Besieged on All Sides

Time passed, and the hour of his first elective arrived.

...I'm screwed.

Enemy. Enemy. Enemy.

He was surrounded on every side. The professor staring down at him with open contempt was an enemy. The students watching him with hostile eyes were enemies. This pathetic, feeble body of his was an enemy too.

Even this piece-of-shit status window was an enemy.

"I don't know what to do with you, Mandrake X."

Introduction to Protego Swordsmanship. A muscular, scar-covered middle-aged swordsman looked down at him with eyes like ice. A training iron sword lay discarded at X's feet.

"Do you have any idea what this instructor felt when he heard you'd signed up for this class without knowing the first thing about swordsmanship?"

"What... would that be, Instructor Hans...?"

"Insulted."

Hans Korph. Professor of Protego Swordsmanship—the Hero's own sword art. A strange man who insisted students call him Instructor during class. His skill, unfortunately, was the real thing. He was not an opponent X could face, not when X had never so much as held a sword.

Hans seized X by the collar and hauled him into the air. A low, simmering anger bled through every word that escaped him.

"If you intended to tarnish this instructor's name and reputation, congratulations. You've succeeded admirably."

"Ghk— ghk..."

"What are you hoping to learn in this class? All I can give you is a thicker hide."

"I-I was hoping to learn the Hero's swordsmanship..."

"And you think you're at that level?!"

"Gahhk—!"

Hans hurled him. X tumbled across the floor in an undignified heap, and only then did Hans turn his back, as if the matter had already bored him.

"The nerves and the time I'd spend on you would be a waste. Go rot in the corner and do whatever you want. I won't spare you another thought."

"Th-then, my class conduct..."

"F, obviously. Any objections?"

He had plenty. Plenty, but...

"...No, sir."

He didn't have the spine to talk back. Students snickered at the ugly spectacle he'd made of himself. Some looks held contempt, some envy, some open hostility. Others were simply indifferent, as if he weren't worth the effort of a feeling.

Among them stood a sculpted beauty of a young man—golden hair, golden eyes, a compact, powerful frame built to the golden ratio. One glance was enough. One of the core villains. Darius de Dritania. Rival to the original protagonist, Crown Prince of the Empire, and the single highest authority inside the Academy.

Doesn't look interested, at least. I'll take the small mercies where I can get them.

The villains, thankfully, were ignoring him. Being marked by a professor, though—that he couldn't dodge. Earning the students' collective ire was the same story. And the real problem was that this was not just one class.

"What do you think you're going to accomplish in this class with a body like that?"

"Walking in here when you can't even sense mana..."

"I can't feel so much as a scrap of Divine Power from you."

The professors of the other popular courses were no different. One look at X's abilities—or his background—and they were done with him.

Class conduct: F. F. F.

The threat of expulsion was already closing in.

"I'm finished..."

Four days into electives, and he had already collected fifteen marks of F for class conduct. That morning, Roxwell had issued a warning.

"Your class conduct's looking real spectacular, Mandrake. Five more F's and the disciplinary committee convenes. By all means, keep doing exactly what you're doing."

He had to change. If he didn't, the coming ruin would swallow him whole. He could not die like this.

Do I buy a talent?

The next class was Magical Truths. Seated in the lecture hall, he stared at the status window. There was no other way out.

I've got 2,350 Editing Points. I can afford them, but...

He'd been holding off, hoping he might earn the same things through classwork. He couldn't put off buying any longer.

"Commoner! Carry this! You expect a count's daughter to haul around heavy books like these?"

To make matters worse, he shared his magic class with Lola. Inevitable, really, given that he was taking every course on offer. The moment their eyes met, she came bustling over, commoner, commoner, as if the word were his name.

"Commoner, you should consider this an honor. If you don't understand what it means to share a class with me, then listen carefully and take it to heart. Are you listening? Don't you ignore me!"

I could just knock her on the head. I won't, because she's a noble.

