-SREEEEE!-

  'Yes, I know I'm out of Mana, but until I can get an exception from the nurse, I'm not allowed to bring my pouches to class. Just be patient and wait until we get back home,' Alex mentally said to Silk as he walked down a wall with Mari's help.

  -SCREEEEEECH!-

  'Oh, don't be a big baby! You're not going to starve without Mana for a few hours. I know for a fact you can live without Mana for a few weeks before suffering any side-effects!' He mentally countered Silk's whining.

  "You still alive there?" Mari asked.

  "Hmm? Yeah, why do you ask?" Alex replied. He felt Mari attempt to shrug before she remembered she was holding onto him.

  "Eh, you've been very quiet since we left the gym, so I was wondering if you passed out or something."

  "Ah, yeah, I'm fine, just a bit." He paused. "Drained."

  "Of stamina or Mana?"

  "Both."

  "Really?"She raised a brow. "You seemed pretty energetic in our fight. With that and the fact that you didn't have the deal with the arena sapping your stamina, I thought you'd still have plenty of energy."

  "I burned through my Mana very quickly in the fight. Not only did I have to maintain a Boost spell to keep up with you, feed the rune a constant stream of Mana, but I also had to cast a few expensive spells to try not to drag the fight for too long."

  "Oh, didn't think you could beat me in a slug fest?" Mari said in a teasing tone.

  "I know for a fact I can't, which Spell slinger thinks they could beat a Brawler in a fist fight?"

  "Aw, don't sell yourself short. You were awesome in our fight! I almost forgot you were a spell slinger!" Alex snorted.

  "I'm not sure if I should consider that a compliment or an insult."

  "Why not both?"

  "Heh, true. Though I should probably tell you this now, I don't usually fight like I did today."

  "Oh? Do you stand back and fire spells from afar?"

  "No, I still consider myself a melee fighter; it's just I typically use a lot more spells."

  "Hmm? Really? What stopped you from doing that in our fight?"

  "Let's just say I tend to burn through my Mana faster than most, so I usually need to balance out my fighting style with Mana Potions."

  "In that case, I look forward to the day I can fight you at your strongest!" Alex just nodded. "Well, if we're being honest with each other. I'm surprised you lasted as long as you did."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Eh, you don't look like a person who can last long in a fight. I pegged you more of a burst-type fighter. Someone who deals a lot of damage at the start of a fight, then steps back to recharge. So I was surprised when you didn't collapse from exhaustion after our first clash."

  "I can do that, but that kind of fighting style isn't that effective in most combat situations. Also, I spent a lot of time improving my stamina, and if that isn't enough, I know the Energize spell."

  "You do? Did you use it in our fight?"

  "No, I try to avoid using it when I can't immediately replenish my Mana due to how much it drains to cast it."

  "Ah, I see, then what kind of physical training do you do?"

  "That's kind of a random question to ask out of nowhere."

  "Eh, not really. I'm just curious how a spell slinger I acknowledge trains their body. From what I can feel right now, you have a body built for endurance and speed."

  "Well, like I said earlier, I spend a lot of time working on my stamina, so I do a lot of exercise like running. And when I'm not doing that, I try to train my whole body equally using weights." Mari nodded.

  "I like to train outside. My favourite thing to do is punch the boulders in my backyard, followed by swimming in the nearby river." The duo continued their idle talk until they arrived at the infirmary. Looking inside, they saw a stern-looking brunette woman wearing a lab coat motioning them inside. The woman pointed at a bed, on which Alex sat down, before grabbing a clipboard from a nearby table and walking towards the duo.

  "Hello, I'm Dr.Torrel. How may I help you two?" Torrel asked as the pencil in her hand started flying across her clipboard.

  "Oh, I'm not hurt, I was just helping Alex get here." Torrel paused for a moment to look up from her clipboard before continuing what she was doing. "So, uh, with that done, I guess I'll head out now. Bye, Alex, see you tomorrow."

  "Have a good rest of your day and see you tomorrow as well." However, before Mari could leave, Torrel ripped the top paper from her clipboard and handed it to her. Taking it, Mari looked down and saw an extremely detailed pencil drawing of her carrying Alex.

  "Uh, thank you? It's very, uh, nice?" Torrel, still professional-looking, nodded before shooing her away. Mari turned to look at Alex, who just shrugged at her before walking out of the room.

  "How may I help you?" Torrel asked, her hands in constant motion.

