Everyone in the class tried to refine the natural mana, but only a few were successful. It was a boring process that required a lot of attention and hard work.

After guiding the students for some time, Ana clapped her hands to have everyone's attention.

"Now that you have taken your first step into the world of magic, I'll show you something interesting." After saying this, she waved her hand and a dark sphere appeared on it.

"The mana that is refined by mages had no concept, it is neutral. However, someone can understand a concept and apply it to their mana, showing the properties of the concept."

After saying this, she waved her hand again and the entire room became dark. Nothing could be seen. Ana's voice resounded through the room. "I can use the concept of darkness. applying it with my mana, I can use this ability, the darkroom, where only I can see what is happening." light came back and I could see everything again. "I can also create darkness arrows, swords, balls, and many other kinds of attacks." A dark arrow appeared above her hand, and she launched it toward one of the training dummies. The dummy was corroded until there was nothing left.

"the mana gains the property of the concept you put in it. this is just an example of what your mana can become!” The dark mana surrounding her changed, and it got a silver hue. “The transformations of mana can be infinite. there are no limits to it, only we can put a limit to ourselves.”

everyone in class was amazed by her show. It was truly amazing to see how mana could be used! This was also a reminder that we were not here only to learn how to be scholars, but also to learn how to fight!

Just imagining her dark mana corroding someone was a terrible thought.

“From now on, you have to reflect on the nature of your affinities. How it’s formed, what is used to nurture it, and everything related to it. There are many ways to learn and master a concept, but each person has a journey to make.” There was a mysterious light in her eyes. Each word she said had power and firmness.

“After class, you can go to the library to get some books about the concept or concepts your affinity is related to. Now, you’re dismissed.”

After saying this, she left the place and everyone went toward the library. It was our first time going there, after all, until now all the books that we needed were already in our possession.

After asking some seniors and workers, we finally arrived in front of the library. It was a tower that looked like a pillar holding the heavens. There was a quietness around the place as if the birds, insects, and nature itself had chosen to stay quiet.

There was a big archway in the entrance and this phrase written in big letters “Knowledge can take you anywhere” Some dismissed this phrase as something normal, but I thought otherwise.

Knowledge in the magic world meant power, and power really could take you anywhere. The limits could only be imposed by yourself.

The students from my class eagerly entered the library, and everyone was instantly amazed by the sight.

It was like the tower truly expanded to the infinity when you looked up. There was an elevator by the side to take you up, to what I could see was private booths, and there was a young man behind a balcony at the entrance. shelves were pilled one after the other, filling the place with books.

The young man turned to us and said. “Welcome to the great library, any information you can imagine can be found here.” with a smile on his face.

Everyone was excited and went forward to ask the man for the information that we needed.

“Please, organize yourself and let one come at a time.”

The class quickly formed a line and began to ask for the books for the man. Imir was in front of me and was impatiently hitting the floor with her right foot.

I shook my head and ignored it. The line moved pretty quickly. It seemed that the librarian really knew how to do his job.

After a few minutes, my turn arrived. “Hi little mage, how can I help you?”

I looked in his eyes and said. “I have an affinity for the concept of wood, I would like some books that could help me understand it.”

“hmm… we have a very huge collection here… you see, the concepts that form wood are water, earth, and life. The books about them are many…. I’ll get you the collection that has most to do with wood.”

The librarian turned around and placed his hand on a crystal. It glowed for a moment, and the man looked up. I followed his eyes and saw that some books left the shelves and floated down.

He grabbed five different books and pilled them in front of me. “Here are the books boy, have a good reading.” He said while smiling.

I was about to turn and leave the library when I asked him. “How can I go to one of these booths to study?”

He looked up and smiled at me. “These booths are only available for some special people, after all, they have advanced knowledge that is not available to everyone. If you are the winner of the tournament at the end of the year, you can go there. If you are the person to contribute the most that is.”

I nodded and left the place, asking myself about what this tournament was about.

