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Chapter 36

“Get down from there, idiot!” Relin suddenly shouted, using more abusive language than Deculein. His reddened face was about to burst.

“Calm down, Professor Relin.”

“What? O-oh… But…”

Deculein calmed Relin down himself, then walked slowly and stood in front of Epherene.

“… I can, right?” She had lost her rationality, but Epherene still had doubts in her voice.

“I said you could choose anyone in here. I didn’t impose any limits.” Deculein shot his cane at the ground.

Thud—!

The thundering echo and shockwave disheveled Epherene’s hair.

“However, I need to put myself in an appropriate disadvantageous condition. I won’t attack you, and if this cane falls to the ground, it will be your victory.”

“… Okay.” Epherene clenched her fist as she nodded.

Deculein stood on the opposite side of her. She could feel her heart beating like crazy.

Regardless, for her, this was a moment of hope. It was as if the day she had been dreaming of had finally come.

“Hooooo…” After taking a deep breath, she first imbued mana on her bracelet.

“Begin.” gusts of wind enveloped Deculein’s body.

Acceleration. Pure elemental magic could also be used for accumulating and accepting elements of the wind.

People were often mistaken that Acceleration worked only on the movements of one’s body. However, it could also affect the speed of magic. The gap between firing magic could be shortened through it.

“…”

Epherene finished warming up silently.

A battle between wizards was usually no different from a battle between attributes. Each person charged into battle with the element appropriate for their abilities or for countering their opponent.

But Epherene didn’t need to do that.

Her attribute was a vessel and not an element. Her bracelet itself was her attribute.

It served as a ‘catalyst’ that commanded magic, allowing all four elements to be used without penalizing her or reducing her performance.

“Huph!”

Epherene conjured flames by casting [Wind of Fire], an intermediate class magic. She then let it run wild around Deculein, trapping him in the scorching currents so thick he could no longer be seen.

She then added earth properties to the flame, dropping particles of coal that amplified the flames and generated a high concentration of oxygen inside.

Grrrrrrrr—!

Her incinerating magic filled the stadium, engulfing all magic flammable dust and oxygen, resulting in a series of oxidation and combustion.

Dust exploded.

BOOM—!

Beginning with a single blast, dozens of other eruptions occurred throughout the air.

Boom-! Boom-! Baaaaaam—!

Her magic was destructive enough to fluster even Professor Relin. Even its intensity and heat were far more than what the faculty member expected.

Booooooom—!

Epherene had mastered calling forth such deadly mixtures of magic.

Combining three properties, she created a bombardment of magic that maximized the power of the most destructive element, ‘Fire.’

“… Haa.” After using up her mana, Epherene sighed and stared at her opponent’s position, but only smoke coming from the stadium she nearly set ablaze filled her sight.

‘Did he manage to escape?’ She didn’t let her guard down, yet at the same time, she found herself wondering if she had killed him.

She wasn’t worried about him, though.

A cold wind cleared up the smoke, revealing a shell-like ball of fire beyond it.

Dadada— Dadada—

Between the raging waves of flames, Deculein’s blue eyes radiated as he gazed at her apathetically, looking as if her magic couldn’t even touch him.

It was exactly as she expected.

Scwhiiiiii—!

Her fires died down in a flash, extinguishing her incinerating magic completely. She couldn’t even begin to understand how that was possible.

“…”

Biting her lips, she released [Stray Bullet Bombs], which scattered like magic bullets all over the place endlessly.

Dududududu—!

However, all that came into Deculein’s range came to a halt, and had her ownership over them seized. He then extinguished all of them without even using them. He promised not to retaliate, after all.

“Ughhh…”

Deculein just stood there and stared at her, making her feel like he was just playing with a child.

“Since it’s come to this…” Epherene cohered magic.

Ziiiiit—

But an error occurred in its materialization process, causing it to be dissolved with a spark instead of materializing.

Epherene quickly found out the reason behind it: Deculein’s mana interference.

“You have a habit with magic.” He said, observing the patterns of her magic through his [Vision].

