Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 217: Mana Path (1)

As I stepped out of the council hall, I was greeted by a landscape that had grown noticeably brighter.

Unlike earlier, when it resembled a calm lake in the pre-dawn hours, now white clouds floated across a clear blue sky.

The sun was rising beyond the horizon.

The stars that had once shimmered beneath the water at my feet were gone.

The stars in this world are the dreams of people.

Now that night had ended and dawn had come, it was time for people to awaken from their dreams.

Looking at it like this, it really does resemble a salt desert.

The smooth surface below mirrored the sky like a glass sheet, dividing the world cleanly into above and below.

Back in the day, I thought if I ever traveled abroad, I’d visit a place like this.

But those days were long gone.

Now, only longing remained.

* * *

“...Aidan. What’s wrong with your face?”

Leo, already seated in the classroom, turned in surprise when he saw Aidan’s expression.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“No, it’s your eyes...”

Heavy dark circles were cast under Aidan’s eyes.

This was Aidan, known for his ironclad stamina and fiery passion for magic.

“Aidan, are you sick or something? You really don’t look good. Shouldn’t you go to the infirmary?”

Even Taishy, who rarely spoke with sincerity, wore a genuinely worried expression.

That was how bad Aidan looked.

Feeling awkward under his friends’ concern, Aidan scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

“Haha, I’m okay. I’m not sick or anything.”

“Then why...”

“I just didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Is this... because of Professor Ludger’s research?”

Quick-witted in these matters, Leo immediately guessed the reason.

“If there’s a problem with it...”

“No, no, it’s not a problem. I just pushed myself a bit too hard. You really don’t have to worry. Actually, I’m glad—I made progress.”

“You made progress?”

“Yeah. So...”

Aidan trailed off mid-sentence.

“Uh, well... it is Professor Ludger’s research, but I can’t tell you. Sorry. It’s confidential.”

How to increase mana emission was protected under a secrecy clause. Aidan remembered just in time and stopped himself.

I almost let it slip.

Last night—

Aidan had spent the entire day trying to control his mana, determined to release it no matter what.

He skipped dinner and stayed up deep into the night. And perhaps thanks to all that effort, something finally clicked.

Even with the mana suppressor still active in his body, he managed to move his mana, if only a little.

Of course, by the time he achieved that, it was already well past dawn, and he barely got any sleep.

Still, the sense of accomplishment made his body tired but his mind sharp.

Truthfully, he was still buzzing with excitement.

So much so that he nearly broke the secrecy agreement ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) just to tell his friends.

I can’t wait for class to end so I can show everyone what I’ve accomplished.

He wondered how the other participants had fared. Had anyone else succeeded? What kind of research would they be doing today?

Aidan’s eyes gleamed intensely.

Despite the dark circles, the glint in his gaze was wild—so much so that when the instructor walked into the classroom and saw him, they flinched.

Did I walk into the necromancy lecture by mistake?

But this was definitely the right room.

“Hehehehe...”

Seeing Aidan laugh to himself like a madman, the instructor broke into a cold sweat and continued the lecture nervously.

* * *

“That’s it for today’s class! I’m off!”

“Huh? Aidan!”

Eager to show off his results as soon as possible, Aidan sprinted toward Ludger’s laboratory.

His friends called out behind him, but he didn’t have time to respond.

“Professor! I’m here!”

He burst through the lab door, where Ludger was reviewing documents.

The professor glanced at him sideways.

“You’re too loud, Aidan. If you’re going to come in, do it quietly.”

“Y-Yes, sorry!”

“Sit down. You’re earlier than I expected.”

“Oh, right. I wanted to get here quickly.”

“Judging by your reaction, something must’ve happened last night.”

“Yes, that’s right! Last night, I—”

“Enough. Save it for when everyone’s here. Sit still for now.”

At Ludger’s cold, expressionless tone, Aidan’s overflowing excitement faded rapidly.

As tension and adrenaline drained from him, the fatigue he’d forgotten rushed back in.

