The Price of Power and the Cool Breeze of Summer
“The wand is a more delicate instrument than you think.”
“It wasn’t… a proper fight, was it?”
“Right?”
Well, obviously. I’d smashed the wand to pieces, after all.
“In that case, there’s nothing worth evaluating.”
“Pardon?”
“We’ll discuss the details later. We can talk about the wand then, too. You’re dismissed.”
“Ugh.”
So it ends up like this… I stared at the shattered remains of my wand. I suppose 5-verse incantations are just too much. They were spells I’d been using half-assed without ever formally learning them anyway. It was bound to fail.
I quietly scurried back to my seat. And then.
“Yumia, what was that earlier?”
“How did you dodge the Mana Shot!?”
“That was insane!! The last one was just to scare them, right?”
“You idiot, why would you chant if you weren’t going to fire it?”
“Still, a 5-verse incantation? We’re only first-years!”
I was surrounded by students with sparkling eyes in the stands. They flocked around me like a pack of high school boys who’d just discovered a cool older brother. Of course, it was a mix of both boys and girls.
Hmm. ‘I can’t resist being the “cool older brother” type.’
And I don’t hate this kind of thing, either. The corners of my mouth kept creeping upward.
“Hahaha! I am the greatest!!”
“Woooooaaaahhh!!”
“Yumia! Yumia! Yumia!”
That was when Karnarof poured cold water on the mood.
“You lot, quiet down.”
And the next sparring match began.
“Linia, it’s good to overwhelm your opponent, but always fight with mana efficiency in mind. If you keep it in your consciousness, there will definitely be something to gain.”
“Aris, the unique magic of the Script family is truly powerful. You’ve mastered the first stage, so let’s move on to the next.”
“Edgar, your mana infusion is too timid. If you plan to use that wand for the rest of your life, that’s fine, but if not, be more daring.”
“Robert, you should just continue as you are. However, your mana consumption is high when covering for unexpected moves.”
Karnarof continued to watch the sparring and provide feedback. If there was one unexpected thing, it was that Robert and Aris had overwhelmed their opponents by a wide margin. In particular, it was very impressive how Aris had pressed her opponent without giving them a moment to breathe, firing off Mana Shots.
“She was beating them so hard they couldn’t even breathe.”
Her opponent had even used unique magic, but Aris hadn’t bothered with defensive magic against their offensive spells. The moment their magic scratched the surface of her skin, it touched Aris’s unique magic and vanished.
“The Duchess’s daughter is fighting pretty viciously. There’s not a single opening.”
“Her face and voice are so gentle, but I guess a ducal family is a ducal family after all.”
I went straight to Aris as she returned to her seat.
“You were great! Where did you learn to do that?”
Aris tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“Huh? I was just following Yumia’s lead?”
…?
I did that?
“She’s definitely been tainted…” Robert shook his head.
I never taught her anything like that. It’s so unfair!
So, my impression of the magic sparring—or rather, the battle of superhumans that couldn’t really be called sparring—was that it was quite fun.
I want to do it again next week.
“So, why am I here?” I sipped my tea after being summoned to Karnarof’s office.
“Yumia.”
“Yeah?”
“You fought quite well. You’re skilled in close-quarters combat, and to do that against the Valtor family… I was surprised.”
He didn’t look surprised at all, though. Hmm. It didn’t feel like I was being scolded, but it wasn’t exactly a light atmosphere either. And the way he was slowly buttering me up with praise… this… this reeks of an assignment!
“I’m just going to leave.”
“It’s not an assignment.”
“Then never mind.” I turned around to bolt, but stopped and sat back down on the sofa.
“So, what’s up?”
“Take out your wand.”
Hmm. I pulled out the remains I’d stuffed in my pocket. They were still warm.
“Are you calling me in to make me pay for the damages?”
“What else did you think it was?”
Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything else. I was planning to pay for the damages anyway.
“But how much is this?”
It’ll be a problem if it’s over 30 gold.
“It’s about 40 gold, but I’ll cover half of it.”
“Whoa, really?”
I’d be grateful if he did. Then I’d have enough money left over to cover the rental fee. Honestly, I’d planned to use it until it was on the verge of breaking from the dragon mana and then return it, but the poor thing died too quickly, and I was in a bind.
“It happened in my class, so I have to take responsibility. Though, I don’t know why a brand-new wand would be reduced to rags immediately after being borrowed.”
“Heh heh…”
I have nothing to say to that.
“So, here is the main point.”
I knew there was something else.
“Yeah?”
“You need to stop overworking your wands.”
“What?”
“I’m saying you need to stop using spells that the wand can’t handle.”
“I never did that!”
How much could I possibly be using? The other kids, huh? They’re even using unique magic and stuff!
But Karnarof calmly suppressed my counterargument.
“Wands have a specification limit.”
He pulled out his own wand.
“For instance, this wand is a rare artifact, even for the Empire. In this case, not only can you use the spells you were using without any burden, but it can easily handle even more.”
I observed the wand with my Analysis Eye. Static filled my vision.
[ACCESS DENIED]
‘That’s just ridiculous.’
