I Refuse the Tragic Ending

Three days after Kael started his personal lesson under the supervision of Professor Helen, Kael and Quinn arrived at the training room earlier than scheduled.

He placed the defensive mana manual Lilith had lent him the other day on a nearby table before taking his position. His injury was finally healed. Professor Helen had already cleared him of any mana-related training, but heavy physical training was still not prohibited.

Today, he intended to make some progress on his mana training.

”You’re early again, Student Grayford.”

Kael turned toward the entrance.

Professor Helen entered carrying a small notebook and a mana crystal.

”Goodmorning, Professor,” Kael greeted.

She nodded, then her eyes briefly moved toward the book on the table.

”Did you find something worth studying?”

”Someone lent it to me. It’s a manual on defensive mana techniques.”

Helen picked it up and skimmed through a few pages.

”Curved mana barriers and force distribution. This is a useful subject for beginners, although the techniques require precise control.”

”That’s what I discovered yesterday.”

Helen closed the manual and returned it to the table.

”Then let’s see whether you’ve improved.”

Kael extended his right hand.

He concentrated on his Hero Core and drew out mana. The familiar glow appeared around his palm, but this time he didn’t immediately attempt to shape it. He allowed the energy to gather before gradually adjusting its distribution.

The mana trembled.

Kael narrowed his eyes and made a small correction.

The glow became more stable.

”Hold it there,” Helen instructed.

Kael maintained the mana around his palm.

One second passed.

Then another.

The energy remained steady.

Helen watched without interrupting.

After several more seconds, Kael finally dispersed the mana.

”How was that?”

”Better than yesterday,” Helen replied. ”Your control is improving quite faster than expected.”

Kael nodded and glanced at his hand.

He had spent much of the previous evening studying the manual. Rather than memorizing the instructions, he had compared its explanations with what he already knew about mana circulation and the technique Lilith demonstrated.

The principles weren’t particularly complicated. The difficulty came from understanding how to apply them.

”May I try something?” Kael asked.

Helen raised an eyebrow.

”Explain first.”

Kael extended his hand again.

”Instead of trying to maintain the same amount of mana everywhere, I want to divide the flow into several smaller streams. If I can control them individually, I might be able to distribute the energy more evenly.”

Helen studied him.

”Where did you get that idea?”

”From the diagram in the manual. It explains that the defensive layer needs an even distribution, but it doesn’t describe how beginners should maintain that balance.”

”That’s because most beginners haven’t developed enough control to manage multiple streams independently.”

”I see.”

”However, you may try it with a very small amount of mana. Don’t force your Hero Core.”

Kael nodded.

He summoned mana around his palm again.

This time, he imagined dividing the flow into several smaller portions. He adjusted each one carefully, attempting to maintain a consistent distribution.

The first attempt collapsed almost immediately.

He tried again.

The second lasted longer, but the energy gathered unevenly near his fingertips.

On his third attempt, the mana remained stable for several seconds.

Helen’s expression changed slightly.

”Interesting.”

Kael lowered his hand.

”Did I do something wrong?”

”No. You managed to adjust the distribution without allowing the entire flow to collapse.”

”Isn’t that what I was supposed to do?

”Yes, but most students would struggle to understand the principle, let alone apply it after reading a manual once.”

Helen picked up her notebook.

”Try explaining what you just did.”

Kael thought for a moment.

”I stopped treating the mana around my hand as one solid layer. I focused on maintaining smaller portions of energy and adjusting their flow separately. When one section became unstable, I corrected it before the surrounding mana dispersed.”

Helen remained silent for a moment.

”Again.”

Kael repeated the process.

This time, he managed to maintain the mana for nearly twice as long.

Helen watched closely before raising her hand.

”Stop there.”

Kael released the mana.

”Was that better?”

”Much better.”

She wrote something in her notebook.

”Your mana reserves aren’t particularly impressive yet, and your control still has several weaknesses. However, your ability to understand and reproduce techniques is unusual.”

Kael looked at her.

”Unusual in a good way?”

”In a very good way.”

Helen tapped her pen against the notebook.

”Most students need repeated demonstrations and several days of practice before they can reproduce even the basic principles of a technique.”

Kael scratched his cheek.

’Is that her way of saying I’m talented?’

”I suppose I learn quickly.”

”Don’t become conceited. Understanding a technique isn’t the same as mastering it.”

”I’ll keep that in mind.”

Helen gave him a measured look.

”Still, I want to test this further. Your progress may be faster than we initially expected.”

Kael smiled faintly.

That was encouraging.

He had always considered himself reasonably good at learning new things, but he hadn’t expected that ability to become so valuable in a world where magic required understanding and practice.

