Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Enlightenment, and Growth (2)
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Mana Trading Studies, Basic Classroom.
The bell signaling the top of the hour rings inside the classroom.
-Ding, dong.
A clear, resonant chime.
When the bell has tolled about three times.
-Creak.
The classroom door slides open. The moment it does, the air in the room grows heavy in an instant.
"·····."
The students who had been chatting fall silent. Those turned around talking to the ones behind them straighten up in their seats. The sounds of pens being taken out and pages flipping continue for a while.
This lasts but a moment.
Soon, complete silence settles in.
Only then does Professor Rosel, who had been standing at the door, step into the classroom.
Tap.
The low click of shoe heels.
He strides to the podium with steady steps and sweeps his gaze over the classroom. As always, he doesn't call roll.
"Everyone's here."
That's all he says, briefly.
Professor Rosel pushes up his glasses and narrows his eyes. The students in the front row flinch, their shoulders trembling as they meet those blue eyes.
"Class begins."
He doesn't bother with small talk.
The lesson starts right away, flowing gently like ripples on water.
"Last time, we covered manifesting higher spells through restrictions."
He doesn't rush from the start.
Like a gentle ripple, Rosel briefly recaps the previous lesson. It's not hard to follow the flow.
It's material they've learned once before and reviewed through assignments. Understanding it is straightforward.
Riding the gentle waves, the students prepare themselves.
"···That's where we left off last time."
Finishing the review, Rosel stands before the blackboard.
He writes a single line on it.
"Today's lesson is on the relationship between circuits and stars. The most crucial topic in Mana Trading Studies."
The relationship between mana and stars.
Rosel puts a period at the end of the sentence and looks at the students.
"Let's begin."
The gentle ripples begin to surge.
2.
Rosel's classes flow as one continuous stream.
"Most circuits you'll find are for stabilizing spells."
That flow is always the same.
The students, having attended his classes for a month, have a rough sense of how it progresses.
"Look at the examples."
It starts low.
"It could be a circle enclosing the circuit, or a pattern engraved at its center. The purpose is stabilization, but the forms vary."
And rises high.
"Today, we'll explain the principles behind the circuits for 'stabilization' in these spells. Here are the examples."
Rosel crooks a finger.
Several circuits float into the air. Each contains a mid-to-high-tier spell.
Pointing to them, Rosel speaks.
"You've memorized these, haven't you? Most mages memorize circuits. They don't pay attention to how they're drawn or what each line means."
The circuits disassemble in midair.
What's left are the stabilization circuits from each spell.
"Look closely."
Rosel pulls forward a slanted circuit.
"This mid-upper-tier spell is 'Mana Explosion.' Most explosion-based spells top out at upper-tier. But Mana Explosion is mid-upper. Why?"
Student Mack raises his hand.
Rosel gestures, and he answers.
"Because it has less power than upper-tier spells."
"And why less power?"
"Because it uses less mana."
"Then what's the advantage over upper-tier spells?"
"Um, a more stabilized··· explosion is possible."
Rosel nods.
"Right. Mid-upper-tier spells get more use than upper-tier ones. Mostly because they offer more stable activation in exchange for lower power."
The disassembled circuits align in the air.
The circuits lined up next to Mana Explosion share a common trait. One overlooked when memorizing.
From top to bottom.
Then curving from bottom to the right.
Pointing to it, Rosel says.
"These circuits are for Mana Explosion, Chain Lightning, and Flame Storm. Their commonality is exactly what Mack said."
Weaker power than upper-tier spells, but more stable activation.
"When spells sharing commonalities have common circuits, is it coincidence?"
Everyone shakes their heads.
"There's a connection to the stars in these commonalities."
Rosel points to the circuit.
"This curve from top to bottom—doesn't it look familiar?"
Someone lets out an "Ah."
Resti notices first. She glances at her study sheet on the desk.
"···Reduction."
A type of 'restriction' applied during the star trade process.
Rosel nods at the murmur.
"Yes. This is the circuit for the restriction 'Reduction' in star trades."
Next, he points to the one curving from bottom to right.
"This limits the spell to one direction—the restriction 'Certain.'"
Certain and Reduction.
They match these spells perfectly. Less power and more limited range than standard spells.
At that moment, the students realize something.
The realization is vague. Built on rough intuition alone.
A realization that will scatter if not organized.
"Restrictions lower power. In exchange, they enable higher-tier spells."
Rosel summarizes it once.
He doesn't let it dissipate.
"But that's not enough. Add one more restriction. Limit a wide-area spell to one direction. In exchange, regain some lost power."
Tap.
"Two restrictions applied. They connect. Forming a single new circuit."
Rosel touches the circuit.
