Chapter 311
Chapter Title: The Comet Sorcerer's Slime
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The students stared, puzzled, at the slime that looked identical to the Comet Sorcerer.
“Is that a slime imitating the Comet Sorcerer?”
“Amazing.”
The students looked amazed, but that was all.
Of course, a slime that could take human form and use magic was surprising.
If they had seen this type of slime for the first time, they would have been shocked.
But the second-years had seen a similar type of slime last year.
“I wonder how different it is from senior Torua’s Ditto?”
Chloe’s eyes sparkled as she recalled Ditto, the slime created by last year’s graduate, Torua.
‘It’s different from senior Torua’s Ditto.’
Ditto was also a slime that had the ability to perfectly copy its opponent’s appearance.
But Ditto had its limitations.
If there was no target to copy, it couldn’t do anything.
Furthermore, even if it perfectly copied a target, its pure combat power was inferior.
Crucially, it had the drawback of being unable to maintain its copied form if it moved too far away from Torua.
Tina shuffled down from the magic testing grounds in her slippers.
As Leo and the slime faced off.
The slime moved first.
Swoosh-
It aimed its staff at Leo, and magical power erupted from the tip.
Seeing this, Leo’s eyes twitched.
Flash-! Crackle-!
A flash burst before Leo’s eyes as fragments of magical power scattered in all directions.
Everyone looked back and forth between Leo and the slime in surprise.
“As expected.”
Leo, who had blocked the attack by deploying a shield spell, looked at the expressionless slime.
“This is on a completely different level from senior Torua’s slime.”
Whoom-!
A magic circle formed around Leo.
Seeing this, Tina’s eyes widened.
Flash-! Sizzle-!
Golden lightning shot out from the magic circle and wrapped around the Comet Sorcerer.
Ting-ting-ting-!
For a moment, a transparent, glass-like barrier deflected Leo’s spell.
Watching this, Tina muttered.
“Impressive. I see why they call him the youngest student council president.”
At Tina’s mutter, Ren chuckled.
“What do you think of student Leo’s magical skills?”
Tina replied to Ren’s question.
“There’s nothing to say but ‘incredible’.”
At Tina’s words, Ren smiled knowingly.
“Student Leo is a natural, after all.”
“…It seems to be more than just natural talent.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve never seen anyone handle Star Magic so skillfully. Not even among the Tingel family is there a mage of his level.”
Ren stared at Leo with surprised eyes.
Ren, more than anyone, was well aware of Leo’s terrifying potential.
Teaching Leo throughout his first year had been a series of surprises.
Even a title like ‘once-in-a-generation genius’ felt inadequate.
Mid-teens.
No matter how great his achievements, at his age, he should still be an unripened talent.
But Leo was different.
He already possessed a firm philosophy and worldview regarding his own magic.
‘Among the students, only the graduate Torua and the fourth-year Elena have firmly established their own philosophies as mages.’
Leo had already reached that stage in his first year.
The mage considered the greatest after Luna, the Progenitor of the Nebula, is, of course, Seirun, the Comet Sorcerer.
But even Seirun cannot be placed on the same level as Luna.
Ren had no doubt that Leo would grow to become a mage who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Luna.
Even for Ren, who thought this way, Tina’s remark was astonishing.
What kind of family was the Tingel family?
It was the family founded by Seirun, the Comet Sorcerer.
The most powerful practitioners of Star Magic among the existing elven families.
Although Tina was born with a body that could not accept magical power, and was thus treated as a hidden member of the family.
Her understanding of magic was extraordinary.
And from a young age, as a direct descendant, she learned the magical formulas of the Tingel family.
The very magic formulas personally written by the Comet Sorcerer.
The Star Magic considered to be the closest to the original used by Luna, the Progenitor of the Nebula.
As such, Tina possessed an eye for Star Magic so keen that it couldn’t even be compared to Ren’s.
And this same Tina had personally judged Leo to be more skilled in Star Magic than the people of Tingel.
Just as Ren was watching Leo.
The Comet Sorcerer raised its staff.
“Arc Ray.”
As the incantation was completed, countless orbs of light were generated.
Arc Ray.
The most basic offensive spell in Star Magic.
In the current era, it was an introductory-level spell, and indeed, it was the easiest of the magic formulas Luna had created.
However….
‘Its power varies greatly depending on the user.’
In fact, Arc Ray was also the spell Luna most favored.
Against low-level demons, a single Arc Ray from Luna would wipe them out by the dozens.
Kiiiiing-!
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
“I see.”
Leo’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Arc Ray.”
Leo responded with the same spell.
Flash! KRA-KA-KA-KA-BOOM-!
Shards of light scattered in all directions.
It was a dangerous festival of magic, yet its beauty was enough to leave onlookers mesmerized.
