Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Sign Here, Battle Mage! (2)
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How to exterminate a Wizard.
That is the root, the origin, the essence. When it came to discussing the fundamentals, I had not a shred of hesitation.
'How do you kill a Wizard?'
To put it another way, it was the same as asking how to smash the skull of the ancient lich Skeval—that empty-headed bonehead—into pieces as thoroughly as possible.
Answering that question wasn't hard.
I'd already organized it to the point of nausea. I'd proven it myself time and again through direct clashes. The skulls of Skeval piled up deep in my subspace were proof of that.
"Wizard hunting."
Something I already knew.
Something I could be certain of.
"How to burst a mage's head open."
I tugged my gloves taut with a long shhink.
"The lecture begins now."
Listen well, you lot.
I'm about to expound on the fundamentals.
2.
Special lecture for Combat Magic Department students.
Understanding the Battle Mage.
The students seated in the lecture hall hung on the professor's every word from the podium. Her voice brimmed with fervor.
"First off, as you all know, the Battle Mage is a class developed by the esteemed Ashen Mage. A class born on the battlefield, that's what it is."
This was the polar opposite of Professor Lania's usual calm demeanor. The nightmare of her unflappable, coldly rational responses in any situation was nowhere to be found.
"You'll learn the secrets of the class that figure racked their brains to create right here. Quite the honor, isn't it? Treat it as such."
The students wore faintly queasy expressions.
Of course it was an honor. An honor, sure, but...
'Was Professor Lania always like this...?'
Something felt off. She seemed to be gritting her teeth extra hard today during the lesson. Pondering the reason, the students came up with a plausible guess.
'Professor Lania's older brother.'
'Yeah, come to think of it, technically speaking...'
The Ashen Mage, Raniel van Trias.
Lania van Trias of the same house.
By lineage, Raniel was the brother, Lania the sister. Was it the respect of a younger sibling for her elder? The students snuck sidelong glances at Lania.
Thud!
She slammed the blackboard and widened her eyes.
The students flinched back slightly. It was too fierce, too intense to simply call 'respect'—a blazing will burned in those blue eyes.
They wanted some distance. Really.
Keeping their distance, the students thought to themselves.
'Yeah, she respects him a lot...'
'For someone like the Ashen Mage, well...'
What kind of being was the Ashen Mage?
An idol revered by all mages. If you had such a figure as your brother, would that level of admiration naturally sprout?
'No, at this point, it's not just admiration...'
It was obsession.
A desperate resolve to prove it, no matter what.
The students couldn't fathom where that burning obsession came from.
Except for two.
"......"
Belnoa silently wiped the corner of his eye.
He knew Professor Lania's true identity: the Ashen Mage. Knowing that, Belnoa couldn't help but feel his face heating up.
'Embarrassing. So damn embarrassing.'
Why was Professor Lania acting like this?
At the moment she pronounced 'esteemed Ashen Mage' with her own mouth, Belnoa involuntarily bowed his head. He couldn't bear to meet her eyes.
Praising her own feats.
While hiding her true identity.
And in front of students younger than herself, no less.
'Pathetic...!'
The thought bubbled up unbidden.
In a shocking act of irreverence, Belnoa found himself deeming the creator of his own class 'pathetic.'
"Oh."
Belnoa turned at the voice beside him. A fellow student sat there—one who looked like he'd drift through life aimlessly.
"Indeed."
Rak van Grace.
He kept nodding vigorously, looking deeply impressed. Belnoa shot him a pitying glance.
'He can only act like that because he doesn't know the truth.'
He was wrong.
Rak knew Lania's identity too. And yet, he felt nothing unusual about it. Most people don't take others' words at face value. They consider the speaker's intent, searching for hidden meanings.
'Indeed, the professor is an esteemed figure.'
Not Rak.
Rak took things as they were said. Especially from a professor he trusted. He nodded along continuously, ears attuned to Lania's lecture.
"...Hoo."
"Ooh..."
As the two students sighed and marveled from different mindsets, Lania's class pressed on.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "To crush someone utterly, you must understand them deeply. The Battle Mage is a class specialized to counter Wizards."
Wizard.
The original class.
"What are the hallmarks of the Wizard class?"
Lania spread her fingers wide.
"Among all spells, none match elemental spells for sheer destructive power. The Wizard class wields those elemental spells, supported by a variety of others—that's the feel of it."
They deliver a heavy, crushing blow.
To set up that one shot, they lay traps and buy time with miscellaneous spells. That was the Wizard class's basic combat style.
"So they become a hassle if you let them create distance. The more time you give them, the farther they pull away, the exponentially stronger they get—that's the Wizard class."
That's why they hide behind the front lines.
The Wizard class more than justifies the time the vanguard buys them.
"Moreover, they have a deep understanding of circuits. True to their pursuit of spell perfection, they grasp spells overall at a high level. They can predict the next move just from the edge of a circuit."
What happens if they predict it?
"They counter. By manifesting a spell with favorable matchup or weaving a defensive one. Of course, Wizards at a high enough level can do even this."
Lania pointed at a student in the front row.
"Draw any circuit for me, would you?"
The student nodded and traced a circuit. Watching it form in the air, Lania extended her arm.
"Mid-level spell, Shockwave."
She read the spell.
Then she slipped her finger into the circuit the student was drawing. Her finger wedged between the lines. The student's eyes widened.
Kiririk!
She flicked the finger hooked into the circuit.
That alone flipped control of the circuit. A completed circuit floated above Lania's hand.
"Circuit seizure. A technique possible once you know what circuit your opponent is drawing and grasp its core. Not an easy feat."
It was akin to predicting what letter or word a single stroke would form.
"Not easy, but succeed and the battle turns in an instant. Most frontline Wizards can seize circuits. Of course, it won't work on someone superior."
