While transforming a mana stone through spirit summoning, I saw something strange.
I couldn’t tell if it was the memory of a possessed spirit or the memory of the mana stone itself, but one thing was certain: it was definitely not an ordinary memory.
A golden city reminiscent of the empire’s capital.
Numerous students in academy uniforms, a massive mana stone.
And…
‘Something white in the shape of a human.’
“I think I saw Lady Lily.”
I couldn’t be sure if it was really her. It could have been someone else, or perhaps I was just mistaken.
I didn’t get a good look at those dazzling faces, but judging by the atmosphere and situation at the time, it seemed like someone was teaching students while standing near the mana stone.
And that situation was eerily similar to the current Lily.
“……Could you elaborate a bit more?”
Leo explained the situation as he remembered it to Lily.
After hearing the whole story, Lily nodded and took hold of the condensed stone that had turned to stone, pouring mana into it.
Sizzle. Sizzle.
Now, I somewhat understood the flow of mana lines as they observed the interior of the ruined condensed stone.
“Hmm…”
Puff.
The mana extinguished.
“It’s magical distortion.”
“Distortion?”
“It’s because of excessive mana damage that part of the magical formula has gone awry. With the formula messed up, it produced unintended results.”
In short…
“A bug occurred.”
“…Is there a bug in Deoen?”
What kind of place is Deoen?
Since its release, numerous people doubted or denied the virtual reality, desperately trying to find any bugs or flaws, yet they ultimately failed and it became a successful game.
The only game without bugs or hacks.
There was a reason why Deoen became the undisputed number one game in the world within just three years.
“I’m not saying there’s a bug in Deoen. This is magic I created, after all. Errors can occur in magic.”
“……”
Is that really so?
But the memories from that time felt too vivid to be simply dismissed as errors.
“Then what kind of error is it? It seems somewhat related to Lady Lily…”
“You know how when you dream, strange scenes flow by? Memories that seem like they’re from somewhere mix together, but it’s hard to tell something’s off.”
“…?”
Lily suddenly mentioned dreams.
She continued to speak seriously, like she did during lectures.
“When you wake up, most of those memories fade away, but sometimes they’re so clear that you can’t help but think.”
That’s strange.
Why didn’t I find this odd?
“…So what I saw was a dreamlike vision, huh?”
“Pretty much. But it’s not just a pure fantasy. You see, magical distortions don’t just create something completely unrelated. They mix existing things to create something new.”
Swish.
The stone condensation regains its blue hue.
“What Lord Leo saw is like a short video compilation made up of people intertwined with magic.”
“…Feels like I’m learning something I shouldn’t be learning right now.”
“Is that so? But it’s an area you’ll eventually get familiar with.”
Lily smiles and hands over the now shining condensation.
“Here’s your homework for next week. Don’t worry; there won’t be any more errors.”
Receiving the even shinier condensation, Leo still looks confused and asks,
“So, is it fake, or is it real?”
Lily stands up.
“It’s homework. Once you figure it out, you’ll come to the realization without me telling you.”
Of course, that’s quite a while down the line.
‘Personally, that might be more fun.’
■
“Magical distortion… Unexpected.”
My magic is termed an ‘error’?
‘Technically, it’s the result of the academy professors at that time, but still.’
It was pretty useful, and I hadn’t planned to tweak it further, but I didn’t expect it to cause such a huge error.
I told Leo it was just a compilation of various videos, but in reality, it is closely related to me.
It almost mirrors the scene where I was teaching at the academy in the imperial capital.
However, back then, the empire wasn’t the golden city called Imperium, nor was it using the same condensation stones.
Nonetheless, the reason Leo views this place similarly is that ‘Leo’ himself was deeply involved in the magic conversion process with the mana stones.
What Leo remembers about the ’empire’ and ‘condensation stones’ is treated as a presence identical to my past.
“I doubt anyone else has dug this deep…”
Through spirit summoning, Leo has half become a Nymph and half a spirit, unraveling the magic patterns.
Even in a state where more than half his body is made of mana, it’s still pretty faint, so other people probably wouldn’t have seen a trace of the past.
Let alone his face; they’d only briefly caught a glimpse of the city.
“Those who passed include Leo, Candy Star, Beriard… oh.”
.
.
.
-Yena
Somehow managed to pass through.
■
Somewhere in the south of the empire, in Roton.
