Ma?gic (3)
Ma?gic (3)
The Tower of Growth trial was scheduled for Monday of the fourth week.
Baek A-rin had seen me off and I'd returned to the academy on Tuesday night of the third week.
That same night, I wrestled with magic tomes until dawn.
Surrendering to exhaustion and sleeping sounded tempting, but the urge to grow as much as possible before the Tower of Growth overrode it. I pushed myself out of sheer stubbornness.
In the end, I didn't sleep a wink and stayed up all night. Counting the dungeon expedition, I'd gone nearly two days without real rest.
The next morning.
When I trudged into Ipchun Classroom, fatigue dragging at every step, the room was already bustling.
Even though not everyone had arrived yet.
If I listened carefully, half the conversations were about the dungeon. 'My shoulder's sore from sleeping in the dungeon,' 'Tracking those monsters was absurdly hard'—that sort of thing.
Plenty of people were showing off the past two days' hardships and accomplishments to their friends.
"...Ha-yul."
And then Hong Yeon-hwa, her face looking like her soul had not just crumbled but been utterly shattered, grabbed my cheeks.
"Mnnngh..."
My cheeks stretched sideways. Exactly like kneading freshly pounded rice cake. A faint ache radiated from them.
"Did something happen yesterday...? Or last night...? Huh...? Why does your face look more dead than yesterday...?"
The cadets inside Ipchun Classroom glanced our way. But their gazes weren't the kind reserved for something strange. Now, it was more like watching an everyday scene.
At first everyone had gaped as if their eyes might fall out, but with these antics repeating lately, they seemed to have adjusted.
"Ugh..."
Answering was impossible. I wanted to argue via hologram that I hadn't had a choice, but... I couldn't bring myself to, not when she looked so distraught and worried about me.
It felt a little weird, but even with my cheeks being pulled, it didn't feel bad. There was even an upside to it.
A certain softness I couldn't quite describe welled up. A small warmth gradually spreading through my chest.
After I spent about five minutes conveying complicated apologies through pitiful whining, I was finally set free. I kneaded my burning cheeks with my own hands to cool them down.
"...Come here."
Maybe she felt guilty, because Hong Yeon-hwa reached out and stroked my cheek.
Her touch, laced with a hint of remorse, was surprisingly gentle. As she kept stroking, I had the brief illusion that the sting was subsiding.
It was the start of an ordinary morning.
"Well, well?"
A completely incongruous voice cut into that ordinary morning. Hong Yeon-hwa turned her head.
A young woman with her arms crossed, looking utterly dumbfounded... Baek A-rin, dressed in her cadet uniform. When she tilted her head, the ponytail tied at the back swished along with it.
"A-rin?"
"Yes, it's Baek, who's been abandoned by Hong for several days now."
"Wha—aband— Gah, what nonsense are you spouting."
"...Why not just curse properly?"
"Curse? What curse? Why are you talking like that? When have I ever done that?"
Baek A-rin shook her head with a look of disbelief. Then she composed her expression, turned toward me, and smiled brightly.
"Good morning, Ha-yul."
[Yes, good morning.]
I schooled my expression and returned the greeting.
A perfectly ordinary morning greeting. Mundane small talk. I hadn't really built a proper friendship with Baek A-rin yet, but it was the kind of exchange that was perfectly normal even between strangers.
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head quizzically, as if wondering what was up with her, but it was the kind of conversation even she wouldn't find strange.
While I was thinking that, a mischievous smile tugged at the corner of Baek A-rin's mouth.
"Did you get back safely last night?"
"...What?"
"I did see you to the dormitory entrance, but I just wanted to check."
At her follow-up remark, the mood shifted into something peculiar. The nuance was definitely... something. And naturally, the onlookers' gazes shifted too.
Interpreted literally, there was nothing off about it. But with a different emotional inflection, it became weirdly suggestive. Baek A-rin's ambiguous tone amplified the effect.
Hong Yeon-hwa's head angled slowly. She blinked several times, as if doubting her own ears. Then her expression hardened like stone.
