Chapter 35

EP.35 It seems to work, doesn't it? (3)

The Basic Lecture Room for Mana Trade Studies.

The second class session.

The lecture room is bustling with students gathered to attend the class.

Unlike the public lecture held in the auditorium, this is a class that only students who had pre-registered could attend.

- Please let us attend that class too!

- We want to learn more about the basics!

A few professors had tried to attend the class as observers, but Aaron, the dean, had no intention of granting their requests. After all, they had their own classes to teach.

- Please be quiet.

- Or do I need to say something?

It was only after Roselle stepped in that the professors finally shut their mouths. Still, they seemed reluctant and left the room, drawing circuits to record the lecture.

Their reaction was, in a way, understandable.

Lania von Trias.

Her reputation had been soaring day by day.

There were journalists who wrote articles about her public lectures. There were wizards who were captivated by her classes. There were many of them.

"Two Archmages gave a standing ovation."

A single line from the article.

That one line carried significant meaning. Archmages are the pinnacle of their respective fields. For them to acknowledge her was an immense honor.

And those who had attended her class knew.

Even if the evaluation was less than perfect, it was not excessive.

Creak.

Finally, the door to the lecture room opened.

As if cold water had been poured over them, the noisy lecture room fell silent. No one spoke.

Tap.

The sound of her gray shoes tapping the floor echoed. The steady rhythm of her footsteps suddenly stopped.

"Ah."

The girl standing on the podium lightly stretched her neck.

After a brief pause, she began to speak.

"Hello, everyone."

Everyone's gaze turned to the front.

There stood a neatly dressed girl in a robe. Her narrow blue eyes swept over the students.

"No one is absent."

She put down the paper she had been holding.

The sound of the paper rustling lingered in the air.

"We will begin the second week of the Basic Mana Trade Studies class."

Without any further pleasantries, the class began.

As students rustled through their stationery, she started writing on the board.

- Basic Mana Trade Studies, Week 2.

- Topic: Schematization of Constraints.

The topic written on the board.

Pointing to it, she continued.

"The schematization of 'Constraints' used in transactions with stars. This is something you might have heard in Professor Roselle's class."

The students nodded.

Schematizing constraints and applying them to circuits.

A method to manifest spells beyond one's own skill level.

This was what Roselle had covered in class two days ago. While they had attended the class, few had truly understood the content. They had merely acknowledged its existence.

"What I will cover today is that."

Click, she snapped her fingers.

The papers on the podium were scattered by the wind. The movement of the papers floating in the air was steady.

Rustle.

The papers settled at each seat.

The students stared blankly at the worksheets in front of them.

"Please fill them out as you listen to the class."

It was a stack of about a dozen worksheets.

Each sentence had blanks to be filled in.

"Uh..."

Someone who saw it let out a groan.

"Ugh."

The groan was contagious.

The students who received the worksheets either tilted their heads in confusion or fidgeted with their pens.

"Professor?"

Finally, someone raised their hand to ask a question.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Is this... spell language?"

The question was justified.

Spell language is not a conventional language. It is used when reciting spells or recording circuits.

'But, did she embed it in the worksheets?'

They could read it.

However, the process of reading it was already a struggle. Desperately hoping she had given them the wrong worksheets, the students looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Yes, it is spell language."

But the professor standing in front of them only tilted her head cutely.

"Is there a problem?"

"Yes, yes?"

"I prepared these, thinking that you, who study Mana Trade and the theory of the Balance, would be able to handle them."

"Well, that's..."

"The transactions of the Balance ultimately proceed through spell language, don't they? Getting familiar with it in advance wouldn't be bad, would it?"

She asked calmly.

"Would it?"

It was a valid point.

It was a valid point, but...

"If there are no more questions, I will proceed with the class."

The students only stared at their worksheets with blank faces.

2.

Lac, the son of the Northern Duke.

People have a few misconceptions about him, who enjoys drinking black water, fascinated by the new things of the capital.

Lac was not stupid at all.

He might seem a bit lacking in some areas, but he was a student who had passed the written exam with top scores.

That's right.

Lac might be lacking, but he wasn't stupid.

Lac had never thought of himself as stupid.

'Ugh, ugh...'

But now.

'What is all this?'

Lac was seriously considering whether he might be stupid.

"By doing this, by doing this, it will be like this."

The woman standing on the podium.

Professor Lania was saying something.

"If you do this, it will be like this."

To make it easier to fill out the worksheets, she was even mixing in spell language. Despite her meticulous consideration, Lac couldn't even fill out one page of the worksheet.

'What exactly is she saying...?'

He didn't understand.

It sounded like static noise.

"It means this. Do you understand?"

Suddenly, their eyes met.

She looked at Lac. Reluctantly, Lac nodded. He hadn't understood, but he felt he should say he did.

'...Am I the only one?'

Lac glanced sideways.

Most of the students looked dazed, showing similar reactions. When their eyes met, they only nodded vigorously.

However, no one was sleeping or ignoring the class.

"Then, I will show you an example."

It was because of this.

"A type of constraint, symbolically represented as ■■, when schematized."

A circuit appeared in the air.

An advanced spell, Chain-explosion.

A spell that consumed a tremendous amount of mana, yet the professor who cast it used only a tiny amount.

