Have a Dream
After the entrance ceremony ended, the first-year Class A classroom gradually filled with a lively, somewhat chaotic atmosphere as students trickled in one by one. Some children sat quietly in the corner seats, carefully reading the room. Others bustled about, greeting unfamiliar faces and observing their new classmates’ traits. And then there were those who seemed utterly uninterested in mingling with anyone, their noses buried deep in books.
Most of the students appeared to be around Arina’s age, though a handful of older ones—those who had apparently decided to study magic again despite their late start—stood out here and there.
“Hmm, there’s still quite a bit of awkwardness in the air.”
Marily, who had sensed the same distinctive mood in the classroom as Arina, gave a calm nod. She then cut straight across the room, took Arina’s hand, and led her toward a particular spot.
“Perfect. Two seats left right here.”
Window seats, no less, with a clear view of the outside scenery. Being in the very front row was a drawback, but neither of them saw it as much of a problem. Arina wasn’t the type to get distracted in class, and Marily knew from experience that the frontmost edge seats happened to fall into the teachers’ blind spots.
Does she still not realize?
Seats and classroom atmosphere were the last things on Arina’s mind. What bothered her most right now were the stares. Just as she expected. The moment Marily stepped into the classroom, every pair of eyes in the room swung toward them. It was only natural. After all, this was the princess of the Ellemental Kingdom—one of the four great nations that divided the vast continent.
Half fascination, half curiosity. Marily had effortlessly claimed everyone’s full attention the instant she appeared. And that attention naturally spilled over to Arina, the girl she had pulled into the classroom with her.
“Children really are easier to deal with. Once in a while some ill-mannered adult will see me showing clear disinterest and still come right up saying they want to get close.”
“......”
It wasn’t that she didn’t notice the attention. She had simply grown used to it after years of living as a princess. If anything, she considered silent glances like these far preferable.
“My brother was right. He said the only real chance I’d have to make proper friends would be at the academy.”
“......”
“And I’ve already made one wonderful friend like this. As expected, I really am quite lucky.”
By this point Arina couldn’t help but feel it. Princess Marily’s opinion of her was extraordinarily high. Just what exactly had she seen in her to speak this way? Of course Arina had never once considered herself a bad person, but receiving such strong trust from a princess was honestly a little burdensome.
Creak.
She had been listening to Marily’s quiet monologue for roughly five minutes and responding diligently when the front door opened. The chatter among the children who turned to look slowly died down. Had another famous student been placed in their class?
Curious, Arina turned her head as well—only to see a middle-aged man with sharp features. He gave off a strict rather than eccentric impression, the sort of person who looked like he would handle every task with meticulous, flawless precision. While one shouldn’t judge by appearance alone, his wrinkle-free suit and neatly waxed hair swept back in a perfectly controlled style made such preconceptions almost inevitable.
“...I’m unlucky. Of all people, that professor is our homeroom teacher.”
Marily clearly knew who the man was. Dark clouds gathered across the face of the girl who had just been boasting about her good fortune.
Spencer Magnus?
Arina tilted her head slightly as she read the name on his tag. Then she let out a small gasp of realization. Of course—that was the author of Magnus Theory, the book Kain had recommended to her not long ago.
Is he famous?
He had written a book so advanced that even Kain suggested it as reference material. On top of that, the quiet murmurs spreading through the classroom made it obvious he was a well-known professor.
As if reading the confusion on Arina’s face, Marily quietly recited a brief explanation of the man named Spencer Magnus.
“Spencer Magnus. Direct descendant of the Magnus Marquis family. The current marquis is still active, so he hasn’t inherited the title yet, but he’s essentially been confirmed as the successor.”
“......”
“And the previous Marquis Magnus, now retired, was a disciple of the Magic Sovereign. In other words, this professor is the grandson of the Magic Sovereign’s disciple.”
A disciple of the Magic Sovereign. Talent was practically guaranteed. As if to prove that bloodlines never lied, Spencer Magnus—despite being only in his mid-to-late thirties, still relatively young—had already produced numerous major achievements in the world of magic.
Impressive… right?
His accomplishments were certainly impressive. But when asked whether the title “grandson of the Magic Sovereign’s disciple” itself was impressive, Arina felt rather ambivalent. At that distance, the connection to the Magic Sovereign was practically nonexistent. If anything, the title seemed to diminish the value of Spencer Magnus’s own hard work.
“The real problem is that the professor’s personality is extremely strict and demanding. And since he’s a high-ranking noble himself, he doesn’t care about the opinions of other great nobles at all.”
“......”
“Looks like sleeping in class is completely off the table now.”
There was no way a professor that meticulous would have any blind spots. Watching Marily openly show her disappointment, Arina scratched her cheek awkwardly.
“Wait a second.”
She had suddenly caught something strange in Marily’s words. What had she said? That this professor in his mid-to-late thirties had a grandfather who was the Magic Sovereign’s disciple?
He had originally been scheduled to appear at the new students’ entrance ceremony, but it was suddenly canceled due to urgent business. Although Arina had never met him in person, she clearly remembered seeing the Magic Sovereign, Ern Benedict’s face on television just yesterday. He was a middle-aged man who had aged somewhat but could by no means be called elderly.
If what Marily said was true, just how old was the Magic Sovereign actually?
So it’s true that absolute beings age more slowly.
