Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Overflow (2)
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“It’s different from when Mr. Gaold attended. This is an era where students are obsessed with their performance evaluations, even if it means using tricks. In a situation like this, if talented kids only chase after romantic ideals, they'll just fall behind.”
“Hehe. That’s just like you, Ms. Shina. Then again, those three are promising students the school has high hopes for. If they were to fall behind, it would be a great loss for the school as well.”
Shina didn’t deny it. She wanted to help talented students blossom even further. That was her educational philosophy.
On the other hand, Etella’s philosophy was the complete opposite. She never showed favoritism or forced anyone down a certain path. Shina thought it was a method that lagged behind in a competitive environment. But looking at the results, the level of the students she was in charge of was by no means inferior to Shina’s.
‘Am I being selfish? I don’t want to ruin the joy of their school days. But if that leads to a waste of talent, what will become of their future?’
Shina sighed as if it were a difficult problem.
“Haa. I don’t know. I really don’t. Why do talented kids always try to stray onto different paths? And why did Shirone join a place like that?”
Etella silently looked down at her teacup, lost in thought. She was the only one who knew that Shirone had experienced Nirvana.
It was Shirone’s, and it was his state of enlightenment, so she wanted to avoid revealing it if possible, but keeping it from his dedicated teacher, Shina, was probably not the best course of action.
“Have you noticed anything strange about Shirone lately?”
“Shirone? Let’s see. There’s more than one thing. It’s all because he hangs out with those kids. He probably joined the society because Nade and Iruki coaxed him into it.”
“Perhaps… there might be another reason.”
“Pardon? What do you mean by…”
“I’m sorry for not telling you until now. Something happened during the Speed Gun test.”
Etella told her the story of how Shirone had entered Nirvana while targeting. Shina’s face turned pale.
“Is that true? That’s the Immortal Function.”
The Immortal Function is the highest state of being, but that doesn’t mean it’s the highest level of skill. In terms of enlightenment alone, a beggar on the street could have a deeper understanding than a mage. It was too dangerous a concept for Shirone, who was still just a student, to control.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? This is a really serious problem.”
Etella believed there were no big or small problems in the world. Everything depended on one’s mindset, and she wanted Shirone to decide for himself.
“Shirone already knows. In fact, it would be strange if he didn’t. Nirvana is a supreme awakening that even I have not experienced. I felt I had no place to interfere in that regard.”
“I understand how you feel, Ms. Etella. You can’t force something you don’t know onto others. But what if an Overflow happens? It might be irreversible by then.”
Overflow was a phenomenon commonly found in children who awakened genius-level talents at a mentally immature age.
A sound mind is like calm water in a vessel. But if it overflows, one cannot control oneself and becomes a madman. This was why many geniuses had arrogant or eccentric personalities.
It was said that the earlier one experienced Overflow, the greater their talent, but from Shina’s perspective, that was just an irresponsible remark from people who liked to idolize geniuses.
Shina had also experienced Overflow at the young age of nine. To her eyes, the world was not a rainbow of curiosity. It was nothing more than a gray space, riddled with mechanical rules.
It was unbearably frightening. So she locked her door and buried herself in darkness. Despite the continuous attention from the Oliper School, Shina’s condition showed no signs of improving.
She remembered the world of darkness she had stayed in for a year. And the single ray of light that had miraculously pierced through that darkness.
The blond-haired boy who had thrown open the door, turning the sliver of light from the crack into a flood, and held out his hand. If he hadn’t passed his light on to her, Shina would never have been able to reach the position she was in today.
- Shina. Let’s go out now.
Recalling that time, Shina smiled bitterly. The memory was telling her. She couldn’t let Shirone walk the same path she had.
Shirone had grown rapidly in a short period. He was stimulated by interacting with numerous talented people and continuously broke through his limits while facing fierce competition. If it was something as significant as the Immortal Function, the possibility of an Overflow occurring was quite high.
“Ms. Etella. I suffered from Overflow when I was young. I’m sure you did as well, Ms. Etella?”
“Yes. Of course.”
Shina realized it was a foolish question. The average age for mages to reach Grade 6 was 28. Yet, the two of them were only 26 and had already remained at this level for six years.
Considering the average time to advance from Grade 6 to Grade 5 was ten years, they were already mages ranked at the top of Grade 6.
With this level of genius, it would have been stranger if they hadn’t experienced Overflow.
“I first experienced it when I was seven. That’s why I entered the Karsis Monastery. But thanks to the good people I met, I was able to get out safely.”
Shina felt a slight pang that her experience was two years earlier than her own, but she quickly shook her head.
The younger the age, the higher the probability of collapsing from an Overflow. The terrifying fear that enveloped a child before they even knew the world would have been beyond what they could handle.
“That must have been difficult.”
“It was truly frightening. If I hadn’t entered the monastery, I probably wouldn’t have been able to live a normal life.”
Being seven meant she had awakened the moment she began to know the world. It was likely because she was at a place like the Karsis Monastery, where the nation’s greatest seekers of truth were gathered, that Etella was able to hold onto her sanity.
“Then why are you leaving Shirone be? You, of all people, should know the fear of Overflow.”