A spell that shouldn't have been activated.

"Like this, you can manifest a spell with a small amount of mana."

She drew a split curve into the circuit.

The moment it was absorbed, the circuit glowed, and the spell was manifested. The resulting explosion was insignificant.

Bang!

It was just a small explosion, about half a dozen times.

"Of course, it is reduced due to the strong constraints... but the important point is that it can still be manifested."

The split curve she had drawn in the circuit.

She took it out and showed it to the students.

"This is the basic of constraints, ■■."

Someone raised their hand.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Professor, could you... one more time?"

"Yes, ■■."

"Could you... just once, in regular language...?"

Professor Lania looked puzzled.

"Did you not hear it clearly?"

"No, I heard it, but..."

"Then you can write it down, can't you?"

"I just wanted to hear the pronunciation... once."

She seemed to think it was a strange question.

After a moment, she reluctantly said,

"Reduction."

Only then did the scratching of pens fill the room.

Reduction.

Ah, an exclamation of realization escaped from the students.

Lac also managed to fill in one more blank space.

'It's difficult. Too difficult... '

Lac groaned inwardly.

It was difficult. It was hard to understand. Still, he couldn't break his concentration, thanks to the examples she casually threw out.

Slowly.

The examples she provided were beautifully clear.

Watching those perfect examples, it felt as if enlightenment was just within reach. Just looking at them was helpful.

If it were purely difficult and incomprehensible, it would be the professor's fault. But this class was different.

It was difficult. Maddeningly difficult.

But it clearly left room for understanding.

In fact, the ten words Lac had filled in on the worksheet. Just understanding those made him feel he could draw a few constraint circuits.

He tried sketching the shape in the corner of the paper.

As expected, the circuit glowed, indicating success.

'If I understand a little more...'

It was a lesson that would become his bones and flesh.

It was a unique learning experience, and every time he gained insight, his heart raced.

So, he couldn't break his concentration.

Of course, even with concentration, it was still hard to understand.

'So, was I a fool...?'

Regardless of what Lac thought, the class continued. As the class neared its end,

"For the remaining 10 minutes, you can review."

With a clap, she stepped down from the podium. She didn't leave the lecture room. Her steps headed towards where the students were seated.

It seemed she intended to glance at the worksheets as she walked among the students.

"Ah."

And Lac was in the front row.

Professor Lania, standing in front of him, looked down at his worksheet. Her eyes narrowed.

"Lac, student?"

"Yes, yes."

"Did you not attend the class?"

"I, I did."

Lac answered with a trembling voice.

Was it like a rabbit standing in front of snow mountain hunters? Lac felt he could now understand the feelings of the animals he had hunted.

'Scary!'

Lac screamed inwardly.

"But why are there so many blanks?"

"I, I couldn't... understand."

"Hmm..."

She stroked her chin.

Then she glanced at the worksheet of the student next to Lac. It was also full of blanks.

"Hmm."

She let out a short groan.

It seemed she sensed something was off. After a moment, she looked up at the students.

"Perhaps, the spell language... was hard to hear?"

At this, everyone nodded vigorously. To be more precise, it wasn't that they couldn't hear it, but that they couldn't understand it even when they did... but in the end, it was the same thing.

In response to the students' reactions,

Professor Lania placed her hand on her chin and pondered. Then her gaze turned to the board.

The board only had the topic written on it.

"Ah."

A short exclamation, as if she had realized something.

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to writing on the board."

She returned to the podium, holding a worksheet in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other.

"I'll write it down, so those who couldn't hear can check it slowly."

The answers quickly filled the board.

Without hesitation, the board was filled from one end to the other with characters.

And.

- Ding.

The bell signaling the end of the class rang.

"We will conclude the second week of the Basic Mana Trade Studies class. See you next time."

She lightly nodded.

Then she shook the worksheet in her hand.

"Those who couldn't fill it out, try to do so by the next class. It will be very helpful."

With those final words, she left the room.

Her steps were still light. Creak, thud, the hollow sound of the door closing echoed in the lecture room.

And.

"Move, move!"

"The board!"

"I can't see, move!"

Students rushed to the front row.

They eagerly scanned the words on the board, comparing them with their worksheets.

"Damn."

Someone muttered.

"All of this is spell language..."

It was a statement that summed up everyone's thoughts.

3.

"You messed up."

"What?"

"You really messed up, Lania."

"What do you mean?"

"Your class, this unworthy disciple... "

I tilted my head.

"I thought I did well?"

"Where have you ever seen a professor teach in spell language? I'm really curious about your thought process... "

"But Master did it?"

"What?"

"Master said to teach using experience."

I pointed to the worksheet.

"This is similar to the worksheet Master gave me when I was thirteen. He told me to solve it."

"Oh, that's right."

"While solving it, I understood, so I prepared it... "

I had even written interpretations.

I had written interpretations on the last page, so if they looked and solved it, it wouldn't be too difficult.

"I have sinned... "

"What?"

Master hit his forehead and sighed deeply.

"From tomorrow, let's go through it step by step."

"Ah, yes... "

For some reason, Master looked very exhausted.

'Strange.'

I thought it worked.

Author's Note (Author's Postscript)

I thought of a very cool professor who declared they would teach a sociology exam in English...