Prior to the first cataclysm, science dictated the natural laws of the world.
Phenomenons such as the creation of the universe, the extinction of dinosaurs, the life cycle of planets, everything was explained through the usage of science.
...yet, as soon as mana came into the world, things that science dictated to be impossible became possible.
Summoning fireballs, splitting mountains, turning invisible, running at speeds that the naked eye couldn't see. Despite how much scientists tried to rack their brains around it, they couldn't explain such phenomenons.
The world's standards changed.
What we previously thought we knew had to be reviewed.
That was because of the existence of a new index. Mana.
In 2015, Dimitri Morlov, a scientist of Russian descent proposed a new scientific branch called Magic.
Magic used to be a word to describe petty tricks that fooled the human eyes, yet now Dimitri Morlov proposed for it to become a new scientific branch that stood with the likes of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
At first, all major political authorities disagreed. How could they suddenly change the system that they had been using for centuries? They thought that as time passed they would be able to incorporate the existence of mana into the current scientific standards.
..but as time passed and people learned more about mana, their ideology changed, and finally in 2032 Magic was approved as a new scientific branch.
[Magical research]
This was the name of the class I was currently headed to. It was also the class that assistant professor Gilbert von Dexteroi taught.
The 'secret' head of the [Blood supremacist] group that dominated the academy alongside the two other major groups, [Noblesse], and [Empire's sword].
Despite there being many factions inside of the academy, [Blood supremacist], [Noblesse], and [Empire's sword] were the ones that had the most influence and members.
The [Noblesse] faction had a similar concept to [Blood supremacist] in the fact that they only accepted people with certain statuses. However, in contrast to them, they weren't as radical. They didn't despise people just because of their lineage and wealth. Most of the members in [Noblesse] didn't even get to choose to join the faction as it was decided beforehand by their parents. Emma and Melissa too were forced to join because of their parent's influence. If everything went according to the plotline, during the last month of their second year, they would both be elected as the heads of the faction.
Lastly, there was [Empire's sword]. Unlike the other major faction, [Empire's sword] didn't select members based on their lineage or status. It only focused on individual strength. In order to enter, you must prove that you were worthy of holding their name. As such, the requirement to joining the faction was to defeat a senior member. Only upon proving your strength could you enter the faction.
Ranks within the faction were also determined by strength, with the head of the faction being the current rank 1 of the third year.
Those were the three major factions, and fortunately for me, I managed to avoid getting on their radar, allowing me to have a fairly carefree life. Despite the fact that being in a faction had many perks, it also came with many disadvantages. Most notably the fact that you had less time for yourself.
Because I was quite behind the rest of the protagonists when I had reincarnated in this world, I needed all the time I could spare to train myself so that I could catch up to them.
Because of how talented they were, catching up to them was not going to be an easy task. A month and a half had passed since reincarnating in this world and I wasn't even close to surpassing Emma whose rank was currently <E->, let alone Kevin the main protagonist whose rank was <E+> borderline <D->.
Simply put, I did not have time to waste on hidden politics.
Fortunately, as if God had heeded my prayer, now that Elijah was found to be a villain, my elective was suspended indefinitely granting me more time to train. With the potions that Melissa has made for me, my training speed has seen a massive boost.
If things kept going at this speed, it wouldn't take too long for me to reach the <F> rank.
Whistling happily, I headed to my class in a good mood.
However, my good mood only lasted for a split second because as soon as I stepped outside of my dorm I caught sight of something that I didn't want to see.
Not so far from where I was standing, I could see first and second years glaring at each other. Some were even close to resorting to physical violence. If not for their friends holding them back, a fight would've already broken out.
...The conflicts within the academy were slowly getting out of control. It had gotten to the point that even innocent bystanders were starting to get swept into the conflict.
I could no longer walk without worrying about my safety.
With the backing of his father, Fabian managed to hide his involvement regarding the conflicts, preventing the professors from finding out what was truly happening.
Fabian's goal with these conflicts was simple. Create as much chaos as possible. Make the professors focus on the conflicts within the academy rather than Emma.
It was all proceeding as he planned.
The only upside about this situation was that everything was proceeding as I predicted. There were no changes to this scenario, allowing me to take a load off my back. As long as the plotline didn't change I could still exploit the fact that I knew the future.
As long as the plotline more or less remained the same I could have some peace of mind.
...
I arrived in my class and sat in my usual seat and waited for 'assistant professor' Gilbert to start the lecture. Since he wasn't a professor yet, he could only be referred to as 'assistant professor'
The class was unusually chatty today, with some male and female students excited about the upcoming class. The primary reason for their excitement was because of the person who was teaching them today.