  "Instructor McGaron told me to go here after he got my class to fight each other. Despite using the arena in the gym, I used a rune to disable the enchantment meant to prevent minor to moderate injuries to make better use of my ability to regenerate. However, I ran out of Mana, which resulted in the rune I used to break and my body being put in stasis. I shouldn't have any serious injuries due to my regeneration, but McGaron told me to come here just in case." Torrell nodded along as Alex talked, occasionally glancing up from her clipboard.

  "Please take off your shirt and turn around," she said while placing her clipboard on top of a nearby drawer. He nodded before doing what she asked.

  "Scan," she murmured as her right hand gave off a white glow. Torrel's hand gently glided across his back and arms, occasionally stopping as her brow furrowed. She nodded and deactivated the spell before grabbing her clipboard. "When it comes to people with regeneration, it's important to make sure bones heal in the right places, or you risk them cutting into organs. Luckily, it appears that your bones have healed correctly with no signs of long-lasting side effects. You still have tears in some of your muscles, primarily in your arms and shoulders, which shouldn't be a problem, as, from my estimation, they should be fully healed within the next half hour." She paused before tilting her head to the side as if she wasn't sure what she was looking at.

  "Anything wrong?" Alex asked as he put his shirt back on. She shook her head before looking up at him.

  "From what I can glean, your body is regenerating at an odd pace." Alex sat in silence for the next few moments while Torrel went back to drawing.

  "Dr. Torrel, can you elaborate on what you mean by that?"

  "Oh, sorry." She said in a startled voice. "Ahem, usually when someone who can regenerate gets injured, their body starts making cells at the location of said injury. However, your body seems to prioritize more urgent injuries to the point that it would completely stop healing any minor injuries to focus on more serious ones."

  "Is that not how it's usually worked?"

  "No, usually people with regeneration would heal multiple injuries at the same time, but at a slower rate. You heal each injury one at a time at greatly increased speeds. "

  "Ah, I see," Alex nodded. 'Her standard for regeneration is from the Lesser-Regeneration Trait, which differs from my Moderate-Regeneration. I'm surprised she would confuse them, though, in her defence, she wouldn't have much of a chance to inspect someone with Moderate-Regeneration until now.' He let out a fake cough to catch her attention. "Would this cause any problems?" Torrel paused, closed her eyes, and tilted her head before going completely silent.

  "No," She finally answered after three minutes of silence.

  "Then am I free to go?"

  "Oh, no, there is one more thing. I got conflicting information from my scans. Somehow, your back is physically uninjured while simultaneously being covered in scars, despite none being visible."

  "Ah, have you heard of scaring due to injuries caused by raw Mana?"

  "I have, though I haven't encountered any such case." She paused for a bit. "Is that what you're suffering from?" He nodded. "Then I'm sorry to say I'm unable to help you with that. I know very little about scars from injuries inflicted by raw Mana, except that there is no known way to heal them." She admitted as she drooped a bit.

  "It's fine, I understand not much is known about it, and I'm already used to it."

  "You are?" He nodded. "Are you sure?" He nodded once more. "Then, uh, is there anything I can do to help, even a bit?"

  "Can I get permission to carry a Storage Pouch so I can always have Mana Potions with me? I was diagnosed with Mana Deficiency syndrome, and it would be nice if I could replenish Mana more regularly. If it helps, it should also be in my medical records." People with Mana Deficiency syndrome either have trouble refilling their Mana, can't contain much of it or constantly leak it. Alex technically falls under the latter category, even if the cause of his Mana leakage can reverse the process if need be.

  "Ok, can you wait while I go check?"

  "Yeah, I'm not in any rush," Torrel nodded before heading through a door at the back of the infirmary. Lying on the bed, Alex reflected on his last class as he waited. 'It's interesting that the instructors chose the one-on-one fight tutorial instead of opting for teams.' For groups attending Starage Academy, the first combat class is meant to be the players' initial experience with combat. Although the guidebook recommends it as a team fight, with players battling NPC classmates, GMs typically decide what to do depending on whether their players completed the prologue or not. For those who finished the prologue, team fights are arranged, allowing them to see how well their characters work together. Meanwhile, players who skipped it are given individual fights to showcase their characters to the other players.