Creak. Hong Yeon-hwa's head turned in stiff, mechanical increments.
Her gaze landed once on Baek A-rin's beaming, all-too-pleased face—and then once on me. She scrutinized my face, concentrating on the blatant signs of exhaustion.
Whoosh. I felt the Calamity Flame surge up inside her.
I shook my head desperately.
.
.
.
"Hnn. It hurts."
"You're saying things so badly that anyone would misunderstand!"
A small bump was rising on the now-teary-eyed Baek A-rin's head.
Baek A-rin gently rubbed her head. Thanks to the mana imbued in her hand, the bump vanished in an instant.
"See? Who told you to phrase it like that?"
"What did I even say? You're the one who jumped to conclusions, Yeon-hwa. Actually, what exactly were you imagining to resort to this kind of violence? Don't tell me..."
"Shut...! Be quiet."
Baek A-rin added a pointed "Don't tell me," and clasped both hands over her mouth. Faced with such blatant teasing, Hong Yeon-hwa ground her teeth as she glared.
Bickering was the default dynamic between Hong Yeon-hwa and Baek A-rin.
The problem was that their squabbling drew even more attention to an already conspicuous spot.
My seat was in the very back by the window. Right next to me was Hong Yeon-hwa, and now Baek A-rin had joined the grouping.
Hong Yeon-hwa snapped, Baek A-rin played innocent and then casually fired back a counter. This back-and-forth continued until the lecture started.
.
.
.
A few days passed.
My daily routine was as hectic as ever, with no time to even blink.
With Baek A-rin having smoothly annexed the seat at the far back, her bickering with Hong Yeon-hwa served as background music as I greeted the morning in Ipchun Classroom.
In the mornings, I attended theory lectures. In the afternoons, I received one-on-one tutoring from Professor Atra.
"To activate magic, mana is used as material to construct spell formulas. And depending on the structural difficulty of those formulas, magic is broadly divided into six tiers."
Friday. Basic Magic Theory (I).
A middle-aged professor with a long robe and an impressive mustache was engrossed in lecturing from the podium.
"Lowest-grade and low-grade magic are often undervalued. And it's true that their effects are inferior compared to higher-tier magic. However, there's a saying."
The professor made eye contact with the cadets listening intently and spoke.
"A mage is a being who prepares. The most powerful and dangerous mage in this world is none other than the 'mage who has finished preparing.'"
The hologram displayed on the podium-side wall was plastered with complex spell formulas and the like. It wasn't just a single formula—it was an arrangement where multiple formulas interconnected organically.
"Delaying the activation of a completed formula. The simplest example would be a magic tool. By occupying space with one's formulas through methods like these, a mage can create their own territory. Within that territory, even lower-grade magic can demonstrate decent efficiency."
That was commonly referred to as a mage's workshop.
By covering the surrounding area with magic saturated in one's own color, a mage asserts dominion over the mana in that zone, then unleashes the formulas prepared in advance—in short, constructing an environment suited to oneself through magic.
The route in the original story that primarily used magic was the 5th Iteration.
And even that wasn't a pure mage but a heretic variant, so it hadn't properly utilized workshops or fortified positions.
I had spent more time breaking workshops than building them. So I had at least a small inkling of how utterly infuriating a properly prepared mage's workshop could be.
'Hoo...'
Magic theory. I didn't half-listen just because it was a different discipline—with magic weighing on my mind lately, I concentrated even harder than usual.
The professor's explanations were intricate but not incomprehensibly difficult.
The professor for this lecture hadn't been a particularly high-ranked hero during his active years, but after retiring he'd poured his heart into theory and education, becoming a scholar type.
Thanks to that, he was a consummate master of explanation, and even a novice like me could glean plenty as long as I focused.
"—That concludes today's lecture. I hope you'll also prepare well for the next lecture in the remaining time."
The roughly two-hour lecture ended. Listening idly to the cadets bidding farewell to the departing professor, I dazedly tapped my pen against the desk.
Today was Friday of the third week.
