The Witchcraft Quarter (2)

From nothing, infinite possibility had sprouted.

Crackle—!

Electric current surged through the steel sword.

Gripping the hilt, I felt not even a tingle of static—only raw power flowing into me.

I swung the sword at the training dummy.

Swish—!

The result, unsurprisingly, was a clean cut through its torso.

The elf archer who followed me seemed determined not to be outdone, drawing her bowstring taut.

Refined mana gathered into the arrow, but Elenor did not stop there.

"—O wind, blow."

The wind spirit, Sylph.

At its friend's request, the spirit lent the arrow even greater propulsive force.

Only then did Elenor release the bowstring.

The arrow, infused with both mana and spirit energy, carried truly tremendous destructive power.

Crunch! The head of the designated dummy wasn't merely pierced—it was pulped into complete mush.

To be able to fire several shots like that... she was, without question, talent worthy of standing at the very top.

But if she kept firing off shots that drained that much mana with every draw, there would come a day when her reserves simply couldn't keep up.

Well, that much went without saying.

Ideally, you'd eliminate every enemy before your fuel ran dry, but if you couldn't manage that, hitting your limit was inevitable sooner or later.

Whether warrior, mage, or archer, a human being's total pool of personal power was fixed.

'A foolish question? A glorious experiment?'

In that sense, this thing was astonishing enough that I was tempted to admit those words had a point.

Had she too realized the potential of the experiment we were running?

"What in the world is this...."

The elf archer Elenor Andersen stared at the bow in her hands with an expression of open disbelief.

It wasn't the bow she normally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠used, carved from the sacred wood of the elves, but one manufactured in the Witchcraft Quarter's workshops.

Since mages had participated in its construction, its mana receptivity was decent enough, but compared to a sacred-wood bow, both its raw performance and its pedigree fell far short.

However, one single function it possessed was overwhelmingly superior—enough that, at the very least, it was worth carrying as a sidearm.

'Another monster has shown up, huh.'

I looked down at the steel sword with dispassionate eyes, at all its pointless decorative fittings.

Or rather, at the internal energy drive embedded within the blade.

It was a second dantian—a reservoir from which I could draw internal energy at will when the occasion called for it.

'Does this actually make sense?'

Granted, Seondo and its Witchcraft Quarter were a den of lunatics, but could they really pull something like this off?

Just as that doubt began to creep in, the pumpkin-headed mage who had been observing the results from outside the laboratory stepped into the room.

Professor Pumpkinhead stared intensely at the documents that had been printed out by the various machines positioned around the lab, then quickly began striding toward us with an almost desperate urgency.

"Ohhh! Bravo! Beautiful! Scholarly!"

The pumpkin-headed mage suddenly cried out and seized the elf's hand, bow and all.

Elenor, so abruptly grabbed, trembled at the corners of her eyes.

Pumpkinson muttered, his gaze burning with fervor.

"An elf capable of converting source energy into mana and spirit energy simultaneously! The results are more beautiful than I had even predicted. A delightful miscalculation."

Only when Elenor made a face that clearly screamed her disgust did Pumpkinson finally release her hand. Then, clapping his hands together, he declared:

"Thanks to you two, I've obtained excellent data today, so I'm in a fine mood. We've only just begun collecting experimental cases—so far I've tested mana, spirit energy, and internal energy separately—and to achieve results like this on the very first ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠day! Splendid! Absolutely splendid!"

"......Hmm."

"Ah, one thing—miss elf, might you be able to come again next week? I'll compensate you handsomely, of course."

"......No, exams are coming up soon, and I'd like to focus on my studies for the time being."

Elenor Andersen visibly tried to refuse, forcing a socially appropriate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smile onto her face.

Leaving aside the fact that the internal energy drive and the mana drive were astonishing discoveries—there was the exam period to consider, and the professor in front of us rubbed her the wrong way for some reason.

"Ahh, exams?"

Professor Pumpkinson tilted his head at her ruthless answer, then promptly made a more concrete offer.

"If you come again next week, I shall provide an intermediate-grade elixir as compensation."

At those words, Elenor paused for a moment—then promptly donned her social smile once more.

"I would be honored to participate in your magnificent experiments, Professor."

The proud elf had been bought with money.

'What about me?'

As if my inner voice had been heard, Professor Pumpkinson, who had been gazing with satisfaction at the elf who'd agreed to the experiment, belatedly turned his head toward me.

