The moment I entered the Lecture Hall, my eyes darted to my seat area and I saw something I was already expecting.
Located where I usually sat, two people occupied the seats closest to mine.
A smile formed on my face as I saw them both wave at me. I raise my hand and returned the gesture while drawing closer. It was a relief that things worked out so well.
'Looks like I've got them, after all.'
Edward and Anabelle were seated, their eyes expectant and set ablaze in excitement the moment they saw me.
"Good morning, Jared." They both said, almost in unison.
"Good morning," I replied with a bright smile while having my seat.
Since I was seated to the far right at the last spot available, Edward was directly beside me and Anabelle took the seat beside him.
I was grateful that it was Edward whom I was stuck with, not the talkative girl. Hopefully, she had reflected on all I told her.
I looked at the expression on her face, and it was the same as always. There didn't appear to be any apparent change, but—
"Hey, Jared... do you mind if I talk to you about something after class?" Anabelle said, changing her brightly colored eyes to a more determined one.
I expected some sort of reaction from her, so this was good.
"Me too, Jared. There's something I have to ask!" Edward quickly butted in.
'Pfft, I figured.'
I nodded at both of them, still donning my usual calm look.
"I also have some things to discuss with you. Then, let's talk after classes."
The two were surprised by my words. They weren't aware of my plans with them, so it was only natural. I spotted a spark of curiosity in both their eyes and Anabelle made to ask me a question.
Fortunately, at that exact moment, our Lecturer arrived, causing everyone to rise to their feet. I did the same, and so did Anabelle and Edward, rescuing me from her inquisition.
'You'll find out later. Just wait!'
Neron Kaelid permitted us to seat and began homeroom. Other than taking attendance, he told us vital information, one of which was the deadline and closing period for Electives registration.
According to the information given to us, students had two weeks to choose their Electives or even change them. This gave us the leeway to jump ship to any Electives we found to be more attractive.
Plus, since some students could have filled in more Electives than they could handle, it was possible to remove some from one's list. It was a good school system, and I was happy it existed. Why?
'Main Courses end by 3:00 PM, Electives stretch on to 5:00 PM... I can't keep wasting my time whole waiting for Anabelle and Edward since they have their respective Electives at that time.'
There were many things to do, and I sure wasn't keen on wasting my time as well as theirs. The time spent on Electives could be better used to better them. I wasn't going to let them throw away such valuable time.
'They have to quit their Electives!'
With this resolute thought in mind, I started my day, looking forward to the chat I would be having with the duo.
****************
After the Main Classes were over, Anabelle and Edward left for their business, leaving me behind. I took advantage of the silence in the Lecture Hall, since no one else was present, and began concentrating my Mana on the new Core I was forming.
It was faster than normal, that much I knew. But... at this pace, making a Mana Core within three weeks was impossible.
I needed more circulation, more richness of mana!
If only I could receive a boost like back then with the priest during my Naming ceremony... but, expecting such a thing was unrealistic.
At the current level of the students around me, none of them were skilled enough to manipulate mana. They couldn't properly inject their Mana into another without hurting them.
The Priest, on the other hand, was skilled at mana control, able to probe my body properly with his energy. Expecting such expertise and finesse from these youngsters was too much!
The only one who could achieve such a feat around here would be Neron Kaelid, but he wasn't going to help me until I became his apprentice. That wouldn't happen unless I passed the Inter-Class Exchange in three months.
I was looking forward to his help, but he just had to postpone it. There was no use dwelling on what couldn't be changed, though. I just had to focus on what I could do at the moment.
"Hmmn..." I unconsciously made a sound as soon as a thought flashed in my head while I was still engaged in meditation.
I was so swamped with many thoughts that my cloudy mind hadn't thought of something so obvious and basic.
"I just need to find somewhere with rich mana density... it should suffice for quickening the process!"
My eyes flashed open and I jumped to my feet. It would still take a little over an hour before Anabelle and Edward would be done, so I had plenty of time to search for the right spot.
Leaving the Lecture Hall, I raced across the school grounds of the Lower Class, searching for a place.
The mild evening breeze greeted my body as I kept racing through the area.
My Mana sensitivity was way higher than most since I had been familiarizing myself with Mana since I was young. SPELLCRAFT and my experience in causing the flow of Mana Particles in my body aided me greatly.
It wouldn't be too difficult finding the most saturated place in my vicinity.
As I concentrated more while moving about, my senses picked something and I moved to the location instantly.
Treading upon the grass and making a path for myself with footprints, I moved and moved. I was nearing a slightly thickened cluster of trees.
The Trees cleared as I made my way through, swatting the branches in my way as a few leaves fell in response. One look at the exotic new plants around told me I was certainly going to find many new herbs here.
But, those could wait. For now... I had to go to what called me... a gathering point for Mana.
As I got closer, my movements slowed down until I finally halted entirely.
My eyes took in the wonderful sight and I couldn't help but throb in amazement. It was a surprise... a spectacular one at that! Only one word could proceed out of my mouth the moment I registered everything around me into my head.
"WOW!"
