Thursday, March 20, Imperial Year 958
Level 9 cleared. Congratulations. There are no levels beyond this.
"Thanks."
As a result of my intense training up until the day of the lecture, I cleared the stage using only Basic Telekinesis and earned a bonus attribute as a reward.
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[Telekinesis Expert]
Grade:
Normal
Description:
The fruit of rigorous training. Telekinesis performance is improved by 11%, and mana consumption is reduced by 11%.
───────
The description was simple, but it was incredibly valuable to me, especially the 11%. As I advance, the value of this attribute would only be amplified. I glanced at the clock while sitting in my office chair.
It was 10 a.m., and the lecture was scheduled for 3 p.m.. I had plenty of time and there was no need to arrive early. I could wait until 3:30 p.m. and show up when Allen gives the signal. My ambitious plan for the day was to have the first lecture be a self-study session.
***
"Sigh..." Epherene sighed deeply in front of Classroom A on the third floor of the Mage Tower of the University.
Deculein was in that room, and Epherene would be attending his lecture in the same space. That alone was torturous. Whether Deculein would recall what happened during the lecture a month ago, or even recognize her last name, Luna—the very same last name of the mage he killed—was a thought that gnawed at her.
If the target of her revenge didn't even remember the name, Epherene would be even angrier, utterly furious. She pondered her next move, debating whether to force him to remember his unrecognized crime. The tension was suffocating her.
"Epherene, what are you doing here?"
Epherene snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of someone's voice. A fellow female student in a robe was looking at her curiously.
"Oh, I am just a bit nervous. You can go ahead first," Epherene replied.
"Yeah, I'm nervous too. I looked up Deculein on the wizard board, and he's supposed to be really strict. But at least he's handsome..."
Her classmate walked inside as she was muttering to herself, leaving Epherene standing there. Epherene then noticed another woman approaching from down the corridor and momentarily lost her words.
"... Ah."
Her meticulously groomed blonde hair shimmered with every step. Her haughty demeanor was like the scent of roses, and her refined elegance radiated effortlessly.
She belonged to the highest class of nobility—even among nobles, she held a particularly high rank. Sylvia, daughter of the House of Iliade, hailed from one of the most prestigious bloodlines in the Empire. Sylvia Von Yossepin Iliade.
Epherene already knew that this noble lady was in the same classroom, yet she instinctively took a defensive stance. Narrowing her eyes, she licked her lips. Epherene disliked Sylvia, and it wasn't just a simple feeling of inferiority. It was a long and bitter feud.
For generations, Luna's family had served as vassals in the Iliade territory of Juhale. It was said that they were distant relatives in the past.
However, ten years ago, when she was not even eight years old, she remembered the glare of Giltheon, the head of the Iliade family. She recalled how they surrounded the mansion with territorial forces and treated her family like troublesome trash.
Epherene still remembered the voice calling them lowly, all because their family's talents, particularly her father's abilities, were feared by their family.
But this wasn't their territory, it was the Mage Tower, and she was no longer a child. In terms of talent, she wouldn't lose to that girl who carried herself with an air of supreme nobility. In the Mage Tower, only one's name and talent mattered, not one's family or title.
However, Sylvia had merely glanced at Epherene and went straight inside. Her face showed no expression, no emotions—nothing. It was as if she didn't recognize Epherene at all. Epherene, who had struck a kung fu pose by herself, awkwardly scratched the back of her neck and followed inside.
"... Huh?"
She was surprised to find that the classroom resembled a spacious gymnasium rather than a lecture hall. The ceiling was incredibly high, and the floor was scattered with wells, trees, soil, sand, gravel, and metal scraps.
"Wow. Isn't this different from Deculein's usual lectures? Interesting."
"Yeah. The Wizard Board didn't mention this. Is it because it's the first class?"
Unlike the bewildered Epherene, the other mages appeared both surprised and amused.
"Hey, look at this."
One of the students pointed to something. A signpost stood in the center of the space.
For the first class, I, the Professor, intend to assess your abilities.
This place is filled with various elements. You are free to use anything you can manage on your own.
"Eh...?" Epherene frowned, approaching to confirm the message. "What is this?"
They were expected to manage everything on their own, but Epherene was unsure how to proceed. The other mages seemed familiar with this peculiar setup, suggesting it might be a common type of class at the academy. Having been self-taught before joining the Tower, Epherene wasn't entirely certain.
"Oh, maybe like this?"
Suddenly, someone beside her seemed to have understood. She glanced over and saw that it was Geharon, the son of a well-known magical family. Epherene subtly moved closer to him.
"What~? Did you get it?" Epherene asked.
"Oh? Yeah. I think it's like this?"
