The Academy Life of a Sick Mafia

Chapter 03

The much-anticipated ‘Core Center Confirmation Ceremony’ took place immediately after the semester orientation.

After a simple meal, all high school freshmen were summoned to a circular stadium.

I sat quietly in the stands, waiting, when staff members conducting the ceremony rushed in from the entrance, carrying equipment.

Among them, a man walked toward the stands.

He was a student with pure white hair, like untouched snow, cascading down to his shoulders.

His long, shaggy bangs obscured his eyes.

When he turned his head, his eyes occasionally peeked through the bangs, revealing sky-blue irises reminiscent of a winter lake, strikingly beautiful.

‘There’s a faint fluorescent glow in his eyes? That’s fascinating.’

His eye color was exceptionally bright, and he had a refined appearance.

Perhaps he rarely saw sunlight, as his skin was so pale it was almost translucent, with dark circles under his eyes that made him look extremely sensitive.

Scanning the high school students with dead-fish eyes, he took a sip of the coffee he’d set on the floor.

“Oh, looks like Assistant Angel is in charge of the ceremony this time. Must’ve been disciplined.”

“So his name is Angel.”

I, Sigrin, seated next to Apple, responded.

Apple, who hadn’t expected me to sit beside her, shrank her shoulders.

“Huh? Uh, yeah. That’s right. But why, why are you sitting next to me…?”

“There don’t seem to be assigned seats here, so I sat down. By the way, is he the one checking our cores?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Does he check cores well?”

I asked with a voice full of anticipation.

Since cores couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, a specialist was needed to confirm their presence and location.

The core specialist on Nipi Island couldn’t identify my core.

Would an Imperial specialist be different?

“Uh, well… He’s good, I think? He’s never failed to identify a student’s core. Plus, he has such impressive research achievements in the university division that there’s talk he’ll become the youngest professor. Isn’t that amazing? They say he never lost the top spot in middle or high school either.”

“I see, that’s impressive.”

A tiny spark of hope swelled in my heart!

“But he’s kind of a nutcase. Last time, he got caught trying to assassinate his advisor and was dragged to the student prison. Crazy guy, right?”

“Sounds like his tail was too long.”

“Huh?”

Creak, creak.

Angel, the ceremony assistant and a third-year university student, dragged a wheeled chalkboard from the side.

“Alright, old sprouts, quiet down. The core confirmation ceremony is starting.”

A few students slouched in their chairs straightened up.

“Here, you’ll find out the location of your central core or potential core. Those who’ve gone through middle school education probably know this, but I’ll explain it all again.”

He scrubbed off the cutesy doodles and meaningless words on the chalkboard with an eraser.

“There’s a substance in the world called ‘ether.’ All living beings, including you, possess ether. Thanks to this ‘life energy’ or ‘wisdom energy,’ we naturally learn to breathe without being taught and keep our hearts beating. …Yes, and… uh… what was it?”

Angel, mid-explanation, seemed to forget his point and slyly pulled out a note from his pocket.

“Oh, right. This ether tends to gather in specific parts of the body. By continuously collecting and compressing ether in those areas, you can form a ‘core.’ The abilities manifested depend on the core’s location.”

Holding a short, stubby piece of chalk, he began drawing a distorted human figure on the chalkboard.

Then he drew sloppy circles in three areas.

“A central core in the brain allows you to use mana, like mages. A core in the heart enables spirit wielders or priests to use spiritual power. A core in the dantian lets swordsmen use ‘ki.’”

As the explanation dragged on, some students’ eyes began to droop.

Thwack!

“Ouch!”

Angel threw the chalk, hitting a student’s forehead, and continued.

“You’ll be assigned to Sereb, Cardia, or Midriba based on your core’s location.”

Letting out a tired sigh, Angel spoke again.

“Anyway, that’s the explanation. Students whose names are called, come forward one by one. Katelyn, Lancer, Wiudian, Bilha, Mir.”

Five names were called at once, and the students seated stood up and walked toward Angel.

Assistant Angel fastened a blue-glowing device onto the wrist of the student who came forward.

It was called an ether visualization device, said to transform the ether flowing in the body into wind.