Lola sat down beside him as if it were the most natural thing in the world and proceeded to chatter. She'd been doing this since the first day. Once class started she would fall asleep, and waking her was a bonus chore on top of everything else.

What a handful...

And yet, somehow, she reminded him of his daughter. He couldn't quite bring himself to leave her to her own devices.

Student count's low, just like I expected. And she's here too.

He spotted a conspicuous girl sitting in the corner. A key figure. The way she surveyed the room said she was already unimpressed. Straight purple hair, a sharp, almost venomous look in her black eyes. Beautiful, but with a prickly air that made you instinctively want to keep ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your distance.

The reincarnated Sage, Circe Odyssey.

So that's the one they call Hellhound. Looks just like she was described.

He renewed his vow to stay as far from her as possible. Same as with the rest of the Hero's party: keep his head down and his mouth shut. On that front, at least, things were going smoothly.

Class began in the middle of Lola's noisy monologue. This was one course he was quietly relieved to be sitting in. The professor of Magical Truths was a person of real character and real ability—enough that the reincarnated Sage would take her as a master. Minor complications aside.

"Hello, everyone. A very warm welcome to Magical Truths."

The door opened on a voice that put you at ease. A beauty swept in, voluminous pink hair swaying with every step. Her neat, demure gait radiated grace and character. The woman who took her place at the lectern looked to be in her twenties; her sky-blue eyes met each student's in turn, offering a little greeting as they went.

"I'll be the one guiding you through Magical Truths, however modestly—Maria Theresa. Please, just call me Teacher. 'Professor' is so stuffy, don't you think?"

A murmur of admiration rolled through the room. Boys and girls alike brightened at Maria's entrance, already half in love with that radiant air of hers. Most of the students here had failed to get into the popular courses and were only filling credit requirements. They were, whether they knew it or not, the lucky ones.

On paper, a 5th-Circle mage. In truth, one of the few 8th-Circle mages alive in the entire world...

That was the setting. If the people in this classroom weren't lucky, what were they?

Introductions finished, she began the lesson in earnest.

"What do you think you'll be learning in Magical Truths?"

As in any classroom, an unaddressed question was met with silence. Maria didn't give up. She asked it again, and again. No one managed a proper answer. X, for his part, had no intention of offering one.

I need to see how this plays out first.

Then it was Lola's turn.

"Ah, um... Magical Truths is..."

"Don't be frightened. I don't bite. Hee hee."

"Th-this commoner will answer in my place!"

X shot her a ferocious glare, and Lola's eyes slid away. The baton, however, had already been passed. Maria turned a gentle gaze on him.

"Ah! You're the student from the rumors, aren't you? The one who screamed at the entrance ceremony. Are you all right? If something hurts, I'd be happy to take a look."

"No, I'm fine. I'm healthy now."

"Hee hee. Good. Then shall we hear your answer?"

The answer was already decided.

"...I'm sorry. I don't know."

"That's all right. It's an unfamiliar subject. Then, lastly... would the student in the corner like to try?"

Maria looked at Circe. That gentle gaze made Circe falter for a beat; then she answered, mumbling at first.

"...Magical Truths is the discipline that investigates the truth of magic and the magical arts—their very essence. It is also the study of the principles behind the laws, the order, and the phenomena of the world as they manifest through magic."

"Perfect! And your name?"

"Aeri— Circe. Circe Odyssey."

She'd almost given her real name. Why was he the one getting anxious about it? X sighed inwardly.

"Circe answered beautifully. To put it simply: Can one reach the truth of the magical arts? That is the question this field exists to pursue. That is Magical Truths."

Maria clapped her hands. A bright smile lit the lecture hall.

"Shall we begin the lesson in earnest, then?"

What he needed from this class was Professor Maria's interest. Her existence and her knowledge would be a tremendous help in surviving—and in gaining power. What he needed to avoid was Circe's interest. She was a member of the Hero's party, a core protagonist; get tangled up with her and the main story would lurch off course. So the job was simple.

At the right moment, catch Maria's attention. Just enough.