“So it’s the Comet Sorcerer herself?”
Leo looked at the slime.
To be precise, he looked at the Comet Sorcerer embodied by the slime.
One of the Heroes of the Beginning.
She was the first person to conquer the World of Heroes and also the first to conquer Luna’s world.
‘Judging by her appearance, she’s my age. No, a bit older. The magic formula for Arc Ray is identical to Luna’s. Is it a Hero Skill received as a conquest reward? If so, this must be after she conquered the World of Heroes.’
Leo, who had been carefully analyzing his opponent, used a spell.
Fwoosh-!
Mirage.
Dozens of illusions of Leo were created.
At this, the Comet Sorcerer faltered.
The moment Leo was about to cast another spell.
Whoom-!
In an instant, the Comet Sorcerer’s form began to melt.
Splat-!
Then it turned into liquid and poured onto the floor.
Ooze-
The slime reformed.
‘Overload.’
Leo looked at the slime’s core and nodded.
Fwoosh-!
The illusion magic dispersed, and Leo returned to being one person.
Leo stepped down from the dueling platform in the testing grounds.
The students were all staring at the slime with confused eyes.
“How was it? My familiar?”
Tina asked with a smile.
At that, the familiar crept over, climbed up Tina’s leg, and disappeared into her clothes.
Leo replied to Tina’s question.
“I never thought a slime could be enhanced to this degree.”
Leo said calmly.
“It was enough to make me think it might be the Comet Sorcerer herself.”
“It’s incomplete… but it is my ancestor herself.”
Tina explained in a bored tone.
“To be precise, it’s her form from when she first conquered the World of Heroes. This is a manifestation of her appearance at that time.”
At Tina’s words, everyone’s eyes went wide.
“Of course, using it in actual combat is impossible. I’ll explain why, student Leo.”
“It’s because over a hundred magic formulas were used to create the slime, isn’t it?”
“What? A hu-hundred?”
“Is it possible to cram that many magic formulas into a slime’s small core?”
Everyone wore looks of astonishment.
To embed multiple magic formulas into a single object, the miniaturization of the formulas is essential.
Miniaturizing a magic formula is practically the same as creating a new one from scratch.
No matter how great a mage, it’s difficult to cram a hundred magic formulas into a single small core.
And what if those magic formulas were for manifesting the past form of the Comet Sorcerer?
Tina had accomplished something nearly impossible.
Realizing anew just how incredible the mage before them was, everyone looked on, dumbfounded.
“What’s next?”
“The source of magical power to activate the formulas would also be a problem. It makes me wonder what kind of power source you used.”
“That’s a secret, so I can’t tell you.”
Tina giggled.
“Anyway, this slime is merely a sample to show the level to which a familiar can be developed. Even I can’t make another one of these. But even so.”
Tina looked at the Lumerne students.
“Even if not to this extent, don’t you think using the magitech formulas I’ll teach you to add needed abilities to your familiars would be a significant help?”
Tina looked at Chloe.
“Whether you’re a traditional mage, a combat mage, or a versatile type, a pure mage will always have an opening the moment they chant a spell.”
Tina shuffled through the students in her slippers.
“Dual-class magic swordsmen cover that opening with swordsmanship, and summoners who command spirits and phantom beasts do so with their summons, but.”
Tina looked at a few of the dual-class students.
“Unless it’s a special case, magic swordsmen tend to be lacking in either swordsmanship or magic, and summoners have elemental weaknesses, don’t they?”
Tina wore a meaningful expression.
“With artificial familiars created through magitech, you have the great advantage of being able to create a being that can definitively cover your weaknesses. Don’t you think it’s worth learning?”
At those words, the magic department students wore expressions of agreement.
“Now, does anyone still have complaints?”
In response to Tina’s question, no one voiced any more doubts about the practicality of familiars.
“Good, then shall we begin class?”
“Here?”
“Aren’t we going to study magic formulas in the classroom?”
A few students looked puzzled.
Tina replied calmly.
“Since this is a class on familiars, shouldn’t we start with the very basics? Starting with taming familiars.”
Tina’s first class began outdoors.
And most of the students struggled from the very first lesson.
It was inevitable, as the art of taming familiars was magic that had been on the decline for a long time.
The students of Lumerne’s magic department were all elite mages and thus very strong with the latest trends in magic.
On the other hand, they tended to be weak in magic that was neglected because it was deemed to have low practical application.
No matter how much magic they knew or how outstanding their magical sense and control were, they were bound to struggle with a field of magic they were experiencing for the very first time.
“This is easy~”
“Glad I’m a summoner dual class.”
The summoners who also practiced summoning arts were, at least, often successful quickly, whether they had already studied the art of taming or not.
“This is surprisingly difficult.”
Chloe looked troubled as she stared at the taming formula.
