Chapter 321: Magic is for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Weak (4)

After all the explanations were finished, the remaining time was spent on a bit of practical application.

While Un-ho continued to mess around with his fire, Han A-bin and Baek Si-hyun stared intently at their papers, engaged in a silent staring contest with the runes.

This went on for about an hour. Just as I glanced at the clock on the classroom wall and thought it was almost time for dinner—

"Huh?"

A loud voice filled with bewilderment reached my ears. I turned my head and saw a surprising sight.

"Master? I manifested it!"

A tiny ember floated in the air, and my disciple, Baek Si-hyun, had her hands cupped together as if she were holding it.

Having successfully manifested magic, she stood up from her desk and thrust her hands toward me, looking like she was begging for praise.

But the thought that popped into my head was something else entirely.

...That was way too fast.

Of course, Heroes are accustomed to magic, so their manifestation speed is naturally quick. In fact, soldiers who fought alongside Heroes on the battlefield or retired Heroes usually manifest it quite easily.

On top of that, we Magical Girls are the profession most familiar with magic, second only to Mages. So, a fast manifestation speed was to be expected.

The only reason Magical Girls don't use a Mage’s magic is simply because Magical Girl magic is much faster, more effective, and far easier to learn—you just input converted magic into a Magic Wand. There’s really no reason to learn the hard way.

Added to those factors was likely Un-ho’s constant playing with his flames.

He had been juggling fireballs, drawing pictures in the air with them, and shaping them into spears to throw and detonate. Since he had demonstrated a wide variety of fire magic rather than just simple ignition, she might have been stimulated by his actions.

Even so.

Even taking all that into account, isn't this too fast?

One hour? Seriously?

While I was frantically racking my brain in confusion—

"...Master?"

Still holding the flame, Baek Si-hyun leaned in closer, her face full of curiosity.

The moment I saw her do that, for some reason, the word 'puppy' flashed through my mind.

"Ah. Right. Good job, Si-hyun. That flame is dangerous, so put it out."

Since the atmosphere felt like she was fishing for a compliment, I gave her one.

"Yes, sir! Fly away! Yah!"

Instantly revitalized, Baek Si-hyun raised her cupped hands above her head and scattered them wide.

The flame that had been resting on her palms dispersed in every direction, leaving behind tiny sparks. Baek Si-hyun nodded, looking satisfied as the little embers drifted through the air.

Then, she reached out as if trying to catch the sparks and spoke.

"So this is what magic feels like! I get it now that I've tried it. Basically, you project your faith into your internal power to use it as a trigger, and that makes the surrounding Otherworldly Power react to that faith!"

Baek Si-hyun spoke rapidly and confidently, as if she had understood everything.

"...Si-hyun?"

I couldn't help but speak up, stunned by her words.

"Yes?"

"By any chance, have you ever read a research paper on this?"

"Nope! I'm not interested in things I can't do! But now that I'm interested, I guess I should look some up!"

...What? Then how did she know that?

Seriously, she figured that out just from one manifestation?

Isn't this far beyond the level of a mere genius?

Just what kind of monster did the Story bring as The Adversary to the Black Marauder?

While I was lost in deep suspicion—

"Hmm? Then what's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the concept behind using a Magic Circle? Shouldn't faith alone be enough to project the power? Hmm?"

Baek Si-hyun began talking to herself, rapidly creating sparks and light.

It seemed that even for her, such core concepts weren't immediately obvious.

Her question left me conflicted.

Should I tell her?

Of course, if I left her alone, she would eventually find the information herself.

So, I had two choices.

One: tell her not to worry about such trivial tricks and focus on training her own power as a Magical Girl. Since Si-hyun followed my instructions well, she probably wouldn't dig any deeper into the field of magic.

The other was...

Either leave her be or answer her question here. If I did, she would definitely develop an interest in magic. Given her freakishly high learning ability, she would likely turn magic into another tool in her arsenal in no time.

Of course, as is typical for Baek Si-hyun, she might make a mistake in some weird place and produce a bizarre result.

But having more cards to play is an advantage in itself.

Perhaps this choice would make her even stronger.

Even though she was already growing faster than any other Hero.

Was it right to make my Adversary, who was showing unprecedented growth, even stronger?

I pondered for a moment.

But soon, I brushed the worry aside.

What are you worrying about, you idiot?