  'I was pretty lucky to have three playable characters in my class.' It's quite common for GMs to use pre-made characters to fill out the class roster. However, after some community pushback, later additions suggested that GMs should roll a d4 to decide how many pre-made characters they could use. 'Jack Verdant, Crystal Frostwind, and Seraphina Gracefield— a tank, a damage dealer, and a support. With a lineup like this, the first few events should be manageable enough that I don't have to worry about anyone important dying. If worst comes to worst, the other students should survive long enough for an adult to rescue them.' Alex reflected on the fight involving the pre-made characters. 'They're as strong as I expected by now, although I wish Seraphina were a bit more powerful. Hmmm, I'll need to check if there's anything I can do about that.' Alex's thoughts then shifted to his fight against Mari.

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  'Marigold Rosalina, I didn't think she would be this strong, definitely not to the point of beating me in a fight.' Even with Alex restricted due to his limited Mana, he never even considered that he would lose to someone who was originally just an NPC. 'What did the character handbook say her traits were again? Battle Junkie, Strong body, Strong bones, Powerful muscles, Battle Instincts, and Pain tolerance? Would those be enough to explain the strength I've seen? Hmm, maybe?' Alex shook his head to stop that train of thought. 'Ugh, it's always so hard to know how some Traits translate to reality.' He let out a deep sigh. 'No matter, I should be fine if I just consider everyone stronger than how they are portrayed in the character handbook and plan accordingly.'

  "I've confirmed that your medical record does have you being diagnosed with Mana Deficiency syndrome." Alex was dragged out of his thoughts by Torrel, who walked out of the back room holding a stack of paper stapled together. Sitting back up, Alex watched as Torrel flipped through the stack of papers in her hands. "It says here you were diagnosed by Dr. Duarf a year and a half ago. Is that correct?" Alex nodded. "And you haven't had a check-up since?" He nodded again. "Are you willing to stay a bit longer so I can do a quick check-up?"

  "Sure." With the artifacts she had on hand, along with the spells she knew, it didn't take long for Torrel to finish the checkup.

  "Besides the issues we discussed earlier, you seem to be in perfect health. However, I suggest increasing your protein intake to aid in regeneration."

  "I'll keep that in mind."

  "Now, for the last thing I need to check, can you turn around?" Alex nodded before turning around. Torrel then put on a metal bracelet covered in circuit-like etchings.

  "Scan," She murmured while placing her palm in the middle of Alex's back. The familiar white glow enveloped her hand, which got brighter as the circuits on the bracelet started to shine. "Your Mana is worryingly low despite how long it's been since you got here." She said after a minute of silence.

  'I should have asked Silk to refrain from draining my Mana.' Alex mentally sighed. 'Well, too late now.' "The rate at which my Mana is drained severely slows down how fast I can refill it. Luckily, I don't suffer from Mana Sickness, so it doesn't really affect my day-to-day life." Torrel's eyes slightly widen.

  "Really? I read of people being immune to Mana Sickness, but I never thought I would meet one in person."

  "Yeah, because without it, my life would be hundreds of times harder." Torrel raised a brow at his wording before shaking her head, deciding that there wasn't any point in asking. "So, can I have permission to carry a Storage Pouch?"

  "Oh, yes, I'll notify the faculty of your situation; you should be able to carry one around tomorrow."

  "Thank you, that'll help a lot." Torrel smiled before pausing.

  "Let me give you something before you leave." Before Alex could answer, Torrel walked towards a drawer, opened it and took out a glass bottle filled with light blue liquid. "Even if you don't suffer from Mana Sickness, it's better to play it safe and not go too long without any Mana. Here is a Grade 2 Mana Potion." Alex took the potion and stood up from the bed.

  "Thank you." Torrel gave him a soft smile before waving him away.

  "Have a good Alex."

  "You too, Dr. Torrel."

  "I'm back! And I brought some take-out!" Forcing herself not to jump out of her seat, Elizabeth turned around and saw Crystal entering their dorm room.

  "Thank you, Crystal. Also, is everything okay? Did something happen on your way here?" She asked, setting her pen down and pushing her homework aside to make room on the table.

  "No, why do you ask?" Crystal said as she closed the door behind her.

  "You told me you'll come straight here after class ended, and that was over two hours ago."

  "Ah, sorry about that. My last class of the day was Combat, and our instructor had each pair of students fight while the rest of us watched. Some of the fights kinda dragged on." Crystal replied while setting down the take-out on the table before taking a seat across from Elizabeth.

  "Really? My instructor had us fight in teams of five."

  "How did that go?"

  "Each student was randomly assigned a team, and I was lucky enough not to have any subpar fighters. Some teams weren't as fortunate, for example, one was comprised of two medical students, one business student, and two Enchanters. That team didn't last long." Crystal frowned, feeling bad for that team.

