The Academy's Time Looper-Chapter 50: Unruly Mana

They were calm like the dark-blue ocean, but like the waves that crashed against the borders of the human continent, they were filled with rage and persistence.

On the outside, Athen was the definition of the world, "calm."

He stood still with a relaxed posture, his arms by his waist, and looked at the approaching teacher with no sign of fear.

But, on the inside, it was a completely different story.

With the only weapon he had brought rendered useless, Athen rapidly tried to think of another way to attack.

Even if he had managed to fire a shot with his crossbow that passed Caldris’s sword, Athen was sure that the mana surrounding the teacher’s body would protect him and deflect the arrow.

The reason the teacher went through the effort to block the arrow with his sword, then?

He was trying to show off.

After all, the mana that made his sword and the mana surrounding his body were the same, so if his sword’s mana could deflect the sword, then surely, his body’s mana would be able to do so as well.

His fists definitely wouldn’t break through the light-blue hue surrounding the teacher’s figure either.

If the metal tip of an arrow couldn’t, then his puny skin would just fail tremendously.

As this helpless situation set in for Athen, you would think thoughts of escaping would spread throughout his brain.

It would be easy for him.

All he would have to do was activate his time-stopping ability...and simply run away.

With that, he would easily pass the professor’s test!

Those thoughts did appear in Athen’s brain, but before he could even comprehend them, they disappeared.

His ego was in full control.

Mana...he had to use it to win.

To beat mana, he had to use it.

With that last thought, Athen’s decision was made.

Even though Athen had only been able to sense mana a mere few seconds ago, he did not consider the possibility that he would fail once.

Raising his chin, Athen grinned before reaching down and grabbing the last arrow that he had brought with him.

Then, without a single ounce of hesitation, he raised the arrow to his head and slammed it straight downward, right into his hand.

As the metal tip of the arrow punctured the top of the palm, Athen did not show any signs of discomfort or pain.

His expression remained neutral as if nothing had even happened in the first place.

Mana goes with blood, right?

So, all he had to do was make blood go to where he wanted his mana to go.

When you get a small cut or wound, blood naturally rushes to that portion of the body to repair the skin tissue and cells.

That much is easy to understand.

However, Athen didn’t only want a few drops of blood and mana.

He wanted the same... no more mana than the teacher had.

Allowing the arrow to stay embedded in his hand for a few seconds, Athen stood still, feeling his palm begin to throb and vibrate.

Within seconds, his hand was colored tomato-red and hot to the touch.

Grabbing the end of the arrow, he yanked it out of his hand and threw it off to the side, allowing it to hit a wall and fall to the ground. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The metal tip of the arrow was colored blood-red, blending in with the red carpet below, and the point where the arrow had hit the wall was also painted dark red.

But, what caught the sight of Caldris was Athen’s hand.

Thankfully, none of the arrow’s material had been left behind when Athen forcefully pulled it out, but the wound was still horrifying.

Athen’s tissue was visible through the wound in his hand, and gushes of blood flowed out, similar to a geyser spitting out water.

Within seconds, Athen’s entire right hand and part of his wrist were painted blood-red, with even the floor below covered in blood that leaked off his hand.

But, Athen wasn’t focused on the searing and bitter pain coursing through his body, causing him to partially tremble and break his calm act.

He felt something else.

It wasn’t just blood flowing from his hand.

While it wasn’t visible to the eye, he could feel small particles of mana rushing through his arm.

Whenever one moved, in contrast to the blood, which only brought hotness and pain, his hand would be enveloped by a small cold sensation, as if he had stuck it in ice.

It would be impossible to notice this feeling if you weren’t specifically looking for it, as the pain and heat from the blood would overshadow it.

However, unlike flowing out the wound and painting his pale skin blood-red, the mana...simply hovered below the wound, unwilling...or unable to leave Athen’s body.

While the blood rushed out of the wound and onto his skin, the mana desperately tried to follow after...only to be blocked mere millimeters below the wound.

Control it...he had to control it.

Athen had brought it here; now, he had to make it do something.

It was like ordering a bunch of bricks to build a house but not having any blueprints or plans on how to construct it.

During all this, Professor Caldris had paused his march, simply staring at Athen with a bewildered expression.

How was he supposed to explain to the principal that a student had purposely harmed himself during his test!?

For once, Caldris actually thought he might be fired!

Well...thankfully, she wouldn’t know or be able to find out.

At that moment, a sudden thought crossed Athen’s mind.

It was his body.

The mana was his and only his.

If he were a king, the mana particles would be his pawns, bending to his every will and order.

Or they should be.

The relationship between Athen and the mana particle was more like that of an owner and their untrained and disobedient dog.

The mana roamed free in Athen’s body, doing whatever the hell it wanted to while completely ignoring Athen’s immune system.

Athen...he was going tame the mana.