Chapter 78
Mana stones were items used as fuel for devices that required mana.
Unlike scrolls, even people without mana could use them.
Back when I played as a knight, I utilized them as auxiliary tools.
I didn't use them when I was a mage.
However, I’d still tried to obtain them by any ans.
‘The true value of these mana stones is that you can undergo training during the process of charging them.’
Zombies get stronger.
The player had to get stronger as well.
The academy was the cradle of education.
A student's duty lay in learning.
The girls shouldn't stop growing.
Because the zombies wouldn't stop growing.
To survive, there was a need to put in even more effort than them.
“It’s class ti from now on.”
The three female students stared at intently.
They felt awkward at the expression 'class' yet emitted curiosity nonetheless.
“I’m going to give each of you ten mana stones. Charging mana into these mana stones is the task you’ll be doing from now on.”
“Wait a minute, you’re going to teach us?”
“Yes.”
“I admit you’re outstanding, but are you really skilled enough to teach us?”
Adela expressed her opposition.
She was an elite of the academy.
And she was one grade higher than .
It wasn't unreasonable for her to feel uncomfortable.
“Want to test it?”
“A test?”
“To see who can fill a mana stone to the brim faster.”
“Fine!”
Adela didn't avoid the match.
It was just as I’d expected.
Each of us gripped a mana stone and waited for the signal.
“Ready, go.”
Mana was concentrated.
Among them was a mana stone that filled with light noticeably faster.
It was Joshua’s.
She didn't know.
This match couldn't be won with just the total amount of mana.
It required a knack for it.
[Clever] spurred it on as if telling not to worry.
“H-Huh?”
By the ti Joshua’s was completed.
Adela hadn't even filled half of her stone.
She caught her breath.
The ability to manage mana was several tis ahead of her own.
“I lost so helplessly like this?”
“Now you’ll admit the difference.”
“W-Wait, let’s do it just one more ti! I think I can win if we do it again.”
“I’m sorry, but there isn't a second chance.”
“Urgh!”
Adela grit her teeth.
From what I rember, she had a competitive streak that didn't fall behind Leo’s.
“Rest easy. Teaching you is just giving out tasks, that’s all. I won't interfere.”
“I-I like having Senior teach us!”
Tania said while raising her hand high.
Her expression was trembling with tension.
“I’ll teach you simple theory if you're okay with it.”
“Yay!”
“Also, today’s dinner will change depending on the results when I return. I’ll make a sandwich with special ingredients for the person who did well.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up at the news that dinner was on the line.
In particular, there was one person who was crazy about this field.
[By any chance.]
Serena asked a question.
[Is chicken possible too?]
“……I’ll think about it.”
It seed one chicken would have to make a noble sacrifice today.
* * *
Gunter, having returned to his room, imdiately called for soone.
“Did you call for ?”
A neatly dressed man entered the room and bowed his head.
He was the clerk in charge of the guild’s general affairs on Gunter’s behalf.
“I called because I have sothing to ask.”
“Please speak.”
“You're managing things so that the fact of my existence doesn't leak out, right?”
“Of course.”
“Yet if I were caught, should I consider that there’s a traitor?”
The clerk was flustered for a mont but soon continued in a calm voice.
“I don't think that’s the case.”
“Why?”
“Anyone who knows the Branch Manager would be a guild mber, and I’m reported on their movents every day. As far as I know, no suspicious signs were found among them.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Gunter nodded.
The clerk was a colleague who’d been with him since before the disaster broke out.
Having a ticulous personality, he didn't run his mouth carelessly.
“There was a bastard who knew my identity.”
“……Who is that?”
“An academy student.”
The clerk’s face twisted.
It would be one thing if it were professors or knights.
It was hard to accept that a student had figured out the Branch Manager’s identity.
“Are you on your way back from checking personally?”
“Yes, I’d intended to just say hello, but the bastard boldly tried to get sothing out of .”
“Who is it? Just say the word and I’ll quietly remove him.”
“Remove him?”
“It’s a world where corpses walk around alive. There won't be a problem if one more bastard is added to that.”
The clerk glanced at Gunter’s reaction.
Even though it was a matter Gunter would normally agree with, he only laughed.