  "Well, how about the rest of your day? Anything interesting happen?" While Elizabeth took her time thinking, Crystal opened up her take-out and started eating.

  "No," Elizabeth eventually said while opening her portion of the meal. "Today was a pretty standard day. How about you? Anything interesting you would like to share?"

  "Hmm," Crystal paused mid-bite before snapping her fingers while swallowing her food. "You know Alex? The one in our Magic Studies class."

  "Alveron?"

  "Yeah, him! Despite being a Spell slinger, he fought like a Brawler."

  "That's not that rare, in fact, don't we have several people we share classes with that fight like that?" Crytsal shook her head.

  "No, no, I mean like a bona fide Brawler. He didn't just fight with melee when he was forced to or use his body as a catalyst to fire spells. He fought mainly using his fists to punch his opponent. For most of the fight, he only used the Boost spell along with some form of healing spell. He only used two non-supportive spells near the end of the fight, the basic Freeze and Flame spells. He even managed to keep up with an actual Brawler, trading blow for blow throughout the entire fight. Though, despite that, he did end up losing when he ran out of Mana, resulting in the arena's Enchantments activating and stopping the fight."

  "Wait, why would Alex running out of Mana trigger the enchantments? And now that I think about it, why would he need to cast any healing spell if the arena prevents getting hurt?"

  "Oh, sorry, uh, let me clarify that." Elizabeth ate in silence as Crystal recounted Alex's fight, his regeneration and how he bypassed the arena's enchantments.

  "Fascinating, I didn't think that was possible for someone our age."

  "Though to be fair, I doubt many people would want to do that in the first place." Elizabeth nodded at her comment. "So yeah, because he ran out of Mana, he couldn't maintain the rune, resulting in the arena detecting his injuries and stopping the fight."

  "That is interesting, though I do have to say that the way he fights isn't actually that rare to see in soldiers."

  "Really?"

  "Yes, there are many documented cases of Spell slingers soldiers who, for one reason or another, chose to forgo a typical Spell slinger fighting style for a more melee-focused one."

  "Hmm, should I try fighting like that as well? I can cast the Boost spell, even if only a weakened version of it, and it sounds pretty useful to be able to fight up close when needed." Elizabeth shook her head.

  "I'll admit that you'll benefit a lot from getting physically stronger, as you are a bit frail. However, I wouldn't recommend completely changing your fighting style, especially into one that forgoes spell slinging. Spell-slinging soldiers typically only pick up this fighting style for one of two reasons. Either something happened that altered their body, or Mana"

  "Altered how?"

  "It can be something minor, like a Mana Weaver losing the ability to weave complex spells due to getting their fingers injured. Or a disease resulting in the soldier losing Mana at a faster rate. Or something major which almost always resulted from the soldier eating a Boss Core." Crystal perked up at the mention of Boss Cores. "As you know, when someone consumes a Boss Core with the right intent, they absorb it into themselves. This results in the person gaining a completely random characteristic of the monster from which the core originated. So, a Spell slinger soldier might decide to change their fighting style if what they gained from the Boss Core warrants it. It could be because they gained something beneficial, such as Mana-conductive muscles. Or because they got something that makes the normal spell-slinging fighting style unfeasible, like Mana insensitivity."

  "Hmmm, do you think that applies to Alex? Because I didn't see anything that could imply he used to fight differently from what he showed in today's class. So maybe he just always fought like a brawler?"

  "I don't think that's the case." Elizabeth shook her head. "I'm not saying brawlers can't be proficient in spell casting, but even if you're a genius, a person can't get as good as he is without dedicating countless hours to their chosen craft. So, most likely, he used to have a more typical Spell slinger fighting style before choosing to adopt a different one like the soldiers I mentioned earlier."

  "Ah, that makes sense. Though, why do you think he did it?"Elizabeth ate in silence while thinking over what she knew about the man.

  "I think it's a little bit of both of the reasons I stated earlier." She eventually replied after finishing her meal. "From how you described his fight with your other classmate, along with his reaction at the end. It sounds like he wasn't expecting to run out of Mana when he did. So, most likely, Alex is used to fighting with a larger Mana pool, and something happened recently that changed that. However, I don't believe it's the reason why he chose to adopt his current fighting style. I think it just worked as an incentive for him to double down on using the brawler fighting style instead of a more hybrid one. Which leaves something physically changing in him, being the root cause of Alex's change in fighting style." Crystal's eyes widen.

  "You think he ate a Boss Core?" Elizabeth nodded.

