Reincarnated as a Genius Mage

As I stand beside Jeriq, I stare at him with my lips widened, my eyes narrowed and my arms crossed.

I activate my mana sight.

I see the three colorless balls revolving around him. His three cores.

They revolve around him with speed that I can't even fathom. And as they revolve, the pure mana floating in the atmosphere begins to twirl, heading toward him with a feral haste.

I don't know what's happening inside his body right now. My mana sight only allows me to see the reflection of the core, so whatever's happening inside of him — like his cores dividing — I don't know.

But I know that the warm smile on his face refuses to clear up. And his posture is refined, reflecting his state of mind.

What a guy.

I turn off my mana sight. It's useless in this situation.

And as I turn off my mana sight, my mouth widens, but I close it. My gaze is fixed on him, never leaving.

Pure mana takes a physical form, radiating around his entire body as a warm, silvery hue of light.

I take a step back, my eyes never losing sight of him. I take another step back, this time, the light radiating around him increases.

I shield my eyes with my right hand, but my gaze still lingers on his figure enclosed within the warm silvery light.

He takes in a deep breath, his chest rising. Then he exhales. And as he exhales, the light that was increasing around him expands, becoming more harsher, more blinding, and covering the entire field.

"What the hell, Jeriq." I whisper, my tone mixing with subtle admiration.

Voices.. I hear voices. Whispers.

I turn. And around us, at every corner, I see soldiers of our troop standing, looking at Jeriq in awe.

"It's the blond guy.."

"The one radiating that intense wave of pure mana is the blond guy."

"Whoa. He's advancing!"

"Look at him, he's getting another core. At a time like this? I envy him."

"Yeah, honestly, same. I.. I don't even know if I can.."

"But who's that beside him?"

"Huh? Isn't it Blank? Look at the black, blank mask."

"Yeah, you're right. They're buddies after all."

It's like they never stop talking. Their voices are honestly annoying. But, it might be good also, it can increase their morale can't it?

The warm light slowly dwindles, receding softly into the horizon as the pure mana settles in the atmosphere.

"Blank."

My eyes widen, and I turn to face Jeriq who's standing next to his spear, looking at me with a wide, cheeky grin.

My lips widen beneath my mask. My gaze softens as I stare at his calm, composed figure.

"Look at you." I speak in a friendly, sarcastic tone. "A fourth core spearman."

I turn on my mana sight.

The once three cores that revolved around him are now four. Revolving with a calm, and slow speed.

His lips never loosen their smile. "It's all thanks to you." He says softly.

I scoff. "What nonsense." I turn to walk toward my Chakram, robe and shirt. "You did it all on your own. You should be celebrating or something."

He trails behind me. "Wait! I actually came here for a reason." He speaks.

I halt, looking back at him with my eyebrows raised. "You mean you didn't just come to demand for a fight and become a fourth core?"

He lets out a soft chuckle, "Blank, we both know that was a.."

"Coincidence. Right." I cut him off. "So? What did you actually seek me out for?" I ask as I pick up the red shirt of my uniform, my robe, and my Chakram.

He reaches inside the pocket of his pants, bringing out a crumpled sheet of paper. "Here." He hands it to me.

I look at the paper on his hand, then I look at his face colored by that same bright, cheerful smile.

"What's that?" I ask him.

"It's a list. Captain George gave it to me. It's supposed to be a…" He pauses, looking around the field, his eyes scanning the faces of the various soldiers gathered around the training ground. "I think we should go somewhere more.. private."

I nod. "You're right. Let's go to my tent." I speak, wearing my shirt.

Then I put on my robe. "Don't get cocky about reaching the fourth core though. You still need to train more to test your limits." I push, my tone blunt and stern.

"Is that.. jealousy I hear?" He asks in a playful tone as I grab my Chakram, putting it on the strap wrapped around the back of my robe.

My forehead wrinkles, lips curling into a grimace. "Jealousy? As if."

Of course I'm jealous. Who the hell gains enlightenment like that? From nowhere, and I had to struggle under K's mad training just to get to the second circle. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me writhe with annoyance.

"Yeah, sure Blank. You aren't jealous at all. I believe you." He replies.

Fucker.

"Fourth core or not, I'll still beat you up. You stand no chance ag–"

"I know! Mr. Dual affinity fourth circle mage."

"You forgot to add 'mysterious.'"

"How the hell are you so shameless?"

I shrug as we both walk, ignoring the murmuring soldiers, and heading toward my tent.

What a shame. It's still day time. I could've trained more if this guy hadn't interrupted me. But I also have to hear what George sent him to tell me.

This whole troop battle stuff is honestly annoying.

***

We arrive at the entrance of my red tent.

"Take off your boots." I speak to him in a calm voice as I walk in with my own boots still on my legs.

He takes his boots off, glaring holes at the back of my head.

"It's my tent. I can do whatever I want." I speak as I take off my own boots inside and drop them by the corner.

"I didn't say anything." He replies.

I let out a soft sigh.

He walks in, his spear on his left hand. He drops his spear by the entrance.

"So.." he brings out the sheet of paper.

Straight to the point huh.

"These are the list of guys the captain said to pay special interest to. They're the ones with potential."

I sit on my mat, taking in a deep breath that I hold for a while before letting it out. "Bring it here."