A Professor's Counsel
"You're here?"
"Y-yes!"
At the very moment Professor Karlsen arrived at the infirmary and Jealousy clung to him desperately, Arina had answered Professor Magnus's summons and come to his office. Her voice came out almost like a shout, her tension plain for all to see. Her joints creaked stiffly, like rusty hinges forced into motion.
"Have a seat."
Professor Magnus gestured toward the sofa in front of him with a tilt of his head. Watching her approach and sit down carefully, he rose from his chair. He walked over to a side table, rummaged briefly, and soon returned with a cup of warm tea, which he placed before her.
"It's herbal tea. I received it as a gift, so I don't quite remember the name, but they say it has a calming effect."
"Ah, thank you."
Arina accepted the cup with both hands. At the same time, a fragrant floral scent brushed past her nose. It seemed to be an herb similar to lavender—familiar rather than strange. The kind of pleasant aroma one might expect from an air freshener.
She took a sip. The taste itself was little more than plain water, yet once it filled her mouth, the scent she had only smelled through her nose grew far stronger. A smile unconsciously formed on her lips as the sweet fragrance poured out with every breath. It felt less like tasting something and more like savoring an aroma.
"If you like it, I'll give you some to take when you leave."
"Thank you."
Professor Magnus chuckled softly as he watched her bow her head. He had already taken his seat across from her.
Looks like the tea worked.
She was visibly more relaxed than before. The gifted tea had clearly done its job. Judging that she was now ready to talk, Professor Magnus spoke while watching her sip the herbal tea.
"I heard. You've been selected to participate in the Academy Tournament?"
The Academy Tournament. Not a single professor was unaware of it. They all knew exactly what it meant for first-year students to be sent there.
"It's certainly a good opportunity. Whether the results are satisfying or not, simply participating will bring considerable gains. That's an undeniable fact."
True to his belief—passed down from the Majoan himself—that experience mattered most for a mage, Professor Magnus viewed the children's participation in the tournament in an extremely positive light.
"If you need my help during the process, I'll assist you in any way I can."
That was why he had readily accepted Professor Karlsen's request. Providing opportunities without hesitation to those who sought them out—that was Spencer Magnus's principle as a professor.
"Thank you so much!"
Arina's voice rose an octave higher than when she had received the tea. She looked even happier now. Professor Magnus waved his hand lightly as if to stop her.
"It's nothing. If anything, I should be the one apologizing. The academy hasn't been able to give you all the attention you deserve."
Every magic academy in the kingdom poured everything into achieving good results at the Academy Tournament. Benedict Academy, which secured first place every year without fail, was no exception. In fact, the pressure was even greater. Because everyone took first place for granted, they had to protect the Majoan's reputation, bring pride to the seniors who had already graduated, and leave behind a legacy worthy of the academy's name for future juniors. Countless reasons weighed heavily on their shoulders, which was why the academy provided considerable support for the team—enough to assign even Senior Professor Savage Frankhorn as their dedicated advisor.
Compared to that official team, the support the academy could offer to those who had suddenly been chosen for individual participation was inevitably lacking.
"It won't compare to Professor Frankhorn, but I'll help you to the best of my ability."
"No, that's not true!"
Arina shook her head firmly. They hadn't started proper training yet, but she had never once felt that anything was lacking. Professor Magnus had already agreed to help when she asked, and Professor Karlsen had been looking out for them in ways both seen and unseen. Besides, she didn't even know who Professor Frankhorn was, but she didn't think Professor Magnus was inferior to anyone in the slightest.
"I'm glad you think so."
Perhaps her sincerity had reached him. Professor Magnus nodded and held something out to her.
What is this?
It was a stack of A4 papers stapled together. When she looked at him for an explanation, he continued.
"The fundamental reason you're struggling with spell formulas is that you can't apply them at all."
In Professor Magnus's view, Arina's knowledge wasn't lacking compared to the other students. If she still found spell formulas difficult, then the problem lay in the application stage—the ability to recall the desired formula, calculate a given formula, derive the correct answer, and verify it. It was an issue that arose during the process of moving beyond simple memorization into actual application. In mage society, where even a single second faster casting speed could mean the difference between life and death, this was a rather fatal flaw.
"I heard you reached 3-star during the break."
Having stepped into the ranks of the proficient without proper preparation, the problem had likely become even more pronounced.
"The solution to your issue is simple. Just keep solving as many problems as you can, one after another."