Eagerly looking at the front of the class, everyone's eyes paused on a young individual with dirt blond hair. He had a noble air around him that made him look like an aristocrat from ancient times and his features that were relatively handsome made some of the girls in class blush.
Gilbert von Dexteroi. Not only was he extremely talented and managed to become an assistant professor at the tender age of 22, but he was also the son of the third-ranked Hero, 'Thunder god' Maximus von Dexteroi, one of the seven heads of the Union.
Standing in front of the podium, Gilbert sorted some of the papers in his hands. He looked very serious and though some students wanted to approach him, he quickly shooed them away.
At five on the dot, he looked up and began speaking
"Welcome to magical research. Our course will primarily be focused on mana and what it consists of. We will also look at how the mana from the atmosphere circulates around our body as we speak. What enables us to wield supernatural powers and how it has affected us in our daily lives..."
As he started speaking, everyone in the class started paying close attention to his words.
It wasn't because of his influence, but rather because of how important this class was.
For future heroes, this class was extremely important. Not only did it teach the basics of how mana worked, but it also helped students better understand their powers.
"Mana is nothing but a bundle of elements, fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, and so on...Mana is essentially a package that contained all of the elements, and those said elements are what we now refer to as psyons."
Looking around the class to make sure everyone understood, Gilbert continued
"It's fairly simple. When we use 'mana' all we are doing is actually using the psyons within the package (mana) to fit our needs. Take summoning a fireball as an example."
Extending his hand forward, a wave of heat spread across the classroom as a large fireball that resembled a sun appeared on Gilbert's palm.
"To do this all I did was channel the mana inside of my body and visualized a fireball. But how does simply channeling mana create a fireball?"
Looking at the large fireball in Gilbert's hand, every student eagerly awaited his next words. They too were curious. Since young, most of the students were taught how to channel mana without actually knowing the reason behind their actions.
It was like learning how to breathe but not actually knowing why they were breathing. Everyone wanted to know.
Smiling at everyone's enthusiasm, Gilbert continued.
"In reality, what you are doing is merely stimulating the fire psyon within the bundle of mana so that you can materialize fire like I just did"
"Mana follows the wave-particle theory, meaning that it behaves similarly to both particles and waves. When we use mana..."
As he was continuing his demonstration, just like the others, I couldn't help but be entranced by his explanations.
Though he was an absolute scum of a person, I had to say...he was a really good teacher.
His voice was crisp and pleasant, and he didn't leave any detail out when explaining the class contents. Even for someone like me who had only been in this world for a month and a half, the lecture was easy to understand.
Although I was not a mage, this lecture was still very useful for me.
Though it may not seem like it, I used mana when I practiced the [Keiki style]. Just like the professor had explained, mana was just a bundle of psyons that represented different elements, and for my swordsmanship, the main psyon that I used was the wind psyon.
I was able to achieve such a high degree of speed because the [Keiki style] used wind psyons to synergize with my sword movement, enabling it to achieve speeds that the naked eye couldn't see.
Grandmaster Keiki had stipulated that at the pinnacle of the [Keiki style], the wind psyon was no longer the main psyon that was used but it was in fact the light psyon. He believed that only upon the usage of light psyons did someone reach the realm of perfection of the [Keiki style].
I was still a far cry from that level, but at least I got a better idea of what to do when training.
...
As Gilbert was continuing his lecture, out of nowhere someone raised their hand up.
"...Yes?"
Pausing and looking up, Gilbert's eyes wandered towards the student who had just raised his hand.
Seeing that he had gotten the professor's attention, standing up, an extremely handsome individual with red eyes and black hair spoke
"Professor, if what you said is true then why can't we separate the psyons individually so that we can use spells more efficiently?"
"..."
Instantly the class became silent.
Soon Kevin found everyone staring at him. Some were frowning, some were laughing, and some were ridiculing him.
Even Gilbert couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Now, calm down everyone. It is only normal that he doesn't know this considering that he had only just entered the academy"
Without hiding his disdain, Gilbert continued
"Though I am surprised you don't know this Kevin, let me explain it for you."
"The reason why psyons are bundled together and are not separate is because of the law of conservation of energy. A single psyon by itself would simply disintegrate in the air because it is unstable. Only when it is with the other psyons can it remain stable..."
As Gilbert was lecturing Kevin, I had already stopped focusing.
I was deep into my own thoughts.
For the past two weeks, I had been stuck in the threshold of the minor real of mastery of the [keiki style]. No matter how much I trained I couldn't quite make that leap to the next level in my sword training.
...but after hearing Gilbert's lecture. It finally dawned on me. The key to why I couldn't break through to the next realm of sword mastery.
Psyons.