Chapter 30
Chapter 30
An Unavoidable Fight
“They are your seniors. They will provide detailed guidance to each of you.”
Just as Magram had said, the teaching assistants approached each student individually and began explaining the finer adjustments.
However, Idnia was curious about something other than magic.
“Hello, Senior. How did things end up like this…?”
“Do you know the fable of the man who made the wrong wish to the genie of the lamp?”
“Yes?”
“Think of it like that. I gave in to my desires, and before I knew it, I had become a research student. Juniors, let me warn you—never, ever become a research student.”
“Well, do you think they’ll listen just because we warn them? Our seniors warned us too.”
“……”
Even so, the abilities of these senior mages were truly astonishing. They could instantly pinpoint where the students were struggling, what they were doing wrong, and where errors were occurring.
“Our professors are monsters who have been flying since birth, so they don’t understand the mistakes of humans who must first learn how to walk.”
“Their magic seems limitless, tempting you to covet it—but that’s exactly how you end up like a moth flying into the flames.”
“Be wary of your thirst for power and knowledge.”
The assistants continued to warn the students while guiding them without rest.
Thanks to that, even those who had failed to summon spirits began succeeding one after another.
“Ah… I’ve achieved in just this one hour what would have taken a month elsewhere.”
“My goodness…”
The students could clearly feel their abilities improving at a rapid pace under the assistants’ guidance.
Only then did they truly understand why Dunais Academy boasted that there was no need to waste time, money, and energy on prior learning elsewhere.
‘And those assistants look so pitiful.’
‘We’re not idiots—why would we volunteer for something like that after seeing them?’
‘I could just learn a reasonable amount of magic, graduate from Dunais Academy, and go on to become a bureaucrat, join a magic company, or travel the world as an adventurer—earning admiration and living like a hero…’
‘But still… there are so many powerful mages here. It’s like all the Empire’s archmages are gathered in one place.’
As warned, the students felt fear toward the academy’s research student system, yet at the same time, they were increasingly drawn to the power and knowledge it offered.
“Alright, assistants—dismissed!”
A smoke bomb exploded once again, and within the cloud, the assistants activated spells and vanished.
The academy was filled with countless teleportation gates that could be activated through specific triggers and signals, and the smoke was used to conceal those activation signs.
As the smoke cleared, the assistants had disappeared without a trace, just as they had first appeared.
By now, almost all the students had successfully summoned low-level fire spirits, each with a different appearance.
Crown Prince Rudolf’s spirit took the form of a blazing orb symbolizing royal authority.
The Southern Notos dormitory head’s spirit appeared as a small flaming scale.
Karl, the Northern Boreas dormitory head, summoned a burning axe.
However, not everyone succeeded.
Only Mari had failed to summon a spirit.
The assistants had stayed by her side the entire time, trying to help, only to eventually give up and step away. Knowing how valuable that guidance was, the other students couldn’t help but feel irritation at Mari’s clumsiness.
They were all prodigies in their hometowns.
To those who believed intellectual brilliance was a basic duty, watching Mari waste such an opportunity felt downright repulsive.
“Ugh. Just like someone who entered as the bottom of the class.”
“Is this really a saint candidate?”
Mockery poured down on Mari from all sides.
Overwhelmed by the attention, she became even more flustered and failed her incantations again and again.
-Pop!
“Giggle!”
“This is hilarious. A girl like that got into Dunais Academy?”
Unable to watch any longer, Idnia approached her.
“I’ll help you.”
“N-no, it’s alright, Lady Idnia. I couldn’t possibly trouble you…”
“Please don’t say that, Miss Mari. I consider you a friend. We’re in the same dorm—roommates, even.”
Idnia pitied Mari.
And beyond that, she needed her.
‘I may also be a saint candidate, but I don’t think I’m the real one. If Mari, the true saint, isn’t properly nurtured, the world could be in danger. I need to help her as much as I can.
And if possible… I should bring her over to the Betelgeuse Duchy entirely.’
Ignoring the others, Magram addressed the students who had successfully summoned spirits.
“Now then, you will have your spirits duel.
This will show how well you are connected to the Spirit World and how refined your mental control is as a mage.
And if anyone manages to overwhelm all others, I will—this time seriously—award 1 point.”
At that, all the students shouted inwardly in unison.
‘So you admit you were joking earlier?!’
‘You bastard!’
