Chapter 92: A Revered Teacher (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92: A Revered Teacher (1)
Ryozo and Abel usually called me "Geomma." We’d been together since our student days, so changing how we addressed each other wasn't easy. Besides, both of them were tough-as-nails, macho heroes.
Calling each other "darling" or "honey" just because we’re married...
It felt wrong. In a gritty hero universe where toughness was the norm, a youthful romantic comedy felt like a massive walking anomaly.
Not that they never said such things.
It was extremely rare, but they did use those words when emotions ran high. For example, during times that couldn't be mentioned due to adult circumstances, and...
When they were extremely worked up. Like right now.
"...Honey?" Abel said, looking at me.
The solid gold stars embedded in her eyes pierced right through my skin, poking at whatever conscience remained near my heart.
"……."
Ryozo didn't say a word as she stared at me.
Silence. It felt suffocating. Honey, darling, son of a bitch—I wished she’d call me something.
Whoosh.
I darted my gaze toward Meain Poison. It was a look mixed with equal parts resentment and a plea for salvation.
"Mmm~"
Meain let out a strange humming sound as she finished putting on her robe. She tied the belt right in front of her navel and leaned back against the sofa.
Don't cross your legs dressed like that!
It made the scene look way too bizarre, damn it.
A sudden chill made me shiver, almost expecting my breath to mist in the air. Yet Meain calmly swirled her glass of ice water despite her robe.
Then she opened her mouth.
And what she offered as an "explanation" was:
"I didn't do anything."
"...Wait, Lady All-Power..."
"Hmm? Heavenly Sword, why the face? I meant I didn't use my Blessing to alter my appearance. That's why I'm in a robe~ If I had finished transforming, I'd be buck naked."
I really wanted to scream.
Still, in her own way, Meain was probably trying to patch over this situation wittily. I needed to see how Ryozo and Abel would react.
"If Lady All-Power says so, then that must be it."
Ryozo flopped onto the sofa first. Then she shot me a side-glance, her pupils brimming with sheer displeasure.
Her eyes seemed to say: I'll let it slide for now, but we're talking later.
Panic seized me.
What day was today? An even day? An odd day? I desperately hoped today was an even day—Abel's day.
I had no intention of ignoring Abel. She, too, was projecting a terrifyingly dangerous aura.
...It was just that Ryozo's expressionless face was infinitely scarier than Abel, who at least showed her anger.
"I only want my disciples' households to be full of harmony. I wouldn't want to cause any sort of rift."
Meain blew me a wink. How could someone who washed her hands of the mess be so shameless?
Why were all my masters like this? I really had the absolute worst luck with teachers.
Episode: A Revered Teacher
After the disturbance subsided, the meeting proceeded without much further trouble. A thin sheet of ice quietly nibbled at the walls with a soft scratching sound, but setting that aside...
The topic on the agenda for the three of them was the operation of the graduate school.
Incidentally, as the sinner in the room, I kept my trap shut, keeping my fists neatly resting on my knees.
I had considered stepping out, but Ryozo and Abel had locked their arms around mine, pinning me down. It brought back vivid memories of the Buffalo Dungeon. Maybe the Cow King's wives were the true Ministers of the Left and Right.
Anyway.
In an atmosphere where every air particle felt prickly like a chestnut burr, Meain spoke up.
"The faculty members have been adopting a fresh perspective to research magic again, you see?"
The professors at Joaquin Graduate School were grandmasters of magic. In fact, calling them "grandmasters" was an understatement.
The Dragon Lord, the executive leaders of the dragon clan, Metatron...
They were all heavyweights who had once ruled their respective domains. And now, they were conducting research under the banner of a graduate school.
The main focus, naturally, was magic.
And the atmospheric flow of the human realm. Right now, mana was continuously pouring into the human realm.
It was a serious issue. Humanity was facing another threat following the Parsi Massacre. We couldn't look away. We had to face it, even if it was an uncomfortable truth.
Knowing this, Ryozo and Abel held regular meetings with the graduate school faculty—to lighten the heavy load resting on my shoulders.
Even if they were currently anchoring my arms down like lead weights.
"And it was quite fascinating."
Meain raised her index finger with a pop.
