.
Noah scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward.
"I don''t know… I just thought about the problem from a different angle.
Maybe I went too advanced or something."
Ariana shook her head quickly.
"No! I mean… you were right, and it made sense, I think… I just couldn''t follow your method.
Would you… maybe… um… be willing to tutor me? In this course, I mean."
Her voice was so soft now, Noah had to strain to hear her.
Noah blinked, taken aback.
"Tutor you? But—what course are you talking about?"
"Elemental Attributes and Mana Calctions," she said, her voice still trembling slightly.
"You seem to understand it better than anyone else in ss."
Noah''s eyes widened.
Had he overdone the solution?
He hadn''t thought his approach was anything special.
Maybe it was too advanced after all, but it just seemed right in the moment.
He nced at Ariana, unsure of what to say.