The First Lesson, Part 2
A stir ran through the lecture hall the moment the professor's name was revealed.
"Wait, did she say Elena von Walter...?"
"Yeah, the Elena von Walter of Mystic Arts!"
The excited voices of the students filled the room.
I couldn't hide my surprise either.
Elena von Walter.
She was a renowned master in the field of magic weapons.
Mystic Arts, the weapon brand she founded, reigned as the empire's premier weapon shop with only five locations.
With its top-tier craftsmanship and outstanding performance, it had long since become synonymous with magic weapons.
It truly deserved to be called a luxury brand.
It was hard to believe that such a legendary figure would be our professor.
"Now, quiet down, everyone."
The lecture hall fell silent in an instant at the professor's words.
"Since you are all blacksmiths, I assume none of you are unfamiliar with me. Standing at the podium again brings back memories."
A faint smile played in her voice.
"When I resigned as the dean of the magic academy to launch my brand, I never thought I would return to an academy."
Pausing for a moment, she continued with a serious expression.
"The reason I became the advisor for the Weapon Crafting Department here is due to a request from the Third Princess. It was her proposal to establish a somewhat unfamiliar department like Weapon Crafting at the empire's finest academy."
According to her explanation, the Third Princess oversaw the empire's educational institutions, aiming to produce outstanding talents and strengthen the nation's wealth and military power.
"The empire established the Weapon Crafting Department at this academy to elevate the quality of military weapons and war supplies, and to nurture talents who will shift the paradigm of weapon development."
The students' eyes shone even brighter.
Her words made us realize the true value of our existence.
"You all entered this academy with recommendation letters, having already proven your crafting skills to a certain extent. And that capability was demonstrated in the entrance exam. Therefore, this class will mostly be conducted in a project format."
Professor Elena continued.
"You will be divided into groups of three. A topic will be assigned for each project. First, let me show you the group list."
As the professor touched her staff to the board on the podium, magic revealed the groups and their members.
Group 1
Leader: Edward Charles Granger
Members: Chloe Rubens, William Brown
Sitting next to me, Chloe spoke in a delighted voice.
"We're in the same group, Edward!"
As we rearranged our seats by group, our other teammate, William, extended his hand to me.
"Hey! Good to see you again. It's an honor to be in the same group as you."
I shook his hand with a smile.
"Yeah, nice to meet you."
"Now that everyone seems to have settled in with their groups, I will announce the topic for this project. The topic is this!"
Professor Elena touched her staff to the blackboard again, and letters were engraved through magic.
A murmur rippled through the students as the topic was revealed.
Professor Elena explained the purpose of the project.
"In line with the founding purpose of our department, this project will task you with mastering the art of enchanting weapons and crafting a new weapon that will revolutionize the empire's armament system."
My heart began to race at the professor's words.
A magic weapon for the very first project—it was a highly challenging task.
A magic weapon was not just a light and powerful tool; it was a special creation imbued with magical power.
In fact, the Sword of David and the Aether Hammer I had crafted could also be considered types of magic weapons.
Back in my gaming days, magic weapons were one of my specialties.
Enchanting weapons was a high-level crafting technique that could only be learned after reaching at least level 50.
As expected of Lucentia Academy, which prided itself on being the best in the empire, the level of education surpassed my expectations.
"The group that receives the highest grade on this project will be granted the privilege of exhibiting and selling their creation at the campus Mystic Arts store! As you know, showcasing your work in our campus shop will have a profound impact on your career."
The professor's announcement caused a stir among the students.
"Seriously? Selling our work at Mystic Arts?"
"Wow, that's an incredible opportunity!"
Exhibiting a piece under such a prestigious brand would easily draw the attention of the empire's most influential figures.
"Is there a Mystic Arts store inside the academy?" I asked Chloe.
"Yeah. You didn't know? This academy is massive, after all. The most gorgeous building on the shopping street is the third branch of Mystic Arts."
It was surprising to hear that one of the few branches in the entire empire was located inside the academy.
Well, since many children of high society attend this academy.
It made sense.
Since it was a gathering place for the wealthy, it would not only generate high sales but also serve as a promotional tool to expose the brand to future leaders.
"Then, we will evaluate the creations from each group in four weeks. Let us begin the theoretical lecture."
Tension hung in the air among the students at Professor Elena's words.
"Four weeks... That's shorter than I thought."
But for me, this was more than enough time.
Professor Elena stood in front of the blackboard again.
"First, I must give you a basic explanation of how spells are cast."
As she waved her staff, complex geometric shapes and a beautiful magic circle were drawn on the blackboard.
It glowed as if it were alive.
"Now, a question. What kind of spell does this magic formula contain?"
Chloe raised her hand and answered.
"The triangular pattern at the center of that magic circle and the spiral circuit surrounding it are typical of a thermal energy amplification structure."
Chloe caught her breath and examined the magic circle closely.
A deep insight shone in her eyes.
"...Furthermore, among the runes surrounding the outer edge, I can see 'Ignis' and 'Combust.' The symbol in the upper right looks like an explosive force control circuit."
Chloe continued her analysis.