What kind of wand is this guy using?
Karnarof flicked his wand and said, “However, that wand you used? Triple casting and a 4-verse incantation is its limit.”
“Uh… is that low?”
No way. It was an SSR, so I thought it would hold up at least a little bit.
“You used deca-casting and a 5-verse incantation, and you used high-difficulty spells in succession, too.”
“Yeah.”
Honestly, I was just excited to have a new wand and used it recklessly.
“Usually, if the specs are low, the spell won’t even activate, so the burden on the wand isn’t that great, but your talent seems to be much greater than I had anticipated.”
Should I take that as a compliment? I guess it’s a compliment.
“Of course, even if you use it beyond its specs, it would usually hold up for a few dozen times, but it seems the wand’s condition wasn’t great that day.”
“I, I guess so.”
Damn it. I thought it would hold up for at least four uses of dragon mana! Anyway, it’s the wand’s fault. Not mine!
“Also, your mana has a very strong property. I don’t know when it started, but it’s becoming close to that of a dragon.”
“Ah.”
That was Adrian’s fault. I found the culprit.
“Do you have an idea?”
“Let’s just move on.”
“I’ll provide your new wand here. So, absolutely do not use anything beyond quad-casting and a 5-verse incantation.”
“Eeeh…”
I grumbled as I took the wand. Then what’s the point of climbing the tower? The whole point of climbing the tower is to blast magic everywhere and push through it.
Anyway, I should probably clear the tower in one go soon. I heard the tower isn’t that high, so clearing up to the 12th floor should be enough. Sera will graduate once she climbs a few more floors in Very Hard mode. Actually, the tower is basically a tutorial anyway.
I thought that as I was about to leave the office, but…
“Ah, there is one exception.”
“What?”
“During the final exam period, you may use it until the wand breaks. I, Karnarof, will bear all the damages that occur then.”
“Really?”
Karnarof is being kind for once.
“Yes.”
“Yes!”
I’m going to go around firing Mana Shots with dragon mana.
I got up, opened the office door slightly, and stepped out. Then, Karnarof’s voice followed me.
“Otherwise, even you would find it hard to handle.”
…What on earth is he going to put on the test?
Since it had gotten even hotter that evening, we decided to focus on barrier magic first.
“Domain Casting, Silence.”
I deployed a small, cube-shaped silence barrier. A small-range barrier that only covered the area near the generator.
“Domain Extension, Time!”
Then Aris cast a spell to extend the duration.
I stuck my head into the locally deployed barrier.
“Can you try talking to me?”
“Yes? What was that?”
“Can you try talking to me!!!”
I even made a megaphone with my hands and shouted at Aris, but it didn’t seem to be heard. Success. Does it let sound from over there pass through while blocking sound from over here? I’ll think about the trivial stuff later; let’s just try running it.
I inserted the magic stone and turned on the power.
—Vrrr—
The noise cut off the moment I pulled my head out.
“S-success! It’s a success!”
A charging indicator appeared on the battery’s LED display. 19%… 20%…
Aris cheered.
“Now we can keep using that magic tool!!”
We plugged the fan into the outlet and enjoyed the breeze right in front of it. Of course, we had cold cola, too.
“Hyaaa… if heaven exists, it must be here…” Aris let out a sigh of relief. I was the same. There really is nothing like a fan.
And about 10 minutes passed. When the battery indicated about 50 percent.
“Ah, wait. I’m running low on mana.”
I opened one of the potions Isabel had given me and drank it. I felt my mana filling up, but it didn’t fill beyond my maximum anymore.
‘My mana pool has definitely increased.’
I’d used some mana during the sparring today, but the barrier magic itself was quite mana-intensive.
“Even so, it’s a high-level spell. It consumes quite a bit of mana.”
We were the ones using high-level magic just to run an air conditioner, but it was decreasing faster than I thought. The fuel efficiency is quite bad.
“Aris, is your mana okay?”
“I still have plenty left.”
…Maybe my mana pool was just small.
However, it was impossible for one person to imbue both attributes with our current skill level. To do that, we’d have to rebuild everything from the basics.
‘Cramming high-level magic is impossible.’
In the end, there was no choice but to increase our proficiency and somehow reduce the mana cost. But I couldn’t give up the fan until then. And potions were indispensable if we wanted to run the air conditioner, too.
Then, it’s all or nothing!
“Let’s make a ton of potions and hold out until then!”
“…But where do we get the ingredients?”
“School Market?”
“Do they even carry potion ingredients at the School Market? And Yumia, do you have the money?”
“…Ah.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“Then should we give up and just be satisfied with the fan?”
I think it’ll work out if we use them sparingly. I’d sold the potions I had, and now the only ones left were the two very small test tubes Isabel had given me. They did distribute ingredients in the Potionology class, too. But that was only a one-time portion for students who had used up all their ingredients during practice.
Where could I get more ingredients… I was thinking that, but then.
[Herbology Final Exam Notice - Outdoor Gathering]
📍 Location: Forbidden Forest
🎁 Reward: Rare Herbs & Academic Credits
The opportunity arrived faster than I thought.