Chapter 7. Long time no see.

"Strange... truly strange..."

After Lucas left, Alberto, alone in the dean's office, felt a headache from the unsolved mystery.

*Knock knock knock*

"Come in."

At Alberto's permission, the door opened, and Aman walked into the room.

"Oh, Aman Tineo! You came just in time."

"Haha, I don't know what to do with myself, being welcomed like this. Is there a problem?"

"Yes, there is a problem..."

"What kind of problem...?"

As Aman sat down, Alberto took out the magic stone he had shown Lucas earlier and placed it on the desk.

"About 1st Circle."

"What...?"

"I used this magic power measurement stone on Lucas. He cast a Light spell without reciting the incantation. Well, it was a faint light, but still."

"Hmm..."

"I thought the boy had at least 2nd Circle, maybe even 3rd Circle, of magic power. But I was wrong."

Alberto placed his hand on the magic stone.

Suddenly, the bright light from the magic stone filled the room.

"I checked it several times to see if the magic stone was faulty... but as you can see, there's nothing wrong with it."

"..."

Hearing Alberto's words, Aman's mind was flooded with thoughts.

The magic power he felt from Lucas was clearly above 5th Circle. It was so abundant that it wouldn't be strange for him to become a great mage on the continent. How could he be only 1st Circle? Something was definitely wrong.

"But I still don't want to believe I was wrong. So, can you watch from the side?"

Aman nodded silently in response to Alberto's cautious question.

"I will do that."

After a brief bow, Aman left the room, his heart filled with an indescribable thrill.

'Oh, this is going to be a very interesting game.'

A human kid hiding his true strength so boldly! The feeling he had at the viscount's mansion wasn't wrong.

He had suggested Alberto measure his magic power just in case, and the kid had hidden his power just like at the viscount's mansion.

'I could go crazy with excitement!'

Aman trembled with joy, stomping his feet.

The short life of a human. But such an interesting life would be worth watching.

"Hahaha!!"

So happy that he forgot his dignity, Aman burst out laughing in the middle of the corridor, his steps lighter than usual.

'Cute kid. I'll keep you close and lick you clean.'

***

When Lucas returned to his room, he felt a sudden chill that made his skin crawl.

Thinking the room might be cold, he closed the curtains carefully and sat at his desk, picking up a booklet.

The booklet, titled 'Aranth Magic Academy Guide,' was indeed a guide for new students.

It contained a brief history of the academy, which was only 7 years old, along with a general overview of the school, a map, and detailed portraits and positions of the faculty and staff.

"Quite detailed."

Lucas's eyes stopped on one section after reading the booklet for a while.

-Library-

'Library... How long has it been since I read a human book?'

To a dragon, human books were quite useless. Their history and stories, recorded over a few thousand years, held no meaning for a dragon who lived for millennia.

He had occasionally read a few books about dragons out of curiosity.

'The Bride of the Dragon,' 'The Efficacy of Dragon Bones'—such absurd stories. But the way they wrote about his own kind as if they were true was somewhat endearing, and he had read a few of them.

Having finished his thoughts, he got up and headed to the library.

The smell of old books hit him as he opened the door to the library.

The two-story library was filled with books from floor to ceiling.

'It seems they've brought in every book in the world.'

Thinking about how to find the book he wanted among the countless stacks made his head ache.

"How did you get here?"

While he was pondering, a long-robed, white-haired old man approached him, presumably the librarian.

"I'm a new student. I want to read some books."

"Hehe... Wasn't the opening ceremony just yesterday? You're a very passionate new student."

The old man, who smiled kindly, treated the young Lucas with great respect.

"My name is Brandy Trenadian. I'm the librarian here."

"..."

Brandy Trenadian. Hearing the name, Lucas was surprised.

"Why are you surprised? Is there something wrong with my name...?"

"No, no. I'm Rano... no, Lucas Rodrigo."

He almost blurted out his name from his previous life.

'Brandy... So much time has passed...'

The white-haired old man standing before him as the librarian was someone Lucas had met in his previous life.

"Why don't you read this?"

Lost in thought for a moment, Lucas was handed a book by the old man.

-What is Magic?-

Seeing the title, Lucas shook his head and came to his senses.

"No, I'm looking for something else."