"While researching magic, we ended up learning about Blessing Awakening."
Ryozo's eyebrows twitched. She asked back, "The correlation between Blessing Awakening and magic?"
Meain had been appointed as a graduate school professor through a special track based on Blessing Awakening. She was the longest-surviving person in human history to have awakened a Blessing, thanks to her ancient human heritage.
"I only found out this time myself, but magic has a concept called 'formulas.' From the 1st formula to the 9th formula. Hmm, is that hard to understand? Hold on."
Getting up from the sofa, Meain walked over to the chalkboard. The hem of her robe fluttered, occasionally revealing her calves.
Zap.
Glaring glares pierced both my flanks. I promptly bowed my head and shut my eyes tight.
"Hmm."
Regardless, Meain tapped the chalkboard with a piece of chalk. The steady rhythm conveyed her deep thought.
"Alright."
With a brief hum, Meain began writing in one swift stroke. The sound of chalk striking the board sounded crisp.
Snap.
The noise stopped as the chalk snapped. I cracked one eye open. A few shapes were drawn on the chalkboard.
Then began the lecture by All-Power Meain Poison.
"As you know, magic is a power based on attributes like Lightning, Void, Water, Fire, and Earth, right?"
"Yes." Abel nodded.
"Talking with the demons, I learned that each attribute has a different formula. I used geometric shapes as an analogy for them. I drew them in this order: Fire, Earth, Water, Void."
We looked where the chalk pointed. Elegant handwriting met our eyes.
* * *
Fire (火): △
Earth (土): □
Water (水): ○
Void (空): ☆
* * *
Ryozo raised her hand.
"In 'formula,' does 'form' imply calculation?"
"Oh! As expected of Ryozo. Spot on."
Meain sounded genuinely impressed. Nodding, Ryozo continued.
"The 1st formula would be 'Water' then, since it's a single stroke."
"Ah! Then Fire and Earth must be the 3rd and 4th formulas, respectively!"
Abel clapped the side of her fist into her palm. Meain smiled warmly.
"My former Heaven Class students really are something else. That's right. As you can see, the number of strokes for each attribute depends on how many stages are involved in the calculation process."
It seemed the formula for each attribute was determined by its derivation process.
Take the simplest element, fire, as an example. Breaking down ignition into three stages:
Friction → Medium (Mana) → Ignition.
Three distinct stages.
"And generally, the more complex the calculation process, the rarer and more powerful the magic user is."
Being Korean, I understood it through the lens of dalgona candy. The more complex the shape, the harder it was to break out cleanly, but the sense of accomplishment was insane.
So that's why Kuarne, the 2nd Corps Commander, was the only user of Void-attribute magic—a magic born as an 8th-formula spell.
That was why humanity had suffered so much dealing with him. I was no exception; without the Blessing of the Sword God, I wouldn't have even been able to detect it.
"Magic is ultimately a mystery."
"The more accustomed one gets to it, the sharper its power drops, right?" I offered.
Meain's smile deepened.
"Heavenly Sword, you really married well."
True. But thanks to you, I'm about to marry my grave.
"However, don't misunderstand—low-formula magic isn't necessarily weak or useless. Of course, it also depends on who the caster is."
Scratch. The chalk dragged across the board.
⏀
The water magic symbol was cut in half.
"The simpler the formula, the more room there is to add strokes—meaning, more room to intervene. Then something like this becomes possible."
Her next target was fire magic. But Meain didn't stop at just one line; she went further.
⏅
"Well, by branching out like this, you can cast more complex magic using fire. But the important thing here is: 'never forget the original form.' In the case of Void magic, it's already a complex shape from the start. If you intervene even a little bit..."
"It loses its essence," Ryozo's voice was crisp and clear.
"By the way... what does magic have to do with Blessing Awakening?"
"My, why wouldn't it? Formulas. Blessings have something similar, don't they?"
"Ah."
An exclamation escaped my lips before I could stop it.
"Tell us, student!" Meain pointed her chalk at me.
"Uh... so the Blessing ranking system is roughly similar?"
"Spot on."
Personal Spirit, Guardian Spirit, Essence Spirit, Heroic Spirit. And Divine rank.
