Chapter 48
Chapter 48
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Enlightenment, and Growth (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Rak van Grace.
A native of the North, he was a valiant warrior. Even the warriors of the North acknowledged Rak's bravery.
-Young Master Rak is incredible.
-At my age, I was just chopping firewood at home, but Young Master Rak was out there chopping White Fangs instead! Hahaha!
A hearty burst of laughter.
The broad, thick fingers thumping his back.
"...Hm."
Rak let out a short groan.
The warriors from the North who had thumped his back at the tavern suddenly came to mind.
'I wanted to be a man who wouldn't disappoint their expectations...'
Rak felt ashamed.
He was gripped by fear right now. And not during a life-or-death battle with a powerful foe, but during the break before class.
'What a shameful thing...'
Still, the trembling wouldn't stop.
The professor about to enter this class was the cause. His awe and fear of her only grew with each passing day.
The professor who had crushed a traitor's skull with her bare hands.
The professor who had clashed evenly with the Royal Guard's Hound.
By sheer coincidence, Rak had witnessed both incidents from close range. And he had realized something instinctively.
Professor of Basic Mana Trading Studies.
Lania van Trias.
He must never get on her bad side.
"......"
Rak shuddered, his shoulders trembling as he gripped his writing tools. He steadied his breathing and sharpened his focus. That was how Rak concentrated.
'I have to concentrate...!'
To keep up with a class of mind-numbing difficulty without missing a beat, this much preparation was necessary.
"Ugh..."
That was when Rak was staring intently at his notes.
-Creak.
The classroom door opened, and Professor Lania entered. The students fell silent, and quiet descended over the room.
"......"
Rak lifted his head slightly.
He happened to make eye contact with Professor Lania as she passed by. She looked at him and tilted her head slightly.
Even meeting her gaze head-on, Rak didn't look away like he usually would.
'Something...'
Rak felt a sense of incongruity.
'Something's different?'
Something was off.
It was hard to put into words, but it didn't feel the same as usual. Normally, there was a bit more detachment, a sense of distance...
'Not now.'
It felt unfamiliar somehow.
Rak tilted his head.
2.
Lania van Trias.
She had only stood at the podium and given a proper lecture twice. And one of those was a public lecture, so it was debatable whether it even counted as a class.
A class that had proceeded normally.
There had only been that one in the second week.
And that single class had left a strong impression on the students. For better or worse.
-After the class, it feels like I gained some insight.
-I learned something. I did learn, but...
-It's a class where you take something away. You do, but...
That was the general consensus about her classes. Subtle. Undeniably high-level, but was it a good class? That was another question.
-Insanely difficult.
-I have no idea what I just heard. I think I understood... no, did I? I'm not sure.
-Scary. Those eyes are terrifying. Like they're saying, "You know what to do, so why aren't you?"...
An absurdly high level.
A professor who treated it as a given.
And.
-The assignments are insane.
-Ten sheets of worksheets? Is this even reasonable...?
Mad assignment volume.
As expected from master and disciple, the assignments covered both quality and quantity, with a hint of malice to boot.
Perhaps because they had experienced those assignments firsthand.
'What is she going to hand out this time...'
As Professor Lania entered carrying a huge stack of papers, the students inwardly sighed.
Thud.
She set the papers on the desk and opened her mouth.
"Hello."
A brief greeting.
"A few days ago, in Professor Rosel's class, you learned about the relationship between circuits and stars, right? You covered the Stability circuit that connects two Restrictions..."
She briefly summarized Rosel's lecture.
The students began to feel a slight sense of incongruity in her tone.
"Today, I'd like to break down that Stability circuit a bit further. The parts that Professor Rosel couldn't cover due to time constraints."
It was different from the last class somehow.
Her tone was strangely softer.
'...Something.'
The students sensed it.
'Something's different?'
Students who had been bracing themselves, recalling the previous class and widening their eyes, were the first to notice. They had been the most tense.
Something was off.
They harbored that vague doubt.
But the doubt didn't last long.
"Then, let's begin the class."
Clap. Lania clapped her hands.
The stack of papers on the podium flew to the students' desks. The motion was precise.
What worksheets could these be?
With that thought, the students looked at the papers they received. Then, they tilted their heads.
'...Blank?'
Nothing was written on them.
Soon, Lania spoke.
"What I've just distributed are circuit recording sheets. Please record the best circuit you can each engrave."
At the word "recording sheets," the students' eyes widened.
Circuit recording sheets were expensive magical tools said to be used only by the Magic Society.
The students carefully touched the paper.
They marveled at its texture.
Soon, one by one, the students began engraving circuits onto the sheets. The process wasn't complicated.
Visualize the circuit you want to engrave in your mind.
If you've drawn it before, the sheet records it based on that memory and experience.
"Take your time. No need to infuse mana. Just recalling it is enough."
Professor Lania walked among the students, helping those unfamiliar with the recording sheets.
After a while.
All the students finished recording their circuits. As expected from Aphria Academy, filled with talented mages, most of the recorded circuits were advanced ones.
