Chapter 73: Unexpected Aptitude: From Swords to Enchantments

The next day.

“…I feel like I’m going to die.”

“You can use healing magic, right?”

“My body is fine, but my mind feels like it’s dying…”

“Oh, please.”

Sion was sprawled out on his dormitory bed.

Professor Huriju’s training continued until evening.

He eliminated the muscle pain through healing magic, but…

The mental fatigue caused by the training with Professor Huriju remained as it was.

‘I can’t just play around… but it’s difficult to do something that risks my life like an adventurer’s job. What should I do?’

Sion was rolling around on his bed when he suddenly looked at Patrick.

Patrick, dressed in his going-out clothes, was looking in the mirror and grooming himself.

“Patrick, where are you going?”

“Me? I’m going to work.”

“…Work?”

“Yeah. I decided to work part-time at a restaurant in the Academy shopping district.”

“I see…”

“Sion, don’t you work part-time?”

“Me, me?”

Sion flinched at Patrick’s question.

Even Patrick, the son of a Baron, was working part-time on his own.

Wasn’t it a little strange for Sion, who had no backing, to do nothing and loaf around?

‘Work… come to think of it, there were people who asked me if I would work part-time.’

The first was Professor Ronda Margaret.

– Sion, if you have any thoughts…

– S-Sorry…

– Could you help me with paperwork in my professor’s research lab? Of course, I’ll pay you—

– I’m, I’m sorry!!

In Professor Ronda Margaret’s professor’s research lab.

Sion had helped her organize her documents.

He just did it as he did in graduate school, but her eyes… looked as crazy as Professor Huriju’s yesterday.

So he ran away right away.

‘…After all, Professor Ronda Margaret is a bit… like that, right?’

It wasn’t that he disliked her, but the fact that she was a ‘professor’ was the problem.

A professor and a college student getting along is like a carnivore and a herbivore becoming friends.

How could he work part-time with peace of mind in a situation where he might be eaten and become a ‘graduate student’ at any moment?

‘The second is at the magic tool shop… right?’

The magic tool shop located in the Academy shopping district.

There, where he went to buy a wand with Serene.

Sion met a dark elf named Kainstoss.

– You’re the guy who deserves to use my wand. Use it well.

– Th, thank you.

– Forget the thanks. Come visit my workshop later. I’ll pay you if you participate in some experiments. Then, I’ll be going!

– Ah….

She suddenly invited Sion to her workshop.

It was a hot topic that he had chosen ‘Armut of Manifestation,’ which was presumed to have been made by Kainstoss.

‘It’s not a part-time job, but participation in an experiment… well, it won’t be dangerous, right?’

She wouldn’t do bio-experiments on Academy students.

…It’s a medieval fantasy world, so I can’t be sure.

Still, if I had to choose between Professor Ronda Margaret and Kainstoss——

“I should go to work too.”

“Suddenly? Where are you going?”

“Magic workshop.”

Sion got up from his seat and began to prepare to go out.

Kainstoss’s magic workshop.

He was going to earn money there, whether it was an experiment or a part-time job.

---

“This is… Kainstoss Magic Workshop?”

A little away from the Academy shopping district, in the outskirts.

There was a magic workshop built there.

A two-story building that was half blacksmith and half shop.

The sign of the building, which felt like it had been there for a long time, read ‘Kainstoss Magic Workshop.’

“…Excuse me.”

Ding-dong-

The doorbell rang as he opened the door.

Sion carefully entered the workshop.

The inside of the workshop was quite noisy, with the sound of hammers hitting, water pouring, and magic incantations, as if work was in full swing.

“Hello?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“…Yes?”

When Sion mustered the courage to raise his voice.

Someone approached Sion.

It was an ordinary-looking woman who could be seen anywhere in the Academy.

Her eyebrows twitched as she scanned Sion up and down.

“I can let the school uniform slide… but why are you so late? It’s going to be difficult if you’re like this from the first day.”

“Oh… I’m sorry…?”

“Okay, follow me quickly. We’re busy.”

“…. Okay.”

Sion followed her closely, with a question mark in his head.

‘Why am I so late…? What is it?’

For a moment, he wondered if he had called or texted before coming here.

But there was nothing like that.

He was just thinking of meeting Kainstoss and getting money for an experiment or something.

“Okay, sit here.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Then let’s start.”

“…?”

Sion sat next to the woman without knowing why.

Wands and magic stones were piled up like mountains in the narrow workshop.

---

‘I don’t like it already.’

Kathleen Lockheart, who was working as an intern at Kainstoss’s workshop.

She didn’t like the ‘newbie’ who was supposed to come today.

‘That’s why we should get rid of the Academy’s mandatory internship system.’

The newbie who was coming to the magic workshop today was not a formal intern, but a ‘mandatory intern’ sent by the Academy as part of a program.

It meant that she would be doing an internship for 6 months at the Kainstoss workshop, which was affiliated with the Academy.