Geharon touched the ground. Immediately, water and soil mingled around his hand, forming a thin, tall structure—a mud tower.
"He said we're supposed to do something with the elements here. This class is Understanding the Properties of Element Magic, right? So, don't you think we should create something with the elements here? It's all about handling Pure Elements," Geharon replied.
"Oh, that makes sense."
Epherene and most of the mages agreed with Geharon. After all, the lecture title was Understanding the Properties of Element Magic.
"That should be easy then," Epherene said, swinging her arms with a smile.
Should I make a sculpture? Or perhaps a tower? Should I aim for size or intricacy? I could probably do anything, really.
Epherene habitually fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, an artifact her father had given her long ago. It had now become her property as a mage. Known as a rare artifact, it was the most limited yet versatile property. As long as she had the bracelet, she could freely manipulate all elements.
"I choose you."
While contemplating which element to choose, Epherene soon sat down near the pile of metal. As she crouched to prepare her magic, someone walked by and lightly pushed her back.
"Ow, what the."
Nearly falling, she steadied herself by leaning on the metal railings. When she turned around, she saw Sylvia, who glanced at Epherene like she was just trash on the side of the road and continued on her way.
"... Unbelievable. Why did she bump into me? Can't she see where she's going, or are her feet just too big?"
Epherene muttered to herself while pouting, then began to gather the metal pieces into one place with great effort.
"Oof, it's so heavy."
After dusting off her hands, she placed them on the metal pieces and took a deep breath to prepare herself. Then, closing her eyes, she activated her mana.
Crackle, buzz—!
Mana sparked like fireworks. Before her hands even moved, her bracelet emitted a blue light, and a small, misshapen tower rose up.
"Hmph."
Having only resumed practicing magic three years ago, Epherene was still lacking in many aspects. However, she was satisfied with this level of demonstration. Now that she had the hang of it, she decided to make it as large as possible.
"... Huh?"
At that moment, the tower she had created suddenly began to shrink and was swiftly sucked away to somewhere unknown.
"W-where are you going!"
She tried to stop it with her hands, but it was futile. She could only watch in dismay as the remnants of her tower were swept away.
"... Huuh?"
Sylvia was absorbing the material to create a statue. Epherene let out a scoff. She planned to dismantle it eventually, but Sylvia's actions puzzled her.
"Umm, excuse me. What are you doing? I made that?" Epherene said, approaching Sylvia.
Sylvia blinked at her a few times and then replied in a lazy voice, "My mistake. It was so small that I thought it was scrap metal."
"... What?" Epherene frowned.
Did she eat something bad? No matter how scrap-like my tower might have looked... Wait. Hold on. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she smirked.
"Ah~ Sylvia. You do recognize me, don't you?"
Sylvia continued to focus and looked up on her own statue without answering. It was objectively much more impressive than Epherene's.
"Knock, knock. Hello, I'm talking to you. You recognize me, don't you? Why are you pretending that you don't?"
At that moment, Sylvia's gaze moved to Epherene. Her eyes were expressionless. No, she was faking it. Epherene chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand as she laughed exaggeratedly. Her fox-like, narrowed eyes appeared annoyingly cunning.
"Ah, I get it~ Are you scared of being overtaken? I've only been learning for three years after a seven-year break. Meanwhile, you've had elite training from high-level magicians. Yet you're afraid?"
Sylvia silently stared at Epherene. Her gaze became heavier and more foreboding. Though her emotions were hidden, her eyes appeared darker because of it as they reflected Epherene. Sylvia's moist lips twisted, and an emotionless voice emerged.
"I don't know who you are."
"You don't know me? I mean, why are you lying?"
"I don't know you, but I know who your father is."
"... What?"
My father? Did she just mention my father? Epherene was momentarily taken aback.
"The arrogant man, a pseudo-aristocrat. I heard he died."
Her voice lacked any inflection or emotion. It was as if she were speaking to an inanimate object or a person who had never been alive. Her tone was more dismissive than contemptuous, conveying an indifference deeper than disdain.
Something snapped in Epherene's mind. As Sylvia turned away, Epherene's bracelet was already filled with mana. Furious, Epherene reached out toward Sylvia and the mana surged into a ring.
"Hey, look out! Behind you!"
Someone shouted and Sylvia glanced back. The magical torrent rushed toward her, but she effortlessly countered it with her own magic by neutralizing the attack.
"... Ptooey! Hey bitch. What did you just say? Say it again, will you?"
Epherene spat out the sand and saliva from her mouth, muttering in a rough, thuggish tone. The way she swaggered and rolled up her robe's sleeves made Sylvia watch with an expression that showed she had expected such behavior.
"Insolent."
"Insolent? Don't you know that titles don't matter in the Mage Tower? Or do you want to see something even more insolent?"
