episode_0075

When I faced the test Professor Albert presented, it felt like my breath was caught in my throat.

I had no idea how to solve that 3D puzzle, which was called a ‘formula’.

I’m terrible with numbers, you see.

“That barrier was really tricky.”

“Still, at least bombs worked, right?”

I didn’t know the principle, but that barrier absorbed or blocked all magic.

Since I was told to ‘use any means necessary,’ I initially emitted magic to create a clone beyond the barrier.

However, the clone materialized outside, as if it had been bounced away. After dozens of trials and errors, by the time I realized the barrier’s nature, there were Violet clones everywhere.

Next, I even tried striking it with tools. I attempted to dismantle it using my enhanced body and sword energy.

I even called in other Violet clones waiting nearby and crashed cars into it. It didn’t work.

“Our car!”

“It was used, wasn’t it? Don’t be too disappointed. One of them was even a flooded car.”

By then, I had half lost my mind. Enraged, I went behind the park where the barrier wasn’t visible and called the workers from the workshop.

“Bombs! Do you have any finished ones?”

“This is all of them… Okay! I’ll give them to you right away!”

The quantity of improvised explosives being made in the workshop was more than I expected. It was the result of buying fertilizer little by little through various routes and modifying it.

In conclusion, we succeeded in breaking down the barrier.

“The performance is certainly reliable!”

“It would even work against awakened individuals.”

However, upon witnessing Professor Albert’s furious reaction, we returned to reality as if cold water had been thrown over us, waking us from a dream.

“What in the world are those bombs? What kind of person are you?”

“Ehehe…”

“You’re laughing? You find this funny?! You crazy brat! Can’t you see the state of the surroundings?”

The enraged Professor Albert thrust his staff at me. At the tip of the staff, a fiercely burning, highly condensed flame of magic was clearly visible.

I mumbled out whatever excuses came to mind.

“I made them to hunt magic beasts!”

“Oh, for crying out loud. Why don’t you just say you made them to blow up the academy? In all my life, I’ve never seen a student who made homemade bombs!”

The professor’s words unintentionally hit the mark. How did he know? Indeed, the experience of being a senior alumnus from the first class and a lifetime professor was not for nothing.

While the professor was scolding me fiercely, I heard sirens wailing in the distance.

I focused my vision in the direction of the sound. Police cars were approaching.

“That’s strange. I set up soundproofing and recognition-inhibiting barriers… Damn it, your bombs must have destroyed them all.”

“Let’s get out of here quickly!”

“Before that, we need to deal with this.”

The professor hurriedly waved his hand and drew several complex shapes and formulas on the ground with his staff. The dirt in the park, which had been messed up by the explosion, began to move, filling in the craters. Footprint-like marks were stamped one after another on the ground.

“This should be enough to disguise it as a magic beast rampage. The police in Rustroom are full of lazy pigs. They’ll likely just gloss over it without even proper forensics. What are we doing about those cars?”

“I can move two of them… but one’s engine is shot!”

“Then, remove the license plates… You already did. What’s that now?”

What do you mean, what is it? It’s thermite!

Before the professor even gave the order, I had already removed the license plates and any other identifying evidence, and installed a container of thermite in the car. If I ignite this…

Dazzling flames erupted, greedily consuming the vehicle. We quickly left the park. Fortunately, the police didn’t pursue us.

A short while later, I arrived at Professor Albert’s house. It felt somewhat familiar, perhaps because I had visited this place once before with Irene. The hallway of this house was still dark.

“That Vulture bastard, has his head gone bad from the aftereffects of that time? How could he send such a crazy girl…” The professor grumbled, settled back on the sofa as if lying down, and took a cigarette to his lips.

“D-Do you have a complaint? This is my house.”

“No, not at all! More importantly, I passed the test, so you’ll teach me, right? Magic!”

Albert adjusted his glasses and exhaled a puff of smoke.

“Those bombs, and your unique ability… Well, it seems you have your own circumstances, so I won’t ask any more questions. But,”

He made a light gesture, and a large hand emerged from the floor, gently pulling me forward.

