Chapter: 92
Joy tightly clasped her hands, thrilled that Lucy promised to help her.
No one really knew what method she used, but Lucy had grown to a level that rightfully earned her the title of the continent’s promising candidate within a year.
If she could learn her growth methods, Joy was sure she’d become strong enough to stand beside her.
However, considering the stern warning from Lucy, that path wouldn’t be easy.
But that was fine.
Joy wasn’t someone who had been coddled like a greenhouse flower.
She had been working hard to live up to the title of a noble young lady from the Partran family.
She was confident she could endure even if tough challenges came her way.
What should they start with?
Lost in those thoughts, Lucy began explaining to the eager Joy.
“Clueless young lady! From now on, I’ll turn you, the pathetic one, into the best magician!”
“Are you talking about Young Lady Alrn?”
Joy had no doubts about Lucy being an impressive person.
If she had had any doubts, she wouldn’t have asked for Lucy’s help in the first place.
But that was about growing as part of a party, not growing as a wizard.
Of course, that made sense.
How could Lucy Alrn, born and raised in a knightly family, know how to become an outstanding magician?
“What’s this? Clueless young lady, you said you’d follow my orders, yet you’re already whining?”
“No! It’s not that at all.”
“Just listen. Clueless young lady! If it doesn’t sit well with you, then argue later. Are you really someone who can’t even handle that little patience?”
“…Understood.”
As Joy timidly nodded, Lucy stood before her, arms crossed and shoulders back.
The sight of the tiny girl confidently striking a pose was cute, but Joy held her tongue.
If she said something, Lucy would probably retaliate with a sharp comeback.
“First, we need to increase the pathetic young lady’s strength.”
“Strength?”
“Yeah. With your current state as a lousy magician, you’re just a clumsy young lady.”
Clumsy young lady.
As those words echoed in Joy’s mind, she recalled Lucy’s records in the dungeon that updated every five minutes.
Lucy must consider that speed as the baseline.
This means she believes physical strength is essential to keep up with her.
Understanding Lucy’s words, Joy nodded.
“Understood. What should I do?”
“Clueless young lady! Start running.”
“Oh, running, then.”
So, was she asking to run just to warm up?
Following Lucy and Frey, Joy began moving her legs without a second thought.
But it wasn’t long before she fell behind.
No matter how much she had trained, Joy was still a magician.
There was no way she could keep up with their pace.
At first, Joy thought of catching up somehow.
“Clueless young lady, there’s no way a pathetic magician like you could catch me! Just run slowly while being all ‘clumsy clumsy’!”
But seeing Joy grit her teeth, Lucy urged her to just run at her own speed.
So Joy kept running.
30 minutes passed, then an hour.
As her legs started to feel numb and her lungs burned painfully, Joy couldn’t help but wonder.
How long am I going to be warming up?
Am I going to run until I collapse from exhaustion instead of actually warming up?
As those thoughts crossed her mind, Joy and Frey, moving at incredible speeds, zipped past her.
“Alrn Young Lady!”
“Huh? What’s up?”
“How long are you going to keep running?”
“Haha, what’s this~ are your legs shaking from exhaustion?”
“It’s not that bad.”
While it was true it was hard and tiring, she wasn’t at the point of collapsing yet.
“Hmm, really? Then let’s run just as much as we’ve run so far.”
Wait… does that mean running for another hour?
At the sound of that affirmation, Joy’s lips stiffened, but Lucy merely wore a smug grin.
“What’s this? Can’t handle even that much? A pathetic little lady with no patience? Should I coo you?”
“Fine! I’ll do it!”
“Aha! You’re angry. You’re angry.”
With Lucy chuckling as she surged ahead, Joy gritted her teeth and followed.
Before she knew it, another hour had passed, and then another half-hour of running had her on the verge of collapse.
What was surprising was that Lucy kept running even after Frey lay sprawled on the ground for some time before taking a break.
*
“Clueless young lady. Tell me what classes you’re taking.”
Lucy’s advice didn’t stop there.
She explained what classes were good and which weren’t among those Joy was attending.
If that explanation had been half-hearted, even with Lucy’s reputation, Joy might have doubted her.
However, Lucy’s explanations were so detailed that Joy couldn’t possibly question them.
The moment Joy listed the professors’ names, Lucy recognized what the classes were and what their content entailed, even advising on what Joy needed or didn’t need to take.
“What you need most right now is a lot of mana and quick, precise casting. There’s no way a lousy magician like you would be able to handle many spells properly, right? So what classes should you take…”
Lucy’s recommendations matched precisely with what Joy’s private tutor from the Partran household had told her.
