“I didn’t write my name···.”
Hana sat in her chair, sipping her coffee and quietly gazing at the paper with formulas written on it.
It’s something that doesn’t make sense logically.
Even the children who could barely write anything submitted their names, yet a student who wrote such a perfect formula committed the mistake of not writing their name?
And that student was excellent enough to get accepted into the Central Academy?
It’s certainly difficult to understand.
“A mistake··.”
However, it was such a fundamental problem that Hana had no thought that it might have been an accident.
“Well, wizards are all a bit strange anyway.”
Wizards are mostly those who bury themselves in research and training every single day.
In this process, there have been cases where they have lost their minds significantly.
If you want to find out, you can find out.
However, in a situation where it was almost certain that the name was deliberately left out, to find out and approach by that means··.
“···That wouldn’t do.”
Having seen many professors in the past commit such foolish mistakes and lose countless assistants with her own eyes, Hana had no intention of making the same mistake and causing hostility towards something precious.
Yet, if such a thing were to happen again next time··.
“Hehe··.”
The sensation of caffeine resonating in her brain brought about an inexplicable feeling of elation.
It was always like this when she looked at younger geniuses solving the unsolvable problems she couldn’t.
With a slight feeling of loss, she nurtures those who will light up the forefront of magic.
For this reason alone, Hana manages to live every day wrapped in fatigue without a single complaint.
If she wanted to earn money, she could earn more, but the advancement of magic itself is far more important than that.
“Ah·· please, come to me quickly.”
So this time, she decided to let it go.
However, if she continued to feel restless, there would come a point where she truly couldn’t hold it in.
Because Hana herself was a wizard, she had her own somewhat fanatical parts, but she was unaware of it.
***
“···Huh, what is it?”
It felt like something tremendous had just swept over her body. Is it an illusion?
“It must be an illusion.”
She absentmindedly stroked her body, feeling as if some great disaster was about to strike.
By the way, what happens if I don’t write my name?
It will probably reflect on the grades··!
However, this problem was quickly resolved in the last magic class.
“Oh, it seems many people are overthinking or giving up. So to be honest, that is indeed a difficult problem.”
“····?”
“And it was only a demonstration problem, so it won’t particularly affect your grades, so don’t worry.”
No, really?
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand; it was actually a difficult problem?
Then I didn’t even need to go see Charlotte.
Of course, meeting her wasn’t bad, but·· anyway.
“Alright, so today we will learn the basics of magic. Some of you may already know this, but please participate thinking of it as a review with your peers.”
It was such a shameless tone that it was almost ridiculous, but since they were going to start learning magic from the beginning, she began listening attentively.
“Magic is, unfortunately, a battle of those with talent. It’s a world crawling with what people commonly call geniuses and monsters.”
“How far can one usually grow?”
“Those without talent can reach the 1st rank·· that is, they may not be able to use magic at all.”
The idea that there are people who cannot use magic at all was truly a sorrowful one.
“But these people can still manifest magic artificially somehow. And the so-called average talents can generally reach around the 3rd or 4th rank at most.”
The professor took a breath and drank the coffee in her cup before continuing her explanation.
“Next are the geniuses, those overflowing with talent for magic; if they work hard all their lives, they can reach 6th or 7th rank·· and I’ve seen rare cases where some have even reached the 8th rank. Unfortunately, I am currently at the 7th rank.”
“7th rank··!”
Even when she was mentioning herself being a genius, there was no wavering in her expression as she still looked tired while gazing at the students.
“And beyond that are the monsters that even overwhelm geniuses; it’s common for those to reach the 7th rank at a young age, and historically some have even reached the 8th or even the 9th rank.”
“How strong is the 9th rank?”
“Unless the opponent of similar strength deliberately blocks it, they can obliterate several countries single-handedly.”
“···!”
An overwhelming power that can even annihilate countries.
It’s no wonder since, compared to other combat classes where defense and offense are evenly distributed, wizards sweep away enemies from the rear with overwhelming firepower.
Moreover, that doesn’t mean their defense is low.
