A Day Without Peace
I flung the window wide open the moment I woke up.
The overpowering scent of perfume that Lucia had left behind in my room last night had stabbed at my nose all night long, making it impossible to sleep properly. While letting in some fresh air, I leaned against the windowsill, massaging my stiff neck and seriously contemplating whether I had any valid excuse to slack off today.
Maybe I could claim I was coming down with something. No, that wouldn't work. Too many eyes had clearly watched me swinging a log around like a madman against those monsters in the forest yesterday. Pretending to be frail now would be completely pointless.
"Ugh, I really don't want to go to work."
I muttered my honest feelings out loud and splashed some water on my face. I threw on my shabby robe, put on my mask, and left the dormitory.
My steps toward the training grounds felt heavy, but the moment I arrived, the scene before me nearly made me take a step backward.
"Professor's here! Everyone, fall in!"
There were still thirty minutes left before class even started, yet all twenty S-Class students were already gathered on the drill field, sweating buckets and shouting in unison. Their eyes gleamed with intensity as they lined up in perfect formation at Denin's booming command.
"Good morning, Professor Kyle!"
The thunderous greeting was so loud it made my ears ring. Were these really the same arrogant noble kids who had looked at me like I was street garbage on the first day of school?
"Yeah... Did you all eat before coming out to run around like this?"
I answered nonchalantly and perched myself on the old wooden crate that served as my makeshift desk.
"We considered even a sip of water a luxury before receiving your teachings, sir! We have been training on an empty stomach!"
Denin replied with his eyes wide open.
"Don't be ridiculous. Get to the cafeteria right now and at least shove some bread down your throats. If you collapse while swinging a sword on an empty stomach, I'll have to write an incident report saying you caused an accident during my class. Go eat. Now. Move!"
At my curt command, the students exchanged glances before their faces lit up with some absurd interpretation like, "The professor is worried about our health." They then dashed off toward the cafeteria with deeply moved expressions.
These kids were seriously exhausting.
While they were off eating, I planned to lie down in the shade of a tree and catch a quick nap. But as always, my peaceful plan was ruined by the arrival of an intruder.
"You're already instilling strict discipline in the students from the morning, Professor Kyle."
The familiar, cool voice came from behind me. It was Elena Kastina.
She approached in her usual immaculate uniform without a single wrinkle and stood beside me. In one hand, she held a thick stack of documents.
"What brings you here so early, Professor Elena?"
"Today's morning practical for S-Class is scheduled as a joint swordsmanship and magic training session. After seeing how harshly you handled the students yesterday, I came to observe and check on the condition of the magic majors as well."
Elena glanced at me.
"Observation is fine, but don't interfere even if my teaching methods are a bit rough. I absolutely hate anything troublesome."
"Don't worry. I'm quite reasonable when it comes to education."
Before long, the students who had wolfed down their food returned and assembled on the drill field again. They seemed slightly tense upon seeing Elena standing there, but they quickly fixed their burning gazes back on me.
"Today is joint training. Magic majors and swordsmanship majors will pair up in teams of two. The goal is simple. Spar while identifying each other's strengths and weaknesses. However, there are rules."
I picked up a random branch lying on the ground.
"Swordsmanship team is prohibited from using fighting spirit. Press the mages using only pure physical strength and body techniques. Magic team is prohibited from using intermediate or higher spells that require more than three seconds of mana casting time. Block the swordsmen's movements using only basic elemental magic."
The students began murmuring at my conditions. The magic education at Eterna Royal Academy specialized in skipping unnecessary incantations and handling mana instantaneously. However, the more powerful the magic, the more time it took to shape and concentrate the mana within the body. If swordsmen couldn't use their fighting spirit and mages couldn't buy time to cast high-firepower spells, the pace of battle was bound to become frustratingly slow.
"Professor, shouldn't we pour out all our strength in real combat? I don't understand why we're deliberately limiting our power."
Denin cautiously raised his hand and asked.
"Don't you remember how you were all happy about taking down a few wolves in the forest yesterday, only to have your legs give out and collapse the moment an ogre showed up?"
At my cold remark, Denin's face flushed red.
"You've all grown so accustomed to throwing around mana and fighting spirit that you've forgotten the most important things: measuring distance and timing. By fighting while holding back your power, you'll realize just how many useless habits are ingrained in your bodies. Stop talking and form your pairs. Begin."
Intimidated by my stern tone, the students hurriedly paired up and scattered across the training ground to begin their sparring.
Thwack. Clack. Clang.
The sounds of wooden swords clashing and basic magic exploding echoed noisily throughout the training grounds. I plopped back down on the wooden crate and rested my chin on my hand.
With fighting spirit and high-level magic forbidden, the students' true limits were laid completely bare.
"Your footwork is sluggish. Your right shoulder is opening up too early."
"Fix that habit of rolling your eyes when you draw up mana. Are you trying to announce to the whole neighborhood where your next spell is going?"