"Um..."
"That's a supreme circuit, Incinerate..."
Some had even engraved supreme circuits.
Gazes subtly turned to the purple-haired girl sitting quietly in the corner: Resti.
"If you've all finished engraving."
Lania snapped her fingers.
"Now, think about what spell is contained in the circuit you engraved, and what characteristics that spell has."
What are its characteristics?
Answering that wasn't hard. Knowing how to engrave the circuit meant they already understood the spell well.
The students wrote explanations of the spells on the worksheets distributed alongside the recording sheets. It didn't take long. As they recorded, they suddenly realized something.
'There's... leeway?'
There was plenty of time to write.
Students who finished looked furtively at Professor Lania. She stood with arms crossed, checking her watch.
It was a far cry from last time, when there wasn't even enough time to jot down what she said. After all students finished writing and about a minute had passed, she spoke.
"Now, let's analyze the 'Stability' circuits applied to the circuits you each engraved."
She tapped the blackboard lightly.
Mana turned ashen. Ashen letters embroidered themselves on the board. They were parts of the Restriction circuits from the previous class.
"The circuits you engraved contain at least one of these Restriction circuits—probably three or more. Now, find them."
The students tilted their heads.
'Suddenly?'
The circuits on the recording sheets were cluttered. Even isolating the Stability circuits, there were dozens or hundreds of lines and curves intertwined.
'And now find the Restriction circuits here?'
They had only just realized that Restriction circuits were applied to spells. And now she was telling them to find them in the circuits?
The students blankly alternated between the paper and the board, like they were playing a hidden picture game.
"Hm."
As if she had anticipated their reaction, Lania spoke.
"Just do it..."
She stopped mid-sentence and covered her mouth.
Then cleared her throat briefly before continuing.
"It's easier if you think about the spell's characteristics. Let me show you an example."
She picked up the circuit engraved by Rak, sitting in the front row. It was an advanced strike spell: Point-Breakthrough.
"What are the characteristics of this circuit? Student Rak."
"It pierces quickly."
"Pardon?"
"It pierces through enemy lines quickly."
Rak answered confidently.
Lania pondered briefly at his response, then spoke again.
"I'm asking for characteristics, not the effect."
"Pardon?"
He looked confused.
"...What makes the Point-Breakthrough spell different from the mid-level Breakthrough?"
"Ah, it targets a single point. It has greater power than Breakthrough."
Lania nodded.
"Yes, specifying the range for penetration. That's the advantage of this circuit. So, have you found the Specification Restriction circuit?"
Rak nodded repeatedly.
"But there can't be just one Restriction. There are more. Think about the spell more specifically."
Lania touched the circuit.
Her mana enveloped it, reproducing it in the air. Everyone looked at it.
"Don't think of the spell simplistically. Imagine you need to commission an item. Explain it with this circuit."
Her slender finger moved.
"What you need is something to pierce a blockage. So, what should you consider here?"
She spread her five fingers wide.
Then folded them one by one.
"What to pierce. In what form. How far. At what speed."
She pointed to the last remaining finger.
"And how much you're willing to pay to commission this tool."
Thinking that way makes it easy.
With those words, she continued the explanation.
"For now, let's make one roughly. What we're doing now, you won't be able to replicate. Looking at the curriculum, it's something third-years learn just before graduation. For now, just know this method exists."
She flicked her wrist up and down briefly.
Then swept her finger horizontally.
"A circuit is ultimately the sum of spell languages. It's connecting schematized spell languages. Those schematized spell languages are called Rune letters."
Letters rose following her finger.
The first letter that appeared was one the students recognized. But it quickly changed shape.
The unknown glyphs engraved in circuits.
The letters transformed into such glyphs.
"You've probably just memorized circuits. That's not wrong. Schematizing spell languages into Runes is extremely difficult. Memorize first, teach the meaning later. It's efficient."
More glyphs poured out continuously.
"However, you've probably heard this once or twice."
The letter for Fire, the most basic element, bent. It turned into a glyph.
Next, the spell language Start—the one they used often as kids learning spell activation—also became a glyph.
The two glyphs merged. The resulting circuit was one they all knew well.
Ignite.
Snap. Lania snapped her fingers.
Starlight flickered faintly within a flame the size of her finger. Everyone stared at it, entranced.
"That a circuit is ultimately a trade document sent to the stars."
They had heard it before.
It was the sentence on the first page of textbooks. But no one had bothered to understand it.
It was just there.
That was the vibe.
"A circuit is like a trade document for deals with the stars. 'I want this, I'll pay this much, so give me what's written.'"
She explained the sentence.
"What needs to be clearest in a trade document? What item you want and how much you're paying."
She pointed to newly appeared letters.
"So, as I said earlier, let's make a Point-Breakthrough circuit. Ignore cost for now."
Her finger moved.
Letters rose.
"First, Point-Breakthrough is a strike spell."
Damage.
"And it's the type that transmits shock."
Shock.
"That shock will be in a straight line."
Straight.
"It needs to be sharp to pierce well, right?"
Sharp.
