Edited by: Chip

Atlas was sitting in his study, which was next to Cyrus’. He was pouting at his desk while his Magic Theory Teacher was looking at him with pity and disappointment. 

“Lord Atlas, I understand you are frustrated, but it is not the time to be sulking in self-pity.” 

Atlas’ Magic Theory teacher was an older gentleman named Colin Filron. He had gray hair because of old age, but his eye color was pink. According to the known attribute variants, pink eyes meant that his strongest attribute was Lightning. This was quite rare but it also meant that he was a powerful man.  

Colin wore black slacks, and a white button-up shirt that was tucked in, and he wore a navy blue robe on top of his outfit. To complete his simple look, he walked around with a large brown staff that was half his size. It made using magic a bit easier but he also used it as a cane. 

He was once a commoner but he was given the noble title of Baron for his accomplishments in Magic Theory. He was the one that created the most recent theory for magic and it was the one being taught in the Imperial Academy. 

Atlas felt like he was going to cry, but he held it in. “I’m just upset that I have been studying every day, but I still have a hard time memorizing things. I understand when I read it, but I am having a hard time recalling all of the information. If I were taking an exam right now, I would probably fail.” 

“And that is okay. You have plenty of time to study the material. For now, as long as you understand what you are reading, that is the most important part.” 

“I understand. Thank you, Teacher Colin.” 

Colin couldn’t help but give Atlas a pat on the head. Atlas reminded him of his grandchild who wanted to be just like him, but he was moving too fast for his brain to catch up. His grandson was only 5 years old, but he was trying to memorize information that was way beyond what Atlas was learning. Thus, his grandson was getting frustrated that he couldn’t remember the complicated concepts. 

They had time. They didn’t need to rush. 

Colin didn’t have a tutor so when he was given a scholarship to attend the Imperial Academy, he was far behind his peers. Slowly, taking his time, he was able to catch up and rank number 1 in his class. From there, he was able to begin his research on Magic Theory and that’s how he became the man he was today. 

“Since you understand today’s materials, let’s go over it one more time before we end today’s class, alright?” 

“Yes, teacher!” 

“Okay good, so tell me, in our bodies, where is our magic stored?” 

“They are stored in our mana cores. The location of the mana core is at our solar plexus, but it’s not in our body. It’s in our spiritual body, I think?” 

“Yes, this spiritual body is created by the mana that circulates in our body. Some theorize that this spiritual body is connected to our soul. Some think that the mana core creates the spiritual body to protect the core.” 

Hmm, that was the part that Atlas forgot. He wrote it down and continued to listen while taking notes. 

“Can we injure our mana cores?” Colin asked this question because it was an important one. Many people would assume that because the mana core was part of the spiritual body, then it was not possible to injure it. 

“You can injure it by drinking too much mana potions or when someone forcefully injects you with their mana.” 

“That’s correct! Be aware of how many mana potions you are drinking. It is easy to overdose on them. And do you know when someone gets legally injected with mana?” 

“If they broke a law that has it as a punishment.” 

“Right again. The laws that have this punishment are very serious, like murdering, raping, or kidnapping someone. Traffickers will also have their mana cores destroyed.” 

Atlas felt good that he got a lot of these answers right! If only he could remember when an exam paper was placed in front of him… 

“This will be the last question for the day. What happens to a person when their mana core is destroyed?” 

“They become a vegetable. They can’t move or talk. Eventually, they will die of starvation.” 

“Good job. That’s the correct answer! I hope that you will look over the material a few more times. I will test you at the end of this week.” 

“I understand! Thank you, Teacher Colin.” 

When Colin left, Atlas couldn’t help but plop his head on his desk. His brain hurt from all the studying, but he knew it was important. He wanted to learn more so he could help Cyrus, but he struggled a lot with learning. It was the same in his past life and it seemed to follow him into this life. 

He graduated from university when he was 25, so it took him seven years to graduate. All of his peers graduated within four years, some sooner. Rarely did he meet anyone who was just like him.

Atlas just couldn’t understand why it took him so long to learn and remember things. He was doing his best but he always felt like he had to work ten times harder than most people just to get it right. 

“I wish I wasn’t so slow.” 

He complained a bit more before finally lifting his head off of his notebook. Luckily, he didn’t smudge the book or his face. 

When he was about to get up, he heard a knock on the door. 

“Atlas, it’s me.” 

It was Cyrus. 

“And I came with snacks and a drink.” 

“Come in…” 

Atlas patted his face to make himself smile. Cyrus said it was okay that he was a little slow, so he just needed to believe that too. 

Cyrus came in with a cart full of finger sandwiches, cookies, and some tea. Atlas helped Cyrus put the food and drinks onto the coffee table that was in the room and then they sat down on the only sofa in the room. It was the same layout as Cyrus’ study. 

“How have your studies been?” Cyrus started the conversation. He saw that Atlas looked exhausted, but was forcing himself to smile.

Atlas immediately deflated seeing that Cyrus was not fooled by his happy look. “I’m a bit slow. I can understand the material, but once I get tested on it, I do very poorly.” 

“Maybe you just have a bit of test anxiety, but that does not take away from your intelligence. To me, it’s not about your test scores, but whether you understand the material or not. If you can practically use what you learn and apply that to your real life, your test scores should not matter.” 

It was the first time someone had said that to him. Even his parents would tell him that there was always next time. But next time always came around and he rarely saw improvements. In the end, his parents would tell him he did a good job, but he never felt like he did. 

That was why what Cyrus said to him changed his life. Yeah, he wasn’t that good with tests, but so what? If he could use what he had learned, even if he couldn’t do tests, he could still use them in the real world where it really mattered. 

“Thank you, Cyrus. I feel a lot better.”

Atlas had tears running down his eyes while asking for a hug. Cyrus hugged him, patting his back so Atlas would feel a bit better. 

They stayed like that until Atlas had stopped crying and could finally give a real smile. 

“Thank you, Cyrus. I will keep doing my best and go at my own pace. I will learn a lot so I can help you in the future!” 

Cyrus nodded his head and patted Atlas on the head. Atlas nudged into his hand and gave a goofy smile. Atlas reminded him of a golden retriever, happy to be there and praised. 

He was a bit shocked though. At first, he didn’t know why Atlas was studying so hard. That was until Atlas said that he was learning a lot to help him. He knew that Atlas was told about his mission, but he didn’t expect Atlas to want to help him. Actually, he thought Atlas would relax and have fun.

He felt bad for how he thought of Atlas for this matter. 

To him, Atlas seemed to be a carefree spirit with lots of energy and lots of love. He was like a flower in a greenhouse, one that had never experienced a storm, flood, fire, or anything like that. He seemed to be protected and cared for. 

Now, Atlas was still the same flower with lots of energy and love, but he seemed like a flower in a desolate plain. Giving hope to the surrounding areas that the place would one day be vibrant with flowers, grass, and trees.  

Cyrus didn’t say how he felt, but he did reflect on it. Next time, he would talk with Atlas so that in the future, they would have a game plan for the mess the Holy Kingdom created… 

Once again, he was reminded about how grateful he was to have met Atlas. If he was in this world by himself, he didn’t know what he would do. 

Atlas was his hope for the future. 

He was happy to have him as his best friend and brother.