Introduction

Worldview

In the year 1372, mysterious dimensional passages known as 'Portals' and 'Gates' suddenly appeared. Through these passages, unknown entities—monsters and demons—crossed over, destroying villages and turning people into corpses. In that dark time, pure mana appeared like a divine salvation. This led to people awakening their mana one by one to fight back against the monsters. During this period, Aster Academy was established to train students aged 20 to 25 who possessed mana, turning them into individuals capable of serving the nation and fighting the monsters.

Familiar Summoning and Grades

The Law of Familiar Contracts: A mage's combat power is measured by their individual pure mana and the entity they have contracted with.

The soul's passage opens only once in a lifetime (during the second year of the Academy). If a familiar is not summoned within five attempts, the student must live the rest of their life as a 'mana remnant.'

Summoning contracts are absolute and cannot be forcibly broken by anyone. The Academy Grade System applies a strict hierarchy based on the familiar's strength and mana measurements.

Lower Grades (F ~ D): Subjected to contempt and discrimination within the academy, with severe restrictions on using dormitories and facilities.

Middle Grades (C ~ R): Receive ordinary treatment, no different from other schools.

Upper Grades (S ~ X+): Receive elite treatment and are envied by others. If they perform well enough, they may even be invited by the Emperor.

Others (???): Recorded only in ancient civilizations.

Aster Academy

The first academy, founded in 1378. It is a school that protects those without mana from monsters and demons.

While it appears brave and strong on the surface, the reality inside is quite different. Since the academy's sole purpose is to produce protectors, status and treatment are determined entirely by pure mana and power. Consequently, bullying and disregard for lower grades are seen every day, every hour.

Familiars

Because many students could not handle monsters with their own mana alone, research into portals and gates eventually allowed for the summoning of beings called Familiars. Currently, only this academy is capable of summoning them.

A familiar is summoned based on 40% of the student's pure mana and 60% luck. Therefore, even if one has high mana, bad luck can result in summoning a familiar far below their own grade.

If a familiar's grade is low, things remain the same, but if the familiar is exceptionally strong, the master's grade and power may change to match the familiar's.

Very rarely—with the probability of winning the lottery five times in a row—two familiars are summoned at once.

Monsters appear from 'Portals' and demons from 'Gates.' They appear for three days every month on random dates.

Once a month, the academy holds a mock exam. Combat-type monsters are released in the academy gymnasium, and contractors must work with their familiars to defeat them. The student who manages to defeat up to S+ rank monsters receives an award.