In the game, learning a skill usually meant obtaining it through a menu or completing a requirement.

Here, the process was much more complicated.

But perhaps that was also where he had an advantage.

He could observe, compare, experiment, and adapt without needing someone to explain every little detail.

Helen put away her notebook.

”That’s enough for today. Continue practicing stable mana summoning, but don’t attempt to maintain multiple streams without supervision.”

”Understood.”

”And bring that manual next time. I want to examine the technique you’re studying.”

Kael picked up his belongings.

”Will do.”

As he left the training room, he couldn’t help feeling that his breakthrough had opened more opportunities than he initially expected.

Rank E had given him access to mana outside his body.

Now he needed to learn what he could do with it.

...

After lunch, Kael headed toward the academy courtyard, when someone called out to him.

”Kael Grayford!”

He turned and saw Jeannette Valerian approaching.

She carried a few training materials under one arm. She looked healthier than she had during the examination, although she still moved with some caution.

”Hey,” Kael greeted her. ”Are you feeling better?”

”Much better. I’ve already returned to light training.”

She stopped in front of him and glanced at the white spider resting on his shoulder.

”Qiu!”

Quinn raised two front legs in response.

Jeannette smiled.

”I was hoping to run into you. There was something I wanted to say.”

Kael tilted his head. ”What is it?”

Jeannette straightened slightly.

”Thank you. Both of you.”

She looked at Kael before turning toward Quinn.

”When the undead attacked us, my team and I had nowhere to go. We climbed that large tree to escape, but they surrounded the area below. We couldn’t find a safe way down.”

Kael remembered the incident.

He and Quinn had been searching the forest for stranded students when they noticed the group on the tree.

After finding them trapped above the ground, they had worked together to help them descend and escape the undead. Kael then led them toward the sanctuary.

”If you and your familiar hadn’t found us, I don’t know what would have happened,” Jeannette continued. ”We might not have made it out.”

Kael shook his head.

”You don’t have to thank me. We were looking for survivors anyway.”

”Still, you helped us when you didn’t have to.”

Quinn tapped Kael’s shoulder with one of its front legs.

”Qiu!”

Kael glanced at the spider.

”Quinn says you’re welcome.”

Jeannette laughed softly.

”Then thank you, Quinn.”

The spider seemed satisfied with the response.

Kael looked at Jeannette again.

”Your team members are doing well?”

”They are. Some of them are still recovering, but everyone survived.”

”That’s good.”

Jeannette nodded before adjusting the training materials under her arm.

”By the way, are you planning to participate in the upcoming tournament?”

Kael paused.

The moment she mentioned the tournament, something clicked in his mind.

The Monthly Ranking Tournament.

Seraphina had mentioned it to him before. At the time, he had been occupied with the wilderness examination and everything surrounding it. The conversation had eventually slipped his mind.

Now that Jeannette had brought it up, he remembered.

It was a recurring monthly competition where students from the Hero and Villain Departments challenged one another to improve their standings.

The event included individual matches as well as certain team competitions. More importantly, the rankings were not merely for show. A student’s standing could influence their academy evaluation and the opportunities available to them.

”Seraphina mentioned it before,” Kael replied. ”I remember hearing about the Monthly Ranking Tournament.”

Jeannette nodded.

”That’s right. The next one should take place in a few weeks. The academy hasn’t released the official schedule yet, but students are already preparing.”

”Are you planning to participate?”

”Of course.” Jeannette smiled. ”I’ve been wanting to test my progress against students from other groups.”

She shifted her weight slightly.

”I think it’s a good opportunity to see how much I’ve improved. Besides, I don’t want to spend the entire semester recovering from the examination.”

Kael chuckled.

”That sounds reasonable.”

”What about you? Are you going to participate?”

Kael considered the question.

He had only recently reached Rank E, and his mana control remained unstable. His swordsmanship was improving, but he still had several weaknesses to address.

The tournament could be a useful opportunity to test his abilities.

However, he did not want to rush into it without preparing properly.

”I haven’t decided yet,” he answered. ”I want to see how much progress I can make before the tournament.”

Jeannette nodded.

”That’s fair. I hope we get to compete against each other.”

”Let’s see how things go.”

She smiled before stepping aside.

”I should get back to training. I’ll see you around, Kael.”

”Take care.”

Jeannette walked away, leaving Kael standing in the courtyard.

He watched her disappear among the other students before looking down at Quinn.

”Looks like we have another objective.”

”Qiu?”

”The tournament.”

Quinn tilted its head.

Kael sighed.

”Don’t look so excited. You won’t be entering the individual competition.”

The spider lowered its front legs.

”Qiu...”

”I’m sure there will be team events. You can look forward to those.”

