University (1)
The next day.
I took a single book of magic spells and headed to the rear mountain behind the estate grounds.
Basic Telekinesis was already mastered to perfection. Its proficiency, visible through Understanding, stood at 100%.
I could now wield seven rapiers like limbs, but anything beyond that was limited by the spell's output.
Thus, today I sought a place cleaner than the annex, where the air was fresher and the mana purer—the heart of the rear mountain's woods. I meant to sit cross-legged and learn Intermediate Telekinesis, but I couldn't bring myself to sit on the ground.
It was due to my unbearable OCD.
With no other choice, I fetched only a chair from the mansion.
An antique chair amid the trees and grass at the foot of the slope—hardly a fitting sight. Still, I leaned back against it and opened the spellbook.
Intermediate Telekinesis
Having learned Basic Telekinesis, now comes Intermediate Telekinesis. Compared to basic, it adds eighteen straight lines and one circle. The circuit's movements have doubled in complexity, and...
I activated Understanding.
In my mind and before my eyes, the incantations for both Intermediate Telekinesis and Basic Telekinesis materialized like illusions.
"……"
I overlaid the two magic circles, as if superimposing shapes on a computer. This highlighted their core differences clearly, and I imprinted those disparities onto my body.
Line by line, the more intricate circuits of Intermediate Telekinesis etched themselves over the simplistic incantation of Basic Telekinesis. Heavier lines and circles layered onto the feather-light spell.
What had felt emptily simple in Basic Telekinesis finally took on the form of the 'magic circles' I'd seen in every medium.
"Haa……"
Of course, it was agony.
Each new circuit formation brought a searing pain like scraping bone joints with a dull knife.
Scritch-scratch—scritch-scratch—
Mana invading my muscles gnawed at my nerves.
Short, sharp pains might have been preferable, but this torment dragged on endlessly. The spell's incantation, rooting into me like tendrils, drove me to the brink of madness……
Just as my mana neared depletion.
In that hazy mix of exhaustion and languor.
Last night's events resurfaced.
……Yeriel.
But it was no need for overcomplication. I simply hoped the secret wouldn't leak.
I quickly banished the stray thought and opened my eyes.
Mana remained below 10%, but my stamina was still vigorous.
Thus, it was time for physical training.
I returned to the annex.
It was nominally a training hall, but compared to a modern gym, the setup felt oddly bizarre. The pull-up bars lined in a row were excessively tall, and the weights used as dumbbells far exceeded imagination.
I stripped off my clothes and folded them neatly. My body, honed through relentless development, pleased even me.
"……"
I gripped the first pull-up bar. While holding on, I summoned metal restraints with telekinesis—totaling over 100kg easily fastened around my waist, ankles, and wrists.
Ten pull-ups on the first bar, then I leaped to the higher second bar for another ten. Then to the even higher third.
Repeating until I reached the ceiling, then landing cleanly upon touching it.
Thud—!
The massive impact rippled through my body, but my posture held firm.
Sets complete—next exercise: climbing rope.
I gripped the rope stretching to the ceiling and ascended. Reaching the top, I leaped down again.
……As one can see, a method no ordinary human would even attempt—brutal overexertion ignoring joints, ligaments, knees, and all.
Yet with my Iron Man trait active, no matter the insanity, my bones wouldn't snap, nor ligaments tear.
Pain was inevitable, of course.
But Deculein's personality—his immense competitive drive and obsessive routine—kept me focused solely on bodily improvement.
"Hoo."
Finishing such brutal training?
Mana recovered to 40% before I knew it.
Then, back to magic.
With this routine, memorizing Intermediate Telekinesis should take at most three weeks.
Moreover, my Iron Man-developed strength, agility, endurance, coordination, dexterity, flexibility, and other physical qualities might now surpass a subadult gorilla.
Of course, to catch up to famed combatants among named characters or villains, I still had far to go.
* * *
Arriving at the tower for work, I sat in my office chair and stared into space.
[Lv. 1 System Shop]
The System Shop allows character enhancement using earned 'shop currency.' As the game progresses into late stages, not just the player but named characters also strengthen via this shop.
However, opportunities to use it are extremely limited—barely six times even into the very endgame.
Because [Lv. 1 Shop] costs 5~10 per item, [Lv. 2 Shop] 10~20, [Lv. 3 Shop] 20~40……doubling each level, and each level's shop can be used only once mandatorily.