“Ugh!”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but don’t act thoughtlessly like today from now on. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“It’s late today, so go home. Class starts tomorrow. Class times are at my discretion. Tardiness will not be tolerated. Now, go!”

***

The next day, some Violets were sent soaring into the sky by Irene’s spear. Another Violet, practicing her Aether defense ability, was accidentally hit by the instructor’s attack and crumpled.

Yet other Violets experienced minor status changes, such as being burned while making rocket candy in the workshop or being knocked out by Kalia’s punch to the solar plexus after rashly charging at her.

I, Violet 107, arrived at Professor Albert’s house, enjoying the peace while such things occurred.

“But Albert isn’t a professor anymore, is he?”

“Well, he wants to be called that.”

In the living room, a large blackboard was set up.

“I wondered who your first-year magic professor was, and it turns out he’s an unheard-of idiot. Before we start class, let me ask you one question. What is magic?”

It seemed the professor wanted to break the conventional wisdom I supposedly learned in school. Unfortunately, I had slept through that class, so I knew nothing.

Instead, I recited the lore mentioned in the main game.

“Manipulation of physical laws using Aether?”

“Only half right. By that logic, every act that utilizes Aether would have to be called magic, wouldn’t it?”

Albert snapped his fingers, and streaks of light, made of magic, appeared before my eyes. The lights intertwined, creating a white and yellowish illusion. The figure of a human running with a sword was visible.

“That’s an overly broad concept. Body reinforcement or magic emission abilities grant power that transcends human biological limits. Is it biologically possible for an ordinary human to run 100 meters in a few seconds, or lift objects weighing tons?”

The illusion, which had shown a human figure, now changed into a smoking factory and gears.

“Or, let’s talk about something else. As you know, the miraculous power of Aether is also used in industry. I’m talking about Aetherium, extracted by grinding up magic beasts. Not to mention the energy industry, when processing or creating industrial materials, even if you just roughly insert it into the manufacturing process like a novice chef haphazardly adding seasoning, you can obtain substances with properties you’d only dreamed of.

Anti-gravity devices on airships, room-temperature superconductors, various ultra-high-strength alloys, regenerative medicine – these are all miraculous products unimaginable before the First Interdimensional Invasion. So, are these also magic? Should dungeon artifacts be considered magic?”

As the professor waved his hand, the light form now changed into the shape of a human brain.

“No! Those are ‘magical things.’ True magic refers to the process of manipulating Aether through one’s own thought processes and computational activities to bend physical laws. It’s the act of the person itself. Actually, to discuss the concept of ‘magic’ academically, one would also have to look at historical, cultural, and societal traditions, but…”

Ah, something I knew came up. The lore was that traditional sorcery and magical customs, passed down for hundreds of years before the magic beasts’ invasion, influenced current magic.

“…This isn’t history class, so there’s no need to examine it that far. You understand the definition of magic now, right? Then let’s begin the practical session.”

After the short introduction, the practical session began in earnest. I started manipulating my magic as the professor instructed.

“First, let’s start with the simplest illumination magic.”

I know this one too.

In the game, it’s the most basic level of magic: the ability to create a small sphere of light that can be floated in the air or attached to surroundings.

“It’s not working very well. I prayed hard for it to ‘happen!’”

“Do you think magic is some god that grants wishes if you pray? Aether doesn’t move just according to your desires. You must steel your will and control it as if putting a leash on something still and dragging it along.

If you continue that process, you will ‘awaken your insight.’”

‘Awaken your insight,’ what could that mean?

I continued to manipulate my magic, envisioning a sphere of light.

At some point, a small abacus-like shape, intricately composed of sparkling gems, appeared before me. It was similar to the formula the professor had shown at the barrier yesterday.

This was a type of puzzle. It felt like a toy cube you twist to solve with your hands, but its weight was considerable.

I came to understand what those abacus beads, what this formula, revealed. The magic formula before my eyes was a kind of metaphor, created to help a person understand the complex principles of the world. A part of the world’s constituent principles manifested before me, using magic as its stage.

