With a dazed expression, I stepped forward and stood next to Irina.
Professor Miho Twin-Tail first turned to Irina with a question.
"What kind of elemental magic can you use, Irina?"
"I can use Ice Arrow from the ice-based series."
"Oh my, being able to use Ice Arrow already? You're quite a talented student."
Miho praised Irina with genuine admiration. Irina held her head high, trying to suppress the corners of her lips from twitching into a smile. It might have gone unnoticed by others, but I could tell.
Professor Miho then began explaining why Ice Arrow was considered a challenging spell.
"To understand Ice Arrow, you first need to know about Magic Arrow. Magic Arrow is a spell that simply manifests raw mana energy into a physical form. You likely haven't learned this in the introductory spellcasting class yet, as it's only the first week."
With a light gesture, she created a Magic Arrow above her head. A translucent white arrow hovered in the air, floating gently above her.
"However, to turn this Magic Arrow into an Ice Arrow, you must first use elemental manifestation magic to change the nature of your mana into an ice element. Then, you proceed to deploy the Magic Arrow spell using the altered mana. This process is what magicians call spell chaining or dual-casting."
The concept was simple: calculate two sets of spell formulas in succession—one for elemental manifestation and one for Magic Arrow.
It didn't sound too difficult to me, but judging by the reactions of the other students, they thought otherwise. Irina's ability to cast Ice Arrow, which was officially acknowledged as a high-difficulty spell by Miho, drew audible admiration from the class.
"Alright, now let's get rid of this Magic Arrow."
Miho dispersed the Magic Arrow, then moved her hands once more to create an Ice Arrow.
"Here, this is an Ice Arrow."
The shimmering, almost transparent blue arrow looked ethereal, like a piece of art. The Ice Arrow Miho had conjured was so exquisite that it felt more like a masterpiece than a weapon.
She continued her explanation.
"Although Ice Arrow is a dual-cast spell that combines ice-element manifestation with Magic Arrow, there is now a single formula that allows you to deploy it all at once. Essentially, the two spell formulas have been integrated into one."
Ah, I see.
It was like solving a multi-step problem by understanding the principles, but then condensing it into a formula for quicker use. By understanding the principles of elemental magic and Magic Arrow, they had developed a shorthand formula for Ice Arrow.
Miho moved her Ice Arrow to the center of the classroom, giving the students a clear view.
"What I want to emphasize here isn't the difficulty of Ice Arrow. Everyone, how would you describe the appearance of my Ice Arrow?"
Students responded to her question enthusiastically.
"It's beautiful!"
"It's so cool!"
"Stunning!"
"It looks like glass!"
The responses varied, but the common theme was the beauty of its appearance.
"Now, Irina, why don't you create an Ice Arrow for us?"
"Yes, Professor."
At Miho's prompt, Irina began casting Ice Arrow. Unlike Miho, who had created her Ice Arrow with a single gesture, Irina closed her eyes and recited the incantation aloud.
"…Ice Arrow!"
After muttering the spell, an icy arrow appeared in front of Irina.
Irina's Ice Arrow glowed white, emanating a cold aura so intense it felt like it could freeze everything around it. The sharpness of its tip was particularly striking, as if it could pierce anything.
Pointing to Irina's Ice Arrow, Miho spoke.
"Now, look at Irina's Ice Arrow. Doesn't it look quite different from mine?"
"Yes."
"Yes, Professor."
The difference was obvious even at a glance. Despite using the same spell formula, the two Ice Arrows had entirely distinct appearances.
"This demonstrates how magic can manifest in different forms depending on the caster. While telekinesis or magic circles tend to look uniform, elemental magic often varies greatly based on the individual. This is because the mana stored in the mana rotation ring around your heart adapts to reflect your unique characteristics."
In other words, just as everyone has different affinities for mana, the nature of the mana they store also differs.
This is why some people are naturally suited to fire magic while others excel at ice magic.
"That's why my flames flicker more vibrantly than others', and my ice spells shine with a more vivid blue."
Miho dispersed her Ice Arrow and showcased flames burning in one hand and brilliant blue ice forming in the other as she continued her explanation.
"Irina's ice is white and sharp. Now, let's see how Noah's Ice Arrow differs, shall we?"
Miho's gaze turned to me, followed by the eyes of the entire class.
There was just one problem: I didn't know how to cast Ice Arrow.
"I don't even know the Magic Arrow formula...!"
I wasn't just inexperienced; I was a complete novice who had only just broken through to the first circle yesterday. I had never even attempted to deploy a spell formula before.
"Noah?"
"Uh… I don't know how to cast Ice Arrow yet."
"Oh, I see. I assumed you could since Irina could. You haven't learned the Magic Arrow formula yet, have you?"
"No."
"In that case, I'll teach you the Ice Arrow formula directly. You'll learn Magic Arrow next week in the foundational spellcasting class."
Skipping the basics to learn an advanced application first—was that really a good idea?
Miho began explaining the Ice Arrow formula in detail.