  "Yes, he must have eaten a Boss Core relatively recently and gained the ability to regenerate. Which I'm guessing prompted him to learn hand-to-hand combat to take advantage of his newly gained ability."

  "He seemed used to relying on it, though, so couldn't Alex have been born with regeneration instead of getting it from a Boss Core?" Elizabeth nodded at her question.

  "You have a point. There are documented cases of people being born with the ability to regenerate. So, that's always a possibility. However, I personally don't think that's the case."

  "Oh, why would you say that?"

  "Before I can answer that question, let me ask you something first: how would you describe how he fights? More specifically, how he acts when injured."

  "Reckless? No more like indifferent." Crystal eventually answered after giving it some thought. Elizabeth nodded.

  "Alex's confidence, and more importantly, his over-reliance on his regeneration, is why I think he wasn't born with it. I estimate that, at the minimum, he had it for a year, and at the most, for four years. Either way, you typically only see that kind of behaviour in people who have recently gained a sudden boost in strength in a short period and are overestimating their abilities. In most cases, that results from obtaining a powerful ability from a Boss Core." Crystal frowned a bit.

  "Then, should I say something? Just in case something bad happens because he relied on his regeneration too much." Elizabeth shook her head before getting up to throw away her take-out box.

  "He seems smart enough to understand his limits, and if not, your Combat instructor will definitely make sure he does." Crystal nodded with a smile, relieved to hear Elizabeth's reassurance. "Hey, what do you want for breakfast tomorrow?" She asked after finishing her meal and throwing away the container.

  "Maybe the mixed rice you made last time, just without the spiciness."

  "Eh, was it that bad?" Elizabeth grimaced at the memory.

  "Yeah."

  "Sorry about that. This time I'll make two batches, one for me and one for you."

  "I appreciate that." The duo continued their idle talk for several hours.

  "I'm home!" Jack announced while entering his kitchen, covered in sweat, with a towel draped over his shoulder.

  "Ugh, go upstairs and take a shower, you stink." Replied a thin teen in front of a stove, cooking up a meal. Jack gave an embarrassed chuckle while rubbing the back of his neck before heading upstairs. After a quick shower, Jack sat down at his dining room table with the other teen. With the food in front of them, the skinny teen gave a short prayer before eating, with Jack digging in soon after. Once the duo finished, Jack let out a satisfied sigh before grabbing used plates and utensils.

  "Thanks for another great meal!" Jack said as he headed to the sink.

  "You don't have to say that every time, you know."

  "Yes, I don't have to, but I want to," Jack replied with a wide smile while washing the dishes. "So, Raven, did you join any clubs?"

  "No, I don't see any reason why I should."

  "Come on, man, you need to socialize more. Do you even have any friends in any of your classes?" Raven's silence told Jack everything he needed to know. "Then why don't you join me at the Academy gym after classes? They have equipment designed to train muscles I didn't even know I had! If you don't feel like just working out, we can play badminton or something. Anything to get you moving, and you know I bet it would help you prepare for combat class or any instance you might need to fight in the future." Raven sat in silence, keeping his eyes on Jack. Jack stared back at him, making sure to look Raven straight in the eyes as he finished up cleaning the dishes.

  "-Sigh- Fine," Raven eventually relented. "I'll join you starting tomorrow."

  "Sweet! I promise you, you're not going to regret this!" Jack cheered as he walked up and gave Raven a big bear hug. Raven let out a deep sigh as he fluidly escaped from Jack's embrace.

  "Next time you hug me out of nowhere, please dry your hands first."

  "Hehe, sorry about that." Jack awkwardly chuckled while he rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, up for a few hunts?" Jack asked after putting away the dishes and drying his hands.

  "You finally beaten the Giant Ice Maw?" Jack shook his head.

  "No, but a classmate said he beat it using acidic damage instead of fire. Apparently, despite the Ice Maw being weak against fire damage, its armour is easier to break using acidic weapons. Sadly, I don't have enough materials to craft any acidic weapons, so I'm planning to farm some."

  "Sure, I'll join. Maybe with your new weapons, you'll finally beat the Ice Maw so we can start joining raids together." Jack's eyes lit up.

  "Oh yeah! I forgot raids were a thing! What are they like?"

  "You don't know? You can easily watch a video online to learn about them."

  "Nah, I decided to play this game completely blind. Well, besides some monster guides for the tougher hunts."

  "Fair, let me just make us some snacks first."

  "Sweet! I'll meet you upstairs!" Raven chuckled, already foreseeing a long night of gaming ahead of him.