Following Magram’s command, the students placed their spirits on the table, and the duels began.
Rudolf’s orb-shaped spirit unleashed powerful flames, easily defeating others.
Karl’s axe-shaped spirit spun like a flaming windmill, cleaving opponents in two.
But the most remarkable of all was Isolde Polchen’s flame butterfly.
It sliced through other spirits with its wings and fired beams of flame.
It even pierced through Rudolf’s blazing attacks.
“…I’ve lost. Impressive, Isolde.”
“You flatter me. Thank you for yielding, brother.”
Though inwardly delighted, Isolde maintained her composure before Rudolf.
Since even Rudolf had fallen, no other student’s spirit could match hers.
“…Now then, Lady Idnia Kache Betelgeuse. What about your spirit?”
“Um… I think it’s best not to use mine. I’ll forfeit.”
Idnia shook her head.
“Forfeit? It’s not like a spirit getting destroyed hurts. What kind of spirit is it?”
“That is…”
Reluctantly, Idnia revealed her spirit.
Compared to the others—large, splendid, over 30 centimeters—hers was tiny.
‘This is… that thing, right? A Magnum automatic pistol. A Desert Eagle? No, it was a limited collaboration spirit from another game… If it looks like this, it’s basically announcing I’m from another world.’
Of course, no one recognized it.
“Pfft.”
“What is that pathetic thing?”
“Giggle.”
Unaware of the terror of firearms, the students mocked it freely.
“They say a spirit reflects one’s inner self. Student Idnia… what exactly is this?”
Magram’s eyes gleamed strangely.
“I’ll just count this as my loss. Using this in a duel would be… dangerous.”
Just as Idnia tried to withdraw—
“Burume ung-hara! O lowest-ranking fire spirit!”
A brilliant light burst forth.
Everyone turned in shock.
At last—Mari had succeeded.
But… her spirit was unlike any other.
It appeared as sacred characters forming a sphere, with small wings and flames floating beside it.
“W-What?! A Flame Angel?”
Even Magram was startled.
“What is it? Is it something amazing?”
The students were confused.
“That is both a spirit and an angel—a dual-attribute being. Incredible… as expected of a saint…”
Though Magram praised it, Sendia Aspinal scoffed.
‘That clumsy country girl, a saint? Just because she summoned something strange…’
Without waiting for a signal, Sendia’s vortex-shaped flame spirit charged at Mari’s.
“Now! Let the duel begin! Show us what that Flame Angel can do!”
“W-wait—”
“It’s already started! Ohoho!”
Sendia’s spirit attacked fiercely from the start.
But—
-Flash!
In a blinding burst, Sendia’s spirit shattered instantly.
“…What?”
Sendia froze.
So did everyone else.
‘That’s not the power of a low-level spirit…’
“Ah, well… since I’m here, fire spirits are easier to summon in this classroom. Yours are stronger than usual, so don’t expect this level outside.
Even so… Miss Mari’s spirit is exceptional.
Now then—who will challenge her next?”
At Magram’s call, Isolde stepped forward.
“I will.”
“But Miss Isolde, your spirit has already fought many times—”
Ignoring Mari’s hesitation, Isolde cast her spells.
“Spirit Healing.”
“Accelerate.”
Her spirit recovered vitality with minimal mana.
At once, the flame butterfly launched a dazzling assault.
But Mari’s Flame Angel danced through the attacks, minimizing damage, closing in—
“Holy Flame Script!”
In an instant, Isolde’s spirit was destroyed.
‘Impossible…!’
Isolde trembled in shock.
‘I’ve trained far longer than them… Is this the power of a saint?!’
Those who mocked Mari were stunned.
‘She really is the saint…’
‘Even Isolde lost…?’
Meanwhile, Idnia smiled quietly.
‘Thank goodness… she really does have the strength of a protagonist.’
But then—
“I clearly said, didn’t I? To earn the point, you must defeat all spirits. One still remains.”
Magram refused to award the point.
The last spirit—was Idnia’s.
“Um… I can just forfeit, right? I’ll dispel mine.”
Idnia had no desire to compete.
But Mari—did.
“May I challenge you, Lady Idnia?”
“…Ah…”
Seeing Mari’s flushed face and tearful eyes, Idnia understood.
This was her cry.
Her struggle. Her proof.
She could not turn away.
“…Very well. I accept.”