He regarded me for a long moment before muttering:

"Hmm, I'm aware that refined energy offers high efficiency, but I need a control group...... Could you perhaps bring a friend?"

"A friend?"

"Yes, and preferably one who's learned the wild, unruly martial arts of an unorthodox sect. Naturally, I'll pay that friend well too."

"Ah-ha."

I immediately thought of Cheon Yuha, the young cult leader of the demon sect, who would be heading to the Hundred Thousand Mountains around this time.

Technically it would be closer to demonic energy, but it was wild and violent all the same.

'Can't this guy tell who's actually doing the volunteering here?'

She was coming next week anyway, so I might as well take the credit for it.

With my calculation complete, I put on my own social smile and gave a graceful nod.

"As you command, Professor."

A negotiation that satisfied us both.

After that, Elenor and I could only escape the laboratory once we had completed every single experimental task the professor had assigned us.

We had clearly arrived before the sun reached its zenith, yet when we stepped outside, the evening glow was already falling.

Seondo's second campus, the Witchcraft Quarter, was bathed in the light of dusk.

From a mage's robes to magitech suits to monster masks, the nighttime streets welcomed us, packed end to end with every variety of strange and bizarre attire.

For a brief while our eyes were drawn to the spectacle—

"Well then, I'll be off."

Finally freed from the experiments, Elenor Andersen apparently decided she had no further need of my company, spat those words out curtly, and began to leave ahead of me.

Astonishingly, that had been only our third conversation.

I murmured as I watched the elf's back recede with proud, unhurried strides.

"......No, you say that, but."

The ticket the professor had handed out—was round trip.

Before long, I boarded the train and found myself facing the elf in the very same compartment.

She sat with her face buried in both hands.

I said nothing, quietly gazing out the window, and so the weekend came to an end.

"Put every textbook away in your drawers."

For a while, the classroom was filled with frantic footsteps and the scraping of desks and chairs—then it fell dead silent, like a choked throat.

Thud—thud—

The death knight homeroom teacher, standing alone at the front of the lecture hall, distributed the exam papers alongside a teaching assistant.

The subject was Foundations of Combat Instruction—a surprise quiz administered right before the midterm.

Given the homeroom teacher's personality, the actual exam would surely be a practical one, which meant this was effectively our last written test.

"Right, the exam starts now. Begin."

The moment that gravelly voice sounded, I flipped over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my exam paper.

After filling in my student information at the top, I read the first question.

It went like this:

A mid-to-high tier magic beast, the ogre.

A monster that a Peak Realm warrior and a mid-tier mage together would struggle to take down.

With only that small a party, escaping would be difficult enough, let alone hunting the thing.

Normally, to catch an ogre in the depths of a tangled mountain forest, you'd need to bring someone of at least Cheon Yuha's caliber.

'Just because I'm currently a Peak Realm warrior doesn't mean I can write my answer based on myself.'

Do that, and I'd be failed on the spot. After more than a decade of mercenary work, I narrowed the gap between reality and ideals, and arrived at an excellent answer.

[Throw the terrified mage at the ogre and run.]

That was the only way to survive.

"That's one question correct, I suppose."

I nodded to myself and worked through the questions one by one in the same fashion.

Trusting my instincts to the very last question, I finished the exam and submitted my paper before anyone else in the class.

'A gold medal, I'd say.'

I genuinely looked forward to the results.

By this week, theory lectures like Grand Magic: How to Counter Sorcery had moved into exam-focused key-point reviews, while the more practically oriented courses such as Circuit Theory and Introduction to Combat Studies held surprise quizzes.

Picking up a textbook to study after so long made my head ache, but it was only for a few days.

Besides, having taken these very exams in my previous life, I remembered a fair amount, so my results weren't bad.

"A perfect score in Foundations of Combat Instruction, and ninety-eight in Introduction to Combat Studies—off by a single question."

As expected, my mercenary's instincts never lied. I was good enough to make even this madhouse of a school acknowledge and admire them.

It was another occasion to confirm that conviction.

Just as I was feeling quite pleased with myself while checking the exam results sent to my device, Cheon Yuha arrived.

"I have come!"

"......"

At her side stood the elf, wearing a sullen expression.

With a classmate of mine involved, it seemed we were fated to keep being tangled up together whether we liked it or not.

I shrugged and spoke without letting anything show.

"I've got the tickets ready, so let's board right away."

Once again, we had to board a train today.

Only this time, it was bound for the surface.