The Mage Who Walks While Casting
Scoundrel. Rattle.
With the crack of the coachman’s whip, the carriage lurched and began rolling forward. The wheels churned up clouds of dust, and the scenery outside the window blurred past in a streak, yet I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy any of it.
“Haa…”
What the hell was I supposed to do? Of all people, it had to be Lise.
I had no idea whether the plot had twisted on its own or if this had always been the route that brought her to the academy. All I knew was the early-game episode in which Eros met a miserable end.
The only reason I even recognized her was because I’d skimmed the heroine list before starting the game. Lise would enroll in the academy through the martial arts program, build her skills steadily, and eventually reach the hero… Wait.
I didn’t need to be terrified in advance. If I simply refrained from mistreating her, avoided building any unnecessary causal links or emotional narratives, everything would be fine.
Just then, the metallic clink of chains sounded from the opposite seat.
When I turned, I saw Lise’s body trembling visibly.
She’s scared.
She must have heard the rumors about Eros’s usual behavior and was now imagining a hopeless future ahead of her. The thought made me feel oddly guilty, so I pulled the key from my pocket and tossed it over.
Thud.
Her shoulders flinched hard at the sound.
“Unlock it yourself.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said take off the restraints.”
“…”
“Are you deaf?”
“…It’s just… I can’t reach it.”
“…Ah.”
In the end I had no choice but to walk over and pick up the key.
Click. Click.
Only then did the heavy iron shackles fall from her wrists and clatter to the floor. Dark bruises stained her skin, but I deliberately ignored them and leaned back against the seat.
“…What’s your name?”
“L-Lise… sir.”
“Listen carefully. I don’t know what Brother Lotos told you. I don’t know, and I don’t care.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I have no interest in your body. If you’ve been assigned as my exclusive maid and guard, then just do that job faithfully.”
“…”
She stared at me with a face full of bewilderment, as though she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“Once you enroll, you’ll enter the martial arts program. While at the academy, your only duties are managing my clothes, preparing my meals, and handling my daily life on campus. That’s it. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
“Remember this. As long as you don’t cross the line, I have no intention of bothering you unnecessarily. Whether you train hard and grow stronger in the martial program or do anything else is none of my concern. After all, if you become stronger you’ll simply be my knight, and I won’t complain about that.”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to sleep, so wake me when we arrive.”
I closed my eyes, making it clear that any further conversation was pointless.
I don’t know how much time passed.
Amid the carriage’s constant rattling, I caught the faint rustle of fabric.
When I cracked my eyes open, Lise was sitting on the floor with her knees drawn together, clutching a blanket in trembling hands, clearly trying to cover me with it.
…Well, let her do as she likes.
Exactly two months had passed since I enrolled at the academy.
In this brilliant hall of learning where the empire’s brightest talents and noble heirs gathered, time flew by in a blur, and the same was true for me.
Thanks to the mountain of scandals the original Eros Brioche had left behind, I was met with hostility everywhere. From the very first day I had to endure endless contempt and whispered gossip.
“Ugh, there goes that scoundrel again.”
“Shh, don’t make eye contact.”
Every time I walked down a corridor, murmurs rose behind my back like clockwork. My rubber-body constitution had earned me plenty of fame—none of it good.
Honestly, I didn’t mind.
In fact, I considered it a blessing. Better to be completely isolated and live like a transparent ghost until graduation than to form shallow connections that might drag me into a bad route.
Lise had registered for the martial arts program as planned and attended her classes diligently. Outside of class hours she stayed by my side at all times, performing her duties with quiet devotion. She attended to my needs and prepared anything I might require ahead of time.
That was all.
I made a conscious effort never to touch her, treating her strictly as a living tool that assisted my hands and feet. I worked hard to see her as nothing more.
It was the same today. I was watching her approach after she had finished her own lessons when—
“Hey, Eros.”
A sharp voice cut across the second training ground of the Magic Department.
When I turned, I saw a male student arrogantly sweeping back his flashy silver hair. Cedric, eldest son of Count Balua. He had always been hostile toward me, though I genuinely had no idea why. Since I hadn’t committed those original sins, the memories weren’t mine to recall.
“What do you want, Balua’s young master?”
“How dare you utter our family name? It is an insult.”
