Chapter 89

October 6th.

The day after we heard the conclusion of the bullying case from Councilor Wagman.

Under the clear autumn sky, Sharon and I entered the classroom for the first time in nearly half a month.

The classmates, seeing us on such a sunny day, especially in the morning, kept their distance and peeked at us furtively.

When Quentin Wagman entered the classroom, the classmates tensed up, bracing themselves for a confrontation between Quentin and me.

However, Quentin, upon seeing us, greeted us cheerfully, "Good morning, Mr. Rockhart, Miss Jakes," and we replied, "Good morning, Mr. Wagman," as if nothing had happened.

At that moment, the atmosphere in the classroom tightened for a moment and then relaxed, like a breath being exhaled. Anita Isherwood, in particular, looked as if she couldn't believe her eyes, her eyes wide open.

I felt a bit of satisfaction at this. I was convinced that she had been instructed by her father to exclude us.

However, I ignored her and chatted with Sharon and Quentin. While Quentin and Sharon seemed to have no ulterior motives, I wanted to show the classmates that this "incident" was over.

The classmates, reading the air between us, seemed relieved that things wouldn't return to the tense state they were before. They began to chat among their close friends until Mr. Bennett arrived.

At 8:00 AM, Mr. Bennett entered the classroom. The moment he saw me in my seat, he showed a slight look of disappointment. It seemed he still thought it would be better if I weren't there.

I pretended not to notice and said, "Stand! Bow!" to signal the start of the class, as if I had always been in this class.

Mr. Bennett, with a slightly trembling voice, said,

"From today, there will be a slight change in the lecture classes. Mr. Rockhart and Miss Jakes will attend Professor Laspade's lectures. Anyone can request to attend Professor Laspade's lectures, but only those recognized by Professor Laspade can attend. If you're interested, please contact me later."

Then, Mr. Bennett looked at me and said, "You two should go to Professor Laspade's laboratory. Do you know where it is?" Since I had visited the building for researchers more often than this classroom, I replied, "Yes, I know," and left the classroom with Sharon.

Professor Lionel Laspade's laboratory was located deep within the researchers' building, near the laboratory of Professor Kitry Elbain, an old friend of Ridley. We arrived at Professor Laspade's laboratory without any trouble.

At the door of the professor's room, I knocked, but there was no response. Thinking he might be out, I tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. Light from a magical lamp was leaking out from inside.

Sensing someone was there, I hesitantly called out, "Mr. Rockhart here..." but received no response. Reluctantly, I opened the door and peeked inside.

Inside, Professor Laspade was buried in a pile of books, writing furiously. Not wanting to disturb him, but unable to leave, I said, "Excuse me," and entered.

(He must be so engrossed in his research that he didn't hear me. I'll wait until he takes a break...)

I told Sharon, "Let's wait here until the professor notices us," and found a chair near the pile of books to sit and wait.

Professor Laspade continued writing for about thirty minutes without lifting his head.

Suddenly, he stood up, seemingly out of paper, and noticed us sitting near the entrance.

"Ah, Mr. Rockhart and Miss Jakes. Yes, I heard from the dean that I'm to guide you from today."

When asked how long I had waited, I replied, "About thirty minutes."

"That's my fault. When I get engrossed in research, I lose track of everything else. Please don't hesitate to interrupt me in the future."

The professor then said, "Can you wait for another thirty minutes? If you're bored, you can read the books around here, or you can go outside until it's time," and returned to his desk.

Sharon and I looked at each other and decided, "If it's only thirty minutes, let's read some books," and she started browsing nearby books.

As expected of a top researcher, the books were quite advanced. Especially the books on magic arrays and magical devices reflected the latest research findings—papers always included the professor's name—and had bright, new parchment covers.

I chose a relatively simple one and started flipping through the pages.

Without mentioning it, the paper in this world ranges from low-quality papyrus-like material to high-quality, fine-textured paper similar to Earth's. This high-quality paper is made by applying wood-element magic to low-quality papyrus. I heard from Ridley, who actually did it, that it's a profitable part-time job, and users of wood-element magic, like users of metal-element magic, can lead a wealthy college life. Metal-element magic is used for metal refining, which is also a part-time job for college students.