Lania waved her hand, erasing the circuit.
"So, Wizards have three main characteristics."
One, they primarily wield elemental spells.
Two, they grow stronger with distance or time.
Three, they dominate magic battles through circuit knowledge.
"Let's tackle them one by one."
Lania clapped sharply.
Pointing to the first trait on the blackboard, she continued.
"The counter to elemental spells is fundamentally 'matchups.' But that doesn't apply universally to all Wizards. The higher the level, the better they overcome matchups."
By leveraging spells like Kelrhalim.
Or, if not...
"Take the ancient lich Skeval as a prime example—he masters all elemental attributes to their limits. Gaining matchup advantage with the same attribute is tough."
Wielding all attributes.
Transcendent Wizards each had ways to overcome their weaknesses. These weren't forged overnight.
Their lives.
Fortresses built brick by unyielding brick.
Lania knew that to breach them, other means were needed.
"So, we change our approach."
With those words, Lania snapped her fingers.
"And you all know the method."
Smite.
A streak of light flashed.
Pointing at the afterimage of the strike spell that rent the air, Lania said,
"Use strike spells, which have no elemental matchup. Strike spells deliver physical impact. That's why you incorporate body techniques."
Reinforce the body.
Close in and slam strike spells home.
Lania explained why the Battle Mage class took that form—the basics everyone knew.
"This also counters the second trait. Wizards grow stronger with time. A pain if they widen distance. So deny it. Reinforce your body and drag them into close quarters."
She paused briefly.
"Of course, there's a foundational spell for this... but it's beyond you lot for now. We'll cover it in the senior curriculum."
Balance-based equivalent exchange.
Setting that explanation aside, she continued.
"We've covered two, one remains."
Dominance in magic battles.
Spell seizure and retaliation.
"You should know this one best."
The students nodded.
They glanced at the backs of their hands. The stocked spells there were the counter.
"Spells pre-cast and stored. They activate instantly, without gap—no seizing them. It creates variables, creates openings."
She tapped the side of her head with a finger.
"And once the opening forms, it's over. Victory hinges on that split-second gap. Make the opening and blow a hole in their head. Spells are woven in the mind. No mind, no spells, right?"
The students recoiled in horror.
Realizing her word choice was rather extreme, Lania cleared her throat a few times.
"Anyway, I trust you get it now."
She lightly smacked the blackboard with the back of her hand.
"This is the root of the Battle Mage."
Practicality and flexibility?
Mere side benefits.
"Everything about the Battle Mage exists to hunt Wizards. Everything you've learned is a tool to kill mages."
The origin.
"If the Wizard is a cannon hunkered behind sturdy walls, the Battle Mage is the spear. The spear that pierces the walls and skewers the cannon within."
The Hero, Kyle Toven.
A class with a similar fighting style to his.
"Over the next two weeks, your spear-tip will sharpen further. Enough to pierce anything."
How to make it so?
Lania smiled brightly as she stepped down from the podium. With a creeeak, she opened the lecture hall door and beckoned the students to follow.
"Come along."
The students felt a chill of foreboding.
Hesitant but obedient, they trailed after Lania. Down corridors, down stairs. After a long walk, they arrived somewhere.
[Training Hall]
The gymnasium prepared for the Combat Magic Department.
A familiar spot from Professor McHart's classes. But when the firmly shut doors swung open... the students' pupils trembled violently.
"The Sword Superman, Kuntel, once said this."
The open gymnasium doors.
Beyond them, a demonic realm.
The professor stood before hell's gateway, smiling innocently. Her smile was utterly beautiful.
"Nothing beats real combat."
She pointed inside the gymnasium.
"Let's do it. Real combat."
The students' faces drained white.
"Professor McHart and I will do our utmost to aid your growth."
Now it made sense why Professor Lania wore training gear, her hair neatly tied back. As the trembling students realized, Lania addressed them.
"In two weeks, you'll be proper Battle Mages."
Her smile was flawlessly pure.
Not a trace of malice. Seeing her genuine wish for their growth... the students couldn't help recalling a proverb.
『The road to hell is paved with good intentions.』
The students marched toward hell.
Accompanied by Lania's beautiful smile.
3.
Combat Magic Department special intensive week.
The students' groans echoed, but Aphria carried on with its usual routine.
Yesterday like today.
Tomorrow like today.
In this peaceful daily flow, those aware of the Hounds and Kelrhalim's visit harbored one question.
'Just why did Kelrhalim come to Aphria?'
A natural, unanswered question.
Kelrhalim simply attended classes quietly. Even the Hounds watching him were starting to relax their vigilance.
"There must be something."
Kalt tapped the table repeatedly.
The surface was strewn with files on Kelrhalim. Staring at records of the madman's past and deeds, Kalt muttered.
"Kelrhalim was the chief academic officer of the scholarly city of Artia. A respected figure, a capable educator."
Tap.
"He produced many skilled mages, but if we pick the top among them, it's her."
Tap.
"Celestia von Arta."
Tap. Kalt's tapping finger halted. He eyed a record on one figure.
"A summoner who commanded five top-tier spirits at once—the greatest talent in history."
Yet Kalt hadn't known this mage's name until now. A figure from a century ago, but with that talent, she should have left some legacy. Why hear of her for the first time?
The reason was at the record's end.
"Died on graduation day."
Artia fell with her death.
No explanation anywhere.
How it fell, the link to her death... no record mentioned it.
'Just that it involved heretics.'
Kalt touched his lips.
"But this face... where have I seen it?"
Pale lavender hair.
Pale lavender eyes.
From the portrait in the records, Kalt felt an odd sense of familiarity. He let out an involuntary sigh.
"Resti Eleanoa."