Chapter 58
Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 58
>Chapter Title: Crimson Jade
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
The meeting with Ransi wrapped up smoothly.
After a simple meal, Chenbi and I were able to discuss the reward for successfully manifesting <Demoph>.
The process went without a hitch.
- The Multiplication Formula... That's not too difficult. The core formula might be out of the question, but there are some that get released publicly for academic exchange purposes. I'll give you one of the particularly high-grade ones.
Ransi accepted on the spot without even needing to check with his family, as if it were no big deal.
It was an unexpected windfall.
‘Who would've thought they'd hand over a high-grade formula.’
Unlike how casually Ransi had said it, the Blandoga Family's formulas on healing magic were rare knowledge coveted by any healing mage.
Among them, the high-grade ones were only revealed to those who maintained deep trust with the Blandogas and proved themselves qualified.
‘Hmm.’
It was also a glimpse into how the Blandoga Family evaluated me.
But the biggest gain, without a doubt, went to Chenbi.
- As for you, Chenbi... I'm sorry to say this, but we've looked into you a bit. You know your family has some issues—big or small, depending on how you see it, right?
- ...Ah, yes. But things have been getting better lately.
After the Trial of Adversity ended.
It seemed he was referring to the parents of the students Chenbi had helped, who had quietly offered support.
However, it apparently hadn't solved all of the family's problems.
- The Blandoga Family can resolve everything for you. And if you wish, we can provide a better environment for your family members too.
It was probably an offer Chenbi couldn't easily refuse.
No matter what he thought of as repayment, what could be more precious than his family's well-being?
But.
Chenbi's response was unexpected.
- I appreciate the offer... but I'm fine.
- Why is that? You don't need to worry about imposing or anything. It's no trouble for the Blandogas, and this is a fair trade.
But Chenbi shook his head.
And said.
- I... want to stay friends with Damian forever.
- What does that... Ah.
It was baffling.
Ransi tilted her head in confusion at first, but then seemed to catch on.
She nodded with a subtle look in her eyes.
A heavy silence fell.
Something poignant seemed to flow through the air, so I chimed in.
- Then I'd be trash.
- ...Huh?
- I got into the academy with the Blandogas' money and have been taking their allowance for a while.
- ...Ah.
Chenbi looked visibly flustered.
The poignant atmosphere shattered in an instant.
Chenbi showed some guilt toward me, but I smiled and reassured him.
- I'm kidding. I get what you're trying to say.
- Ah... right?
Everyone has their own boundaries.
I could keep thinking of Damian as a friend even after draining the Blandogas dry.
But for some, repeated favors dilute friendship and leave only obligation.
Those lines vary from person to person, and Chenbi knew exactly where his lay.
So, what Chenbi requested was.
- If it's not too much trouble...
- Go ahead. Anything's fine.
- Someday, if there's a chance, I'd like to study magic at the Blandoga Family.
An opportunity to learn.
Someday, he wanted to go to the Blandogas and broaden his horizons.
- Really? That's all you want?
- Yes, of course.
Ransi asked again, as if worried, but Chenbi's resolve didn't waver.
It was as if that was exactly enough for him...
‘Yeah, it is enough.’
The Blandoga Family was a prestigious house.
A great lineage that had researched magic for centuries, refining their know-how and systems over time.
No matter how impressive the academy's education was, when it came to pure ‘magic,’ catching up to a prestigious house was impossible.
In truth, for members of such houses, the academy was merely a ‘social venue’ or a place to gain worldly experience.
A place to learn the world beyond magic, so to speak.
That's why Chenbi could be satisfied with that much.
- Then... I'll relay that.
Unlike with me, Ransi avoided a firm commitment.
And so, Chenbi's reward was settled that day.
But perhaps Chenbi's attitude had caught Grandma Bianca's favor.
A letter soon arrived from the Blandoga Family for Chenbi.
[As of today, the Blandoga Family declares itself the official patron family of ‘Chenbi.’]
What did that mean?
It meant sponsoring Chenbi not as an individual, but in the name of the Blandoga Family!
Chenbi was quite flustered, but since it was an official notice bearing the solemn command of the matriarch, he couldn't refuse.
All he could do was...
- Thanks, Damian. Thanks to you, our family...
Express his gratitude to Damian.
By now, all of Chenbi's family problems were likely resolved.
When the Blandoga Family sponsored someone, it meant creating an environment where they could focus solely on magic.
And so.