***

I took the books to my room and concentrated on reading them. They had many things that were hard for me to understand, and I had to consult with other books very often to get what they meant.

I was worried about both my parents and Alana… How they were? Was Alana in love with someone else? These things began to take my concentration and

I got rid of these thoughts and kept studying and meditating.

The weekend passed quickly. There were so many things to study and learn that I didn´t know where to begin. The book that I read about concepts only gave me an introduction to what I could learn, only a glimpse of a bigger world.

After the weekend, I could feel that I had gathered some mana. My cultivation had advanced for a bit. Albeit the degree was small, it was better than nothing.

I went to class again at the beginning of the week. Imir arrived a bit after I did and asked me. “What did you do on the weekend?”

I looked at her blue eyes and answered. “I studied.”

She saw that I didn’t want to talk and seated quietly. After a moment of awkwardness, she said. “You could at least try to interact with the other students a bit. It would be good for you.”

I opened my mouth to answer her, but the teacher entered the classroom and I lost my opportunity.

The class followed the same schedule as last week. We would learn things slowly and part by part. The teaching methods of Ana were amazing. I didn’t know if I thought that because the only other teacher that I had was the village head, but even so, her explanations were incredible.

When the clock arrived at midday, the classes were over. The students began to gather their materials, but just before everyone began to leave the class, Ana said. “Everyone, I have something to say.”

The students obediently stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

“As you know, your class is composed of students that came from the countryside, and has a good talent with concepts.” Everyone nodded. “Let’s speak truthfully, the college awaits great things from you. You are being groomed by us not for charity, but for greater things. Most of you don’t know, but from the second year on, if you want to study in the college for free, you have to sign a contract saying that you are willing to work for the college for 4 years after graduation.”

The room was silent. Everyone here came from a backward place, and never had a proper education. Most only learned to read and write properly, which already was a great thing for many people in my town.

Working for 4 years was nothing to everyone in this room, after all, leaving the countryside was already the best opportunity that we had.

“There are other classes that pay to study in here. Many of these people are from rich families or are nobles. They have a history with magic and a great inheritance in magic. They see you as mere leeches, sucking the school.”

The eyes of the children were a little perturbed. Hearing this was not good.

“Many of you must be asking. Why is she saying this? Does she want to rub the truth in our faces? To answer those, No, I am not doing this for pleasure or to make fun of you. We have a thing called an internal tournament. A moment where the classes from each year dispute for the position of best class. The tournament happens at the end of the year, and the best class receives many special resources in the next year. These resources can change whether someone can become a great mage or not.” She gave a look around the class and continued. “I am telling you this now because you still have a whole year to study and at least achieve something.”

She took a deep breath and said. “To tell you the truth, winning the tournament is not something easy, but not something impossible as well. You can do it, you only have to work hard.”

“You will be seen as the worst in the tournament, show them that you are the elite instead! Dismissed!”

Everyone stood there for a moment while Ana left the class, everyone quietly got out of the classroom.

The message that she wanted to pass to us was clear. Work hard or be scum!

We were here receiving things from the school, and we were not giving anything back. The ones that paid saw us as scum, so we would have to show them otherwise.

After eating, I got back to my room and studied even harder! After what she said, I think everyone in class will be motivated.

I kept studying like mad. There was nothing more interesting to me than acquiring new information. I knew that I was shutting myself to many things, however, I had to stay focused on what I wanted to do.

Would it truly matter to make friends if everything was going to repeat, and nobody was going to remember anything? Even Alana wouldn’t know who I was if I didn’t introduce myself or went after her in some way.

It was a sad thing to be alone, but it was even harder to lose everything that was important to you.

Sometimes, I passed by groups, and they were laughing and joking around. Imir tried to talk to me sometimes during class, but I only briefly talked to her and tried not to get too close.

And just like this, two months passed.

It was already April, and everyone in the class had progressed somewhat. Although we barely advanced in manipulating mana itself, the students easily advanced in terms of concepts! This was this class strength!