Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: People Serious About Drawing Circles (5)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'What the hell.'
I'd just glanced over casually, but the magic circle Nia had drawn was noticeably wobbly in shape and cloudy in opacity, its purity low enough to see with the naked eye.
Considering she'd drawn a perfect circle flawlessly during the entrance exam, she should have at least managed something with decent purity now, even if not flawless.
But for it to suddenly be in this state... did that mean something was different from usual?
'The flow of mana was a bit off, yeah.'
Still, drawing a magic circle in the first place was tough because you had to endure those shifts in mana flow. It shouldn't have been that different.
So why the huge gap now?
It was such an absurd situation for me that I couldn't help but feel flustered.
The other students seemed just as thrown off, a heavy atmosphere thick with bewilderment settling over the entire classroom.
"Well, it seems everyone has noticed that something's different from usual. Correct. The tool I gave you is very different from what you're used to."
My eyes drifted to the 'brush' Professor Rondo had handed out, which I'd used without a second thought.
Come to think of it, hadn't we always used pen-shaped tools for mana injection?
Was the reason Nia failed just that one difference?
"This kind of tool normally lets mana flow out like paint or ink from a brush. And as you know, pens make it very easy to draw precise lines."
But a brush bends easily, and each individual bristle holds and releases paint.
In other words, the output shape gets way more complex than drawing a circle with a pen.
On top of that, the mana it had just been outputting bends the brush, adding even more variables, which ramps up the difficulty of drawing a circle even further.
"In that sense, Kali's ability to draw a perfect circle right away with a brush is impressive. Not only did students like Nia panic and fail to draw properly, but many couldn't even form a circle at all."
She praised me, saying no one in other years who'd been given a similar assignment had produced anything this perfect.
With results that outshone even the top student Nia, the way the others looked at me started to change oddly.
I didn't mind the attention, but getting this kind of character image planted wasn't exactly what I wanted...
"Wait a second, Professor. But is this really that important? The final efficiency is the same anyway, right?"
"Exactly. It makes no difference for a 'magic circle.'"
But when it comes to drawing characters and the lines that support them, the tool starts to have a huge impact.
That's why so many mages trip up when practicing new tools there.
Because they've only ever used pens for magic up until then.
Magic needs new forms, but it's too late to adapt.
"The ones who adapted were actually the hobbyist artists who'd diligently practiced drawing. That's when the connection between art and magic started coming to light."
"That's..."
"Nia probably focused on magic studies and has little experience drawing with brushes. But Kali must have done a lot of that kind of drawing."
"...Yes."
In fact, the picture Nia had drawn at enrollment was with colored pens, not oils.
It wasn't bad or anything, but it made sense that the gap here came down to brush practice.
"That doesn't mean I want to tell you that drawing will improve your magic skills."
"All art and magic share is basic tool handling, at most. Especially you, Kali?"
"Yes?"
"You're a bit of a special case. Even if you've used brushes a lot, adapting this quickly and nailing a magic circle on the first try? That's a first for me."
"That's..."
"Do you get why I brought this up?"
No, not at all.
Was it that we need to learn various tools, including brush-drawn magic circles?
Is that the basics of magic circles?
"You're all focused on having to learn magic drawn with this 'brush' I showed you. Don't be."
Then what are you trying to say?
As I puzzled over it, Professor Rondo kept drawing while explaining.
"This example used a brush, but you can practice with brushes ahead of time. What if something completely new and unfamiliar comes up?"
"You'd need time to adapt."
"Right. But how do you handle that time?"
"By shortening it...?"
When something new appears, you shouldn't start learning it from scratch.
The real foundation is building up so you can assimilate it as your own as quickly as possible.
Not just learning theory normally—hammering that proficiency into your body itself is the foundation of magic studies.
'Whoa...'
Is that why artists in this world adapted to new styles so fast?
Anyway, that was Professor Rondo's definition of 'magic studies basics,' whether for others or not.
"Basics aren't about theoretically learning how to do something. It's about stacking it even deeper—into your hands and instincts. I'm teaching you how to build that, not the magic itself."
Only by building that foundation can you keep up with the ever-changing definition of 'good magic' going forward.
Following that definition well makes a 'good mage,' and producing lots of good mages is the goal of this class.
That was Professor Rondo's logic.
"It's the first day, so we'll end the lecture here. No textbook needed—just show up with your bodies next time, like today."
A professor smashing first-year assumptions on day one.
Professor Rondo was even more impressive than I'd expected.
Not just great at drawing, but with real passion as an educator too.
"Ugh, but now that it ends so early, what do we do until the next class?"
"Wander the academy more, I guess."
"Yeah."
As I chatted with Nia and we walked together, she seemed lost in thought, probably because of the lecture.
I'd succeeded perfectly, so it didn't hit me as hard, but for Nia, having a part of her skills she trusted get shattered must've been a shock.
Professor Rondo probably designed the class that way on purpose.
"Oh, swordsmanship club? The colors say same year as us."
"First time seeing them."
"I was wondering why we hadn't bumped into them yet. Finally."
Mostly guys in white tees and shorts for gym clothes.
But the occasional girls wore skin-tight crop tops that showed off their cleavage and ultra-revealing bloomers, which was a real treat for the eyes.
And seeing them sweat while swinging wooden swords diligently? Impossible not to appreciate the beauty.
"First day here too, so they wrap up quick."
Swordsmanship club calls their teacher 'instructor,' right?
Anyway, after politely greeting the instructor, the first-year sword club kids poured out, heading to the cafeteria.
Makes sense—we'd finished early and were wandering, but lunch time was approaching.
"Huh?"
That's when pink ponytail hair that looked familiar entered my view.
Checking just in case, the ears were the big elf kind, and her smiling mouth revealed the sharp little half-orc fangs.
Even the way her huge breasts bounced up and down under the clinging crop top matched my memory perfectly...?
'Why the hell is that crazy bitch here?'
She was the half-orc who'd caused a scene at the exhibition last time and gave me that weird letter to pass to 'Siu.'
Love letter or stalker note, who could tell.
No way she figured out I'm Siwoo and enrolled to stalk me...?
"Oh? You're...?"
I should've just passed by, but I'd stared too long, and she noticed me too.
Run for it first—getting tangled with that weirdo could ruin my academy life.
"Huh?"
"It really is you."
She sprinted right over without missing a beat and grabbed my nape. Definitely a crazy bitch.
But the way she talked... not stalking me to get in, just coincidence?
Anyway, caught now—scary, but I had to deal with her.
"It's been forever!"
"Y-yeah. Long time."
"Did you deliver the letter!? What'd he say!? I forgot to put my address and thought I'd never get a reply."
That was the mistake?
Fits her scatterbrained vibe, though.
Someone who leaves their brain in their bag might forget that.
"He said the contents made no sense..."
"Eek, what I meant was, if I get strong with the sword, I'll always protect the artist who drew such great work in close combat—like a knight's vow...!"
Dedicating her life sounded crazy, but framed like that, it seemed kinda noble.
Bit weird to go from manga to knight protection, but compared to the letter, it was saintly.
Not a stalker—just clumsy and a bit dim.
"Since we're fated to meet, wanna grab lunch together?"
"Uh... sure, why not."
No real reason to refuse.
Honestly, now that the misunderstanding cleared, I was a little curious why she'd written that letter.
"Oh, the letter. It's a long story, but... the story of The Elf Dreaming of an Affair with an Orc Feels Frustrated Again Today is super similar to my parents' story?"
Similar...?
No way a family with that setup actually exists in this world?
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