It was almost impossible to interpret and dissolve magic in such a short time since doing so severely used up mana.

“The bigger your movement is for magic, the more your habit becomes prominent.”

However, after experiencing the opponent’s magic a few times, and if one were certain about their ‘habit,’ their mana consumption would be reduced exponentially.

Simply put, Deculein’s [Understanding] had now fully unraveled Epherene’s magic, allowing him to instantly find its ‘core circuit.’

“High-ranking wizards always hide their habit. No, they don’t even have one,” Deculein continued in a tone that sounded like he was talking to a failure.

Epherene kept trying to form magic, but her efforts were all for naught.

Ziiiii— Ziiiii—

The sounds of her short-circuiting attempts echoed nonstop.

“You won’t be able to use magic in front of me.”

“…”

Epherene clenched her teeth, giving up on materializing magic. However, she hadn’t given up on the battle itself.

She still had her last resort.

‘Don’t give him space or time.’

What if she focused on breaking through just one part of him and closed the distance between them? What if she released magic right in front of Deculein?

‘I’m confident he won’t even have time to dissolve or interfere with my magic.’

Epherene didn’t become a wizard by graduating from the academy. Hence, she didn’t let her body grow weak through atrophy. Physical training and drills were part of Epherene’s routine.

“Huuuph!” With her body sped up by Acceleration, Epherene charged and quickly reached Deculein. As she was about to release her magic, Epherene came face to face with his finger.

It was coming closer and closer, but she couldn’t dodge it in time.

Baaam—!

The pain she felt was immense.

Epherene was forced to step back while clutching her forehead and soon stumbled and fell to the ground.

“However.”

Deculein’s voice found its way into her ears.

Looking up, she found him gazing at her while standing opposite to her…

… with a smile on his lips that was unfamiliar to her.

His eyes looked more serene and satisfied than they had ever been.

“It wasn’t bad.”

Deculein gave her a compliment that was as high as his fondness of his new cane.

Unable to understand what was happening, Epherene just stared at his face while still on the floor.

‘Did… I just get his recognition?’ She fainted with that thought in her mind. Her friends soon came running and took her down the stadium.

“Next.”

“Uhm, professor, the stadium was—”

Relin tried to point out the obvious, thinking that they should take a little break, but Deculein repaired the place swiftly. His [Psychokinesis] made earth levitate, and through [Ductility] and [Transformation], tiles were made.

The ones he made were even cleaner than the ones installed in the room before.

It wasn’t difficult to do, but the speed at which he did it and his rhythm was amazing. That act alone displayed why he was the epitome of noble wizardry.

“Next, Lucia.”

The class went on afterward as if nothing happened.

The earlier battle kept on replaying in the wizards’ minds, however.

They all looked at Epherene, but they focused on Deculein far more.

They became more certain about the reason behind the Head Professor’s fame and pride; he lifted a train using [Psychokinesis], after all.

If Epherene was an earthworm, Deculein was a dragon.

That was how big of a gap the two wizards had when it came to their caliber.

*****

The following Monday, the first day of the midterm exams.

“Uhm… Is it like this, then?”

“Yes, that’s it.”

After finishing her first test and taking a nap in the club room, Epherene opened her eyes to the sound of conversation. She raised her head like her body was stuck to the sofa.

“Oh, I was so confused. Thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it. You can ask me anytime.”

She found Julia with some guy: a gentle and handsome senior. Were they flirting?

Epherene wiped her drool and got up.

“Oh, Ifi! You’re awake. You know Ifi, right?” At Julia’s question, he looked at her.

“Of course, how can I not? She fought with Professor Deculein.” Drent, their senior, passed the promotion test last year and was in the same rank as a ‘Solda.’ His great appearance and abilities made him famous among the commoner wizards, whom he didn’t discriminate against.

“You’re that girl, right?”

“… Oh, yes.”

“I was asking him to look at the assignment Deculein gave. Its deadline is in five days.”

“Huh? Wait, five days…?”

Epherene, scratching her head, noticed her assignment on her desk, making her remember that she fell asleep while answering it.

