Progress and Tremendous Regression
"Cell phone. Cell phone. What a marvelous artifact. Truly a convenient and useful tool!"
Dayman exclaimed in admiration as he checked the magic faculty's lecture schedule on his phone. Of course, every student passing by stared at him as if he were a lunatic, but Dayman paid them no mind whatsoever.
"Today's lectures are... what in the world is this? There are far too many subjects I've never even heard of!"
Circuit Engineering. Metamorphosis Studies. Understanding Elemental Magic. And so on. The list was filled with far too many specialized topics for him to digest all at once. Still, the best approach was to dive in headfirst, wasn't it?
"Let's just sit in on one and see!"
Without hesitation, Dayman stormed into the lecture halls and began attending every single class he could cram into one day. The magic faculty professors were taken aback to see a knight department delinquent in patient garb among their refined, uniformed students, but since attending lectures was his own choice, none of them stopped him.
After sitting through an entire day's worth of magic faculty lectures, Dayman absorbed them all in one go and scoffed, wondering if this was the level of education these days—
"I didn't understand a single thing."
He had been a genius. Of course, that was by the standards of seventy-three years ago. The sheer volume of knowledge one had to learn back then was nowhere near as vast, and academic fields hadn't been subdivided to such an extreme degree. As technology had advanced tremendously, the amount of information humanity had accumulated over those seventy-three years existed on an entirely different scale. No matter how brilliant Dayman was, knowledge from seventy-three years ago simply couldn't keep up with modern lectures.
"This won't do."
Yet rather than discouraging him, the situation only ignited his passion further. After attending the Understanding Elemental Magic lecture at 2 p.m., he grabbed the professor as she tried to leave.
"Professor! Professor! A moment, if you please! Could you spare me some time?"
The stern-faced elderly male professor paused on his way out and turned to regard Dayman.
"You're... Dayman from the knight department, aren't you? What is it?"
"I couldn't understand any of the lecture."
"I imagine not. The content would be difficult for a knight department student."
"I need to start from the basics. Is there a professor who could teach me the fundamentals?"
The magic faculty professor looked at Dayman with pity.
"Dayman, this is Romeln Academy. Don't you think it's far too late to be learning the basics now?"
"No! It isn't too late at all! Please, I beg you! Could you tell me where to find a professor who teaches from the fundamentals? I need to know exactly where I've fallen behind!"
The professor stared at Dayman for a long moment before pulling out his phone and opening a website for him.
"Here. It's called an internet lecture. It contains everything from elementary school through high school curriculum. You can receive your education through this."
"W-wait a moment. You're saying such valuable lectures are made public to people who aren't even apprentices?"
"That's right. With a simple registration, you can access every lecture here for free."
Dayman staggered backward in shock.
"Open to people who aren't even in a master-apprentice relationship...? This... this can't possibly be real..."
Seventy-three years ago, the training methods of the magic towers had been extremely strict. Trainees were kept under observation for long periods to assess their character and talent, and only those deemed promising were accepted as apprentices and taught magic in secret. To someone who had lived in that era, the very concept of internet lectures was utterly shocking. Such precious knowledge was being distributed so cheaply.
"If this is made public, even people with poor character could learn magic! What if they become dark mages? How could—!"
The professor blinked at Dayman's words, then suddenly burst into laughter.
"The way you speak, the things you say... you remind me of my grandfather. You're the first person I've met who hears about internet lectures and thinks something like that."
"Making this information available to people outside the apprentice system is dangerous! What if someone with ill intentions abuses it—!"
"Young people these days spend more time on SNS or NewTube than listening to lectures. I've never heard of anyone watching an internet lecture, developing wicked thoughts, and walking the path of a dark mage. Almost no one bothers with such a complicated route just to do bad things. So go ahead and watch the lectures without worry."
The professor patted Dayman's shoulder with an amused expression and departed. Even after he was gone, Dayman remained in the empty lecture hall, pacing for a long while.
"Lectures that people used to pay to attend are now provided for free, and instead of watching them, they do other things? What kind of mentality is that? I can't understand it."
Regardless, it didn't matter. Internet lectures. He could use them to fill in the gaps in his knowledge. He wanted to start watching immediately, but there was still one more lecture left.
"Combat Magic Practical Training. Oh-ho! Now this is my specialty! How exciting! Magic in other fields has advanced so remarkably—how far has combat magic developed?"
His expectations were high as he headed toward the combat magic training room. The development of basic and applied magic had been dazzling. He never could have imagined that cell phones would be invented and that the internet and computers would become so widespread. With such progress, combat magic must have undergone tremendous advancement as well.
"They even distinguish between wands and staffs now. Perhaps some of the techniques I taught the Night Crows still remain."
Dayman was in a state of great excitement. When it came to combat magic, he was an unparalleled existence. He had been the first to develop and deploy various techniques, methods, and equipment that clearly distinguished the present from the past, achieving real results in actual combat. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had single-handedly created the field of combat magic, which had barely had a proper concept before him. As its founder, he wanted to see as soon as possible how combat magic had evolved in the current generation.
With his heart full of anticipation, he made his way to the training room.
"The knight department student wants to attend combat magic practical training?"
"Yes!"
"You'll only be allowed to observe. We can't have you practicing right away when you don't even know the basics of magic. For today, just watching will have to suffice."
"Yes!! Yes!! I'll do that!!"
