It Was Still Just the Basics?
It was still just the basics?
Redberry's mana seeped into the weapon.
It was only a minuscule sliver of progress—a single red dot's worth—but the fact that she'd managed it was what mattered. Once you succeed the first time, no special finesse is required after that.
After a word of encouragement, I left Redberry behind and stepped down from the podium.
Across the room, students hurled every technique they knew at the golem as it endlessly repaired itself and attacked in turn. And Yena, the living icon of tenacity, was already on her ninth attempt.
This time, she took seven fists and went flying backward.
"Aaagh!!! Just let me hit it once!"
"You have to slash seven times, so it gets seven punches."
"...Nnngh."
This is why they say a bad head makes the body suffer. Yena was clearly having a rough time of it, but even her reckless challenge wasn't entirely without results. Faint as it was, her mana was gradually seeping into the weapon.
Not that she noticed it herself in the slightest.
"Hyaap!"
KWAAM!!
Candy Star's hammer, shaped just like a piece of candy, struck the golem hard. Apart from a shallow gash, its body was unscathed.
"Tch!"
A heavy fist came flying straight at her. Candy Star drew her weapon and blocked the blow, but she was shoved back hard, and with that, this attempt ended in failure too.
She trudged down from the podium.
"You'd probably do fine if you just transformed. What do you think?"
Given her explosive growth after transforming and her mana sensitivity, she had as much potential as Redberry. No—honestly, I'd say she could definitely do it.
"...No."
But with the wielder that stubborn, what can you do… I suppose when she feels she truly needs it, she'll do it on her own.
The challenges continued after that.
So far, the students who'd attempted it at least once were Yena, Candy Star, Mul, and Leo. Those who hadn't were Yul, Redberry, and Beriad.
The most frequent challenger was, of course, Yena, and after her...
"Hahahaha! Take this, you tin can!"
Mul's knuckles exploded against the golem's core, scattering green mana. The body wobbled—just barely.
But it only lasted a moment. The golem finished its repairs and drove out a rock-solid punch.
Mul crossed both his arms, and a translucent turtle shell materialized around him.
"Hup!"
Thuuud…
With a muffled thump, Mul's legs slid back slightly, and the punch came to a halt. Compared to Yena, who went flying every single time, it was a rather sturdy defensive technique.
Damage absorption, is it?
An ability similar to the golem's own. If he wielded the turtle's power, it made sense that he'd be more specialized in defense than offense.
"Failed this time too. Can't be helped. Yul! When are you gonna take your turn?"
"Dunno. Gotta fill it up first before I do anything."
"Herxason challenges even when he falls short! That is the will of our tribe!"
"That's a you problem, dumbass."
Yul simply turned her gaze away and focused on her weapon. Mul let out a hearty "Hahaha!" and withdrew, greeting Leo as she stepped up for her turn.
The instant her turn came, Leo charged in—launching herself forward.
Frigid ice and destructive lightning coiled around her body. In an instant, her hair was dyed blue and yellow. It wasn't quite Spirit Manifestation, but there was no doubt she was in a state close to it.
"Here I go!!!"
Screech—!
An earth spirit, risen from the ground before anyone noticed, bound the golem's legs. Then, with her impossibly amplified staff in hand—
CRRAAAAAAACK!!!!
"Whoa."
She swung it.
"Finishing move: Staff Swing."
The golem was obliterated.
Leo, the elemental shaman.
She was the first user ever to change her race to Nymph, and the one and only user spirit shaman commanding four elements. Expensive, superior equipment overflowed in her inventory, and her spirit affinity—the essential quality of any elemental shaman—was remarkably high. What's more, since she could cover every role, she handled any weapon and any ability with ease. A jack of all trades in the truest sense—a heaven above the heavens.
Psshhhhh…
And yet, her favorite position was, surprisingly, close range.
Most spirit shamans delegate support to their spirits and either cast spirit magic or play the back line. Leo, by contrast, preferred to fight on the front lines—a warrior wrapped in multi-element buffs. At one point, there had even been calls to reclassify her under the warrior class.
