episode_0012

As soon as morning broke, Acel and Ena began their education in the library. Ena precisely pulled out only the necessary books from the hundreds lining the shelves and placed them before Acel.

“These are the letters that go into the formulas. Memorize them.”

“Understood.”

Ena handed him a total of 10 books. It was an enormous amount of material to cover in a short time. But Acel, showing no reluctance, gathered all the books and found a spot in a corner of the library. Ena stayed by his side, waiting until he had finished reading the books.

Time flowed like that. As a result of focusing solely on reading during all hours except sleep and meal times, Acel was able to finish reading all 10 books in a week.

Finishing the books wasn’t the ultimate goal; it was to memorize all the letters, but this posed no significant problem for Acel.

“What does this letter mean?”

“It means expansion. It is used to increase the range or amplify the power of magic.”

“How about this one?”

“It’s delay. It’s a letter used to determine when a spell will activate depending on how much mana is injected. It’s effective for spells used with a time lag.”

“Then what’s this?”

“It’s autonomy. It’s included in magic formulas that function by thinking and judging on their own.”

As Ena asked, the answers flowed out without hesitation. After confirming that he had thoroughly memorized all the letters in the books, Ena moved on to the next stage.

“I’ll tell you about the basic knowledge of magic.”

The second phase was lecture time. Acel sat in a chair, looking at Ena who had begun explaining while standing on a pedestal, and recalled memories from his past life.

Surely, it was at a place called ‘University’ where professors lectured like that. It wasn’t a bad feeling. Acel concentrated on Ena’s lecture.

The lectures on the basics of magic were mostly knowledge-based. There weren’t many opportunities to actually use magic. At most, there were occasional instances of using it without changing properties, and the rest was just sitting, taking notes, and listening.

“Magic is a miracle manifested through mana as a medium. There are very many systems, and those called Grandmasters sometimes develop new, original magic. The Grandmaster of Lightning magic was a great mage named Cromwell, but he’s gone now. He died a thousand years ago.”

“……”

“Just because you learned the same magic doesn’t mean you can project the same power. Depending on the caster’s capability, lower-level magic can sometimes exert the power of high-level magic.”

“Can Master do that too?”

“If I concentrate.”

The lectures continued for about 4 months. During that period, Acel accumulated a vast amount of knowledge, starting with the history related to magic, how to read formulas, how to arrange letters, how to create formulas, how to imbue magic with properties, and so on.

It was quite a significant achievement. Acel confirmed that the efficiency and power of Flame magic, which had become not just familiar but even intimate to him by now, had increased dramatically through Ena’s lectures, and wore a satisfied smile.

Meanwhile, time continued to flow.

By the time Ena’s lectures ended, the season was already approaching summer. From then on, Acel began to seriously learn Lightning magic from Ena.

There were a total of five grimoires related to Lightning magic in Ena’s library. Considering that the grimoires of other magic systems easily numbered several hundred, it was a very small amount, but most classified as unique magic were in a similar situation. Since few people used them in the first place, it was natural that there was less organized content.

Furthermore, Lightning magic was a spell that no one other than its creator, Cromwell, and Ena had ever learned. Thinking that way, even five volumes felt quite numerous.

“Have you read the introductory book?”

“Yes. I’ve read it all the way through.”

Acel replied to Ena’s question.

Currently, the two were standing in an empty lot behind the mansion. They had moved locations because it was too dangerous to teach magic in the library where they usually conducted lessons. This place was easier to handle compared to the cramped library and wasn’t a bad spot for wildly casting spells.

“What is the most basic spell in the Lightning formula?”

“It’s Bangroe (放雷). It’s a spell that transforms mana into lightning property and fires it.”

“Use it.”

Acel nodded, facing Ena with a serious expression.

He had read the books on Lightning formulas dozens of times. The same went for the others besides the introductory book. The contents of the books he had read countless times by frequenting the library still remained in his head.

Lifting his hand, he recalled the characteristics of Lightning magic.

Its activation speed is slower than Light-system magic which handles light, but its power is double. Although classified as a branch of Destruction magic, unlike other Destruction magic, Lightning magic has no backlash thanks to the peculiarity of its circuit. However, its power, speed, calculation, and the delicacy in handling the power of lightning all rely solely on the caster’s capability without the aid of formulas, so most people cannot even touch it.

This was Acel’s first time using it directly. He knew the knowledge through books, but had refrained from using it at Ena’s urging. Therefore, transforming mana into lightning, assembling the formula, and calculating the amount of mana were all first-time experiences.

But…

‘That’s strange.’

Moving his mana, Acel thought with a relaxed expression.

Woong.

The mana in his core moved instantly. The mana, which had increased from using magic, responded to his will and slowly changed its property. In accordance with this, a circuit that had good compatibility with Lightning magic was formed.

It was a circuit assembled instinctively. A type of mana circuit that could be flexibly designed to fit each magic system. Acel could assemble any type of circuit he desired through this innate talent.

Lightning magic was no different. The Lightning magic circuit he had just constructed felt more familiar than the circuits he had assembled for Flame magic until now. Perhaps he was even more suited for this system. No, that was certainly the case.

“If you judge it’s dangerous, stop. I’ll block the backlash.”

Ena’s words. Acel, still with an unperturbed expression, nodded.

He constructed the circuit and changed the property of the mana. The tasks, not caring about the order, were performed together and yielded results simultaneously.

Bbajik.

He heard the sound of lightning sparking in his head.

A smile naturally bloomed on his lips.

Without any incantation, he manifested the spell merely by recalling the formula.

