The Academy Slave Instructor
"Could that possibly be true?"
"Would that even be possible?"
Both Philia and Asran asked at the same time.
Philia, with her high grasp of magic, was immediately asking whether Mia could solve the problem. Asran, with his lower understanding, still had no idea what the actual issue even was.
Rai, comfortably lying down while gazing up at Mia, turned his eyes toward the two of them and let out a laugh.
"Magic was created to turn the impossible into the possible."
At Rai's confident reply, Philia fell silent.
Even if magic was meant to make the impossible possible, one still had to be able to control mana in order to use it.
Philia immediately understood the core issue with Mia.
Everything in nature possesses mana, yet the amount naturally held is extremely minute. Humans, imitating monsters that gather mana, invented a method to collect it.
Those who gathered mana and created the tool known as magic were the mages. Over time, warriors also began to make use of mana.
No matter how advanced magic became, everyone still had to learn the basics.
Since the very act of gathering and utilizing mana was something humans had never possessed in the first place, one had to master the technique of handling it.
Yet Mia had already possessed far too much mana before she even learned how to control it.
Unable to handle such vast quantities, she had never been able to perform the control training in the first place.
Philia had spent an enormous amount of time teaching her how to handle mana for the first time.
Even moving the faint mana she naturally possessed had taken three full days. Because of her extraordinary talent, Mia was one of the rare cases where mana overflow had been detected early.
Up until now she had practiced steadily, so she could release or flow the mana, but she was incapable of the fine manipulation required.
"Watch closely."
Rai picked up the glass of juice in front of Mia and poured it from his own cup into hers.
Naturally stealing a sip of the drink, Rai explained.
"Shifting water from a small cup to another is simple, but pouring from a large barrel like that into a small glass… that is difficult."
He gestured toward the massive water jug that Black Horse was drinking from.
When he said "jug," instead of bothering to refill it every time, the trio had brought a washbasin large enough for three people to fit inside.
"It works?"
Watching Asran lift the basin with one hand and pour water into his own cup, the others fell utterly silent.
"Damn, what an ignorant brute."
Even after showing off such a feat, Rai turned back to Mia with a grin.
"Asran is a special case, so he probably understood regardless."
"Then I just need to create a spell formula that doesn't require mana control."
"Does a spell formula like that even exist?"
Even Zeroa, who trusted Rai completely, looked doubtful.
If such a formula existed, why did everyone bother training and struggling so hard?
"If it doesn't exist, we just make one."
Rai answered without hesitation and summoned a flame in the air.
"Here is your assignment for today. Work together to create a spell formula."
"Are you telling us to make one?"
"Yes. Why not?"
The words "no way" were already forming in all their throats.
If spell formulas could be made so easily, who would endure such suffering?
Spell formulas required complex laws and calculations. Rai, as if it were a simple errand, had just handed out the assignment.
"You all haven't used spell formulas until now."
"... ..."
"You've simply copied ones others already created. Anyone could do that level."
It was not as easy as Rai's words made it sound.
Merely memorizing a spell formula did not make one a mage. One had to possess the ability to control mana and the computational skill to modify it according to the situation.
Philia recalled the teaching method Rai had used until now.
At the academy, magic and spell formula lectures involved studying and refining formulas created by the predecessors stage by stage, gradually increasing proficiency.
The natural approach of using the formula while simultaneously improving mana control abilities.
Rai taught complete spell formulas in exactly the same way, but approached them academically.
He analyzed what each formula used, what combinations produced what results, and explained the formulas themselves in detail.
Philia, who had assumed he was simply teaching easy mana manipulation, finally understood why he had done it this way.
If she had to categorize it, the academy taught mana training, while Rai taught spell formula education.
Pure mages received an entirely different curriculum.
Until now the reason there had been no confusion was because Rai taught so well.
According to his analysis, once one mastered mana control, spell formulas became easy to use and could be learned quickly.
"I have taught you properly. Now show me the results."
Rai smiled.
Philia understood the hidden meaning, yet the assignment had not become any easier.
Abigail felt the exact same way.
The instructor assigned to Mia had already given up. Pure mages were out of the question; how could four students possibly find the solution?