"Restrictions are yin. Yin times yin yields yang. I'll explain that later···."
He names the attached circuit.
"The gain from restrictions—this circuit of two linked ones is called Stability."
Rosel nods curtly.
"Yes, the circuits you call spell stabilizers."
What they thought they knew flips upside down.
*
Stability.
At the word, the students' expressions change.
Circuits for spell stabilization are basic of basics. The first thing learned when engraving circuits is stabilization ones.
They've drawn them countless times.
Not mid-upper-tier, but students remember stabilization circuits for mid-lower-tier spells.
They visualize them in their minds.
Their eyes examine the restriction circuit patterns from last class.
They match.
"Ah."
Someone sighs.
The sighs spread.
'Everything we've used until now.'
Mindlessly memorized without thought.
'Were all restrictions from star trades?'
When vague grasp solidifies, it's called realization.
Realization comes suddenly.
Sudden, yet not unfamiliar.
"Look at the circuits you memorized—or thought were just spell stabilizers."
Because it's not made solely of today's new knowledge.
"Look at the restriction circuits from last class. See it now?"
Where does realization come from?
"Everything you've always handled stems from the star trade process."
From things taken for granted.
From certainties thought known. Realization arises.
"Thus, stars connect to the most basic elements. What you take for granted, haven't thought deeply about. Widely used things."
Rosel pauses briefly before speaking.
"Stars dwell in the fundamentals."
The high surge ebbs back down. With calming ripples comes a moment of respite.
The students move their pens.
They record the newfound realization in writing.
Scratch, scratch.
For a while, only the sound of pens on paper continues. But not everyone holds a pen. One doesn't.
She blinks.
"·····."
She says nothing.
"···Ah."
Her lips part slightly.
A faint murmur slips through.
"So that's it."
Most students don't hear it.
But the girl beside her does.
"···?"
Resti finishes a section of notes and turns. She overheard the murmur.
Professor Lania.
Her eyes peek through cascading hair. Those blue eyes hold a new light.
Tap.
She touches the paper.
It's crammed with lines of text. A spell transcribing thoughts directly to paper.
Since it copies thoughts as-is.
The writing is chaotic.
Unformed words float about. Unformed letters fragment, occupying parts of the page.
Tap.
She touches it again.
Letters combine into words.
Tap.
Words form sentences.
The sentences rearrange. The reordered ones flow logically. The page organizes itself.
"·····."
The process is eerily quiet.
Resti stares blankly at the filling lines, then returns to her own paper.
'···What did she see?'
She doesn't know. But staring will make her miss the flow.
"Continuing."
Right on cue, Rosel speaks. Resti shakes her head and focuses on her notes.
3.
Rosel's class continues.
Students sometimes fail to grasp his words. But when one flow ends, they understand. It repeats endlessly.
Content they don't understand appears.
Students blink at the blackboard.
Raniel narrows her eyes, watching the students.
Uncomprehended content continues.
Students clutch their heads, scribbling notes.
Raniel touches her paper.
The flow continues, and suddenly it clicks.
Students jot down their understanding.
Raniel organizes her insights in her mind.
Class goes on.
They hear the same lesson. Yet gains differ for each.
Some understand.
Some gain realization from understanding.
Rosel writes on the board. A sentence with a blank. He tells them to fill it.
Students fill blanks during class.
Raniel erases words while observing the class.
Students complete sentences with blanks filled.
Raniel deconstructs words to build sentences.
An hour passes.
Students absorb Rosel's teachings.
Raniel makes the teachings her own.
Two hours pass.
Not the same two hours for all.
"That's it for today."
After three hours, class ends. Rosel leaves, followed by the students.
Only Raniel and Resti remain in the empty classroom.
Raniel slowly closes her eyes.
The stack of papers has grown, filled with her thoughts intact.
Understanding comes suddenly.
Sudden, but not instantaneous. Born from past experiences.
Rosel's classes are like that.
His lessons aren't built on realizations from this seat alone. They link to old experiences. Answers aren't from entirely new paths.
Raniel recalls the past ten days.
In Mackhart's class, she realized how she appeared to others.
In Charlotte's class, how to approach students.
In Rute's class, which words and arrangements ease understanding.
In Kurte's and Gerekt's classes, how to gauge students' levels.
Finally, her master.
In Rosel's class, Raniel realizes. Or rather, it's more like grasping the flow than pure realization.
One flow pierces through realizations.
Insights from other professors' classes over ten days connect into one. A single linked flow.
Rosel showed the direction Raniel should take.
But he didn't drag her along.
How to walk that path.
That's purely Raniel's. And she doesn't just tread the prepared road.
She alters it to her understanding.
Raniel finds answers.
From her own realizations.