I Refused To Be Reincarnated

They saw many students seated at the desks, reading books while taking notes or working together to analyse arcane texts.

One of the student groups was Arun\'s. They already had picked a few books to choose spells to learn from.

Then, Julius\' gaze landed on the smiling Jean, approaching them with glistening eyes.

"Welcome back to the library. How can I help you?" He offered, planning to help them find the books they were looking for.

"I came to get three tier-three books about alchemy," Julius answered, handing him three golden tickets.

Jean, about to remind him that he could not borrow those books, widened in shock at the tickets\' sight. After all, they were directly gifted by Shepard, the college\'s director, and were rarely seen.

"I see... What kind of effects are you looking for?" He asked, his green eyes sharp and expression serious.

Jean\'s shift in demeanor astonished Julius but he quickly brushed it off. "Are there books with various potions to enhance the body and mana capacity?" Julius asked, following his big brother\'s instructions.

"Sure, wait for a moment," Jean answered before using the magic circles in front of the bookshelves to levitate and grab three tomes.

As he came down and handed the books, he cautioned the boy, "Be careful when brewing them. You may injure your mana circuits if you mishandle the process. In addition, don\'t drink more than one type of potion. Your heart might blow up because of the sudden influx of energy if you do." Then, he explained that mages usually drank a potion once a year at maximum.

Upon hearing his words, Adam scratched his head in frustration. He planned to rely on potions to expeditiously improve his mana. However, it seemed to be a bad idea in the end. After all, he had to drink the potions in his body in the dream place, and he learned, painfully, that his soul could be damaged in that place.

\'I hope the potions are effective, or my progress will remain slow. I should try to reach tier two as fast as possible to unlock my xp progression as well.\' He thought before asking Julius to use the last ticket to get him a neutral technique to find ways to become an Acolyte.

He could use the system\'s promotion quest, but was reluctant. His improvement would be set at the most basic standard, preventing him from reaching his full potential. No, he would consider this option only if he found no other ways.

"Ha! I forgot I already took a technique unrelated to elements and focused on mana control for you. It is in my room." Julius answered, flustered by his mistake. He completely forgot about the tome because of Shepard\'s visit.

Adam tapped his finger on his cheek pensively in response.

\'Well, might as well keep the last ticket and use it later,\' he thought after failing to find any useful book to borrow.

Meanwhile, Julius bid Jean farewell before walking to his friend\'s desk. They needed to discuss their strategy and pick spells complementing each other\'s capabilities.

They decided that Louise should learn the Earth wall spell to protect Arun and Asha from any enemy that might attack them from behind. The second spell they chose was the quicksand spell.

Despite not being a powerful offensive or defensive spell, it proved highly effective in impeding the movement of adversaries and maintaining them in their place.

Arun would learn the fire arrow and sputtering blaze spells. The latter was a weak area of effect spell used mainly to slowly disorient and deal damage over time to a group of enemies.

Finally, Asha would learn the ember snare and ember mend spells. The first one was used to plant traps akin to mines on the ground and could be deadly if used strategically. The second was a weak healing spell, capable of sanitizing wounds and slowly accelerating natural healing.

Adam nodded dismissively at the kid\'s choices. He acted as a mere spectator, letting them develop their strategic thinking instead of bluntly telling them what to do. At least, that\'s what they thought.

In truth, the ghost was busy reading potions\' recipes with glowing eyes, already trying to figure out which one he would brew.

After all, he wasn\'t too worried about the whole thing. If anything happened, he would help them. If it wasn\'t enough, their supervisor would.

"Alright, our synergy sounds good!" Arun exclaimed after reviewing each person\'s spells and roles. Then he added, "We should visit the club\'s office tomorrow to introduce ourselves and meet our supervisor."

"You\'re right," Asha nodded in agreement.

"What was her name? Shiro, I think?" Louise asked, trying to remember what the recruiter told them.

"Yeah! That was her name. He mentioned we shouldn\'t be astonished when we see her. I wonder why," Arun answered, curiosity laced in his voice.

"By the way, we know you have no plans of becoming a mage, but could you please share with us your brother\'s spells and strength?" Louise looked at Julius and asked with ints of concerns. As the oldest of the group, she felt she was responsible for everyone\'s safety and wanted to know everything about their capabilities.

Julius pondered how to answer that question before responding, "He doesn\'t plan to learn spells."

The group looked at him weirdly in response, thinking the same line. You weren\'t a mage. Thus, you don\'t learn spells. Why not? But why did your brother refuse to learn them as well?

"He is trying to convert spells into what he calls \'mana techniques\'. In short, he tries to replicate spell effects using mana control only." Julius explained shortly before standing up, ready to return to his room.

However, he didn\'t predict that his words were thundering in the group\'s mind. Everyone silently stood up and followed him to the dorms, pondering deeply about the implications of his brother\'s approach.

This was the group\'s first time hearing about such a complicated but odd way to use magic, and they wondered if it could really work.