Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Wall
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Boom!
The clash of swords produced a sound so ferocious it was hard to believe they were just blades colliding.
Charlotte and Klaus.
The two stared each other down, swords locked, neither yielding an inch.
Judgments passed with a single glance, victory and defeat decided by the flick of a wrist.
Whoosh!
Charlotte moved first.
Her blade sliced through the air in a swift, precise strike aimed straight at Klaus.
"Your guard's down low."
"I know...!"
Klaus reacted in a panic.
He stabbed his sword into the ground as a brace and launched his body upward.
He evaded the danger by leaping into the air with agile speed, but...
It wasn't enough.
Swoosh—!
Charlotte's sword swept horizontally, grazing Klaus's calf.
The attack missed by a hair's breadth.
A few more centimeters closer, and it would have sliced clean through.
"You're still slow to react in the air."
"Urgh...."
Klaus gritted his teeth as he landed.
And right away—
Whoosh!
Another shadow closed in on him.
It was Charlotte.
"One. Two."
First slash.
Second thrust.
"Three."
Charlotte's sword flowed forward once more.
It was smoother and more relentless than mere "swinging"—the blade seemed to "flow" like a river that had always belonged in that path, heading straight for Klaus.
Clang!
Klaus reflexively raised his sword to block.
He wanted to believe he was getting better.
And he was, in fact.
His reaction time had improved, and he could now parry strikes that would have been impossible before.
But...
If asked whether he could counterattack, the answer had to be no.
His sword was still too heavy to stem the tide of her flowing blade, and his vision too narrow to read the end of that flow.
"Keep defending like that, and your openings will only get bigger."
"Ugh...."
The moment she finished speaking...
Tap.
The tip of Charlotte's sword touched Klaus's waist.
"You lose."
Klaus lowered his sword and wiped sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.
Sparring sessions like this every single day.
Repeated defeats.
To Klaus, Charlotte was a "wall."
High, sturdy, impossible to reach no matter how hard he climbed...
And yet, precisely because of that, a wall that ignited his desire to reach it.
"...You're faster than before."
Charlotte, on the other hand...
Sheathed her sword without a single ragged breath and spoke.
"...For real?"
"For real."
"Wow, thanks."
"But speed alone isn't enough. Your vision narrows."
"Yes, yes... Got it, Master."
Klaus chuckled and plopped down onto the floor.
Losing like this wasn't a one-time thing...
But Klaus knew.
With every repetition of these defeats, he was inching forward.
That's why he could smile even in defeat.
"Hoo...."
After exhaling lightly, Klaus stared at the ceiling for a while before suddenly turning his gaze.
In the far corner of the training hall, Adel had taken up position.
"...Hm?"
A magic circle bloomed faintly from Adel's fingertips, emitting a brief, dim glow.
Subtle, as if a miracle might happen.
But that fleeting hope soon faded, and the light went out.
"...What's not working?"
Of course...
Klaus was utterly clueless about magic, so he couldn't grasp exactly what wall Adel was facing right now.
"The unbeliever is pounding on her wall right now."
"Oh, Erwin."
Erwin, who had approached unnoticed, stood beside Klaus and gazed at Adel as he spoke.
What Adel was facing right now... a "wall."
"A wall?"
"Yeah, a wall... One every mage inevitably encounters."
"......"
"Or you could call it a 'limit.'"
A wall that every mage—or anyone striving forward—must face.
A limit you have to surpass to advance.
"But in the end, it's their choice. Keep pounding, and it stays a 'wall.' Stop, and it becomes a 'limit.'"
"Then it's settled."
Hearing that, Klaus smiled without hesitation.
"Adel's not the type to stall at some puny wall like that."
"...And how would you know?"
"Good question. Just... feels like it."
Erwin stared at Klaus for a moment before silently turning away, and Klaus pointed his sword at Charlotte again.
"Let's go again, Charlotte. It'll be different this time."
"...Sure."
And—
It took less than five minutes for Klaus to get thrashed by Charlotte and sprawl on the floor.
***
Swish.
Purple mana rippled at the sword tip.
The mana quickly traced geometric paths through the air, forming patterns.
And...
Crackle!
The mana scattered.
The patterns shattered, the lines diffused into the air and vanished, and the magic circle lost form and evaporated.
'Ah.'
I tossed 【Heoryong】 against the wall.
Thud! It hit with a sound and clattered to the floor.
Just like the dagger, I sprawled out on the ground.
I leaned back, lay down flat, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
'Nothing's working.'
Clearly... the day had started off refreshingly.
I was in a good mood, with a vague sense that things would go well today.
But... nothing actually did.
'What's the problem.'
The magic circle won't form.
Low- and mid-tier spells aren't that hard to cast...
But advanced magic was different.
I couldn't cross that point that could be called a "wall."
'Is it the magic circle?'
The ones I draw are far from the standard form.
Unlike the textbook-perfect circles, mine are less geometry and more "language."
Drawing lines directly in the air with mana, inscribing meaning within them.
Sentences that replace words, characters that etch intent... that's my method.
Normally, utterly impossible.
Mana can't hold meaning like language.
But...
I had 【Word Spirit】.
'......'
Using 【Word Spirit】 to inscribe aerial language.
But... for some reason, it always unraveled at the threshold of advanced magic.
The language and sentences, the logic of imposing concepts on the world, collapsed.
'......Should've taken some classes.'
Relying on stats, unique skills, and traits to wield magic...
I'd probably skipped the process most people in this world go through and raced ahead.
'Was I too complacent?'
Ignoring even the minimal structure miracles of magic allow, fixating only on my own way.
'......'
I shot to my feet.