‘Wait. No way. Did he peek at it?’

Drent, seemingly reading her mind, smiled. “I didn’t read it. It’s not polite to, right?”

“… What? Oh, haha. hahaha… Well, it’s nothing like that.” Epherene returned her assignment in her bag.

‘I can’t be drooling like this.’ She only got 3~4 hours of sleep per day for almost the past two weeks, causing her to be a little out of herself.

He smirked as he reached out his hand to her. “Should I check yours too, Epherene?”

“What?”

“Show it to me. I’ll check it.”

Drent’s reputation was well known. He was a hexagon wizard who had mastered six types of magic equally. Despite that, Epherene shook her head with a bitter smile anyway.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Huh? No, it’s okay. I already checked Julia’s assignment.”

“No, no. I didn’t write it well enough to show it to anyone.”

Julia, who had been watching the two uncomfortably, interceded using time as an excuse. “Oh? It’s almost 4 o’clock. Our next test is about to start. We’ll get going now, but thank you, senior!”

“Huh? Oh… Okay. Enjoy~”

The two went out of the club room.

“Drent is handsome, isn’t he?” Julia said while walking down the corridor.

Epherene shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

“What? Why not?”

“He’s nice to all women.”

“Ahhh~ That’s true. He’ll be attending a public hearing this time, though.”

“Thesis Defense?”

“Yeah.”

Thesis defenses were held about a week after the midterm exam. Senior students promoted from debutante to Solda would present their magic theses to be evaluated by tower professors.

To remain as wizards at the university tower, Epherene and Julia would inevitably undergo the same trial someday.

Epherene muttered.

“I’m so jealous. He’s a year ahead of us, right?”

“Yeah. Oh, Sylvia might be able to do it within half a year.”

“… How so?”

“She took a lot of classes. I think her only rest day is Sunday, which shows how crazy she is about magic.”

The tower elevator soon arrived.

Both of them pressed the floors where they were taking their tests. Julia’s was on the 4th floor, and Epherene’s was on the 11th floor.

Ding—

Arriving at the 4th floor, Julia waved and got off. “I’m going! Good luck on your exam, Ifi!”.

“Yeah, you too. Good luck.”

Hwaaaaaa…..

As she yawned, the door opened on the 6th floor, revealing a blonde wizard standing in front of her.

Sylvia.

“…”

Sylvia got into the elevator indifferently, resulting in the two standing side by side.

“…”

Hesitantly, Epherene asked her a question. “Uh… Did you do well in your exam?”

“…”

Sylvia nodded.

She had nothing more to say.

‘Did she do well, or what?’ Epherene felt awkward standing so close to her, so she looked at the names of each floor instead.

That was when she noticed it.

[77th floor: Head Professor Deculein’s Office/Research Lab].

Ding—

The door opened again, this time on the 10th floor.

Epherene tried to bid her goodbye, but Sylvia rattled as she got out of the elevator.

“Next time, don’t mess with the Professor. You’re lucky you didn’t die that day.”

“…?”

Her voice sounded fatigued, but it remained cold.

Ding—

The elevator closed, and Epherene stared blankly at it.

“… What’s with her?”

*****

77th floor, Head Professor’s research lab.

I was analyzing a research paper.

After submitting the test questions, this was the only remaining work I had left at the tower.

“Then…”

The outline of the thesis, which was vague and distant, was slowly coming out. Its idea itself was outstanding.

At first, it kept telling stories about wood, fire, charcoal, pencils, diamonds, and the like, but I finally realized its true point after studying it for a long time with the help of [Understanding].

Its idea was related to carbon.

The potential of the carbon element was so huge that if I succeeded in establishing it, I would be able to create a theological school about ‘carbons.’

Of course, it didn’t mean it would utilize the carbon itself.

Rather, by combining its unique properties, namely, its almost infinite combination with allotrope, it would provide magic with immense flexibility and opened up a lot more possibilities.

But it was hard for me to learn.

The magic ‘Memorize’ and ‘Materialize’ created based on this thesis required talent in almost all attributes. Its magic consumption would be too high otherwise.