Ah. I shouldn’t sleep now.

Just as he started to nod off, shaking his head to stay awake—

Clack.

The sound made him snap his head up.

He was startled.

Ludger was suddenly standing right in front of him, peering down.

“H-Huh?”

“Your dark circles are serious. Don’t tell me you stayed up all night.”

Aidan couldn’t bring himself to answer. He mumbled awkwardly instead.

But that alone was enough of an answer, and Ludger shook his head.

“Aidan. I appreciate your passion for this research—it’s commendable. But trying to achieve results at the cost of your health isn’t wise.”

“No, it’s fine! I’m doing this because I enjoy it.”

“All the more reason to take care of yourself. Especially sleep—it’s vital. If you keep cutting sleep, it’ll only harm your health.”

With that, Ludger pulled out a small vial.

The sound earlier had come from him setting this down.

“Drink it.”

“What is it?”

“A fatigue recovery tonic. It’ll at least help you stay awake. And Aidan, make sure to go to bed early tonight. Understood?”

“Uh, well...”

“Understood?”

“Y-Yes! Understood!”

“Good.”

Ludger nodded with satisfaction and returned to his documents.

Aidan stared blankly at the vial in front of him before picking it up and gulping it down.

“Oh...”

Just as Ludger said, it felt like a fog had lifted from his mind.

Although the fatigue itself hadn’t vanished—it had simply been postponed for now. He’d bought a little more time.

I really do need to get some sleep tonight.

Ludger’s unexpected care felt genuinely touching.

After pulling an all-nighter, Aidan thought he’d be scolded—but instead, Ludger offered support.

I must’ve worried him.

Thinking back, Leo, Taishy, and even Iona had all expressed concern too.

The pressure and excitement of being part of such a landmark project had made him overdo it.

I need to reflect. I’ll apologize to them later for making them worry.

While he was lost in thought, the other students began arriving one by one.

“Everyone’s here.”

They each took their seats.

Their expressions varied—some looked just as exhausted as Aidan, others appeared as relaxed as ever.

“I assume by now you’ve all gotten used to your mana being suppressed.”

Ludger glanced around at them.

“Though I say that, I’m sure all of you tried to use mana anyway.”

Everyone averted their eyes at once, clearly caught.

“I won’t scold you for it. It was your choice, and I never said not to try. So—has anyone succeeded in releasing mana after taking the suppressor?”

Aidan immediately raised his hand, eager and ready.

But then he glanced around and was startled.

Everyone else had raised their hands too.

‘So I wasn’t the only one after all.’

What’s more, most of them looked relaxed.

While Aidan had spent a sleepless night struggling to achieve that small breakthrough, the others had done it without much difficulty.

Aidan was once again reminded that he was at Sören.

Even considering that, the people gathered here were exceptional even among the exceptional.

“This is surprising in its own way. Usually, students would still be busy adjusting to the sluggishness of their bodies on the first day.”

The students assumed Ludger was just being polite.

After all, despite claiming he was surprised, his expression remained as calm as if he’d expected this all along.

But Ludger’s inner thoughts were different.

‘No matter how gifted they are, I didn’t expect every single one of them to succeed on the first day.’

Not a single exception—every one of them had succeeded in releasing mana after just one day.

Is this what they call raw talent?

“There’s no need for further explanation. Let’s get straight to it. First, drink this.”

Sedina, who had been standing by, handed out mana suppressants to each candidate.

The students each drank the suppressant.

“Ugh. My stomach feels bloated.”

“Feels like I’m getting used to it, but not quite.”

The body that had started to feel a bit lighter was once again weighed down, as if bound by chains and submerged underwater.

Still, it was slightly better than the first time they took it.

“Now, show me what you achieved yesterday. Start with basic mana emission.”

At Ludger’s instruction, the candidates began channeling their mana.

Most of them summoned mana into their palms.

It had no attribute or form—pure, basic mana emission.

But since even that required intense effort, sweat was already beading on most of their foreheads.