He had to be over a hundred years old at least. It was also said that becoming an absolute being removed all limits to one’s lifespan—could that be true as well?
As Arina marveled inwardly at these new realizations, Professor Magnus reached the lectern.
“Everyone, quiet.”
His voice was extremely low. Yet as if he had used amplification magic, it spread naturally throughout the entire classroom.
“Nice to meet you all. I am Spencer Magnus, and I will be the homeroom teacher for first-year Class A this year.”
He wrote his name on the blackboard, then slowly swept his gaze across the students. After cross-checking the names and faces he had memorized beforehand and confirming no one was missing, he gave a satisfied nod.
“There’s no need for me to explain who I am or give long introductions.”
“......”
“As your homeroom teacher and instructor, there is only one thing I want to say to you. I hope you will all take these words to heart and spend the coming year with me.”
With that, Professor Magnus erased his name and wrote a new sentence on the board.
Have a Dream
Reciting the sentence exactly as written, Professor Magnus looked around at the children.
“You all possess infinite possibilities both as mages and as human beings.”
Youth. The one and only period when you can try all sorts of things, experience the most, and have no need to fear failure.
“It doesn’t matter what it is. From now on, set a concrete goal that will shape the rest of your lives.”
Not simply the vague wish to become a great or outstanding mage. Whether it was writing a revolutionary magic thesis that would shock the world, reaching the 8-star realm and becoming a transcendent, or even developing groundbreaking magic engineering devices to grow rich—any dream was acceptable.
Whether the dream was modest or impossibly grand made no difference. Deciding on your own specific dream and building the foundation to chase it for the rest of your life was something that could only be done at this exact moment. That was what Professor Magnus believed.
“I have a dream as well—to become a mage recognized by the Magic Sovereign, following in my grandfather’s footsteps. As an intermediate step toward that goal, I am aiming for the 8-star realm.”
All who wielded magic power held stars within their bodies. A star was a kind of magic reservoir. One reservoir meant 1-star, two meant 2-star, and so on. The 8-star Professor Magnus spoke of represented the pinnacle of human learning—the realm commonly called the transcendent stage.
He treated what could be someone’s ultimate goal as nothing more than a stepping stone.
Some might laugh at such an unrealistic dream. But Professor Magnus had never once wavered in his objective.
“I hope each of you will set similar goals during this coming year.”
The path walked by those who held dreams was brilliant and dazzling beyond words. It was no exaggeration to say that the trails left by countless individuals had built the civilization of today.
And Professor Magnus sincerely hoped that every student he taught would become a cornerstone of that path.
“Question!”
Just as Professor Magnus was finishing, someone thrust their hand into the air. When Arina looked over, she saw the same energetic child who had been darting around the classroom greeting everyone earlier. The boy’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the professor.
“Yes, Togun Masao. What is your question?”
“I want to become a mage like the Magic Sovereign!”
A few children let out quiet snickers. The Magic Sovereign was one of the absolute beings who had reached a heavenly realm no one in the current age could easily attain. For any mage to dare set him as their goal sounded utterly absurd.
Yet Togun was completely sincere. Having grown up reading books about the Magic Sovereign since childhood, he had naturally developed deeper respect for him than anyone else. That respect had solidified into the firm goal of walking the same path.
“But no matter how many books I read, the descriptions of the divine authority that absolute beings possess are all too abstract. I can’t get any concrete sense of exactly how strong I need to become. Just how powerful are the absolute beings?”
A child with an even more unrealistic dream than his own. But unlike the other students, Professor Magnus did not laugh at him. While the others still needed to find their dreams over the course of the year, this boy’s eyes were already shining with purpose.
“That’s a difficult question.”
Because he wanted to cheer for that dream, he began to seriously consider the boy’s naïve question.
The reason the power of absolute beings was described so abstractly was simple: no one had ever stood in that position. Therefore, there was no accurate way to express their strength.
“First, let me ask you one thing. What star level do you believe an absolute being belongs to?”
“Isn’t it 8-star?”
The end of humanity was 8-star. That was an absolute truth recognized by all. From that perspective, although the titles “transcendent” and “absolute being” were used to distinguish the realms, one could cautiously assume they were ultimately divided by some further difference within the same 8-star stage.
“Incorrect.”
Professor Magnus shook his head, directly contradicting Togun’s common knowledge.
“It is true that 8-star marks the end of humanity. However, absolute beings are existences that transcend humanity itself.”
They were beings who had gone beyond the limits of transcendents. If an 8-star transcendent could single-handedly destroy a city, an absolute being could single-handedly bring an entire nation to ruin. They were absurd existences that completely defied human common sense.
“You said you aim for a position like the Magic Sovereign? Then your intermediate goal is the same as mine. First, become an 8-star mage. Your true trials will begin from there.”
“Yes!”
Togun answered with energetic determination.
“I’ve found another interesting one.”
Marily’s eyes sparkled like a Pokémon trainer who had just discovered a rare specimen. Arina wondered whether she herself was also being treated like a Pokémon.
“It seems there are no more questions. We’ll begin self-introductions starting from the front-left seat. After that, I’ll distribute tomorrow’s class schedule and the list of required textbooks, and today’s schedule will conclude.”
At Professor Magnus’s words, Arina—the first student called—stood up from her seat.
“Hello, my name is Arina Grant. I hope we can all get along well this year.”
She bowed politely to the class, and with that simple greeting, Arina’s academy life finally began.