Of course, the distinction between ‘magic development’ and ‘realistic acquisition’ was easy to point out.

It was just like how ‘theoretical physicists’ and ‘experimental physicists’ were completely different in modern science.

Linnel, who played a large part in the magic schools in this world, naturally had a certain amount of practical power, but he was not good at dealing with magic that he created along with his disciples.

However, he was in the same position as Einstein, whom no one could accuse of not conducting experiments based on his theories himself.

“That insight is great and all, but…”

In this world lacking in science, Epherene’s father, discovering that charcoal, pencils, and diamonds were actually under the same element, conceived the idea of using their properties for magic.

“Did he quit at the beginning of his research?”

The procedure he provided was less than half-complete. It also had multiple errors and missing parts. Most of it was based on intuition, too.

Of course, wizards’ theses were usually 70% to 80% intuitive and 20% to 30% theoretical, considering that those numbers were enough to understand their research and to cast the magic they were analyzing.

That aside, one wizard came to mind that suited the magic I was studying.

“… Epherene.”

A daring debutante from my last class with the ability to use all four major elements by using her bracelet as a catalyst.

“…”

The more she did it, the deeper Epherene’s questions about her father grew, however. I took out the pendant that I had put in a drawer in the corner of the lab.

It safely kept an image of Epherene as a child.

But why was her father’s face cut out in it? Wasn’t it strange to receive a photo like this?

“…”

After staring at it for a few moments, I left the lab, went back to my office, and took out a book.

As I was reading it, something caught my eye. I shifted my gaze towards it swiftly.

“…?”

I found a hawk staring at me while standing outside my office’s window.

As I stared back at it, it tilted its head as if it was looking at something, causing me to tilt my head a little as well out of wonderment.

Brrrrrr—

It soon flew away in a hurry, almost as if someone had scolded it.

“Does it have an owner?” Its feathers seemed taken care of, and it looked neatly groomed.

I closed the window curtains.

*****

The Red garnet Adventure Team waited for a ship at Lukan, a Yukline-owned coastal city on the west part of the Empire.

“Is it that one?” Ganesha pointed at a vessel on the other side. A child was supposed to arrive from the Archipelago today.

“Yeah.”

Only one, however. Two of the kid’s relatives were still at the Archipelago.

“It’s moving too slow.”

“Aren’t you just rushing too much?”

“You’ve been talking back at me a lot lately.”

“I’m not talking back. I’m just telling the truth.”

The ship arrived while they were quarreling, allowing the child to finally disembark from it.

As soon as she saw her cute appearance, Ganesha waved at her as the wind began to breeze through her hair.

“Hey! Over here!”

The kid smiled brightly upon noticing her red hair fluttering like wings.

“It’s been a long time, Ganesha.”

She had met a lot of children at the Archipelago. Among the three that had special talents, she was her favorite.

She looked precious, her tiny fingers even more so. “Lia~ Didn’t you miss me?”

Lia, a child with black hair and brown eyes, wasn’t only gifted but also mature for her age. She always seemed to know what she wanted to do and how to do it.

Her actions alone were no longer that of a child’s, but that exactly was what makes Ganesha pity her.

“Of course, I missed you— kukgh!”

Ganesha hugged Lia tightly before she could finish her sentence. “I missed you, Lia!”

“You’re hurting and suffocating me. This is child abuse, really…”

She simply couldn’t help herself. Lia’s face, sticking out of her arms like a bun, was just too cute for her to resist.

“Your birthday has already passed! You’re not a child anymore according to imperial law.”

“No, huh, What…? Hey, I said it hurts. Let me go, you idiot…!”

She was so mature that her behavior only made her appear cuter.

“Let go of me already… Let me… go…”

“Oh, sorry. Only then did Ganesha release her.

“Are you an actual idiot?” The kid glared at her.

“Sorry, sorry. Shall we go? I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“… What are you going to buy?”

Ganesha thought watching how much and how far this child would grow would become one of her most favorite hobbies in the future.