The Retired Hero is an Extra

Exiting the library, Jash encountered the firm figure of Emma, who steadfastly followed behind him as he headed to his room.

'I think I might get some time to study this book after lunch,' mused Jash as he turned to face Emma.

"Bring my lunch to the room."

"Yes, Young Master." Emma bowed politely before vanishing.

Despite their strained relationship since his past life memories returned, Jash made no visible effort to mend it.

After all, he knew her all too well. 'It will only have the opposite effect if I do anything at this time.'

Although her overly polite behavior was starting to get on his nerves, it was still bearable for now.

"I guess I should read to distract myself." Mumbling to himself, he picked up the book with the title 'Hunter Ranks.'

Sitting comfortably on his bed, awaiting his lunch, he read the book.

—Rustle

Calling it reading would be a stretch since all Jash did was turn the pages every few seconds, barely staying on each for more than 5 seconds.

—Creak

Luckily, his lunch arrived before he could flip through the book in its entirety.

Looking at the numerous dishes lined up neatly, he too stood up from the bed, only to sit at his balcony table.

Enjoying the light winter breeze and hot food rejuvenated his mood. Naturally, no one stayed in his room after delivering his meal, giving him complete freedom to reflect.

Yet he didn't seem to utilize the opportunity.

He picked up the book again after eating and continued to flip through. In less than 20 minutes, he reached the last pages, and only then did his pace decrease.

'This... Caera didn't mention it,' noted Jash as he found much more detailed explanations about the ranking system.

'I wonder who made such a complex system?' Jash mused, curious about the creator yet found no such records.

'Maybe, I'd find something about them if I enter the main library or inside the Solarnelle Academy?'

Jash believed his guesses made sense and continued to focus on the end pages of the book.

Finally, after another 10 minutes of careful reading, he closed the book and placed it aside.

'Even though I have the knowledge of the novel and countless others, this system is new.'

He recalled the differences in the protagonist's ranking system due to the Blessing of the Goddess but shrugged them off, knowing he couldn't follow that path without the Blessing.

'And no way would I risk getting caught and interrogated regarding my past life by a Goddess!' Jash firmly resolved to not get entangled with the Church.

Cycling back to his current need for the ranking system, he compared his mental image with Caera's explanation.

'If I had to point out the differences, then it's not that difficult. Instead of the three sub-ranks, I'd say using the color of mana would be a better indicator, but it's not really accurate.'

Recalling the description of the three sub-ranks, he couldn't help but want to beat himself up over his stupidity.

'Damn! I really am living without knowing anything significant!'

Shaking his head to move on from his inner-scoldings, he went through the information pertaining to the mana core itself.

Mana cores are small, spherical, glass-like structures located at the middle dantian in the body, right above the sternum, below the heart.

'That's what I know,' Jash briefly reflected on the information before turning his attention back to fill the gaps.

The same ranking system was followed by the three races: humans, elves, and dwarves. For some reason, these races which appeared around 1200 years ago also adapted and accepted this model.

'Unknowns again. Not like history has ever been accurate or something, so I guess that's that?' Jash shifted his stance, opting to lean thoughtfully against the wooden railing.

The next thing he recalled were related to the color of the mana core itself and how it affects the mana inside one's body.

Of course, it played an important role throughout one's life as it not only makes it quite easy to assess one's level, whether they be an ally or enemy.

The different races could modify and evolve the method with their prior knowledge at different thresholds, which helped improve it significantly.

'Is improve even the right term?' Jash wondered if that was truly the case.

After all, it was entirely possible, they just merged their own racial system into it and it somehow worked for all three races.

Well, some did go to the extent of calling it a miracle from the Goddess as the one who spread the mana method was the fabled hero.

'But who gave the darned ranking system? Back then, it was just colors!' Jash felt curious rather than angry as he had already realized his mistake.

He had ignored the existence of colorblind people, which struggled differentiating the ranking but the new ranking system made it more streamlined.

Although they still couldn't judge based on color, unlike others.

Moving on from the mana core to the mana itself, Jash recalled the seven colors listed by Caera, and the image of the dispersion phenomenon appeared in his head.

'Light... The seven-colored power system... It certainly isn't just a coincidence...' pondered Jash, his mind spinning with the implications

However, he didn't linger on it for too long.

'The Color of Mana is dependent on the Mana Core's color, but not directly.' Jash recalled what was mentioned in the book.

As one progresses their rank, the color of their mana changes. The denser and darker the color, the more one has advanced in rank.

Of course, at the start of each rank, mana is a bit murky and turbid.

Slowly, purification occurs and it becomes more condensed and darker before advancing to the next color and becoming more deadly.

'The difference between the sub-ranks and even ranks increased from E to A rank. If late E-rank had roughly 2~3 times the strength of an early E-rank, then late D-rank would be at least 4 times stronger than early D-rank.'

The striking difference between them was obvious, as the light-colored mana could be said to be a refined form.

In comparison, the mana at the next sub-rank was more concentrated and potent, with a stronger essence.

It wasn't just a difference in color; instead, the essence had changed, and its power had increased manifold.

That meant the same amount of mana would be more destructive if used by someone of a sub-rank, let alone an entire rank, higher.

In the end, Jash couldn't help but sigh and blabber, "What's the use of books? It doesn't matter until I can't feel it myself to quantify it."

As if the world listened to his pleas, he felt a chill go down his spine, causing him to look around in panic before he heard the most dreadful thing ever.

"JASH!"

"I know you can hear me loud and clear, so don't even think of sneaking away. Your training begins today!"

His expression fell as his lips twitched from the loud calls from his father. 'He could've just asked Emma to bring me. What a weird habit.'

Feeling helpless, he shrugged his shoulders and mumbled, "Well, whatever can I do? Not like I have an option."