"Blessings are the same as magic. If you replace each rank with a formula stage, there's no disparity at all. You both know, right? There are plenty of Warrior-rank heroes who only possess Personal Spirit-class Blessings."
"That's true."
Shail was a prime example. She didn't have a single Guardian Spirit-class Blessing, yet she drew significant attention even among Warrior ranks.
"This is just my personal theory, but..." Meain put down the chalk. "I view magic as 'human calculation.' Demons use the flow of the world—that is, mana—to calculate and interfere directly."
"Then Blessings are..."
"A god doing the calculations instead and forcibly injecting it into a human."
That was probably how it was in the past.
In the present day, the Counterforce likely filled that void.
"And when that amount of information becomes overwhelming, that's when a Blessing Awakes."
Lady All-Power was asserting that Blessings and magic were siblings by nature. Both were fundamental calculations of essence.
"By the way, have you two ever seen a demon undergo a magic awakening?"
"...Not that I know of."
"Right. That's because they do the calculations themselves. They can measure and input just the right amount."
"If that's the case..."
"Yes." In a hushed, settled tone, she said, "If we combine Blessings and magic, we might be able to perform the calculations ourselves."
It was a remarkably novel shift in perspective.
Wasn't a Blessing called a Blessing precisely because an unknown entity bestowed it?
Meain's explanation suggested that instead of receiving orders from a god, we should challenge a domain equal to that of a god.
I was stunned. I hadn't even fully wrapped my head around the theory yet.
But the lecture wasn't over. A sweet, fragrant scent drifted closer.
"And the person closest to achieving that happens to be your husband. So..."
When I opened my eyes, Meain was standing right in front of my face. Ryozo and Abel looked bewildered.
"Could you lend me your husband for a bit?"
Ah, damn it.
Total chaos.
* * *
Joaquin Graduate School was making persistent efforts to solidify its standing as an elite institution above the academy level.
Requiring students to take various general education courses rather than focusing solely on Heroic Studies—such as combat techniques or Blessing studies—was part of that effort. Literature, music, art, theater, and so on. Students were required to select and complete two courses from areas traditionally considered hobbies.
At first, there was widespread outrage. The graduate students had come to research magic; if they wanted to be influencers, they would have taken a different path long ago.
However, about a month of graduate school life was more than enough to crush their bloated egos. The students completed their general education courses without another peep.
As time went on, many even mentioned that it was quite enjoyable. Furthermore, some students clearly stood out as having discovered a new aptitude. Thus, art and physical education classes became a welcome rain during a drought for these modern-day slaves.
Scratch, scratch.
A pencil grazed the canvas. Sunlight flooded into the art room, where rows of easels stood neatly arranged, and students were busily sketching.
"……."
Victoria stared blankly at the white sheet of paper. Crumpled balls of paper rolled like tumbleweeds around her feet, and her hands were blackened with soot. It was proof that she hadn't just been killing time absentmindedly.
The painting professor looked at Victoria's back with a sympathetic gaze before speaking gently.
"Your Highness. Is the topic too difficult?"
Victoria pulled her gaze away from the chalkboard and turned to the professor.
"...The topic isn't difficult, but I feel like I keep overcomplicating my interpretation. That's what's bothering me."
"That's a very aesthetic approach. Still, since it's an assignment, it should be finished within the time limit. Let me give you a hint."
A hint for that topic?
Victoria turned her eyes back toward the chalkboard.
The professor spoke with a bright, warm smile.
"When you want to recall a specific moment, it helps to remember who you were with at the time. If that moment is a sticky note, the person who was with you is the pin holding it in place."
"A person..."
"Mmm. Saying any more would be favoritism, so I'll leave the rest to Your Highness's imagination. I'm looking forward to it."
The painting professor walked away to inspect the other students' canvases. Victoria remained behind, fidgeting with a short stub of charcoal.
A moment later, enlightenment suddenly struck Victoria. The reason why, among countless art supplies, her subconscious had stubbornly chosen charcoal.
Victoria raised the charcoal. It crushed softly against the canvas. Various colors were unnecessary.
〈The Happiest Moment〉
To paint a white world, black was all that was needed.