Until then, he would have to sit with the infamy and wait.

That aside...

This class was, for X, relatively easy. Most of the material was worldbuilding—setting, lore, the architecture of the world itself. A genuine inquiry into truth passed back and forth between the students and Maria.

"When we describe a mage's strength, we speak of Circles—from the 1st Circle to the 10th. Does anyone know what a Circle actually means? Circe?"

"A spell's Circle refers to its structural complexity—the stage of its realization."

Maria nodded, watching her, and Circe continued.

"A mage's Circle expresses the highest Circle of magic they can wield. It is also the minimum threshold of Rebound they can withstand when casting. In practical terms, it often refers to the number of mana rings one can feel in one's mind."

In plain terms: magic level. Force a spell you haven't got the level for, and you get hurt. That's Rebound.

She sure had a way of making it complicated. He kept the thought to himself. Circe, apparently quite taken with Maria, answered every question with eager diligence, as if trying to win her over. She looked like a child starved for attention.

"...Lady Lola. Please wake up. Teacher is watching."

The child beside him, meanwhile, was fast asleep. She had slumped against his shoulder, drooling freely. Thanks to which, X drew every eye in the room.

"X, would you like to try answering?"

"I don't know."

"Mm~ Even a wrong answer is fine. Go ahead."

"I don't know."

He standardized every reply to I don't know. Say anything of substance and the Hellhound in the corner would mark him—and then he would be in genuine, catastrophic trouble. Every time Maria's smile turned pained, a dagger of conscience buried itself in his ribs.

If I was going to do this, why did I even sign up...

Between Circe and Maria, the class ran smoothly. It was a good lecture, the kind that patched holes in the world's setting. Somewhere in the middle of it all, he even managed a small triumph: his Intelligence ticked up by 0.1.

The damn thing hadn't budged since 0.3...

Before he knew it, the class was winding down. Maria posed a final question.

"As you all know, warriors, mages, and priests wield different powers. What is it that distinguishes them? A warrior's Internal Energy, a priest's Divine Power, a mage's Magic Power. What is the difference among these three?"

Answers rose from around the room. Maria collected them with the air of someone being pleasantly entertained. Circe's reply was clear and precise.

"According to the Universal Mana Theory, all power begins with mana. It is the primordial energy—the origin."

"Good. Go on."

"Internal Energy is the power of mana dwelling in the body. Divine Power is the power of mana received from a god. Magic Power is the power of mana belonging to nature itself."

"A fine answer. Then why can the three not coexist? Why can't Magic Power be used to perform holy arts, and why can't Internal Energy be used to cast spells? In the end, it's all the same 'mana,' isn't it?"

"That's..."

Circe couldn't answer. The question was, it seemed, difficult even for her; she lowered her head, faintly embarrassed.

It's common knowledge right now. Can't be helped.

X quietly sorted the relevant setting in his head. While he was at it, Maria called his name.

"X?"

He was the only student who hadn't answered. She had saved him for last.

"I don't—"

"Just a moment."

He had been about to deliver the usual line when Maria got there first.

"I won't be accepting 'I don't know' this time. I've heard your class conduct of late has been a string of F's. If you keep this up, I'll have no choice but to give you one as well."

"Ah..."

"A wrong answer is perfectly fine. We're all students here, learning together. So—would you tell us the difference among Internal Energy, Divine Power, and Magic Power, and why they cannot coexist?"

Maria, it seemed, took her duties as a professor more seriously than he'd expected. Dodging with another I don't know was no longer an option. He considered his next move for a moment, then decided to steer things toward something she would find worth hearing. He chose his words with care and opened his mouth.

"I do have a hypothesis I've been researching on my own, but I'm not sure this is the place to..."

"Ah! Original research, is it?"

To a mage, knowledge was property. Demanding that someone simply hand it over was a breach of courtesy. Of course, stopping there wouldn't earn him any goodwill, so he took one step further.

"Which is why I wanted to ask—would you be willing to review my research materials after class? There's only so far I can get working alone."

