Chapter 72
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: Transcendent's Preparation (5)
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"How does mana interact with one another? The most basic form I can demonstrate directly is bonding. You can achieve quite remarkable results through bonding alone. That's pretty much what magic is all about."
I paused for a moment to glance at the students' reactions.
They seemed to be listening, at least. Maybe it was because I'd been introduced as a 7th Circle mage.
"Bonding isn't just a simple merger. It's the process where different properties of mana fuse under fixed laws to form a new structure. Through this, we can derive results beyond the mere sum of energies. In other words, bonding alone can create highly complex and astonishing phenomena. As I said, magic is generally like that..."
"I have a question."
A question already?
"Yes, go ahead."
"Is it true that you've reached the 7th Circle?"
The students' attention had completely shifted there, it seemed.
I'd wondered if they were really paying attention, but they were all thinking the same thing.
This worked out even better. I had no experience standing before so many people, and I wasn't much of a speaker anyway.
If they were pinning their hopes on the 7th Circle, fulfilling those expectations was actually pretty easy.
"Yes, that's right. I advanced recently, and I told Professor Palrez—my mentor and business partner—first."
Light gasps of admiration rippled through the lecture hall here and there.
I'd just dropped Palrez's name once...
I let the reaction slide by appropriately and continued.
"This ties into what I'm about to explain. Bonding can be reproduced by anyone who precisely follows the given format and principles, even without exceptional intuition or insight. In other words, it's something you can fully utilize and replicate without reaching the 7th Circle."
Fortunately, no one raised unnecessary objections.
This was a place full of prideful students, so you might expect some skepticism, but nothing like that happened.
Right, it would be common sense impossible to lie in a setting like this. If it were false, it'd be exposed quickly, and I'd be humiliated.
"I believe that's the path bonding provides, a cornerstone of mana manipulation... Though if you've had formal education, it might offer a new perspective."
"A new perspective, you say?"
I was just about to move into the demonstration when someone spoke up.
It came clearly from the student in the front row.
I turned my gaze there. A woman with long, ivory-colored hair cascading down.
Her beauty was striking enough to draw anyone's eyes at first glance, but what held my attention for a moment was something else.
A strange sense of familiarity, like I'd seen her somewhere before.
...Had we ever met?
As that question crossed my mind, she continued.
"It's undeniable that this is a manipulation procedure outside formal education, but that means it'll inherently lack stability. I'm curious how you've addressed that."
It was a sharp question, matching her crisp tone.
...I had to reflect on myself for thinking I could just dazzle them with a visual spectacle as a 7th Circle mage.
I hadn't expected her to pierce straight to the structure and raise such a point.
Well, these kids had studied mana manipulation all semester. They had the basics down solid.
The stability she mentioned was about whether repeated bonding yielded consistent results and how to handle minute variations and fluctuations.
"Good point. But I think that question touches on the essence of bonding itself. At first, it seems variable. However, if you precisely repeat the given format and principles, even that variability converges into a single pattern. Like how countless trials and errors accumulate to reveal statistical tendencies. That's exactly it. Anyone can reproduce it without exceptional intuition or insight."
"So, bonding as a manipulation technique... is inherently a stable principle. We just haven't discovered it yet. It could easily be incorporated into formal curricula."
"Yes. Extremely stable. For example, it can naturally integrate with another principle like Professor Palrez's famous 'long-term preservation' that he's been known for since I was a student. That's why bonding itself..."
"...can become a cornerstone of mana manipulation."
"Exactly."
Even through our final exchange, I still hadn't recognized who she was.
So I decided to just ask directly.
"What's your name?"
"I'm..."
Unlike her decisive questioning, she hesitated a moment before answering.
"Elin. Elin Bireta."
Hearing that name hit me like a bolt from the blue—maybe a bit exaggerated, but still a shock.
It had been ages since I'd heard it.
The only noble who sponsored Palrez's research, Lady Bireta's daughter.
The eldest, Elin Bireta. And her younger sister, Ellis Bireta.
Forgotten memories flashed quickly through my mind.
It had been three or four years since I'd last seen her... Had she grown this much already?
'She's a freshman now?'
To hide my flustered expression, I turned to glance at Palrez for a moment.
He was smirking from the side. He'd known from the start, of course.
Though it wasn't something he'd necessarily mention to me separately. From my position, she was just a fleeting acquaintance.
Still, it brought back a wave of nostalgia.
I quickly composed my face and said,
"I see. You seem talented. Have you considered studying under Professor Palrez...?"
"What are you saying to a freshman?"
Palrez chimed in from beside me, and laughter erupted in the lecture hall.
Right. Telling a first-year her undergrad life would end in servitude was too harsh.
I'd blurted out nonsense in my fluster.
I raised one hand to regain control of the mood.
"Alright. They didn't call me here just to talk, so let me show you. Here."
Mana rapidly gathered in my palm, beginning to take shape.
