Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Teacher vs Teacher (2)
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"Let's do it this way."
"How, exactly?"
Jamie and Kennic, standing before the podium, glared at each other as they spoke.
"Instead of me handling the entire lesson, one of us starts first. Then, if there's an easier, more efficient way to explain it, the other jumps in midway to take over. That way, the students can understand better."
"You want to keep doing that back and forth?"
"Exactly."
"Not a bad idea."
In simple terms, A starts the lesson, and B watches. If B has a simpler way to teach, he interrupts and takes the baton.
If the students find it easier to understand, A steps back quietly and watches. Then, if A finds a better way, he interrupts just like B did and continues the lesson.
They repeat this throughout the class, and the students decide who wins based on who's better.
"Why don't you start, Professor Kennic? Show us the example as the senior."
"Heh. You won't get a chance to butt in."
"We'll see about that."
Sparks flew between them once more, making the students sweat nervously under the heavy pressure.
After all, the outcome of this showdown rested in their hands.
"Alright, everyone, open your textbooks. Let's begin the lesson."
Kennic took the lead.
Jamie walked to the window side, crossed his arms, and watched the class.
"First off, the hexagram is one of the most basic magic circles."
Kennic drew a hexagram on the blackboard. It was a form where a triangle and an inverted triangle overlapped, commonly used among mages.
"Widely used magic circles like the hexagram usually follow certain formulas. Like drawing the sun brings the moon along, with stars decorating the surroundings. But while the sun, moon, and stars are simple, they're hard to handle. Why is that? Anyone know?"
"Because of their size!"
One student raised a hand and answered.
Kennic nodded and continued.
"Correct. These three symbols are the most representative, but they're massive in scale. That's why us mages created simplified symbols. The single sun and moon become fire and water respectively, and the countless stars have various symbols. But if you don't place them in the right positions, they're just drawings. So, as I mentioned earlier, today we'll talk about efficiency."
True to his veteran status, Kennic explained smoothly without a hitch.
So far, Jamie had no reason to interrupt.
"Take one of these first."
Kennic summoned a breeze, and papers with hexagrams drawn on them floated down to each student.
"This is a magic circle I designed. I'll explain based on it, so listen carefully."
In the center of the hexagram star was a massive sun, embracing a moon within it—a thoroughly simple magic circle.
"The star embraces the sun, and the sun embraces the moon. You all know what this means, right?"
"It's a kind of amplification technique. The star represents the vast universe, the sun our world, and the moon the night of that world."
"Right. It's a structure flowing from top to bottom. In other words, a condensed state. But what if we enclose it in a circle here?"
The magic circle on the paper manifested in the air.
A perfect circle overlaying the completed hexagram.
"Even the universe can be bound as one. Then, we can use all of it at once, not sequentially. Everyone understand?"
"Yes!"
Kennic glanced at Jamie as he nodded to the students' resounding reply, smirking with one corner of his mouth as if to say, You have no place to interrupt.
"With this circle, there are many more things we can do. This is where we call it an advanced magic circle. We select symbols to contain the intended spell, and the power changes based on their placement. But selecting those positions is difficult. Even experts haven't found a precise answer to this yet..."
"Just draw lines."
Jamie cut into Kennic's explanation.
Kennic frowned and whipped around.
"What did you say?"
"Just draw lines. Like this."
Jamie pointed at the floating magic circle with his finger and slashed downward. The hexagram split perfectly in half.
Then he drew an X, centering it on the split.
"That's how you adjust positions."
"But that breaks the magic circle's form. Don't you know how important positioning is in a magic circle? Oh, right, you wouldn't. A genius like you must have reached such high magical realms that your foundational knowledge is lacking."
This guy seemed ready to pounce the moment he spotted a weakness.
Unfortunately for him, Jamie had no weaknesses.
At least not in magic circles.
"Sorry to disappoint your expectations, Professor. Mind if I take the podium now?"
That was the rule.
Kennic tossed the teaching materials to Jamie like they were trash and stood by the window. Sunlight from outside wrapped around his back, making his face look even darker and more sullen.
As if mirroring his current mood.
Jamie grinned and stepped to the center of the podium.
"Hm. The platform's a bit high."
Jamie was tall for his age, but still a kid's height.
As he struggled a bit up front, some students giggled among themselves, finding him cute.
"Who said you could be rude right in front of the teacher? And this is class time. Everyone, quiet and focus."
That old-man-like remark deflated the briefly lively student atmosphere.