“But magic has clear weaknesses.”
There are specific reasons why wizards do not fill the back line.
“The limitation of mana can be attributed to that.”
The total amount of mana one is born with, as well as the amount of mana that can be immediately converted from nature, is limited.
For this reason, in chapters of games where waves of enemies come in a siege battle part, not a single wizard who filled the back line could clear that chapter.
As the number of wizards increases, the consumption of mana in the air can only increase.
So what happens when all the mana disappears?
Using the mana within their body or trying to ward off attacks with their staffs.
Of course, there were barely any wizard characters that hit enemies with their staffs in the game.
Most of them collapsed or fled as soon as their mana ran out.
“Can I ask one question?”
“Ah, go ahead.”
“If a wizard encounters a swordsman or another close-combat opponent, what should they do? I mean, do they win in the first place?”
“Hmm··.”
Upon a student’s question, the professor pondered for a moment before providing an answer.
“Assuming equal skill, if a close-combat advantageous opponent is nearby, don’t think of fleeing.”
“Shouldn’t you first create distance?”
“Wizards have excellent magic perception but poorer reaction times in their bodies. If the wizard has recognized their opponent, then the opponent has recognized them as well. Just take the minimum defensive measures and support with high-output bombardment magic or whatever.”
“What if you get caught up in it?”
“You have to endure even that. The mere fact that a wizard encounters an opponent while wandering alone indicates that the situation is far from good.”
“·····.”
She quickly spoke and seemed fatigued, taking a breath before continuing the class.
“Alright, the discussion has gotten long. For today, I’ve prepared to teach you the basic characters that constitute magic··.”
.
.
.
.
After a long while, the magic class finally ended.
“Ugh·· knowledge·· it’s too overwhelming!!”
“So much to memorize!!”
Even though it was only an hour of class, the overwhelming amount of notes was being pounded into their heads.
Some already looked like they were going a bit crazy.
Moreover, what they called basic magic characters were incredibly numerous.
The fact that almost an entire page was filled with these basic characters was suspicious; it was as if it were some sort of complex character language.
Even if magic characters are the ones explaining the world in the game, isn’t this a bit too much?
Perhaps these basic characters are actually meant to be learned at a higher level, just like how things were at the beginning.
“Shouldn’t this be allowed to deviate from too much realism··?”
It’s excessively realistic.
It’s not like it’s the Korean entrance exam; the difficulty is off the charts.
Sighing, she made her way to the library while popping some chocolate into her mouth.
Munch munch.
Crunch.
The slightly bitter sweet taste felt on her tongue.
Even this has started to get a bit tedious after eating it for a while.
It seems like it’s time to look for other options·· but she doesn’t know what to do.
Should she try using something like bread instead of chocolate?
As she walked while daydreaming, she soon arrived at the library.
There, she met Charlotte once again.
“Oh·· you came!!”
“Yes, is there something up?”
“Ah·· no! I didn’t expect you to come again··!”
“I said we’re friends, didn’t I?”
“Wooahhh··!!”
“Let’s go inside and continue our conversation.”
“Ah, but·· eating food is not allowed inside the library··.”
Charlotte looked at the few pieces of chocolate in her hand and informed her it wasn’t allowed, and Hana handed over 2 out of 4 to her.
“Chocolate received from a friend··! I will treasure it for a lifetime··!!”
“You really don’t need to go that far··?”
“No! This is our family·· no, it’s my heirloom!”
“Ah·· okay.”
Watching her put the chocolate into her pocket as if it were something precious, Hana entered the supply room where she always stayed.
“Ah·· a space with no sunlight at all is just perfect··.”
“It feels cozy.”
The space reminded her of the past where she spent all day holed up in the corner of her room gaming, and she felt an unwitting sense of comfort.
However, aside from that, the reason why she had come to see her today was different.
Normally, she would have used other methods to stop the doomsayers’ plans, but since she had met Charlotte, she decided to make the most of it.
“Charlotte, I have a question.”
“Ah, yes!”
“Can you possibly deploy a large-scale magic circle?”
She was asking her that.