I roughly combed back my messy hair and gripped the dagger again.
'Again. Try again.'
If ten times fails, a hundred.
If a hundred fails, a thousand.
The more you pound a wall, the more cracks form.
As long as you don't give up, a gap will open someday.
The moment I steeled myself...
"Ah, is this that thing?"
Beep—
The voice from behind shattered my focus.
And that led to the magic circle dissipating.
"Hmm... Not bad."
I turned to see Veronica, who had snatched 【Heoryong】 from my hand and was examining it closely.
"Does this have a name?"
Veronica ran her finger along the blade.
Despite the dangerous move, not a drop of blood appeared on her fingertip.
I stared blankly at it and lifted my whiteboard.
[It's called 'Heoryong']
"......Heoryong?"
[Yes]
"Who made this?"
[Someone named Pergon]
"Pergon... Pergon Anvil?"
[Yes]
"That guy... well...."
[You know him?]
"Hmm... A descendant of the one I knew?"
[Oh, yeah]
Whoosh.
The dagger returned to my hand.
I gripped it reverse and began tracing lines in the air again, focusing my mind.
"What're you doing."
I ignored Veronica's words.
I connected lines, inscribed language between them.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
Veronica repeated herself, but I still didn't respond.
And...
Flash—
For a brief moment, very short.
The magic circle glowed.
But as expected... it flickered out in an instant.
"Idiot."
[Yeah?]
"??"
[Why does this keep happening, Dean?]
"What's this."
[A magic circle]
"That worm?"
[.]
"...Kidding."
Ahem.
Veronica cleared her throat awkwardly a few times.
Then... she looked at me with a serious expression.
"What do you want to become?"
[Out of nowhere]
"Yeah. Out of nowhere."
Sudden question.
I turned my head at the question.
In the center of the training hall.
S Class students dashing about wildly.
Monsters called "geniuses" in their fields.
[I could be a fraction of a fraction of those geniuses, that'd be great]
"Hmm...."
Veronica pursed her lips at my words.
Then... she stroked her chin with a finger and quietly asked back.
"What you want to be... is a 'genius'?"
[?]
"I'm asking. Do you want the name 'genius'?"
Genius.
Was that truly what I wanted...
The name "genius."
"Not a mage or a knight, but a 'genius'... better to be reborn for that."
"......"
"No need to glare like that."
Tap.
Veronica said that and gently rested her chin on my shoulder.
"I'll tell you the four walls a mage on the path of 'magitech' encounters."
And...
Veronica began guiding my hand.
"Low-tier magic. This stage is called 'Imitation.'"
Her hand overlapped mine above the air, starting to move.
Swish—
My mana mixed with Veronica's magic power, swirling lines.
"You memorize the laws of the world and copy them. It's just tracing existing magic circles."
A magic circle formed.
Precise and meticulous, a geometric structure modeled after the world's principles.
"But at this stage, mages always ask themselves: 'Am I just a parrot reciting someone else's spells?'"
The first seed for every mage.
The most primal 'doubt,' the question that turns magic into 'exploration.'
"So low-tier magic... even a kid can do it. Just memorizing and imitating."
[What about mid-tier?]
"Mid-tier is 'Understanding.' Magic starts becoming 'language' instead of a 'tool.' Communicating with the world in your own words. When your own interpretation comes in, not someone else's knowledge."
Slide...
Lines connected, characters inscribed atop them.
"With your 【Word Spirit】 power, 'Understanding' wasn't hard for you."
"......"
"But—"
Snap.
Veronica snapped her fingers.
In that instant, the magic circle we made together shone beautifully and activated.
It sparkled like stars in the sky—
And collapsed.
"Advanced is different."
[How?]
"Try again."
Tap.
Veronica placed her hand over mine again without a word.
Her warmth, knowledge, countless experiences and philosophies seeped in through my arm.
"Think about it. Magic isn't just technique. What spells have you learned, and what have you tried to prove with them?"
"......"
"Can you stand yourself atop the tower of magic you've built so far?"
Lines rose from my fingertips.
Lines met other lines to form a magic circle, stars sparkling within.
"If you don't understand yourself... the miracle of magic won't respond to anyone."
Snap.
Veronica snapped her fingers again.
And in that moment... the air tore open.
《Void / Advanced Magic》
「Distortion」
A singularity manifested.
Remnants of celestial bodies were drawn in... fragments without gravity flowed toward the center.
Crackle...
Space crumpled, on the verge of exploding and warping—
"Nom."
...Veronica grabbed it with her hand and...
Casually popped it in her mouth and swallowed.
[Why'd you eat that]
Wait...
I couldn't even process grabbing magic with your hand... and she swallowed it.
"If I left it, everyone here would've died?"
[;]
"So, you get it now?"
[Yes]
"Also, supreme-tier... won't happen just 'cause I tell you, so figure it out yourself."
[Eh?]
"You have to find it."
[Who?]
"You."
[Oh]
I nodded as if I understood... or didn't.
Silence flowed for a moment...
Then Veronica spoke again.
"So, anyway...."
[?]
Her gaze somehow suspicious.
"You... not understanding yourself...."
[?]
Veronica stopped.
Her lips twitched, as if words had risen to her throat...
"...Tch, never mind."
[Why stop mid-sentence]
"Nothing."
Tap.
Veronica placed her hand on my head and ruffled my hair wildly.
"Oh yeah, the student council's doing a training camp. Wanna come along?"
[Training camp?]
"Yeah."
[I’ll think about it]
"If you go, I’ll tag along."
[What?]
"Huh?"
[What’d you just say]
"Didn’t say anything."
[?]
"Whatever."