The Nameless Extra: I Proofread This World

After Airin demonstrated the [Magic Missile], Ruvian repositioned himself parallel to the training dummy, maintaining a distance of 10 Metres from the target.

Now, it was his turn to apply what he had learned.

Airin took his wand, to allow him to cast his first spell without any supporting tool.

The Polaris members, who only moments ago were absorbed in their own drills, turned their attention to him.

He could feel that pressure in his bones; eyes prickling along his spine, narrowing his margins for error.

Their anticipation did not help him at all.

’Let’s see...’

Firstly, he chanted the incantation of the [Magic Missile].

”Formless sea of ambient flux. Obey and compress at my word. Yield your chaos. Release.”

Soon, the mana stirred in response like thin threads loosening from his Spellcore.

There was a huge difference between his Spellcore and Airin’s. So, he understood immediately that replicating what Airin did was impossible.

Airin’s spell had flowed with a single decisive current; his, by comparison, would leak at the seams.

He knew his Spellcore deficiency was the root of the problem. Their weak stage, Tier 1 Spellcore would cause excess mana to dissipate before even reaching the casting point.

It was an inevitable trait of low-tier Spellcore.

But Ruvian decided to try something to counteract that.

If leaking is inevitable, then the solution must not be to stop the leak, but to narrow the path it has to escape from.

’I think I can do that.’

With that single thought, he adjusted. Slowly, he began to channel the mana toward his palm, but not in a single push as Airin had shown.

Instead, he fed it forward in measured increments, allowing each thread of mana to identify the direction of travel, almost as though giving it time to register his intent.

He theorized that mana, when rushed, would scatter like startled birds. But when guided with patience, it could, for lack of a better term, ”settle” around purpose.

From the sidelines, a low whisper broke the silence.

”Why’s he just standing there?” Griffer muttered, leaning forward with a frown.

”He’s not even casting anything. Don’t tell me he forgot how to release it?”

To them, it looked like Ruvian was simply holding out his palm and staring at the dummy aggressively.

Noelle blinked, her brow drew closer. ”No, I don’t think so...” she said slowly, though her own voice wavered with doubt.

”It’s more like he was channeling it, and not forcing it? I think. I... I don’t know either. But it looks like he’s trying something.”

Noelle was not wrong about it.

Ruvian layered his focus, forming miniature checkpoints along the flow of mana to his palm. At each point, he stabilized the current before continuing.

Now, he could sense the leaking of his mana lessened. Only once the mana settled into something coherent did he begin to shape the spell at his palm.

”[Magic Missile]”

As soon as the mana gathered around his palm, Ruvian shaped it into a condensed form. The energy responded sluggishly at first, but under his persistent intent it began to compress into a visible sphere.

Pale blue light swirling against the surface of his skin. It was small, unstable, and flickering at the edges.

He considered, for a brief moment, forcing more mana into it to strengthen the projectile, to at least resemble the potency of Airin’s [Magic Missile], but the control weighed on his focus.

He was not there yet.

If he pushed further, the spell would collapse.

’I guess this is as far as I can go.’

So Ruvian exhaled and released it.

The projectile shot forward, leaving his palm with the speed and sound of a firework’s trail—fast enough to be seen, but nowhere near the sharp, decisive bolt Airin had produced.

The blue sphere travelled across the ten metres and struck the dummy’s chest. A muted explosion rippled outward, its impact scattering harmless energy that the training dummy absorbed with ease.

Ruvian’s gaze lingered on the fading glow as he lowered his arm.

”....”

[You have learned a new spell!]

[You have received +1 Mana Resonance!]

’I need to practice more.’

Only then did the aftermath settle into him. His body felt heavier than it should have.

A single spell should not have demanded so much, yet his core throbbed as though wrung dry.

[Mana Essence: 135/165]

It reminded him of how much he needs to improve his [Mana Essence]. By the end of this orientation week, he needs to raise it to 200, at least.