Before she was my Adversary, Baek Si-hyun was my disciple. I would simply do my duty as a teacher.

And so, I brought forth the knowledge I possessed, even if I couldn't use it myself.

"A Magic Circle doesn't designate the entire spell. It's a record containing information on how to spread and distribute the power you've drawn out with your will, and how to allocate the surrounding power of will."

"Information?"

Baek Si-hyun tilted her head, snatching a newly created flame out of the air to extinguish it, looking like she didn't quite understand.

Let's try a more detailed explanation.

"If it's just a trigger of mana to create a fireball, that's easy to imagine, right?"

"Right?"

As she spoke, Baek Si-hyun flicked her fingers and conjured a fireball in mid-air.

I think she might have traced the character for 'fire' in the air...

...I'm not going to say anything about her talent anymore.

"But can you pack a lot of information into that one trigger? For example: make it the size of a human fist, keep the flame in a spherical shape, and make the absorption method a swirling vortex so it doesn't consume a massive amount of Otherworldly Power all at once."

"Uhhhhhh...?"

Hearing my conditions, Baek Si-hyun closed her eyes and let out a low groan of concentration, trying her best.

In the end, however, what popped out were several fireballs of different sizes and shapes.

"...I think I could do it if I tried a bit more..."

Seeing her fail, I thought to myself that even a genius isn't a total monster, but a sense of dread washed over me—if I left her to it, she really might succeed. I spoke up quickly.

"Wringing out that much information every time is incredibly difficult and mentally taxing. It's not impossible, but it's inefficient. That's why we use Magic Circles to specify those details."

The trigger only needs the faith that a flame will be created.

The Magic Circle manifested in the air is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠supplementary data that dictates the size, duration, movement, and the control method for the Otherworldly Power.

This is where different magic schools begin to diverge.

The tiny bit of faith used as a trigger is the same for everyone, but the Magic Circles, chants, and other auxiliary methods that follow are built on meticulous designs.

"Oh! Master! I have a question!"

Did she realize something else from my explanation?

Baek Si-hyun, who had become terrifyingly sharp today, raised both hands and spoke.

"What is it?"

"Then, are there Magic Circles that activate just with the faith that 'magic will manifest'?"

This girl is always sharp in the strangest ways.

"Yeah, that's what's used in magic scrolls or magic weapons. A long string of detailed instructions on how the magic should manifest comes out regardless of the trigger mana. A representative example would be..."

As I was explaining, a grenade flying through the air caught my eye.

"Yeah, usually something like a grenade..."

A grenade with the safety pin already pulled. If left alone, it would explode any second.

...A grenade?

"Get dooooown!"

I was a bit late to notice, but thanks to my body being conditioned to such situations on the battlefield, my reaction was fast.

I grabbed Baek Si-hyun and shoved her under a desk, then immediately pounced on Han A-bin, who was still concentrating, and stuffed her under another desk.

Then, I lunged off the floor and kicked the grenade toward the ceiling.

I probably moved at my absolute maximum speed without releasing my Limiter.

Having dealt with all the danger—excluding Un-ho, who would probably be fine on his own—I braced myself to take the shrapnel.

Dammit, I should have kicked it harder.

The thought swirled in my head as I fell back.

Because there was a chance it had been cooked for a second or two, I hadn't been able to get into a proper stance and had kicked it in a hurry. As a result, the grenade didn't pierce the ceiling but got lodged right in it.

Maybe I should have just kicked it out the window.

As I was falling toward the floor, reflecting on my tactical error—

Pop.

With the sound of an explosion, the Magic Circle contained within was released.

I wondered what kind of magic it was.

I had been lecturing Baek Si-hyun on theory, but all I had was the theoretical knowledge I'd gained over years of exposure. I didn't have the power to identify a spell just by looking at the Magic Circle.

Since it was a grenade sent by the Magic Society, I assumed it wouldn't be lethal, but you never know.

With that thought, I stared blankly at the Magic Circle.

Cr-cr-cr-crack.

Cracks began to spread from the Magic Circle.

I felt an unusually large flow of mana.

...That's not the kind of mana you'd find in a normal grenade.

But as I was falling through the air, all I could do was watch.

In that brief moment, something glowing brightly shot out from the cracks toward me.

Thick, tentacle-like things made of light.

Those tentacles of light seized me, leaving me dangling in mid-air.

