"If it's just about matching the numbers in the formula, then the answer here would be 1, right?"
"You got it right away. Have you also pre-studied mana induction formulas?"
"No, you just explained it."
"A genius...!"
The tutor covered his mouth in awe. He opened his briefcase and took out various textbooks and worksheets. He ponderously shuffled the order of the materials, contemplating which would be best.
"Lady Kalia, the formula you just solved is the basic First-Order Simple Linear Mana Induction Formula. It's about directing mana in a straight line from the body's center. Typically, this is understood in advanced classes."
The tutor spoke rapidly, excitedly, all the while continuing to rearrange the order of the textbooks.
"In intermediate classes, you memorize and apply this formula, and in advanced classes, you understand, derive, and prove it. By the level of an academy researcher, you start to deconstruct, interpret, and redefine these formulas."
'The academy isn't just an educational institution; it's more akin to a university, or rather, a graduate school. That's why nobility attends it.'
"Your understanding is at least five years ahead of the average person. Then perhaps, no, maybe even more challenging material will be fine. This will be suitable. 'Standard Techniques of Magics: Intermediate Explanation.'"
"Wow, what a heart-stopping title, exactly the book I wanted."
Kalia almost misspoke, but luckily, the tutor was too excited to notice.
"Let's start by learning about the types and meanings of magical formulas."
"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."
The magic lessons were everything Kalia had hoped for. She explored the magic she desired, grounded in both theory and practice, greatly aided by the extensive materials and textbooks left by the tutor.
Fortunately, the study of magic was a discipline highly valued in nearly every aspect of the empire, from its roots to its branches. Diligence in magic was not frowned upon, unlike other subjects.
Kalia didn't neglect other studies either. Remembering her schooling in Korea, a mere two to three hours of daily classes were trivial for her.
She maintained above-average grades in other subjects through pre-study and review. Consequently, Kalia developed a reputation in her household as 'the smart, magically gifted lady with slightly unusual hobbies.'
Her dedication to magic paid off, and she soon achieved her goal: healing magic.
'Finally, time for a test.'
There was a reason she focused so intently on healing magic among many others. Kalia had altered her usual balanced exercise routine the previous day to test a hypothesis.
Starting in the morning, she did multiple repetitions of shoulder presses with the maximum weight (1 kilogram). Before lunch, she performed high repetitions of lateral raises. Before dinner, she did overhead extensions until exhaustion.
She tailored all exercises to exhaust her arms, especially targeting the front and back of the upper arms connected to the shoulders. She felt the effects as soon as she got out of bed.
Her arms wouldn't lift!
Kalia's arms and shoulders were completely drained of strength. Even lying still, her fingertips trembled as if in a spasm, and any attempt to exert force resulted in soreness and a throbbing ache.
Overwhelming muscle soreness! Overwhelming fatigue!
'It wasn't overexertion. Though it was more intense than usual, I had anticipated this.'
To avoid hindering her academic schedule, she usually only did exercises that wouldn't cause strong muscle soreness. At her age, even high-intensity training wouldn't significantly develop her muscles.
This was an experiment. As soon as Kalia woke up and assessed her physical condition, she activated her mana.
The moment the healing magic took effect, the soreness in her arms vanished, and the spasms in her fingertips eased.
Using magic until her mana was nearly depleted, Kalia sat up and rotated her arms. No pain, no issues with mobility.
Completely healed. Muscle soreness arises from micro-tears in muscle fibers, which naturally could be healed by magic.
Typically, nerves recover slower than muscles, so some minor pain remains even after muscle recovery. However, healing magic also treated the nerves, eradicating the muscle soreness completely. It was like gaining the restorative effects of over 48 hours of rest in just one minute.
'Truly, the wonders of magic.'
Now came the crucial part. How exactly does healing magic work to heal wounds?
From an external perspective, when magic is activated, wounds just seem to disappear. But what's the crucial intermediary process?
Does it accelerate natural healing, reducing recovery stages? Does mana independently mend the injured area, separate from natural healing? Or perhaps it reverses the injury to the state before it occurred.
This needed to be understood.
If the technique merely reversed injuries to their pre-injury state, then using it on muscles would be nonsensical. It would negate the effects of a day's workout, reverting to the pre-exercise state!
If this world's biology or medicine were more advanced, such an experiment wouldn't be necessary. Unfortunately, perhaps due to the development of magic, biological research here lagged. To Kalia, even medicine seemed quite rudimentary.
Healing magic was somewhat haphazard. There was no distinction based on the type or nature of injuries; it was simply a spell developed from the experience of 'moving mana this way heals wounds.'
This meant it could be applied to any injury regardless of its nature, which was an advantage. However, it also led to significant mana wastage. There were attempts at specialization, but these were still experimental.
In any case, this wasn't a matter to be solved overnight. For the next several days, Kalia had to repeat the same exercise daily and use the same healing spell each morning to observe any changes.
If she had sufficient mana, she would have risked a bit of overexertion to repeat high-intensity exercises and healing spells within a day. However, being young and with limited mana, Kalia could only perform the healing spell once a day.
'Please, let this not be a meaningless exercise.'
With this hope, she repeated the cycle of exercise and healing for ten days. Finally, there was a change.
Until now, Kalia could only lift a 500-gram dumbbell with one hand. But on the morning of the tenth day, she effortlessly hoisted a 1-kilogram dumbbell in each hand!
It was not merely lifting. Previously, she could hold the weight stationary, but now Kalia could actively exercise with a 1-kilogram dumbbell in each hand.
Just ten days before, this would have been unthinkable; even just standing while holding a 1-kilogram weight was a challenge.
"Wow!"
"What happened, Lady Kalia?"
"I just lifted a weight I couldn't before."
"Congratulations."
Melan tilted her head, somewhat puzzled. What was so special about that? Doesn't strength naturally increase with age?
But seeing Kalia's proud demeanor, it seemed to be a significant achievement for her.
Each child has their own unique fascinations. Anyway, since she was happy, Melan congratulated her.
Kalia noticed Melan's reaction. It was fine if she didn't understand now. Kalia hoped that someday someone would truly comprehend and share her excitement.
'The dumbbells did feel noticeably lighter these past few days. I wondered, and now I see it's true.'
Kalia raised her arms to be parallel to the ground, lost in thought. Her shoulder strength had improved significantly.
This indicated one thing: healing magic did not reverse injuries to a pre-injury state and did not hinder muscle growth from exercise.
Rather, it accelerated recovery, allowing more substantial muscle improvement in the same timeframe. This revelation was encouraging.
'Stage one is clear. Now the real work begins.'