"…When you apply this transformation vector, it becomes Ice Arrow. Not too difficult, right? Now, all you have to do is draw 1 Makina of mana from your mana ring and apply it to the formula…"
"1 Makina?"
"Yes, the standardized mana amount for first-circle spells."
"But my mana doesn't reach 1 Makina."
"…Aren't you a first-circle magician?"
Technically, yes, I was first-circle—but my mana capacity was only 0.08 Makina.
Still, as I listened to the spell formula, I felt like I understood it. The formula itself wasn't overly complex.
"So this is why first-circle spells are first-circle spells."
Even though I hadn't learned Magic Arrow or elemental manifestation formulas yet, I could reverse-engineer the Magic Arrow formula based on the Ice Arrow and elemental manifestation formulas Miho had just explained.
"The difficulty of the calculations is similar for both."
Even though it was a dual-cast spell, the complexity of the calculations remained at the first-circle level.
I asked Miho a question.
"Does it have to be cast with exactly 1 Makina of mana?"
"Not necessarily, but…"
That was enough for me. I would just have to work with the mana I had.
Calculating and deploying a spell were slightly different processes. Following my mental calculations, I channeled my mana from my heart and applied the required amount to the formula.
"Let's start with just 0.05 Makina."
Since my total mana reserves weren't large, using 0.05 Makina meant I was deploying more than half of what I had.
Working with such a small quantity made the calculations much more intricate. Instead of clean whole numbers, the calculations extended to five decimal places.
"Still, it's manageable."
Performing million-unit multiplications mentally was child's play for me.
Thus, for the first time ever, I cast a spell.
"Ice Arrow!"
A tiny Ice Arrow, no larger than my pinky finger, appeared in front of me.
"Huh?"
It wasn't so much an Ice Arrow as it was an Ice Toothpick.
"This… is Ice Arrow?"
---
"What the—!"
"Hahaha!"
"They said magic reflects personality—Noah must have a stingy personality!"
The students burst into laughter, amused by the pitiful size of my Ice Arrow.
But Professor Miho wasn't laughing.
"What in the world…?"
An Ice Arrow formed with only 0.05 Makina? That level of precision mana control was unheard of for a first-circle magician.
"At decimal-level precision, the complexity of the formula increases exponentially. Yet he applied it perfectly after hearing the formula just once?"
Even in high-level spells like the fifth-circle Shattering Ice Shards, where each shard uses 0.05 Makina, the spell's range-based structure eliminates the need for such fine calculations. The entire purpose of standardizing first-circle spells to 1 Makina was to simplify the deployment process.
"This isn't just about the formula. To manipulate mana at 0.05-unit precision requires extraordinary mana sensitivity…"
And Noah Ashborn had just done it.
Miho swallowed hard before addressing me.
"Noah Ashborn. How did you create that spell?"
"Uh… I just adjusted the formula to match the mana I had."
"And how much mana do you have?"
"0.08 Makina."
"…."
He formed a mana rotation ring with only 0.08 Makina? This was a discovery worth reporting to the magical academic community. Even with her 150 years of experience, Miho had never encountered such a case—and she doubted the 400-year-old principal had, either.
Composing herself, Miho addressed the class.
"Alright, everyone. This isn't something to laugh about. Fine mana control is an advanced skill typically taught in the third year or later."
After silencing the students, she concluded the lesson by explaining the basic spell formulas for elemental magic.
The moment class ended, she bolted straight to the principal's office.
"Principal! Grandar!"
She barged into the office, where the principal was leisurely enjoying his tea. The odd smell of mandrake tea mixed with egg yolks assaulted her sensitive nose, but Miho didn't care about such trivialities.
"Principal, about the student I mentioned before—Noah Ashborn."
"Ah, I called him to my office yesterday for an evaluation."
"Yesterday?"
"Yes. He broke through to the first circle within a single day."
"What?"
"In fact, he created a mana rotation ring in just one hour. Hoho."
"Are you saying he hadn't prepared beforehand?"
"…"
Miho was stunned.
The entrance exam she had designed was only solvable by students who had already mastered a first-circle mana rotation ring. Those who hadn't couldn't possibly discern the patterns needed to pass.
"How did he even pass the entrance exam?"
The principal gave her an incredulous look.
"You were the one who designed the exam, weren't you?"
"Ah… right."
Miho felt as if she were under a spell—ironic, given that she specialized in illusion magic. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she pressed on.
"Principal, did you know Noah Ashborn formed his mana rotation ring with only 0.08 Makina?"
"Oh, 0.08? When I measured him yesterday, it was 0.04 Makina."
"0.04?"
Shock upon shock piled up.
Not only had he formed a mana rotation ring with an impossibly small amount of mana, but the initial ring had been so thin it must have been on the verge of breaking.
The principal, Grandar, spoke calmly.
"I was just as surprised. As you noted, he's a remarkable student. No, he's someone this academy must pay attention to."
"Yes, I agree. I told you as much. But…"
"Is there something else?"
Miho recounted what she had witnessed during class.
"Today, Noah Ashborn created an Ice Arrow with 0.05 Makina."
The principal spat out his mandrake tea.