《Mana Buster》


 Lead a New Life

    Lane Cornwell. That¡¯s me. I come from a noble house of minor standing. Although ¡®noble¡¯ is somewhat generous, considering my family¡¯s origins. Every other young-blooded nobles still poke fun of me with it. Not that I blame them, our rise in the societal ladder is a combination of pure luck and either generosity or ignorance on the part of the more high-ranking nobles. Immediately after the rise was made official, my parents enrolled me in one of the four schools specializing in training young nobility so that they are ready to inherit their parents¡¯ will and to either preserve their standing or take it even higher up the ranks.


    Saint Merchia Royal School was built in the memory of the heroic paladin, Saint Merchia. His deeds in fighting for the kingdom in the Battle of Dawn had earned him a place in the pages of history. And now, I am to attend this undoubtedly prestigious school, with my family¡¯s name riding on my success.


    The prospect of being thrust into an environment so extravagant scares me, to be surrounded by so many people of high standing, it¡¯s all so overwhelming. If it wasn¡¯t for my mother, I wouldn¡¯t be here right now.


    ¡°Cornwell? What are you doing here?¡± a voice broke me out of my reverie.


    I then turn around to meet the owner, ¡°Nothing really.¡±


    There she is, Ceria Langdon. Per usual, she¡¯s wearing the typical dress code for female nobles in the academy, matching blouse and ankle-length skirt, both white in color. Her flowing blonde hair has been tied up into a ponytail, held in place by a blue ribbon.


    ¡°You really should stop going on a trance like that when being talked to,¡± she chastises, her blue eyes piercing into mine.


    ¡°Oh, ah, sorry¡­¡± I tried to avert my gaze, but it didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°It¡¯s a wonder you ever made it through the test.¡±


    ¡°There was no test for me, remember?¡± I gave her a shrug, ¡°I was accepted straight away.¡±


    ¡°Right, so¡­¡± she trails off, her puzzled expression says it all.


    ¡°It was a decision of some noble way up there,¡± I sighed while I point at the sky, ¡°Wyard or some other.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know any Wyard, but he or she sounds like a loony.¡±


    ¡°Tell me about it,¡± I sighed, ¡°Compared to you, I feel insecure.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t show any weakness, that¡¯s the key,¡± she nods reassuringly.


    That¡¯s right, her family has a much higher standing compared to mine. From what I heard, she¡¯s also one of the top five in the entry test. I guess I should count myself lucky, she¡¯s the only one so far who doesn¡¯t turn away or dismiss me when I told them about my family¡¯s humble origin.


    ¡°There you are, Langdon,¡± yet another voice breaks in, this time it¡¯s a more masculine one.


    ¡°Hail, Barlow,¡± Langdon responded in kind.


    Nicholas Barlow. The man came into view, prim and proper, short hair as black as night, clear brown eyes reflecting his intelligence, wearing the dress code for male nobles of the academy, buttoned shirt with collars reaching up to the neck and trousers, white and black in color respectively. The two of us compared, he would have the looks more fitting for a blue-blood. The fact that he is taller by a few inches didn¡¯t help my odds.


    He was smiling when he saw Langdon, but then it fell into a frown after he noticed I was standing nearby.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t corn boy,¡± he sneers.


    ¡°The name¡¯s Cornwell,¡± I retorted.


    ¡°Same thing, you wouldn¡¯t even last for a week here,¡± the contempt in his tone is palpable, ¡°Go back to the fields.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s just rude, Barlow,¡± Langdon steps in.


    I have to say, feels good to have someone defend me like that.


    ¡°Come, we are out of his league,¡± Barlow takes hold of Langdon¡¯s wrist before pulling her away.


    ¡°Hey, let go of me!¡± despite her brief effort, she eventually let herself to be dragged off.


    I just stood.


    Could I stand up to an actual noble? No way. He must have had more training and education than me prior to joining the academy. Even if I did try I would just cause trouble. Besides, this is my first day, if they caught me doing something like that, I¡¯d probably get revoked of my ¡®special treatment¡¯ right away.


