Eventide Scriptures I - The Shattering of an Era

Chapter 8 - The Drunkard

Eiran stood in the courtyard of Fhon's Mana Academy alongside dozens of other participants. They came from all corners of the island, mostly from privileged backgrounds. The number of men and women was balanced as there was no difference in Prana or Mana between them.

His hand clenched and unclenched to dispel the numbness. They had already received basic lessons, and now it was time for the first test. The dreams and hopes of his cohort rested on his shoulders.

He recalled his lessons to calm himself.

Human consisted of body and soul. Prana was the energy of the body, while Mana was the energy of the soul. Prana could be projected directly for an attack, but Mana was different.

The world was composed of free elemental shards, which are formless fundamental building blocks of everything. When these shards of elements came together to form a structure, it would become manifest as matter or energy.

Mana from the body could be extended outward, like an arm to grasp these free elemental shards and arranging them into ice needles or fireballs. Manifesting something that did not exist before like this was called the Creation method.

Mana arm could also be used to alter the structure of existing matter or energy within certain limits. For example, Mana could lift a stone, break it, and then fling it. Modifying the direction, speed, or shape of a natural object was called Manipulation method.

However, in this first test, they only needed to do something much simpler. This year the head of the academy chose the theme of Water. The examiners gave them a wooden cup filled with water and blindfolded them. At the sound of the bell, they all flipped the cup while ensuring that the water did not spill using Manipulation method.

Eiran's hand felt cold as he turned the cup, but at least it was not his foot that got cold from the splash. The examiners passed by, and from their shouts, many participants had failed.

One of them stopped beside him, the paper rustling as the examiner flipped through it.

"Your mother's a whore."

The whisper almost made him spill the cup. The examiner then continued to insult his parents.

However, little by little, Eiran regained his composure. Concentration was the most important thing in using Mana, and those words were intentional provocation. He now understood why the examiners asked personal questions during registration.

The participant next to him burst into laughter after hearing a lewd story and spilled the cup. Another, judging from her shouts, failed because a spider crept into her nostril. Yet another openly protested that stabbing someone in the butt was over the line.

Only half of the participants remained on the field when they were allowed to remove their blindfolds half an hour later.

The next day, they were gathered again, this time into classes based on their chosen element. Eiran chose Water because it allowed him to fulfill multiple roles on a ship. The Water class consisted of seven students, including himself.

The instructor was a drunkard named Graf. Eiran had been observing him since the first day; he was one of the worst instructors. Other instructors often complained about his drinking habits, but he just said that even if he drowned in beer, he would not miss the chance to drink it.

Graf slammed his glass bottle on the desk in front of the class. His nose was red from whatever was inside it.

"The most important lesson first. Creation method can be used to make gold, but matters or energy created this way will vanish once you're unable to sustain them anymore. Poof... there go your dreams of quick riches."