Life as a Mage Begins in Confinement
I entered the dormitory and immediately felt like I was living the life of a mage.
The question hit me like a truck. What exactly was I supposed to say to the two completely unfamiliar girls I’d suddenly been paired with for team practice?
‘Correct answer: I don’t know.’
The afternoon training session was completely different from the morning academic drill. This one was run in teams, a practical combat exercise.
The three of us gathered in one spot and—almost like we’d made a silent pact—kept our mouths shut.
The first day had been filled with victory’s warm glow… but that was long gone now.
We were all silent, yet the air felt thick with everyone thinking at full speed.
*…Hmm. Guess I’m the only one left.*
The team leader had to be me.
The first hooded girl who refused to make eye contact—Leaf. The second hooded girl who seemed to have nothing to say—Ray.
If I handed either of them the reins, I’d probably end up carrying a log instead of lifting even one off the floor.
*Even the university campus isn’t behind me yet and I’m already doing team practice.*
“Um… since we’re a team, I’ll keep it simple. We can’t just say what kind of magic we use. Honestly, yesterday’s spar wasn’t enough to know everything.”
“Ah! That’s a great idea!”
Leaf’s reaction was perfect—out of the three of us, she was the only one who actually fired back.
And even though she hid her face, she had the guts to step up when it counted.
“I—I’ll go first!”
She shot her hand up and puffed her chest like she was about to run a marathon.
“I’m an Elementalist. I’ve already contracted with a water spirit.”
“Oooh, water spirit.”
My reaction must have satisfied her, because Leaf’s voice climbed a notch higher.
“Anything involving water—I can do it!”
“Sounds useful. No more worrying about water supplies.”
Water supply.
That was actually pretty annoying.
My mana being wasted at home wasn’t just bad luck.
Everything needed to be stocked up, and water was the most important of the important.
There was no special reason why water users ranked highest among Elementalist classes.
“Ehehe.”
Leaf let out a soft laugh when she saw my reaction.
But right on cue, a voice cut through the warm atmosphere like a needle.
“Still… can you control them?”
“Excuse me?”
“The contract, right?”
“Ah… yeah, I guess so.”
The reason Elementalist are treated like second-class citizens is simple. They can’t properly control the spirits.
It’s basically the same as Demonologists, except the price for losing control is different.
A Demonologist might slip the leash because of the high cost. An Elementalist might lose control because they can’t leash the spirit itself.
The contract with a spirit is more like “You wanna be friends?” than master-servant.
Of course I’d called them over, but if I asked for something they hated, they could just ignore me.
How ridiculous.
Imagine placing an Elementalist in the final slot of an important raid, only for the spirit to decide they’re not in the mood and boycotting the whole party.
That would be the end of the entire raid.
Demonologists and Elementalist end up lumped together as “low-class” for the exact same reason.
Even if it doesn’t go that far, spirits are just… picky.
They’re basically fairies.
“W-well… I’m really close with them… I think it’ll be fine.”
Leaf’s earlier energy crashed instantly.
No! She’d been the only morale booster on our team.
This was exactly the moment I needed to change the subject.
“Then what about you?”
“Me?”
“You’re a Battle Mage, right? You should have a style.”
“I saw it yesterday. I fought without a weapon.”
*Without a weapon?*
“That’s something weaklings use.”
Without a weapon…?
That’s straight-up ape logic.
Weapons are for weaklings?
That’s the kind of thing only insane people would say.
Sure, you can boost your body with magic and armor yourself, but that’s something every mage can do.
You still have to fight on top of that.
So charging in with nothing but your fists against mages who have swords? That’s basically suicide.
Anyone could figure that out.
“Like… Arthur?”
Arthur was a Battle Mage too. He definitely carried a sword at his waist.
I heard he was from a top-tier guild.
“Excellent Battle Mages always use weapons.”
That was just common sense.
“So what about you?”
“Me?”
“You’re a Demonologist, right? Who did you contract with? You don’t have to tell me the price or the demon’s name, but you could at least say what kind of ability you got.”
Ray sounded like she knew a decent amount about Demonologists.
She asked for the exact level of information you could safely share without revealing any forbidden words.
But the problem was me.
*What do I even say?*
My current combat style was mana bullets—long-range attack magic. My mobility was trash compared to that.
I was basically a stationary cannon.
While I was still sorting out how to answer, Ray cut me off.
“So what? You’re the only one refusing to talk?”
“No, it’s not like that. My style is basically the same as yesterday. Mana projection from a distance.”
I kept it simple like Ray had. Just the type of ability I used.
“…You don’t even know how to cast magic, do you.”
*Clears throat.*
Since I had nothing to say, I steered the conversation elsewhere.
“Anyway, our team balance looks pretty good.”
“Really?”
“The unarmed fighter Ray takes point, Leaf who can handle any water-based situation takes the rear, and me focusing on offensive magic in the middle.”
It was actually a textbook formation. Efficient and logical.
Even though I was an unarmed specialist, my defense was solid enough.
Yesterday’s fight showed I had decent damage output.