Whoosh!

Wind swirled around the student wearing the device. When Angel sprinkled blue powder, it spiraled toward the student’s heart.

The place where the powder settled indicated where ether gathered, and where cores were likely to form.

“Katelyn, heart core. Head to Cardia student town.”

“Woo! Welcome!”

Angel pointed to the left side of the crowd of students behind him.

Students holding a sign that read ‘Cardia town’ waved and cheered.

‘So once your core is determined, you’re immediately assigned to a town.’

“Apple, what happens to students whose cores aren’t detected?”

“They get assigned to a town based on the location of their potential core.”

“And if they don’t have a potential core?”

“Come on… Who doesn’t have a potential core? You might not know since you skipped middle school classes. Everyone is born with at least one potential core. Whether you can turn it into an actual core depends on your ability.”

At that, my eyes sparkled.

‘Do I have a potential core too?’

My heart raced a little.

“Luca Drümuel. Stop leaning on the chalkboard and come forward.”

“Yes, sir.”

After a few rows of students were processed, a familiar blond head shuffled toward Angel.

‘The guy who was snoring earlier.’

I hadn’t seen his face clearly before since he’d covered it with his jacket, but he was quite handsome.

Upturned eyes with gleaming silver irises, double eyelids, neatly parted bangs, and sleek straight hair.

His features overall reminded me of a feisty alley cat.

With an expression like he couldn’t be bothered, Luca put on the wrist device, crossed his arms, and looked down at Angel arrogantly.

Whoooosh!

The short grass on the stadium floor flattened under a strong gust. To avoid being swept away, Angel bent his knees and quickly pulled out a jar of blue powder.

The glowing blue powder formed large, dazzling spirals around Luca’s head and dantian.

“Is he insane? A double core?”

Most double-core users had weaker cores due to dispersed ether, but Luca was different.

“With this wind strength, how does he have a double core?”

Both cores held an immense amount of ether.

With a bored expression, Luca removed the wrist device and lightly tossed it to Angel. Fixing his disheveled hair, Angel hurriedly caught the device.

“Luca’s brain core seems slightly larger, so head to Sereb.”

“Nah, I’ll just stay where I’m living. Rather than paying town fees every month, I’d buy an extra bowl of noodles.”

With that short remark, he walked toward the stadium exit.

Then he suddenly turned his head.

“…”

“…”

Snap.

I, Sigrin, felt that Luca’s gaze had been lingering on me for a while.

Grin.

Luca flashed an unreadable smile and left the stadium.

Even as he exited, his gaze stayed on me for quite a while, but I deliberately avoided it.

✦ ✦ ✦

The number of students in the stands dwindled, and Apple’s name was called.

Apple underwent the test with a tense expression.

“Apple Sitimtri, heart core. Head to Cardia.”

“What? Heart, not dantian?”

“Yes.”

“That can’t be. Didn’t some powder gather at my dantian? I’m sure some went there.”

“It gathered only at your heart.”

“That’s a lie!! Can you check again? Please…”

“Fine.”

Angel picked up more blue powder and sprinkled it over Apple. The powder gathered at her heart again.

“See? Cardia.”

“Can’t you just say it gathered at my dantian?”

“No.”

“Please!! I have to inherit my family’s swordsmanship! I need to take over my mother’s dojo!”

Since only Midriba allowed applications to the Swordsmanship department, Apple pleaded tearfully.

“Assistant, please. Can’t you just send me to Midriba?”

“No. Go to Cardia.”

“I’ll really get kicked out of my house!”

“Then sleep in Cardia’s dorms after leaving home.”

Thud.

Apple collapsed to the floor, staring blankly into space with the expression of someone who’d lost their country.

“Oh, Cardia also offers trauma counseling. The academy provides free psychological counseling and mindfulness programs, so heal your emotional wounds there.”

“You heartless jerk…”

Angel’s peers, guiding the tested high school students nearby, clicked their tongues.

“Now, the final group. Sabrina, Damian, Dmitri, Uwi, Sigrin. Come forward.”

Despite the jeers from friends, Angel diligently called the next students.

When my name was called, I, Sigrin, swallowed hard.