ACADEMY'S UNDERCOVER PROFESSOR
After I gave my advice to Flora, I looked at the situations of several other students and gave them advice as well.
'It's not hard to teach them.'
The casting of elemental properties was the most basic subject.
Some may have thought that it was easy and nothing, but there was nothing more important than Elemental Properties to build a proper foundation.
Elemental casting used five senses that were close to a form that had developed with a framework at the 'basic' level.
'Actually, I didn't know that the basics would be that important either.'
The magical elements that were created by the mana that was used by the wizards were slightly different from the elements that simply existed in nature.
To be exact, the mana that was floating in the atmosphere was closer to imitating the elements with its strange power.
Of course, if the world recognized the 'mimicry' itself as 'real' and was hit by fire magic, the world would have been burned.
Naturally, it could be implemented with mana and did not occur naturally, such as the warm and cozy flame that was casted by Aidan a while ago.
In other words, the elements that were created with magic were fake and real at the same time—two literally contradictory characteristics coexisting with each other.
It was called the mystery of magic.
The elements that were created by such magic naturally followed the tendency of the wizard.
The ice magic that was used by cold and cool-headed people and the ice magic that was used by people who were full of passion and were hot-blooded would show completely different results, even if they were using the same spell.
Wizards who had traveled the world and experienced many more varied experiences could carry more diverse 'emotions' in their magic than the magic that was used by wizards who were confined to the corner of their room.
Right…
In the end, magic itself was more like putting human emotions into mana.
—Just like there are songs that have emotions and songs that don't.
However, as the magic of that time was only casted thoroughly by theory and calculation, the emotional method was a very old method that was no longer left in the history books.
Perhaps it was still written in an old and worn-out book in the far corner of the library in the magic tower.
It was not that no one knew such a method, but it was still a little-known method compared to what it was in the past.
I knew it because my teacher had taught me.
'My teacher taught me how to maximize the elements through the senses.'
It was a method that only I, the disciple, was informed of, and this dull-witted disciple was releasing his teacher's tips to the whole world in order to survive.
'I'm sorry, teacher.'
But if I hadn't done that, my life would have been in danger.
Anyway, magic was such a mysterious study.
'It reminds me of the first time I learned it.'
When I had first learned that magic existed in this world, I had believed that I would become a great wizard whose name would remain in history.
The fact that I was reincarnated from another world was enough for me to hold such hope.
Of course, such a dream quickly came to an end.
…Because I had no outstanding talent in learning magic by myself.
It was possible up to the basics, but that was all.
It was practically impossible for me to be a great wizard who would remain in history.
Therefore, I had no choice but to change my direction of learning magic.
Basically, my limit was easily using magic up to the 3rd tier.
If I overdid it, I could use basic 4th-tier magic.
If I looked at my level, I'd be at the beginning point of a 4th rank wizard, and that was my best and my limit.
I couldn't use magic beyond that, so I improved the quality of magic that I could use up to the 3rd tier.
That was the reason why I had kept strengthening my basics.
Most of all, I had memories of my past life, so I could look at magic with a slightly different perspective than the others.
—Source code was the representative example.
In addition to that, I had received Spartan-style teaching from my teacher, so I could be proud that the basics of my magic were more solid than anyone elses.
And the method that I had been sticking to so far had finally shone in Sören.
'At the time, I had complained about why they had asked me to do this, but now that I think about it, there's nothing better than this situation.'
Perhaps magic that used the five senses was a method that even the magic tower had not taught them.
At least, it was like a secret sauce of a famous restaurant that was given in hints only to the important talented people who were being promoted from within the cooking schools.
I had just made it public.
In fact, the students were also satisfied because there were noticeable changes in the outcome of their magic.
'But I can't let my guard down. Flora Lumos… Who would have thought that she could use overlapping elements at that young an age?'
Overlapping elements was not just about combining different elements.
It was a risky move that could have more serious consequences if the wizard handled it incorrectly, so the method of formulating the magics had to be altered to make sure they didn't collide with each other.
Therefore, when the wizard was using the overlapping elements, elements that were well-suited to each other were often combined.
Just like water and ice, fire and wind, wind and electricity.