Naturally, they didn't let him practice from the start. They couldn't have a knight department student unfamiliar with wands and staffs begin practicing immediately, so Dayman was permitted to participate in the class by simply observing.
Dayman watched the practical training begin with a pounding heart. It didn't take long for his ecstatic expression of anticipation to be crushed into utter despair.
"Alright! Let's begin the sparring! Use magic within the ninth circle! Understood?!"
"Yes!!"
The sparring commenced. The two students bowed politely to each other, took their stances, and began casting spells.
"Ice Bolt!"
"Fire Wall! Magic Arrow!!"
"Dispel Guard!! Chain Lightning!!"
"Greater Shield!! Binding!!"
"Dispel Guard!! Magic Arrow!........"
Dayman stared blankly at the mages exchanging attacks. Both were using only their staffs. They showed no intention of drawing the wands at their waists. And they didn't move. Rooted to their spots, they simply stood in place—one casting magic while the other defended. After firing spells at each other for some time, the instructor stopped the fight when it seemed things might get dangerous.
"Alright, that's enough! Both of you did well! Jessie, you lost. You know why, don't you?"
"Yes. I failed to properly counter the Fire Arrow, and my sleeve got slightly singed."
"Correct. That was the reason for your defeat. Remember this: elemental magic must be precisely neutralized with opposing elemental magic to avoid losing points. Keep that in mind! Now, next...!"
"You goddamn brainless morons!!!!! Hey!! You bastards!! You call that fighting?!"
He was on the verge of a stroke. Other fields of magic had advanced brilliantly, dazzlingly, yet combat magic hadn't advanced at all—instead, it had regressed. It took no time at all for Dayman's furious roar from the spectator seats to draw everyone's attention. Professor Rosemary, who was in charge of the combat magic practical training, frowned deeply at his outburst.
"Dayman, is there a problem?"
"A problem? There are mountains of them!! But let's start with this first!! Why are you only using staffs!!! Are wands just decorations?!"
Mocking laughter erupted from all around.
"Dayman, wands are for everyday use at best. Staffs are for combat. As someone from the knight department, did you not even know this simple fact?"
"Everyday... use?"
"Yes. They're used for casting simple spells needed in daily life."
He felt like he might die again from high blood pressure. Dayman had to marvel at his own self-restraint for not foaming at the mouth. To think a so-called professor would spout such nonsense so matter-of-factly.
"Listen here, Professor. Have you ever been deployed to actual combat? If you use magic the way I just saw, your head will be cut off in an instant!!"
The female professor regarded Dayman with growing displeasure.
"I've seen far more combat than you have. Dozens of times, in fact. I've earned several commendations as well."
"What!! What did you hunt!!!"
"Large-scale monster wave suppression. I've taken down orcs, goblins, and several ogres as well."
"Close-quarters combat. What did you do when those monsters engaged in close combat??"
"Close-quarters combat? Dayman, that's a problem for knight department students to handle. Did you not learn even that basic common sense?"
Dayman's legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor.
"........Close-quarters combat is left to the knights?"
"Isn't that the most basic tactic? Knights protect the mages while the mages sweep away the enemies with magic."
It was a familiar tactic. The same one used by that idiotic hero party—the ones who had pissed and shit themselves before fleeing when two of his comrades' heads were sent flying.
"Th-the Night Crows... the tactics I created... were all lost."
These brainless fools didn't even know what wands were for. They simply carried them around because they were convenient and portable magic tools. That was the extent of their understanding.
"Professor. Just one thing... let me ask just one thing. Have you ever fought against Death Knights, Night Howlers, Werewolves, Ghoul Legions, Skeleton Soldier Legions, or Balrogs?"
"No. After the Human-Demon War ended, those creatures completely disappeared. And we won't be seeing them again. Since the Demon King is dead, there won't be any need to fight such beings in the future."
"Then all you've hunted are orcs and goblins. At best, ogres or trolls? You safely cast magic under the protection of knights, took down those pathetic creatures, then strutted around bragging about your achievements and now you're teaching people? You fraud!! How dare you call yourself a teacher!!!"
Dayman bellowed at the top of his lungs. Professor Rosemary's expression began to twist.
"Leave. Dayman. Your conduct will be reported to the principal."
"Fine!! I'm leaving!! I'm going!!! You brainless bastards!!!! Combat mages? What combat mages are you?! You're just clowns!! You goddamn—! Keep doing that pathetic act and live like that!!! The moment you meet real combat, your heads will all be chopped off in three seconds!!"
Dayman stormed out, still fuming. Even after he was gone, Professor Rosemary continued seething with rage for a long while.
"What an insolent brat! So the rumors about Calidos's good-for-nothing son were true after all!!"
"Professor. Professor. You should see this. That guy really has lost his mind."
"Hm?"
One of the students snickered and held up his phone. On SNS, there was a post titled The Madman on Line 3 hahaha showing Dayman screaming at the top of his lungs on the subway. Professor Rosemary looked at it, then turned her incredulous gaze toward the door Dayman had left through.
"The Demon King is still alive? And he's going to hunt it down as the Light Mage Calion? That guy..."
"I heard he was in a motorcycle accident. He must have gone crazy."
The Demon King had been dealt with by the hero party. That was the established historical record. Professor Rosemary forcibly suppressed her anger.
"He really was insane."
There was no greater foolishness than pouring emotions into a madman. She decided to treat it as nothing more than a minor incident and forget about it. The practical training continued—just as it had before, in the manner that would have made Dayman faint from sheer rage.