Chapter 37: The First Class (2)
A nerdy-looking girl raised her hand.
"Yes, Valerie," Emily said, nodding toward her.
"Rankers are divided into two paths based on their innate talent at birth," Valerie began confidently. "Warriors, who use aura to reinforce their bodies, and Mages, who manipulate mana. While aura strengthens the body, mana allows users to manipulate reality, enabling them to cast spells like fireballs!"
Emily smiled, clearly pleased. "Good explanation, Valerie. As she said, rankers are divided into these two categories. I know that in this class, there are individuals from both paths. Some of you might believe that one path is superior to the other, but the truth is, neither Warriors nor Mages are inherently better. What makes the difference is the strength and skill of the individual."
A few students exchanged doubtful looks. Noticing their skepticism, Emily sighed. "You may not agree now, but you'll understand as you gain more experience."
She turned to the board and quickly sketched a small circle next to a larger one.
"When you start your journey as a ranker, you all begin at F- rank, regardless of whether you're a Warrior or a Mage, or whether you're talented or untalented. Everyone starts at the same point, with what we call 100 units of either aura or mana."
Pointing to the small circle, she explained, "Your core at this stage will be like this—a tiny sphere. In reality, its size is closer to that of a small pearl. When you exhaust your mana—and I'll use mana as an example since I'm a Mage—you'll absorb ambient mana from the air, causing your core to grow."
She gestured toward the larger circle. "How much your core grows per session depends on several factors: your natural talent and the concentration of mana in the air. That's why training rooms equipped with Aura and Mana concentration arrays are so valuable. As you rank up, your core will continue to grow larger until it reaches the limit at SSS+ rank, beyond which further growth would destroy your body from the inside."
At this point, Mikael raised his hand.
Emily noticed him and said, "Yes, Mikael?"