<119 - First Magic Practice>
Son Ohchun couldn’t wrap his head around the psychology of fools who trained hard all day.
“Is your body really going to feel better just by doing that?”
“Pfft… The body is honest. You build strength bit by bit when you exercise. There are differences in talent, but isn’t it better than doing nothing?”
“That’s just what those who have nothing to begin with say. You’ve got plenty of money, don’t you? Lots of points too.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Wouldn’t it be way stronger just to gather those points and buy armor with body enhancement outright?”
How ignorant could one be about how expensive such armor is? Jezel felt an urge to kick that shameless Monkey Humanoid’s shins, but knowing that her foot would hurt more, she just laughed it off.
“Last week was swimming, so you didn’t hurt as much, but you heard we’re starting horseback riding next week, right? You need to build up those leg muscles.”
“Well, Tuesday is right around the corner and I won’t have time to earn enough points to get armor.”
Even Son Ohchun, confident in his stamina, was exhausted after the double-difficulty swimming class with Professor Plato over the weekend. Just like he struggled with being in the water, he’d likely be mentally drained if he wasn’t used to horse riding lessons either.
“…Are you not practicing for the lectures?”
“I am! A stamina recharge practice!”
“Mixing a lazy you with that Orc Nodi who’s always running around means there’s no need for a wish.”
Unlike Son Ohchun, who lingered around using bodyguards or claiming to recharge his stamina, Orc Nodi was all over the academy grounds, zipping about.
It got to the point where it was said that if you wanted to meet Orc Nodi, it was better to wait in front of the cafeteria rather than searching for her.
– Ah. The honor student Orc Nodi doesn’t have to attend extra lectures since she’s a top student.
She didn’t even show up for that hellish weekend swimming training double event! No one knew where she was or what she was doing during that time.
“Don’t underestimate the value of effort. You’re working hard by using the head you don’t even like.”
“Ugh. Isn’t Isabel just attending the Developing Insight class to deal critical damage? I can feel the damage already.”
Just then, Isabel appeared and struck a chord.
Son Ohchun, pretending to be hurt, couldn’t hide his confusion.
“By the way, where’s the little rat?”
“She was called by the professor.”
“That’s unfortunate. She loves to eat more than anything. We’ll have to eat without her.”
Isabel stopped Son Ohchun as he was about to head to the cafeteria.
“Wait a sec. I’d like the two of you to help me with something.”
“It must be something serious.”
At Jezel’s words, Isabel’s expression darkened further.
The Merchant Jezel’s eyes twitched.
It was a different kind of darkness compared to the other students who were gloomy from the harsh tasks they had.
It was as if… they harbored a deep grudge and were ready to unsheathe a knife, like those setting out to kill someone.
Something serious must have happened.
“Some noble family raised Orc Nodi. It seems like they’re selling kids who can’t perform to the black market.”
“!!”
“Hey! But Orc Nodi is only about ten years old! It’s absurd to sell a little kid to the black market!”
Son Ohchun exploded with anger.
Yet Isabel, biting her lip, did not retract her statement.
She recounted what had happened in the Developing Insight class to the two.
“…This is not good.”
“Is there any way to help Orc Nodi?”
“I’m not talking about our little lady.”
Jezel focused on another part.
“It’s inappropriate to say to such a poor, innocent child, but to the other students, our little lady Orc Nodi may look like a monster. She has both strength and virtue that matches the title of group top student. Most classmates can’t even compare with her.”
“So what? Just because Orc Nodi is strong, there’s no need to feel pity for her?”
“Don’t take it the wrong way. Realistically, it’s unlikely she’ll meet the organization’s criteria. The problem lies with other candidates.”
“Other candidates…?”
“When an organization trains agents for a special purpose, they usually don’t train multiple people at once unless they have the budget and talent.”
Isabel, an explorer who’d piled up her experiences roaming the continent, quickly realized what Jezel meant.
“So even if Orc Nodi is safe, the other candidates might not be… If Orc Nodi learns that, it could lead to trouble.”
“Correct. She might try to take on the organization’s mission instead of protecting the losers, or they might demand her to carry out more dangerous missions in exchange for not disposing of the other candidates.”
This was a commonly used method in dark organizations to handle talent that wouldn’t follow orders.
“I’ll look into candidates like Orc Nodi and the organization in my own way. You both keep an eye on Orc Nodi without interfering with your academy life.”
