Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 122
>Chapter Title: But What's the Problem?
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Vacation had finally arrived after the long wait.
The academy students were buzzing with excitement.
The feverish energy had even Hazen abuzz, but Aster stood in front of the warp gate management office.
He was there to see off Damian and Chenbi, who were heading back to the Blandoga Family.
“Friend, won’t you get bored all by yourself?”
“Who knows.”
“Vacation’s a long time. You might get lonely. If you do, just give me a shout anytime. I’ll tell Ransi to come pick you up.”
“Yeah, I appreciate the thought.”
Damian’s warm invitation stood in stark contrast to Aster’s soulless reply.
But none of the Blandoga retainers present took issue with his attitude.
Instead...
*Heh heh, to think young master Damian has grown so dependable.*
*The patriarch needs to cut his trip short and come back to see this...!*
They simply wiped away tears of感動 at Damian’s changed demeanor.
For Aster, though, it was pure agony.
- Friend, you know vacation’s like two months long? Super long, right? Won’t you get bored?
Once in the morning when they met. Again during breaks when Damian sought him out. Lunch, dinner... no, every time the thought crossed his mind.
The routine always ended with: Vacation’s long, being alone is boring. If you’ve got nothing to do, call me. Anytime’s fine... or whatever you wanted to call that not-quite-invitation-not-quite-demand-not-quite-suggestion.
*An obsessive monster.*
That was Damian in a nutshell.
“Whew.”
Anyway, after exchanging goodbyes with Damian and Chenbi, who were bound for the Blandoga estate...
“Young master Damian, Chenbi. Time’s up. Let’s go.”
“Already?”
Ransi, the gruff butler, announced that the warp gate was ready, and Damian’s face fell visibly.
For the record, Chenbi was spending the vacation at the Blandoga estate too. Lady Bianca had invited his whole family.
“Friend, vacation’s long! If you get bored, call me! I’ll let Ransi know!”
“Aster, see you after vacation. And if you get the chance... come visit. My parents miss you. No pressure, just if you have time. Yeah, whenever. Don’t feel obligated.”
The two left their final farewells and headed into the warp gate management office.
The Blandoga retainers followed behind.
Aster kept waving until Damian stopped turning back—until they were completely out of sight.
A moment later...
“...Gone?”
They were.
*Finally...*
A faint smile broke across his blank face. His wandering soul had returned.
“...Vacation!”
Vacation at last.
But the joy was short-lived.
*Beep! Bweeep!*
The smile wilted on Aster’s face as Breakfast No. 1 swooped in from afar.
*Bweeep! Bweep!*
“...Can’t I get a break?”
*Bweep! Bweep!*
Breakfast No. 1 perched on his head like it was home, flapping furiously.
Aster sighed deeply at the indignant display.
*Thwack!*
A foot planted squarely in front of his eyes. Bird anatomy aside, Aster had zero interest in unfolding the note tied to its ankle.
But if he didn’t, the principal lurking behind Breakfast No. 1 wouldn’t let it slide.
“Haah...”
*Crumple.*
He knew exactly what it said, but he opened it anyway. And sure enough...
Study time. Quit slacking and get to Rapiter.
Truth be told, Damian’s persistence hadn’t been soul-crushing.
The real killer was that word “study” on the note.
And why the sudden studying?
It traced back a few days, right after acquiring the Fragment of Reverse Heaven.
- It’s not... magic, exactly.
- Then what is it?
- Exactly what it sounds like: the power of Reverse Heaven. Even for something like that... I never imagined this was possible.
Librarian Teheman’s excited face. Fine up to there.
He’d figured he’d scored a decent ability, whatever it was.
But that joy shattered in their conversation.
- From what I see, it’s an ability used through intuition, not logical understanding or calculation. Right?
- Yeah, seems that way for now...
- Then you’ve got a lot to learn.
- ...?
An intuitive ability, and he needed to learn stuff?
As Aster tilted his head, Teheman said, “Hold on a sec,” and started rummaging through Rapiter’s upper floors.
That’s when Aster first realized it.
People had wildly different ideas of what “a little” meant.
- Start with these, at least. Not much volume. Less than I thought.
*Thud!*
The old man’s strength was unreal. The stack of books he dropped shook the floor.
- This is... “little”?
- Too much?
- ...
The pile reached Aster’s eye level.
The titles were absurd.