I stayed seated, watching them and occasionally tossing out pointed criticisms with the branch. My original intention was just to kill time, but I figured I should at least pretend to earn my keep.
Elena, who had been silently observing my instructions from the side, murmured quietly.
"I'm impressed. Most knights can't read a mage's subtle breathing patterns or eye movements when controlling mana with such precision. It seems the flow of mana is completely visible to you, Professor."
"After ten years as a mercenary, I can roughly guess what a mage is about to cast just from their breathing."
That was when an ominous cracking sound came from one corner of the training ground.
"Ien! That's way too much mana concentration! It's against the rules!"
At Denin's urgent shout, I turned my head. The condition of Ien, who was sparring with Denin, looked strange. The mana pouring from the tip of her staff had far exceeded the restricted level and was swelling into a grotesque shape.
Red flames and blue ice mana were precariously mixing at the end of her staff, forming a massive sphere. It was an attempt to forcibly fuse two opposing attributes. This was the kind of dangerous stunt that even high-ranking mages often ended up blowing themselves up with in real combat.
"I'll prove that I can do it."
Ien was drenched in sweat, gritting her teeth. It seemed my words from yesterday—that she might one day be able to graze the hem of my clothes—had ignited her damn competitive spirit. She was recklessly drawing up mana to attempt Fusion Magic just to earn my recognition.
The problem was that she still didn't have the capacity to control that much power.
Crackle. Snap.
The fusing mana sphere began to expand irregularly and crack. It was a mana overload phenomenon that had escaped control.
"This is dangerous."
Elena widened her eyes and quickly pulled out her staff. She was hurriedly drawing up mana to deploy a defensive spell, but the distance was too great. If that sphere exploded, not only Ien but even Denin standing right in front of her wouldn't make it out unscathed.
"Haah, seriously. Not a single day goes by quietly."
I clicked my tongue and stood up. As I kicked off the ground, I poured fighting spirit into my lower body. Maintaining high speed, I slipped between Ien and Denin.
Right before the explosion, the swollen mana sphere simultaneously emitted scorching heat and sharp cold. I drew the wooden sword from my waist and lightly thrust it toward the exact center of the expanding sphere.
Thud.
It probably looked like an ordinary stab. But the tip of my wooden sword precisely struck the most unstable link where the fire and ice mana were tangled—the so-called Mana Core.
It was a tiny impact, but the result was dramatic.
Whoosh.
The mana sphere that had seemed ready to explode violently deflated like a punctured balloon in an instant, scattering into the air. The heat and cold that had been sweeping the area vanished as if they had never existed.
Silence fell.
Denin, who had been cowering with his eyes squeezed shut, slowly lifted his head with a dazed expression. Ien sat collapsed on the spot, panting heavily, unable to comprehend how her magic had evaporated in a single moment.
I shook the half-burnt wooden sword and frowned.
"I cherished that sword... and now it's burnt."
I tossed the wooden sword to the ground and looked down at Ien.
"Who told you to hit the self-destruct button during sparring? If you're not going to follow the rules, go run laps on the field instead. Try Fusion Magic only after your vessel has grown a bit more."
When I spoke bluntly, tears suddenly welled up in Ien's eyes, which had been completely out of it. It wasn't from defiance or resentment. They were tears mixed with shame over the consequences of her own arrogance and the complicated emotions of having been helped by me once again.
"I-I'm sorry."
Ien bowed her head deeply and apologized in a tiny voice. Seeing her shoulders tremble as she tried to hold back her tears, I felt a pang of guilt. Maybe I had been too harsh.
"Don't cry. It gets annoying. If you're not hurt, stand up and go drink some water."
I scratched my head roughly and held out my hand. Ien flinched in surprise, stared at my offered hand for a moment, then cautiously took it and stood up.
"I won't make such a stupid mistake next time. I will definitely become strong enough for you to acknowledge me, Professor."
With her face burning red, Ien kept her head down and ran off toward the water fountain as if fleeing. I watched her retreating figure and let out a deep sigh.
Something about this was going seriously wrong. I had only meant to crush the spirit of the kid who kept bothering me, so why was she burning with even more strange enthusiasm as time went on?
"That was remarkable handling, Professor Kyle."
Once the situation was over, Elena approached, examining the scattered remnants of mana as she spoke.
"To precisely strike the core of the mana overload in that brief moment and cause it to collapse... It was an incredibly precise strike that most mages couldn't pull off. And with nothing but a wooden sword, at that."
"It was just luck. I simply stabbed at what looked the most dangerous."
"They say when coincidences overlap, they become inevitability. Your coincidences are remarkably timely and accurate."
With a meaningful smile on her lips, she turned toward the students.
"Alright, the situation is resolved, so resume your sparring. Take Ien's mistake as a lesson and refrain from reckless mana usage."
At Elena's instruction, the students scattered once more and resumed their training. I lightly kicked the burnt wooden sword and looked up at the sky. The sun was still shining annoyingly bright.