Chapter 118
Chapter 118
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Circle Magic
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Late at night.
The sounds of training that had echoed from the practice grounds faded, leaving only the chirping of late summer insects to fill the air.
Loan had been sitting in the same position for quite some time, yet he felt no discomfort.
He had been this way ever since returning to his quarters.
It was a posture he had honed since childhood.
*Whooosh—*
He examined every corner of his body, focusing his consciousness more intently on his heart.
He felt no impatience.
Somewhere between contemplation and appreciation, analysis and understanding—
How much time had passed as he felt the whirring within his heart?
Inevitably, a memory seeped into his consciousness.
'It's just like when Mother Pauline left.'
He made no effort to push the thought away.
He accepted it as a natural flow.
* * *
To Loan, the heart was the mind, and the mind was memory.
'She said if I looked into my heart, I could feel the ones who had left.'
He had done as she said, and that was why they were still alive. Together.
But now was not the time to examine the heart in an abstract sense.
Loan decided to delve into his memories more proactively.
He sent his consciousness back in time, to a place and a scene he had long avoided.
A moment he always recalled, yet always forced himself to forget.
Mother Pauline was here, too.
In the form of a tree.
'This is the moment a concrete shape formed around my heart.'
He observed the memory, the emotions, and the movement of his heart from that time, all at once.
Overwhelmed by unbearable emotions and helpless tears, a young Loan had placed his hand on Pauline's chest.
The dark mana binding Pauline clashed with the Convection enveloping him, light and shadow tangling into a vortex.
'First, there was an external mana collision. That was the first change in the phenomenon.'
His subconscious will intervened in the flow of dark mana that was sustaining the human tree.
He tried to draw it into his own body to cleanse it.
A desperate attempt at purification.
'An immense amount of mana, almost a torrent, poured into me. That was the second change.'
Mana exceeding his capacity circulated, imbued with excessive power.
Like a sudden flood bursting its banks and creating tributaries in every direction, the mana began to race throughout his entire body.
He felt as though his body would explode from the surging energy.
An agony his younger self had not recognized that day.
In the midst of it all.
Blocked, stagnated, then flowing again, layers of mana built up like stratified clouds.
With different densities and directions, their rotational speeds also varied.
However, the central circulatory flow, his own, held the advantage, thanks to his long years of training.
Besides, the pain in his heart was greater than the pain in his body.
Before long.
Unable to withstand the speed and stability, the dark mana was dyed with pure light and began to swirl within Loan's body.
The tens of thousands of offshoots were refined and condensed around the naturally formed axis of rotation.
And so, the phenomenon reached its conclusion.
A perfect circle, rotating at extreme velocity, dominating the circulation of mana.
The origin of what now enveloped his heart.
"Hoo..."
Loan took a moment to catch his breath and observe his body.
The process in his memory had faded, leaving only the reality.
Its shape remained unchanged, as if it had been perfected in that very moment.
A perfect circle that seemed impossible to create by artificial means.
It was clear that this power was a mechanism for drawing in large amounts of mana and accelerating his Convection.
It was also clear that the difference between having it and not was immense.
The question now was how to strengthen this power.
The solution to his fundamental lack of magical power lay here.
*Whooosh—*
Loan observed it and meditated.
He considered two potential paths.
One was to increase its power by making it larger, thicker, or spinning it faster.
That didn't seem easy.
'I thought I'd grown quite a bit, but if it hasn't changed in five years, it won't be easy going forward either.'
Furthermore, he suspected there would be a limit to how large he could make it.
'Then what about creating additional ones?'
That seemed plausible.
Because while the heart was three-dimensional, the flow of power was planar.
Its current form was a flat plane standing upright with the heart at its center. Couldn't he create another one in a different direction to intersect it?
'It would probably look cool, but...'
But the thought brought another problem to mind.
If he did that, the direction of mana circulation would have to be different from the existing one. It meant two circulations in different directions would have to occur simultaneously.
'Is that even possible?'
The circulatory path centered on his heart was already well-worn within his body, allowing mana to flow very smoothly.
He would have to intervene in that flow and deliberately divert it in another direction.
And that wasn't all.
After painstakingly forging new paths, he would have to refine them. The process of gathering the thorn-like tributaries into one was the key.
'This is hard!'
It felt like he'd hit a wall for the first time in a while, but it didn't seem impossible.
He had already divided and controlled his Convection by extending it into countless strands.
He had even moved twelve Shevilles simultaneously, each carried on a stream of Convection imbued with a different intent.
And he had even managed to construct that complex web of Convection, Narrow Paths, and Domains in an instant.
'I just have to try doing that inside my body.'
Loan began to extend his mana against the flow or in completely random directions.
It was not going to be easy.
Forcing it, he felt considerable resistance. When he resolved to overcome it, the resistance became pain.
A sensation like something inside him was tearing and twisting.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
Had he ever made a sound out loud because of pain?
It was that difficult, but he couldn't stop when he could see his mana beginning to jut out from its established flow.
Drenched in sweat, he focused on the battle within himself.
For a long while.
Loan pushed himself to the brink of passing out—
Only after seeing a few new strands, sharp as chestnut burrs, jutting out beside the main circulatory path—
did he stop the seemingly endless training.
'I'm doing well.'
He intended to rest for a moment and then go at it again.
But from the outside, he looked no different from when he had first sat down.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
Loan opened his eyes at the sound of knocking.