After that day, Chenbi's face noticeably brightened.
Before, he'd studied obsessively, as if chased by something.
Now, it was like he was purely enjoying magic.
‘Not bad.’
It wasn't bad at all.
Of course, the most thrilled was Damian.
- I want No. 2 next to my blood, sweat, and tears No. 1, and maybe a fish living inside No. 1. Oh, and No. 2 should breathe fire from its mouth...
- I'll take my leave now.
Even Ransi, assigned to handle Damian, was so fed up she fled the scene.
Anyway.
The [Damian Model Student Project] ended with satisfying results for everyone.
Time passed like that.
After classes ended as usual.
Just as midterms were fading from memory, a notice came down to the academy students.
[Starting today, we enter the interpersonal combat preparation period.]
The real interpersonal combat period was approaching.
For Basic Class Year 1, liberal arts classes were fully suspended, and all classes shifted to practical combat focus.
All the other students knew this well.
But this year's preparation period was different from previous years.
[All training is left to the students' discretion. Preparation classes will proceed as normal but are not mandatory.]
During homeroom.
The students buzzed at the message from the professors.
“Discretion...”
Model student Arjen from M3 Class raised his hand and asked Professor Jeira.
But Yorvi answered instead.
“Exactly as it says. You can attend classes or not. And...”
As he spoke, Yorvi tilted his head, as if something felt off.
But he continued.
“...You can even go back to your families for training.”
The students buzzed at those words.
Yorvi, the assistant professor, seemed equally puzzled.
His expression wasn't pleased.
But the students didn't voice complaints.
“Don't worry too much. The professors will handle the preparation classes fully, and a large number of active combat mages from the imperial court will be invited.”
Because the academy had made its own arrangements.
“Active ones...”
“At least imperial-certified 5th-class mages will come.”
The students let out ‘oohs’ of admiration.
Imperial-certified 5th-class meant they were on par with current professors, holding key positions in the court.
Excluding prestigious houses, they sat at the pinnacle of mage society.
Meanwhile.
“...Hmm.”
I narrowed my eyes at the sudden change in the interpersonal combat preparation schedule.
‘Looks like even the assistant professors didn't know about this.’
For something on this scale, it probably came from higher up than the professors.
So, who was above them?
Senior.
‘Why all of a sudden?’
It might be overthinking, but things felt strangely off-kilter.
And sure enough.
Gurgle, gurgle.
After dinner, when I returned to my dorm room, Breakfast No. 1 brought a note from Senior.
[8 Pm.]
No location, just the time scribbled on it.
I stared at the note for a moment, then set off.
* * *
A bit earlier than the appointed time.
“Hmm.”
I took position in front of the abandoned warehouse I'd visited after a long time.
Or was it still an abandoned warehouse?
The area around it had changed so much it barely resembled its old self, most notably the clearing.
‘...And this guy's not even training.’
He'd cleared the bushes near the abandoned warehouse for a training ground and packed the dirt down.
And not just that.
If I spread my senses wide, I caught a faint aura.
‘He's even set up a barrier.’
It wasn't a huge radius.
Just enough to envelop the area around the warehouse.
Not a high-level barrier, but sufficient to conceal it.
He'd turned the warehouse into a full hideout.
“For a guy like this to be principal...”
I clicked my tongue.
Life as the endlessly busy academy principal must be suffocating.
So he'd carved out this personal space away from prying eyes.
Anyway.
“Whew.”
I gazed at the setting sun sinking lazily and took a moment to breathe.
The Blandoga Family's Multiplication Formula had arrived just a week ago.
It was filthy complicated, as expected.
The kind that makes you think, ‘They can really embed this in magic?’
‘Well, you can't shove the whole thing into a spell, obviously.’
That's why devising magic is so hard.
Even harder is extracting a formula from a completed spell.
Modifying, extracting, compressing these dozens of pages of formulas, then inserting them into magic—how was that even possible?
‘Well, still...’
Interpreting it wasn't too tough.
It came with helpful annotations.
[To Aster]
I heard about the situation from the magic studies department directive.
Normally we'd provide the original, but I added notes in case they help a little.
- Vice Director of Magic Studies, Henji von Blandoga
Compared to the previous letter, it was refreshingly straightforward.
Probably to avoid revealing our connection in case of surveillance.
‘No “dear” makes it so much more comfortable.’
Satisfactory all around.
Both Henji's notes and the concise letter.
Anyway.
I'd come early to test the midday formula.
