Magic System in a Parallel World

"Sorry, but I no longer have it. Can I receive another one?"

"Can I get your name and date of birth?"

"Leo Magnus. First day of the first month. 2022."

"Oh… You\'re the one who consumed the…" The receptionist halted his sentence midway.

"Sorry, I have confirmed your identity. We\'ll issue you a new ID shortly."

Due to Leo\'s infamy, the receptionist didn\'t need to further confirm his identity.

"In the meanwhile, can you show me what you wish to sell?"

"Sure."

Leo proceeded to take out 100 A-Grade mana cores and placed them on the desk.

"How much can I get for these?"

"I will need to have these mana cores examined before I can give you a number. Unlike B-Grade and lower mana cores, the mana found in A-Grade and above can vary greatly, and that is what we\'re really paying for." The receptionist explained.

"How long will it take? I\'d like to have the money by today if possible."

"Don\'t worry, it won\'t take too long. It will be done in a few minutes. May I take these mana cores to the back for an examination?"

"Of course."

The receptionist proceeded to take the mana cores to the examination room in the back.

A few minutes later, the receptionist returned to the front desk where Leo was waiting.

"Thank you for your patience, we have examined the mana cores, and after counting the amount of mana contained within the cores, we\'ve determined the worth to be 18 million dollars."

"18 million…" Leo swallowed nervously upon hearing this extraordinary figure.

"Are you willing to sell the mana cores to us?" The receptionist asked him for confirmation.

"I am!" He immediately responded.

Even if he could only sell the mana cores for 8 million, he\'d sell them all in a heartbeat.

"Thank you for your business! Please give me a few minutes to transfer you the funds."

Sometime later, Leo left the Adventurers\' Guild with 18 million dollars in his bank account.

\'Hahaha! I\'m rich! I\'m freaking rich!\' Leo laughed inwardly, feeling incredibly blissed.

He went to the Stellar Terminal afterward to resupply his potions and high-quality MREs.

"My god… I thought I had a lot of money, but I forgot how expensive things were in this world. Just resupplying my inventory had cost me half of what I sold my mana cores for…" He sighed out loud.

"You did purchase months of supply in advance, and for more than just one person." Lilith said.

"Just in case." He said.

"Whatever, I can easily earn more money by hunting monsters, anyway."

Lilith smiled, "You\'re becoming more and more confident. A few months ago, you wouldn\'t dare to say such things."

"When you\'re forced to fight and hunt monsters, things are bound to change." Leo shrugged.

Leo returned to the academy shortly after, and he would spend the next two days training with Lia and Helia.

On the day of the Labyrinth Examination, Leo woke up earlier than usual.

During breakfast, Eve said to him, "You\'ll be entering the Ancient Labyrinth today. Are you excited?"

"Not really," he said in a low voice.

"Why not? I thought you enjoyed hunting monsters."

"Yeah… Since I can acquire their mana cores. However, according to what you told me, the monsters in the Ancient Labyrinth won\'t drop any mana cores, so you cannot blame me for not feeling any excitement."

"That\'s not entirely true." Eve said, and she continued, "Only the monsters in the earlier floors won\'t drop any mana cores because they\'ve been killed too many times. The monsters past 20th floor still drop mana cores."

"Really?! You should\'ve told me earlier! Now I am feeling a little more motivated!"

Sometime later, Eve said, "I will go ahead. See you guys later at the Chapel."

After they finished their breakfast, Leo and Lia also left the building to head to the Chapel, where the students will be gathered.

On their way to the Chapel, Leo noticed many students wearing a different uniform wandering their academy.

Of course, these students also noticed Leo and Lia.

"Hey, look over there! Isn\'t that Leo Magnus and Lia Scarlet?"

"Look at Lia Scarlet\'s uniform! The rumors were true! She really transferred to the Four Witches Academy!"

Nearly every student they passed talked about them and their unique relationship.

When they arrived at the Chapel, Leo raised his eyebrows.

"The students gathered here are mostly from our academy. Where are the others?" He wondered out loud.

"This place can only hold so many people at once. Every academy has their own schedule on when their students enter the Ancient Labyrinth." Lia explained to him.

"I see… That makes sense. Let\'s find Helia and Celeste before they begin the briefing."

They proceeded to walk around.

It didn\'t take long to find Helia, as her fiery red hair stood out amongst the crowd.

"Have you seen Celeste?" Leo asked Helia.

"No, I haven\'t."

They continued looking for her.

"I still can\'t believe that Celeste Light would be joining us. How did you manage to recruit her?" Helia asked.

"I don\'t know. We just asked her normally, and she accepted it without any trouble."

"Celeste is known for not participating in these kinds of events due to their nature— not that it affects her since she already has offers from the top Guilds." Helia sighed, and she continued, "Honestly, I\'m a little envious of her. Despite my grades and background, I still have to work hard to be noticed by the top Guilds. Celeste, on the other hand, is known as the future Saintess. Everyone and their mother will be trying to recruit her regardless of her grades."

Leo looked at her and asked, "Is that why you wanted to join our team? Because you\'re trying to be recognized?"

She nodded, "Pretty much, and because I know that we\'re going to be the strongest team this year."

After walking around for a few more minutes, Leo noticed a large gathering of students in the distance, and they all appeared to be surrounding someone.

"Leo. I found her. She\'s in the center of that group over there." Lilith said to him from the sky.

"I got it."