I started reading a book titled "Introduction to Magic Arrays: From Basics to Advanced Applications."

Sharon decided to read a book titled "The Development of Magical Devices."

The books I had mainly read in the library were about the elements I was weak in, darkness and metal, but reading the book on magic arrays immediately piqued my curiosity.

I realized that a magic array is a kind of system.

The idea of converting and amplifying magical energy, the input signal, through a circuit called a magic array to produce the desired effect felt similar to an electrical circuit.

Each spirit's power is represented by a diagram in the magic array. The sequence in which the spirits' powers are applied and the form into which they are converted are expressed using diagrams and rune-like symbols.

The way these are drawn is essentially the design of a system, and as a former designer, I found magic arrays very interesting.

There are roughly two ways to use magic arrays.

One is to enable those without magical aptitude to use magic. The other is to assist in the efficient use of powerful magic.

The first is used in magical devices. Of course, a magic array alone won't activate; a magic crystal is needed to convert magical energy into the spirits' power. The combination of a magic crystal and a magic array is essentially a magical device.

The second use is less well-known.

It is said to be used in the Lux Holy Kingdom, a religious state in the west, where multiple mages use a magic array to create large-scale miracles—specifically, large-scale light-element magic—by drawing the array on the floor of a cathedral.

This is a lost technology, but it was once used to perform large-scale attack magic for sieges and teleportation magic.

I was so engrossed in the book that I didn't notice Professor Laspade watching us until Sharon nudged my elbow. I thought, "I need to improve my skill in detecting presence," and apologized to the professor.

"I got absorbed in the book. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

When I apologized, the professor laughed and said, "I understand. I do the same thing."

I was a bit disappointed to be called the same as a famous eccentric professor, but I quickly regained my composure.

"Let's start your lessons, then. First, I need to assess your knowledge. Mr. Rockhart, you know everything Miss Jakes knows, so I'll ask Miss Jakes."

This made Sharon tense up. I noticed that he had been calling me "Rockhart" instead of "Rockhart-kun" and asked the professor about it to ease her tension.

"Until recently, you weren't a student at this academy. In formal settings, we call you by your title. Of course, it's different after graduation."

I was surprised that Professor Laspade cared about such formalities. I thought he would call people whatever he wanted.

This conversation seemed to ease Sharon's tension, and the professor started asking her questions.

"Let's start with some simple questions. Can you tell me everything needed to cast a spell, including the reasons?"

Sharon nodded and began to answer slowly.

"First, the caster's magical energy is needed. Since magical energy is given to the spirits, without it, the spirits won't lend their power. Next is the image of the spell. I think this is the most important. The reason is that even if you have a lot of magical energy, if the spirits can't understand it, the spell won't work. The incantation is not as important, I think. It just strengthens the second image..."

Professor Laspade nodded at Sharon's answer and occasionally asked follow-up questions.

"Regarding the second image, how do you strengthen it?"

Sharon thought for a moment and said,

"I'm not sure, but I try to imagine the spell as an analogy. For example, with the Air Hammer, I imagine the strong gusts that often blow in the village during winter and think about what would happen if they were confined to a small space. For the Whirlwind Blade, I imagine the wind blowing through a wheat field and a large scythe cutting the wheat simultaneously... Is this a good answer?"

Professor Laspade nodded and said, "Yes, that's a wonderful answer," and asked who taught her this.

"When I was five, Mr. Rockhart, or rather, Mr. Rockhart, taught me to recall things I often see."

The professor looked at me and said, "You knew this when you were five?"

"I don't remember much, but I think I learned it from my tutor, Lydia Dupre. I probably just made it easier to understand."

I answered in a slightly apologetic tone.

The professor nodded and then asked more questions about the efficiency of incantations and the relationship between the scale of magic and the required magical energy.

Sharon, who had memorized what she learned from Ridley, answered smoothly.

I was impressed by her memory.

(She remembers things much better than I do. She's definitely a genius.)

After about ten minutes of questions, the professor nodded in satisfaction.

"Indeed, you don't need to be students at this academy. Your knowledge is sufficient for graduation. By the way, I have a vague memory of this Dupre. She graduated top of her class from this academy about forty years ago, an elf with all four elements. That might be why I remember her."

The professor snapped his fingers and said, "I remember. She was an elf girl with a talent for the wind element."

