Path of the Unmentioned: The Missing Piece-Chapter 71: Mana Calculus or Emotional Calculus

Kyle trudged down the academy pathway, rubbing his eyes as a yawn threatened to split his face in half.

The warehouse nightmare had come again last night.

Flashes of that stitched mask.

The coppery smell of blood.

The crushing weight of failure pressing down on his chest.

It was Less intense this time, but still enough to leave him restless.

’Gotta get used to this.’

He knew worse was coming.

More blood.

More battles.

No point dwelling on it now.

Just as he opened his mouth for another yawn—

WHACK!

A sharp slap between his shoulder blades nearly sent him stumbling forward.

"Sleepwalking again, Valemont?"

Kyle spun around to see Luna Starfrost grinning up at him.

Her short white hair catching the morning light. Her black eyes sparkled with mischief.

As she rocked back on her heels, hands clasped behind her back.

"Luna," Kyle groaned, rubbing his back. "What was that for?"

"Your zombie impression was too convincing," she said, falling into step beside him.

"Seriously, where have you been?" Luna crossed her arms.

"You vanished for days. Even Reo was worried, and that idiot forgets to eat if no one reminds him."

Kyle scratched his head. "Uh... mana exhaustion. Had to rest."

Luna arched an eyebrow. "For two days?"

"Yeah"

Luna squinted. "You also ignored my texts."

"My phone died?"

"That’s the lamest excuse I have ever heard" Luna snorted.

Kyle opened his mouth to protest when Luna suddenly gasped dramatically.

"Oh no. Don’t tell me you were off doing something stupid and dangerous again?"

"What? No! I just—"

"Save it," Luna waved him off.

"More important news, Professor Veldrin’s dropping a mana calculus quiz on us tomorrow."

Kyle’s stomach dropped. "You are joking."

"Do I look like I’m joking?" Luna spun around to walk backwards in front of him, her grin widening at his horrified expression.

"Good thing I’m tutoring Reo in the library after class. You can join if you bring snacks and beg really nicely."

Kyle groaned. "Please, oh brilliant mistress of ice magic, save this poor fool from academic ruin."

Luna cackled, nearly tripping over her own feet.

"That was pathetic. I love it. You’re in."

As they turned the corner toward Classroom A1.

Luna added casually. "Oh, by the way, Eleanora totally manipulated Reo into asking your sister about you."

Kyle blinked. "She what now?"

"Yeah, it was hilarious" Luna said, bouncing on her toes.

"She gave him this whole speech about ’responsible classmates checking on each other’ or whatever. Reo came back looking like he had seen a ghost."

"Said Aurelia stared at him like she was mentally calculating which bones to break first."

’Did the princess need something from me?’ Before Kyle could dwell on that thought.

Luna elbowed him sharply. "Hey. You spacing out again?"

"Just thinking about how much mana calculus sucks," Kyle lied smoothly.

Luna rolled her eyes. "Uh huh. Well, think about it in the library tonight. Bring those spicy rice crackers Reo and I like."

"And don’t be late. I’m not explaining logarithmic mana decay twice because you couldn’t find your pants again."

Kyle snorted as they reached the classroom door.

At least something never changed.

***

The heavy oak doors of the Solvayne Academy library groaned shut behind them.

As Kyle, Reo, and Luna made their way to their usual study table.

Dust motes danced in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the glass windows, casting colorful patterns across the worn wooden tables.

The familiar scent of aged parchment and polished mahogany filled the air, mixed with the faint herbal tang of preservation spells that kept the ancient tomes from crumbling.

Luna flopped into her chair with her characteristic lack of grace.

Dropping her stack of books onto the table with a loud thud.

"Alright you two," she announced, flipping her white bangs out of her eyes.

"Let’s get this torture session started before Reo falls asleep like last time."

Reo scowled as he took his seat, running a hand through his spiky brown hair.

"That was one time! And I had been up all night training."

Kyle smirked as he pulled out his notes in his messy handwriting.

"More like you were pretending to study while actually sleeping with your eyes open."

Before Reo could retort, a familiar voice interrupted them.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."

They all looked up to see Princess Eleanora D’Argent standing at the edge of their table, her light blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight.

Beside her stood Serena Blackthorne, looking as composed as ever with her long black hair perfectly framing her pale face.