“You’ve worked with for three years, yet you know nothing about at tis like this.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m saying if I’d intended to turn that bastard into a corpse, I would’ve done it with my own hands.”
“I’m sorry for not grasping the Branch Manager’s intentions.”
“Forget it, just pick out the green rank request items currently in the guild. Along with who the nobles are that requested those items.”
“Is that all the opponent asked for?”
Gunter chuckled.
“Yes, what do you think about it?”
“It’s strange. If he had the courage to approach knowing the Branch Manager’s identity, he could’ve asked for sothing bigger.”
“He knew that the extent of the generosity I could show was about that much.”
“You an he kept to the line?”
“Exactly.”
The clerk furrowed his brow.
“Have you t that student before?”
“Never.”
“Then are you saying that student pierced through the inner thoughts of a Branch Manager he’d never even t?”
“It’s hard to believe, but yes.”
“Should I do a separate background check?”
Gunter shook his head.
He had a hunch that this wouldn't be the end of the relationship with Joshua.
“There’s no need for that. Let’s finish this nicely instead of getting worked up.”
Writing a recomndation letter wasn't difficult.
If it succeeded, he could receive a commission fee and gain the noble’s trust.
Even if it failed, the burden was small.
It would only incur the noble’s wrath for a short while.
They would soon realize there’s no other way and visit the guild again.
“Understood. Then I’ll return after gathering the things you ntioned.”
“Alright, thanks for your work.”
After the clerk left, Gunter fumbled through his mories.
Joshua’s actions were planned.
From entering the village.
To eting him at the inn.
Once his thoughts reached that point, he even felt fear.
“I’ve aged too much. To be wary of a student.”
* * *
“This is much harder than I thought.”
Tania’s entire body was drenched in sweat.
It required more mana than expected to fill the mana stone with mana.
Her mana was the [Fire] attribute.
The mana stone charged with mana turned into a red light.
“Tania, how many did you do.”
Adela, who’d been straining beside her, spoke up.
“Five.”
“What, that’s not much different from .”
Adela looked at the mana stones she’d made.
The number was seven.
It was a number that could be caught up to if she let her guard down even a little.
“It’s definitely easier doing it the way Senior taught us!”
“I-Is that so?”
“Do you want to teach you his thods, Adela?”
Adela contemplated for a very brief mont.
However, she soon expressed her opposition while getting irritable.
“No way. Who knows what that bastard would say later if I took his advice.”
“This is really convenient, though.”
“It’s fine. I’ll prove it with my own strength.”
A noble must always be noble and haughty.
Adela didn't want his help.
Her goal was to be self made.
It was her own image, standing firm even alone.
“Serena, how many did you do?”
Serena gave an innocent smile and held up one finger.
Adela pouted.
Anyone who knew her could guess what that finger ant.
“You an you did all ten?”
[Yes.]
“Hah, seriously. This is annoying.”
Serena’s mana sensitivity was natural.
When it ca to handling items related to magic, no one in the academy could keep up with her.
When the gap was this large, even a competitive spirit didn't arise.
Knock, knock!
Joshua entered the room after knocking.
“Are you all working hard?”
He took a posture as if he were a professor evaluating an exam paper.
“I was doing it very diligently.”
“How many did you do?”
“Seven.”
“That’s more disappointing than I expected.”
“I worked hard enough to die! Seriously, you can't even give a complint.”
Adela made a grumbling sound with a disappointed face.
Joshua sat down while intentionally ignoring her.
“Give one of the mana stones you made.”
“What for?”
“To check. Whether it can be used or not.”
Adela swallowed hard and handed over the one she’d placed in the back to Joshua.
Joshua looked into the blue mana stone.
Silence passed.
Adela, who was waiting for her grade, and Tania, who was next in line, were equally nervous.
“It’s not bad.”
“R-Right? After all, I did make it.”
“But points off for the number. With your ability, you could’ve made two more.”
“……You’re planning to squeeze every last drop of my mana out, aren't you.”
Joshua had the [Analyze] magic.
He naturally used it on Adela and Serena who’d joined this ti as well.
[Clever] told him the possible number of mana stones based on their mana stats.
Adela fell short of that.
“Here, here’s the reward.”
What he handed over in exchange for making the mana stones was bread.
