Yuuto sat at his desk in class, Senji was now seated to his right. Yuuto lazily paid attention to Mr. Hazaki’s lecture while Senji was busy taking notes like a model student. Mr. Hazaki walked in front of the board and drew a picture of a person with arrows pointing at them indicate magic flowing into them.

“Okay class. Today I’ll explain how different types of magicians use magic and have varying degrees of magic/magical energy. First off, I want to point out that when a person is born they have an inherent amount of magic and magic potential. As you grow, train and strengthen yourself the amount of magic you have grows as does your magical potential.”

Mr. Hazaki pauses for a moment so all the student can have time to write what he is saying down. In the meantime, Aoi Chiba raised her hand with a question.

“Yes.”

“What does magical potential mean?”

Mr. Hazaki turned around to face the board and wrote the number seventy then put a line under it writing one hundred right after.

“Let’s say the amount of magic a person has is seventy. And they have a magic potential of one hundred. Their total magical power would be one hundred and seventy. Magical potential is like a baseline to determine how much a person can grow at a specific point in time. Typically, unless put under a strict regimen, people will grow at the same rate. Although magical potential can rarely be pinned down to a specific number, so raw estimates are usually used.”

Senji scribbled away in his notebook while Yuuto looked sort of confused. Other students in the class seemed to either fully understand it, or have a hard time grasping it.

“So, by total magical power that would be the power an individual has at their max?”

Mr. Hazaki turned away from the board suddenly and points at Aoi with a marker.

“No, actually that would be the number of what your power is at its base. Oh and I forgot to mention another reason magical potential and magical energy is so hard to pin down is the fact it is constantly changing. Depending on the differences between your magic.

Yuuto could feel the words flowing from Mr. Hazaki’s mouth to his ears. His head could only take so much. It was strange he understood what Mr. Hazaki was getting at, yet there still seemed like so much that he wasn’t quite getting. Eventually Yuuto decided to raise his hand.

“Surprising. You have a question, Yuuto?”

A couple of Yuuto’s classmate turned toward him because of the way Mr. Hazaki responded to him. Yuuto looked around for a moment then sort of stared at Senji who noticed after a moment then shrugged.

“Uh Mr. Hazaki. If the two numbers seventy and a hundred added together is your base total. What do you call the thirty in between the two numbers?”

Mr. Hazaki smirked for a moment flipped his hair to one side. A second later he ran his hand through his hair moving back to its original position.

“The thirty represents magical potential gap. I’ll abbreviate it M.A.G for short. The higher the gap the harder it is for someone to get stronger. In the case of a seventy/thirty split. Meaning if we were to say that training allotted points you would get seventy percent of the total points. To get a hundred percent you would have to train passed your limits. People with smaller M.A.G are typically stronger and the reverse is also true.”

I wonder what Mr. Hazaki’s base total is? As well as his full power. How high do the numbers even go?

“M.A.G is split into three categories low ten to thirty, mid forty to sixty, and lastly high seventy to a ninety. Each of these number represent the base magical energy. Something I should have added earlier M.AG also represents the amount of magical energy that particular magician will deplete whenever they use magic. While the potential also acts as a total pool of magic or mana if you prefer.”

Base Magical Energy. Magical Energy Gap. All this sounds a little confusing. So if you have a lower M.A.G you would deplete less energy from a large pool.

“Mr. Hazaki. I have two questions. First why does high M.A.G go up to a ninety instead of a hundred? And if M.A.G also represent the amount taken for your total magic store then a person with one hundred would only be able to perform three big spells.”

Mr. Hazaki glanced at Aoi for a moment. “No, not exactly in the case of spellcasting and other higher grade magic the cost is higher. But basic actions such as created a bullet for example would only cost that individual three of their points. So, if for instance you had one hundred MP in a video game you would spend three points for certain actions. The cost multiplies for grander feats just like a game.”

Mr. Hazaki use the marker in his hand to write out one hundred percent.

“As to answer your first question. I guess first I should have pointed out there is an unofficial fourth category which I like to call Break since it breaks the limit…anyway people who typically fall under that category aren’t usually born that way. You would have to go through hell and essential break all your limits. Placing you within one hundred to let’s say one twenty. The people who have the greatest chance of reaching break are Conduits.

Yuuto looked around the room then looked straight at Mr. Hazaki who subtly glanced back at Yuuto for just a second.

Conduit. That’s what it’s called then. That man never used a specific term. Makes sense since he’s a complete asshole after all.

Mr. Hazaki smiled for a moment which surprised a couple of students to the point they gasp.

“Conduits are people born with immense magical power. Magic flows into them freely. Thanks to the fact that they for some reason passively absorb ambient magic or once again mana. Typically these individuals grow up to be world class magicians but that isn’t always the case. Not all conduits become great because conduits have an inherent problem. It is extremely difficult for them to properly control their magic since they house more than a regular magician. Because of this some conduits are actually the lowest ranking magicians. They have great potential but never quite know how to use it properly.”

Conduits have a hard time controlling their magical energy. So that’s something that some magicians have to deal with…

Yuuto’s mind drifted for a moment to an image of a young boy with his same dark blue hair. Rain poured from the gray sky. The boy was on his knees looking up at the sky as rain washed over his face. A few feet in front of him was a girl lying in the dirt. The ground around the boy shook while a dark blue aura surrounded him. It poured out of him in waves as his mouth went agape.

“People who are…”

Yuuto shook his head side to side snapping out of his daydream. Mr. Hazaki was still talking about conduits.

“Conduits usually have a high M.A.G. Someone with a higher M.A.G has an easier time reaching Break. Of course, no matter who you are its hell to reach. Those who have, aren’t considered just normal magicians, they’re considered monsters.”

For some reason Mr. Hazaki was grinning even though he seemed pretty indifferent about what he was talking about. Either way Yuuto stared past him thinking about the word. “Monster.”

To slay a monster, do I have to break all my limits and become one? Then so be it.