Sunlight was streaming in through the window.
In a daze, he stared blankly at the door.
He sensed a familiar mana.
It almost felt like a dream.
He tilted his head and slowly opened the door.
The person waiting outside was Arthur, the Dean of Magic.
"They said you hadn't left your quarters for two days. I grew tired of waiting and came myself, Loan."
"Ah, Dean Arthur!"
Loan bowed deeply, then slammed the door shut.
A visit from his teacher was completely unexpected.
And his current appearance was far from presentable.
He had simply fallen asleep after intense training, and he was sure he was a sweaty, disheveled mess.
Loan's voice slipped through the crack of the door.
"Sir, I'm so sorry... Just a moment!"
Then he scattered Narrow Paths around the room and began to dash about frantically.
He washed his face, splashed water on his body, changed his clothes, and fixed his hair.
After a brief moment of satisfaction looking in the mirror, he carefully opened the door.
*Creeak—*
"Ho ho. You're making such a racket. It's not like someone that important has come to visit."
The clattering noises had clearly been audible from outside.
Loan's now-tidy face flushed slightly.
"Please, have a seat."
Loan hesitantly guided Arthur to a chair.
The place was always empty, so he had nothing to offer. He handed Arthur a glass of water, which the dean drank with great relish.
"It's a rare day off, so I thought I'd come see your face for the first time in a while. I hear you're heading off on another long journey."
"Yes. I'm going to Sion to seek advice from the Archbishop."
"I see. I heard you were researching the purification of dark mana. And that something happened to Sophie."
"She's fine now. It's something that could happen to others, so I'm looking for a way to prevent it."
As they talked, he gradually calmed down.
Arthur gazed at his student, who was doing more than his fair share at the Union, with a pleased expression.
"Is the position of Runner not too heavy a burden?"
"I worry I'm not living up to your expectations."
"It would be a lie to say I have no expectations, but truthfully, my worries are greater."
As he spoke, Arthur took a rolled-up paper from his coat.
"It's not just me; many people feel the same. Hmm... let's see."
Arthur squinted and held up a sheet of paper. It looked like a letter.
"I had to stop the others who insisted on coming. It wouldn't look good for us to flock to our student's workplace, after all."
"Pardon?"
Loan didn't understand what Arthur meant.
Paying him no mind, Arthur began to read from the paper.
"Loan, are you well? It's Professor Daphne. It feels like just yesterday you visited, so I was surprised to hear such astonishing news..."
It was a letter from Daphne, the Head of Academic Affairs, read in Arthur's voice.
A long list of worries followed: was he doing well, was he taking care of his health, was he eating properly without being picky, was he not overworking himself like he did in school.
It concluded with a plea not to forget his potential as a linguist or literature professor.
It was a warm and simple greeting.
"Ahem..."
As an embarrassed Loan searched for words, Arthur rustled the paper and began to read the next letter.
"Loan. It's Diego. I heard your achievements are extraordinary. I'm sure you're doing fine, so I have nothing special to tell you, but..."
It started that way, but the letter from Diego, the swordsmanship instructor, was anything but simple.
It was packed with advice on the mindset for life-or-death situations, his personal methods for recovering energy after missions, and a Diego-style meditation technique to soothe a body and mind weary from battle.
It showed no signs of ending, and when Loan craned his neck to see how much was left...
"Ahem. I had no choice, coming as their representative. They threatened me to read every last word."
"..."
Diego's lengthy letter concluded with an admonition to casually ignore any duel requests from Commander Lydia of the Harmony Division.
Fortunately, the next letter was very short.
"It's Sienna. Don't lose your sword this time."
And the last letter as well.
"This is Lazaros. Please stop by the administration office regarding your merit reward."
*Did he really need to send that as a letter?*
"We all gathered and talked about you for the first time in a while. Vice Commander Oscar requested our counsel. It seems he wanted to ask for help from us, who have watched over you for a long time."
"Vice Commander Oscar?"
"Yes. He seems worried that you throw yourself into missions without regard for your own safety."
"..."
"But we didn't really have anything to tell him. You were always a child who found your own path, right from your first day at the academy."
Loan felt a mix of apology, gratitude, and embarrassment.
He couldn't lift his head, staring instead at the corner of the papers on the table.
"Everyone wishes for the same thing. I trust that sentiment was well conveyed in the letters. So. Do as you will, but never forget that you have a place to return to."
"Yes..."
Arthur smiled warmly and stroked his beard.
Then he tapped the table and leaned back in his chair.
"Now... I didn't prepare a separate letter. So how about you tell me about your recent magical accomplishments instead? I don't get much chance for that at the academy these days."
"Yes, sir."
"What studies have you been focusing on lately? I doubt you've been neglecting them just because you're dedicated to your missions."
"Ah, there's a new magic I've realized and wanted to test, so I've been focusing solely on that for the past two days."
"A new magic?"
A flicker of light danced in Arthur's eyes.
There were no words more exciting to a mage.
Loan continued, his expression excited.
"Yes. But it's not the kind of magic implemented with formulas or magic circles."
"Hmm?"
"It's about something more fundamental—the method of manifesting magical power and its very source."
Arthur tilted his head and asked again.
"That sounds profound. What is it?"
Loan drew a circle in the air with his fingertip and answered.
"I've named it Circle Magic."