The contrast between them was striking. Eleanora’s warm smile and vibrant presence next to Serena’s cool, quiet demeanor.

Kyle blinked in surprise.

"Hey, what are you two doing here?"

Eleanora’s ruby eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Studying, believe it or not. We heard Professor Veldrin’s quiz was going to be particularly brutal this time." She nudged Serena forward slightly.

"Serena here could use some help with the advanced mana flow equations."

Serena arched one perfect eyebrow but said nothing, her amethyst eyes scanning their open textbooks with mild interest.

Luna grinned, kicking her feet up on the table.

"Sure, join the party. More victims for Veldrin’s academic massacre."

Reo groaned dramatically, slumping forward until his forehead hit the table.

"Why do we even need to know this stuff? When am I ever going to use mana calculus in real combat?"

Kyle flipped through his textbook to a particularly dense section, sighing.

"Because last week you nearly blew your own arm off when you misjudged your mana output during sparring."

"That was different!" Reo protested, sitting up straight.

"I was trying that new technique Instructor Valemont showed us!"

Serena, who had been quietly observing the exchange, spoke up in her calm, measured tone.

"It’s Precisely why understanding mana flow is crucial."

"Improper distribution is the leading cause of magical backlash injuries among combat mages."

The table fell silent for a moment as everyone turned to look at her.

Luna recovered first, bursting into laughter. "Damn, Reo! Even the ice queen thinks you’re an idiot!"

Serena blinked, her expression unchanging. "I never said that."

Eleanora smoothly took the seat next to Kyle.

Her textbook already open to the same page he was struggling with.

"Having trouble with problem seven?" she asked, peering at his notes.

Kyle rubbed his temple where a headache was forming.

"Yeah, I keep getting stuck on the third variable conversion. The textbook example doesn’t make sense."

Before Eleanora could respond.

Serena leaned over and pointed at a specific line in Kyle’s calculations.

"You are using the wrong coefficient," she said simply.

"The example is intentionally misleading to test if students understand the underlying principles."

Kyle frowned, studying the equation again.

A moment later his eyes widened.

"Oh! You are right. If I divide instead of multiply here..." He quickly scribbled some corrections.

The numbers finally aligning properly. "Huh. That actually works."

Eleanora’s smile became slightly fixed as she watched their exchange.

"I was just about to explain that," she said, her voice just a touch too bright.

Serena tilted her head slightly, looking genuinely puzzled.

"Oh. My apologies." She returned to her own notes, completely unaware of the subtle tension she had created.

Luna, who had been watching the entire interaction with growing amusement. Kicked Kyle sharply under the table.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kyle glared at her.

"Nothing," Luna said innocently, though her eyes darted meaningfully toward Eleanora.

Whose fingers were now drumming a quiet but insistent rhythm on the tabletop.

Reo, oblivious as ever, squinted at the corrected equation.

"Wait, so the textbook is wrong on purpose? That’s dirty."

"It’s not wrong," Serena explained patiently.

"It’s a pedagogical technique to encourage critical thinking rather than rote memorization."

Eleanora cleared her throat.

"As I was saying before" she began, her voice taking on a lecturing tone.

"Professor Veldrin often—"

Luna suddenly slammed her book shut, making everyone jump.

"Alright, enough theory! Let’s practice some actual problems before my brain melts from boredom." She grabbed a stack of blank parchment and began distributing them.

"We’ll take turns solving problems and explaining them to the group."

For the next hour, the study session continued with varying degrees of success. Reo struggled through basic equations.

His brow furrowed in concentration.

Luna breezed through the calculations but kept getting tripped up by minor arithmetic errors.

Serena worked with quiet efficiency, her answers always precise and correct.

Eleanora demonstrated an intuitive grasp of the concepts, though she seemed unusually focused on correcting Kyle’s work personally.

As the study session continued into the evening.

The dynamic between the five students settled into an uneasy equilibrium.

Kyle made sure to ask Eleanora for help as often as he asked Serena.

Reo remained blissfully unaware of any tension, focused solely on not failing the quiz.

Luna alternated between studying and subtly fanning the flames of drama for her own amusement.

And Serena, ever the diligent student, continued to offer precise, insightful explanations whenever someone struggled.

Completely unaware of the minor emotional tempest swirling around her.

***