Of course, she had less motivation and poorer performance than other interns.

‘Oh well… let’s try to teach her hard. …She’s quite handsome, though.’

Kathleen glanced at Sion, who was sitting next to her.

She didn’t know his name, but his messy hair and small build… were quite to her liking.

His work skills were a bit poor, but the fact that he was handsome was a plus.

Of course, that would be plus or minus zero if he didn’t do a good job.

“Why are you just standing there blankly? Can’t you use enchantment magic?”

“Ah, um… I’m sorry, but could you show me one more time?”

“Demonstration? …Hmm, okay. Open your eyes wide and watch closely.”

Magic stones and wands were piled up like mountains.

Kathleen took them out one by one and placed them on her workbench.

Kathleen brought the magic stone to the center of the wand.

Soon, she closed her eyes and began to chant.

“Breath of the elements, dwell in this wand and unleash your power, Grant!”

Hwaaa!

Her magic gently wrapped around the wand and magic stone.

Then the magic stone shattered with a pop!

The crystals seeped into every part of the wand.

“Wow… pretty.”

Looking at Sion’s face, which was purely admiring, Kathleen raised one corner of her mouth.

Even though he was only a half-baked intern who would only be there for 6 months, she felt good at this moment of teaching.

If she didn’t have this intern, she would be the youngest in the Kainstoss Magic Workshop.

Being able to show off like this was her only joy.

“Hehe… how is it, newbie? Can you do this?”

“I’ll try.”

“Good. Give it a try.”

“Okay.”

Sion, like her, held a magic stone and a wand in each hand.

‘I wonder if I can do it well? Practice and reality will be different.’

Kathleen was also a graduate of the Academy, so she knew the difficulty of enchantment magic well.

When practicing at the Academy, enchantment magic is used with teaching materials that have evenly distributed magic power.

But things are different in reality.

‘Even the same wand has a different distribution of magic power.’

Wands were piled up like mountains.

They all look the same, but they are slightly different.

Distribution of magic power, wave of matching magic power, magic power absorption rate, magic power conductivity, etc.

He has to grasp the different wands at once and distribute the magic stones appropriately.

Otherwise, the effect of the enchantment magic will be drastically reduced.

‘If he’s a newbie, it’s good if he gets about 70% efficiency. Let’s see?’

She watched Sion’s enchantment magic with an expression as if she was watching a child’s first steps.

She would be upset if he was late, but he couldn’t be bad at it.

As she was watching—

“Grant!”

“…?”

Kathleen’s expression crumpled at the magic name incantation that surpassed incantation shortening.

‘If you’re a graduate of the Academy, you might be able to shorten the incantation.
But even so, you can’t ignore the accuracy and magic effect improvement of a full incantation.
In the first place, this isn’t a battlefield where every second counts, so there’s no reason to shorten the incantation.’

“Hey! How can you chant only with the magic name?”

“Yes…?”

“Don’t you know that the effect will drop if you do that? Oh my, how can I use this wand… Huh?”

Tsk!

Kathleen snatched the wand from Sion’s hand.

She lightly held the wand and poured magic power into it, and the feeling was different.

The magic power flowed smoothly without getting caught, and the feeling of omnipotence flowed through her body.

‘…This is at least 80% or more?’

Kathleen, who puts enchantment magic into wands all day long, could tell just by looking at and touching the wand.

To what extent the enchantment magic has been put into this wand.

And the wand that Sion worked on… was no different from hers.

Her wand with a full incantation, and Sion’s wand with a magic name incantation.

The efficiency of the two wands was not much different.

“Ah… I’m sorry. I’ll do the incantation properly.”

“Huh? Uh… no, you don’t have to.”

“…Then can I just do it?”

“Uh-huh. …You’re pretty good?”

“Thank you. I’ll do my best!”

The Academy student clenched his fist and burned with motivation.

Kathleen was dumbfounded.

“Then let’s keep going.”

“Yes! Please take care of me!”

“O, okay.”

Hwaaa!

Sion’s enchantment magic continued.

He takes out the magic stone and wand, uses enchantment magic, and takes the completed wand out of the room.

It can be said to be a simple task, but he has to pay attention because each wand has its own unique grain.

Clearly…

Paaaaat!!

Sion was putting in enchantment magic at a rate of almost one every 5 seconds.

Kathleen wanted to shout, ‘Don’t do it carelessly, put your heart into it!’, but…

It was clear that the magic power conductivity was high, so she had nothing to say.

It was proof that the enchantment magic was working properly even if he did it like that.

‘……Huh. Now he’s doing it without incantation.’

Kathleen glanced at Sion and exclaimed inwardly.

He was making at least 3 times as many as she could make in the same amount of time.

Even though he was making them so quickly, the quality was not much different from hers.

‘These kids are scary these days… I’m going to lose my job if I don’t work hard too.’

…Kathleen’s standards for the Academy were raised because of Sion.