[방뢰(放雷)]

Pajijik!

A dark blue lightning bolt shot out from Acel’s hand at high speed. The lightning, traveling without any obstruction, struck a tree and disappeared with a massive thunderous roar. Ena glanced at the tree, which had a large hole in its center and was beginning to tilt, then looked at Acel, who was smiling at her, and smiled back.

It was the birth of the third Lightning user in history.

*

Time flowed like water. Seasons that repeated who knows how many times passed, and Acel finally reached the first day of his adulthood.

Just like Evelyn’s coming-of-age party last year, this year a party was held to celebrate Acel’s adulthood. However, while only the residents of the mansion attended the party last year, this year several mages from the Witches’ Council joined the party. All of them were either connected to Ena or had built new relationships with Acel.

After receiving most of his education from Ena, Acel would often visit the Witches’ Council library alone to delve into books or attend magic exchange meetings, and through that process, he had built quite a number of connections.

In a way, it was natural. Acel, who had grown up without reversing his appearance from childhood, had long since risen to fame within the Witches’ Council, where women constituted the majority. Moreover, unlike his master, who was known for her terrible temper, he was easy to talk to, and he was receiving affection from similar young mages with his whole body.

There were even those who tried to physically seduce him to gain his attention or favor. Of course, they were somewhat restrained by their masters, but many still struggled to gain Acel’s attention.

It was the same at this party.

“Long time no see, Acel! How have you been?”

“Ah, Hera. I’ve been well. You look even prettier dressed up.”

“Ugh… *cough*… Thank you. This is a gift for your coming-of-age ceremony. Will you accept it?”

“……Is it a letter?”

“Yes! I also put money inside! So Acel! Please, won’t you do magic research with me for the rest of our lives?!”

Hera’s mage-like confession. Acel wore a wry smile, returned the letter to her, and gently expressed his refusal.

“I’m sorry. I’m not ready to be tied to anyone yet. I’ll accept your feelings.”

“Ah…”

At his clear expression of intent, Hera stood still as if her soul had left her body, then turned around crying and walked away. Acel scratched the back of his head as he watched her hair flutter. Just then, Irina, with a pipe in her mouth, chuckled and slung an arm over Acel’s shoulder.

“Quite popular, aren’t you? How many girls have you made cry so far?”

“…I don’t know.”

“How many that you don’t know?”

“No, I mean, why ask something like that? It’s awkward.”

“It’s fun.”

Irina blew smoke containing mana towards Acel’s face and laughed. Acel conjured flames to consume all the smoke, then subtly slipped away from Irina’s grasp.

“It’s because they’re still young. Since I’m the only man they see often, they mistake interest for affection and make mistakes.”

“Hearing you talk, one would think you’ve lived for decades longer. You’re about the same age as them.”

Irina let out an incredulous laugh, pulled a glass of wine placed on the table towards her with smoke, and took a sip. Acel also drank wine, following her lead, and when his eyes met Evelyn, who was busily moving around the tables, he smiled and waved. Evelyn also smiled brightly and waved back.

Seeing that, Irina said.

“Siblings get along well.”

“We’ve relied on each other since we were young, so it’s impossible not to. More importantly, Lady Irina. Didn’t you have a meeting today? Why are you here?”

Acel asked, setting down the wine he was holding on the table.

Coincidentally, this year was the day of a meeting led by the Alliance. There wasn’t one last year, but due to the meeting suddenly being held this year, Ena had left for the meeting place after only saying congratulations. But Irina, who was part of the same Alliance, wasn’t attending the meeting; instead, she was sitting at the party just enjoying the wine.

When he first met her, she was filled with an intimidating and mysterious aura, but after getting somewhat close, her impression was completely opposite from the beginning. It was as if she wasn’t the same person. Perhaps because of that, Acel wondered if Irina had been expelled from the Alliance and couldn’t attend the meeting.

“Ah, that.”

But the answer he received was different from his thoughts.

“It’s a meeting I don’t really need to attend. If you just vote or give your opinion simply, you don’t necessarily have to go to the meeting hall.”

“But Master went?”

“Ena is required to attend. The topic of this meeting is related to Ena.”

“What is it about?”

“It’s classified information.”

Irina chuckled and tapped Acel’s head with the end of her pipe.

“If you’re annoyed, get a high position in the Alliance.”

“…Is this what a Great Mage is like?”

“Amazing, right? I know.”

Irina chuckled and inhaled smoke, then suddenly remembered something and said “Ah,” turning to look at Acel.

“I think I can tell you this.”

“…?”

“Congratulations on your admission to the Academy.”

“?”

Acel’s face crumpled at the words delivered with a smile.

*

“According to the contract between the Alliance and Luminous Academy, a highly capable mage who has just reached adulthood must be admitted to the Academy. The candidates are Acel, Ena’s disciple, and Kal, Quirm’s disciple. The preliminary voting results were 25 votes for Acel and 3 votes for Kal.”

“……”

“Even if all the votes gathered here go to Kal, it would not be enough for Acel. Acel’s admission to the Academy is confirmed.”

Thump, thump, thump.

The elderly mage sitting at the end of the round table finished speaking and struck the table with a mana hammer. At the same time, the room was filled with thunderous applause, followed by Ena, who stood up from her seat and summoned real thunder.

[뇌궁(雷弓)]

Kwaaaaaaang!!!!

The wall of the meeting hall was instantly shattered. Ena glared down at the silent figures with fierce eyes and muttered softly.

“No. I don’t like it.”

He’s my disciple.

As Ena uttered these words, her expression was distorted with rage.