Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: A New Perspective
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Uli wasn't the only one who was stunned.
The mages from Schwerin, of course, but also Arthur and Lazarus, who had often witnessed Loan's divine feats, and even the children with the slightest understanding of magic—all stood with their mouths agape.
It was understandable. What Loan had demonstrated was less a replication or manifestation and more akin to creation or the transmutation of matter.
Loan pointed to the blackboard with the floating ball of fire and spoke.
"The formula on the board pertains to the second proposition. To elaborate a bit—"
Loan used psychokinesis to levitate another piece of chalk.
After floating for a moment, the chalk suddenly dropped to the floor.
"The core of psychokinesis is to prevent an object in the air from falling to the ground."
Loan waved his hand again, and the chalk floated back up.
Like the Earth orbiting the Sun, the chalk began to circle the ball of fire.
"Gravity. The key here is to overcome the force pulling things down. To do that, one must consider a complex array of factors: gravity, the object's weight and size, the atmospheric density that must be controlled for movement, adjustments for pressure differences, the force needed to overcome friction with the mana in the air, and so on. We've always just lumped all of that together and solved it with raw magical power and intent, but—"
Loan gently guided the chalk, which had been orbiting the fireball, into its center.
"It's actually a very inefficient process. Compared to other spells, it consumes a relatively large amount of magical power for very little destructive force."
Soon, a small explosion-like phenomenon occurred inside the fireball, and the flame grew slightly larger.
"Of course, some of this is due to the different schools of magic, but it seems that within our magical academia, we've simply labeled it as inefficient without ever trying to overcome that. Instead, we've focused solely on increasing the amount of magical power used."
Next, Loan detached a piece of the flame and placed it between specific clauses of the formula written on the blackboard.
"So, I broke down that process, replaced parts of it with individual spells, and substituted the formula for Fireball into those clauses. Of course, the Fireball formula itself was also further broken down from its over-reliance on raw magical power. You can refer to the formula on this blackboard."
As if quite satisfied with his own explanation, Loan looked at the audience with a gentle smile.
Without hesitation.
As if chanting an incantation with precise words.
He had even explained with appropriate examples and underlining.
Yet, almost no one understood.
Only Arthur and Lazarus responded with satisfied smiles.
Loan turned back to Uli and spoke again.
"Once again, I'd like to express my gratitude to Senior Uli for the inspiration."
"..."
"This was my take on the two keywords. Do you perhaps have a different perspective? If there is a path of truth and wisdom that I have yet to realize, I ask that you illuminate it for me, Senior."
It was an incredibly polite request, but Uli couldn't manage to return the courtesy.
He broke out in a cold sweat, desperately trying to comprehend Loan's words in his mind.
It was impossible.
Hoping to find a clue, he mulled over the formula on the blackboard again and again, just as Loan had advised.
He admonished himself, thinking that even if he couldn't construct the formula, he should at least be able to understand it. But.
"What in the world does that mean..."
The formula Loan had written contained a significant number of clauses that directly manipulated mana.
The concept of casting magic on mana itself was no different from Loan's unique magic.
To those who couldn't grasp the concept, reading or interpreting it was a futile effort.
Amidst the head-splitting pain, Uli muttered.
"There's no way I can't do what that little brat did..."
Trying to decipher a divine feat beyond his comprehension out of sheer stubbornness placed a heavy strain on his magical power, but—
in that moment, Uli's pride ignored even the warning signs.
And finally.
"Keuk."
Uli coughed, spewed blood from his nose, and collapsed to his knees.
Just as his startled colleagues were about to approach him, members of the Union appeared on the stage in the blink of an eye and supported Uli.
These were individuals treated as state guests. The safety of the envoys was a politically crucial matter.
"This is Yan, a Runner from the Harmony Division. We will be taking custody of our guest for his safety."
It was unclear who he was addressing, but the Runner named Yan, along with his colleagues, took Uli and vanished from the auditorium.
While everyone stood there dumbfounded, Daphne spoke.
"Ah... it seems Mage Uli has a chronic illness. I hope he makes a swift recovery."
Loan and the other children sighed with pity as they looked in the direction Uli had disappeared.
Daphne once again calmed the commotion in the hall.
"Well, since the topic discussion is still ongoing... rather than proposing a new topic, how about the remaining two mages from Schwerin continue in Sir Uli's place?"
The young mages' faces immediately turned pale.
***
The question-and-answer session that followed Uli's departure was no different from what came before.
The young mages couldn't understand Loan's formula, and Loan made no particular effort to make them understand.
He already had experience teaching and demonstrating it to his peers.
If they couldn't grasp it after all this, it would likely be impossible for them unless they had some fortuitous encounter that made them smarter.
And so.
the academic exchange with Schwerin, which had dragged on for a long time with the single topic of combining psychokinesis and Fireball, ended anticlimactically.
"Congratulations. It was a refreshing shock."
Bert, the representative for the exchange, came up on stage and personally handed Loan a gift.
It was the very thing Loan and Arthur had been eagerly anticipating.
'So this is an elixir.'
As the small, sealed glass bottle was handed to Loan, a fragrance wafted through the air—sweet like honey, cool like a gentle breeze, yet somehow comforting.