"You seem troubled, so I'll give you a few hints. What is Mia's biggest problem right now?"
"Mana control."
Philia answered immediately.
It was an easy question, yet the hardest to solve.
First, one had to be able to control mana, but from the very beginning they were blocked.
"Then let's change the perspective. What kind of magic consumes enormous amounts of mana?"
"Is changing the perspective the answer? Consuming a lot of mana means the control ability required is higher, right?"
"No, no. Not a high-difficulty spell formula. I mean a spell formula that only consumes insane amounts of mana."
The others did not understand, but Abigail understood instantly.
"You want me to create a completely useless spell formula."
"Correct. Mana leaks like crazy, enough to fire meteors, but all that's coming out is something like a fire arrow. Sounds fun, doesn't it?"
Rai laughed darkly.
Asran scowled, calling him out for doing something pointless, but Philia understood Rai's intention.
"This is a training spell formula."
"Yes. The more mana you use, the more proficient you become."
Rai twirled the flame he had created in the air.
It was the Solterian Training Method he had taught since his first arrival. For Philia, it was a dark past.
Even now, its utility was recognized by the academy and taught as a required course to new students.
The dancing flame transformed into a lively humanoid figure that ran around energetically, and Mia stared blankly.
She had learned this very method during mana control lessons and accidentally overflowed mana, injuring every student in the vicinity.
Even the instructor who taught first-years could not demonstrate such natural control. Seeing a flame that seemed to move as if alive, she could only marvel.
"The key points are two. Focus on mana absorption and create a spell formula that runs to the extreme of inefficient mana leakage."
"It is not difficult?"
"Mana absorption is something I will teach you. Abigail will build the foundation. The four of us will work together on the rest."
Philia looked at Abigail.
Other abilities were considered equal or slightly inferior, yet Philia had always believed she was clearly ahead in spell formulas. When Abigail revealed she knew high-level spell formulas like mana absorption, she was stunned.
But Abigail wore an expression full of dissatisfaction.
Mana absorption was a spell formula developed from curses. As someone who had learned the basics from a witch, she understood what was required, but mentioning it this way felt unpleasant.
Clicking her tongue and turning her head away, Abigail drew the foundation of a mana absorption spell on the floor.
Philia and Zeroa approached with interest, and Asran followed belatedly.
Although it was a half-baked spell formula that leaked mana, because it would take time to create, Rai turned his gaze back to Mia.
"Want to try this one?"
The lively flame circling in the air formed a circle and spread, creating the problem.
When Mia answered the simple calculation correctly, Rai immediately made a harder one.
As the difficulty rose, the time they spent thinking increased, yet Mia answered Rai's problems flawlessly.
Her efforts were not a lie; her knowledge had already surpassed first-year level.
Satisfied that the test was sufficient, Rai nodded and began writing something on the floor.
Watching the little boy-like figure writing like it was a diary, Mia stared.
Rai asked, "Are you a pure magic user?"
"Huh?"
"Ah, I mean, a pure mage."
"Yes… I started as a pure mage…"
Mia answered with a gloomy expression.
"What weapon do you use? Sword?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
Eyes round as a rabbit's, Mia asked in surprise.
Although their small size made them all mistake her for a mage, she had originally been training as a knight.
It had never been that way from the beginning.
Ever since she was a baby, her mana volume had been overwhelmingly vast, so her parents had hoped to raise her as a pure mage.
However, by the time she reached the age of reason, she could not even control the enormous mana, so they had not given her the training needed to become a pure mage. Afterward she had aimed for knight, training in martial arts.
The idea had been that flowing mana within the body would come naturally once she sensed it and used her body.
But Mia's mana was far larger than anyone had imagined.
It was not the kind that moved simply by using the body; it was as immovable as a rock mountain.
Fortunately there had been some success, but it had fallen far short of expectations.
Once a path was changed, one had to be tenacious, yet because her build was smaller than others, her parents had simply switched her back to pure mage. The result had been bullying, and she now sat in front of Rai.
While telling him about the past, she mentioned that she could use a sword.
Rai nodded, erased the scribbles he had written on the floor, and began anew.
"What about a staff or spear?"
"I've never used anything other than a sword…"
"Is that so? Then let's go with a spear."
