Chapter 86: Not Today

Noah took a deep breath, but his body just refused to calm down.

No.

His mind was frozen too, unable to process what was happening around him.

But Noah’s willpower wasn’t something to be underestimated.

Though the pressure was crushing, Noah forced his body to make a movement.

Despite the strain on his muscles, he was able to move a bit…

Seeing success in his little attempt, Noah didn’t give up and tried to search for the source of the pressure that felt like a mountain on their souls.

Though Noah was just a Silver ranker, he knew what this feeling was.

Mana pressure.

Something that people at Diamond rank and above could release. It was nothing less than mana becoming subservient before its wielder.

Only Diamond rankers and above had such fine mana control, to make the mana bend to their will.

People at higher ranks could just kill monsters with a single thought.

The monsters didn’t die magically, but it was the mana in the air that obeyed the thoughts of people who had climbed far enough on the ladder of power.

Was it a test?

Noah wondered if it was something done by the instructors in the academy, to make students understand what real power meant.

Mana pressure was an ultimate act that separated mortals from those who were on the path to godhood.

Even though it was people with a Diamond core and above who could release such pressure, it wasn’t entirely impossible for people of lower ranks to do the same.

It’s just that the given person had to have insane talent and combat experience to make mana obey their command, despite being at a lower core rank.

Noah was one such individual.

It was just recently that he had been able to make mana bend before him—not to the point of creating and exerting mana pressure on his surroundings, but enough to let him know that he could do it with some more practice.

Noah had predicted he would have to be at least at the Gold rank to be able to actively release such a presence.

Normally, even the most elite monsters among the people had to be at the bare minimum… a Platinum ranker to even think of trying something like releasing mana pressure.

So the first thought Noah had was that this was some sort of test for the students, but he was quickly proved wrong.

As he scanned the surroundings, with the little mobility that his neck could muster—

Noah saw him.

The same black-haired boy who had surpassed him to become the top ranker in the academy.

Kael stood at the side, with his eyes closed.

From his expression, it looked like he was disappointed.

When Noah tried to find the source of the pressure, his eyes involuntarily led to the same boy.

Thinking it was a mistake on his part, Noah turned around to look at others, only to find every single one of them looking in Kael’s direction.

Their bodies weren’t frozen, but it was more like their bodies refused to move under the mana signature they were being subjected to.

Yes, mana pressure was nothing short of forcing your mana signature onto the surroundings.

Be it Alicia, Kevin, or even that royal, Diana, all of them were just looking at Kael.

“A-Alicia?”

Noah forced his hand up to shake Alicia from her state.

But his attempts were met with no response from her.

When Noah had first seen Alicia, he found her to be quite attractive.

But that wasn’t what made him take the effort to talk with her.

No.

It was her last name that intrigued his interest.

Alicia Frost, the supposed younger sister of Kael Frost.

Noah felt that talent ran in their blood, but upon seeing Alicia more closely, he felt his judgment was wrong.

Though Alicia was talented for her age, being a year younger than everyone here, the same as her brother Kevin—Noah’s instincts told him that whatever talent Kael showed had nothing to do with his blood.

Though Kael looked similar to his siblings, Noah found him to be the most different at the same time.

Noah was brought out of his thoughts as he noticed Kael opening his eyes.

Noah expected to see a hint of domination in them—as Kael had single-handedly defeated the entire first year without lifting a single finger.

Noah thought Kael would feel proud by witnessing his achievement—

But as Kael scanned the surroundings, there wasn’t a hint of pride on his face.

The only thing Noah noticed was… confusion?!

Kael was confused about the current situation.

How could that be possible if he was the one releasing this pressure?!

Noah’s eyes widened as another realization hit him.

Kael had already stepped forward, with the students involuntarily moving their bodies to make way for him.

There was no greater humiliation than what Noah was currently going through.

From all of Kael’s actions, Noah could only deduce one thing…

Kael… He was subconsciously releasing the mana pressure.

No!

That wasn’t quite right.

It was the mana that was behaving according to Kael’s emotions, without him having to do anything about it.

For the first time in his life, Noah had never felt so small.

Even though Noah had witnessed Kael’s disinterest in him during the entrance ceremony, Noah had treated it as Kael trying to play it cool.

But his assumption was shaken a little when Kael answered one of the questions on mana theory in class.

It wasn’t the answer itself that impressed Noah, but the casual disregard Kael had for answering something that others couldn’t.

It wasn’t like the theory was something difficult to understand; Noah just found Kael’s attitude irking him every time.

It was like—for Kael, everyone was below him… not worth his attention.

Maybe Noah felt the same about others who were barely at his level, and that too due to the huge resources their families had poured into them.

But when he was on the receiving end of that treatment, he felt a strong repulsion in his soul.

No.

He wouldn’t bend… Not today.

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