Illusion Magic is Virtual Reality
Professor Elmiana gazed at the light spirit coquettishly nuzzling Ardelia with eyes full of admiration. Even to her expert eye, the spirit before her was nothing short of a work of art.
"This is... truly awe-inspiring."
With trembling hands, Professor Elmiana gently stroked the velociraptor's feathers and let out a gasp of wonder.
"Never mind its ferocious appearance—the density of the mana woven into its core is beyond imagination. It far surpasses the limits of a 4-Circle. This is overwhelming power, nearly rivaling a 5-Circle spirit!"
The classroom students held their breath at her lavish praise. It meant a mere 13-year-old boy had transformed a lowly 1-Circle lesser spirit into something on par with 5-Circle just by holding its hand for a moment.
But Rian, the one who had performed this miracle, scratched his chin with a tired expression.
"It's still just shy of 5-Circle. With my current knowledge and mana control, maintaining that form was my limit."
He smacked his lips, genuinely regretful.
"I need more study on mana arrays and synthesis formulas. Lack of knowledge is killing the efficiency."
Professor Elmiana's pink eyes shook violently at his response. This was a boy who had only begun studying magic two days ago. To show this level of prowess in just two days and call it a limit due to insufficient knowledge... Deep within her, the fierce instincts of a magic scholar began to stir.
If I poured all my lifelong research on summoning and spiritology into that child's genius mind?
Just imagining it sent shivers of thrill through her body. Supply that brilliant brain with unlimited proper knowledge as fuel—what heights could he evolve spirits to? As one who pursued the truths of magic, she couldn't suppress the burning urge to witness that glorious outcome with her own eyes.
Professor Elmiana's cheeks flushed red.
"Everyone! Come over here and observe Student Ardelia's spirit up close!"
With an excited voice, she gathered the students. She launched into an endless rant about the efficiency of the golden velociraptor's mana circuits.
The students, trembling in fear, were forced by the professor's passion to inspect the beast's vicious fangs up close.
As class ended, the students began heading to the next classroom, their summoned spirits in tow.
"Rian, let's go."
"Yeah."
Vesperia said as she stood from her seat. Rian nodded and rose as well.
Just as he headed for the front door, however.
"R-Rian! Wait a moment!"
Professor Elmiana rushed over desperately, blocking his path. Her eyes gleamed with the fervor of someone utterly enchanted.
"Student Rian. Could we meet after lunch today, in the afternoon? We need to do that massive spirit summoning outdoors."
Rian shook his head firmly.
"Afternoon won't work. I'm forcibly staving off sleep with Awaken magic right now, so after lunch, I have to crash until dinner."
Professor Elmiana nodded at his words.
"Then how about after dinner? I'll come find you at the cafeteria if you're there. That okay?"
That should be fine by then.
"Yeah, that works."
At his answer, Professor Elmiana couldn't hide her anticipation for the evening.
As Rian stepped out into the hallway, the two girls naturally flanked him on either side, as always.
Vesperia beamed nonstop, stroking Blackie cradled in her arms. On the opposite side, Ardelia's expression was profoundly complex and subtle.
"……."
Ardelia's gaze drifted downward. At the hem of her skirt strode a velociraptor—1.8 meters from nose to tail—thudding along obediently.
"What is that?"
"A monster?"
"Looks like a bird, but weird!"
"It has feathers and wings?"
"They said it's a spirit?"
"What spirit looks that vicious? Some kind of man-eating bird?"
Passing students recoiled in horror, giving them wide berth.
Ardelia felt a strange mix of emotions seeing their eyes turn to fear.
"Kyuu?"
Then the velociraptor tilted its head and rubbed its massive head against Ardelia's leg. An adorably coquettish cry utterly at odds with its brutal appearance.
"Kyuuu."
Like a puppy craving attention, the velociraptor fluffed its golden feathers and wagged its tail.
The soft, warm mana heat spreading up her leg began to loosen Ardelia's rigid body.
Its looks are definitely scary and bizarre. But...
Ardelia cautiously reached out and stroked the smooth feathers. The beast narrowed its eyes in pleasure, rumbling contentedly.
A strange emotion flickered in Ardelia's red eyes.