I knew precisely the best enhancements.
■ 1. Blacksmith's Luck ······
······
■ 5. Qualitative Mana Enhancement (Stage 1).
: The character's innate mana is qualitatively strengthened.
: Slight increase in mana output and efficiency.
: 10 Coins
Qualitative Mana Enhancement.
No need to consider the rest. The others suit gimmick play; the meta choice is this alone.
So, just gather 4 more coins.
Knock-knock—
At that moment, the door opened with a knock. Allen entered hesitantly.
"Allen."
"Y-yes! You called for me."
Allen stood silently, gazing at me.
He could've asked what it was about, but no—just pure obedience.
I smiled faintly.
"Have you no desire to select an assistant mage?"
"……Pardon?"
Allen tilted his head. I levitated last week's official notice toward him with telekinesis.
"It's for teaching assistant review."
The notice urged submitting any mages one wished to recommend as teaching assistants for review.
"……!"
Grasping my intent, Allen's eyes slowly widened.
"Y-yesss?!"
"Indeed. I intend to recommend you as teaching assistant—"
"Yesss—?!"
"—as I was saying."
Finishing my words, Allen was already teary-eyed. Tears ready to spill at a touch.
Sniffling, he said,
"But, but…… Professor said I lack talent……"
Of course, Allen lacked talent.
In the eyes of Great Wealth, let alone Villain's Fate, he was colorless and odorless—imperceptible. Those traits aren't omnipotent, but Allen's talent was undeniably deficient.
Perhaps that's why he hadn't left yet. No one called for him; he had nowhere to flee.
"Until now, it was a test. Only you, with your diligence, passed mine."
Deculein is authoritarian and despises praise. But this quirk was surmountable to a degree. Among Personality traits, they have hierarchies.
For reference, the hardest to overcome are OCD and Noble Etiquette. Now, truly filthy things repulsed me to death.
"Y-yesss?!"
"Ask no further. And accept this."
I gave Allen a gift.
Nothing special—a bracelet. I'd ordered a nearby jeweler to engrave the 'Yukline' crest.
"Continue working diligently."
A vow not to let him go. His skill in handling odd jobs, paperwork, and quick wits were useful to me.
Stunned at first, Allen's hands trembled as he spoke.
"Does this mean…… I'm officially your direct disciple……?"
"……"
I hadn't considered that far.
I improvised.
"Two more steps remain. Work hard."
Allen bowed vigorously—three times in a row, whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
"Ah, y-yes! Understood!"
"As teaching assistant now, observe my class two days hence."
"O-observe?! Observe?!"
Allen repeated it three times. Blood vessels threatened to burst in his eyes.
It irked me slightly.
"Cease the excessive reaction. It displeases me."
I narrowed my eyes and snapped without thinking.
"……Ah, y-yes. Sorry……"
"Very well."
I rose casually. But Allen startled greatly, hunching and trembling, arms shielding himself.
"It's fine. I shan't strike you."
"Pardon? Ah…… Sorry, w-where are you going……?"
"The library."
Luna's thesis.
Its cipher decryption was 100% complete. Yet the thesis structure itself was ambiguous.
The theme was indeed inventing Pure Elements. But gaps abounded, with outright errors aplenty.
Thus, I planned to browse books in the library.
No matter the Understanding trait, as professor, studying magic was essential. If a useful manipulation spellbook appeared, I'd learn that too.
"Y-yes! Oh, wait! This! Professor!"
Allen fumbled a single paper from his pocket.
"Be careful!"
[Sightings of the Wizard Killer Rockhark on the outskirts of the capital. Debutante mages, refrain from nighttime outings as much as possible.]
Wizard Killer. I knew of him. The greatest mid-early game threat, limited to mage players.
The original Deculein could've mobilized underworld contacts to pinpoint him swiftly.
But those shadowy networks that empowered Deculein? I'd severed them unknowingly first.
"This Wizard Killer's terrifying lately. They say he targets capable mages specifically……"
"Allen."
"Yes?"
"Do you know who I am?"
I chuckled softly.
"……Yesss?"
"I asked who I am."
Wizard Killer—a mid-boss villain for 'mages only,' though a tier below Deculein. Still, I had confidence against him.
"Ah! The Monarch-rank archmage who commands all elements like servants, the glorious youngest chief professor of the Imperial University, Deculein!"
Too rehearsed; it flustered me.
"……Indeed."