She had completely mastered the formula, but she couldn’t get the hang of it.
Chelsea was also struggling, grunting with effort.
But as time passed, students began to succeed one by one.
“Hmph, look at this. Isn’t it cute?”
Iliana said, showing off the animal she had tamed.
Chelsea gave her a pathetic look.
“Can that pigeon even fly? You know the other kids call them ‘chicken-pigeons,’ right?”
Iliana had tamed one of the pigeons that could be easily found anywhere on the Lumerne campus.
Lumerne’s pigeons had grown up eating breadcrumbs given by students, so they weren’t afraid of people.
They rarely ever flew, to the point that students, thinking they might be incapable of flight, had given them the nickname ‘chicken-pigeons’.
Iliana flared up at Chelsea’s words.
“Hey! What did you tame? You were struggling just like me a minute ago, weren’t you?”
“Me?”
Chelsea smiled slyly and raised her hand.
Scree-!
With a sharp cry, a hawk landed on Chelsea’s staff.
“As you can see.”
“Ugh!”
Seeing that Chelsea had tamed a bird of prey, which were difficult among familiars, Iliana shrank back.
On the verge of tears, Iliana called out to Leo, who was passing by.
“Class rep! What did you tame?”
In response to Iliana’s question, Leo opened his palm.
A sparrow flew down and landed on his hand.
Seeing that, Iliana’s expression turned triumphant.
“See! You don’t need to tame something fancy! That’s our class rep for you! We’re comrades!”
“For you, Leo, that’s a pretty ordinary choice.”
Chelsea also looked a little bewildered.
“I’m not ordinary. I can talk. My master is different from you, who tamed a chicken-pigeon.”
Human words came out of the sparrow’s mouth.
Chelsea and Iliana’s jaws dropped.
“Familiars with enhanced intelligence can express their master’s will for them.”
As Leo spoke calmly, Iliana was flustered.
“B-but, even so, you just learned the taming art for the first time….”
At Iliana’s words, Leo muttered to himself.
‘Well, I’ve already mastered the art of taming.’
Unlike the mages of the current generation, Leo was a mage from an era where familiars were actively utilized.
Just then, Chloe walked by.
Chloe had also tamed a sparrow, and like Leo’s, it was speaking simple words.
Chelsea giggled, looking at Iliana.
“You’re the only one with a chicken-pigeon.”
“Hey!”
Iliana, on the verge of tears again, pointed at Karl.
“Karl! What did you tame!”
At that, Karl grinned.
“You’ll flip when you see what I tamed.”
“Hmph! You’re just Karl! What did you tame!”
“Here.”
Karl held out his hand toward Iliana.
“Huh? What is… Aaaaaahhh!”
Iliana, who was peering closely at Karl’s hand, screamed and ran away when she saw the animal peeking its head out of his sleeve.
“What the… Ack?”
“Hey! Karl! You!”
“Bwahahahaha!”
Karl, who had tamed a snake, burst out laughing as he chased the terrified female students.
The female students fled in surprise.
“Operation: great success!”
Karl cackled.
Watching this, Leo sighed softly.
“Karl.”
“Leo, isn’t this hilarious?”
“Are you prepared for the consequences?”
“Huh? Gack!”
Thwack-!
Before Leo could even finish, Chelsea flew in and delivered a dropkick with both feet to Karl’s back.
Iliana brought a wooden stick, and Chloe used ice magic with a chilling expression.
Watching the scene, Leo sighed softly and shook his head.
***
After class ended.
While a battered Karl made a quick trip to the infirmary.
Leo headed to Tina’s office with Chloe.
Tina, a visiting professor, had arrived at Lumerne yesterday and been given a personal office.
“I’m so excited!”
Chloe said in an excited voice, hugging the book in her arms tightly.
The book’s cover read: [A Philosophical Inquiry into the Reasons Why an Ice Mage Must Learn Ice Magic].
Arriving in front of Tina’s office, Chloe took a deep breath and knocked.
Knock, knock-
The door creaked open.
“Student Leo and student Chloe. What can I do for you?”
Tina, who had been writing something with a pen, looked up and asked.
“Uh! Professor Tina! I’ve been an admirer of your papers for a long time! Um… could I please get your autograph on this!”
Chloe smiled shyly and presented the book.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Tina nodded and came closer.
Meanwhile, Leo’s gaze, which had been scanning Tina’s office, suddenly fixed on one spot.
A small crystal orb.
Seeing a tiny fairy wing inside the orb, Leo narrowed his eyes.
‘A fairy’s wing? Could it be….’
No matter how he looked at it, it wasn’t a simple decoration.
Judging by the faint aura he could feel, it was definitely a fairy’s wing.
And one belonging to a fairy Leo knew well.
‘Is that Kiruan’s wing?’