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In a classroom, they didn't feel the same weight on their shoulders as they did now. The situation was different, they weren't here just to listen, they were here to discuss, debate, and present their case - as potential equals.

"I've already read the proposal before, though," The Sect Leader said while flipping the bound proposal back to its front cover. "Let us skip to the results, or whatever you have at this point in time. I was told that you," he paused to point at Revian, "are able to see (quantitatively) the mana capacity of your core, as well as in mana crystals? How did you accomplish that?"

"W-Well," Revian mumbled as all the attention focused on him. "I just- I just, umm..."

The Sect Leader coughed and stood up, causing an intimidating shadow to fall upon the quartet. The man walked casually around the table and halted at their blind spot. A latent pressure and a sense of foreboding started to grow in the room. Cold sweat started to accumulate down their backs, drenching their clothes in the process.

And then, there was movement. The Sect Leader walked up to Revian. Frozen in fear, he couldn't get his head to turn - neither could his peers who were equally rigid in their places. At this point, Revian could feel the heat from the Sect Leader's hands approach him.

"Here, drink this," the Sect Leader's voice said from behind him, as a porcelain cup filled with clear water descended before him.

Revian tried to swallow a mouthful of saliva but found his mouth parched. With some trepidation, he reached forward and grabbed the cup with both hands. Bringing it up to his lips, he downed it all in one massive gulp.

"Speak clearly," the Sect Leader commanded. "You are the experts who designed and undertook this experiment, I am just a bystander interested in learning what you have accomplished. So own it!"

Revian nodded decisively as he was forced to withstand the Sect Leader's firm, yet calming gaze.

After taking a moment to gather his thoughts, Revian started, "As you know, the purpose of our experiment was to determine a standardised measure for mana - something that would be helpful in future experiments in case the variable to be changed, measured, or controlled is the level of mana."

Noticing the Sect Leader's nod and encouraging smile, Revian continued with renewed vigour.

"Since you've read the project proposal, I will skip the experimentation procedure and move to the point where we started collecting data and I noticed the change," Revian highlighted. "During the process, one thing I tried to keep at the forefront of my mind, was the importance of collecting qualitative data. We were told that observing behaviour and interactions that aren't always quantifiable is important when it finally comes time to derive conclusions. It may also provide context to the data we are collecting."

"My focus while collecting the qualitative data was in seeing how the mana drawn in from outside - the mana crystal - flows through the mana system before it ultimately gets transmuted and ejected through the spell circle," Revian explained. "I was especially interested in the nature of the flow, the rate of consumption, the transmutation ratios, and the consistency of the process overall."

Revian placed a handbook in front of the Sect Leader and said, "These were my observations."

With a faint hum, the Sect Leader picked it up and started to flip through its pages.

"So within the third set of trials, your mana senses started to quantify the mana in and around you?" The Sect Leader asked casually while reading Revian's observations.

"Yes. My mana senses destabilised suddenly, and I saw the numbers flash past them before I lost consciousness," Revian recounted.

"I see," was all the Sect Leader said before closing the book and returning it to Revian. Then, he placed his palm on the table before him and tapped his fingers against the wood rhythmically.

"You've achieved some result before the experiment reached termination," the Sect Leader noted. "I know it isn't customary to draw conclusions before all the numbers are in, but what do you four think about what happened?"

The quartet exchanged looks before Casey raised her hands, awaiting permission to speak.

"You don't need to do that," the Sect Leader said hurriedly while waving his hands. "If you have something to say then just speak up."

"I- I mean, we think that this may be a feature of the mana sense itself," Casey theorised. "We know that the mana sense can capture and read data that is beyond our understanding, and all it takes is for us to decipher what the datatype means to be able to tune in to that particular spectrum of the mana sense. Maybe Revian just unlocked a feature of his mana sense after gaining a better understanding of mana?"

Casey was worried that she spoke wrongly or gave an incorrect hypothesis, but was relieved to see the Sect Leader nod affirmatively.