After Dungeon Practice concluded on Tuesday, the theory sessions that resumed on Wednesday were largely devoted to lectures on the Tower and magic.
That was a welcome development. Especially regarding magic.
It was undeniably informative. I couldn't deny that. The classification of magic grades I had skimmed over, the practical applications of lowest-grade and low-grade spells—all of it was explained in detail and relatively easy to grasp.
But I still hadn't figured out the reason behind my magic's output problem. A sigh escaped on its own.
Once the lecture ended, the surroundings grew lively. Some cadets calmly prepared for the next class, but others struck up conversations with friends nearby.
The topics were all somewhat similar.
Tower of Growth.
There were truly just a few days left now. And today was the last day of classes before entering the Tower. The next time I saw the other cadets would probably be right before entry.
'Argh...'
The magic output problem. I'd wanted to solve it before entering the Tower, but it hadn't gone as planned.
I'd concentrated every moment during lectures, and whenever I had spare time outside of theory classes, I'd pored over books.
I'd even asked Professor Liana for advice whenever I had a chance, but it turned out she didn't know much about this phenomenon either.
My head throbbed. Maybe it hit harder because I hadn't slept properly these past few days.
To suppress the headache even slightly, I pressed firmly against my temples.
"Ha-yul."
Despite the noisy surroundings and the headache pounding in my ears, strangely, Hong Yeon-hwa's voice cut through with perfect clarity.
When I turned my head, I saw Hong Yeon-hwa, who'd been glancing at me, extending a hand. As always, in her hand was a piece of candy in luxurious packaging.
[Thank you.]
It was her usual kindness. I unwrapped the elegant packaging and popped the smooth, glossy candy into my mouth.
At first, I'd pictured the price and couldn't bring myself to eat them, but after receiving one per day for nearly a week, I barely reacted anymore. It felt like my sense of money was being wrecked in real time.
I rolled it around with my tongue and the round candy tumbled about in my mouth.
The same flavorless taste as always. The one that had once soured my mood by contrasting against memories of sweetness from the past.
But right now, it didn't particularly bother me.
Was trying to solve this problem so quickly just greed on my part?
As I sat there dazedly sucking on the tasteless candy, the thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Come to think of it, if even Professor Liana didn't know, it might simply be impossible for me to uncover the cause this fast.
Maybe the real problem was that I was trying to find the cause too impatiently. Maybe I was rushing because the Tower of Growth trial was approaching.
The worry that my growth curve might plummet if I stumbled inside the Tower of Growth could be narrowing my thinking.
Lately, I'd had quite a lot to mull over. Various topics thrown at me from all directions had filled my head to the brim.
'...Being too impatient won't do any good, I suppose.'
The Tower of Growth trial was truly right around the corner now. If I pushed my body and mind any harder than this, I might end up entering the Tower in such poor condition that I'd just be groaning and useless.
And if that led to a bad outcome... there'd be nothing more laughable than that.
"Ahem."
While I was deep in self-reflection, Hong Yeon-hwa, who'd been openly watching me roll the candy around, suddenly cleared her throat.
"Ha-yul, do you maybe have time after your major lecture today?"
[Time?]
I tilted my head, crunched down the last grain-sized piece of candy, and swallowed.
Time? I probably did.
Professor Atra was someone who strictly kept to the allotted lesson time, and after that, she never interfered.
"Then... would you mind sparing some time today?"
I considered it briefly, then nodded. The tension etched on Hong Yeon-hwa's features melted away instantly into a bright expression.
"Thanks! I'll text you where to meet."
[May I ask why you want to meet?]
"Ah. I should've mentioned that first."
Hong Yeon-hwa let out a small exclamation and then smiled sheepishly, scratching her head for good measure.
"It's just, I have something like... a gift? For you."
'A gift?'
She was already drowning me in candy. When I prodded lightly, asking if she couldn't tell me in advance, Hong Yeon-hwa, uncharacteristically, only evaded the question.
For some reason, her expression was tinged with both worry and hope.