Chapter 36
Chapter 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Attribute Fusion
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“……Hoo.”
Step, step.
He took slow breaths as he stepped forward.
Meanwhile, his mind was filled with the lecture he had just heard.
-Once you understand the principles of each attribute, it’s an area you can handle with ease.
-The most important thing in attribute fusion is ensuring the attributes’ mana flows don’t overlap.
-Higher attributes aren’t much different. They just involve a few more formulas, but the principles are the same. Mastering them comes first, of course.
He had studied the theory thoroughly.
But theory and practice were entirely different matters.
Could he pull it off?
‘Fusing lower attributes should be doable.’
Fire, water, earth, lightning, wind, ice, and so on.
With his [Prodigy of Magic] trait, combining these so-called lower attributes didn’t seem too difficult.
In fact, even academy students with average talent had succeeded in attribute fusion quite often.
The problem was…
‘Higher attributes… I’m not sure.’
Combining higher attributes like light or darkness was something even he couldn’t guarantee.
But this was a setting where a renowned academy professor was watching directly.
Which made it all the more worthwhile to attempt a fusion that would be hard to master alone.
Sure, thinking about Roan’s smug attitude made his stomach twist a bit.
‘Growth comes first.’
Resolved to master attribute fusion this time, he stepped up to his spot.
“Let me know if you need any help.”
He nodded at the professor’s words and raised the [Holy Staff].
Then, cautiously, he summoned a sphere imbued with the light attribute.
Whooo!
From the front, it was just a blinding light—nothing more.
He had intentionally toned it down, considering the ripple effects of unleashing mythic-grade light.
Whooo!
Next, he summoned a sphere imbued with the water attribute.
Water would become one of his main attributes, alongside light.
“A combination of water, which freely changes form, and light, which resists form changes. Intriguing.”
“No idea if it’ll work.”
With that, he closed his eyes.
Since it was his first attempt at this fusion, he needed intense focus.
Moreover, he couldn’t let the light magic’s output rise midway, so he required even greater concentration.
‘Fusion… fusion…’
He visualized two images.
Water and light.
He continuously pictured them merging into one in his mind.
‘I need to recreate exactly what I did in the game.’
The most crucial part was timing.
So…
‘Now.’
At the intense sensation that the moment had arrived, he snapped his eyes open.
Crackle!
He smashed the water sphere into the light sphere.
However, it wasn’t as easy as he thought.
Craaaackle!
Like the students who had failed before, a powerful repulsion began to surge.
Rather than panic, he instinctively analyzed the cause.
As befitting the [Prodigy of Magic].
‘The mana can’t find its path.’
The professor had said that the key to attribute fusion was mana of different attributes moving along predetermined paths.
Right now, that wasn’t happening, leading to the clash.
‘In that case…’
He immediately redirected the tangled mana flows onto new paths.
The result?
‘It’s working!’
The two spheres were starting to merge bit by bit.
But it still didn’t feel smooth.
Paaarrr-!
The mana churned violently.
Mana flow, the images of the two attributes, suppressing the light attribute—
He had to stabilize the erratic mana while managing all three, but it wasn’t going well.
No, even a slight lapse in focus felt like it would make the spheres explode in an instant.
Perhaps sensing the danger, the professor spoke up.
“This… I’ll need to lend some strength.”
Swoosh!
The professor suddenly gripped his shoulders and channeled her mana.
He didn’t resist and accepted the professor’s mana as it flowed in.
The feel of her mana control was markedly different from his.
‘So much more delicate and smooth.’
Unlike his rough handling, the professor controlled mana with clear expertise.
Of course, that didn’t mean her magical talent surpassed his.
‘…It’s a difference in experience.’
Such proficiency could only come with time.
In that moment, he keenly felt what he lacked.
Paaah!
Finally, the sputtering mana stabilized completely, and the two spheres fully absorbed each other.
The external appearance wasn’t much different from the original light sphere.
He silently examined it before asking the professor.
“Did it succeed?”
The professor, who had narrowed her eyes for some reason, slowly nodded.
“…Yes, it succeeded. Congratulations. A splendid fusion.”
Yes, he had succeeded.
Though it left a lingering regret since he’d needed the professor’s help.
‘Good.’
With this, he had taken another step forward.
***
Click-clack, click-clack, click-clack…
Jairen Renata, honorary professor of Asion Academy.
Click!
The red-haired woman, who had been pacing in circles, suddenly stopped.
“…Hmm.”
She was currently gripped by an immense unease.
A feeling like she had overlooked something monumental.
It all stemmed from one student who had attended today’s lecture.
“Strange. It’s too strange.”
With over a decade at the academy, she could sense it.
She had felt countless manas directly.
