Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: First Special Lecture
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Slurp.
I'd been treated to some tea by the professor.
Felt like I should offer a bit of lip service.
"It's delicious. Feels like the scorching sun of the south, doesn't it?"
"...It's not from the south. It's eastern tea."
"..."
Strike one.
Valerius took a sip of his tea, then unleashed a barrage of questions like an interviewer.
"Your name is Isaac Uphills, correct?"
"Yes."
"Orphan, I presume."
"Yes."
"Age?"
"Twenty-two."
"Who do you admire?"
"Erwin Schrödinger."
"..."
Valerius tilted his head quizzically.
Of course he wouldn't know Schrödinger.
The guy was a physicist from Earth.
Looked like I needed to elaborate.
"The one who wrote a paper while on a tryst with his mistress."
"...You hoping to live like that?"
"No. Just want his academic passion."
The conversation felt like a reconnaissance skirmish.
Neither Valerius nor I was being entirely sincere.
So I answered on half autopilot.
Whew, this tea is good.
Then Valerius spoke up again midway through.
"So, what's your goal?"
"...Obviously, hep."
I snapped back to attention in a hurry.
Almost blurted out, "To become a rich recluse whose wealth stays secret forever, living quietly."
That answer would be an instant disqualifier.
Even in 21st-century Korea, people would call you ambitionless for saying that.
This world would be even harsher.
So what should I say...?
I glanced at Valerius and replied.
"...To become a noble with territory."
Half-truth it is.
Everyone craves upward mobility.
"Rise to glory, eh..."
A smirk crept across Valerius's wrinkled lips.
He cut straight through it.
"Liar."
"..."
"Your eyes burn with a longing for freedom."
What? How'd he know?
Valerius pressed on.
"Which school are you from?"
"The Magic Survey School."
Valerius's eyes widened.
"Survey School? Under that woman Dolloren?"
He let out a hollow chuckle.
"No money, no honor, not even freedom... Why join a place like that?"
I agreed on the money and honor.
But freedom? Had to push back.
"No, there is freedom."
"Freedom? Dolloren spends most of the year wandering outside. The ones left behind rot away on paperwork. How's that freedom?"
"Because there are two kinds of freedom."
I set down my teacup and spoke earnestly.
"The freedom to do something—active liberty—and the freedom from interference—negative liberty. No school in the Magic Tower guarantees negative liberty like ours. We have the freedom to do nothing."
Valerius's eyes narrowed at my answer.
"Freedom to do nothing..."
He seemed to mull over the unfamiliar term "negative liberty."
Moments later, a voice laced with deep intrigue escaped his lips.
"...The kind of freedom prisoners or soldiers dream of."
"..."
"Not something I'd expect from Dolloren's student."
As the conversation deepened...
BAM!
The lab door flew open amid a storm of wild mana.
At the epicenter stood Gwendolyn Everglow and the other students.
"Ugh... Out of mana..."
"Huff, huff... We barely broke through."
I examined the lingering mana traces from the students.
Concentrated an explosion spell at one point.
More precisely, four of them fixed the spell's direction, and the last one unleashed the explosion.
...Incredibly inefficient.
Like using five people to change a lightbulb—one holds it, the other four spin the chair he's standing on.
Sweat- and dust-caked, they staggered forward.
"Professor's over there."
"What... He's not alone?"
The moment they spotted me, all noise ceased.
"..."
"..."
"Who the hell's that kid?"
"How'd he get here faster than us...?"
Valerius sighed.
"Hoo... Finally made it. The latecomers."
He scanned the students and clicked his tongue.
"Tch. Took you dozens of minutes to find the door... It's visible if you just open your eyes."
Gwendolyn countered.
"Eyes? We looked! But there were no magical clues..."
"The clue wasn't magical."
Valerius cut her off.
"Dolloren's student here spotted the contradiction—one light source, two shadows—and deduced the door's location."
"...That suit of armor?"
"Must've overlooked it."
"..."
Gwendolyn fell silent.
The students around her whispered.
-"That's just a trick..."
-"Damn it..."
Well, no magic involved, so yeah, a trick.
But do you need a grand frontal assault to find a classroom?
Tsk... scratch scratch.
Gwendolyn's gaze turned to me.
"Then how'd you break through? The barrier was intense."
Before I could answer, Valerius spoke.
"Overwhelmingly bright light."
"...We were in the same room. Didn't see it."
"You know light travels in straight lines, right? What if all light goes one way?"
"...Invisible from other angles. Ah, so that's it!"
Flash. Gwendolyn's eyes lit up.
"Not a total fool, then."
Not everyone got it like Gwendolyn, though.
"What? Why wouldn't it be visible?"
"...Shut up, idiot. It's embarrassing."
"..."
Gwendolyn steadied her breath and stepped forward.
"Even so, thanks to Archmage Valerius's test, we learned the value of cooperation over competition. We are grateful for your profound lesson."
"..."
Valerius was speechless at Gwendolyn's words.
Whoa. Tough mental game on her.
"Cooperation... Wasn't my intent, but if you gleaned even a small lesson, good for you."
"..."
"Flocking together just to cross the threshold. Pathetic slugs. Not a speck of talent among you, but..."
Gwendolyn's face stiffened at the near-insult.
Spitting in a smiling face. Valerius has a rotten personality.
"Well, might be worth teaching you anyway."
...Or not?