And luckily, the location was perfect.
The academy's personal training rooms weren't spacious enough.
“Well then...”
I extended my index finger slightly, channeled mana, and drew a drop of blood from my fingertip.
Wooo...
The blood drop floated in the air as if gravity didn't exist.
Simple mana manipulation.
Since the drop already contained my mana, it wasn't hard.
Now came the real part.
“...Let's see.”
Strictly speaking, a formula was unrefined magic.
Trickier to handle, less stable, so rarely used standalone.
But I compensated with experience.
And soon...
Tzzzzz—!
The crimson jade split endlessly.
No, not crimson jade. The blood drops just looked like it, reflecting the setting sun's glow.
One became two. Two became four.
The division stopped after ten cycles, filling the area with crimson jade.
I eyed the array of red gems and gauged the Multiplication Formula's efficiency.
‘Max output... 1,024.’
The number didn't matter.
What mattered was whether each held mana fully.
That was it.
Honestly, I'd had some doubts.
‘Even if the Multiplication Formula increases capacity, will the mana inside grow too? Or just empty shells?’
I'd confirmed basic amplification with the standard formula...
But scaling up was unknown.
The result, though...
“Success.”
The crimson jades hung motionless in the air, reflecting the red twilight glow.
Pure mana aura gleamed within.
‘Mana cloned?’
No.
It had simply drawn in ambient mana during division, mimicking the original state.
Of course, the mana inside was still weak.
Enough to maintain a light orb briefly, at best.
“But with this...”
Shhh...
Like magnets attracting.
The blood drops paired up and merged.
1,024 to 512, 512 to 256...
I kept combining until the mana in each felt sufficient, ending with 64 orbs.
“This is the minimum mana needed for Collision Formula.”
Now, time to test its power...
A voice came right then.
“...What the hell are you doing.”
“Ah, Senior. You're here?”
He'd approached without a sound, but I greeted him calmly.
I'd come to the warehouse because of his summons, after all.
“What are those orbs? I sense mana... Artifacts? No, not quite. What the heck is this?”
Senior eyed the fixed blood drops curiously, intrigue lighting his eyes at their odd nature.
“What do they look like?”
“Hmm, let me see... Mana inside is yours. Weird. No processing at all?”
Artifacts required processing mana.
Put mana in a fire artifact, and its purpose locks in instantly.
Same for others.
Non-mages might shrug, but it was crucial for mages.
“Could it handle any spell?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
I used two crimson jades for different spells.
A light orb and fireball bloomed in the air.
Casting two at once took mental focus, but for me or Senior, it was nothing.
But.
“Whoa...!”
Senior's shock wasn't at that.
“You're saying it holds unprocessed mana and manifests spells with it? Range! What's the range? Wait, where'd you even get this?”
His eyes nearly popped out.
Especially for war mages like him.
Imagine it.
Alone, unleashing spells from all directions.
Sky blanketed in magic, turning the battlefield into enemy slaughter.
What else was a one-man army?
For example.
‘Professor Parun.’
Unlike his monstrous mental and calculation feats overwhelming Troubleshooters.
With these crimson jades, anyone could replicate it.
‘...Though some mental and calculation skill is needed, the difficulty drops massively.’
If Professor Parun got this?
That'd be an army in itself.
No wonder Senior was this excited.
I met his questions with a faint smile.
‘Perfect timing.’
I needed a test subject for power anyway.
“Senior, I'll explain everything. But first, grant me one request.”
“What? Spit it out.”
“Take a spell for me.”
“...What?”
Senior furrowed his brow at me.
He eyed me displeased, then grumbled.
“You want me to play dummy right now?”
“That's the gist.”
“Is that so... Hmm.”
Senior glanced at the crimson jades and replied.
“Fine. Annoying, but not hard.”
I smiled.
‘Excellent.’
What better sandbag in the world?
No breakage worries, perfect dummy for unrestricted spell testing!
Mages didn't shell out for training grounds for nothing—no ground had dummies like this.
“Senior, here we go? Brace yourself properly.”
“Hmph. No matter how you rage, you won't touch a hair on my head. Get on with it.”
I nodded.
Then.
Tzzzzz...
Crimson jades sparking blue fiercely.
Senior's urgent voice followed instantly.
“What... Hey! Hey! You little shit!”
Before his frantic shout ended...
KABOOM! BOOM-BOOM!
Dozens of simultaneous explosions swept the area completely.