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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Yuziro
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The bewilderment of being suddenly called for supplementary lessons didn’t last long.
The students gulped dryly in front of Adrian, who wore a serious expression.
‘Memorizing the materials is already overwhelming.’
‘We haven’t even eaten dinner after the practical session…’
Just enduring the memorization of materials and practical sessions was incredibly burdensome, and now supplementary lessons?
Somehow, they didn’t have the confidence to meet Adrian’s eyes.
The professor finally broke the silence.
“You and I may dislike each other, but our interests aren’t misaligned. You want to win the magic competition, don’t you?”
Do you want to win the magic competition?
Did he really need to ask that to know?
The students, of course, wanted that more than anything.
However.
‘Not to the point of risking our lives…’
‘Wouldn’t it be considered a win if we just managed to tie?’
That’s what Lotten and Isabel thought.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable. Our class losing to mere intermediate level students.”
Wasn’t that statement in the wrong order?
Isabel’s head tilted in confusion.
But Adrian was also desperate in his own way.
Once the phrase “branching point of the main scenario” came to mind, victory in this magic competition was necessary for the story to progress towards a happy ending.
That aside, he also wanted to put Rachel, the professor in charge of intermediate-level magicians, in her place because she was quite rude.
But that was just a side note, just a side note.
“So, what kind of supplementary lesson will we have today?”
As expected, it was Michelle.
She remained somewhat composed even in this situation.
Should it be said that she had no fear towards studying materials, practical sessions, or supplementary lessons?
Her attitude seemed relaxed, as if thinking that if it had to be done anyway, they might as well do it quickly.
“Good question, Michelle.”
Adrian carved a few mana formulas in the air.
The blue mana that appeared in the seemingly empty space intertwined and drew out several specific formulas.
The students, who had diligently memorized the study materials, understood well what these formulas were.
“The formula of acceleration” Charlotte muttered.
It was correct.
There are various types of magic that magicians deal with.
For example, summoning, curses, manifestation, elements, and so on – the list is endless.
However, among them, acceleration belongs to the
category.
In the case of Special magic, it’s not called ‘special’ for nothing.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is, and it can’t openly display anything, but when combined with other magic, it creates a singularity.
For example, the special formula of acceleration floating in the air right now was exactly that.
“The formula of acceleration. It will help you dramatically reduce the time it takes to implement magic. It’s impressive how six elements support each other with a special background.”
He said six elements support each other, but that was only regarding the elements that act as pillars.
If we started talking about the details, it’s as many as twelve elements.
It certainly couldn’t be said to be an easy formula.
Moreover, since it’s not a visually striking magic, other professors particularly avoid teaching the Special category.
“What we’re going to do for supplementary lessons today is very simple. You will utilize this acceleration formula.”
‘How are we supposed to utilize it?’
Invisible question marks floated above the students’ heads.
One proper demonstration would be easier to understand than a hundred explanations, both for the one explaining and the one listening.
Adrian scanned the students one by one and finally picked one.
The most manageable… no, the most suitable one seemed to be Michelle.
She was an excellent student after all.
“Michelle.”
“Yes.”
“You should be able to use telekinesis to protect your body.”
“I can.”
It was an obvious statement.
A technique that uses telekinetic force to deploy a unique domain and protect the caster standing at the center of that circle.
“Psychic Ground” was a representative technique.
“Try to block it.”
Pat—!
As soon as Adrian finished speaking, a “Serrated Mana Arrow” made only of rough mana flow was shot towards Michelle.
Ting!
But that powerless deflecting sound was the girl’s answer.
Michelle had calmly and quickly deployed her domain to defend against the mana arrow.
Looks of admiration appeared on the faces of Charlotte, Isabel, and Lotten.
Exclamations of amazement were a bonus.
Adrian calmly checked his palm.
In his hand was a pocket watch meticulously crafted from mana.
“It took exactly 4 seconds for the Serrated Mana Arrow to reach you. There was no error.”
“That’s about how long I felt it was.”
“Well done. Then, how long did it take to deploy the Psychic Ground?”
“About 3.5 seconds. I’m already aware of my activation speed.”
“You’re well aware. Also, the deployed domain was precise.”
Michelle’s shoulders and nose bridge rose proudly.
What’s with the sudden praise?
Is this a curveball?
I heard that it’s quite a common tactic.
Praising all sorts of things, and then suddenly confessing…
But Adrian interrupted that train of thought.
“This time, let’s try going faster. Use the acceleration formula. If you’ve memorized it, you should be able to utilize it.”
Pa-at—!
The Serrated Mana Arrow rushed much faster than before.
“Ugh!”
Michelle calmly spread her palm.
Light gleamed in her light green eyes.
The base was Special.
What she needed to utilize was acceleration.
What she needed to apply was Psychic Barrier.
The girl utilized it without difficulty.
Soon after, a Psychic Ground with the acceleration formula added appeared in the air.
Ting!
Thus, the result remained unchanged.
Wasn’t it clean to the point of being flawless?
Michelle looked at Adrian with an expression that seemed to ask, “How was that?”
“It took 3 seconds for the Serrated Mana Arrow to rush in. It seems to have accelerated by about 1 second.”