Epherene's next move was likely unexpected for Sylvia. She lunged forward and grabbed Sylvia's hair.
Snatch!
"Let go before I cut your wrist off," Sylvia said coldly, looking at her own hair in Epherene's grasp.
"Go ahead," Epherene said.
Sylvia was silent.
"Bitch."
Their conversation was heated and violent, yet strangely, no one around them seemed to care.
"H-hey, hey, look at that!" one of the students shouted.
Instead, they were more concerned with the commotion elsewhere. Screams echoed loudly as people ran. Only then did Sylvia and Epherene turn to look.
"What the?"
A void had formed where Epherene and Sylvia's mana had collided. It was a hole where the two manas intertwined, acting like a vanishing point, sucking in the surrounding dirt, wood, wells, stones, and metal.
"... What is that?"
Inside the narrow hole, everything was being ground up noisily. Wood, stone, water, and soil sublimated from the frictional heat, but the metal retained its shape glowing red-hot.
"I-it's going to blow up. It's gonna blow!"
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"Ru-run away!"
Mana compressed into a single point would inevitably explode, sending metal fragments flying like bullets and piercing through the entire area. The mages hastily constructed barriers.
Crack, crackle...
A foreboding noise, the cry of twisted metal. Soon, a massive explosion erupted.
"Ugh!"
Epherene squeezed her eyes shut, enveloped in a barrier cast by her bracelet. Trembled like a penguin, she counted the seconds in her mind one,
two,
three,
four seconds.
Whoosh...
The wind blew and then ceased. That was all.
No matter how long she waited, the anticipated impact never came. Trembling, Epherene found it strange and slowly opened her eyes.
"... Ugh!"
Startled, her entire body froze. A sharp piece of metal was suspended right in front of her eyes. It was a truly strange sight, as the metal hovered motionless in the air.
"What is... this?"
It wasn't just in front of her and the same thing was happening all around. The torn metal pieces floated as if gravity had vanished, like stones floating in space, suspended in midair.
~
A belated calm settled over the chaotic scene, and the stunned mages stood frozen, looking around. There was no sound, no words spoken. The metal fragments, flung by the magical explosion, floated like clouds. This inexplicable miracle was, in essence, truly magical.
"... Did you do this?" Epherene asked Sylvia. But Sylvia also showed a rare expression of confusion and surprise.
"Is it Telekinesis?"
"No. How could Telekinesis stop all this?"
"Right? I was just guessing."
The mages were instantly captivated by this wondrous sight. They quickly forgot the recent chaos and became engrossed in analyzing the phenomenon. They inspected the metal, tapped it, and even attempted to infuse it with mana. At that moment...
— Do not move and stay where you are.
A voice as sharp as ice echoed, its blade-like sharp tone gripped the mages' entire bodies.
Clack— Clack—
The sound of footsteps followed, spreading a sense of pressure.
Gulp.
The sudden presence that dominated the space made the mages swallow hard. Cold sweat gathered on their backs. It felt as if tree roots had bound their entire lower bodies.
"Attention."
A single command controlled all 150 mages at once. As they all hesitantly turned to look, they saw the professor responsible for this lecture and the one who had just quelled the situation with a momentary spell. Deculein was standing there.
"... You've all done something foolish."
As always, he wore a perfectly tailored suit and scanned the mages with hawk-like eyes. His fierce gaze seemed to grip the hearts of the freshmen. Then, the metal that had been suspended in the air finally began to move.
Clink, clink—
Countless metal fragments formed pairs and lines, floating gracefully as if alive and dancing like ballet dancers. They drifted beautifully before settling in neat piles behind the professor. Throughout the entire process, Deculein didn't move a single finger.
"Woah."
"Wow."
Instinctive exclamations erupted from all around. Even Epherene, who usually detested Deculein, couldn't help but acknowledge it this time. His magic was elegant. It went beyond elegance, more like it was artistic. While ordinary people might dismiss it as merely pretty magic, the more one learned, the more one could appreciate its true beauty.
The well-trained mages sensed it. It was an intensely serious and strikingly beautiful form of manipulation magic. They wondered if they could ever reach such a level someday, their hearts swelling with anticipation so intense it was almost painful.
"Class is dismissed. Those who caused the commotion should remain. Everyone else, you may leave."
The excitement quickly faded. Under Deculein's stern and angry gaze, everyone lowered their heads. Epherene hesitated but eventually did the same. As she complied, someone wearing a conical wizard's hat emerged from behind the tall Deculein.
"What! What happened here? I felt an immense surge of magical energy!"
It was the Chairwoman. She was frantically inspecting the lecture hall. It was at this moment Epherene knew... she fucked up.