Lilianna almost corrected him, but found she didn’t seem to mind the nickname. Besides, Nadrina seemed to like it. Should she give Nadrina one, too? Was that a commoner thing?

“I’m fine professor. Thank you.” She was still a little unsteady and was grateful to be sitting, but she was feeling a lot better.

“Looks like that massive mana pool of yours is a gift and a curse, huh?” The professor asked. When she gave him a perplexed look, he continued. “I’m willing to bet the people who taught you growing up just let you put whatever amount of strength into your casting that you wanted, right? Your mana is off or on, like Alek over there?”

Lilianna nodded, surprised that he would know that. Did he have the same upbringing? He certainly didn’t act like it.

“Yeah, figures. Think of your body as a funnel for your mana pool. The more mana backed up in the mana pool, the more pressure it puts on the funnel. They taught you to cast with whatever strength felt the easiest because it was easier than learning how to control the flow. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly wasteful. You end up using way more mana than you actually need. It’s like trying to drive in a nail with a war hammer.”

Even as the many years of teaching she had been through warred against what the professor was saying, she had to admit that it made sense. The typical learning path was to learn spells first, then learn to control them later. One’s ability to control their mana was seen as a much higher art, one practiced by those who seriously studied the craft all their lives. What the professor said made so much sense, though. Enough to make Lilianna wonder why no one had tried differently.

He answered her question without her needing to ask it.

“It’s also why nobles assume large mana pools equal more power and talent. If a kid is born that has a massive mana pool, all of their spells are huge compared to their peers. It doesn’t mean they’re talented, it just means they have a better-than-average funnel. Worse, since nobles pick spouses with kids in mind, every generation gets a bigger mana pool and has a harder time later learning to control it. Some don’t even bother. They just accept that they can only cast a few spells before they’re tired. It’s led to people assuming that the potential you’re born with is all you’ll ever amount to.”

A strange thing to talk about, but it made sense. The problem progressively became wider spread until it was just accepted as the way it was. It wouldn’t be the first time nobles decided on a method for no other reason than tradition. Their professor was a very unconventional thinker, not to mention obviously experienced in magic. It sparked Lilianna’s curiosity.