“That’s accurate. And your domain took 2.5 seconds to deploy. You also succeeded in accelerating by 1 second.”
“It’s not difficult.”
If you have something important to say, I wish you wouldn’t beat around the bush anymore.
Michelle shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Adrian.
But what came flying at Michelle, who was drawing a picture diary in her mind, was Adrian’s cold voice.
“You’re too slow.”
“……?”
If a caster can deploy magic to protect their body in the 2-second range, it’s considered extremely impressive on its own.
For example…
“Even Hamila’s Ice Shield took about 2.01 seconds.”
Hamila Winter.
She was both the flagship student of Rahel Academy and a superstar.
In some circles, there were even rumors that she was a princess hiding her identity.
…And she was the one who broke Michelle’s leg.
Considering that even her protective magic stayed in the 2-second range, Michelle’s Psychic Barrier certainly couldn’t be evaluated as “too slow.”
Of course, Michelle didn’t want to admit that Hamila was more amazing.
“And later, I’ll be able to do better than Hamila.”
“Understand my words correctly, Michelle.”
“What?”
“Even Hamila’s 2.01 seconds is too slow. That’s what I want to say.”
It wasn’t just Michelle who was taken aback by Adrian’s statement.
Charlotte, Isabel, and even Lotten were surprised.
And before their questions could be erased, a Serrated Mana Arrow grazed past Michelle’s nape with a swoosh.
“…What?”
It wasn’t that she didn’t block it.
She couldn’t react.
“It took 1 second to pass you. I accelerated it by an additional 2 seconds.”
“…How?”
Shortening the activation of the Serrated Mana Arrow itself isn’t inherently difficult.
After all, if you focus only on ‘activation’ without paying attention to factors like firepower or direction, you can create a 1-second Serrated Mana Arrow.
However.
‘The direction was accurate. The power was incredibly strong too.’
That was the question lingering in the students’ minds.
“You all look surprised. It’s not that difficult.”
“How did you do it?”
Michelle asked.
Adrian immediately unfolded a mana-made board in the air.
This was the core of today’s supplementary lesson.
“Would you lay out the process of deploying your Psychic Barrier on this board?”
Michelle nodded.
First, she laid out the acceleration formula from the Special category as a background… and then wove in the formulas for Psychic Barrier one by one onto that circuit.
14 horizontal strokes.
13 vertical strokes.
And for the vertical strokes, only seventy percent of the mana used in the horizontal strokes.
Finally, the formula for Psychic Barrier was completed.
Adrian nodded.
“Now, this is the process I used for the Serrated Mana Arrow.”
How quickly did he draw the strokes?
Or was it the process of infusing mana that was fast?
Or maybe the acceleration formula looked a bit different-
Pat!
The students’ questions were instantly terminated.
“Huh?”
“What?”
“What’s this?”
There was no process.
The formula for the Serrated Mana Arrow with the acceleration formula suddenly appeared.
“Michelle, the way you use magic is orthodox. That’s why it’s bound to be slow.”
“It’s slow… because it’s orthodox?”
Did that make any sense?
There should be nothing better than being orthodox in magic.
But Adrian continued his explanation with a slight chuckle.
“How does the future head of the Meinens family command her maids?”
“Is there even a need to command? They each know their duties well. I just tell them to do as they usually do.”
“That’s exactly it, Michelle.”
Adrian’s index finger pointed at the mana board created in the air.
“I just told this formula to do as it usually does.”
“……Huh?”
“We call this Memorizing. If you Memorize the acceleration formula, this level of shortening isn’t impossible for you either.”
The students’ mouths fell open.
They didn’t make a sound, but they were all thinking the same thing.
How were they going to Memorize from now on?
Adrian nodded as if he understood.
“The method is simple. So simple that it’s problematic.”
“What is it?”
“You just need to use it to the point of death. How about that?”
“Hmm.”
Michelle stared at Adrian with sharp eyes.
How many times had she used Psychic Ground in her life?
Countless times.
Memorizing.
Now that she understood the principle, it felt like she could apply it in practice right away.
So, this was directly linked to her pride.
She wanted to show Adrian that she could do it in one go right in front of him.
“I’ll try it. Right now.”
“That’s a good attitude, Michelle.”
Adrian prepared to launch a mana saw arrow.
On the other side, Michelle also steeled her resolve.
Her eyes were now burning with a competitive spirit.
As the other students watched the standoff with tension, Michelle carefully parted her lips.
“Let me tell you in advance.”
“Before we are professor and student, we are magician and magician.”
“Don’t go easy on me just because I’m a female student or your discip—”
Clang—!
The magic lump that flew, hit Michelle’s forehead directly.
“What’s this, were you not concentrating?”
“……”
Something trickled down her philtrum.
It was a nosebleed.
“And did you say something? I didn’t hear it.”
“Nothing.”
…Adrian, you’re just as I thought.
“Alright. Then we’ll resume training.”
“Yes.”
Michelle hated Adrian.
Extremely so.
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Did not let her finish speaking
“It took exactly 4 seconds for the Serrated Mana Arrow to reach you. There was no error.”
lol that’s incredibly slow. I could lightly toss a rock faster than that