03. Is Bari a Great Mage?
03. Is Bari a Great Mage?
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Whoosh - !
A stylishly swung leg.
The gracefully extended limb was captivating enough to be called a work of art.
Smack - !
"Krack!"
But for Ryu Si-hwan, the only man here, it just meant getting smacked.
Just like yesterday, Ryu Si-hwan, who couldn't even open his eyes properly, got hit by Yu Ina's leg and went tumbling head over heels.
A truly pathetic sight.
It was a stark contrast to his usual straight-backed posture, where he pulled all the aggro and acted all cocky.
'To think I fell for a loser like that?'
She was freely beating a moving target, which should've relieved her stress, but instead, her anger was building.
How dare that punk say something like that to her, a proud 『Noblesse』.
She usually respected the Chief Instructor, but hearing that made her deeply displeased.
"Didn't I tell you to open your eyes? Do you lack learning capacity or what?"
"Ugh...gently...a bit...please...!"
Ryu Si-hwan shakily got back up.
"Gently? What a luxury. You're the trainee representative. It'd be hilarious if word got out that a guy like you is this weak."
"No, to begin with, my combat power is concentrated in Bari..."
"That's exactly the problem. Don't you get it?"
What a hopeless guy.
He says his power is concentrated in that doll called Bari, but if he's relying on the doll's free will instead of controlling it himself, then strictly speaking, it's not his power.
What good is having a strong servant? If your own durability is weak, you die the moment you can't dodge.
In the end, what matters most is your own ability. In that sense, Ryu Si-hwan the human just didn't fit in the Tower at all.
'Still, for a human, he's got some decent willpower.'
If there's one thing worth a little praise, it's that he doesn't lose spirit even after getting beaten like that.
Normally, getting hit repeatedly like this would make anyone shrink back, even if they didn't want to.
A flood of helplessness and futility, gradually fearing the hits more and more.
Going through that process imprints fear into the body, leading to overreactions to even small movements, and ultimately breaking your spirit.
But Ryu Si-hwan had none of that.
No idea where or how he was raised, but even after that beating, his spirit was still alive and kicking.
And against someone overwhelmingly stronger than him, no less...
Is he really human?
"But seriously, are you actually planning to train me? Or is this just stress relief?"
"Stress relief? Do you think I'm some lowlife like that?"
That was partly her intention, but training Ryu Si-hwan was true too.
Still, it stung a little.
"Fine. Looks like we need to start from the absolute basics, step by step."
"About time."
"...You're the one benefiting, so how about a little gratitude?"
"You're relieving stress by hitting me. It hurts like hell."
"Haa..."
She let out a sigh.
Was guiding Ryu Si-hwan really impossible?
"Eleonore."
"Y-Yes?"
She called out to Eleonore, who'd been watching Ryu Si-hwan with rotten eyes nearby.
Reading her expression, it was probably something like 'I have to take care of a loser like this?'
Seemed like his pathetically low combat power was making her feel a sense of shame.
"You teach that guy."
"Huh?"
"Me... you mean?"
"Yeah. His basics are so nonexistent that it doesn't matter if it's you or me teaching."
"What? So you're giving up in the end? No patience."
Crack.
"You... Hoo. Never mind. You, the doll. Bari, right?"
"?"
"I said I'd guide you, so I have to keep doing it, but that idiot's a total waste of time. Good thing Eleonore's here, so I'll take you on instead. No problem, right?"
Bari tilted her head.
"...Me? Physical training holds no meaning for me."
She was the one who'd toyed with Eleonore overwhelmingly.
She didn't need physical conditioning in the first place, and even if she did, it'd be pointless. She didn't generate power from biological tissue.
Skills were the same.
She could replicate anything perfectly after seeing it once, so that was meaningless too.
"You think I'm an idiot who'd make a doll do endurance training?"
"Then what... Ah, are you talking about Nobling? That does pique my interest."
"Nobling is the unique power of us 『Noblesse』. You're not even blood-related, much less a living being, so there's no way you could handle it. There are methods, but at your level, just consider it impossible for now."
"I see. In other words, if you have 『Noblesse』 DNA, you can use Nobling. I expected as much."
"DN...what?"
"It exists."
"..."
She didn't understand the words, but an inexplicable chill ran through her.
"What I'll teach you is magic. Anyone aiming to be a Tower Warrior knows basic magic. Except you two."
"In yesterday's sparring, no one used magic, so doesn't that mean it's not that powerful?"
"That's because most are from the 'Advanced Races' or have racial abilities. You two are the special ones."
"I see."
It seemed typical 'Outer Races' built their power using things like magic.
"Why teach it to me?"
"Didn't you say it yourself? Physical training is meaningless. I agree. You're already at a high level, so you probably don't need it in the Academy."
"I see."
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Bari learning magic.
That could work.
Magic probably uses mana, right? Not sure if Bari can accumulate it...but hey, maybe there are mana stones or something.
And magic involves calculations, right? Like crunching formulas...
No one can beat Bari at calculations. She's a walking calculator.
"Honestly, I'm at a loss on where or how to even start teaching you."
Just as I was fantasizing about Bari casting some massive Meteor spell, Eleonore approached with her sword sheath in hand, step by step.
Her slightly fatigued face was full of sighs.
She must've been shocked by my skills.
Honestly, even I'd feel a massive sense of despair.
Setting Bari aside, I'm a total noob beginner who can't do jack. And a human guy at that. How annoying must it be to have to tend to me.
