The location was changed.
A spacious facility located in the basement of the same building.
The floor, walls, and ceiling are all pure white. Observing the materials, it’s clearly designed to resist magic.
If the previous classroom was a kind of design room, this is now a laboratory for performance measurement. Intermediate-level magic can’t cause damage, and even if there is damage, the facility automatically self-repairs.
“Shortly, we will conduct an experiment to see if the workshop operates smoothly. Instead of focusing on abilities like attack and defense, we will prioritize whether normal maintenance is possible.”
The professor leading the cadets down to the basement clapped his hands and said.
“Will this experiment be reflected in our grades?”
“I won’t reflect it in the evaluation since it’s the first test. However, there might be a small reward based on your achievements or an assessment of your attitude, so please do your best.”
The professor answered the cadet’s question as he scanned the surroundings.
“There’s enough space, so keep your distance, and within the time limit, set up the workshop as designed. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask. Now, begin.”
With the brief announcement of the start, the cadets searched for partners and spread out.
As the professor said, the space was so wide that the distance between cadets was just right. At least it seemed unlikely that any strange magic would backfire and hit them.
– Isn’t the foundation excessive? Did you cram too many details into it?
– If we don’t stack it like this, the other magic will collapse. It’s a bit overwhelming, but I can handle it. And if it collapses, we can immediately fix it, so don’t worry.
– What’s this? Why isn’t there any offensive magic? Did you forget it?
– That’s the original. The best offense is a good defense… I’m going all in on defense.
– You crazy!
The area quickly became lively.
While each cadet quickly set up their designed workshop, they shared ideas pointing out each other’s issues and curiosities in a rather cheerful manner.
Taking a quick glance, it seemed that many of them were already familiar with each other.
‘Especially among magic factions, there are a lot of connections.’
Magic is a skill that is easy to leave behind as knowledge. Other skills, including martial arts, can also be recorded as knowledge, but not in an intuitive form like ‘magic techniques.’
If the user dies but the magic technique remains, it continues. The result can change depending on the user, but the original remains intact.
As the remaining knowledge accumulates, it becomes a valuable asset for descendants.
Thus, families or groups with extensive accumulated magical knowledge, as long as they don’t leak their core magic, share their knowledge with each other.
They share various bits of knowledge and build their own relationships.
In that process, it’s even better if children who will lead the faction in the future form connections. The fewer enemies, the better, and the more allies, the better.
That also applies to me. No matter how big the gap grows later, there’s no harm in creating ties.
‘Hmm…’
After observing my surroundings for a moment, I turned my gaze back.
[How about we do it here?]
“Yes, the distance is just right, so that sounds good.”
Baize Dietrich nodded while tapping the floor with his staff.
…
The conversation paused.
In the fairly bustling basement, an awkward air hung around me.
He looked somewhat awkward and rolled his eyes, while I opened my mouth blankly and then closed it.
‘Ah! Right, the introduction.’
Now that I think about it, there was no time to introduce myself right after finding a partner. As I approached with a sense of presence, I subtly extended one hand towards him.
[Sorry for the late introduction.]
[I’m Lee Ha-yul, from the Ipchun Class.]
[Nice to meet you.]
“Ah, yes, nice to meet you too. I’m Baize Dietrich, from the Gyeongchip Class, Major in Magic.”
His skin had returned to normal, but he was still wearing arm sleeves that felt like socks on his right arm. Even so, extending a prosthetic limb felt a bit off.
“Since calling by the surname can be confusing, I’d appreciate it if you just called me Baize.”
[Okay, Baize.]
Baize Dietrich… he smiled gently as he reached out for my hand.
After shaking hands a few times, he withdrew his hand.
…
The conversation paused again. It seemed Baize was watching me nervously, so I decided to continue with the workshop setup.
‘… What should I do?’
Building friendships would be great. I understand that with my head. I received help from it in the original work. The more allies, the better…
But how do I make allies? As I thought belatedly, I realized… I didn’t know how to make friends…
Of course, I had the knowledge from the original work. Even though it might not be accurate, using it as a reference would surely help in getting close. If not, I could predict the situation the other person is in, lend a hand, and earn their trust.
But Baize Dietrich didn’t seem to have that inclination.
The second son of the renowned Dietrich family, famous for their magical prowess.
There shouldn’t be any struggles with status.
Family relations were smooth too.
The head and his wife weren’t bad people in the original work.
Baize’s elder brother, the firstborn, was a genius with both martial and scholarly talents, and his temperament wasn’t bad either. He was set to inherit the family head position, and Baize didn’t seem to have any complaints about it.
His talent was exceptional enough to enter Shio-ram, and he received more than enough support.
He had no ambitions for the head position, nor any disputes with his elder brother, and he received ample love from his parents.
