The next day Evan sat down in class as he wrote down everything the professor was teaching. He had forgotten to realize that he had multiple classes. It ruined any plan of self-isolation training since he needed all of his grades to be passing. He also noticed the difference in attire between himself and the other students who wore their uniforms instead of their noble clothing.
Most of the male students wore a black blazer, with a green trimming that signified they were first years. The pants were a dark grey and had a checkered pattern that oddly matched the blazer. The girls, on the other hand, wore the same blazer, but instead of pants, they wore long skirts and leggings if they wished. Evan didn't receive any sort of uniform yet, so he continued to attend class without a worry.
For hours, Evan walked around the halls, hoping to come up with any idea of his core situation. It was quite impossible to form a core within one week, let alone show greater than average control over a common flame spell he didn't know.
Artifacts were the first thing that came to mind; however, there were two problems that followed. The first was being able to acquire one when no student is permitted off of school grounds without permission, which would take around a week to be allowed. The second was the fact that he was needing an artifact that held a core.
Not only were they extremely rare, but worth millions of gold. Although confident he would be able to acquire that amount of gold, he certainly wouldn't be able to within a week's time with the slave market only now making decent profit.
'All of this just so I wouldn't look stupid!!! I remember specifically telling myself not to start events like these!'
"Excuse me. I hate to bother you, but I did notice you were out of uniform. Was there any particular reason as to why?" asked a young man, now standing in front of Evan suddenly.
A bit surprised by the encounter, Evan tried to recognize him. His name was Halric, which was plastered on his nametag hooked onto his blazer. He was a first year and, less importantly, a side character who didn't really contribute anything to the main cast.
Halric was the student body president of the first years. His hair was short and brown, neatly kept. He had a mature face that most didn't have and looked like someone you could definitely rely on. Still waiting for an answer about Evan's uniform, he repeated his question.
"Why aren't you in uniform? Did something happen to yours by chance?" Halric asked once again.
"I haven't received mine yet," Evan said bluntly.
"Have you reported this to the administrators?"
"No."
"I see. I'll make sure to report this to the administrators so you can receive your uniform tomorrow. What is your name so I can write it down?" Halric asked, pulling out a small notepad from his blazer pocket.
"Evan Asteria. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be off," Evan said as he walked away from Halric, who was still writing down his name.
Evan continued to walk down the halls, hoping to jog his brain for any sort of plan. The small black orb that he bought from Fang's Emporium came to mind, but Evan didn't want to risk using it so early on when the charges could save his life later down the road.
The orb was able to cast an extremely powerful burst of raw mana which could be molded into a spell but would come at the risk of breaking it. Its durability was laughably bad, so even a single charge could mean its destruction. Evan eventually found himself in the school's courtyard, as a swarm of people flocked to a familiar face.
He noticed Evelyne being surrounded by a group of students who were desperately trying to talk with her as she continued to smile and reply to as many as she could. Just then, an idea hit Evan in the back of the head. Although Evelyne was a novice, her mana pool was crazy large as a side effect of having the Wild Magic trait.
She could help him circulate his mana throughout his body at a decent enough speed and could possibly help him form a core before the presentation. He knew very well how long of a reach this plan was, but not wanting to risk both his life and a charge of the black orb, he happily accepted the plan and began to wait on a bench nearby.
After a few hours, the swarm had died down due to Evelyne calling her guard, who most likely intimidated most of the students.
"Hey Evelyne, it's been a while," Evan said as she perked up.
"Evan? I didn't know you were attending Verida Academy. I would have tried to find you sooner if I did," Evelyne said with a cheerful smile, cupping his hands together.
"You can stop the act. Nobody's around," Evan said bluntly, as Evelyne's face quickly deformed from a kind and gentle soul to that of a high school delinquent.
"Thank God! I was drowning there. Anyways, what's up Evan, are you feeling alright from last time?" Evelyne asked.
"I'm fine. There's something I wanted to ask you, actually."
"Oooh? Going to confess your love for me? Sorry, but you'll be the 100th guy I've rejected this week," Evelyne said with a cocky tone and a large grin on her face.
"You couldn't pay me to date you. No, I wanted to ask if you could help me circulate my mana," Evan asked as Evelyne stared toward his general direction.
"Mana circulation? Why would you need help with that sort of thing?"
"To create a mana core."
There was a large moment of silence between the two. Evan stood still with his neutral expression, waiting for a response as Evelyne tried to process what he had just asked her. Bursting out laughing, she began to mock Evan, who was not fazed.
"I can't believe you don't have a mana core at your age! How did you even get accepted into this school? Never would I have expected the great Evan Asteria to be coreless," Evelyne joyfully said as she held her gut.
"Yes, yes. If you're done with the ridicule, then will you assist me?" Evan said.
"You know what, sure. This beats me having to talk to those crazy people and talk like a princess. Just don't forget you'll owe me big after this," Evelyne said as she followed Evan closely to the training grounds.
As the two entered the training halls together, Evan sat down on the floor and calmed himself. Placing her hands on Evan's shoulder, Evelyne began to slowly inject her mana into his body as sensation took over instantly. It was a cold and painful sensation that felt like ice freezing into his bloodstream and built pressure, blocking the flow of his blood.
This wasn't the game where you could spend an attribute point and automatically be able to circulate your mana. It was painful, foreign, as Evan clenched his fists and gritted his teeth.
"Think of your blood flowing throughout your body, through the veins that lead to your hands, feet, and brain. Try to move the mana within yourself like a bloodstream," Evelyne explained.
Fighting against the pain, Evan listened to her instructions. The cold feeling he experienced within his body began to slowly shift through his arms down to his fingers. He gasped for air as the pressure within his body squeezed tightly, and a little stream of blood ran down Evan's nose. Evelyne quickly stopped flowing her mana and tried to check on Evan, who suddenly gripped her arm.
"Not yet. Just a little bit more," Evan said, still flowing the mana that built pressure on his lungs.
Reapplying her flow through his body, Evan gritted his teeth as the pain continued to grow. Evan moved the large masses of mana through his body like small checkpoints before moving it to the next. Although effective, he eventually stopped Evelyne—catching his breath, which fogged like it usually would in the winter. Evelyne rose from the ground and gave him a hard pat on the back.
"Congratulations! You've just completed the first step on getting your core, little guy. Although with the rate you are working with, it will take you at least a month to form your core," Evelyne explained as she placed her hands on her shoulders.
"Would you be willing to help me again tomorrow?" Evan asked.
Looking at Evan, who was still catching his breath, she readied herself to deny such a request when suddenly the memory of Evan shoving her out of the way when she was about to get caught in that sack man's trap appeared. She thought about the look of determination in his eyes—wondering if he still had them.
"Fine, you've twisted my arm. How could I let such a lost cause possibly injure himself anyways?" Evelyne said.
"Never mind," Evan said, as Evelyne quickly smacked him on the back of the head.
As the two parted ways to rest in their dorms, Evan stood still for a moment and looked at his hands. The same foreign feeling no longer lingered in his fingertips. Concentrating as hard as he possibly could, a small fragment of that cold feeling produced in his palm.
Evan grew a smile, wanting to jump around in excitement but unable to due to the extreme exhaustion he was feeling.