Only three students showed ease: Flora Lumos, Freuden Ulburg, and Julia Plumhart.

‘Julia Plumhart... So that’s the difference of a top student. And Flora and Freuden—they held onto their pride as upperclassmen.’

Ludger’s gaze naturally shifted to Erendir.

‘But the Third Princess...’

Erendir was barely able to maintain the mana she summoned.

She had a vast amount of mana and superb mana quality, but in terms of control, she was no more than average.

‘It’s like holding a legendary sword without knowing how to swing it.’

She was vastly different from her older sister.

In fact, Rine, who sat beside her with calm eyes closed, looked more composed.

“That’s enough.”

As soon as Ludger gave the command, the students withdrew their mana.

Some of them gasped for breath and wiped their sweat.

Barely a minute had passed in reality, but to them, it felt like a full hour.

“We’ve confirmed basic mana emission. It seems you’ve all figured out how to break through the suppression, even if only by feel. But some of you may not fully understand the process yet—so I’ll explain.”

Ludger began distributing documents he had prepared in advance.

“After ingesting a mana suppressant, releasing mana becomes extremely difficult. ‘Difficult’ is putting it lightly—in truth, it’s nearly impossible. And yet, I had you do this because there’s a path hidden within.”

As he said this, Ludger looked to Aidan.

“Aidan.”

“Y-Yes?”

“How did you manage to release your mana?”

“Um, well... I just kept trying, like I was trying to push something out.”

“Explain in more detail.”

“At first, it felt like the mana was trapped inside my body—like it couldn’t escape.”

Aidan recalled what he had experienced the night before during his attempts.

“It was like being locked in a prison that fits your body exactly—no matter how much I moved, I couldn’t budge.”

“And how did you finally succeed?”

“I wasn’t sure, but I just kept going. I kept trying, and eventually, I could... kind of see something. Like a crack. I could feel it.”

A crack.

That was the only word that fit what Aidan had perceived.

“Rine. What about you?”

“M-Me? It was similar for me. It felt like I was squeezing mana through the tiniest gap possible... but the more I tried, the more it widened, and eventually, a path opened.”

“The rest of you—same?”

When Ludger asked, all the other students nodded.

Aidan let out a quiet breath of relief. ‘So it really wasn’t just me.’

“It’s likely you all experienced something similar. And you’re right—that’s exactly what happened. The mana suppressant pinned down your mana, preventing it from moving. Yet you broke through that pressure and carved a path.”

Ludger projected an image onto the magic board.

It was a diagram of the human body, with faint bluish lines drawn across it.

“The human body—especially a mage’s—has an optimal route unique to each individual.”

“Route?”

“Yes. Another way to put it is a ‘path.’”

“That image... is that the path? But isn’t that forbidden...”

“You’re right. It resembles the mana circuits that black mages forcibly engrave and expand through bodily modifications. But the key difference is that this isn’t artificial—it’s innate. It’s been with you since birth.”

Since birth?

The students gave him puzzled looks.

That was understandable. None of them had ever felt a mana circuit within their body before.

“You all look surprised. I get it. Since you’ve always used mana naturally, you’ve never noticed it.”

It was like breathing.

Breathing is automatic.

So is movement.

There’s no resistance, and you don’t even realize there could be discomfort.

But what if, for some reason, you were restrained?

What if breathing became difficult?

What if walking became a struggle?

That would change your way of thinking.

You’d stop taking it for granted—and start looking for the most efficient way to function.

“When people run into a problem, they instinctively look for a solution. Through repeated trial and error, they find the most efficient method.”

Knights, when training, start with the basics—how to move their bodies properly.

Anyone can swing a sword.

But swinging it efficiently, using minimal effort, is something that must be learned.

And that requires countless hours of effort and refinement.

The optimal route and technique are carved out through that process.

“The ‘crack’ you discovered—that’s what we call the Mana Path you’ve always had but never realized.”

And the role of the mana suppressant...

...was to force your body to physically perceive that hidden Mana Path.