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nI was inept in my previous life.

nThat made it impossible for me to even dream of having a Familiar. As wondering souls with Egos, they all needed a place to call home. Without a Mana Core, a person was not qualified to house even the lowest of Familiars.

nThat was the reality of my time back then, though.

nIn modern times, even those without Mana Cores possessed Familiars. Among the Scholars registered within Ainzlark, even those in my class, some didn’t have Mana Cores and were Inept.

nThanks to my accomplishments in the past, there was really no discrimination against Inept Scholars since I proved that even without the use of Mana, a person could revolutionalize Magic.

nAs a result, the Academy accepted Inepts in the Scholar Department alone.

n‘The Familiar Selection Ceremony is compulsory for everyone, even the Inept Scholars… that means there is a way even those without Mana can form Bond contracts.’

nAnd I knew what the solution was.

nArtificial Mana Cores, or rather, Mana stones.

nBy infusing Mana into a particular device, similar to the way Mana Particles converged within the body, a Mana Core could be formed.

nThese ‘Stones’ served as an external source of Mana, allowing those who couldn’t use Mana to perform Magic as long as they knew the procedure and commands already imputed within the stones.

nFor the Inept students, those who didn’t have Mana Cores, they would be given a Mana Stone each. This gave them an equal chance of getting Familiars for themselves.

n“Huu, Magic has really advanced, uh?” I muttered to myself.

n***********************

nJust as Neron said, immediately it was time to leave, he returned to our classroom and led us to the place where everyone would converge for the ceremony.

nMy classmates seemed excited and nervous, and I could somehow feel the same way. My focus was somewhere else, though, even as we all moved in two orderly lines of boys and girls.

n‘Almost… there…’ My thoughts raced as I looked inward.

nMy fourth Mana Core… it was still forming, though very close to complete manifestation!

nFor the three weeks that I trained Edward and Anabelle, I couldn’t completely focus on my Mana Core growth.

nOf course, that didn’t mean I neglected it, but, I was also very much occupied with my pupils. While Edward needed more of my attention, even Anabelle required assistance at the beginning due to her inexperience with Mana. As a result, I ended up spending a great deal of time boosting their Mana Core development.

nAt some point, I made them return the favor to me by using the same method of ‘Excitement’ that I learned from the priest. They both skillfully infused their Mana into me while I absorbed the rich mana of the surroundings, causing my speed to reach phenomenal speed.

nThat was what made me arrive at the threshold, nearly completing my Mana Core formation. If I had just one more day, I would have completed it. Unfortunately, the next day was today!

nBeing out of time, I resorted to the method of light meditation, skillfully pulling my internal mana particles to my fourth Core. Since I could not achieve total concentration, the speed was rather slow—but steady.

nI just needed to keep at it.

n“We’re nearly there. Pick up your pace.”

nWith Neron’s statement, I was brought back to reality and observed the surroundings. It was oddly familiar. It took me a second to realize it, but once I did, my eyes bulged in surprise.

n‘T-this is… our destination?!’

nA short distance from where I currently walked was the terrain I had been training in for three weeks. There was no way I could miss the cluster of trees, the exotic colors of the flowers nearby, and the rich density of mana emanating from the region.

n‘That’s my Meditation spot!’

nMy eyes darted to Anabelle and Edward and I realized that they too were surprised by this. To think that the location for selecting our Familiars would be the very place we had been training for the past three weeks… how unbelievable was that?!

n***********************

n“Welcome to the Oasis!” A deep voice boomed.

nI rolled my eyes slightly and contained my disgust as I watched the man who addressed all of us. He was none other than Damien Lawcroft, the idiot who was hell-bent on Mana Core Grade superiority.

nThe entire first-year students were already gathered in the lush garden, the clearing at the center of the forest where the pool was situated. The grounds were big enough to contain all of us, with enough space for us to form lines separating the Upper Class, Middle Class, and Lower Class.

nJust like on our way to this location, we were divided into two lines of boys and girls, making four lines in total. Standing firmly and listening in absolute silence, we faced Damien Lawcroft, as well as the three Lecturers who stood behind him.

nThe lake at the center separated us from them and the temptation to stare into the clear blue water instead of facing the Academy staff in front was sure to gnaw at everyone who stood in line.

nDamien’s hardened face had not diminished and his tone was as harsh as ever. He addressed us at the Familiar Selection Ceremony, going over the rules and procedures in a precise manner.

n“The pool before you is known as the ‘Gate’, and it is a massive Mana Core that is used to store Familiars of various kinds. Some of you may have already noticed the intensity of Mana that is permeating the area. It is all as a result of this lake.”

nI was surprised to hear that the lake itself was a Mana Core. No, that wasn’t accurate. The most likely description would be that an artificial Mana core dwelled within it. And so, the lake served as a vessel to hold it.

n‘I have taken samples of the lake water, and even herbs from all around… if this is really a spot so important, why was it left u guarded? Plus, why is it located on the academic grounds of the Lower Class?’

nI had many questions, but now was the time to listen.

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