Quinn immediately raised its legs again.

Kael shook his head.

It was surprisingly easy to motivate that spider.

...

By the time Kael returned to the dormitory, the rest of Team 37 had gathered in his room. Darius was sitting near the window, polishing his greatsword. Elias occupied the chair beside the table, while Mira was arranging several small bottles of medicine.

They all looked toward Kael when he entered.

”You’re late,” Darius remarked.

”Training took longer than expected.”

Elias leaned forward.

”Did Professor Helen finally teach you how to summon a giant mana sword?”

”No.”

”A mana shield?”

”No.”

”A technique that lets you defeat enemies with a single finger?”

Kael placed his bag on the table.

”Do you have any normal questions?”

Elias considered that for a moment.

”Did you improve?”

”Yes.”

”Then congratulations. I have no further questions.”

Darius shook his head.

”Stop bothering him.”

Mira smiled as she finished arranging the bottles.

”Did your training go well?”

”Better than expected. I’m starting to understand the basic defensive technique Lilith lent me.”

”That sounds promising,” Mira said.

Kael pulled out the manual and placed it on the table.

”I still can’t maintain the mana layer for long, but Professor Helen said my understanding of the technique is progressing quickly.”

Darius glanced at the book.

”Does that mean you can defend against attacks now?”

”Not reliably. I can create a thin curved layer of mana, but it collapses if I lose concentration or the impact is too strong.”

Elias leaned closer.

”So it’s a shield that disappears when someone hits it?”

”That’s one way to describe it.”

”Sounds inconvenient.”

”Thank you for your valuable analysis.”

Mira covered her mouth, hiding a small laugh.

Darius returned his attention to his sword.

”Then we should focus on improving our own abilities before the next examination.”

Kael nodded.

”That reminds me. I heard about the upcoming Monthly Ranking Tournament.”

Elias immediately looked interested.

”The tournament? Isn’t that the competition where students challenge each other for higher rankings?”

”That’s the one,” Kael replied. ”Seraphina mentioned it before, and Jeannette brought it up again today. The next event is expected to take place in a few weeks.”

Mira placed the last bottle on the table.

”Are there team competitions too?”

”I’m not sure yet, but I think there is.”

Darius rested his sword against the wall.

”Then it could be a good opportunity for us.”

Elias grinned.

”Finally, a chance to show everyone what Team 37 can do.”

”Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Kael said. ”We still have weaknesses to address.”

Elias leaned back.

”I know. I’m just saying it would be nice to compete together.”

Mira nodded.

”I would like that too. It might help us understand how to work better as a team.”

Darius crossed his arms.

”Then we train until we’re ready.”

Kael looked around the room.

Their individual goals were already established. Mira needed to improve her healing efficiency and ability to protect herself. Darius had to work on his footwork and endurance. Elias needed to improve his accuracy and learn to handle enemies that could deflect ordinary arrows.

Quinn needed stronger silk and better control over its webs.

As for Kael, he needed to stabilize his external mana and improve his defensive techniques.

The tournament gave them a concrete target.

”Let’s keep our original training plan,” Kael said. ”We’ll focus on our individual weaknesses first. Once we’ve made enough progress, we’ll start practicing together.”

Darius nodded.

”Agreed.”

Mira smiled.

”I’m looking forward to it.”

Elias raised one hand.

”And I would like to request that our team training includes a reasonable amount of food.”

Kael stared at him.

”Why?”

”Because training makes people hungry.”

”You started to sound like Quinn. Just eat after training.”

”Quinn is my master.”

Kael ignored him and looked at Quinn, who had already climbed onto the table. The spider was staring at the food containers.

”Look at that glutton spider, it is drooling again.”

”Qiu?”

”You already ate.”

The room filled with quiet laughter.

For a moment, the atmosphere felt almost ordinary. No undead, no collapsing sanctuary, no mysterious enemies hiding behind a crimson sky.

Just a group of students discussing their training and looking forward to their next challenge.

Kael glanced at the others.

He remembered how Team 37 had ended in the original game.

Elias, Mira, and Darius had all died during events that he once believed were nothing more than scripted scenes.

But they were here now.

They were training, arguing, laughing, and making plans for the future.

The Monthly Ranking Tournament was only a few weeks away. It would be their first major opportunity to test how much they had grown since the first day.

Kael picked up the defensive manual and placed it beside his notebook.

There was still plenty of work to do.

”Tomorrow,” he said, ”we start properly.”

Darius nodded.

Mira agreed with a quiet smile.

Elias gave him a thumbs-up.

Quinn raised both front legs.

”Qiu!”

Kael looked at them and nodded.

”Let’s get stronger.”