He’d sandwiched a slice of cheese and a boiled egg as ingredients.
“Why isn't it chicken!”
“If you’d achieved 100%, I might’ve given it to you.”
Adela let out a sigh.
Getting into a verbal spat with him only drained her energy.
She took a bite of the bread.
The bread was moist, and the cheese and egg inside were fresh.
She would’ve been overco with joy if it weren't for Joshua.
“Next is your turn, Tania.”
“H-Here it is!”
Joshua smiled while inspecting Tania’s.
In terms of the purity of the mana stone alone, it surpassed Adela’s.
“How is it?”
“You’re better than Adela.”
Adela, who was eating, thumped her chest as if she had indigestion.
She glared this way with a resentful look.
“I really worked hard. Since I’m several years behind big sisters.”
“Yes, I know.”
Even [Clever] was impressed.
According to its calculation, Tania’s limit was four.
Yet the completed amount was five.
He couldn't help but think she’d exerted more than the ability she possessed.
[Clever] made a fuss about encouraging her.
“Senior, is sothing wrong? You don’t look too well.”
“My head is a bit confused, I’ll be fine soon.”
The personality traits would often show favoritism that he himself didn't intend to.
Of course, it was his own will to reflect their opinions.
“Take this.”
He gave her a chicken.
It was from one of the birds he’d been raising at the farm.
Dismantling it wasn't hard.
[Clever] taught him the thod, and [Steady Nerves] made the work nonchalant.
“Aaack! Tania has a smaller number than , so why are you giving her chicken.”
“The number isn't what’s important, what’s important is how much she did compared to her ability.”
Ignoring her disappointed gaze, I looked toward Serena.
There was no need to even check this side.
Adela was skilled in theory.
And Serena’s skill in handling mana was outstanding.
When it ca to the task of charging mana, she was the best among the three.
“There’s no need to even look at Serena’s.”
“W-Wait, then don't tell …….”
I gave Serena the sa sandwich I’d made for Tania.
A special sandwich with chicken inside.
Adela drooled.
“Why am I the only one not getting it!”
“You’ll have to put in more effort next ti I give out a task.”
“This is unfair!”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s unfair. This is my decision.”
“If you were a professor, you’d have been cursed at for being annoying.”
“Maybe.”
I shrugged my shoulders and gathered the mana stones they’d completed into one place.
After putting them into my backpack, I turned my head.
“I’m going outside for a bit. You can do the remaining ones slowly.”
* * *
Many groups existed in the academy.
Among them were places that had been actively interacting even before the disaster broke out.
The guild and the rchant association were in a cooperative relationship.
Their leaders had succeeded in building a new system after the incident occurred by distributing manpower to the right places.
Where there was a guild, there was a rchant association.
The rchant association ran shops and gathered funds and supplies.
“Welco.”
The shop owner greeted a custor.
It was a silver haired boy.
If he’d entered Vilne, it ant he possessed a pass.
He shouldn't be looked down upon.
Yet there was no need to be amazed either.
He often saw individuals of that age who survived and arrived at the village.
“Are you looking for sothing?”
“Mana stones.”
The owner toyed with his chin.
It was a novel experience.
Those who visited the shop usually sought weapons and armor first.
Tools like mana stones were items only experienced rcenaries sought.
“What attribute do you want? Mana stones have high demand, but the supply is low. It’ll probably be more expensive than you think.”
He watched the student's reaction.
He didn't intend to scare him on purpose.
It was a consideration so that if he intended to haggle, he should at least know the minimum value.
The boy’s lips twitched.
“I see, I’m glad the supply is low.”
“What?”
“Because I’m not the one purchasing, but the one selling.”
The student took mana stones out of his backpack and placed them on the table.
One, two, three, four, five.
Mana stones kept popping out from the backpack like a treasure chest.
He placed ten on the table and turned his gaze this way.
“……What on earth.”
“Shall we have a talk now?”
The owner regained his senses late.
He quickly left the counter and approached the front door of the shop.
He changed the sign hanging on the window to [Currently out].
He didn't have the luxury to deal with other custors.
Today, he had to focus only on this boy before his eyes.
“Haha, I didn't recognize a great custor. Please, have a seat.”
He folded both hands tightly and gave him a polite greeting.
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