"Ahh~ that was fun!"
Leo swung her staff like a club, beaming brightly. It was the face of a little kid having a blast with a wooden bat.
For those who knew her power, this single scene was enough to grasp just how strong she was.
Glancing to the side, I saw Candy Star and the others all wearing dazed, stunned expressions. To be fair, Leo had been attending the same lectures at roughly the same level as everyone else until now. But the moment a situation arose where she could use even a sliver of her true strength, the gap in progress had widened in a flash.
Leo came bounding up to me with a huge grin.
"Passing grade?"
"Yes. May I take a look at your weapon?"
"Sure thing!"
She handed it over with tiny, adorable hands—the staff's end frayed to shreds.
...That's all?
All Leo had done was infuse an extremely small fraction of her mana. By the numbers, it was about the same level Redberry had barely managed. With just that much, she hadn't merely shattered the golem—she'd reduced it to scrap.
No wonder they call her one of the strongest.
"Great work. You're free to leave now, or you're welcome to stay and study a little longer if you'd like."
"Hmmm... I'll stay a bit longer!"
Leo giggled, and I patted her on the head. She had talent, skill, and diligence on top of it all. Truly, was there a more perfect student?
Then a sharp glare caught my attention, and I turned around.
Yena, looking utterly put out.
"Professor! Fix the golem, please!"
I couldn't help a snort of laughter.
"Of course."
The third lecture, Mana Intrusion & Protection, came to an end.
The number of students who passed: exactly one. Leo.
Leo's overwhelming display had stunned many of the students, and I'd expected the sheer size of the gap to leave them discouraged…
But it was quite the opposite.
Was this what it meant to be a proud ranker? Once they'd confirmed that the barrier could be broken, they threw themselves into their attempts with even greater fervor. Along the way, quite a few managed to infuse their mana, though in the end, no one else succeeded in breaking the golem.
Only two showed notable results.
The first was Candy Star, who—for reasons perhaps of a change of heart—left the lecture hall, transformed, and came back. She seemed to have been trying to avoid showing her transformation, but in her extra surge of awakening to break the golem, the same catchphrase slipped out anyway.
'Uh… ahaha! Small world, isn't it. There really are all kinds of people out there.'
'...Wow. Unbelievable.'
Of course, she then had to endure the reactions of the entire room, poverty-stricken pair included, but she still managed the great feat of smashing a full third of the golem. Not that it mattered to her—in sheer embarrassment, she promptly kicked her way right out of the lecture hall.
The second, surprisingly, was Yul, the newly enrolled White Guardian.
Without making a single attempt, she had focused on her weapon alone for quite a long while, only stepping forward near the very end of class. Then, with razor-sharp claws, she sliced off the golem's right arm. Satisfied with having cut off the arm, she declared she would try harder next time and made no further attempts.
"...Hmm."
Personally, I'd been hoping for successes from Redberry or Yena, but no one can be good at something from the very start. Honestly, it was those three who were the outliers—the rest weren't hopeless by any means.
In any case, that was the end of the class. The homework: fill ten percent of the weapon I'd distributed with their own mana.
"Just so you're aware, there will be no class next week. Until then, challenge yourselves as much as you can."
"What?! No class?"
The students—Yena included. No, now that the lecture was over, the users—all sounded rather disappointed.
But this had been my plan from the moment I began teaching.
"There's the Mock Siege to prepare for, and more than that, if you want to move on to the real lectures, you need a certain foundation first."
Everything I'd taught so far had been the basics of the basics. Whether a swordsman handling mana, a mage, or anything else, I'd simply shown them the fundamentals everyone must command.
From here on out, what I intended to teach could only be followed by those who truly understood mana.
As I distributed additional mana stones, I informed everyone that only those who could perfectly complete Stage Two would be permitted into the lecture hall for the next class.
"Then I'll see you all in two weeks."