Bella Noll smiled brightly at Eric, Lyria, and Livy.

  Even though Bella Noll looked very old—and it wouldn’t be a surprise if she died any day now—she always carried a beautiful smile on her face, and her voice was as energetic as a young girl’s.

  Bella Noll noticed Lyria and Livy’s bitter smiles and laughed. "What’s with the heavy looks? I can still live for a year at least. Cheer up! Today will be my last class."

  Although she said so, Bella Noll knew she probably had only three more months at most—and she was completely fine with it.

  She also hoped to see Eric become a Mana Wielder before she died, but he had informed her of his condition: he might need another two years. It was fine, but it was also a pity she couldn’t live that long.

  As someone who held enormous personal power, capability, and experience compared to mortals, Bella Noll could forcefully postpone her death by up to a year with pure determination—but two years was completely impossible.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy sat on the three-seated sofa and waited for Bella Noll to begin.

  Of course, Eric was shoved between Lyria and Livy, as always. Both girls’ skinship was also an extreme threat to him—he could feel that strongly in his nether regions.

  Bella Noll smiled. "Today, I will speak about Mana Wielders, which I’ve skipped until now. You all can also freely ask any questions related to it."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy’s eyes immediately lit up. Before today, Bella Noll had addressed a few things—but whenever they asked about Mana Wielders, she always rejected them and told them to wait. So, they’d had many burning questions for years.

  Bella Noll spoke slowly. "Let’s begin with the basics. Apprentice Ranks have three routes: Mage, Warrior, and Mystical Knight. Each of these paths has very specific Mana Veins activated—and similarly, they also gain different stat boosts during each major and minor rank breakthrough."

  Livy swiftly raised her hand. "What are stats?"

  Bella Noll didn’t mind the interruption. "All people, beasts, and everything—including mortals—can be summed up with four basic stats: Strength, Constitution, Agility, and Intelligence. These stats are just indicators, not physically marked. For example, you and Hannah both have two hands—but we can say your Strength stat is countless times higher than hers, so you can lift heavier weights. It’s like that."

  The three nodded. They had more questions but waited for Bella Noll to finish.

  "You all know what Mana Veins are, so I won’t describe them from scratch. The Mana Veins you’re experiencing now are invisible and elusive, but once you become Mana Wielders, they’ll become much more visible. Though not entirely, until you reach beyond Apprentice Rank."

  "Now, here's a question. A Mage has different sets of Mana Veins activated, and similarly, a Warrior has another set. Can you guess for a Mystical Knight?" Bella Noll asked with a smile.

  Lyria answered with a thoughtful look, "Mystical Knights are supposed to be the strongest, so they have more veins than the other two?"

  Bella Noll nodded, then shook her head. "Half correct." She continued, "A Mystical Knight has all veins activated for a Mana Wielder. All means all, and that is why no one chooses this path—most people would probably spend their entire lives and still not reach Rank 2, as the difficulty to raise their Ranks becomes equally extreme. A Mystical Knight is more than three times as difficult compared to the other two."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy's eyes widened in shock.

  No wonder Mystical Knights are superior to the other two, and that is also why, even though Mystical Knights are the strongest, all the Mana Wielders in the town had still chosen to be Warriors instead. It is a path too difficult to progress!

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  "I understand Mana Veins, but what makes a Mage different from a Warrior in capability, and how does a Mystical Knight differ from them?" Eric asked with deep curiosity.

  "A Mage has certain Veins activated, and that results in them having higher Intelligence stats than a Warrior. But it's not only about stats—a Mage can manipulate their Mana in subtler ways and has the option to create various mechanical processes with their Mana, which are called Spells. This is something a Warrior cannot do, even if they increase their Intelligence stats beyond a Mage's."

  "A Warrior can still control their Mana to do various things, and if they have an Element, then with sufficient expertise in Elemental Control, they can also perform many feats. While a Mage can do almost everything a Warrior can, but they are far weaker in all three Physical stats compared to a Warrior."

  "So, as you can guess, since a Mystical Knight has all Veins activated, they can not only cast Spells but also have higher physical stats than even a Warrior. Similarly, their Intelligence stats are also higher than a Mage's. Not extremely high, but over time, the difference becomes massive."

  Bella Noll smiled, looking at Eric, Lyria, and Livy's confused expressions. "I know all this might sound a little confusing, as I’m skipping many details, but you can learn more over time with your own experience."

  The trio nodded.

  Eric had a very important question on his mind. "Correct me if I’m wrong. Once someone becomes a Mana Wielder, no matter the path they choose, they receive a huge boost in stats. Am I correct?"

  Bella Noll nodded in agreement.

  Eric continued after getting confirmation, "With each of the three paths receiving different stat boosts per Rank, do they also receive boosts during minor breakthroughs?"