Cedric strode forward without bothering to hide his open hostility. Behind him, Magic Department students began gathering one by one. Enjoying the growing audience, he raised his voice dramatically.
“Today I will finally punish you. With my talent I will crush you and show everyone exactly what a rootless piece of trash you are.”
…What am I, the Demon King? Punish me?
I swallowed my irritation and shrugged.
I could have refused, but if it was a magic duel there was no reason to back down.
“I don’t know why you’re going this far, but fine. Let’s do it.”
Cedric’s brows drew together at my answer. Suppressing his rage, he walked to the center of the training ground. I followed and faced him.
Amid the students’ murmurs an assistant stepped forward, asking what was happening. Cedric insisted it was a legitimate duel and pressured the man to referee. Since noble duels were common, the assistant accepted readily and raised his hand.
“The duel will follow the Magic Department’s rules. You must not inflict fatal injuries or cause death. Both sides, prepare!”
At the assistant’s shout, Cedric’s eyes changed.
Staring him down, I recalled something I had realized over the past two months at the academy.
Magic in this world was essentially mental arithmetic. Drawing mana from your circles, shaping it, and firing it at a target required calculating complex formulas in your head without the slightest error.
Therefore, casting demanded extreme concentration. That was why mages fought in such a simple, standardized way: they stopped in place and focused entirely on their calculations. Any large movement during the process would tangle the formula and cause the spell to fail.
What I had realized was that I possessed an unexpected talent.
Why can’t you just think while moving?
I was a former Korean exam student who had studied from a crumpled book while clinging to a handrail on a packed 7 a.m. bus, swaying wildly. A former exam student who reviewed math formulas while constantly in motion. A former exam student who recited mock-exam passages while shoveling food into his mouth.
Korean entrance-exam education was a product that demanded multitasking. It was a cramming-based survival instinct. My brain had already been imprinted with that ability.
When that merged with this world’s magic, the result was unexpected synergy.
“Begin!”
The instant the assistant’s hand sliced downward, Cedric’s lips moved rapidly as he thrust both palms forward.
We were both 2-Circle mages, but he chose Energy Bolt—an overwhelmingly simple and fast spell. The most efficient choice for student duels.
…He’s quick. Talent from a prestigious magic family, I suppose.
Admiring his speed, I began my own casting. I selected Fire Bolt, a 2-Circle spell with more than double the power of Energy Bolt, though its complex calculations made it far slower to cast.
Noticing I was chanting a higher-tier spell, a sneer spread across Cedric’s face.
“Energy Bolt!”
A blue bolt screamed through the air toward me. The surrounding students let out short screams. To any observer, it looked as though I would be struck before finishing my cast.
Normally I would have abandoned the chant and rolled aside, but—
While weaving the flame formula in my head, I took a natural step to the right.
Shwoooosh—
The condensed blue arrow grazed my left side and tore through empty air. Even as the chill passed, my lips continued completing the final syllables of Fire Bolt.
“…Huh?”
Silence fell. Cedric’s eyes bulged.
“He moved… while casting?”
The moment he staggered backward in shock at the impossible sight—
“…Fire Bolt.”
A blazing red arrow of flame finished forming above my palm. With a light flick of my wrist, it streaked toward Cedric.
“Ah, uwaaaaa!!!”
Kwaaaaaang—!
Cedric frantically tried to raise a barrier, but it was too late. A deafening roar shook the training ground as a crimson explosion erupted. The heat wave fluttered the spectators’ uniforms.
When the dust finally settled, Cedric lay unconscious against the far wall. His once-glorious silver hair was charred black, and his uniform was in the same state.
“……”
The nobles who had gathered to mock me stood speechless, staring in pure astonishment. Only one question seemed to burn in their minds: how could he move while casting?
Honestly, I had only managed one slow step, but to them it must have looked like common sense being shattered.
“Well…”
The important thing was that it was possible, wasn’t it?
Ah, so this is what being called a genius feels like.
The still-frozen assistant finally declared my victory. Leaving the students who continued to stare at me in shock, I walked out of the training ground as if nothing had happened.
In the distance I caught a glimpse of Lise—ash-gray hair, martial-arts uniform—walking toward me. Her red eyes were clouded with far deeper doubt and confusion than before, but I simply shrugged and kept walking.