However, Flora had overlapped elements that were opposite to each other, which were fire and ice.
Perhaps that was not enough for her, overlapping three elements, all of which had quite a high-level difficulty in elemental properties, was also attempted.
It was just not a skill that a wizard could show at that age.
I realized again that Flora was not called a genius in Sören for no reason.
'Even so, she almost failed.'
An out-of-control mana fluctuation…
I also felt dizzy from using too much mana because I had frantically suppressed it.
Fortunately, I was lucky that I had recovered quickly because there was a mana pill in my mouth that I had secured in advance, otherwise, I might have stumbled disgracefully in front of the students.
So I slightly felt like wanting to scold Flora, albeit severely.
In the past, I had also been very confident in my new magic creation when my teacher had shattered my confidence terribly.
At that time, I had done a lot of dangerous things to cast great magic.
When I thought about it when I was about to sleep, I might have kicked the blanket with my feet loudly because of it.
Flora, who had succeeded in overlapping two elements and was overly proud because of it, coincided with my old self when I had been learning magic from my teacher.
The memory of that time came to my mind and the panic button was pressed on its own.
That was also why I had pushed Flora a little too hard.
I belatedly thought that I was a bit harsh, so I said, 'Actually, it's because I'm worried about you. You know how I feel, right?' as an excuse.
'Maybe she's terribly hurt inside from that.'
But she was called a genius, so she'd get through it easily, right?
I decided to turn my attention away from Flora and focused on the rest of the students.
'As expected. Maybe because it was Sören, but everyone is already good at it, even though I just gave them a few simple tips.'
I saw some students who were particularly noticeable.
The first thing I saw was a student who was casting the elements of the compressed earth.
It was a brown-skinned girl with animal ears on her head who implemented an element that looked like she pulled up a vein of the ore that existed deep underground.
'Was her name Iona Obeli?'
I had seen her on the first day as well—she was the only beastperson in the classroom, after all.
She looked back at me as though she felt my gaze. I just nodded lightly to express that she had implemented the element admirably.
I wonder if I had done something marvelous because she opened her mouth wide with an 'ah'.
I ignored her and looked at the next student.
It was someone with a plant element.
A dark-blue-haired girl with braids and large, round glasses that were covering half of her face unfolded such magic.
She looked like someone who said 'I'm good at studying,' just through a glance, she was a girl who was sponsored by the alchemy school, and she had her own reputation among the freshmen.
Was her name Clara Haniss? She was pretty good, too.
Other than her…
There were twin sisters who were from a rather famous aristocratic family in the Eastern Kingdom, and there was even a rookie who was being sponsored by the magic tower.
Even that rookie seemed to have quite a sense of rivalry toward Flora Lumos.
'I heard that this year's freshmen consist of only amazing students. I'm entering the Academy at such a peculiar time, too.'
It was called the golden age.
I thought I had heard Professor Selena say that there were many such children in the first year.
And surprisingly, most of them were taking my class.
I was going crazy due to too much pressure.
I had a little hope of wanting my class to be somewhat moderate.
It felt like I was losing my energy because of teaching those smart kids one by one.
It was just then…
As the class was nearing its end, I found the only student who could not float the elemental property.
'That kid is…'
* * *
* * *
Her face was familiar; that was because I was bound to notice her bright gray hair and heavenly beauty.
She had been there when something happened at the first training ground the previous day, and she was also there during the werewolf incident.
But most of all, I knew that kid well for another reason…
I approached her.
"What happened, Lynne?"
"Oh. Professor Ludger."
"Is it not working well?"
"No, no. That's…"
Lynne hesitated to answer.
Next to her seat was the princess, Elendil.
'What? Did the two get close since then?'
Elendil shook her head in silence when I looked at her as if asking what had happened.
Then Lynne sighed and released her mana and floated the sphere.
Since Lynne was also able to enter Sören, she had basic knowledge and talent for magic, so it was possible for her to float the mana.
It was fine so far, but the problem happened afterward.
I precisely caught on to what the problem was.
"Your casting of the elemental property doesn't work well, I see. No. To be exact, does the property itself not exist?"
"…Yes."
