Chapter 46

EP.46 Enlightenment and Growth (2)

Mana Trade Studies, Basic Lecture Hall.

The bell signaling the hour rings inside the lecture hall.

-Ding, Dong.

The clear sound of the bell.

When the bell had rung about three times.

-Creak.

The door to the lecture hall opened. The moment the door opened, the atmosphere inside the lecture hall became heavy.

“...”

Students who were chatting fell silent. Those who were chatting turned around and straightened their posture. The sound of pens being taken out and pages being turned could be heard for a while.

After a short while.

Complete silence eventually settled in.

Only then did Professor Roselle, who had been standing at the door, enter the lecture hall.

Tap.

The low sound of her heels.

Standing on the podium with a steady pace, she scanned the lecture hall. As usual, she did not call the roll.

“Everyone’s here.”

She only uttered a brief word.

Pushing up her glasses, Professor Roselle narrowed her eyes. The students in the front row, who met her blue gaze, shuddered and trembled.

“I will begin the class.”

She did not engage in any small talk.

The class began smoothly and calmly.

“Last time, we discussed the manifestation of higher-level spells through constraints.”

She did not start with a sudden rush.

Like ripples, Roselle briefly summarized the content of the previous class. It was not difficult to follow the flow.

It was something they had learned before and reviewed through assignments. Understanding it was easy.

Riding the calm ripples, the students prepared.

“...That’s all for the previous content.”

Roselle, having finished the review, stood in front of the blackboard.

She wrote a sentence on the blackboard.

“Today’s lesson is about the relationship between circuits and stars. This is one of the most important topics in trade studies.”

The relationship between mana and stars.

Roselle looked at the students after writing a period at the end of the sentence.

“I will begin.”

The calm ripples began to surge.

2.

Roselle’s class flows as one.

“In most circuits, you can find circuits designed to stabilize spells.”

The flow is always the same.

Students who have attended Roselle’s classes for a month understand how this flow continues.

“Let’s look at an example.”

Starting low.

“It could be a circle surrounding the circuit, or a pattern engraved at the center of the circuit. The purpose is stabilization, but the forms vary.”

It rises sharply.

“Today, I will explain the principles behind the circuits that stabilize these spells. I will show you an example.”

Roselle flicked her finger.

Soon, several circuits floated in the air. Each one contained a mid-to-high-level spell.

Pointing to them, Roselle said,

“You have memorized these. Most mages memorize circuits. They do not pay attention to how they are drawn or what each line means.”

The circuits disassembled in the air.

What remained were the circuits that stabilized each spell.

“Look.”

Roselle brought over a circuit with a diagonal shape.

“This mid-to-high-level spell is ‘Mana Explosion.’ Most explosive spells remain at the high level. However, Mana Explosion is a mid-to-high-level spell. Why is that?”

A student, Mack, raised his hand.

Roselle gestured, and he spoke.

“Because it has less power than high-level spells.”

“Why does it have less power?”

“Because it uses less mana.”

“Then, what is the advantage of this spell compared to high-level spells?”

“Well, a more stable... explosion is possible.”

Roselle nodded.

“Yes, mid-to-high-level spells are used more frequently than high-level spells. The main reason is that, while they have less power, they can be manifested more stably.”

The disassembled circuits aligned in the air.

The circuits next to the Mana Explosion circuit had a consistent feature. A feature that was not noticeable when memorizing them.

From top to bottom.

From bottom to right, curved circuits.

Pointing to the circuit, Roselle said,

“These circuits are for Mana Explosion, Chain Lightning, and Flame Storm. The common feature of these spells is the same as what Mack mentioned.”

They have less power than high-level spells but can be manifested more stably.

“Is this a coincidence?”

Everyone shook their heads.

“There is a connection between these common features and the stars.”

Roselle pointed to the circuit.

“This shape, curving from top to bottom, doesn’t it look familiar?”

Someone sighed, “Ah.”

The first to notice was Resty. Resty looked at the study sheet on his desk.

“...Reduction.”

A type of constraint in the process of trading with stars.

Hearing his mutter, Roselle nodded.

“Yes, this is the circuit for Reduction, a constraint in the process of trading with stars.”

Next, Roselle pointed to the circuit curving from bottom to right.

“This is the circuit for Certain, a constraint that limits spells to one direction.”

Certain and Reduction.

These perfectly matched the characteristics of these spells. They had less power and a more limited range compared to typical spells.

At that point, the students realized something.

The realization was not clear. It was a vague intuition.

A realization that would scatter if not organized.

“By applying constraints, the power is reduced. In exchange, it allows the use of higher-level spells.”

Roselle summarized it once.

She did not let it scatter.

“That’s not enough. Another constraint is applied. It limits a wide-ranging spell to one direction. In exchange, it returns some of the lost spell power.”

Tap.

“Two constraints have been applied. These constraints are connected, forming a new circuit with a unique shape.”

Roselle touched the circuit.

“Constraints are negative. When negative and negative are multiplied, the result is positive. I will explain this in more detail later...”

She named the circuit.

“The benefit derived from constraints, the circuit formed by these two connected constraints, is called Stability.”

Roselle nodded briefly.

“Yes, these are the circuits you often refer to as stabilizing circuits for spells.”

What they thought they already knew was turned upside down.

*

Stability.

The word changed the students’ expressions.

Stabilizing circuits for spells are the most basic. The first circuits learned when engraving circuits are those for stabilization.

They had drawn these circuits many times.

Even if not up to mid-to-high-level spells, students remembered the stabilizing circuits used in mid-to-low-level spells.

They recalled the circuits in their minds.

With their eyes, they examined the patterns of the constraint circuits from the previous class.

They matched.

“Ah.”

Someone sighed.

The sigh was contagious.

‘What we’ve been using all this time.’

Without much thought, just memorized.

‘All of them were constraints used in trading with stars?’

When the vague realization became clear, it was called enlightenment.

Enlightenment comes suddenly.

Sudden, yet not unfamiliar.

“Look at the circuits you have memorized, or the circuits you learned to stabilize spells.”

It is not just a realization formed by today’s new knowledge.

“Look at the constraint circuits we covered in the previous class. Can you see them now?”

Where does this enlightenment come from?

“What you have always dealt with ultimately comes from the process of trading with stars.”

It comes from what they took for granted.

Enlightenment comes from what they were confident they knew.

“In this way, stars are connected to the most basic things. What you take for granted, what you haven’t thought deeply about, what is widely known and used.”

Roselle paused briefly before speaking.

“The stars are embedded in the most basic things.”

The high flow returned downward. With the calming ripples, a brief respite was given.

The students moved their pens.

They recorded the enlightenment they had just gained in writing.

Scratch, scratch.

For a while, only the sound of pens on paper could be heard. However, not everyone was holding a pen. There was someone who was not holding a pen.

She blinked.

“...”

She was silent.

“...Ah.”

She slightly