Chapter 5

Chapter 005

Magic Power.

This force, known as mana, magic power, or 'Qi' in some tribes of the eastern region, and referred to as ether by pretentious scholars and divine power by stubborn priests, was the source of power for mages.

The power to change the world!

Since a mage had to draw and consume their own magic power every time they cast a spell, it was natural for inexperienced and unskilled young mages to suffer from a lack of magic power.

But to still be standing after seven attempts was surprising.

“Student’s name?”

“Lee Han.”

Professor Troll, Garcia, smiled slightly.

He felt a liking for Lee Han, who had given his own name instead of his family name.

It was rare for a noble, especially a high noble, to not mention their family name.

Lee Han was a person who fit well with the school’s principle of ‘equality.’

“Come here.”

“Uh...”

Lee Han approached, feeling uneasy.

‘Should I have staggered a bit?’

Everyone else used up their magic power and staggered, so standing perfectly fine was indeed a bit strange.

He wondered if he hadn’t cast the spell properly.

“Hmm. Hmm. I see.”

As Garcia held Lee Han’s wrist and nodded, Gaynando whispered to Yoner behind him.

“Hey. Don’t we need to save him?? What if he gets swallowed??”

“...The professor will hear everything, so be quiet, idiot.”

“!?”

Garcia let go of his wrist and said,

“After class, Lee Han, please stay for a moment.”

“Ah. Yes.”

* * *

After that, <Understanding Basic Magic> did not involve any special magic training.

Instead, Professor Garcia gave a stern lecture on the mindset of a mage.

“You must rest when you’ve used up your magic power. Especially when you’re still lacking in skill! Don’t get anxious about a lack of magic power. The amount of magic power will increase with training, and as you become more skilled, the consumption will decrease. Every year, there are freshmen who collapse from secretly practicing magic due to excessive enthusiasm. This can lead to serious injuries, so it’s absolutely forbidden. And students, I don’t swallow students.”

“S-Sorry.”

Gaynando trembled and apologized.

“Alright. That’s all for today’s lecture. Besides the mandatory courses, there are various elective courses being held around the school. Go and try them out to decide what you want to learn. If you’re unsure, feel free to come to my office and ask.”

“......”

“......”

The students exchanged glances.

-Can you go to the office of the half-troll professor for a one-on-one consultation?

-You’re crazy?

...It was a similar exchange of glances.

“Be careful, Wodanaz.”

“Right. The troll’s weakness is fire and acid.”

“There’s none of that here, though?”

“...Be careful, Wodanaz.”

Listening to the encouragement from the other students, Lee Han stood in front of Professor Garcia.

“Actually, I had already heard about you, Lee Han.”

“??”

Surprised by the unexpected words, Lee Han paused.

What is this?

“Would it be faster if I said I heard it from the principal?”

“...!”

Lee Han’s face stiffened when Garcia mentioned the crazy principal.

Garcia smiled and continued,

“Don’t worry. While the principal may seem like a lunatic at times, he’s fundamentally a good person.”

“...Huh??”

Does that even make sense?

However, Garcia ignored his reaction and continued.

“The principal reviews the freshmen every year and gives a brief report to the professors.”

The students didn’t know, but Principal Rich had a very sharp eye.

The freshmen entering the school were young men and women who had just become adults in the empire.

To prevent accidents, a sharp eye was necessary.

-Be careful with that dwarf. He looks like he’ll burn down the dormitory three times.

-Ha! That’s a half-demon. Professors who use divine magic, be cautious. Don’t let anyone get hurt unnecessarily.

-That’s a pickpocket from the <White Crow> guild, right? Professors, be careful. I doubt anyone will come to complain about being pickpocketed by a student, but I’ll put them in the underground prison.

Of course, some professors ignored the principal’s words.

Principal Rich had a sharp eye, but...

He also had a madman’s personality.

-That orc... looks like he’ll be good with a spear.

-He comes from a family of renowned swordsmen?

-Shut up! Tell him to use a spear.

-......

The principal said this about Lee Han:

-That guy has the potential of a great fool.

-...??

Great fool (大愚).

It meant extremely foolish.

Of course, the professors weren’t so naive as to take these words at face value.

There was a famous proverb in the eastern part of the empire:

-A great fool is a great sage.

A very foolish appearance can sometimes be a sign of great wisdom.

It was an old proverb that advised not to be deceived by appearances and to seek true wisdom.

So the principal’s words meant:

-It’s hard to tell now, but he has the potential to achieve great things in the future.

The reactions of the professors present were divided.

Some thought, ‘He must have some talent if he’s talking like that,’ while others wondered, ‘Did he get a drink from the Wodanaz family yesterday?’

And Professor Garcia now understood what the principal meant.

‘That’s what he meant.’

“Um... What did the principal say?”

Lee Han felt a bit uneasy.

Being favored by a professor had its advantages and disadvantages.

Being favored meant getting good grades and recommendations, which were significant advantages.

However...

If you were overly favored, it could lead to the following conversation:

-You. Your talent is too precious to waste.

-Thank you!

-Yes, you should come to the graduate school!

-What? I’ve never thought about it...