Anyway, this 'mage serial killer' mismatched my style perfectly. Theoretically, my natural predator.
Thus, no need for worry.
"You be careful, Allen."
Of course, variables existed.
My lacking combat experience.
But this Personality was cold-blooded, indifferent to practice or real battle. I actually hoped to encounter him—wished he'd become my shop currency……
* * *
Surprisingly, Sylvia had a hobby beyond magic: collecting literature and languages.
Not mere casual enjoyment. She devoted all time outside magic training to it, a true collector.
Thus, upon entering the Imperial University, her first stop was the library.
Only to be disappointed. The tower library had rare books aplenty, but few worthy of her 'collection.'
──Thus, today.
Sylvia made a bold decision.
"Ah, I see. Well…… you're already beyond debutante level, Miss Sylvia."
"Is it possible?"
"Hmm…… This is the executive reading room…… One moment. I need to check."
She'd entered the tower executives'—professors'—exclusive reading room.
"Yes. I'll wait."
But she didn't sneak like a rat. She boldly assaulted the front gate.
"……Ah, yes yes. Professor, Miss Sylvia's here looking to study…… Mm~ yes. Understood."
The librarian, contacting someone via crystal orb, soon beamed.
"It's approved. Enter, rookie mage of the year. Exception clause applies. Needs an exception pass, but you'll manage."
"Thank you."
As a student, Sylvia entered triumphantly without bloodshed.
Of course—she was Illayde's heir and this year's rookie mage.
Even in the executives' room, few professors would challenge one certain to become a professor someday.
Illayde's donations to the university tower ranked in the top ten alone.
Merely the order shifted.
"……"
Elated after so long, Sylvia surveyed the interior.
Pat-pat-pat. Pat-pat-pat.
Her footsteps hopped lightly like a rabbit's.
"Ah."
Scanning shelves voraciously with wide eyes, Sylvia finally found it.
A collection satisfying her hobbies of 'literature' and 'language' simultaneously.
A novel in Etinel—the fairy tongue.
"……"
Sylvia carefully withdrew the book.
Its title read:
Witrospy ba Mitrogy, Stirio lagio pe bardio.
Fairies had vanished from the mortal world long ago, but their novels endured across the continent.
Thus, Etinel novels discovered occasionally held immense value.
The issue: their hellish difficulty.
Fairy language lacked consistency, making acquisition and translation brutally hard.
Even the title's Witrospy meant 'man.' Yet first page's Omesip also meant 'man.' Followed by Radeoman—'man' again.
How did they communicate with such rootless, standardless tongue?
Of course, Sylvia had studied Etinel somewhat, enough to interpret.
Skimming, it was a romance novel.
Even better. Must read it home soon.
As Sylvia clutched the book and turned.
"……!"
She bumped into someone.
"Mm?"
Professor Retran of the Spiritology department. He recognized her naturally but passed with a faint smile.
Sylvia smirked smugly anew.
Yes. That was it.
In this vast university, no bold professor would punish her merely for entering the executive library.
……Save perhaps one.
Of course, she knew he never visited. Zero times in five years. A complete barrier.
Turning to leave, Sylvia's inflated confidence made her wonder if other books lurked— an Etinel dictionary would be perfect. Childishly girlish thoughts led her around a shelf corner.
And.
"……"
She ran into another.
Sylvia's languid eyes first scanned the tall frame.
Bespoke harmonious suit jacket, pristine white shirt beneath a vest. Sharp reading glasses perched, gloved hand holding an antique tome.
The intellectual beauty, chief professor Deculein.
……An unexpected encounter.
Even in that tense instant, Sylvia eyed the seemingly rare tome covetously. Feeling a gaze, she glanced up.
Deep sapphire eyes behind glasses stared straight—piercingly straight—at her.
Only then did the gravity sink in.
Sylvia stood frozen, blinking only.
"……"
One second, two, three.
"……"
Their gazes locked in eerie silence.
"……"
No words exchanged in the void.
Within it, finally.
Snap—he closed his book first.
That instant, Sylvia whirled.
Clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack-clack—
Her heels fled frantically fast, but a baritone voice seized her hair.
"Halt, or face discipline."
His word stopped her. She stood rigid, petrified.
Step…… step…… step……
Meanwhile, footsteps approached slowly from behind like a wooden ghost. Ominous, chilling air swelled.
At last, they halted. Sylvia swallowed in tension.