Kennic's face also showed slight surprise at Jamie's demeanor. He hadn't expected him to talk to students like that. In some ways, it was even more severe than himself.
"Ahem. Whatever, let's fly."
Jamie's body floated lightly upward.
The students let out low gasps of admiration. Even for the elite Alpha class, flight was still a challenging spell.
"You saw me during roll call and again just now. I already introduced myself, so let's get to the lesson."
Jamie approached the magic circle floating in the air.
"Professor Kennic said these lines disrupt the magic circle. Not wrong. They do throw off the balance."
Kennic, listening, asked.
"Then why did you interrupt my lesson?"
"I've always wondered why mages don't just use delete. Can't they?"
Kennic frowned at Jamie's counterquestion.
He couldn't understand what he meant.
"Magic circles drawn with mana can't be altered once the lines start. Even if one line is wrong, you have to erase the whole thing. You don't even know that?"
"Exactly. Why can't you do that?"
"...What?"
"Listen up, everyone. This is a technique called Layer."
The moment Jamie snapped his fingers, the magic circle began to separate.
The hexagram peeled away, followed by the sun, the moon, and the three intersecting lines.
As if they'd been separate from the start.
"It's not hard if you compose them individually. Then combine them like this."
The four separated layer components merged back into one.
"And subdivide even further."
Several more lines were added, allowing smoother positioning for the symbols in the circle.
It wasn't difficult magic.
"No need to do it all at once. Magic is an art created for convenience, so making it even more convenient fits its purpose, right?"
The students stared in awe at the magic circle forming in an instant.
"What do you think, Professor?"
Kennic gazed at the magic circle with disbelief. His eyes shifted to Jamie.
He hadn't expected him to shatter the basic principles of magic circle synthesis right here. This was something that would shock the entire magical academia. It wasn't for a mere classroom.
"...Impressive."
Jamie hadn't anticipated the quick acknowledgment from Kennic's mouth; his eyes widened this time.
"But."
However, as if it wasn't over, Kennic stepped forward.
All eyes turned to him.
"Seeing that gave me a good idea."
"...A good idea, you say?"
"How about this?"
As Kennic waved his hand, it pierced through the center of the magic circle.
The magic circle turned three-dimensional, floating like a hologram in the middle of the classroom.
"Whoa!"
"Wow!"
The students' exclamations followed one after another.
Kennic kept moving his fingers.
Lines drew through the expanded three-dimensional magic circle(?), placing symbols even more precisely.
Now Jamie's eyes widened.
Drawing a three-dimensional magic circle?
Jamie was slightly shocked by Kennic's skill.
In truth, he knew synthesis methods far beyond something like layers—several steps ahead.
The three-dimensional magic circle Kennic was demonstrating was one of them. He hadn't shown it because it would cause a massive uproar among modern mages who hadn't even mastered layers yet.
Techniques should progress sequentially.
Yet Kennic had advanced it one step just from seeing the layer technique.
This guy's a genius type too.
As mentioned before, a magic genius doesn't just mean high magical realm.
Thus, by Jamie's standards, Kennic was already a genius.
But it's still too early, rookie.
The Infinite Mage.
The reason Diablo Volpir was called that in the past was due to the 'magical subjectivity' he possessed.
-Multi-complex three-dimensional magic circle-
Jamie, or Diablo Volpir, was already at the pinnacle of the world with magic circles alone.
"How about this?"
Jamie grinned and synthesized multiple magic circles at once.
Then he inserted the magic circles as 'symbols'.
Kennic's face filled with shock.
A magic circle can become part of a new magic circle, and that one part of another.
Thus, it can expand infinitely if space allows.
But not beyond this.
This was already excessive.
"Think of this as just a visual treat. For today, understand up to the layers part. Anything more is beyond your current level. Right, Professor Kennic?"
Kennic nodded silently.
As Jamie turned back to the students with a satisfied expression, his gaze was caught by someone.
A female student was staring piercingly at the three-dimensional magic circle.
That girl.
Anne Meyer. The student who had figured out his subject with impressive analytical skills.
Was she just looking with wonder?
No. Those eyes...
Shia Another.
One of his beloved disciples from the past.
She always made that face when she began to comprehend something.
Anne's eyes darted rapidly, dissecting each magic circle as if committing it perfectly to memory.
Jamie's lips curved upward.
"That's all for today."
As Jamie descended contentedly and smiled, heading out, someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Hm?"
"Professor Jamie."
Kennic leaned in close with a sinister face.
"Class time is far from over."
Only 30 minutes had passed.