An Unsettling Prediction Comes True
Togun's uneasy prediction hit the mark with perfect accuracy.
Before the real event began, they held a sparring match under the pretense of assessing their abilities. But the moment it started, what unfolded wasn't a fight—it was one-sided violence.
Jealousy pounded Togun without mercy, as if venting all the anger he'd built up toward Lust. Having served as his punching bag for nearly four hours the previous night, Togun now stared blankly at the classroom ceiling and let out a deep, exhausted sigh.
I don't want to go out.
He'd been told to show up again this evening. Just thinking about what happened yesterday made him genuinely dread it. Even now, his hands were trembling as if he'd developed PTSD.
His skill is on another level, though.
After getting beaten for nearly four hours, not a single bone was broken, not even a bruise. Yet the pain he felt with every strike was immense. It was as if the man knew exactly where to hit to cause the most agony. His beating technique had truly reached the pinnacle of the heavens.
Just from that, Togun could tell how formidable he was—and why Professor Karlsen had begged him for help.
But who the hell was he?
He'd gone along with the mood and taken the beating, but Togun still had no idea who the man was. Just as he'd said at the beginning, Jealousy never revealed his identity until the very end.
He doesn't seem like an academy professor.
With an appearance that striking, there was no way rumors wouldn't have spread throughout the academy. The fact that Togun didn't know him was proof enough that he wasn't a faculty member.
So was he really just one of Professor Karlsen's acquaintances? Come to think of it, from what he'd seen yesterday, the man's eccentric personality made it entirely believable that he'd be friends with Karlsen.
Kicking someone in the stomach just for being two minutes late? Really?
Ugh, I seriously don't want to go.
Pretending to be sick probably wouldn't work either. For the first time, Togun regretted agreeing to participate in the Academy Tournament.
Is something wrong?
Hemming tilted his head as he watched Togun slump over his desk, clutching his head with both hands. Normally, even if he struggled to follow the lesson, Togun never once took his eyes off the professor during class. Seeing him slumped over with that vacant expression made Hemming genuinely worried.
He looked exhausted this morning too.
Apparently he'd been training hard to prepare for the Academy Tournament since yesterday. It seemed the training was tougher than expected.
I should buy him a fatigue recovery potion during the next break.
Judging by his current state, there was no way Togun could focus on today's lesson. With that in mind, Hemming diligently copied every single thing written on the board into his notebook, intending to show it to him later.
The person currently standing at the lectern was Professor Magnus, infamous for filling the entire blackboard with dense writing.
"This is where the 'Telnoa Equation' comes into play. As you can see, it's used to fix imaginary numbers measured virtually into real numbers..."
Today, as always, Professor Magnus's lecture was so difficult it might as well have been an alien language. Arina, who was in a similarly groggy state from yesterday's sparring with Jealousy, felt like she was on the verge of collapse. The torrent of formulas Professor Magnus had written blurred before her eyes, turning her mind completely blank.
It was as if she had returned to the pure white state of a fetus still inside its mother's womb. Was this what the state of no-mind, no-thought—which countless martial artists longed to reach—felt like?
Even in that trance-like state, the fact that her right hand continued to copy down everything Professor Magnus wrote on the board clearly demonstrated her unwavering dedication to her studies.
"Next, I'll explain the types of magic where this Telnoa Equation is actually applied... but it seems we'll have to save this part for the next class."
Just as Arina, like Togun, was about to suffer a KO defeat, Professor Magnus glanced at his wristwatch and announced the end of the lesson. She'd somehow managed to hold on until the very end without collapsing. Relieved, Arina slumped weakly against the back of her chair.
"That concludes today's class."
Professor Magnus erased the board and began organizing the materials he'd brought. Before leaving the classroom, he turned toward where Arina was sitting and spoke.
"Miss Arina."
"Y-yes!"
Caught off guard while letting her guard down after class had ended, Arina jolted upright as if struck by lightning and answered Professor Magnus's call in a hurry.
"Come with me for a moment."
A shadow fell over Arina's face at those words. Unlike the other students who were beginning to prepare for their break, her personal hell wasn't over yet.
"Yes, I understand."
But what could she do? She couldn't possibly refuse when Professor Magnus told her to follow him. Especially not now, when it was obvious his reason for calling her had something to do with the Academy Tournament.
Is he going to give me more problems?
She hadn't even finished solving the ones she'd received yesterday. Had all that volume actually been meant for just one day? If so, would he scold her for not finishing it all?
Her mind, which had been bleached white from the lesson, was now painted black with worry. Like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse, she rose from her seat with no strength left.
"Good luck."
"Thanks, Marily."
Receiving her best friend's encouragement, Arina hurriedly followed after Professor Magnus, who was already heading out of the classroom.
Contrary to her worries, the reason Professor Magnus had called Arina wasn't to check the assignment he'd given her yesterday. He knew full well that the amount of problems he'd handed out couldn't possibly be solved in a single day.
In fact, he thought she'd solved quite a lot considering the circumstances. Given her problem-solving speed, finishing that much would have required her to work on them continuously until she went to bed.
