Chapter 197: Mana Control [1]

The next morning arrived far sooner than Amon would have liked.

After getting ready, he walked down the staircase from the second floor and entered the dining room, where Seraphina and Marielle were already having breakfast.

Sunlight entered through the large windows, illuminating the wooden dining table.

Seraphina looked up the moment she noticed him. "You’re late."

She picked up a plate and served him breakfast before pushing it toward his seat.

Amon chuckled as he sat down. "I didn’t get much sleep last night."

Both women suddenly froze.

Seraphina’s face turned bright red, and she immediately lowered her gaze toward her plate.

Marielle also flinched slightly before clearing her throat and pretending she hadn’t heard the comment.

Amon looked between them with an amused expression. "Why are you two reacting like that?"

"Just eat your breakfast," Seraphina muttered.

Amon smiled and began eating.

The meal continued quietly for a few minutes, although Amon occasionally noticed Marielle avoiding his gaze.

Eventually, Marielle cleared her throat. "I have a teachers’ meeting today, so I’ll probably be late."

She placed her cup down before looking between Amon and Seraphina.

"You two will have to come back on your own."

Seraphina nodded. "I’m also going to visit my friend after classes, so I might be late."

Both women eventually looked toward Amon.

He simply shrugged. "I also have somewhere to go. Duke Edinburgh asked me to meet him."

Marielle blinked. "Why would you need to meet Duke Edinburgh?"

Amon continued eating as he replied. "He called me, it’s related to your daughter."

Marielle’s eyes narrowed. "How many women are you in contact with?"

Amon chuckled. "It’s nothing like that."

Marielle gave him a skeptical look before returning to her breakfast.

The three eventually finished eating and stood from their seats.

Amon picked up his bag before glancing toward Seraphina.

He paused as his eyes slowly moved downward. "Why are you walking funny, Seraphina?"

Seraphina froze and Marielle, who had been preparing to leave, also stopped.

Both women immediately turned bright red.

"It’s nothing," Seraphina grumbled.

She quickly pinched Amon’s arm. "Ouch. I was only asking."

Marielle immediately walked away as if she hadn’t heard anything.

Seraphina watched her aunt disappear down the hallway with a suspicious expression.

She seemed to notice something strange about Marielle’s behavior, but after thinking about it for a moment, she decided not to ask.

Amon simply smiled to himself.

---

Amon and Seraphina walked through the university grounds together, surrounded by students heading toward their morning classes.

Groups of students gathered around the fountains while others hurried toward their classrooms.

Seraphina glanced at Amon. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Amon shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

A smile immediately appeared on Seraphina’s face. "Sweet. Then I’ll make you meet my friend."

Amon looked at her. "If you feel uncomfortable with that, you don’t have to."

Seraphina hesitated for a moment before giving him a suspicious look. "Just don’t seduce her."

Amon chuckled. "Don’t worry. I won’t."

"Really?"

Amon nodded. "Even though I want as many wives as possible, I’m not going to do something that makes my wives hate me or makes me uncomfortable."

Seraphina’s expression softened.

She leaned closer and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "My first class is Advanced Ice Magic."

Amon replied. "I’ve got Advanced Mana Control."

"Then I’ll see you later."

"Sure."

They reached the point where their paths separated.

Seraphina waved before heading toward her classroom, while Amon continued toward another building.

After a few minutes, he reached his classroom.

Amon entered and immediately noticed something different about the atmosphere.

Most of the students looked like people who had spent considerable time training for combat.

Amon found an empty seat and sat down and he looked around the room.

Two familiar faces were sitting among the students.

One was Kael Arven. The strange silver ring with black markings was still on his finger.

Amon’s gaze lingered on it for a moment. ’What really is that damn ring.’

He then noticed the second familiar face.

Darian Voss.

Amon had met him during the University Screening, where the young man had demonstrated impressive combat ability.

Darian was sitting several seats away, talking quietly with another student.

Amon eventually turned his attention toward the front.

A few minutes later, the classroom door opened.

A woman walked inside.

She appeared to be in her early thirties, with long silver-black hair tied neatly behind her head and sharp violet eyes that immediately made the room quiet.

She wore a fitted dark-blue instructor’s uniform with silver markings running along the sleeves and collar.

She placed a stack of books on the desk before looking across the classroom.

A faint smile appeared on her face. "Good morning."

The students immediately greeted her.

The woman nodded before turning toward the board. "My name is Professor Celeste Arclight, and I will be teaching you Advanced Mana Control."

She picked up a piece of chalk and wrote her name across the board in clean handwriting.

Then she turned around.

Her violet eyes slowly moved across the students. "You are all here because you believe you understand mana."

Professor Celeste raised one hand.

A tiny sphere of mana appeared above her palm.

It was completely transparent, yet the surrounding air began to distort slightly around it.

"This is the most basic form of mana manipulation."

She slowly moved her fingers and the sphere compressed.

It became smaller and smaller until it was barely larger than a grain of sand.

Several students stared at it with fascination. ℯ𝔴ℯ

Professor Celeste smiled. "But understanding mana is not enough."

She suddenly released the sphere.

It vanished without producing even the slightest sound. "Control is what separates someone who possesses mana from someone who truly understands it."

She walked toward the center of the classroom. "Most mages learn how to increase their mana reserves, improve their spells, and increase their destructive power."

She paused. "Very few learn how to control every single unit of mana they possess." 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

He immediately understood what she meant.

Having enormous mana reserves was useful, but wasting even a small amount of mana during a fight could eventually become a serious disadvantage.

Professor Celeste raised her hand again.

This time, several tiny spheres appeared around her fingers.

They moved independently, spinning around each other without colliding.

Then she made a subtle movement with her wrist and all of them stopped at exactly the same time.

The entire classroom became silent.

Amon watched carefully. ’Her control is extremely precise.’

Professor Celeste looked at the students.

"If you cannot control your mana, then having ten times more than your opponent will not necessarily make you stronger."

The spheres disappeared one after another.

"Precision can overcome quantity." Her gaze swept across the classroom again. "And control can turn an ordinary spell into something extraordinary."

Amon leaned slightly forward. This class was already far more interesting than he had expected.

Professor Celeste placed the chalk down and walked toward the students.

"By the end of this course, I want every one of you to understand your mana so thoroughly that controlling it becomes as natural as breathing."

She raised one hand as a thin stream of mana flowed from her fingertips.

The stream curved through the air, passed between several students without touching them, and formed a perfect circle above the teacher’s head.

Professor Celeste looked at the class.

"If you are willing to learn..."

The mana circle suddenly expanded, illuminating the entire classroom with a faint glow.

"...then I am going to teach you how to control mana like a God."