Perhaps sensing my flinch, the professor spoke.

“Do you see something?”

“I see gems, and something that looks like an abacus.”

“Your insight has awakened successfully.”

“This is magic? Where are the mysterious runes or incantations?”

“Ugh! This is coding!”

I calmed my racing thoughts and carefully examined the formula. As I took my time, I was able to grasp at least a part of what these things were.

To use a computer analogy, this is a kind of console window. Each of the gems acting as abacus beads represents the physical elements of this room. I don’t know specifically what they are. Molecules or electromagnetic fields? Atoms? Or gravity? It could be other forces.

As I focused more intensely on the formula, I felt an intense pressure. Forcing myself to confront something incomprehensible made me feel dizzy.

Moving even one of those abacus beads just slightly consumed immense mental energy. My mind, without being told, instinctively began counting and calculating.

For now, I focused on solving the formula. My head throbbed. It was difficult!

If I moved those gems to the correct positions, I would get the result I wanted. But how do I move them?

The professor advised me with a calm demeanor.

“An awakened individual’s ability is based on their personal mental image. I don’t know the specific form, but what you are seeing right now is a magic formula.

If the term ‘formula’ doesn’t resonate, think of it as a password lock, a mathematical equation, or the source code of a program. If you input the correct values, the magic will activate.”

“Ah, I see… Professor, how does this magic formula appear to you?”

“Me? I see a series of clockwork mechanisms lined up before my eyes. And there’s no need to overexert yourself. You just started learning magic today. I didn’t expect you to succeed.”

I tried to do as I was told, but it was too difficult.

I struggled to solve the puzzle before me, the magic formula, but after five minutes of intense focus, I could barely move one gem into the correct position.

In this process, both magic and mental fatigue accumulated.

This ‘computation’ was on the level of having to mentally solve a multiplication of over 10 digits just to move a single gem by a fingernail’s width. Even “multiplication” is a softened term; in reality, I was forcibly guessing input values for incomprehensible formulas.

The burden was too great to do alone. It would be great if I could pass it on to someone else…

“Shall we try it together?”

Right, couldn’t I entrust this computational burden to other Violets?

Like, assigning the red gem to No. 15, and the blue gem to No. 74. If I could just distribute the computation, the burden would decrease. The speed would also increase.

We quickly implemented this idea.

“Okay! Each person took one bead!”

“Alright, let’s start calculating!”

There were a total of five gems to move in the formula before my eyes.

With each person handling just one, the computational burden decreased, and the formula began to operate smoothly, like a well-oiled machine.

Magic flowed to the correct positions, and the vague forms began to materialize.

The gems slowly began to move. Our ability to share thoughts could also be applied to magic computations.

“Let’s add more people!”

“Anyone just standing around! Come help!”

Is the computation difficult? Just keep inputting values until it breaks through! If one mind is stuck, mobilize multiple minds. More Violets guarantee more computational power!

Just like that, the blocked formula unraveled like flowing water. It worked. A path was starting to appear.

“As expected, it seems impossible for now. Alright. That’s enough for today…”

Just as Professor Albert was slowly about to end the day’s lesson, a sphere of light floated before my eyes.

“You… succeeded in this.”

The professor’s eyes behind his glasses widened like lanterns. Albert tried hard to maintain his composure, but I could clearly see him wavering.

My idea was successful. If it’s difficult alone, divide it among many.

“We did it!”

Meanwhile, the professor, who had been deep in thought, brought several thick books and set them down in front of me.

“What are these?”

“Magic books.”

“Wow!”

“It’s too early to rejoice. Those next to them are workbooks. They contain various mathematical knowledge needed for magic use and computation. Don’t forget to look at those reference books too. You didn’t really think you could use magic without any common sense, did you? There’s no free lunch in magic. Study everything up to the marked parts. By tomorrow.”

“Ugh!”

The success of my first magic was short-lived; it seems my work just increased.

There’s nothing easy in this world.