Without giving her time to answer, Rai rose abruptly, checked the spell formula he had assigned, and confirmed it.
About eighty percent of Philia's and Abigail's opinions had been reflected, Zeroa about ten percent, and Asran roughly five percent.
The group had completed the assignment excellently, yet none of the four looked particularly pleased.
"Wow… this is trash."
Rai's blunt evaluation had called it the worst spell formula of all.
Even while creating it, more than a few had wondered if it was right to do so.
Having poured every bit of their knowledge into creating a perfect piece of trash, the four stiffened at Rai's praise.
"This would be even more inefficient if we did it this way."
Rai immediately redesigned the spell formula in the air as a magic circle and adjusted the layout.
One could only create a magic circle if one remembered the completed spell formula perfectly without a single mistake. Watching Rai create the spell formula they had just made on the spot, the four were astonished and silently observed his adjustments.
"Okay, I need to apply the spell formula I created here… damn, where the hell do I even put it?"
The four who had created a spell formula troublesome enough to make even Rai hesitate felt a flicker of pride. Yet as he continued speaking, their expressions grew more and more displeased.
After a short deliberation, Rai completed the magic circle and handed it to Mia.
"Without thinking about control, inject all the mana you have into it with full force."
At Rai's words, Mia looked at the magic circle with a tense face.
She had always been told to control mana, but she had never heard the words "use it to your heart's content." She worried it might cause a major disaster, yet seeing the faces of the people who had tried so hard, she made up her mind.
Even though their expressions had been bad, she had to try as much as they had.
Placing her hand on the magic circle, Mia opened her mana to full power for the very first time in her life.
The excess mana, solidifying like sparks, flowed into the magic circle. Without Mia needing to do anything, the perfect design allowed it to absorb the mana perfectly, yet all the mana that had been leaking suddenly vanished.
Philia, who had been in charge of the perfect design, was so moved by the spell formula showing the extreme of inefficiency that she turned her head away, unable to watch.
Zeroa and Abigail looked equally troubled and could not bear to stare.
"Oh— it is working properly."
Only Asran was excited. Having the smallest share, he had the least to be embarrassed about.
Enormous mana was being wasted, and a circular orb the size of a fist formed in the air.
Inside the orb, waves of fire swirled violently.
"Why…?"
"Because I included a spell formula that uses natural mana."
Philia looked at the magic that seemed obviously powerful and asked, and Rai answered with a smile.
It was an early spell formula from a time when magic had not yet developed. A primitive formula that could even be used by beginners learning mana for the first time.
It sounded reasonable that it would utilize natural mana, yet in reality its effect had been minimal.
The mana it fixed was real, but there was very little mana in the air, so gathering it had been useless.
But that was no longer the case.
As Mia's mana leaked, the mana contained within the space grew thicker. If properly utilized, it would become enormous mana.
In reality, only about ten percent had been recovered, yet because Mia's mana volume was so vast, even ten percent produced sufficient power.
As Philia watched with admiration, Mia stared at Rai with an anxious expression.
She was not happy to have succeeded with magic. Instead, fear and terror filled her eyes.
"H-how do I control this? It won't move."
"Ah, I hadn't thought of that."
The orb looked as if it might explode at any moment.
Since she could not control the mana, she could not control the orb either.
The moment she heard Rai's calm words, the others' eyes widened in panic.
"Wait, wait! Calm down! Mana! Mana! Concentrate, Mia!"
"You crazy human, you should have thought of that first!"
Philia called out to the frozen Mia, while Asran shouted at Rai.
Zeroa raised his shield, but the orb looked far too dangerous to stop with it.
"Huaaaa…"
Cracks began to appear on the surface of the transparent orb, and tiny flames began to leak out. Mia fell into a panic.
"Damn it, I don't know what to do."
Rai kicked the orb with his foot.
At Rai's sudden action, Philia hugged Mia and shielded her, but fortunately the orb shot high into the sky and detonated.
*Kwakwakwang!*
The explosion that followed was far larger than anyone had expected, painting the sky.
Rai and Asran stared blankly.
"The vice principal must have seen that."
"Shouldn't he be running here right now?"
Rai activated the summoning ritual for Bright without hesitation and fled.