-If you go out and work now, the competition is fierce. If you go to graduate school and get a degree, you’ll have better job opportunities and can delve deeper into the field you love. Isn’t that great?

-It does sound good when you put it that way.

If you met a kind professor, it was better.

But if you met a sinister madman, it was the start of hell.

And Principal Rich was...

‘Someone I definitely don’t want to get close to.’

Lee Han wanted to graduate with good grades and build good connections, not get close to the skeletal principal and end up on a suspicious path of magic.

“Ah, sorry. I can’t repeat exactly what the principal said... Instead, I’ll tell you about your talent. The principal’s words were similar to this.”

“!”

Lee Han’s eyes widened at the troll professor’s words.

About his talent?

‘My talent... Was it really that significant to be mentioned separately?’

When he was with the Wodanaz family, Lee Han had never heard anything about his talent.

Of course, he had confirmed that he had magical abilities.

His father, the head of the Wodanaz family, had said:

-What about my talent?

-Hmm. Your magical talent is quite good.

-Thank you.

And that was it.

But now, suddenly hearing about his talent was a bit unsettling.

‘Is this not a good thing?’

Lee Han seriously considered whether he should start an alchemy workshop with Yoner.

“Lee Han’s magic power is very abundant.”

“...Huh? Is that all?”

Lee Han was bewildered.

It wasn’t about having a problem with casting spells or being unsuitable for light magic, but simply having a lot of magic power.

It was fortunate that it wasn’t a bad thing, but...

He wondered if it was necessary to mention it separately.

‘I thought everyone had different innate magic power, and it could be overcome with training and skill. Is it really that important to mention it separately?’

“Of course, that’s not all.”

“Ah... I see.”

“Lee Han’s magic power is really, really, extremely, very abundant.”

“...???”

“Really, really, crazily, extremely, very abundant.”

“Oh.”

Only then did Lee Han understand why Professor Garcia had called him separately and spoken so seriously.

* * *

After hearing the detailed explanation, Lee Han thought:

‘Is this a good thing?’

To cast magic, you needed magic power.

If you lacked magic power, you had to draw it from the surrounding environment, collect it with a magic circle, or use a magic stone containing magic power.

But if you had a lot of magic power, you didn’t need to do that.

As a mage, it was a very useful talent...

“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.”

“???”

However, Professor Garcia looked at Lee Han with a mix of sympathy and concern.

From his expression, Lee Han realized something was wrong.

“Isn’t having a lot of magic power a good thing?”

“Usually, it is. But Lee Han, you have an extremely, very large amount of magic power. Controlling a small amount of water in a bottle is easy, but controlling the vast ocean is very difficult, isn’t it?”

Lee Han’s expression hardened as he understood the seriousness of the situation.

So, now...

‘The difficulty of magic has skyrocketed?’

Today, not a single student had successfully cast the very simple spell ‘Luminescence.’

Magic was a difficult field.

Drawing out magic power, focusing, and binding it with willpower...

All of this required superhuman concentration.

If the amount of magic power was uncontrollably large, the already high difficulty would increase even more.

“Here, take this bracelet.”

A rough and heavy metal bracelet.

Professor Garcia put one on each of Lee Han’s wrists.

“It absorbs magic power. It will help.”

“!”

Lee Han was impressed that the magic school provided a solution right away.

“With this, there shouldn’t be any problems, right!”

“No. Even with this, it will still be very difficult.”

“......”

“Your magic power is so overwhelming that there’s nothing you can do. It’s better to use it than not.”

Professor Garcia was relatively kind and gentle but was a mage.

Mages never sugarcoat such matters.

“...Any other advice?”

“Hmm... Using a lot of magic to deplete your magic power might help. Lee Han, you can practice basic magic training on your own. You won’t run out of magic power, so there’s no risk of accidents.”

“...Thank you.”

While it could be seen as a special privilege, Lee Han wasn’t particularly happy.

* * *

‘Ah. Maybe I should take courses that don’t involve magic?’

Even though it was a magic school, not all courses involved casting spells.

Alchemy, for example, involved minimal use of magic.

After leaving the professor’s office, Lee Han’s mind was in turmoil.

‘I need to choose my path well from the first year and manage my grades to avoid regretting it at graduation...’

“You’re alive!”

At the bottom of the stairs, Gaynando and Yoner were waiting.

Gaynando seemed genuinely worried as he examined Lee Han from head to toe.

“What are you looking at?”

“I’m checking if the professor bit you.”

Lee Han looked at Gaynando with disbelief at Yoner’s words.

‘Well, with a skeletal principal, it’s not strange to be suspicious of professors.’

“What did the professor say?”

At Yoner’s curious question, Lee Han shrugged.

“He said I should practice a lot of magic.”

“Dare...!”

Gaynando was indignant on his behalf.

How dare a professor tell the scion of a great family to practice a lot of magic!

‘If he gets so angry at this, will he challenge the professor to a duel if he fails an exam and has to retake it?’

“My business is done. I want to try some elective courses before the next mandatory class. Do you have any in mind?”

“I’m obviously going to take alchemy.”

At Yoner’s words, Gaynando openly mocked him.

“Pfft. Alchemy is for servants and slaves!”

“......”

Lee Han could clearly see Yoner’s fist clenching!