Chapter 282: Fatalism
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 282: Fatalism
The sunset sky was painted in a vivid shade of pink.
I walked through the Hydrangea Garden, lost in thought.
From what I had observed, Vuel was living a perfectly ordinary life. He greeted me warmly and often engaged in light chatter, but it was all a facade. On the surface, he was the perfect part-time instructor, and the quality of his lectures was top-notch.
It seemed unlikely that he would make a move immediately. Given his ultimate goal, acting prematurely would only—
It looks like Professor Philip is doing fine, too…
Using [Clairvoyance], I confirmed that Professor Philip Meltron was safe. Having a rough idea of where the main NPCs lived in ❰Magic Knight of Märchen❱ certainly helped.
Regardless, Märchen Academy had been forced to bring in a part-time instructor to fill the void left by Professor Philip. I needed to determine if this was all part of Vuel’s design or if he had simply capitalized on a stroke of luck.
The incident at the Hegel Magic Tower must remain a secret.
I had to be thorough in concealing any potential weaknesses.
The day I spoke with Vuel, I sent a letter to Aria Lilias, the Tower Master of Hegel, explaining my situation and informing her that I wouldn’t be able to visit for a while. I added a postscript instructing her to burn the letter immediately after reading it. Hilde had already confirmed its safe delivery.
I couldn’t afford to let my guard down until Vuel was dealt with.
“Senior Isaac, what brings you here?”
“…What on earth happened to you?”
I had reached a secluded corner of the Hydrangea Garden.
White, still in her uniform, looked like a drowned rat as she greeted me. Despite her bedraggled state, she wore a vacant, immensely proud smile.
“Welcome, Sir Isaac. There was a minor mishap.”
Merlin produced a blanket she had prepared and draped it over White’s shivering shoulders.
“An mishap?”
I used [Rock Generation] to quickly fashion a chair and sat down.
White puffed out her chest confidently. “Listen! I successfully cast [Twin Gale Fang]…! Well, a little bit of it, anyway!”
“She managed a breeze so faint it was barely noticeable,” Merlin added calmly. “Then she collapsed from the strain and tumbled straight into the lake.”
“Uhh…!”
White’s face turned beet red. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and shook her fists at Merlin, looking like she wanted to protest but couldn't bring herself to use harsh words.
Merlin remained unfazed. “Don’t you think it’s better to provide your mentor with the objective truth?”
I, however, was genuinely surprised.
“Already?”
“What?”
[Twin Gale Fang] was effectively a mid-tier 4-star wind spell, bordering on the power of a 5-star spell. The fact that she could already produce even a faint breeze was significant.
She’s progressing faster than I anticipated.
It was excellent news.
“Can you show me again?”
White nodded eagerly. “Yes! It doesn’t consume much mana yet, so I think I can manage!”
If the spell hadn't fully manifested, the mana consumption would be lower, though there would still be a fair amount of wasted energy.
“Just a moment, Merlin.”
White walked toward the edge of the lake, extended her right arm, and began gathering her mana.
A magic circle flickered into existence before her palm. The composition was decent. Though there were rough patches, she had definitely succeeded in calculating and deploying the formula for [Twin Gale Fang].
“Hup!”
White gritted her teeth and let out a determined shout.
Puff!
Two streams of pale green wind shot from her hand. They attempted to sharpen into blades, but they lost momentum almost instantly. The wind mana dissipated into nothingness a second later.
It wasn't practical yet, but the fact that she had manifested [Twin Gale Fang] at all was undeniable.
“Hee… haa…”
White beamed at me, but the mental strain was clearly taking its toll. She swayed on her feet, on the verge of collapsing.
Before Merlin could move to support her, I rose from my stone chair and used [Shadow Step].
Thud.
In the blink of an eye, I was there, catching White in my arms as she fell.
Merlin’s eyes widened. It was a technique used by her father, so her shock was understandable.
“Are you alright?”
“Senior Isaac, when did you…?”
White looked flustered. She seemed to think I had been standing right next to her the whole time without her noticing.
“A-anyway, did you see that?”
“I did.”
I used [Rock Generation] to create a stone chair with a backrest and sat her down. White looked up at me with sparkling eyes, clearly fishing for a compliment.
As I gazed into those beautiful blue eyes tinged with pink, I adjusted my glasses and spoke.
“You wasted a massive amount of mana. It’s proof that your mana mastery is still lacking and requires more rigorous training. Many people underestimate the importance of mastery, but when honed, it allows for far greater efficiency and less waste. It allows you to cast spells over greater distances and significantly enhances their power. For someone like you, who has barely brought [Whirlwind] to a decent level, rushing into [Twin Gale Fang] shows an impatience to advance. In a purely academic setting, rushing ahead might work, but in practical magic, it’s a different story.”
“…”
As I delivered my clinical assessment, White’s eyes began to well up with tears.