  Bella Noll smiled and nodded. "Apprentice Rank has three minor breakthroughs—or rather, two. Let’s say you just reach Rank 1; then, you are considered an early-stage. Your next breakthrough will be mid-stage, a minor Rank, and then your next breakthrough will be late-stage—another minor Rank. After this, you will jump straight to early-stage Rank 2."

  "Each minor breakthrough within the same Rank provides the same stat boost as the early-stage boost, and a major breakthrough increases stats further. Mana Wielders undergo an evolution, where each Rank represents progression toward higher evolution, and the minor breakthroughs represent minor evolutionary steps."

  Bella Noll decided to provide an analogy for better understanding. "For example, if an early-stage Rank 1 Mystical Knight gains 10 stats in each of the four basic stats, the mid-stage will also provide 10, and so will the late-stage. But upon reaching Rank 2, it will provide 20 stats, and the mid and late stages will similarly provide 20 additional stats. Of course, past Rank stats keep accumulating. These numbers are just hypothetical to illustrate the concept."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded.

  Lyria wanted to ask how these breakthroughs would feel or how they would know when they were ready to advance to the next stage. She decided she would ask these questions later.

  "I understand, but earlier, you mentioned that a Warrior could 'increase' their Intelligence stats higher than a Mage’s. Can stats be further trained?" Eric asked with bewilderment. Then, wouldn't a Mage just need to visit a gym to have even bigger biceps than Mystical Knights?

  Lyria and Livy's eyes also widened as they now realized the same thing.

  Bella Noll chuckled. "Yes, correct. By training, battling, facing various situations, or even practicing professions, any Mana Wielder can further increase their stats. It is similar to you three—you are countless times stronger than any Mortals in this town because you have trained and increased your basic stats."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy's eyes widened with even more shock.

  So, a Mystical Knight isn’t omnipotent? A Warrior or even a Mage could surpass them if they worked hard enough? Shouldn’t that be illegal?

  Bella Noll laughed. She could guess what was going through their minds.

  She shook her head with a smile. "It is not so easy to increase these 'training stats.' Just as you three have worked hard for years, increasing these stats requires massive effort, and with each higher Rank, the requirement becomes harder. You will understand this clearly once you become Mana Wielders. This is why training in earlier Ranks is essential for those who want to excel beyond 'natural-stat-dependent' Mana Wielders. Of course, higher Ranks also train in their own ways."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded.

  In essence, this meant their masochistic journey hadn’t ended and would continue even after becoming Mana Wielders.

  Lyria raised her hand. "So, how does one choose which path to take, and what do you suggest we should choose?"

  "Choose whichever path you want, but decide this before opening Mana Space." Bella Noll continued to elaborate further, as this was very important. "When a person opens their Mana Space and becomes a Mana Wielder, they can mentally decide which path they wish to take. And if they don't choose, then their body will choose it for them."

  "For you three, since you have trained extremely hard physically, if you don’t consciously choose, your Mana Veins will naturally incline toward the Warrior path. Just as raising your palm high causes your elbow and shoulder to follow—since they are connected—the Veins required for becoming a Warrior will activate automatically."

  "If my guess isn’t wrong, your Intelligence stats are equally high as your physical stats, but since you’ve spent far more time learning physical skills and being physically active than focusing on mental disciplines, your Mana Veins will almost certainly choose Warrior."

  "I will mention this now. Warrior or Mage—these are just words. Mana Veins are not trying to make you into a killer or fighter. They are merely guiding you to evolve in whichever direction you are already walking. It is also not forceful; one who is aware knows they can consciously choose any path during this 'evolution.' A person can only achieve Mystical Knight if they select all Veins during the breakthrough to becoming a Mana Wielder. Similarly, those who wish to become Mages or Warriors can also deliberately choose what they want."

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy listened with utmost seriousness, as this would be their first step when becoming Mana Wielders.

  Bella Noll continued, "For the first three initial major Ranks, a Mystical Knight has the option to change paths to become a Warrior or Mage upon reaching Rank 2 or 3. However, a Warrior or Mage cannot switch paths. This is because a Mystical Knight has all Veins from the beginning, but once they change, they cannot revert. Simply put, becoming a Mystical Knight is only possible during the first breakthrough into becoming a Mana Wielder."

  "Those who regret becoming Mystical Knights at Rank 1 usually desperately want to change paths by Rank 2. Even if they do, their accumulated stats remain. Also, the Mystical Knight pathway only exists up to Rank 3. After reaching Mas—" She coughed. "After Rank 4, one must choose between Mage and Warrior."

  Bella Noll didn’t want to speak about Master Ranks or anything beyond Apprentice Ranks as knowing too much wasn’t beneficial for Mortals. Even for Apprentice Ranks, excessive knowledge could lead to impatience, causing them to neglect training stats and focus solely on Rank advancement.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy nodded in understanding.

  "What is an Element? How many are there?" Livy asked, raising her hand. She had been curious ever since Town Mayor Jarvis mentioned Bella Noll’s Light Element.