"Excellent."
There was nothing more rewarding for a professor than seeing a student put in genuine effort. Professor Magnus nodded with pure admiration for Arina's hard work.
"However, I see frequent mistakes in the Nubis Equation section. I believe I explained this at the beginning of the semester..."
And as if cheering on her efforts, he didn't hesitate to offer advice on her weak points.
"What you need right now, as I told you yesterday, isn't previewing new material but thorough review. Whenever you find a weak spot, approach the problems with the mindset that you must fill those gaps without fail."
"Yes, I understand."
"I'll teach you about the Nubis Equation separately later."
He would have liked to teach her today, but unfortunately there wasn't enough time.
"By the way, where are we going?"
Arina, following Professor Magnus's unusually brisk pace, asked out of curiosity.
"Do you remember what I said yesterday?"
Professor Magnus answered while only slightly shifting his gaze toward her.
"That if the opportunity arose, I would seek help from Professor Paracelsus as well."
"Yes, I remember."
She definitely remembered him saying that. Arina nodded as she recalled yesterday's conversation with Professor Magnus.
"When I asked him this morning, he gladly agreed."
Professor Paracelsus had been overjoyed to hear that there was a first-year student who wanted to pursue alchemy as a career path. And when Magnus mentioned wanting to ask for his help regarding that student, he readily accepted the request and gave permission to bring the student to his office whenever it was convenient.
"......"
Did that mean they were heading to Professor Paracelsus's office right now? Arina's heart began to race at Professor Magnus's answer.
Of course, Professor Magnus did say something like that yesterday.
But she had never imagined the meeting would happen in just a single day. The pace of events felt almost too fast. It seemed like everything was progressing before she could even prepare herself.
"This is also considered late."
Perhaps sensing her thoughts from her expression, Professor Magnus immediately dismissed them.
"The Academy Tournament is not far away. And opportunities like the tournament, where you can freely use magic in real combat situations, don't come often."
If she wanted to apply alchemy during the event, she needed to receive instruction as quickly as possible and hammer that basic knowledge into her head.
"Opportunities don't come knocking every day. That's why mages must struggle to seize even one more chance than others."
Always give everything your best effort. It was the advice Professor Magnus constantly gave his students. Arina nodded with a determined expression.
"Yes!"
He was right. Both Professor Magnus and the Professor Paracelsus she was about to meet had carved out their precious time for her sake. For their sakes, she absolutely could not waste this opportunity.
As she renewed her resolve with that thought, some of the fatigue that had built up during class seemed to melt away. As he'd said earlier, there was nothing that pleased a professor more than seeing a student work hard.
Seeing the changed look in her eyes, a faint smile formed on Professor Magnus's lips.
"Here we are."
Before she knew it, they'd arrived at Professor Paracelsus's office. Looking at the nameplate on the wooden door that read Professor Paracelsus's Office, Arina swallowed dryly, visibly tense.
"Is anyone in?"
Seemingly unwilling to give her even a moment to ease her tension, Professor Magnus knocked on the door without the slightest hesitation.
"Please come in."
A relaxed voice came from inside. As Professor Magnus opened the door, an entirely new world unfolded before Arina's eyes.
The space appeared several times larger than the other professors' offices. The walls were densely covered with spatial expansion magic circles that forcibly stretched the existing area. Space and time were normally organically linked. The 'subspaces' artificially created by those with power were, as the name suggested, illusory spaces without the flow of time. But when manipulating actual space, one had to precisely calculate the effects on the element of time as well.
Therefore, space couldn't be expanded infinitely as one wished. Like a rubber band that seemed as if it could stretch forever, if you kept pulling it, it would eventually snap.
It's awe-inspiring no matter how many times I see it.
And this place was no exception. The office had expanded the space of a professor's room to its absolute limit. As a result, the flow of time outside and inside, centered around the entrance, felt noticeably different against her skin.
It was a space where overstretched spacetime precariously maintained its balance, on the verge of collapse at any moment. Countless magical tools and books floated freely throughout the office, moving in regular orbits like rotation and revolution, evoking the weightlessness of the distant universe.
The self-repairing power of spacetime repeatedly caused collapse and regeneration, giving birth to bizarre physical laws unseen in reality. It was like an imitation Inner World built upon the foundation of physical laws.
The magic circles written on the walls, which maintained that precarious balance so exquisitely, were enough to impress even Professor Magnus, a master of formulas.
Incredible.
Although she couldn't fully grasp the brilliance of this office like Professor Magnus could, it was still enough for Arina to indirectly understand just how skilled the owner, Professor Paracelsus, must be.
Her mana sensitivity, which surpassed that of ordinary people, allowed her to detect the strangely moving flows of mana within the office.
"Is that the student?"
While Arina was looking around the office, a voice came from above. When she looked up, she saw a mysterious man sitting atop a magical tool shaped like a cube that was freely orbiting in the weightless space. He smiled brightly at the two people who had entered his office.