It clearly follows me well.
Come to think of it, he'd said it was strong. It might even help protect her.
"Kyuu?"
"……."
Ardelia stared quietly into the velociraptor's upward-gazing eyes.
It looks just like my firebird.
Looking closer, the eyes really did resemble her firebird's. And the feathers' brilliant gold, symbolizing the imperial family, suddenly seemed quite luxurious. Above all, its blindly affectionate behavior toward her wasn't half bad. It felt like a slightly odd, pint-sized version of her firebird.
Huh? The more I look, the cuter it seems.
Human adaptability was a fearsome thing. Before she knew it, a faint smile played on Ardelia's lips as she scratched under the velociraptor's chin.
"Rian, the more I look at it, the cuter it gets."
Vesperia whispered to Rian from the side.
In front of the next classroom.
"Next is basic illusion magic. Can't wait!"
Vesperia bounded ahead excitedly and pulled the double doors open.
Kiiiek—!
The heavy doors swung wide, revealing the interior.
And in that instant, the students about to enter froze in their tracks.
"Wha...?"
"What the hell is this?"
What unfolded before the entering students was no ordinary classroom with blackboard and desks. A massive tropical rainforest, dense enough to blot out the sky. Humid, sticky air assaulted their noses, and unknown insect and beast cries echoed from all directions—a perfect jungle.
"Kyaaah!"
"The classroom turned into a jungle!"
"The door's gone! We're trapped?"
Latecomers panicked at the sudden change, screaming in terror. No exit in sight, and the squelching mud underfoot felt vividly real. Noble ladies clutched their skirts, shrieking. Boys paled, fumbling to cast spells.
But amid the chaos, Rian's face remained utterly serene.
This is illusion magic.
His brown eyes calmly scanned the surrounding mana flows. His own mana instantly detected and analyzed the faint waves permeating the area.
This jungle wasn't real. Nor was it a physical alteration by magic. Merely finely woven mana particles deceiving their five senses—a hallucination.
Mana core's over there.
Rian fixed on a point in the air. That's where the mana core sustaining this massive illusion concentrated.
With the structure grasped, dispelling it was as easy as breathing.
Tak—.
Rian snapped his fingers lightly. A subtle mana pulse shot into the void.
It struck the illusion core dead-on, instantly disrupting the mana array.
Pa-jang—!
A massive shattering like breaking glass resounded.
Simultaneously, the dense jungle scenery fragmented and scattered into the air. The humid air, beast cries, muddy feel—all vanished like lies.
And before the students stood the original classroom: marble floors, tiered desks.
"Eh? Huh?"
"Back to normal!"
The panicked students sighed in relief, collapsing where they stood.
Atop the podium stood a woman. Wide-brimmed hat pulled low, she had ashen hair and gray eyes—a professor with a languid air.
"Oh my!"
The professor lifted her hat brim slightly, peering down at Rian with interest.
"Knew you'd shatter my illusion in one go. A freshman with senses just as rumored—impressive."
She clapped lightly, praising him. No displeasure despite her ambitious illusion being broken by a two-day-old newbie. If anything, she seemed to have expected it.
But Rian's mind raced, analyzing the just-dispelled illusion.
That illusion earlier.
His brain reverse-engineered its principles and structure at terrifying speed.
Not just visual holograms. The earthy smell stimulating smell, beast roars hitting hearing, and crucially, the tactile feedback of sticky mud—directly input into my brain.
A technique injecting and manipulating sensory data straight into the human nervous system via mana as medium.
Its implications were obvious.
If mana acts as sentences holding existence's essence, and illusion magic prints those onto reality's paper as rhetoric... That spell was signifier and signified unified!
A thick smile spread across Rian's lips.
Or put differently:
I could make virtual reality.
A technology even his previous life's Earth hadn't perfected existed here, cloaked in this romance-fantasy world's illusion magic.
If he could fully dissect its formula and recombine it as he wished—what then?
Minimize physical fatigue and calorie burn while running infinite simulations and experiments in my brain. Hell, I could even make games!
For the first time, Rian looked at the ashen-haired professor on the podium with serious eyes.
He needed to extract every bit of info from this illusion magic class.