If I was a tank, I could probably handle a chimpanzee.
Maybe I wasn’t so bad after all?
Elementalist utility is even stronger than regular Elementalist once you remove the one that only likes me.
They handle rear-guard roles—long-range, harassment, ambushes—better than anyone.
My own stats were bottom-tier for defense and speed, but my offensive and sustain were fine.
If I was playing the central artillery position…
*This actually sounds pretty good?*
§
*This is utter nonsense… everything is meaningless.*
I walked through the darkness, feeling the backlash of all the empty expectations I’d carried.
The training exercise was literally a rehearsal for exploring the Abyss.
It was designed to help us acclimate to the environment before we ever stepped into the real thing.
They’d built a training ground that mimicked the Abyss, tossed in the new students, and let us figure out how to reach the exit on our own.
That was the whole point of the exercise.
We’d just entered the training field and were already experiencing our team’s biggest weakness in real time.
*How is there not a single person who can use universal magic…*
Universal Magic.
A generic term for any spell that anyone can cast as long as they have mana—no matter their class.
Every mage learns a few of them: glow, purify, detox, detect.
But somehow our team had none of them.
We moved through pitch-black darkness using only our other senses—no light, no nothing.
“You didn’t learn any either, huh.”
Ray’s teasing came from the front line, the most dangerous position.
Usually she was emotionless and sharp.
Today her blunt voice carried a hint of embarrassment.
*If I’m not visible, my speed is too slow anyway.*
Without body enhancement, my speed was already garbage. Add the fact that I couldn’t see my feet clearly and I became an even bigger turtle.
On top of that, I was still concentrating, so stamina drained faster than usual.
“Hya!”
A weird scream echoed behind me. Leaf staggered.
Where did I step on?
I instinctively turned and caught her as she fell.
“T-thank you…!”
“Watch your step.”
“Okay.”
Leaf leaned on me like a toddler learning to walk and took a few shaky steps before letting go.
Moving like this was a disaster already.
*How do I even see ahead?*
“Um… can we at least get out of here?”
“Once time runs out the instructors will drag you out.”
Leaf was panicking, Ray was answering on autopilot.
Both of them had already given up on finishing the training.
*The theory was fine, though.*
*Maybe the lack of universal magic was the real problem…*
*Speaking of which, what’s Ray doing?*
Leaf and I were already struggling to walk, but Ray up front was strolling around like she owned the place.
*No detours, no stops.*
“Ray.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you really going in the right direction?”
“Just keep up.”
She was so slow.
Ray’s sharp slap from behind had nothing to say about it.
Leaf and I were slow, she was even slower.
“Do body enhancements improve your senses?”
“Maybe.”
“Can Leaf not use them?”
“Well, I know how, but I’m not very good at it…”
Leaf sounded embarrassed.
*What does that even mean?*
I didn’t even know how to cast magic.
“By the way, why is this floor so huge? We’ve moved quite a bit even though we’re slow.”
“That’s normal. The space in the lower levels is distorted.”
“Distorted?”
“Yeah. I don’t know the details, but it might be from a relic dug up in the Abyss.”
True. I’d heard that current magic couldn’t manipulate space.
To expand it, you’d have to borrow power from the Abyss.
Space itself was one of the Abyss’s mysteries.
That only made my belief that there was an answer to returning to Earth deeper.
Maybe that quiet joy was the only thing cushioning the physical exhaustion.
Only now did I finally realize something had changed.
*My breathing feels heavier.*
I’d thought it was just tiredness at first, but no.
Leaf muttered under her breath as she walked.
*Haa… my mana feels… thicker…*
Her voice echoed behind me like an afterthought.
*Especially in spots with strong pressure.*
That spot Arthur had mentioned.
If it was here…
*…What was that sound?*
*Thud—*
My foot landed on something completely different.
Not the uneven cave floor I expected, but smooth stone that felt solid and flat.
The instant I registered the difference I shouted.
“Ray!”
*BOOM!!*
A collision echoed from up ahead, and mana flared as power clashed. A light exploded outward.
For the first time, I saw the interior of the lower level.
My eyes, still hungry for light, memorized every detail in that single instant.
A massive reptile-like creature slamming into Ray.
§
*What the heck are those two idiots doing?*
Lin, the alchemist who was the assistant instructor for the training exercise, watched the image from Remote Vision Magic and clicked her tongue in disbelief.
The place where Roman’s team had appeared was basically a boss room in the lower level.
A chamber built around the upper predator of the first layer of the Abyss—the rock basilisk.
*How did they even get this far… They must have set up a magic field to block detection.*
I’d only left for a few minutes to handle other business, yet here we were.
Bad luck? Blunted instincts? Or maybe overly sharp instincts?
*Haa… I guess I have to help them after all.*
Lin flicked her foot and broke off the Remote Vision Magic.
The decision was already made.
All that remained was a plausible excuse and damage control.
“Fine. I’ll go help them.”
Lin stood up and left the control room.
At that exact moment, the Remote Vision image showed Roman’s team with perfect accuracy—aimed straight at the rock basilisk.