    I won¡¯t squander it over something petty.


    Lost in thought yet again, I make my way to the dorms. It¡¯s not far from where I was daydreaming, only a few minutes of walking. As expected from a school housing nobility, the living quarters are quite lavish. Grand halls and expansive rooms, ornate furnishings as far as the eye can see.


    How did I even end up here?


    Closing the door behind me as I enter my room, I began to unpack everything that I had brought with me from home. And by ¡®everything¡¯ I meant a few of my old clothes and some letters of encouragement from my parents.


    It¡¯s going to be lonely, I thought to myself.


    Running away isn¡¯t an option. I¡¯ve come this far already. The only choice now is to just live this new life to the best of my abilities.


    And maybe, just maybe¡­


    Bring glory to my family¡¯s name.

 First Day at School

    Clueless is the word I would use to describe my situation at the moment. According to a parchment that I received, the first day of this school year begins this morning. While trying to find my way to the school building proper. I thought memorizing the layout of the campus is enough from a glance, but it seems I was horribly mistaken, you can fit the village I originated from and it would just be a speck on a map!


    Oh, right, maps. Forgot to bring one of those.


    As I was mulling over my own inadequacy, I didn¡¯t hear the footsteps rapidly closing in, and then¡ª


    A sudden weight was pressed onto me, pushing me off my balance. I shut my eyes on instinct, bracing for impact. The next thing I know, I was sitting on the ground. When I opened my eyes is when I finally saw the culprit.


    Two shimmering green eyes staring into my own, a stunned expression on a decidedly feminine visage, mouth slightly agape from shock. I¡¯d imagine I have the same expression right about now, if only her face wasn¡¯t so close to me, I can almost feel my cheeks burning¡­


    We froze in that position for a few seconds, before I decided to say something,


    ¡°Y-You alright?¡±


    The girl lets out a surprised yelp and immediately jumps to her feet, ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡±


    Well, I¡¯m not exactly sure whose fault is it, really.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said as I clamber up to stand and dust myself off.


    Now that I¡¯ve got a good look at her, she¡¯s actually much shorter than I am. With flowing white hair styled into twintails, the top of her head only reaches up to my chest, and I¡¯m not someone of impressive height to begin with.


    ¡°Ah, there it is!¡± she noticed something behind me, and hurry over to pick it up before I can turn around to see what it is, tucking it somewhere in her uniform.


    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?¡± I asked out of curiosity.


    ¡°I left something in my room, so I rushed to get it before class starts,¡± she then turn to face me after making sure whatever it is she picked up is safe, ¡°What are you doing here? Everyone is supposed to be in their own classes by now!¡±


    ¡°Ah, that¡­¡± my embarrassment must be painfully obvious at this point, ¡°I, uh, got lost.¡±


    ¡°Why not come along with me, then?¡± she offered graciously, ¡°Even if we¡¯re in different classes at least you can find yours easier that way.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯d be great, thanks!¡± of course, I accepted her offer in a heartbeat.


    While walking, she revealed to me that any young noble who wished to enroll in their academy of choice must have visited it at one point in their life at least once, if only to get the feel of the place because of it¡¯s massive size. Some go as far as to ingrain it in their brain so that they can remember it outside of the box. That would explain my total lack of knowledge, the first time I come here was for the welcoming ceremony.


    A few minutes later, after passing by many other extravagant buildings and sections, we come upon the main school complex, where the classrooms are. Even so, this complex is divided into several other buildings with various colors from orange, yellow, green, and so on. My guess is that they¡¯re color-coded. We stopped in front of the building with a blue color theme. Aside from the white marbles and the occasional wood, it has the color blue it specific parts of it.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Marveling at the grand architecture, I almost didn¡¯t notice the girl speaking to me,


    ¡°This is where us Spellblades go,¡± she pointed at something above the arched doorway, ¡°See that?¡±


    Craning my neck to look up, I notice some kind of a statue, a book which I assume to be a magic tome, and a sword pointing at the sky.


