As the sun slowly rose over the eastern horizon, a series of bell rings from the bell tower reverberated across the entirety of Sacred Bluelake Academy. It signaled the beginning of a new day for both wizardry students and wizard professors alike. As usual, students began to fill the corridors.
Ember, however, remained inside his solo bedroom and clearly hadn't gotten enough sleep yet. No matter how diligent he was as a person, proper rest was still very important to him. And considering that he had stayed up late the night before, he was quite reluctant to rise from his bed.
Ember was now eighteen years old and a fourth-year student of the academy. In two months, he would be taking his required graduation examination, and if he passed, his life as a wizard academy student would finally come to an end. With that in mind, every lesson during this final semester was extremely important—not only for passing the final exam, but also for his future career as a wizard.
That alone was reason enough for him not to miss any of his lessons.
Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Ember was no longer on his own. While most students were already on their way to their respective classrooms, a series of loud knocks suddenly echoed against his bedroom door, forcefully dragging him awake.
"Ember! Wake up!" A blond-haired guy with small dark-green earrings continued knocking forcefully on the wooden door. He was wearing Sacred Bluelake Academy's signature dark-blue wizard apprentice robe, with the academy's symbol neatly printed on it—a faded ink painting of a lake with a floating soul-flame above. A dark-silver badge was pinned to his robe as well, bearing the same academy symbol and an "IV" at the bottom, signifying his student year level.
Standing quietly beside the blond-haired guy was another student. She was a pretty girl with waist-long pitch-black hair, wearing the female version of the academy's wizard apprentice robe.
"Wake up! You're going to be late!" The blond-haired guy continued.
They were Ember's friends.
Soon enough, Ember finally revealed himself to them, dark eyebags hanging beneath his eyes.
"Good morning, Johannes… Yve…" Ember yawned.
"Jeez, man, what in the world were you doing last night?" the blond-haired guy, Johannes, asked, a trace of concern and curiosity showing on his face.
"His experiments again, probably," the girl, Yve, said in her thin voice, her expression nearly emotionless.
"Yeah," Ember replied, scratching the back of his head without offering any explanation. His secret research was something he always kept to himself. Otherwise, everyone would certainly think he was insane.
"Anyway, you two just go on ahead without me. I'll catch up."
"Okay."
"Hurry up."
Ember glanced at his pocket watch after his two friends left and realized it was already 7:18 in the morning. The first lecture class of the day was about to start in twelve minutes, so he was indeed running late.
He hurried to the water well behind the old two-story dormitory building for a quick wash. After that, he stopped by the kitchen house beside the dormitory to grab a piece of bread for breakfast, eating it on his way back to his room.
Aside from wearing the academy's uniform robe, which was a strict daily requirement during class days, there really wasn't much for him to prepare for the upcoming lectures. Still, he brought along a relevant book.
He also took a small wooden box containing his rune inscription tools, as well as two pieces of plain gray stone brick, from atop his study table before leaving.
Despite their ordinary appearance, these stone bricks were actually special materials Ember had made himself. He had studied and produced them in batches for the sake of his personal experiments. After several experimental trials over the past few days, only two remained.
Soon, Ember arrived at his classroom on the second floor of a medieval three-story stone building. It wasn't particularly far from his dormitory, yet he still arrived three minutes late. The handsome middle-aged professor with a pencil mustache and medium-length black hair had already begun his lecture under the "Wizard Foundation III" course.
"…Now remember, the condensation of your mana is extremely crucial for your future as true wizards. I don't know if all of you have realized this already, but the main reason wizarding schools like ours exist is to guide apprentices such as yourselves so that you may pass through the Mana Condensation stage without problems. It is not enough for the Herbert Kingdom to possess thousands of Foundation-stage Wizards. Our kingdom needs more Green Core-stage, Golden Core-stage, and Crimson Core-stage Wizards," the middle-aged professor said as Ember entered the wide classroom and quietly found his seat.
The professor's name was Helter Xanos. He was known for his serious and moderately strict attitude, cool temperament, and polite manners—even toward the academy's students. He was also a Green Core-stage Wizard and a branch member of the noble Xanos family.
At that moment, Professor Xanos noticed Ember, who had just taken his seat. "Mr. Swann, you are late for the first time in my class."
All eyes quietly turned toward Ember.
"Swann" was Ember's surname, inherited from the orphanage where he was raised—the Saint Elizabeth Orphanage. It was part of the orphanage's tradition for children of unknown origin to share that surname.
"I'm sorry, Professor. I was deeply engrossed in a small magic experiment last night," Ember answered honestly.
"That is quite honest of you. An explorative attitude is admirable for a wizard. However, please refrain from doing anything extreme or forbidden."
"Yes, sir."
"That aside, Mr. Swann, would you mind explaining to your classmates why we emphasize the importance of the Mana Condensation process to all wizard apprentices?"
Ember stood up as everyone focused their attention on him. It was well known that he possessed poor magical aptitude and performed terribly during practical magic lessons. However, everyone also knew that he excelled above the rest when it came to magical theory.
"Um… according to what I've learned in the Tower of Knowledge, the concept of mana condensation is actually easy to apply. One's magical aptitude does not matter too much. The key lies in how it is implemented. There are hundreds of ways to condense mana and reach the Foundation-stage; however, most of them carry severe drawbacks. Without proper knowledge, one might damage their innate magical advantages and even ruin their future as a wizard. And… with sufficient control over one's innate mana, along with a deep understanding of the condensation process, it is possible to improve future progress even within the Foundation-stage…"
"That is indeed correct," Professor Xanos said. "I hope everyone understands this clearly. Now, let me give you a few examples…"
Professor Xanos proceeded with his lecture, detailing the so-called "Mana Condensation Stage" of a wizard apprentice.
In the modern era, wizardry had already evolved into a systematic discipline. Contemporary wizards now followed a well-established, step-by-step procedure that allowed them to progress more safely and steadily toward higher stages of existence and magical power.
Basically, any person with magical aptitude could become a Wizard Apprentice. They would then be taught the fundamentals of wizardry, either through direct mentorship or formal magic schools. While this process varied greatly, it shared several common goals: a wizard apprentice must learn to sense mana, absorb Natural Mana, manipulate mana, and cast magic spells. Mastering these basics generally took several years, and once achieved, the apprentice could begin the process of constructing their own magical foundation.
This process was known as Mana Condensation. Upon success, one would become a true wizard—a Foundation-stage Wizard. From there, wizards would build upon this established foundation, commonly referred to as the "Mana Core," in order to advance further. Beyond the Foundation-stage lay the Green Core, Golden Core, and Crimson Core stages, each granting exponentially greater power than the last.
All of these concepts were already familiar to Ember. However, merely understanding them was not enough to grant him a promising future.
In fact, Ember was confident that he could condense his mana and form a Mana Core at any time, becoming a Foundation-stage Wizard immediately. But doing so would be equivalent to abandoning any hope of reaching higher realms of wizardry. If he chose that path, he would almost certainly remain at the Foundation-stage for the rest of his life.
What stirred Ember's jealousy was the fact that some of his classmates had already completed the process properly and without worry, thanks to their outstanding magical aptitudes. They no longer needed to attend Professor Xanos' lectures if they wished. Naturally, most of these students came from renowned local wizarding families, with access to abundant resources and numerous experts who could provide high-level guidance.
After more than an hour of lecture, Ember and his classmates were finally given a break. Everyone was free to spend their time as they wished before the next professor arrived.