Alrn Young Lady. You really do have knowledge about magic?!
Joy, initially thinking it was just baseless talk, was taken aback.
“Got it?”
“Yes. I understand. So I should just take these additional classes, right?”
“Yeah. And aside from building strength, here’s what else you should do.”
What Lucy demanded was for Joy to practice the non-attribute magic of Telekinesis using a transparent spell until her mana drained every evening.
The method was also quite specific.
She was to start by moving a single orb and then add more as she got accustomed to it.
“Clueless young lady, you’ll keep doing that until you can freely handle five objects simultaneously. This much should be easy for even a dumb kid like you, right?”
Joy couldn’t grasp what Lucy’s request meant.
But she didn’t doubt it.
Having previously confirmed Lucy’s knowledge of magic during their chat about academy classes, Joy knew Lucy wouldn’t assign something meaningless, so she decided to follow along.
Then that evening.
Without question, Joy started using Telekinesis, and she immediately understood why Lucy had her do this.
“Controlling multiple objects with Telekinesis requires an enormous amount of concentration, more than I expected.”
Telekinesis is a basic magic of the non-attribute category.
Thus, its mana consumption is low, and it’s relatively easy to cast without a chant.
But manipulating it was a different story.
Lifting one object wasn’t hard.
She had done that until she was sick of it before.
But when she tried to move two, things changed.
The focus required to move each object simultaneously wasn’t just doubled.
It required at least three times the concentration; when doing complex movements, it needed four times more.
Naturally, trying to operate three at once brought an even more serious burden.
“Efficient.”
Joy knew various methods to improve her mana proficiency.
However, those methods usually involved overwhelming herself with more difficult and complex spells.
That meant a significant loss of mana, and a shorter training time.
But Lucy’s method was different.
Since Telekinesis was a basic spell, the amount of mana used was small.
But the amount of concentration required was comparable to other spells.
Impressive.
Lucy Alrn, where on earth did you learn this method?
No one had ever suggested such an approach to her before.
Even well-reputed magicians only told her to proficiently handle more challenging spells; none provided her with a training method that used Telekinesis.
Could it be that this method was devised by you, Young Lady Alrn?
If so, I have no choice but to admire you.
It’s just not logical.
She had heard many praises of herself, claiming she had talent.
She was raised hearing that she was destined for greatness.
But Young Lady Alrn, you overshadow my potential.
After all, even the most experienced knights find it difficult to possess magical knowledge.
That’s only natural, as the knowledge a knight must learn is in direct opposition to what a magician must master.
Mastering both is nearly impossible.
Even if someone claims to have done so, they’re usually just amateurishly dabbling and flaunting their prowess.
But Lucy Alrn was different.
She certainly had knowledge about magic.
Not only that, but her talent surpassed even Joy, who had spent a lifetime studying.
Ahaha! So that’s why you stood first in the academy entrance exams, huh?
Your knowledge runs deep and wide enough to reflect this outcome.
“Haa… will there ever come a day when I can stand equally beside Young Lady Alrn?”
It feels far.
So incredibly distant.
Her back feels so far away.
To pay back her kindness, Joy needed to stand by her side.
“I have to work hard.”
Enough to catch up to Alrn Young Lady’s talent.
*
For some unknown reason, after giving Joy training methods, admiration twinkled in her eyes.
Not only that, but whenever she felt unsure about magic, she would come to me with questions.
I merely shared the methods I used to develop a magician character in Soul Academy!
I don’t know a damn thing about magic!
Even if Joy asks me, I can’t provide answers!
Internally screaming like that, telling Joy I didn’t know was impossible.
I didn’t want to implant disappointment in those admiring eyes.
So every time, I asked Grandpa for help.
The only saving grace was that Grandpa was a masterful holy knight.
Having endured the unnecessarily complex magic lectures given by the magician of the Hero Party, Grandpa managed to answer Joy’s questions without difficulty.
The problem was that I was the messenger for that, and each time, Joy’s admiration for me grew.
[Hey, girl. What’ll you do if you ask something I don’t know? ]
‘Well, I don’t know…’
[You’ll study magic, right?]
‘…’
*
Days had passed since Joy began her training under Lucy’s guidance.
Every morning, she ran until she collapsed, building her strength.
She stood at the back of her classes to avoid dozing off.
And each night, she dealt with Telekinesis until her mana was drained before falling asleep.
Each day, she woke up with motivation, seeing herself get a little better, but today felt different.
As she woke up and gazed at the dawn-tinted ceiling, she rubbed her face.
“Dungeon.”
Today was the day she had promised to enter the dungeon with Lucy.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