I was amazed by Professor Laspade's memory. With nearly two hundred graduates each year and Ridley graduating thirty-seven years ago, there must have been over seven thousand graduates. I was impressed that he could remember one of them.

(I'm not good at remembering faces. At reunions, I often had to ask friends I was close to, "Who is that?" But having been at this academy for over a hundred years, he must have met nearly twenty thousand students. It's amazing he can remember them...)

When I told this to Kitry later, she burst out laughing and said, "Professor Laspade only remembers the excellent ones. I doubt he even remembers this year's graduates."

The professor, seemingly satisfied with Sharon's knowledge, started the lecture.

The lecture was more of a Q&A session, answering our questions.

I had a long-standing question that I couldn't figure out, so I asked the professor.

"I've always wondered, what exactly is the power of the spirits? Books say it's the manifestation of the elemental gods' power or a special substance that makes up the world, but I can't quite accept it."

The professor, surprised by my question, looked a bit puzzled and said, "You're interested in unusual things. I remember being curious about this a long time ago."

I was disappointed, thinking the professor would know.

The power of the spirits is the source of magic. It's something that doesn't exist on Earth, and I believe it's the biggest difference between Earth and this world.

If I knew what the power of the spirits was, I think I could significantly enhance the current magical power.

My rough idea of magic is that it converts this world's unique energy into a form the caster knows. If I knew the original form of this energy, I could convert it more efficiently.

For example, if the energy before conversion is thermal energy, positional energy, or electrical energy, the image of conversion would change. I use magic as if it were electrical energy, but if it were thermal energy, the efficiency might be lower.

For example, when using fire-element magic, it would be more efficient to directly convert thermal energy into the desired form rather than converting it into electrical energy and then back into thermal energy.

That's why I wanted to know what the power of the spirits was.

Seeing my disappointment, the professor shared his hypothesis or image.

"I'm not researching this, but if you want to hear my image, I can tell you."

I nodded, and he said,

"My image is that the power of the spirits is what forms the world. The ground, the sky, and even people are all made of the power of the spirits. It might be close to the material theory, but I think it's more of a force itself..."

"Force... So, people, soil, and monsters are all made of the power of the spirits?"

"Exactly. Have you ever created water using water-element magic? Water, a material, is created by magic. Similarly, light-element magic creates light, a phenomenon, not a material. In other words, I think the power of the spirits is the force that creates phenomena and materials. If you think of it as a material, it's hard to explain how it can be extracted from nothing. But if you think of it as a force that can be converted into anything, it makes more sense. For example, light cannot be materialized by the power of the spirits; it can only be converted into a phenomenon..."

I began to understand what the professor meant.

The "force" he described is probably "energy." Thinking of it this way, it's easier for me to understand, as it aligns with my rough idea of magic.

"So, you're saying the power of the spirits is a force with specific characteristics. The power of the light spirit has the characteristics of light, and the power of the water spirit has the characteristics of water?"

The professor nodded vigorously and said, "Exactly. That's precisely my idea."

"The idea that the power of the spirits is the manifestation of the gods' power is not wrong. However, praying to the gods won't cast a spell. Even if the fanatics of the Light God religion say otherwise, to use light-element magic, it's more efficient to have a clear image of what you want to manifest and efficiently extract the power of the light spirit. They do the same thing, but they refuse to admit it."

"So, you're saying that spells can be cast without invoking the names of the gods in incantations?"

The professor nodded vigorously and said, "Of course. In fact, spells can be cast without incantations, but it requires a lot of mental imagery, making it inefficient."

He then extinguished the magical light and said,

"In fact, you already know this. When you turn on a magical light, you don't chant the name of the light god, do you?"

Indeed, that was true.

Magical devices are tools to cast spells, and using them doesn't require incantations. Furthermore, you don't even need to concentrate mentally; you just need to infuse them with magical energy.

The professor smiled and said, "Of course, my idea might not be correct."

"Since no one has proven it, the material theory and the gods' power theory might both be correct. It's better not to be dogmatic about these things."

Having such a Q&A session with the professor was like an intellectual catchphrase, and I found it very enjoyable.

Finally, we had a bit of a magical academy-like conversation.

The next part will also be about the professor's talk.