"Fast and heavy."
Acceleration.
Weight.
"Anyway, it's a breakthrough."
Breakthrough.
"Piercing at a single point."
Point.
"So, this shape emerges."
Spell languages turned into glyphs.
They intertwined and arranged.
Thus, the circuit was complete.
The raw completed circuit resembled the one Rak had drawn. Similar, yet different.
"This circuit is garbage. It's just random thoughts tangled together. If manifested as is, it'd bounce everywhere and pierce the caster too."
She focused on that difference.
"So, we apply Restrictions to stabilize it. First, specify direction and lower power a bit to reduce cost."
Certain, Reduction.
"Still feels rough and unstable. Let's refine it more."
Restrictions attached one after another.
The students watched blankly. The spell languages on the board turned into glyphs and melted into the circuit.
"There, it's complete."
The finished circuit matched Rak's exactly.
The students had seen the entire process.
They felt something.
Something elusive flickered before their eyes.
It was inspiration that hadn't yet become realization. A flash that wasn't theirs. The rough outline was there, but they couldn't grasp it.
In the previous class, it had ended without grasping it.
But this class was different.
"Of course, rewriting spell languages into Runes to draw circuits like this is hard. Even Mage Tower wizards developing new spells find it unfamiliar."
Lania spoke.
"I'm not expecting that from you right now. No need to learn Rune letters here. Just try specifying spells like filling out a trade form."
"Then you'll see the deficiencies, and those will be filled by Restriction circuits."
The students nodded slowly.
But their expressions were subtle.
They felt like they were getting it, but couldn't put it into action yet. They just blankly alternated between the letters and their own circuits.
"Hm."
At that sight, Lania smiled wryly.
But she said nothing more.
Clap.
She clapped, drawing the students' attention.
"Hard to do on your own right away, right? So today, I'll help."
The students' engraved circuits floated into the air.
Not by the students, but by Professor Lania, who reproduced them at a glance.
No time for the students to be surprised.
She crooked her index finger. Pulled the circuit. It dismantled. The process was concise, without waste.
She didn't dismantle randomly.
The circuit followed set rules and principles.
She dismantled the dismantled circuit once more.
Twisted glyphs became proper Rune letters.
The Runes reverted to spell languages.
The students watched the process.
They blankly stared as the circuit dismantled before their eyes and aligned to its original meaning.
It was like watching a casually written sentence split into words, then syllables.
And then it reassembled.
The completed sentence was the same as before, but the students' gazes were not.
They saw how the things they had memorized blindly were structured and composed.
Something flashed.
Some reached for it.
Their fingertips touched the flash.
The example didn't show everything.
It left room for the students to fill in themselves. And one by one, they began filling that missing piece.
"Ah."
Someone let out a sigh.
The sighs spread. As if realizing something, they slowly drew Restriction circuits.
Slow or fast, there were differences.
But no one failed to gain realization.
All students achieved enlightenment.
They gripped their pens and captured it.
The enlightenment filled the blank pages as letters.
Time passed that way.
It felt like dozens of hours, but when finished students checked the clock, only minutes had gone by.
Finished students looked around.
The eyes of those still recording sparkled. A light they'd never seen before. And one they had just held themselves.
Immersion.
The students had immersed themselves fully and experienced flow.
As they emerged from it one by one, the professor at the podium spoke.
"Hm."
She cleared her throat briefly.
Then continued slowly.
"I'm not expecting this from you. Rune letters are a very difficult concept; it won't be easy to get used to right away. What I want to say is..."
She reached out.
Her fingertips brushed the floating Rune letters.
"The circuits you memorized."
The letters became spell languages, then circuits, then back to Runes.
"Even those most basic things that looked like meaningless glyphs and unique lines and curves."
She tapped one lightly.
Starlight hidden deep within the letter sparkled.
"The stars dwell within them."
She smiled.
"I just wanted you to know that."
Ding, doong.
The bell signaling the end of class rang just as she finished.
"That's all for today."
She exited with the bell.
"......"
Silence enveloped the classroom.
Even after class ended, no one moved. With entranced eyes, they gazed at what they had written.
Enlightenment.
They had grasped the flash and made it their own.
The students left in the classroom felt differently from before.
They had learned something.
They had clearly understood the class.
And made it their own.
What they felt was fulfillment.
The young mages wouldn't forget this immersion. They reminisced about that fleeting touch of brilliance.
Thus, they gained true learning.
Author's Note
The original copyright for this class belongs to King Sejong...
I recalled learning about morpheme decomposition or something, so I put it to use :D
I thought a lot about this.
I felt like I needed to organize and move on at some point, and I wanted to try something like this.
Magic is such an ambiguous concept, right? You've heard it a lot, it pops up in fantasy novels sometimes, magic circles appear often.
And there are Rune letters too.
Familiar, but settings differ by worldbuilding, so unifying them is tricky.
So I organized it my way!
I hope readers enjoyed it.
* Over 9,000 characters... oops.
As I wrote, I kept thinking "oh, add this too, that too," and the length just kept growing. Heehee.