Zane headed back to where he had been earlier. Everyone's attention was on him as he walked towards where Vale was. He could hear everyone mumbling about him. He could hear some of them saying that he cheated somehow, or he only managed to cast an advanced spell earlier simply because of his enchanted wand.
'Denial...'
'I guess things won't really be that simple, huh? In fact, I think things might even get harder for me from now on.'
Zane arrived at where Vale was standing. Vale was staring at him with awe; his eyes were shining. Vale greeted him with a smile.
"What the hell was that?! Don't tell me you've been hiding your true powers, like some protagonist in a storybook?!"
Zane paused for a while before responding. His smile was soft and genuine as he responded to Vale.
"Well, I wish things had been like that. But, no. Let's just say that I got lucky and unlucky at the same time."
Vale looked at him with a confused face. He furrowed his brows; he then responded.
"That makes absolutely no sense at all. Anyways, just how did you even manage to do that?!"
Zane paused for a while before responding. He honestly had no idea how to explain or how to put it into words. I mean, he can't just tell him that he somehow got a curse as a child and sealed most of his mana away, and somehow it was Velrath who cursed him. And because of some strange phenomenon that happened in their library, he was able to unseal Velrath. And now his mana core got back to normal again, and now he can finally learn and cast advanced magic spells.
'What should I say, huh?'
[Just tell him it's because you manage to store a lot of mana in your enchanted wand.]
Hearing Velrath's suggestion. Honestly, it doesn't sound bad at all. After all, Zane's enchanted wand can store more mana than his mana core. The only downside, though, is that when he uses the mana reserves of the wand, it takes too long to fully store all the mana that it can.
And Zane practices a lot. With this wand, he can last longer in training, but once he has used up all the mana reserves of the wand, he would have to wait for days again to use it. Well, he can still use it even if it hasn't really fully stored all the mana that it can. Which is pretty much what Zane did yesterday.
Barrier spells are not really affinities. They are simply made out of mana; that is why it consumes a lot of mana. Maybe if his enchanted wand had been fully stored back then when he had tried to cast a barrier spell, he could've possibly actually completed the spell. It's just that Zane is impatient sometimes; he also practices a lot and wouldn't bother letting his wand store mana completely.
But even if he was actually able to completely cast the barrier spell, his mana would still be drained. Well, he won't pass out at least.
"Zane!"
Hearing the familiar voice, he shifted his focus towards the source of the sound.
"H-huh?"
Vale looked at him confusedly; he then said.
"You are zoned out again, Zane."
Zane smiled awkwardly; he then responded.
"Ah, right. Yeah, well, you see, I have been storing a lot of mana on my enchanted wand recently. And I guess, because of that, I was able to cast an advanced spell. Man, I feel really drained already."
He said and laughed softly afterwards.
Vale furrowed his brows. He could somehow feel that Zane was acting strangely.
"Huh? I thought you used your reserves of mana yesterday?"
Zane's expression was still the same. He then responded in a casual tone.
"I was sent back in Ironveil Castle, you see. So I asked for some magic stones and used them to fully store my mana reserves."
Vale stared for a moment.
"Hmm... Still, what you did there was really impressive! Where did you learn such an awesome spell?"
"Well, I have actually been trying to learn this spell since I was still in Ironveil... you know I don't have that much mana, so it's hard for me to learn it. I have to keep stacking my mana reserves just so I could practice a figment of the spell! Hell, it was tiring!"
Hearing this, Vale smiled. He then put his right hand on Zane's shoulder and said.
"You did great, Zane!"
A smile appeared on Zane's face. He then said.
"Thanks."
'Hopefully, I sounded believable.'
Of course, what Zane had said wasn't true. He just couldn't find the right word to tell the truth. For now, he will carry this secret alone.
"Alright everyone, this will be the end of our class. You may proceed with your next class."
Hearing the professor's words. Zane and Vale shifted their focus to the source of the sound.
Professor Ferlin was now leaving for his next class.
Zane and everyone watched as Professor Ferlin left and disappeared as he got farther away.
The class ended. But what Zane showed everyone still hasn't died out.
Zane could still hear many people talking about him. Some were negative, and some were positive. But, well. Like he always did, he chose to ignore them.
However, Zane this time really felt proud of himself. It felt strange, but he didn't want it to go over his head. So, he simply cast aside the thought for now.
Zane sighed.
For some reason, he could feel someone staring really tensely at him. A gaze that stings for some reason.
'...Ah, I think I know who this is.'
Zane scanned his surroundings. He looked from left to right. Until finally, he saw Zeph staring dead at him in the eye.
'Zeph... He must feel really good right now...'
Aside from Zeph, there was also his underling. Vax. Staring at him with such arrogance.
He stared at them for a while, then looked away.
The class was already leaving for their next class.
Zane could see the number of students decreasing in the training hall.
"Zane, let's go."
Hearing a familiar voice, he looked towards Vale. He then said.
"Right."
Zane and Vale walked together, heading inside the academy.
[Man, that felt great! Seeing the look on their face was enough to make me laugh.]
Hearing another familiar voice once again, he answered without looking to the source of the sound.
[Why the hell are you more thrilled at this than me?!]
Velrath furrowed his brows as he rotated around the air. He then answered.
"Why are you so nonchalant about this? Shouldn't you be celebrating? I mean, come on, you finally showed those dumbasses your true power.]
Zane's face turned somber; he then said furiously.
[Celebrating my ass! Hell, I bet it's going to get harder for me later on!]
Velrath paused for a while; he then responded with a casual tone.
[Ah, I get what you mean. If they come at you, just let me possess your body; I'll beat them up for you!]
Zane's face turned even more somber as he heard Velrath's voice.
[Absolutely not.]
Zane could hear Velrath's diabolical laugh as he followed him, heading to their next class.
Vale was right behind him. For some reason, Vale didn't ask any more questions regarding what he had just done recently. Meaning he must've actually believed Zane's lies.
But it seems his achievement today is not going to die out for a week.
Zane also felt a ton of gazes towards him, well, for obvious reasons.
Although Zane's achievement today had shook people to their core. Many also speculated that he cheated. Many also think that he was only able to cast a magic spell like that simply because of his enchanted wand.
Thinking that he was only able to use it once a week or so. And after that, he would have to wait for another week again to fill up his reserves.
But, well. Honestly, Zane didn't feel any anger towards these people. He didn't want to prove them wrong or anything. He simply didn't have the reason to. Perhaps it's because he was so used to such words that it didn't matter to him anymore.
But really, what's the point of doing things that would never bring him any benefits? It would be better for him to just focus more on himself rather than to reach the expectations of others.
After all, he wasn't eager in becoming stronger simply because he wanted to prove everyone wrong about him.
It's much deeper than that.