“Shirone and I are different. He’s not seven or eight, he’s eighteen. Overflow is dangerous because the vessel to contain the mind isn’t sturdy. But I believe Shirone has enough capacity to overcome it. In a way, Overflow is a process of accepting one’s own genius. If he gets through this crisis, Shirone will grow even more.”
There was some truth to Etella’s words. In fact, the period when Shina’s magical talent had exploded was after she had gone through Overflow.
But that was only possible because she had received miraculous help. And in return, the person she cherished had lost his light.
“I’m not unaware of your concerns, Ms. Shina. But not everyone who experiences Overflow collapses. I was the same.”
Etella was a unique case. To her, who trained with a mind of three thousand thoughts in a single moment, Overflow might not have been a significant threat. With that in mind, Shina spoke.
“I know Shirone’s vessel is not small. But this is a situation where he has awakened the Immortal Function. It means the worst-case scenario could happen. If such a thing were to occur, can you take responsibility, Ms. Etella?”
“I do not teach students in order to take responsibility. I believe that Shirone will surely overcome this.”
“But…!”
“However.”
Etella put down her teacup and spoke firmly.
“If the worst-case scenario does occur, I am prepared to live my entire life atoning to that child.”
Shina fell silent. Etella’s resolve went beyond that of a teacher, reaching the self-sacrificing spirit of a monk.
If she hadn’t genuinely cared for her students, her free-spirited teaching style would have been nothing more than neglect. Perhaps it was she who lacked resolve?
Putting her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, Shina bowed her head to say goodbye.
***
The iron door of the Paranormal Research Society creaked open. As dust rose from the floor, Shirone let out a puff of air and waved his arms. Leaving Shirone behind, Nade entered with a tired expression. He then tossed his bag aside and dove onto the sofa.
Iruki was playing chess. He was alternating between black and white pieces, his hands moving without a moment's thought. A game ended in an instant, and after rearranging the pieces, he began the next one.
“You’re here? How was today?”
Nade, with his feet propped up on the back of the sofa, asked in a sleepy voice.
“So-so. Nothing particularly interesting happened.”
Shirone sighed at the sight of his friends. Iruki skipped class every day to play chess, and the only thing Nade did when he bothered to come to the society room was sleep.
“Iruki. You skipped afternoon classes again today, didn't you? What are you going to do if you get held back?”
“It's fine. I just have to make up for the attendance with my grades.”
It was an annoying answer, but it couldn't be refuted because what Iruki said was true. Currently, Iruki was holding on in Class Five with his science and engineering scores alone. In other words, his humanities scores were at zero. He had left himself room to easily raise his overall average by about 20 points, so he could afford to be relaxed.
‘Still, isn’t this too much? I’ve never seen kids in Class Five who study this little.’
Iruki, who skipped class daily, avoided failing with just his science and engineering scores, and even Nade, despite his laziness, never let his grades drop below the upper-middle ranks. Seeing this made him feel like a fool for studying so desperately.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have joined this society.”
“What’s this all of a sudden? You know there are no take-backs, right?”
“No, I’m serious. If I stay here, I feel like I’m going to go crazy first.”
“What are you talking about? What did we do?”
“It’s a research society, but you guys don’t do any activities and just fool around. And yet, your grades are better than mine. Being around talented guys like you just makes me feel more anxious.”
“Do you seriously think that joke is funny? After you completely embarrassed me in the test, what are you even talking about?”
“Yeah. When you're that humble, it just sounds incredibly arrogant.”
Nade chimed in. Comparing Shirone's grades, who had been at the academy for less than a year, to theirs, who had been educated since they were young, was ridiculous in itself.
“No, I’m serious. I’m going to cut back on society activities from now on. You guys don’t plan on doing the performance evaluation anyway, right? I’d rather use that time to study.”
Only then did Iruki and Nade realize he was serious. Just like the model student he was, it seemed he couldn't stand it if he wasn't studying for even a moment.
“Then why don’t you just study here?”
“Huh? Here?”
“Yeah. We feel a little bad for you, too. We want to hang out, but we feel like we’re bothering you. It’s not so bad studying here, right? Maybe we’ll even get motivated.”
“Hmm.”
Lost in thought, Shirone nodded. He didn’t think he’d be able to study well in such a bizarre society room, but if it could motivate his friends, it was worth a try. Sweeping the trash off the table onto the floor, he placed his bag down and said.
“Alright. I’ll study here, then. But you can’t disturb me.”
“Hehe. Don’t you worry. We’re busy people in our own way.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Nade flopped down on the sofa.
“Anyway, what should we do now? I’m so bored.”
A vein throbbed on Shirone’s temple. But he suppressed his anger, thinking this was nothing compared to the difficulties that lay ahead, and began to study. Just then, Iruki, who was already on his 34th game of chess, busily moving his pawns and bishops, said to Nade.
“If you’ve got nothing to do, you can look at the picture book. I brought this month’s issue.”
“Ooh! Really?”
Leaping to his feet, Nade crawled into the pile of trash under the table and dug through it as if he were burrowing.
‘A picture book? A collection of famous paintings?’
Nade moving around under his feet was a nuisance, but Shirone was also interested in art, so he left him be for the moment. Nade emerged from the pile of trash, crawled out from under the table, and waved a book in the air.