"That's actually correct," he said, before retrieving two different bound books from a small bookshelf to his side. "I've actually been interested in figuring out a way to quantify mana for a very long time. Unfortunately, I just never got around to it, because after advancing into the Core Formation realm I didn't find the need to do so."

He opened up the books to two different locations and placed them before them. "Both these books are journals written by mages, noting down their observations when casting the same |Cold Snap| spell. Why don't you read the highlighted excerpt?"

The four edged closer and read the underlined paragraphs in both books.

"What did you notice?" The Sect Leader asked as Revian averted his attention from the books first.

"Umm, I'm not sure," Revian mumbled embarrassedly. This was supported by the blank expressions of his peers as well.

"The one on your left was written by a mage in the Foundation Establishment realm, while the one on the right, was written by one in the Core Formation realm. Use this information and take another look," the Sect Leader encouraged.

After a few minutes of mental deconstruction, Revian scratched his chin and said, "Is it to do with the specificity of the observations?"

This was immediately confirmed with an enthusiastic finger-snap from the Sect Leader. "You will notice that the Foundation Establishment realm mage defines the mana consumption with vague terms or in fractions, using words like 'an eighth of my mana pool'. On the other hand, the Core Formation realm mage, while still nonstandard with their definitions, uses more quantifiable descriptors like 'equivalent to a fingernail-sized mana crystal'. What does this tell you?"

"Is the perception of mana more precise when you rise in cultivation?" Kevan probed.

"That's a good point," the Sect Leader chimed in, "But as researchers, we need to maintain scepticism. You see, it could also be that the image on the right has a cultivation method that makes them more perceptive to the quantity of man they use for their spells."

Without waiting for Kevan to apologise for the misstep, the man continued, "Which was also why I halted my background research - I couldn't find any more journals that could corroborate this claim. I did ask Teacher Jeeves to cast |Cold Snap| and write down his observations, but that was as far as I reached in terms of actual data collection. I did intend to return to this, though, but then I advanced in my cultivation and I no longer needed to do it."

The Sect Leader closed the books and returned them to his cupboard while saying, "You see, as you advance in cultivation, you grow closer to becoming a being of mana. And as you inch closer and closer to that point, you start becoming more conscious about the mana that fuels your power. For me, it is easy to quantify mana. But the problem is that it is personal to me, and me alone. What we need is a standardised method, after all, not something that changes based on the person."

He then leaned forward over his desk and said with a measured tone, "I want you to tweak your experimentation, now that it has produced an unusual result. I know that it is improper to change the methodology mid-experiment, but I feel that you should be able to incorporate this into your process without much effect in the grand scheme of things."

Raising one finger, the Sect Leader declared, "Is the number Revian seeing, the same for everyone?"

Another finger was raised, "If that is true, then what is the unit of measurement of mana, and what is it related to? Is it a fundamental unit, or is it derived?"

After raising a third finger, "What are the limitations of this new addition to the mana sense? Are there any specific cases where it cannot be applied?"

With the fourth and final finger, "If all the above questions are answered satisfactorily, then is it possible to streamline the process so that others can gain access to this feature in a safe, efficient, and cost-effective manner?"

"On another note," the Sect Leader pulled open a drawer under his desk, reached into it, and pulled out a closed yet bulging fist. He gestured for the four to extend their palms forward before carefully dropping a small, solid object in them.

It was a finger-sized cuboid, which Revian held up and asked, "Umm, what is this?"

"Those are Caramel Toffees! Matron Reva's been working on them for a while now, and she's finally perfected the recipe," the Sect Leader clarified excitedly. "Congratulations on your first and successful experiment! Although it isn't finished, the fact that something was gained out of it is great news! I couldn't prepare anything on short notice, so please forgive me for such paltry gifts."

The quartet shook their hands vigorously placatingly, with a beaming smile on their faces. One by one, they popped the sweet into their mouths and basked in the rush as smooth caramel oozed out its centre and bathed their tongue like a viscous blanket.

"Oh, and I will also be observing your experiment from now on," the Sect Leader said, only to receive a cacophony of choking sounds as the four were violently drawn out of their sugar-induced euphoria.

Made sense, good and bad news often came hand in hand.