[Space and Magic], [Space and Liquids, Solids, Gases...], [Spatial Perception and Philosophy in Ancient Magic History and Culture...]
Space and magic? Fine. But space and solids and gases...? And spatial whatever in magic history and culture...?
The titles alone were suffocating.
But the real problem was...
- Don’t worry. This is just the basics.
- ...
He had to ask.
- Do I... have to learn all this?
- Some idiots think “insight”—or intuition—is an innate gift. Nonsense. Insight grows with a solid foundation of knowledge. Which is why you...
Since it handled “space,” he needed to absorb every theory and philosophy on the subject.
...or so the defendant, Librarian Teheman, argued.
“...Damn it.”
That was the plaintiff, Aster, sighing in despair.
*Bweeep, beep-beep!*
“...Fine. Let’s go.”
Librarian Teheman was far more tenacious than he looked.
Skip one day, and the principal called him out immediately.
Since then, life under Breakfast No. 1’s surveillance.
“Doing homework at my age...”
The lament of a first-year academy student.
* * *
Rapiter’s upper floors.
The study session, led by Librarian Teheman, dragged on until midnight.
“Whew... gonna die.”
I rubbed my gritty eyes and staggered out of Rapiter.
I’d gone in at noon; now dusk had fallen. The sun had yielded to the moon.
Grueling days.
*Have I ever studied this hard?*
Sure.
Collision Formula, mana techniques—creating them meant holing up with books for days.
But as hard as back then? Nah.
*This is way worse.*
Several times worse.
Why? Forced studying, probably. People can grind forever on what they love, but an hour’s torture without interest.
Still, not zero progress...
*Not quite.*
I checked for onlookers, then summoned mana orbs.
*Shhh, sh...*
Three or four orbs floated in the air. They shifted instantly.
*Flash!*
No trajectory—they just blinked to new spots, flickering. Then...
*Flicker-flicker-flicker...!*
Swapping positions nonstop.
“Definitely working.”
Day one: barely one orb. Now? Three or four easy. Continuous shifts too.
Unthinkable before.
But...
*...Mana orbs are still the limit.*
The flame orb I’d lit fizzled out with a *poof*.
Spatial transfer capped at mana orbs.
*No compression either.*
Plenty to lament.
Not useless, though.
Spatial transfer... right, “Blink” stops at mana orbs.
*But that’s only for moving other things.*
For myself, it was different.
*Zzzzzing—!*
A weird hum, and the scenery flipped.
Not me moving—space shifting. Like a stage backdrop swap.
*...Destination control’s getting solid now.*
I targeted a spot in the academy woods for good measure.
*Rustle, swish...*
Scenery warped instantly. I landed safely amid the trees.
A few days ago? Couldn’t dream of this control.
First time out of the spiral stairs: botched coordinates, bounced right out.
Obstacles at destination? Bounced back. Tense double-try nearly killed me...
*...But now it’s comfy once you’re used to it.*
With results like this, studying with the librarian was worthwhile—personal gripes aside.
What’d he say...?
- Basic prep for ancient magic. Even ancient mages used “insight” the same way.
Right—ancient magic fundamentals.
Hearing that, a thought struck.
Good thing I was born modern. Ancient era? I’d have skipped magic entirely.
“Anyway...”
*Snap!*
I Blinked out of the academy and started walking.
Into an alley, donned a mask from subspace, cast perception jamming.
Why the disguise at night? Simple reason.
*Crack, crack.*
The summoning orb at my belt shattered in real-time.
One an hour ago, now every ten minutes.
“What’s this guy’s hurry?”
I clicked my tongue and headed for Professor Parun’s estate.
In his study...
“You’re quicker this time. Good for both of us—and you.”
“...?”
Professor Parun’s gaze—long time no see(?—sharper than ever.
Honestly, not that long for me. Passed him at the vacation ceremony this morning.
But that look was keener than then.
Even sharper now.
“What now? Spill.”
He rubbed his furrowed brow and spoke.
“Got intel just now.”
“...Intel?”
“Yeah. Lortel and Decullan sealed the deal.”
Lortel selling the Infinite Chain to Decullan.
“So what?”
“...Don’t you get how serious this is? The Infinite Chain in Decullan hands.”
“So what?”
I couldn’t grasp the issue.
“They got it already?”
“...No.”
“Trading today?”
“...No.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“...?”
Parun scowled again. I spoke up.
“Can’t we just rob them first?”