Pre-OT
Yeonhee University Math Department lab.
Crunch, crunch.
Park Ha-jun was skimming through the answer sheets submitted by the heavyweights of the magic world.
Out of roughly sixty participants, twenty had turned in blank sheets.
"..."
It was a lamentable result.
The top minds of Korea's magic academia—giants in the field—handing in blanks.
Of course, it was just "average difficulty considering their level."
Still, if they'd truly grasped his paper, they should've at least scribbled something for problem one...
"Hm."
He'd probably need to revise the lecture content. Tailor it to their level, make it a bit simpler.
In any case, with so many blanks, grading didn't take long.
Park Ha-jun sorted the sheets by score.
1. Shin Ye-ji (perfect score)
2. Hwang In-su
3. Jeong Hyun-seok
......
The final class would consist of fifteen magic scroll makers and five mages.
Given the higher number of scroll makers among applicants, it was a natural outcome.
And fortunately, Jeong Hyun-seok had made the cut.
He was one of the most influential figures in magic academia, after all.
An A-rank mage like Kang Eun-ho, who'd been stuck at 4th circle for years, from what he'd heard.
Just as B-rank mages maxed at 3rd circle, A-ranks topped out at 4th circle.
But recently, hadn't a mage shattered that limit?
Shin Ye-ji, who'd aced this test.
Word was, after attending Park Ha-jun's special lectures and solidifying her grasp of attributes, she'd met the unlock conditions for 4th circle.
That ripple effect had boosted his paper's popularity even further.
Mages could no longer outright ignore Park Ha-jun's work.
In this climate, if his lectures broke through the barrier for a titan like Jeong Hyun-seok?
'...It wouldn't end at just not ignoring me.'
Of course, it might be premature to hope.
But with Shin Ye-ji as precedent, it wasn't impossible.
Shaking off the strange anticipation, he called in Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun.
"...Want to review the grading results?"
Their math skills weren't top-notch yet.
But he'd annotated every grading rationale, so review should be straightforward. They'd studied math on their own, after all.
"..."
But the two could only gulp at the massive volume of notes crammed onto the sheets. Dizziness hit.
'All this...?'
Awe welled up simultaneously.
Professor Park Ha-jun had started grading just three hours ago...
How had he scored so many sheets and filled them with dense annotations?
Maybe the professor wasn't a scroll maker but some brain-type awakener...
As the TAs stood dazed, Park Ha-jun looked puzzled.
"...Too tough? Need help?"
It was tough. But they had to push through. Being a Mathematical Circuitry TA was the only way to hear the professor's unfiltered thoughts and struggles.
They couldn't burden him. They needed to put in TA-worthy effort and build the skills.
"No, we're good...!"
Kang Eun-ho replied, eyes misty.
"We can handle it."
Kim A-hyun forced a calm tone.
"Thanks. Ask if anything comes up."
At Park Ha-jun's words, they grabbed the sheets and returned to their seats.
For the record, he'd switched to casual speech with them. He'd used polite language before, treating them as high-rank awakeners.
Now they were his TAs.
When he'd dropped the formalities, their delighted faces—finally acknowledged—flashed in his mind. No idea why they'd thought that way, but...
Anyway.
While Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun reviewed the grades, Park Ha-jun read an email from the Association.
Park Ha-jun and the Association were hunting the Mines' hideout.
They now knew it lay in the dimensional space between Earth and gates. The Association had analyzed internal energies from gates tampered with by Mines.
Using specialized gear to capture all emitted energies and particles, then precisely scanning the spectrum.
The email summarized those findings.
[...If needed, we'll send the full data directly...]
The [Mail] system had limits, after all.
But no need for a meeting. The summary sufficed.
Couldn't pinpoint the hideout, but it revealed the research direction.
'Pinpoint the Riemann curvature tensor values...'
Trace dimensional info from those, then hit them directly with [Darkness] and [Space].
Best defense is a good offense, right?
He'd implemented a 24-hour [Barrier], but exterminating them remained essential.
Thus, Park Ha-jun requested additional values based on the data.
Once the reply came, he'd compile it for Lab 2.
Tight schedule, but it'd be fine...
Their performance bonuses should've hit their accounts by now.
'Still, feels bad to just bonus it off—better deliver the data personally...'
Heading to deliver, Park Ha-jun beheld Lab 2's unfamiliar sight.
"!!!"
A mad party scene, perfectly described.
And from that day, the awkwardness with Lab 2's researchers vanished.