The area where the family was located wasn’t a harsh place, allowing him a peaceful childhood.
Though later, his hometown would be destroyed in an invasion by the tower… before that, it was a peaceful region.
So right now, he was a person who didn’t lack anything in particular.
‘……’
Just as I finished that thought, I recalled how I had become friends with Baize in the 5th playthrough.
There wasn’t anything special about it. I didn’t seek Baize out on purpose. We just happened to meet during a group project at Shio-ram, and somehow we became friends as our growth paths aligned.
Tap, tap… I tapped my staff against the floor.
I drew out the core’s magical power and turned it outward. Calmly, I began to weave the magic techniques from beneath my feet. Unlike some cadets who spent time alternating between revised versions, I didn’t need to.
I already thought about how to unfold the magic techniques from start to finish in my head.
Calculations were complete. Now I just needed to manipulate the magical power.
And that’s something I excel at.
“…This is.”
Baize’s eyes fluttered as he was setting up his workshop.
He suddenly turned his head and stared intensely at the magic techniques I was weaving.
Normally, I would have mixed in concealment techniques to obscure it, but I didn’t add any to this simple workshop, so Baize could smoothly perceive my techniques.
After staring at my techniques for a while, there was a glint of interest passing through Baize’s eyes.
‘This is just like the original work; thank goodness.’
Baize had grown up in too good an environment to develop deficiencies, but he did have his share of curiosities and shortcomings regarding magic. It is a common deficiency many orthodox magicians possess.
To become a mage, talent is necessary, and in some respects, an almost insane will is often required.
Baize, a potential owner of the official mage title from the Magic Association, was the same. He wanted to study magic more than he wanted to become the family head.
“Magic Severing… it’s a modified technique, isn’t it?”
[Yes, I’m using a modified version that’s comfortable for me.]
“That lowered the stability and drastically increased the power.”
[It was too weak to use as an original, so I boosted its power.]
“There are no tracking techniques here? This means you have to control each one manually, making it nearly impossible to hit…?”
[Even without tracking techniques, I can still hit.]
“How…?”
[By linking it with my real-time detection ability.]
“Oh, the detection ability…”
Pretending not to notice, the awkward attitude unveiled itself in Baize’s gaze, which suddenly changed.
With a curious expression, he slowly approached me. He leaned closer to the workshop I was constructing, showering me with questions.
“It’s a flawed technique.”
Baize looked at the technique with a serious demeanor.
A flawed technique… that’s the truth.
The magic severing I use is a technique modified for me. I had relied on it since the start of the semester, using it with my lacking skills, and over time, I had made moderate revisions and continued using it.
I had drastically increased the power. In exchange, I sacrificed stability, which could put a burden on the user.
It’s fine. I can adjust everything.
The tracking techniques were absent. I discarded them because they consumed too many resources, allowing me to increase the output. As a result, the accuracy would plummet, but through the power of observation, I could ensure all hits.
For someone who possesses the power of observation and magical affinity, it’s possible. This technique was originally designed based on my usage, making it full of flaws if anyone else tried to use it.
“But… it’s functioning normally. No, it’s functioning better than the original.”
Baize loved magic and wanted to learn all forms of it, but he had preferences among them.
Other magicians were the same. They had tastes, and differences in talent.
Some focus solely on simple magical manipulation.
Others specialized in elemental magic. Some delve into barriers, familiars, traps, complex attacks, curses, defenses, support… there are various fields.
Baize, among the many magicians, had a uniquely high preference.
He had talent suited for 正度 magic. That ability earned Baize the impressive title of ‘Wise Magician’ by the 5th playthrough standard.
“Impressive… it’s functioning normally.”
Simultaneously, he also found interest in half-baked, flawed magical practices that were fundamentally incorrect.
So, he became deeply connected with the 5th playthrough.
A playthrough that learned magic but couldn’t produce normal magic manifestations due to the spells used on the internal circuits.
A playthrough that charged into enemy lines, pulverizing foes with limbs, declaring itself as artillery.
A playthrough that heard whispers of madness among the magicians and acquired the title of ‘Madman.’
The 5th playthrough’s ‘Foolish Reverse Mage’… the system title being愚將逆道.
A title in stark contrast to the wise magician.
[Yes, as you said, it’s a half-baked technique with plenty of risk.]
“Uh… eh? I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude…”
I smiled gently and moved closer to Baize.
Caught off guard by my approach, he jumped back as if splashed with cold water.
‘?’
Despite my internal confusion, I manipulated the amulet of confession.
[So, I’m asking advice from other magicians.]
[If I can control all the risks, what can I do to further increase the power here?]
[What would you do, Baize?]
Soon, I was about to enter the Tower of Knowledge, and while Baize hadn’t reached greatness yet, considering his potential, I thought I could at least gain some advice.
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