"I see. All right. We'll look at it together when class is over."

Maria turned her attention elsewhere and moved on to other material. For now, catching her interest had succeeded.

And Circe...

Circe had apparently lost all interest; she was looking somewhere else entirely. Nothing he said would hold her now. Typical of her—she had no curiosity about anyone else's ideas. The other students were much the same. Most of them either sneered with a look that said Research? You? or ignored him outright.

Fortunately, it was exactly the situation he wanted. How to handle what came next was a problem he would have to talk his way through.

"All right. What's the subject of your research?"

Time passed, and class ended. The other students filed out until only Maria and X remained. Circe had thrown him looks thick with suspicion right up until she left; X ignored them without effort.

How much do I say? I don't even know how much of this is public knowledge.

It had to be important enough to hold her interest and earn her goodwill. Say something too dangerous, though, and his life could end in this room.

I have to avoid the graduate-student ending...

Judging that line was, of course, anything but easy. He decided to proceed with care.

"...Before I explain, I'd like to establish a few concepts."

He walked to the blackboard to order his thoughts, picked up a stick of chalk, and wrote three words.

He underlined each word as he spoke, and wrote the explanations beside them.

"The body is exactly what it sounds like—the flesh of every living thing. Blood and meat. A warrior masters the art of driving that body to its absolute limit. Internal Energy is the ultimate expression of that use."

"The soul is a spiritual entity, distinct from the body. Every soul exists as an irreplaceable, singular object. A priest works with the power that settles in that soul. That power is Divine Power."

"Consciousness is the total of the mental operations involved in experience. Consciousness produces the goals and the will that govern action. It is with this consciousness—and this will—that a mage realizes a spell. Magic Power is consumed in the process."

He paused. Maria's expression said she had sunk into thought. Then she looked at him, and the look was intense.

"This is a fresh approach. Please, continue."

"...For convenience of explanation, I'd like to apply the concept of a contract. The governing principle of a contract is equivalent exchange."

"The body is a contract with one's own flesh. I will expend this much Internal Energy; in return, exert this much force. That is why a warrior must hone the use of the body to its utmost limit. Offer enough Internal Energy, and the body grows stronger—and that strength is released outward."

"Divine Power is a contract between an individual's soul and a god. A soul polished by a god's standards—a righteous heart, good works, prayer—naturally comes to hold Divine Power. The god bestows it. One then offers that Divine Power back, and asks the god for a miracle."

"A rather interesting hypothesis. And mages?"

This was the important part. Maria pursued the outermost edge of magic; he would give her something that could actually hold her interest. He drew a breath, moved the chalk, and answered.

"Let us assume that a mage contracts with some vast Will of the world. Something above even the gods—a law indistinguishable from the world itself."

"A Will...?"

"A mage, by making their consciousness precise, demands that this Will execute a spell. That is why the calculations must be exact for magic to fire at all."

Maria considered it in earnest. The consideration was brief.

"There's a contradiction in that premise. A low-Circle mage cannot use high-Circle magic. If they could, ordinary people would be walking around casting combat spells."

"Strictly speaking, they can. They simply suffer Rebound. That's the only thing stopping them."

Rebound: the recoil phenomenon of magic. A caster absorbed that recoil with their own body, and the higher the Circle of the spell, the greater the recoil. The higher a mage's Circle, the greater the recoil they could endure. It was one of the reasons mages so desperately pursued higher Circles.

Mages who could raise their Circle no further had gone looking for other ways to bypass Rebound. After countless studies, a method was found: using a magic tool to tank the recoil in the caster's place.

"It's also why magic tools can be distributed at all. If you have an accurate magic circle, the will to activate it, and a minimum of Magic Power, anyone can use a magic tool—because the tool takes the Rebound instead."

Of course, magic tools were not omnipotent. Any Rebound the tool failed to absorb returned to the caster. That was why better tools cost more.

"Good. It is certainly an interesting hypothesis. But it still isn't an answer to why the three powers cannot coexist."

"They can."