"Normally I'd proceed with the lecture, but that's impossible now."
"...Because we're so lacking?"
Valerius shook his head at Gwendolyn's question.
"No. Not the reason."
He pointed to the wall clock.
It was exactly on the hour.
Which meant...
"Lecture time's over. See you next week."
The students murmured at Valerius's words.
"What? That's it?"
"This is ridiculous..."
Valerius added.
"If you want more of my lectures, request it formally from the Dean."
"Gasp...!"
"..."
The students went dead silent.
"Still, you'll need homework for next time."
Valerius eyed Gwendolyn and the others.
"Your assignment: Each find your own answer to 'What is magic?' by next class."
What is magic...?
What the hell?
Brain-melting question.
Never thought about it.
The students exchanged confused glances too.
Wonder if copying the intro from a textbook would work...
Then Valerius spoke.
"Parrot textbook drivel, and I'll kick you out on the spot."
Gulp. Big trouble.
Valerius's gaze shifted to me.
"Dolloren's student."
Gulp. I swallowed dryly.
Shit, caught on?
Does Archmage Valerius read minds too?
Even Voldemort couldn't.
"Your assignment is different."
"...Pardon?"
All eyes in the lab turned to me.
"You: Think about 'What is impossible with magic?'"
Prove impossibility, not possibility.
Much better than before.
I had my universal weapon for this.
Reductio ad absurdum is invincible. I'm a god.
I nodded curtly.
"Understood."
"Good. Orientation ends here. Everyone out."
Valerius dismissed us unilaterally.
The 'special lecture' Week 1 ended absurdly.
Gwendolyn's eyes caught sight of Isaac.
Zip!
Isaac was sprinting toward the Floating Stairs faster than anyone.
What kind of guy is he?
At first, she'd approached out of mere curiosity.
The Isaac she'd seen then...
-'I'll look around more... No, I'll think it over and decide.'
A bit rude, but poignantly hesitant.
Whatever his circumstances, he seemed like a protagonist agonizing at a crossroads in some cliché novel.
But today's Isaac was different.
-'Multi-level marketing at the cafeteria, huh.'
-'This isn't some hunter exam.'
Like a wildfire, unpredictable.
During the classroom hunt, he'd even vanished alone, worrying her.
...Turns out he'd soloed Archmage Valerius's test.
Look in the mirror first, Gwendolyn...
She felt a twinge of embarrassment recalling it.
Then other students approached her.
"Miss Everglow, even for a grand mage, isn't this too much?"
"Agreed. Treating us like we're nothing."
They expected her to vent on their behalf.
But Gwendolyn said nothing.
"Ahem... If not..."
"...Dude, let's just go."
Awkward at her silence, they grumbled among themselves and walked ahead.
"Pisses me off. No lecture, just homework."
"Watch it. He'll hear and chew us out again."
"Screw it! Let him try! Did I say anything wrong?!"
"...Fair. We burned all our mana escaping, and he mocks us."
"Mockery" struck Gwendolyn.
Was it purely mockery...?
Didn't feel like it.
Gwendolyn spoke up.
"...Isaac Uphills did it alone."
"..."
The students halted.
"But we couldn't. Still mockery?"
"...You're right. We misspoke, Miss Everglow."
"..."
Sounded like agreement, but their faces said "Biting my tongue for her sake."
No point antagonizing the Everglow heiress.
"We'll be more careful. Farewell."
They gave noble bows and left.
But Gwendolyn's bombshell lingered.
Isaac Uphills.
Topic shifted to him.
"Come to think of it, his homework was different. Why?"
"Dunno... 'What can't magic do?' Does that even exist?"
"Hm... Shatter the planet?"
"Ridiculous."
The students passed the silent Gwendolyn toward the lounge.
Her feet wouldn't move.
Yeah. Why different?
Surface reason: skill gap.
Isaac outperformed their group.
That wasn't the issue.
What separated "What is magic?" from "What can't magic do?"
Why'd the latter go to Isaac?
A fog of doubt settled in Gwendolyn's mind.
After the lecture,
Slurp.
Valerius sipped his tea alone.
His favorite southern black tea.
"...How'd he know it was southern?"
He'd fibbed to Isaac it was eastern, but it was southern.
"Orphan, wasn't he?"
No leisure for cultured tastes...
"How?"
Come to think of it, Isaac Uphills himself was a bundle of question marks.
Finding the real classroom alone with magical intuition... Impressive, but not shocking.
Genuses do that.
The real marvel was the magic's "completion."
That odd "light" spell aimed at the illusory wall...
But the pinnacle was the spell he cast when the latecomers arrived.
In that instant, Isaac had deployed a "detection" spell flawlessly.
Unbelievable for a 22-year-old.
That's why Valerius gave him a different assignment.
Normally, "What is magic?"
Epistemological question revealing personality.
He'd gauge inclinations and guide accordingly.
Not for Isaac.
"What is impossible with magic?"
Magic catalyzed by thought—admitting impossibility confesses limits.
Thus, it boiled down to:
How far do you understand?
What would Isaac say?
Where lay his limits?
Valerius smirked.
"To gauge his skill, need a proper stage."
Valerius headed to the deepest part of his secret library.
There slumbered research problems unsolved for centuries.
Even the Dean had failed them.
He pulled one out.
This was the blueprint of a cursed magic circle embodying the ancient paradox of "infinity."
"Let's see you solve this, Dolloren's student."