Inside a huge building, not as grand as the Marquis’s castle but still impressively large, there is a spacious lecture hall.
Inside a gigantic building boasting quite a grand scale, there exists a spacious lecture hall.
Elegant and refined pillars adorned the walls, while a large green chalkboard and tables awaited someone to use them.
“Hmm… this feels awkward for no reason.”
The same could be said for the three individuals sitting apart on the many lecture hall chairs.
The last passerby, Yena, absentmindedly scratched her cheek and glanced around.
First, there was a woman with a massive lollipop perched on her shoulder.
She sported pink hair and wore a pink princess outfit, with a shiny gem candy prominently attached to her chest.
At first glance, she resembled a magical girl, but that candy would clearly be classified as a bludgeon.
‘Is it a concept? Or perhaps a hidden class?’
Curiously, Yena approached and asked a few questions, but it seemed she was avoiding answers for some reason, so she gave up and returned to her spot.
There was something oddly familiar about her vibe and speech… where had she seen her before?
‘And that person is…’
If she and that magical girl (bludgeon) were spaced out in front, then the man was sitting way in the back, hardly catching any light.
Yena truly couldn’t understand why someone would wear a black robe indoors.
‘If you can’t see their face… is it stealth? Or a mask?’
Looking at it from the perspective of an assassin ranker, it didn’t seem like stealth.
They were probably just wearing a robe or mask to conceal their face.
‘I’m the most normal one here.’
Just like last class, Yena, in her school uniform and glasses without lenses, pulled out a ton of stationery and a notebook.
Tap.
Lastly, she took out the stone turned concentrated magic and let out a deep sigh.
With ten minutes to spare, she barely succeeded in reaching the ‘cut line’ that Lily mentioned.
After failing at everything else, what she ultimately chose was a sneaky little trick.
Frustrated, she layered on all sorts of buff skills and consumable potions, unleashing every ultimate ability she had, and it finally worked.
Even though it felt like a sneaky move, she had been told that it didn’t matter what method she used.
“But I feel like I’ve seen something…”
She was certain she had caught a glimpse of an imperial city, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was.
Did Lady Lily have any connection to the empire?
‘An outlaw… it feels long, but isn’t influential either.’
After all, she had only garnered a dislike from the empire—not been designated as a threat to them.
An outlaw from the port was just a negligible criminal, not even a target of concern.
Creeeak—
The door opened.
Simultaneously, the three turned their gazes.
“Ah… Oh! Yena!”
“Lord Leo?”
“You made it!”
With a bright expression, Leo waved his short hand and dashed over.
Leo, who has short arms, came running awkwardly waving his hands.
Excluding the obvious participants and the Sword Saint, he’s someone who could stand against an army of a nation.
‘Spirit Sorcerer Leo.’
The more you look at him, the harder it is to see him as anything but cute.
“Three of you… that’s not many. I was kinda expecting more.”
Naturally, Leo sat next to Yena, surrounded by spirits helping with daily tasks.
Her magical power flowed mysteriously and nobly.
Before, it just felt like a skill, but now it felt different.
‘…At this level, he might even beat the Sword Saint.’
Leo’s abilities were beyond imagination.
Of course, no one knew how strong the Sword Saint, who had disappeared months ago, had become.
“Lord Leo, you went first, right?”
“Um… I don’t know if it was first, but I did succeed in two hours.”
“Two hours?”
Is he insane?
When Yena gave him a look of disbelief, Leo chuckled and hugged the fluffy little baby yeti tightly.
It just looked like a cotton ball doll, but don’t be fooled; it’s an intermediate spirit capable of taking down users below level 50 in seconds.
And Leo has an abundance of such spirits.
“I’d rather not jinx it already, but I can’t shake the feeling that this mock siege war has no chance…”
“Yena’s team is strong too, though! Lady Lily’s team shouldn’t be underestimated either.”
“…Lady Lily really is here. That’s definitely unfair.”
Rankers with expensive items, useful information, and outstanding skills.
Their value exceeds imagination, and a select few rankers have established their fame in various kingdoms and regions across the continent, excluding the Empire.
There are even jokes going around that it would take a small castle just to keep Leo running for a day.
That’s how much more valuable their time is compared to others—dozens, no, hundreds of times more.
But even among them, the top rankers sacrificed their precious time to come here.
The reason they came to attend a newbie’s class that’s only been around for a month.
Creak-!
“Alright, everyone’s here.”
Lady Lily is here.
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