"He cannot use his main sword art without using mana..."

Maria looked at Jaden with a flabbergasted look, her lips trembling as she searched for words, but his condition was simply too bizarre.

"What star is your sword art?" She questioned to understand the main issue.

"I know a 1-star sword art and a 2-star sword art," Jaden answered sombrely, the defeat still weighing heavily on him.

She rubbed her chin as she thought of what could be the problem, and after thinking about it for a few good seconds, she concluded, 'Did... did he unknowingly evolve a 1-star sword art into a 2-star art? That too without any knowledge of it?'

A 1-star martial art consisted simply of basic forms, stances, and steps. This was the same for the [Basic Sword Forms]. While a 2-star martial art would require elementals or mana.

Without realising it, Jaden had evolved the [Basic Sword Forms] into a 2-star art — simply by letting mana flow through his body and blade.

She looked at him with awed eyes that she hid a moment later, 'Should I tell him about it?'

After looking around, she concluded, 'It is not something I should say here.'

Just as she finished her thought, the masked coaches had finished sparring with the remaining students.

She clapped her hands and spoke, "All of you did great... and those who think that you didn't do well enough, then work hard and make sure to never feel that again."

She glanced at the masked figures and gave a slight nod. The masked figures nodded back and left the training hall.

"Today, you all found out about your strengths and weaknesses. Now, what you have to do is work on your weaknesses and polish your strengths," She said before clapping once again.

She vanished from her spot, and her departing words echoed within the training centre: "Now you have to go back to your classes for the next lecture on Magic Arts."

The students looked at each other and walked towards the weapon racks.

Solemn expressions painted across most faces, though a few remained unreadable — Jamie, Shelly, and Selina were among them.

They placed their weapons back on the racks and turned to leave. However, Jaden stared at his knight's sword for a few moments before a hand patted him on the shoulder.

"Navin..." he mumbled.

"Yes?" Navin spoke as he placed his long spear back in its place.

"I didn't want to lose," Jaden replied.

Navin chuckled at his words and spoke with a smile, "Nobody wants to lose, Jaden. We simply lost because we were weaker than the ones we fought. But from this loss, we learned our weaknesses and what we need to work on. So don't get upset over it and rise higher than before."

Jaden nodded slightly and placed his sword back in its place as he mumbled, "You are right..."

He turned towards Navin with a faint smile, softly hugged him, and spoke, "Let's go to class."

Their steps echoed within the hallway as all of the students left the training centre full of steel and made their way towards the classroom.

At the same time, a thought was brewing in Jaden's head, 'There's no point in trying to learn everything... I have to get stronger first.'

A plan was being formed in his head.

A few moments later, everyone took the same seats as before as they waited for the next teacher to come.

The doors parted as a man with greasy shoulder-length black hair and deep grey eyes walked inside. He wore a dark tang suit with crystalline violet embroidery and a long dark cape that reached to his knees.

Upon seeing the man, Jaden's expression turned grave, 'He is that teacher from the assembly...'

He suddenly heard a voice in his head: You are truly fearless, aren't you, Mister Cross...? Or am I simply not fearful enough?

'This again... I don't even know what this man wants from me. What the fuck did my forgotten self do to get him so pissed off?' Jaden thought with a dark expression.

"Probably none of you have the books yet," the long-nosed man said flatly.

Zaria raised her hand with the book, a smile stretching across her face.

"Student Zaria, is there something you need help with?" He asked, his eyes sharp.

"A-ah, n-no?" Zaria replied, flustered by the sudden question.

"Then why are you raising your hand?" He questioned as his eyes darted between other students.

Zaria lowered her hand and head with a heavy frown. She replied in a low voice, "I am sorry, Mister Ansel."

"That you must be, and next time, stand while you speak," Ansel added as his eyes dug daggers into Jaden.

"Student Jaden, what do you think a magic art is?" He asked as he turned towards the screenboard.

Jaden stood up in his seat and answered, "Mana-related martial arts and magic spells."

"What about the Prophecy, Will, Emotion and Spirit branches of magic? None of them requires mana, after all," he replied without turning back.

Jaden fell silent on his words and thought, 'There are magic branches that don't require mana?'

"Yes, there are magic branches that do not require mana. What they require are different payments. For example, Spirit Magic requires forming a contract with a fairy. Prophecy magic requires you to sacrifice your life essence," he continued.

He turned back towards Jaden and stared into his eyes as he spoke, "You should have learned the basics before stepping into the academy, student Jaden."

Jaden lowered his head. He didn't say anything because he knew that his words would be considered nothing else than excuses.

"You don't have to force yourself to stay for my lecture," he turned towards the screenboard once ahead and continued, "You may sit if you wish to."

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Goals

• 100 power stones = extra 1 chapter.

• 100 golden tickets = extra 1 chapter.

• 100 collections = extra 1 chapter.

• Golden Castle = extra 5 chapters.

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