"Putting it all together, this is definitely a high-tier fire-attribute spell."
Listening to Chloe's answer, I couldn't hide my amazement.
Wow, I didn't expect Chloe to be able to read magic formulas to this extent.
Her analysis almost perfectly matched what I had deduced in my head.
Since Chloe was a child of the Rubens family, famous for weapon crafting, she had likely received systematic education in magic from an early age.
"Excellent. That is correct. This is the formula for the spell 'Dance of Flames.'"
The professor continued her explanation with a satisfied expression.
"Typically, mages release the mana within their bodies and alter its properties, causing various state changes such as transmutation, amplification, interference, resonance, and diffusion to cast their intended spell."
She picked up a piece of parchment resting on the desk.
As she brought her staff to the blackboard, her blue mana surged.
Before long, the formulas on the board formed a three-dimensional structure, radiating light.
It looked as if stars were floating in midair.
"Wow, it's so beautiful!"
"So this is real magic..."
Exclamations erupted from the students.
I, too, was captivated by the sight.
The blue light of the magic circle dancing and swirling in the air was truly a spectacle.
It felt like looking at a living piece of art.
Soon, the professor touched her staff to the parchment, and the magic circle was sucked into it.
As the glowing blue light absorbed into the parchment, the magic circle was engraved onto it, leaving a reddish-singed mark.
"This is how you create a scroll."
Professor Elena's voice rang out again.
"Because I have created a pathway to channel new mana into the magic formula, if someone who knows how to manipulate mana applies their own to this parchment..."
She held the parchment to the side.
A fairly large forge hearth sat beside her.
In an instant, a blue light flared from her hand. Sparks erupted from the parchment.
It started as a small spark, but it grew rapidly. Red and blue flames bloomed spectacularly, like a flower opening its petals.
The flames danced like a living creature and flew toward the hearth.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, the fire in the hearth began to burn fiercely.
"As long as you can manipulate mana, you can cast spells through the parchment like this."
As soon as her explanation finished, the parchment in her hand crumbled into ashes and vanished.
"Then," the professor asked, "is enchanting a weapon as simple as engraving the spell directly onto the surface of the weapon, just like we did with the scroll?"
Professor Elena waited a moment for the students to answer.
When no one spoke up, her gaze drifted to me.
"What do you think, Mr. Granger?"
Looking at the professor's expression, I could see an air of expectation, as if she was thinking, I bet you know the answer.
I had been planning to speak up anyway if no one else did.
I stood up from my seat and answered.
"No, it isn't. Enchanting a weapon is not that simple."
Turning slightly to look at the other students behind me, I continued.
"Engraving magic onto a scroll and a weapon is fundamentally similar. However, there are three main problems."
I began to explain, raising my fingers one by one.
"First, the surface area of a weapon is extremely narrow compared to parchment. Therefore, it is impossible to transfer such a massive formula onto it."
The students' eyes followed my fingers.
I raised a second finger and continued.
"Second, weapons have many curves. If you transfer the formula directly as you would onto parchment, the circuit will deform along those curves, causing conflicts and making it lose its original function. And finally..."
Pausing to catch my breath, I extended my third finger to conclude.
"Depending on the properties of the material where each part of the formula is engraved, the resistance to mana will vary. This changes the mana output and makes the final product highly inefficient."
A brief silence fell over the lecture hall as I finished my explanation.
The faces of the students were a mix of surprise and awe.
"Correct."
The professor smiled with satisfaction, lightly brushing the ashes of the scroll from her hands.
"As you all saw, these scrolls are single-use. Scroll parchment is specially manufactured to hold the caster's mana uniformly and efficiently. That is why it turns to ash and disappears after one use."
I nodded at the professor's words.
The knowledge I had gained in the game and my actual experiences in this world aligned perfectly.
It was a moment where theory and reality met.
As I thought, my experience wasn't wrong. The principles of crafting magic weapons are the same in this world.
While these facts were obvious to me, they would be a fresh revelation to the other students.
"Then, how should we go about enchanting a weapon?" the professor asked, looking at me once more.
I organized my thoughts for a moment before replying.
"Therefore, when engraving magic onto a weapon, the circuit structure must be redesigned to fit the specific characteristics of that weapon. Magic stones or special materials are often required to compensate for the mana lost to resistance."
Of course, it would be difficult for the students to grasp all of this easily from the start.
It required deep knowledge of magic theory, mana flow, and material properties.
But those were things they could learn step-by-step from now on.
With an excellent professor and myself here, I was confident the students would learn quickly.
The professor's eyes sparkled as she listened to my explanation.
"...An excellent answer, Mr. Granger. Your theoretical understanding is outstanding."
She fell into thought for a moment, then spoke as if she had made up her mind.
"Then, shall we try it in practice? Actually, I was planning to do the demonstration myself, but now I'm curious to see how far your skills go."
Surprised gasps erupted from the students at her words.
Everyone's eyes focused on me.
I stood up without hesitation and walked toward the podium.
This was the perfect opportunity to show the students how it was done.
Showing them directly would be far more effective than just explaining it in words.