"This is a vessel. We call it a mana vessel for simplicity. I'm going to engrave a circuit inside it. That stays in mana form too. Simply infusing it with my cold attribute."
The shape formed on my hand was a simple sphere. But much larger than my palm. The circuit would consume a lot of mana, so the vessel had to be sturdy enough to withstand it.
Since advancing circles, my shaping speed had noticeably improved. Honestly, it was leaps and bounds faster than before. Naturally, since I'd skipped straight to Transcendent, not just 7th Circle.
In an instant, the prototype took perfect form. No need for complexity made it even quicker.
The circuit was the same.
In the blink of an eye, an artifact was complete.
But the students hadn't noticed yet. They just followed along with blank, meaningless gazes.
I lightly flicked my palm upward, activating the artifact.
The sphere shot toward the ceiling. Then, the circuit overheated in a flash, scattering cold air everywhere.
"Oh..."
The cold burst out instantly, permeating the entire lecture hall. The students' breaths turned to faint white mist.
Blank stares at the sphere gradually shifted to bewilderment.
"Professor... it's too cold."
The front-row student said it. Right in the direct path of the cold blast, so it hit her hardest.
The "Professor" title felt unfamiliar, but no time to nitpick. I extended both hands forward again.
Mana, now incomparably fuller than before transcendence, surged out in a massive flow.
The sensation of huge chunks pouring forth.
At the same time, dozens, hundreds of smaller spheres than the one on the ceiling appeared. Each lump shaped instantly, circuits engraved.
And those hundreds of mana spheres were distributed one by one to the students in the hall.
What emanated from the small spheres was warm heat. Enough cozy warmth to envelop the seated students.
Those shivering from the cold gradually relaxed as the warmth wrapped around them. The chill in the hall began to melt away bit by bit.
"Wow."
Admiration burst out one by one, and my lips curved up.
Not from pride, but because the students' pure reactions to my "give cold, then warmth" trick were endearing.
...Was that too devious?
Still, experiencing the contrast firsthand made it effective.
"You can achieve results like this through the bonding process alone. Mix in long-term preservation tech, and it becomes a true artifact with sustained utility. It gains value as a stable, reproducible tool anyone can carry and use. Mass production isn't impossible. Professor Palrez is doing it for real."
I retrieved the cold artifact from the ceiling.
Stopped it before the cold-emitting artifact overheated.
That was the circuit's limit too. No matter how refined, it couldn't exceed non-standard efficacy.
"Precision doesn't directly tie to magical power. What connects them isn't strength, but paths. Where those paths lead... probably up to each person's choice."
That was my sincere belief.
Precision didn't necessarily mean bonding. The precision I spoke of was a broader attitude toward handling magic.
I couldn't tell them about creation systems or primal mana, but what I could impart was the sense of paths they could walk themselves.
The truth of magic I'd witnessed was far broader, stranger, and more dangerous than they imagined.
"The ones you're holding are gifts. If you want to lower or remove the heat, try operating them yourselves. Just know they'll dissipate once the mana runs out."
They were mages, even if students.
They quickly read the functions and adeptly adjusted the heat.
I watched, naturally stepping down from the podium.
"See? I have an eye for people."
"Suddenly?"
"No, back when you were in my lab. I guaranteed you a professor spot, remember?"
After the lecture ended, we left the hall and were chatting with Palrez.
"You've got a knack for lecturing."
But guaranteeing a future to a 7th Circle mage... Didn't that mean he lacked judgment?
It sounded boastful, so I didn't voice it.
Objectively speaking.
"By the way, about Elin... Huh?"
As I started to ask about Elin, I turned to where Palrez gestured.
Behind me, a line of students from the lecture stood waiting.
Elin was among them.
As I turned, the male student at the front approached. His hesitant posture was notable.
"Hello. I'm Lordwin, second son of the Palte Count family."
I wondered why a count's heir sought me post-lecture, but he asked if my Magic Tower was recruiting apprentices or if I planned to build one.
"If you're taking apprentices... My specialty is—"
Most in line behind were similar.
Requests to take grad students if I became a professor, apprentice spots in the Magic Tower, invitations to family banquets... That sort of thing.
Even one asking if I planned to take disciples.
Not just professor-student, but true personal disciples.
...To think I'd hear that already.
Was this the shock of kids calling you "sir" or "ma'am"?
Thinking it over, since I'd hit 7th Circle, this was bound to happen often. Academy students might even be relatively well-mannered.
I fielded them one by one.
And then, I faced Elin.
Too long since last seeing her face; I had no idea what to say.
As we stood close, a faint sweet scent brushed my nose.
Florin flower fragrance.
'Wearing perfume?'
Come to think of it, I'd given her a gift once. She'd seemed pitiful, acting all grown-up at a young age, so...
A healing therapy artifact, crude by today's standards. I'd infused it with florin scent, I think.
'Coincidence.'
Florin was hugely popular anyway. No need to read into it.