Bert said.
"If you're thinking of taking it yourself, it would be better to wait until your body has matured a bit more. At such a young age, it can actually cause adverse side effects."
"Ah... is that so? Then what about around graduation?"
"Graduation is at fifteen, right? That should be about right."
"Yes. Thank you."
After exchanging congratulations and thanks, the two met again a short while later at an after-party held in a magic studies lecture hall.
It wasn't a one-on-one meeting.
The mages from Schwerin were all crowded around Loan, busy bombarding him with questions. Uli, who had presumably recovered, was not present.
Loan answered each of the pouring questions diligently.
"Your achievements far exceed your age, which is incredible, but what's even more astonishing is the revolution you've shown us, young Loan. It feels as if our entire system of perception and theoretical framework for magic has been completely negated."
"Isn't that perhaps why the age of swordsmanship has arrived? We've stagnated because we've been content with mere comprehension. I believe some kind of shift was necessary."
"Thankfully, it seems we have witnessed that very moment of transition. What made it possible? Young Loan, what do you think we mages have been lacking?"
"Wasn't magic always about understanding the principles of the universe and pursuing truth? And aren't mages beings who exist for that purpose? But at some point, I feel we were misled into thinking that simply interpreting and understanding formulas was all that mattered."
"Your insight cuts to the heart, young Loan. It stings. What is the secret to such perception?"
"The important thing is imagination. Simply memorizing formulas perfectly doesn't help with progress."
"Imagination, you say. Do you mean we should spend our time chasing clouds? Could you perhaps elaborate on that a little more?"
"The imagination a mage needs is not the ability to fantasize, but the ability to form hypotheses. It's what allows one to view principles and phenomena more accurately and analytically."
"Then how can we come up with astonishing ideas like yours?"
"It's not about trying to come up with astonishing ideas. It's about having questions, posing new questions about those questions, striving to prove them for yourselves, and thus getting closer to the essence of the world."
"Is there perhaps a way to cultivate this imagination that you could teach us?"
"Imagination doesn't grow by studying magic itself. It requires the study and understanding of a wide range of fields. Language, literature, history, philosophy, science, medicine, architecture, music, art, physical education—anything can provide inspiration. There's no need to draw boundaries."
Loan was merely organizing and stating the things he had done all this time, but—
from the perspective of the Schwerin mages, it was no different from being reprimanded by a junior from a distant generation, a mere fledgling student at that.
However, no one took offense.
The shock from Loan's demonstration and the enlightenment from his words were more than enough to please them.
They, too, were true mages who pursued the truth.
***
Time flows on without a moment to look back.
And within that flow—
unlike Loan, who was overly serious about his life, ordinary children reacted honestly to the emotions they felt at their age.
Thanks to this, Loan often received love confessions not only from his peers but also from his seniors and juniors.
From gifts and letters secretly placed in his locker to direct confessions.
After the magical academic exchange he had demonstrated in front of the entire school, the offensive became much more intense and frequent.
But Loan had no interest in anyone and accepted no one's confession.
The strange thing was that after confessing to him directly, everyone seemed to sort out their feelings in one go and never suffered from a broken heart again. No one but the individuals involved knew why.
It was the same for Rita, who had held a one-sided love for Loan for three years.
She had watched with puzzlement as her rivals, one by one, gave up on their feelings.
Then, one day, just before the end-of-year ceremony for the third grade.
Rita mustered her courage, called Loan out to the back garden, and confessed.
Loan's response was bewildering.
"To me, love is cherishing the memory of someone who has passed. There is nothing else."
"Loan, why do you say such scary things...? I really do love you."
"I wonder. Can you really call what you're feeling right now 'love'?"
"Huh?"
"In the place I was before, I used to read a lot of romance novels aloud to the adults. The love depicted in most of those novels wasn't that kind of emotion."
"That kind of emotion? What are you talking about."
Loan calmly explained his thoughts on love.
"People who fall into what is called 'true love' mostly exhibit symptoms of mental illness. Excessive joy, ecstasy, pity, longing, deep emotion, focus, expectation, excitement, fear, doubt, jealousy, bewilderment, and even anger. You're not feeling that level of passion, are you, Rita?"
"..."
"Of course, I'm not denying your feelings themselves. It's possible. I understand completely."
"..."
"You might have felt attracted to my appearance, my physical condition, my actions or voice, or my usual disposition, leading to some physical changes, or feelings of nervousness or excitement. But that's a result, a phenomenon, a state caused by an unbridgeable gap. There is no evidence that it can be called love. Perhaps it's closer to admiration."
"..."
"Take a good look into your heart. If you still think it's love, let's talk again. I'm always open to a constructive conversation."
Rita didn't know what to say.
So, after blinking her large eyes at Loan a few times, she simply turned and walked away.
For some reason, her heart, which had been pounding as if it would burst just moments before, was now completely calm.
She was confused for a moment, but her mind also felt incredibly clear.
Thirteen-year-old Rita thought.
'I'm glad I confessed.'
She had been rejected, but somehow, it didn't feel like a rejection.
And so, Loan and Rita's third year passed.