Because there is an individual test that every first year scholar needs to complete before the academic period starts. And the test was very important for his academic records.

’After this session ends... I need to go and grab that [Cosmic Fountain Circulation] technique.’

Griffer let out a bark of laughter as the Polaris walked closer to Ruvian.

”Hah! That was it? You call that a spell?” he snorted, throwing his hands up in disbelief.

”Took you, what? Half a lifetime to charge just for that tiny pop? Seriously, was that supposed to put the dummy to sleep?”

”I can cast a better spell than that. You all need to see my [Earth Wall] spell.”

A couple of Polaris members glanced over, unsure if they should laugh. Noelle sighed and looked away, as if embarrassed for him.

Ruvian did not even spare him a glance.

’Why is he so loud?’

In his eyes, Griffer was nothing more than just the background noise. So, his words didn’t bother him much. But before Griffer could continue, a sharp clap echoed across the training hall.

”That’s enough, Griffer.” Airin cut in, neither loud nor angry.

”True, his casting was slow. And yes, the result wasn’t powerful.” Airin’s gaze slid toward Griffer, and the warning in her eyes sharpened like a blade.

”But it wasn’t failure. The process may have looked rough, yet the outcome, the fact that he successfully formed, stabilized, and released a functional spell, matters more than the speed he reached it with.”

She turned slightly.

”Noelle. Tell us, was that really bad casting?”

Noelle blinked, caught completely off guard. She looked at Ruvian, who met her gaze with an unexpectedly calm expression.

Her throat tightened, but she shook her head.

”No. It wasn’t bad at all. For a first timer... it was actually a good casting. Most would usually fail during their first attempt due to mana leakage.”

Airin nodded, satisfied. ”Well said.”

She returned Ruvian’s wand to him.

”Mocking what you don’t understand only proves your ignorance, Griffer. What Ruvian achieved isn’t something most beginners manage on their first attempt.”

Griffer clicked his tongue in reluctance.

”Yeah. Got it. I can do it even better though.” Griffer looked away and gripped the pole of his staff tighter.

Airin lifted her chin, her tone shifting into one meant for the entire group, not just the boy she was correcting.

”Alright, listen up. We still have roughly an hour left in this session. If any of you aren’t confident with your current weapon, speak up now. I’ll help you adjust or swap to something more suitable. If you’re satisfied with it, then get back to your drills.”

She faced each of her scholars before turning to Ruvian.

”Ruvian, keep practicing [Magic Missile]. Now that you’ve got the fundamentals, consistency is your next goal. If your mana starts running low, I’ll give you a [Mana Potion]. Just say the word.”

”After that, I’ll come back and teach you how to cast [Mana Shield].”

Ruvian simply nodded.

”Corwin. Melia. Come with me.”

With that, the training field resumed.

The Polaris members scattered back to their grounds. While Ruvian, this time, with wand in hand, he practiced to cast another [Magic Missile].

*****

After another hour passed, their training finally came to an end.

Before long, the five of them were moving together through the corridors of Velthia Academy, heading toward the [Dining Hall].

Velthia Academy, being one of the most prestigious academies on the continent, spared no luxury when it came to its facilities.

The Dining Hall building alone was testament to that.

A towering structure of polished stone, glass-panelled archways, and chandeliers that glimmered even in daylight.

Inside, the space was divided not by walls, but by floors. Four vast halls, each assigned to a specific academic year, stacked like layers of privilege.

First-years dined on the first floor.

Second-years above them.

Third-years on the third.

And the fourth floor belonged to senior scholars alone.

Ruvian had originally planned to skip the afternoon meal entirely and head straight to the library to search the [Cosmic Fountain Circulation] manual.

But his stomach made a counterargument loud enough to win. And besides, they were still required to attend their designated dining period.

Ruvian sighed inwardly.

Well... the good thing was, after that, will be their free time.

So, he can do whatever he wants.

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[Chapter 44: Magic Missile]