“He was definitely hiding something…”
Judging by his mana control—rough, yet far from a failure.
But he was suppressing something himself, and that mental strain seemed to hinder the fusion.
A divided mind drastically increased the fusion’s difficulty.
Without that factor, he surely would have succeeded alone.
What caught her here was…
‘Just what was he trying to hide?’
She couldn’t even guess what he had suppressed and concealed.
Perhaps some forbidden magic he shouldn’t touch?
“That didn’t feel like it… Hmm.”
In the end, unable to resolve her doubts, she knocked on the door.
Knock-knock-knock.
“It’s Jairen.”
“Come in.”
Jairen bowed slightly as she entered.
Ahead, Asion Gail—the academy president—was tidying his desk after paperwork.
Jairen spoke first.
“I came to report on that request from before.”
“Yoo Han, you mean?”
“Yes. As expected, he attended my class, and I felt his mana directly.”
“Oh?”
Asion Gail, weary from intense work, sharpened his gaze noticeably.
It was just an evaluation, but rumors said he surpassed his own protégé, so Yoo Han was someone Asion had been watching closely lately.
“So… what was he like?”
“His mana handling was solid overall. With a bit of guidance, he’d reach near-perfection quickly.”
“That means?”
At Asion’s question, Jairen nodded slightly.
“Yes, he’s definitely capable of surpassing Roan.”
“Hah…”
Asion Gail unwittingly opened his mouth.
“To think it’s true.”
He’d heard it directly from Roan, but he hadn’t believed it easily.
Roan had the greatest talent among all students since the academy’s founding.
It was natural not to imagine someone of similar age surpassing him.
But now, he had no choice but to believe.
After all, Jairen Renata—the academy’s most capable professor and his most trusted ally—had seen it herself.
‘This century will be dominated by magic.’
Two geniuses born in the same era.
Perhaps their existence would snap the eternal tug-of-war between magic and other powers.
As he thought that.
“Wait.”
Asion Gail raised his eyes as if something occurred to him.
“You said his mana handling had no issues?”
“Yes.”
“Not even the slightest?”
“…That’s right?”
“No way!”
Thud!
Asion Gail pounded the desk unusually.
“That kid’s circuits are a complete mess!”
“…What?”
Jairen’s face filled with confusion too.
“His circuits a mess…? There was no sign of that. On the contrary, compared to peers—no, even Roan—he handled mana without falling short at all?”
“…This is truly unbelievable.”
Their conversation pointed to one thing.
The boy’s talent far outstripped Roan, the so-called magical genius.
To a degree even Asion Gail couldn’t have imagined.
And that was.
‘We need to recruit that kid into the academy. …By any means necessary.’
More than enough reason to make Yoo Han one of their own.
***
Meanwhile, after the professor left.
The lecture hall quickly buzzed with excitement over Yoo Han’s fusion.
“Hey, where’re you from? Burnt? Freeze?”
“I wasn’t really affiliated anywhere. If anything, Aldeon.”
“What? Aldeon? So that’s why the light magic…”
“When did you master the fusion process? That didn’t look like a first try. If it’s okay, could you teach me too…”
How many replies had he given?
“…Let’s go, Roan.”
Yoo Han pointed toward the exit, looking exhausted.
But Roan just stared silently at him.
No, Yoo Han’s words barely registered.
His thoughts were consumed by the fusion he’d just witnessed.
‘…He ultimately succeeded.’
Honestly, Roan had been curious too.
Just how far did this man’s talent extend?
How much greater was he?
And through that fusion, Roan realized everything.
‘We were never even in the same league to begin with.’
Roan had once thought this.
‘I want to meet a rival to compete with in magic.’
And he’d thought Yoo Han would be that person.
He might lag in magical manifestation, but he was confident in theory.
Of course, that thought wasn’t wrong even now.
Roan’s knowledge far surpassed Yoo Han’s.
The issue was that the practical gap more than covered any theoretical difference.
Now, Roan had only one path left.
“Yoo Han, I think I need to head out. This is as far as I guide you.”
“What?”
Leaving Yoo Han with a bewildered expression, Roan exited the lecture hall.
He hurried to the carriage managed by Jeff.
“You called?”
“Jeff, we’re leaving now.”
“Yes, where to?”
“Take me home.”
“…Pardon?”
Jeff asked back as if he’d misheard.
He knew Roan had cut ties with his family long ago.
“…Are you serious?”
But Roan had no choice.
This was his last way to beat Yoo Han.
“I suppose I’ll have to accept Father’s offer.”
Roan resolved himself.
The greatest magical house of the era, Bilgeff.
He would inherit the secret arts he had once rejected, scorning the easy path.