"Let's go with… 50 mana points," he thought. That should be flashy enough.
Lee Kiwook, who had devoted all his time to leveling up other classes and had virtually no concept of proper mage spell usage, made his decision with little hesitation.
A tiny sliver of his mana bar shrank on his status screen, almost imperceptibly. The next second, a sun rose at the center of the classroom.
In the tiered, vaulted space of the classroom, a massive glowing fireball spun slowly in midair.
Its dazzling flames rippled like molten lava, and the light refracted through the semi-transparent rose windows, scattering colors across the walls and floor in a stunning rainbow array.
The fireball, which occupied almost half the classroom, instantly roasted the little vortex into submission.
What remained were three scrawny young mages trembling in the scorching aftermath, dazed and wobbling.
A few of the more religious students even thought they heard the distant call of the God of Light.
Even Lee Kiwook himself was startled by the sheer size of the fireball.
Realizing he had overdone it, he hurriedly canceled the spell, desperately hoping he could salvage the situation somehow.
The fireball vanished in an instant, but the lingering heat in the air still reminded the young mages that what they had just witnessed wasn't some kind of illusion spell.
"How… how is this possible…" Leon stood frozen, completely out of his depth.
He, too, specialized in fire magic and was considered the most gifted fire mage not only in his family but across the entire world.
How could he not have known that the most basic Fireball spell could produce such power?
Unwilling to accept it, Leon murmured an incantation under his breath and summoned a fireball of his own.
Soon, a basketball-sized ball of flame floated harmlessly in his palm, exchanging a peaceful gaze with its caster.
He looked up at Lee Kiwook in a daze, locking eyes.
Lee Kiwook was silent for a long moment before calmly offering, "Maybe you guys aren't aware… but in the East, there's a concept called 'combining fragments into a whole.'"
"You mean turning all magic into one?" Elion accepted the explanation with minimal resistance and hardly any critical thinking.
Only Leon found something off about the claim. He continued glaring at the fireball in his hand, willing it to grow larger and not look so pathetic.
"..." Lee Kiwook hadn't expected them to be so easy to mislead. Feeling a bit guilty that he might be misinforming the young mages, he decided to come clean. "No, actually… it's just that I have a lot of mana."
The young mages exchanged glances, clearly finding that explanation even more absurd. How could anyone have such an enormous mana pool at only seventeen years old?
So, they felt the first theory much more acceptable.
Without hesitation, they embraced the first explanation and eagerly began discussing how all kinds of magic might be merged into one singular form.
Lee Kiwook: "…"
As for the three boys who had initially challenged him, they were now genuinely impressed.
They hadn't harbored any deep malice to begin with.