Mana Affinity[1]

Chic, fluffy black hair bounced around her shoulders, rich brown complexion, a tint of pink on the tip of her nose, confident brown orbs—she was dressed in the formal academic attire. Professor Riya, another character of the novel.

"I'm Riya Ahuja, and I will be your classroom monitor as well as your magic arts instructor," Riya declared.

Her's wasn't a booming voice that should echo the entire class, no.

It was...more like a whisper that made its way directly into my ears, as if she was whispering only to me. But seeing how easily everyone else understood her, I was confident in my guess that she was most likely using 'voice magic'.

-"Heh, she's quite the hottie, isn't she?"

-"Shush! Keep it down! She might hear us."

From back of the class, I overheard some students chattering.

"Hot?" I checked Riya. Yes, she was stunning. Undoubtedly.

But...I struggled to see what made her 'hot'. I mean, I was into older women myself given my age so...no, no what am I even thinking?

Out of nowhere, a tiny tablet appeared in her grasp.

"Let's take the attendance." She said.

"Rank 2000, Choi-Iseul!"

"Present."

.

.

.

"Rank 1998, Ezekiel Basilio."

"Present"

.

.

.

"Rank 1873, Anastasia Smirnova."

"Present."

"Rank 1872, Noah Grey."

Hearing my name I happily called out,"Confirmed, here."

Nodding at my answer, Riya continued with the roll-call.

.

.

.

"Rank 10, Chen Wang."

"Present."

"Rank 7, Kai Lee."

"Present."

"Rank 6, David Smith!"

"Present."

"Rank 5, Emily Reed."

"Present."

"Rank 4, Aurora Lewis."

"Present."

"Rank 2, Takahasi Aoi."

"Yes."

"Rank 1, Aeravat Indrath."

Silence~

Riya's gaze swept the classroom before she asked again, "Is Aeravat Indrath present?"

In that very instant, the door creaked open, and in walked a figure, "Here! Apologies for the tardiness, professor."

Although his eyes were average-brown in colour, they were like lotus-petals. That's the first thing I noticed about him.

There, by the door. The guy by the doorway...someone, yes. Someone very familiar but somehow, distant at the same time.

Gasps spread through the girls behind me, and I...well even I couldn't help the surprise. Albeit for a different reason.

Was this what they called the protagonist aura?

Even Takahashi—otherwise aloof, seemed taken aback. Perhaps this was the first time that someone of the same age felt stronger to him.

The centre of attention in the story, the one always chased by girls, the hero destined to save the world, I could call him in many ways. But above all else, above everything else, he was a character I, created. And perhaps, that's exactly why I was feeling bizarre. I mean seeing your creation 'come to life' wasn't an everyday thing.

Maybe he felt my stare? His eyes met mine. In that moment, our gazes locked. First encounter. An intensity, I couldn't explain.

'There is no way, but still...' I furrowed my brows and despite my skepticism, I slowly lowered my left arm, trying to hide the mystery.

I wasn't sure if even the goddess Rebecca could sense a mystery, but Aeravat had a connection to them.

Wasn't sure... yes, but that moment passed. His gaze drifted elsewhere.

A powerful character, or perhaps, the most pitiable?

I didn't know what to call him.

***

"Everyone, off to the amphitheatre!"

-"What's her main magic?"

Some random discussion piped from the side. I peeked at him, sitting way over to my left.

-"Dunno, but she's like top-notch (A+) in ice magic. Probably water affinity?" Another guy chimed in, rocking glasses and a shiny dome.

'I think I've seen him somewhere?' Hmm... still, I couldn't be bothered much by their chatter.

But there was a point to their nosiness.

Today marked the beginning of our first year, and everyone needed to discover their mana core's affinity.

There were essentially six types and three classes of mana cores. "Types of mana cores" referred to the elemental affinity your core possessed. Fire, water, wind, light, darkness, and earth were the six elements of nature, hence six types of mana cores, each element represented by a specific color.

Classes of mana cores indicated the extent of affinity your core could handle. There were mainly three: dual mana cores with ability to handle three elements at once, triad mana cores, and a white core, which allowed for four different affinities.

If I was correct, then Riya had a deep-blue mana core, signifying water affinity.

Leaving the classroom, I noticed groups of students rushing toward the amphitheater.

I was not a part of any group, so I was behind them, feeling a little left out.

Some students here already seemed to know each other and had formed groups.

The most others who were new, decided to stick with people of similar ranks.

For instance, the top rankers had their own group.

But there was something strange.

Everyone was avoiding me. Or, were they avoiding me?

I wasn't sure.

Well I didn't really hate being left alone.

Dhut!

Suddenly, a jolt from behind sent me reeling — some idiot bumped into me.

I looked behind.

"Oops, my bad. Wasn't paying attention!" The girl apologized, her smile radiant enough to outshine the sun.

Naturally, I didn't know her.

Just because I was the author didn't mean I knew every NPC on the block.

"No worries, accidents happen," I graciously excused her existence.

"Ehm, you seem alone, want some company?" She asked in response.

Her question was unexpected but perhaps she saw that I was alone.

Before I could reply, an irate girl stormed over in a tantrum, and grabbed the girl's shoulder.

"I'm sure he's perfectly capable on his own," she spat out her disdain.

If words had a scent, hers would reek of something foul.

It was Freya Fretel, and she was clearly seething, her glare attempting to bore two holes into my handsome visage.

"But-"

"I said let's go, Mist," she snapped.

But I couldn't care less about her behavior.

Mist reluctantly followed her, and Freya shot me one last death glare before skedaddling.

I was left standing there, feeling like an idiot, while nearby students laughed at my expense.

"What's her deal?" I muttered to myself, trying to shrug it off.

Actually, I knew what her deal was.

"Hah!" I exhaled a sigh of weariness. "I can already guess that my reputation is going to go down the drain soon."

Maybe, this was the very reason why so many were avoiding me.

"Tsk!" I clicked my tounge in annoyance.

***

A man walked up onto the stage.

All of the students looked at him with excited expressions.

They knew he was the principal, but they also knew that he was a rank SS hero.

Even though he was hiding his SS mana pressure, his presence alone was powerful, and the students could feel it radiating off of him in waves.

His name was Oliver Wilson but most knew him by the nickname 'Thunder Beast.'

Strangely enough, I wasn't flabergasted in the slightest by the presence of a rank SS.

I knew that it wasn't because of my steel balls.

'Is it because he is hiding his mana pressure?' I thought.

He was tall, with broad shoulders and a handsome oval face. His brown hair was perfectly styled, and his blue eyes sparkled with intelligence.

He wore a neatly pressed black suit, and his tie was a deep shade of red.

He was exactly how I imagined him to be.

Taking the microphone, he began to speak, the students leaned forward in their seats, eager to hear what he had to say.

"My dear students," he began, his voice deep and commanding.

"Today marks the beginning of a new school year, and I am honored to be standing before you as your principal."

Oliver scanned the room before continuing, "As most of you are aware, our world is presently facing an array of complex issues, starting with the..."