Days passed. In a Yeonhee University science building lecture hall, the final Mathematical Circuitry enrollees gathered.
The semester was still a month out.
But Park Ha-jun had summoned them for a pre-OT.
They needed to see what he'd teach and how—right?
Plus, weed out cheaters. For the first class, he wanted talent and passion.
However.
Some enrollees lacked that "passion."
Take Hwang In-su: He'd dissected Park Ha-jun's paper obsessively for flaws.
Enrolled to prove the guy was a fraud.
He'd edged out Jeong Hyun-seok for 2nd on the test, but...
Studying it that hard made him respect the paper more, but...
Doubts about Park Ha-jun lingered.
A B-rank maker acting like hot stuff, when real research was done by A-ranks Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun? Pathetic.
Hwang In-su glared at Park Ha-jun at the podium, eyes wide.
'...You qualified to stand there?'
What could a mere B-rank maker teach these magic giants?
If it was just paper walkthroughs, wrong crowd.
They didn't need his explanations.
In the tense, awkward hall, Park Ha-jun spoke.
"...Thanks for everyone showing up. I'm Park Ha-jun."
Shin Ye-ji clapped first.
Clap, clap.
Enthusiastically. Some followed.
Hwang In-su just watched, arms crossed. No intent to recognize him as prof.
Park Ha-jun surveyed the room coolly, face stiff.
Hwang In-su smirked. His chill must've rattled the guy.
...But reality differed.
'Full house, no one on phones... OT effect?'
Unlike Hwang In-su's thoughts, Park Ha-jun was moved.
This semester, his only 3rd-year class—Topology—started with four students. Knowing his leniency, they phones-all-day.
But now? All twenty focused solely on him.
Overwhelmed, he nodded faintly, then refocused.
Thanks to Kang Eun-ho's advice: Magic folks were prickly; don't prof too normally.
Park Ha-jun had chuckled at Eun-ho's worry—report any troublemakers.
Wearing that smile, he spoke. No mask needed. He'd researched pedagogy alongside math.
"...Before the formal Mathematical Circuitry pre-OT, one announcement."
In the hush, he continued.
"I won't teach you new formulas or circuits."
Question marks floated over heads. Came to learn new stuff—no?
"My formula knowledge isn't deep, and my scroll-making experience doesn't exceed yours."
The room froze icy. Then why call us?
Park Ha-jun calmly pulled items from a paper bag.
"...In short, Mathematical Circuitry isn't conceptual lecturing. Magic or math concepts—you learn those yourselves."
He nodded to Kang Eun-ho and Kim A-hyun.
Vmmm—
Kang Eun-ho penta-cast maxed, forming [Barrier]s before all twenty.
Frightening speed. Even Jeong Hyun-seok gasped softly.
Kim A-hyun distributed scrolls from the bag.
As distribution finished, Park Ha-jun said,
"This class will constantly pose problems for you to solve mathematically..."
The preview appeared before them.
A "flawed" Barrier.
Their desks held its formula and circuit.
Just visually different, shifting flaw positions.
"...Analyze the flaw's essence, find and break your Barrier's. Two tries only. Fail to collapse it? Sorry, disqualified."
Identical to test problem one.
Homeomorphism-based. Deform while preserving essence, flaw spots easily found.
These twenty aced problem one.
Fail? Cheater assumption.
"..."
Panicked students. Lighthearted OT turned trap.
But not pure trap. Solving yielded gains.
"TA, barrier duration?"
Kang Eun-ho replied,
"30 minutes!"
"That's it. Note: Pass by 'collapse.'"
As Park Ha-jun checked his watch, a hand rose.
"Go ahead."
Test 2nd-placer Hwang In-su.
"...Must target the flaw?"
A-rank cast, but under 10 seconds. Weaker than his 3rd-circle mastery.
No need to hunt flaws, he thought.
Park Ha-jun smiled softly at the bold question.
"No. Collapse without flaw-targeting? Pass. I respect diverse solutions."
Hwang In-su smirked, manifesting a formula.
Wanted [Explosion], but classroom—refined [Mana Arrow], earth attribute.
30 seconds. Arrow over shoulder slammed the Barrier.
Boom—!
Dull thud echoed, but...
"...!"
No change.
Expected. Kang Eun-ho had absorbed Park Ha-jun's homotopy recently.
Over 8 weeks of topology lectures, plus self-study for TA role.
Now mastering it.
Park Ha-jun, pleased, said,
"Hwang In-su, one try left."
Stunned, Hwang In-su choked.