"...What?"

Maria made a sound that was, frankly, not her smartest. X answered again, as if it were obvious.

"They can coexist. In theory, at least."

"...Explain."

"The idea that all power originates from 'mana' is the error to begin with. The three forces have entirely different roots."

He was refuting the Universal Mana Theory to its face. Mana was a word coined by people searching for the origin of power. Everything, in time, reduced to ether and converted into mana... All of it was fake. There was no such thing.

This is material that doesn't come out until late in the original scenario. But if it's Maria, it should be all right to say.

"A warrior generates and accumulates Internal Energy from the body. There is no place in that body for Magic Power to settle, so a warrior is always in a state of Magic Power depletion. That's why warriors can't properly handle magic tools that lack a mana socket—Internal Energy has already occupied the place where Magic Power ought to dwell."

"Yes, that's right. And isn't that precisely why they can't coexist?"

"Put the other way around: you simply need to have Magic Power as well. Accumulate it the way you accumulate Internal Energy. You'd only need an internal art that allowed it."

He was talking about the Hero's internal arts. Thanks to those, the Hero—after obtaining a fateful encounter late in the scenario—wielded Magic Power and Internal Energy together.

That's the mana hole. There is no mana in this world, but the word stuck because people were used to it...

In martial-arts terms, the mana hole was a dantian: an internal art in which Internal Energy and Magic Power settled together, in harmony, in a single core. It was a method unique to the Hero, unknown to the rest of this world.

"Divine Power is the same. You simply need to be chosen by a god. Most mages and warriors have no interest in the holy arts—they spent the hours they might have spent in pious living on training and study instead. It was a question of efficiency. They never knew because they never looked."

Besides, the goddess is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in no condition for that right now.

The Hero, too, was a being chosen by the goddess, and so could wield Divine Power. In the end, the Hero would use all three forces.

"In the end... what was needed was a shift in thinking. Of course you can't use magic or holy arts with Internal Energy. The required price is fixed. If you ignore the price and try to force the phenomenon, do you really think it will activate?"

"..."

"...That is the subject of my research."

He had thrown up a smokescreen by calling it research, but calculations Maria could not possibly have imagined were already turning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠over in her mind.

It's 'research,' so it shouldn't violate Probability... probably.

In that sense, Maria's expression was already a sight. She looked like someone who had heard something she could not believe. She sat there blankly, as if lightning had found her.

"Hmhmm."

She arranged her face into a calm smile with a faint crack running through it.

"A rather interesting research topic."

Now came the important stage. If he had drawn a moderate amount of interest, he could expect a decent mark for class conduct. What worried him was the other possibility: drawing too much. Excessive attention from Maria could become dangerous in a hurry.

"Hmm. I see, I see..."

Maria sank into thought. X waited for her answer with the distinct sensation of having climbed onto a scaffold. Then she smiled, faintly, and spoke.

"Good. So you haven't just been coasting through my class. I'll give you a reasonable mark for class conduct."

Yes!

Fortunately, catching her interest had worked. He no longer had to worry about his class conduct dropping in this course. He was still riding that relief when Maria kept talking.

"But I am curious. The conception of the topic isn't merely bold... it carries a strong sense that you already know. Where does that confidence come from?"

Maria approached, slowly. X realized that something had gone wrong.

Something's off.

There was no one in the lecture hall but X and Maria. Then, almost casually, she set her hands on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠both of his shoulders. Goosebumps rose; a chill ran through him at her touch. In the same instant, the status window exploded into noise in front of his eyes.

Don't tell me she actually confirmed it?!

And just who were those colossal beings supposed to be? Maria opened her mouth, a greedy smile spreading across her face.

The words landed as if she'd said, Don't you want to be a graduate student? The answer was not in question.

"I'm sorry! I only took Magical Truths for the credits!"

A dragon's graduate student? Do I look insane?!

Maria's expression twisted—Maria, a dragon, a living wellspring of the magical arts themselves.

A soundless Dragon Fear slid down the length of his spine.