    ¡°That represents our class, with both sword and magic combined,¡± she continues.


    ¡°Sword and magic¡­¡± my voice trails off for a moment before I realized something, ¡°Wait, did you say ¡®Spellblades¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± she tilts her head, ¡°That¡¯s my class,¡± and then gave me a quizzical look, ¡°What¡¯s yours? We can find your classroom that way.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, better hurry though, we¡¯ve wasted enough time already,¡± her face changed into something more akin to a frown, waiting for my response.


    ¡®We¡¯, she said. I¡¯m astonished she didn¡¯t just leave me to my own worries.


    ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know,¡± I answered frankly.


    ¡°Whuh?¡± her eyes widen, nonplussed.


    Bet she wasn¡¯t expecting that kind of answer.


    ¡°Wh-What do you mean, you don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it¡¯s difficult to explain¡­¡± I look down apologetically.


    ¡°Oh¡ªYou know what? Just come with me,¡± she began walking towards the doorway, gesturing me to follow her.


    I do so with a bit of trepidation in my heart.


    So, off to a good start in my first day at school. I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯d be winning any points anytime soon due to my sheer hopelessness and tardiness. Well, mostly hopelessness. I can only imagine what kind of problems I¡¯ll be facing soon enough. Making our way down the halls, we found the door that leads to the classroom that twintailed girl belong to. She said the teacher can help me with my situation, but somehow I think I might be into more than that¡­


    It¡¯s better to get this over with, I suppose.


    Twisting the handle, she then pushed the door open, the noise it made is enough to shift the class¡¯ attention to the newcomers.


    ¡°I did not expect you to be late,¡± a deep voice, no doubt belonging to an adult male, called out to us.


    What greeted us afterwards is a man dressed in sharp clothing, he has black hair tied into a low ponytail, brown eyes peering at us behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses. He has an aura of authority about him, as if his control over the class is absolute. It kind of reminds me of Barlow, actually.


    ¡°We¡¯re very sorry,¡± the girl in front of me bowed her head, ¡°We got lost along the way.¡±


    ¡°You exchange students were always a problem,¡± the teacher gestured to the rest of the class, ¡°Sit.¡±


    The girl proceeds to walk to her seat, but before that I could¡¯ve sworn she muttered something like ¡®Good luck.¡¯ when she glanced my way.


    ¡°And you?¡± the teacher has me in his sights now, ¡°You¡¯re not in my class records.¡±


    Ah, crap.


    I freeze up, my whole body refused to move, not a muscle. Even my heart felt like it skipped a beat. It¡¯s as if his gaze is piercing into my soul. I was about to open my mouth to give out a response, but then a voice rose from the class cuts me off.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s Lane Cornwell,¡±


    That voice sounds¡­ familiar.


    Both the teacher and myself turned our heads to the source, it¡¯s none other than the blonde-haired girl I ran across at the opening ceremony, Ceria Langdon! Yes, those blue eyes and long ponytail is unmistakable.


    ¡°He¡¯s a friend of mine,¡± she adds, ¡°He has trouble setting up his sigil due to an administrative error, so I imagine he has nowhere else to go.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± the teacher fixed his glasses in place, ¡°I suppose you can stay here for today, until your problem is resolved.¡±


    Relief wash over me. I let out a sigh I didn¡¯t even know I was holding, after that is when I finally notice the class staring at me with both curiosity and suspicion mixed in, even the twintailed girl earlier is surprised. Was it because of something that Langdon said earlier? I¡¯m just glad that I got out of that situation.


    Once the teacher gestured me to sit, I pick an empty seat and ease myself down. Turning my head to where Langdon is sitting, she gave me a thumbs up, which I replied with a simple, but very grateful nod.


    I guess I owe her one.