"What kind of book are you looking for?"

"Um... I want to find a book about mana."

"Hmm..."

Brandy's eyes sparkled with curiosity at Lucas's answer.

"You want to study the fundamental power of mana."

"Hehehe!"

At the answer from the ten-year-old boy, Brandy laughed so loudly that it echoed through the large library.

Lucas knew the meaning behind that laugh.

He knew the young days of the old man with the white, curly hair.

***

Contrary to his worries on the first day, life at the academy was quite smooth.

The students who had shown curiosity towards him, like humans often do, soon lost interest and focused on their own lives.

Lucas, indifferent to all attention, no longer attracted curious humans.

With tests every week, no one had the leisure to be interested in others' lives.

To avoid drawing attention, he maintained average grades in the tests.

The professors, who had believed him to be a genius without a doubt, began to lose interest as his grades remained stagnant.

'The plan is working.'

His steps were light as he headed to the library alone after all his classes.

Time passed quickly.

It had been three months since he arrived at the academy.

During this time, he visited the library daily, thoroughly reading books about mana.

Brandy, the librarian, who had been curious about his constant visits, began to help him with his research.

Brandy was someone Lucas had met during his last short game.

A young boy of sixteen, drafted to the battlefield. In the midst of war, the boy encountered something that changed his life.

Magic. Mages who fought with spells, not swords, in the heart of the battlefield.

Their incantations turned into flames that engulfed the battlefield and ice spears that pierced enemies' chests.

They made it rain, soaking the ground, which trapped the enemies' feet.

The first magic he saw destroyed the enemies, but Brandy, whom he met in his previous life, admired it.

He said it was 'beautiful.' Brandy's eyes shone brightly as he recalled the scene, but unfortunately, he lacked the talent to be a mage.

The young boy, now a young man, searched for ways to become a mage, traveling across the continent. Even when he stood before a magical creature like a dragon, he couldn't recognize it, but he never forgot the beauty of magic.

That young man was still chasing his dream. He wanted to summon flames with his own hands. He couldn't give up, even as a white-haired old man in his seventies, and remained at the academy library.

His body might have aged, but his passion was still that of the young man he met in his twenties.

Lost in thought, Lucas walked down the corridor and arrived at the library.

"You're here."

The face of the white-haired old man welcoming him overlapped with the young man of his past.

"Yes."

The boy smiled at the old man.

***

A semester passed.

The new semester that started in September was halfway through, and a new year had begun. The cold winter was almost over, and new buds were sprouting everywhere, heralding spring.

February. The winter break began.

The way students spent their break varied.

Although few students stayed at the school, Lucas decided to stay.

There was nothing to do if he returned to his home, Sitataro, and he wanted to stay and solve his problems as quickly as possible.

'Almost there.'

The human research on mana he read daily in the library was quite impressive.

The results of human passion for magic had brought significant changes to Lucas's body.

His mana, which had never increased no matter how hard he practiced, was growing, albeit slightly.

'6th Circle. If I can reach that, this method must be effective.'

After trying all the methods he knew, one method showed results.

Consistently using magic. It was a simple method, but Lucas started using magic whenever he had the chance.

In his previous life, he was a dragon, and in this life, he was a protected young master, so he had no need to practice magic consistently.

In his previous life, he didn't need to use magic to enhance his abilities, and in this life, he had no opportunity to use magic even if he wanted to.

That's why he was seeing good results from this method at the academy.

The more you practice, the better you get. It was a simple truth.

However, there was one constraint. While using magic anywhere was good, the magic he could use was very limited. He could only practice harmless spells like casting a Light spell behind a curtain, so the increase in mana was minimal.

'Finding a suitable place is urgent.'

He had been trying to find a suitable place consistently, but the academy, with its watchful eyes and magic stones placed everywhere, made it impossible to use magic freely.

Leaving the academy, Lucas entered a quiet alley and quietly cast a spell.

Recalling the coordinates of the place he knew best, he teleported.

"Phew..."

Standing at the bottom of a cliff in a deep forest, Lucas took a deep breath.

"Long time no see..."

Lucas's eyes, caressing the cliff, were wistful, as if a long-lost lover were sleeping inside.

Unaware of the eyes watching him with interest from a hidden spot...