Kun'Rung Culture Club
"Hello, Young Master Alan."
"Good morning, Princess Lin."
"I told you, just Lin is fine."
Lin, still brazenly flaunting her impressively developed chest but compressing it under her academy uniform, smiled and claimed the seat next to Alan. It was much the same as usual. He was sandwiched between the princesses of the East and West Empires, with his maid Meia and Felicia's guard Stella seated around him like a protective detail.
The male cadets naturally wore envious scowls.
'Damn, what the hell does he have going for him that girls stick to him like that?'
'He's got a pretty face, sure, but I hear his swordsmanship sucks. Damn it.'
'So he writes novels well—so what? There are plenty of well-written ones in the Empire too. Sure, I can't deny Shuren Chronicle is fun, but...'
Alan kept a calm expression amid the prickling stares from all directions.
"It's bold, sure, but you should think about the ripple effects Shuren Chronicle will cause, Alan. Just having orcs appear as intelligent beings is shocking enough."
"I think that's exactly what draws readers in, Princess Felicia."
"Lin, is that true?"
"Isn't Princess Felicia herself the perfect example?"
Alan’s Shuren Chronicle was the hottest topic imaginable, enough for the two princesses from East and West to make it their conversation starter.
Teia clicked her tongue lightly at the cadets who showed no sign of stopping their debate even after she entered. Clap! Thunderous sound exploded as she clapped her hands, forcing the cadets to cover their ears. It was the effect of an amplification spell.
Alan felt his ears ringing too and slowly lowered his hands.
'Whoa, my ears are numb. That's magic?'
Alan looked at Teia in surprise. She had cast such a spell in an instant without any preliminary gestures. It was clear why she was counted among the top mages of House Bernhardt.
With the cadets silenced, Teia clapped lightly a couple more times.
"Alright, cadets. Debating a celebrity's novel is a fine attitude, but at least distinguish between class time and breaks. Getting so absorbed you didn't notice me enter is commendable, but unfortunately, this is Basic Magic Studies, not literature class."
"We're sorry!!"
Teia nodded at the resounding apologies.
"I'll let it slide since you apologized. Shuren Chronicle volume 3 is the talk of the town these days. Even I was a bit surprised."
"...Urk."
"It’s been a while since I fielded questions about Osrian spirit arts. Shall we discuss that today?"
Teia smiled and snapped her fingers. A piece of chalk floated up naturally and scrawled Spirit Arts on the blackboard. It was always an astonishing sight. Controlling mana with that precision was rare even among cadets—only a select few—and among professors, Teia was practically the only one.
"Osrian magic resembles imperial magic in that it uses mana, but the medium is different—that's the unique part. We call that medium a spirit."
A circle appeared over the word spirit. Teia gripped the chalk and drew a firm underline beneath it.
"Human magic tends toward 'domination,' forcibly inducing specific phenomena with mana. Osrian spirit arts, on the other hand, revolve around 'communication' as the key concept."
"It sounds almost like borrowing power from spirits..."
One noble cadet raised his hand and spoke. Teia nodded, her ample bosom jiggling with the motion—the cadet's face flushed red. Ignoring it, Teia continued.
"Exactly. That's why there's a huge gap between Osrian and human magic. Human magic has straightforward output: the more mana you pour in, the stronger the spell. But Osrian spirit arts are the opposite. Their output is irregular."
"Irregular output means the power varies depending on the time?"
"Excellent question, Princess."
Teia beamed at Felicia's query.
"The spirits that Osrian spiritists use as mediums for borrowing power are incredibly capricious beings. It's a pretty famous story."
Teia had given Alan a similar answer when he'd asked before. Spirits were highly unpredictable, and without a spirit's approval, a spiritist couldn't unleash their full potential—a built-in limitation.
Teia continued, "As we cover in Basic Magic Studies, humans are born with affinity for specific mana attributes. Usually one of the six major ones."
"But light is for divine magic aptitude, and darkness for black magic, so effectively it's four attributes."
"Spot on, Princess."
Teia grinned.
"Light falls under divine magic, darkness under black magic, so mages are those born with one of the four: earth, fire, water, or wind. That's why the six towers of old dwindled to four."
"The Black Tower fell due to its dangers, after all."
"You know your history, Princess."
The White Tower of white mages who wielded light mana had transformed into the Church of Lu, devoted to the god of light 'Lu,' becoming the Empire's sole faith. The black mages of the Black Tower, who handled darkness mana, had discovered dealings with demons and rapidly degenerated, now reduced to near extinction.
Teia wrote another name under the Black Tower.
"Graphite Church...?"
The unfamiliar name drew puzzled looks from the cadets.
"Demon worshippers, commonly called the 'Graphite Church'—remnants of the old Black Tower—crossed an irreversible line long ago. Even in the Empire, it's infamous: the 'War of the Black Mages' left scars that won't fade. Ask Professor Flint in Continental History for details; we'll skip it here."
Teia circled the four attributes.
"Humans are born with one attribute or, in rare cases, compound attributes combining multiple."
Countless combinations arise from earth, water, fire, and wind mana qualities. Beyond the human basics, there were ice mana innate to sirens or nature mana requiring all four qualities, unique to elves.
With her explanation done, Teia returned to the main topic.
"But Osrian spiritists overcome attribute limits by contracting spirits and earning their approval—unlike humans bound by birthright. That's why no absolute superiority exists between human magic and Osrian spirit arts. Unstable output means you never know when max firepower might erupt."
Teia smiled at Alan.
"Hope that helps."
"Western Empire magic has some intriguing aspects. It oddly resonates with the martial arts from my homeland."
Lin spoke up after Basic Magic Studies ended.
"Similar to imperial magic, Lin?"
"Yes. In Kun'Rung, we classify magic-like powers as sorcery, but sorcerers are shunned."
"Martial artists get higher regard, then?"
"Exactly. Martial artists wield special powers through their arts, like Ice Arts or Flame Arts."
"Hifuko? Yenko? Unique pronunciations. Sounds like handling ice or fire."
Alan replied to Felicia.
"Think of them like ice or fire magic categories. That's what Princess Lin means by magic and martial arts being similar."
"Right."
"Fascinating. Martial arts ties into the powers Shuren uses, right?"
"The term martial arts covers all techniques Shuren employs."
"Hmm, maybe I should study Kun'Rung language more. It's getting interesting."
Alan shrugged at Felicia's words.
Lin said, "If you're interested, Princess Felicia, I could give a basic lesson on martial arts."
"Speaking of which, Alan—you haven't joined a club yet, have you?"
Alan blinked.
"Is there a problem...?"
"Hehe, perfect. I started one recently."
Seeing Felicia's triumphant expression, Alan felt a vague unease creeping in. He tried to stand, but couldn't shake off her grip.
"You'll be a founding member, Alan. You too, Lin."
"Me as well?"
"Yes! Because the club I made is the Kun'Rung Culture Exploration Club!"
Alan pressed his forehead at Felicia's bold declaration.
"Princess, why do I need to join...?"
"Who in the academy knows Kun'Rung better than you, aside from Kun'Rung folk?"
"Uh..."
Can't argue with that, Alan muttered inwardly.
"And since Lin knows martial arts well, it sparked my interest. I want to know the differences between martial arts and imperial swordsmanship."
"Not much difference. It's just a more standardized way to pass techniques to non-blood kin."
Felicia turned to them at Lin's words.
"You'll join, right, Alan? Lin?"