What the hell is this now?

Since they weren't crushing me, it seemed to be some kind of Restraint Magic.

However, compared to typical Restraint Magic, the quality was different.

Each 'rope' of light—calling them tentacles felt a bit wrong—was a restraint spell imbued with Archmage-level mana.

Even for someone like Macbeth, a spell with this much power wouldn't last very long, but there was one peculiar thing about it.

These things are eating my mana?

A spell that extorted the mana needed to maintain the restraint from the target.

The strength of the restraint was one thing, but seeing as it could immediately convert someone else's mana into its own, most mages wouldn't even be able to manifest this...

While I was hanging in the air, calmly analyzing and exploring the magic—

"Hahahaha! I've got you now, you crazy Magical Girl!"

Slam.

The classroom door burst open, and a man walked in.

He wore a black lab coat over a haphazardly thrown-on checkered shirt and jeans.

The scrawny man wore familiar horn-rimmed glasses and flaunted greasy, grayish hair as he strode into the room.

The caster of this magic was someone I knew.

"Oh. It's you. Your engineering-student fashion sense is as terrible as ever."

When was the last time I saw him... a few years ago? Anyway, I think he was wearing something similar back then, too. He really hasn't changed.

"Silence! Crimson★Hammer! Now that you're caught in my Heavenly Net Formation, you won't be able to move a muscle! Today, I shall finally avenge the countless grudges I've held against you!"

Man, he's loud.

This guy would be great if he just fixed that personality of his.

I let his screeching go in one ear and out the other.

"...What's going on?"

"Is he someone you know, Master?"

My disciples crawled out from under their desks and looked at me, confused by the situation.

"Ah, say hello, kids. He's one of the members of the Magic Society ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Council. Magic Weaver. He's the best in the world when it comes to weaving magic."

"...Call me Weaver!"

Shut up, man.

Why is a Westerner using a knock-off Hanja name anyway?

Regardless, once the introduction was over—

"Ah, hello, Mr. Magic Weaver."

"Hello!"

The two disciples greeted Magic Weaver casually, seemingly feeling no sense of danger in this situation.

"...Are they your disciples, Crimson★Hammer? Don't worry! I have no intention of harming your students. But you... you shall suffer long and hard in the Absolute Magic Sealing Zone I've specially prepared—"

God, he's so noisy.

So, what is he actually planning to do?

It's not like his grudge against me is anything new, but since I've never seen him succeed at anything, I really couldn't tell.

Hmm.

If I keep listening to him, I'll miss dinner and be late for visiting hours, so I should probably just go.

Having made up my mind, I put strength into my body to break free from the Restraint Magic.

However, contrary to my expectations, the restraint didn't break so easily.

"...Ha! Do you think my masterpiece, the Heavenly Net Formation, would break so easily? It's also enchanted with a Complete Magic Seal! That means your physical enhancement is blocked as well! I spent a year's salary on the catalysts for this, but if it means settling this grudge—"

A long, utterly useless explanation of why the magic wouldn't break flew my way, and I immediately understood why I was stuck.

Ah, physical enhancement blockage? Is that what it was?

But what can you do?

"Sorry, but you didn't read my experimental records, did you?"

As I spoke, I surged power through my body.

"...Experimental records? Ha! You Magical Girls are all the same! There's no way you're any different—"

Magic Weaver continued to brag confidently, but—

Snap.

His voice was drowned out by the sound of something fracturing within the formation.

"Hup."

I put strength into my body once more.

"...Huh?"

Magic Weaver’s masterpiece, the Restraint Magic, turned into particles of light and vanished into the air.

Along with Magic Weaver’s one-year salary.

"...?"

As usual, Magic Weaver tilted his head with a frozen expression, unable to comprehend the situation.

"Ah, see, I'm a special case. My body is just naturally strong, regardless of physical enhancement."

So.

Get lost for today, too.

Thwack.

My fist buried itself in Magic Weaver’s stomach. Magic Weaver, who blocked the impact with his automatic protection magic, didn't suffer any physical injury.

However, unable to fully negate the momentum, he smashed through the window and went flying out of the building.

I watched him go for a moment.

"...."

Then I turned to my two disciples, who were staring blankly out the window as if they couldn't process what had just happened.

"Alright, kids. That's taken care of. Let's go eat."

The food here is actually pretty good.