I had gotten too carried away. Without realizing it, I had slipped into a full-blown lecture.
“Sniff…”
Instead of the praise she expected, White had received a stern scolding. She let out a small, pathetic sniffle.
“Well, it was just some light advice.”
“It didn’t sound light at all…”
I gave the teary-eyed girl a broad smile. I actually felt quite proud of her.
“You did great. You’ve clearly been working hard.”
“But that’s the opposite of what you just said…”
“I wasn't criticizing the [Twin Gale Fang] itself.”
“…Oh?”
White seemed to process my words, though she still looked a bit dazed by the sudden shift in tone.
“I have something to show you. It’s not wind magic, but the principle is the same.”
I walked to the edge of the lake and extended my right arm. White and Merlin watched me with rapt attention.
I would never forget the moment I first mastered the 5-star ice spell, [Frost Explosion]. To cast it, I originally had to press my fingers together and concentrate mana between my palms. Without that physical anchor, the mana flow would become unstable and collapse.
Initially, it took several seconds at best.
But not anymore.
Whirrrr.
Ice mana condensed instantly before my outstretched hand, forming a small, swirling orb of pale blue light. The mana for [Frost Explosion] was perfectly compressed into a single point. Manipulating mana like this had become as natural as breathing.
An ice magic circle snapped into place.
“From 5-star magic onward, the training intensity is on another level, but the results speak for themselves.”
I released the spell.
BOOM!
A deafening roar shattered the silence.
A fierce shockwave erupted, instantly flash-freezing the lake’s surface while a violent burst of jagged ice bloomed in mid-air. I had deliberately shaped it into a clean, fan-shaped explosion. The sheer force caused the water to displace sideways, freezing solid in the middle of a splash.
The lake had been transformed into a frozen work of art.
“Wow…”
White’s jaw dropped in awe.
“This is the 5-star spell, [Frost Explosion]. Wind magic can achieve the same level of power. The more you train your mana mastery, the faster your proficiency will grow.”
I lightly waved my fingers to dispel the magic. The ice shattered with a crisp, melodic sound, dissolving into a pale blue powder that drifted away. The water that had been frozen mid-air crashed back down, sending ripples across the surface of the lake.
“T-that kind of elemental magic…”
“You’ll be able to do it, too. At your current pace, I expect you’ll reach this level by the first semester of your second year.”
“That’s amazing…!”
White looked energized, likely imagining herself wielding 5-star wind magic. There was no better motivator than a high-level demonstration.
“Oh, Senior Isaac, what was it like when you first learned 5-star ice magic? What did you like most about it?”
She seemed to be asking so she could better visualize her own success.
What I liked, huh…
“…When I first learned it, I liked that it felt like a true finishing move. The power gap between 4-star and 5-star magic is immense.”
“Ohhhh! And now?”
“Now… it’s good for landing a solid hit when I’m actually fighting someone.”
“Oh… wait, what?”
White looked impressed for a moment before tilting her head in confusion.
*
“Are you all dried off?”
“Yes!”
White had used wind magic to dry her clothes. By now, the sun had dipped below the horizon.
I approached her and extended my right hand.
“Ugh, I guess we have to do it, right…?”
White was reluctant, but she knew this was a necessary part of her training. She wasn't in a position to complain, as this was the agreement we had made to settle her debt.
White placed her hand against mine.
“What are you doing?”
For some reason, White wasn't channeling her mana. She was just staring at me. The residual mana lingering over the lake cast a soft, radiant glow over her serene face.
White asked a cautious question. “Senior Isaac, if we hadn’t met through this mentoring… what do you think would have happened to us? I’m just curious, since you’re such an incredible person…”
It was a sudden question, but everyone had those "what if" thoughts occasionally.
I didn't ask for her reasoning.
“…If we hadn’t met through mentoring, I think we would have met some other way.”
“Some other way?”
One way or another, I would have sought her out to clear the scenario. Explaining that was impossible, so I offered a plausible alternative.
“I believe that people who are meant to meet will find each other eventually. I think our paths would have crossed regardless.”
“…”
“Why do you ask?”
“That’s surprising. I didn’t take you for a fatalist.”
“I’m not sure why that’s surprising… What about you? Do you believe in fate?”
Ah, right.
I immediately regretted the question. "Fate" was likely a word White loathed. Given her past—where her own mother tried to assassinate her because of "destiny"—it was a cruel concept.
“Well, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to—”
“I didn’t before, but I’ve changed my mind.”
White began channeling mana into the hand pressed against mine. I responded by circulating my own.
“Fatalism isn’t so bad,” White said, flashing a bright smile.
“…Is that so?”
At that moment, I felt my mana circuits pulsate. It was a strange, rhythmic sensation.
Then, a system window flickered into view.
[You have absorbed a significant amount of the Fairy Nix’s mana!]
[You have acquired the unique trait [Nightfalls’ Edge]!]