“If you’re going to investigate something dangerous, shouldn’t I be with you then?”
“No, it’s Orc Nodi who’s more of a problem. For now, those with good intentions have promised confidentiality, but as time passes, wicked-hearted people who hear rumors might cause trouble for Orc Nodi.”
Son Ohchun let out a groan as he retrieved the wooden staff he had slung over his shoulder.
“I hope I don’t have to use weapons on campus.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to help too.”
Having passed the entrance exam safely thanks to Orc Nodi’s help, it’s now our turn to protect her.
The three of them sealed their resolve.
[Time for Fundamentals and Understanding of Mana Usage]
Today, they finally moved beyond theoretical lessons and memorizing formulas to learn real magic.
“Rosgini, can’t we go home together? They say fire magic works wonders on mosquitoes.”
“Rosgini~! Let’s ignore those things and go together! Huh? We’re friends, right?”
“Y-you little vixen. How dare you flutter your eyelashes at Rosgini?”
The master of nature magic.
A druid class from the Dryad race.
The ridiculously fast writer, Professor Weird.
The student everyone thought would be ignored was suddenly at the pinnacle of popularity due to fire magic.
Dorothy, sitting next to her, made a grimace.
“That one is pretty rude.”
“Why’s that?”
“I don’t know. I just thought that right now.”
“Blood. What’s that supposed to mean?”
The source of bad rumors, Dorothy, was not very fond of Rosgini.
“But nobody thanks me or the Sandkooker for working hard, yet everyone practically jumps at the chance to impress Rosgini.”
“Because Rosgini has the power of fire magic! If you learn magic too, Dorothy, you’ll probably get popular!”
“Maybe?”
Rosgini, the apprentice magician of the Red Tower.
Or a portable mosquito repellent.
Determined to become like that, Dorothy eagerly attended class time.
“Today, we’re going to learn magic. Do you remember the most basic mana formula you learned called [Amplify]?”
“Yeeees~”
“Amplify is a useful formula that can be used anywhere. You can amplify the growth rate of plants to use the vine binding spell, or you can increase the sugar level of a sugar solution to use a sweet water creation spell.”
The first one is magic that small apprentice wizards use while struggling around with oversized wands the size of their body at the Adventurer’s Guild.
The second one is a domestic spell often used by wandering magicians when visiting local authorities to ask for a place to sleep for the night.
Both are low-difficulty spells that have their perks!
“Today, you’ll use these two spells. Make a vine that’s a good shape for tripping over someone’s ankles out of the vine scraps on your desk, and make sweet water.”
Dorothy diligently etched mana pass symbols with an arrowhead on the vine.
“Is this how it works? Is this right, Orc Nodi?”
“Um… It’s not wrong, but it’s going to be a struggle!”
“Why?”
“Directly etching symbols is classified under tattoo magic or engraving magic, which is a different field of magic!”
“Then what should I do?”
“First, decide the magic’s power source. What will you use as a medium to activate the magic? Not with tattoos or engravings, but with something else!”
Usually, people gather specific attribute mana with a wand to create a mana pass in the air to cast magic.
But using a wand when one hand is holding a sword and another is wielding a double weapon is difficult.
“How do you use it, Orc Nodi?”
“I use this!”
A short magic wand adorned with a shiny pearl!
“Aww, is that a stone on the end?”
“This isn’t something you eat! It’s a wand!”
“…But a stone isn’t something you eat either.”
Wands may not be as good as staffs in gathering attribute mana, but it serves as an effective medium.
It filters chaotic attribute mana nearby and allows the user to gather the desired attribute mana, acting as a sort of sieve and concentrator.
It can provide significant advantages in magic casting, often compared to piecing a puzzle together or assembling a cube.
“Huh?”
But the color of the mana gathering around her puzzle seemed a bit strange.
Nature mana is green.
Ice mana is blue.
Fire mana is red.
Most should have these colors.
But the mana gathering around her wand was black, a symbol of sinister magic and ill fortune.
Using this black mana for an amplification spell was unlikely to produce good results.
[Amplify]
The magically activated vine stem turned pitch black and ended up covered in spiky thorns.
“Wow. I didn’t realize it was a thorn vine when it was just scraps!”
Unaware of the context, Dorothy just admired it cheerfully.