"Yeah. That's why she just beat me up."
"...That's not entirely meaningless. You have to start by facing incoming attacks head-on."
"True, but can I really? Closing your eyes is instinct."
"If you have intelligence, you can overcome it. Instinct is ultimately for preserving weak flesh. Strength means breaking free from instinct."
What's this?
Elf philosophy?
"That start is opening your eyes. That's what the instructor wanted to teach you too."
"Nah. She just wanted to beat me up. There were emotions in it. Bet she killed me a bunch of times in her head."
"Well..."
Ellie nodded slightly.
Even this girl thinks that??
Do they all wanna beat me that bad?
What the hell did I do wrong!!
"They're all dying to eat me alive."
"Sihwan-ssi, you can't help it since you're human. Beings born with intelligence tend to otherize others. Sometimes that becomes the basis for discrimination and oppression. Sadly, 'humans' are especially looked down upon among them, so some noise is inevitable. Plus... Sihwan-ssi has a bit of an arrogant side."
Otherize? What's that...
Think using big words makes you sound smart? Huh??
"Yeah... philosophizing elf, got it? You've got a unique concept too."
"...It's not a concept."
"Fine, I get it. So, what're you gonna do? More importantly, you planning to teach properly?"
Not sarcasm—this was a genuine question.
She's been assigned to tend to me starting today, but it's not voluntary, and neither is training me now.
If she says she'll teach properly in this situation, she'd be a pretty good kid.
"Elves put sincerity into every moment. My actions are one with my values. The final lever moving intelligence isn't the situation, but my own judgment."
"No;; I mean, are you gonna do it properly."
Why's her tongue so long.
"Of course."
"Alright. From now on, answer relatively simply, okay?"
"Is my speech difficult?"
"Not difficult, just needlessly verbose."
"......I see."
Ellie flinched and nodded like she'd been slapped.
Did I say it too bluntly?
"Anyway—"
Boom - !
Just as Ellie was about to say something, a massive explosion rang out.
From Bari's direction.
"......Unbelievable."
There stood Yu Ina with a dumbfounded look, her eye twitching at the scene before her.
"I see. So this is mana... the principle of this world."
Muttering at her palm like a chuuni boy, Bari was radiating the dignity of an Archmage.
Countless fireballs scattered around her,
And they were multiplying in real-time, each pulsing with enough heat to melt the entire ground right then and there.
The explosion from moments ago was probably one of them detonating.
"Now that I grasp the principle, the rest is simple. Allow me to demonstrate solo. Thank you for the lesson."
After staring at her hand for a while, Bari politely clasped her hands and bowed to Yu Ina.
"N-No way...! Bari-ssi... isn't this your first time?!"
Eleonore was shocked.
So shocked she even dropped her sword, which was her life as a swordswoman.
"It's... her first time, yeah...but... it's Bari."
I was impressed, as expected...
"Magic involves crunching formulas, drawing magic circles, and manifesting, right?"
"Yes... First, you need to perceive mana's flow, then control what you've perceived, and finally manifest it to follow the formula."
Stunned Eleonore launched into a grand explanation.
"Even we highly intelligent 『Elves』 take 6 months just to perceive mana... A full year of dedication to control it as you wish. And yet Bari-ssi..."
Not only that, but she succeeded in manifesting a spell right here—,
Finishing her sentence, she sighed deeply and picked up her dropped sword.
"Well, sure, they exist occasionally. People with innate talent for sensing and handling mana. They wield it like breathing from birth. But... even so, manifesting magic is a whole different level."
"You can't do that? Make fireballs or whatever."
"I can... but... manifesting magic requires insane calculations. Even for beginner spells, months of training are needed for proficiency..."
Hmm.
Just as I thought—calculations.
"...You a monster or what?"
Even Yu Ina opened her mouth, looking fed up.
"I-Instructor. Is that thing really that hard?"
I already heard roughly from Ellie, but I asked on purpose.
Heh. Gotta keep hyping up our Bari's greatness.
"...Hearing the concept of magic and seeing my demonstration took just 10 minutes. Succeeding in manifestation from that alone makes her a continental-history-level genius."
My Bari's pretty amazing, right.
"Bari, was it hard?"
"...You're teasing me. With others here and all."
Bari smiled faintly.
Of course it wasn't hard at all.
Not for nothing is she called a super-intelligence interface.
"Now~ Bari, explain your specs."
"...They won't get it anyway?"
"It's fine. Time to brag a bit."
"..."
Bari looked at me like I was a patient, but eventually spoke up.
"I am a household AI based on a super-intelligence interface, possessing 16 giga 3853 quadrillion super-intelligence atoms capable of 16 quattuordecillion (10^52) FLOPS per second in parallel processing, enabling ultra-super-parallel operations via quantum superposition and Quantum Entanglement between super-intelligence atoms."
"..."
"..."
"This allows simulations—totaling 7.37 million runs from -0.00001 seconds after the Big Bang to the current 17.7 billion years—of a structure spanning approximately 313.7 billion light-years in diameter, based on multi-planetary humanity's affiliated universe. Reverse calculations are also possible."
"..."
"..."
"But currently, I'm limited to the resources in this body, so performance is greatly reduced."
Bari explained diligently, but of course, no one understood.
Including me.
Even I'm hearing this level of detail for the first time.
"By the way, that Fireball just now? I ran it with a Java for loop. I've objectified it, so let me know if you need it."
No... no one can use that....