Of course, simply solving them wasn't enough. She had to solve them quickly. She needed to set a time limit per problem and derive the correct answer within that time— as fast as possible, and as accurately as possible. It was a matter of forcibly training her brain through intensive, forced-input education until it adapted to the situation. The human brain was designed so that the more it was pushed in a particular direction, the more it would grow in that area.
Arina swallowed hard at Professor Magnus's words, which sounded terrifying even just hearing them. She could already picture the grueling path ahead.
"What I'm about to say might sound a little cruel."
Paying no mind to her feelings, Professor Magnus met her eyes with a serious gaze after a brief silence.
"I'll be direct. Your talent lies more with martial artists or spirit mages than with mages."
Her affinity for mana was more than sufficient. Her sensitivity was also overflowing. But compared to that, her mind was average. No, for a mage, it was rather lacking. In modern terms, she leaned more toward the humanities than the sciences. In other words, her talent tilted more toward instinct than reason—more toward expanding thought and nurturing imagination than toward precise calculation.
"You've probably felt it yourself. In other areas, effort brings results, but with spell formulas, the results don't match the effort you've put in."
"……"
"And it seems you attribute the problem to a lack of foundational knowledge."
He was right. The more she struggled with spell formulas, the more she had read books and supplemented her knowledge. The reason she had sought a solution that way was also clear. Professor Magnus seemed to have already guessed as much, nodding as he continued.
"There must have been someone who gave you advice. Either someone who studied a different discipline rather than magic, or an existence born with talent so extraordinary that ordinary people can't even imagine it."
Every time he looked at Arina, he had instantly recognized what she lacked. And without hesitation, he had told her the solution. From his perspective, that was the correct answer. If one only looked at the answer sheet, one might be born with the talent to recognize why it was correct at a glance. Since he had never once hit a wall in his life, he probably believed that anyone could overcome a wall if they just knew the answer. He wouldn't have known that ordinary people could never raise their test scores by simply reading the answers from the answer sheet.
"What you need isn't the conclusion, but the process."
Kain and Arina were different. The gap in their talents was as vast as the difference between the sun and a firefly. And though it was a regrettable thing to say, a genius who had never taught anyone in their life could never properly teach someone else.
"Right now, moving forward is poison to you."
"So in the end, there's no other way but to keep solving problems diligently, is that it?"
There were no shortcuts for a mage to reach the pinnacle. Only the straightforward path was the fastest way to grow stronger. Professor Magnus's words were exactly the same as what Kain had once said.
"Keep thinking. How can I solve this problem? Dig through your memories until your head feels like it's splitting, and write down the answer."
He would provide the problems. If needed, he would make new ones anytime. She could come to him whenever she wanted. He would give opportunities without reservation to those who sought them. But if she didn't seek them, he would never give them. It was a simple, almost crude teaching method that perfectly reflected Professor Magnus's principles.
"If you do it properly, you'll experience growth so dramatic that it won't even compare to where you are now."
This was certainty. She had already grasped how to handle mana to some extent during the first semester. If she could just fill in this missing piece, she would have no weaknesses left.
"……"
But after hearing Professor Magnus's words, Arina fell silent. With her understanding far beyond her age, she had grasped the hidden meaning behind his words. Yes, for now, she could solve her problems by continuing to work through the assignments Professor Magnus gave her. But what about later? After she had grown even more? As her star rank increased, the difficulty of the spell formulas she could use would grow exponentially. Would she still have to solve it through this kind of simple, repetitive grind? It wasn't impossible, but it was undeniably daunting.
"……What should I do from now on?"
That was why she asked her professor for help. What should she do going forward?
"As I said earlier, the more you push the brain, the more it grows in that direction."
It wasn't that her mind was completely lacking in that area like Togun Masao or Marily Raymond. She was merely a little behind other mages. It was a problem she could overcome with effort. Still, Arina probably knew that too. The real question was how to endure the process. Effort was a cold thing—it never revealed its results clearly until they were already achieved. And humans were creatures that grew tired and gave up easily when they didn't know how far they had come. Arina was probably worried about that, and fortunately, Professor Magnus had already thought of an answer.
"Miss Arina."
"Yes."
"I want you to aim to become an alchemist."
Her chronic problem was that she couldn't apply spell formulas on the spot. If that was the case, the solution was simple. She just needed to prepare the spell formulas she would use in advance—in the special form of magic circles.
"If you want, I can also arrange private lessons with Professor Paracelsus."
He would give opportunities without reservation to those who sought them. Sincere advice for a student who had come to him for help. At Professor Magnus's words, Arina bowed her head with a calm expression.
"I'll be in your care."
The second semester of her first year. It was the moment Arina Grant had truly decided her path as a mage.