Lynne was the possessor of mana without any properties, which appeared very rarely.
***'I'm doomed.'
Lynne was afraid that she might have taken up a lot of time pointlessly.
As she bowed her head like that, the clock bell rang in the classroom to announce the end of the class.
"This is the end of today's class. Everyone, review what you learned today. I'll replace the homework with that."
"Oh!"
"But don't try to get away with it. I've remembered all the properties you used today, so I'll check them out in the next class."
Some students, who were happy with the news that there were few assignments that time, hurriedly redirected their eyes when they met Ludger's gaze.
"I will be able to spot those of you who don't practice properly. I'm looking forward to that."
"Thank… thank you for today!"
The students ran away from the classroom.
As soon as Lynne was about to get out of her seat, Ludger called her up.
"Lynne."
"Yes? Yes!"
"You follow me to the professor's office."
"Oh!"
Lynne swallowed her breath unknowingly.
The remaining students looked at Lynne with pity.
In the spell casting class, the elemental property was the second most important specialization after the release of mana, but those without any properties didn't work like that.
Perhaps he called her because she couldn't carry out his lecture properly, so he would recommend that she attend another class.
That was only the second week, but Ludger's class had already been rumored to be the best in Sören.
His teaching in particular, which strengthened the foundation of their elemental properties, was enough to hedge the students' expectations.
Not being able to take such classes in the future went beyond just missing a teaching in Sören, it was almost half the loss of their life.
If they didn't know from the beginning, they wouldn't know.
It was a different level of problem to quit his class that they had already taken and experienced themselves.
Of course, most students were relieved that they were not the target.
The person concerned, Lynne, was about to cry.
Following Ludger, who walked slowly in the hallway, Lynne moved with quick steps to chase him from behind.
Lynne couldn't hide her ominous feelings while following Ludger.
'Why did he call me? Is it a personal interview? So is he about to kick me out of his class?'
Although it was only the third time she had seen him, including the incident in the training ground before, Lynne fully understood what kind of person Ludger was.
If she thought of Ludger's extremely sharp personality, she would be able to attend his other lecture in a good case, and in the worst case, she would be kicked out of Ludger's class.
'Aaaaah! I'm doomed.'
Lynne was depressed for some reason and bowed her head.
It was better to change her class as soon as possible because it was still at the beginning of the semester, but it was very painful for her to leave Ludger's lecture and not another professor's lecture.
She would not be that sad even if she happened to pick up a jewel on the road and had to throw it back on the side of the road.
"Come in."
As they had already arrived at the private professor's office, Ludger opened the door that had his nameplate on it and went inside.
Lynne entered Ludger's office as if she was a prisoner on death row who was heading to the gallows.
Inside the office, the interior itself was quite sophisticated and neat.
The place resembled its owner, indeed.
That man used a place with an antique atmosphere.
"Sit down."
"Yes, yes."
Lynne sat on the sofa after she heard Ludger speak, frozen.
The leather on the luxurious sofa was obviously so fluffy that she should have been comfortable, but Lynne had no choice but to keep straightening her back.
Ludger sat at his office desk, and then he opened the drawer and pulled out a pile of papers.
Lynne closed her eyes tightly at the sight.
'Aaaaah! As expected, he's about to send me away to another professor's lecture!'
'Would he nag if I knelt down and begged him to let me take his class? What if he despised me more?!'
At the moment when her mind was getting more complicated, a thin book was being pushed toward Lynne.
Lynne closed her eyes tight and cried out.
"I will do my best! I'll do everything you told me to do, so please don't tell me to stop taking your class! I'm in trouble if I don't take your class!"
Despite Lynne's desperate appeal, Ludger was unwavering.
"What are you talking about? It's not like that."
"Yes, yes? This… This is not a lecture change application form?"
"What are you talking about?"
"Pardon? I… I thought I couldn't take classes from you anymore."
"You're saying something weird. Just hurry and pick it up."
Lynne politely accepted the book that Ludger had given her with both hands.
'What kind of book is this?' With that thought, Lynne, who looked at the title of the book, had no choice but to widen her eyes.
[Understanding Non-property Magic]
The large letters on the cover of the book caught her eye.
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