4
“Huh, what’s that? Just such a level of flame….”
The guy who had been sneering shut his mouth.
As if sensing something strange.
“Why the core of flame? Wasn’t it supposed to depict the origin star?”
There is a core in a star.
I drew a different star, so the shape of the core was also different from the usual.
“I tried to depict the star in my own way.”
“Hah! What nonsense are you talking about?!”
It wasn’t an exclamation of admiration.
“Modifying the basic elemental magic of a 1st-rank element is not difficult. However, no one attempts such a thing!”
The guy reprimanded me as if I were foolish.
“No one can surpass this orthodox star in any way. Countless magicians in history have tried to create a new ‘origin star,’ only to end up in vain efforts…!”
“That’s a long story. It’s boring. Shouldn’t we start soon?”
The guy’s face turned red again.
“Please be careful not to get hurt!!”
Boom!
His flame flew towards me.
I also shot out my flame towards it.
The size of the fire, its grandeur.
At first glance, there was no comparison.
As it appeared, my flames would be engulfed and vanish in an instant within his flames.
However, strangely, I wasn’t worried.
It was an instinctive intuition.
The instinct that told me my star would never lose.
Just then, a message popped up.
＜The discernment of the victor is manifested!＞
-Win rate in a showdown between a high-level magician and a fire magic user: 100%
An absolute win rate where no variables could interfere.
At the same time,
The flames clashed.
Roar of flames!!!
It seemed like his eyes were about to burst, widening.
My flames tore through his flames mercilessly.
* * *
Hans.
A high-level magician who ascended to the 5th rank at the age of forty, graduating from the prestigious 4th academy.
However, that was not the end of his growth.
Hans knew well his own limits.
6th tier knew it was not their place to allow themselves.
There was no complaint.
Even as a 5th tier, one could receive the best treatment anywhere.
In that sense, being a duke in Ecclesia was the best occupation.
Respectable duke, excellent heirs, lavish treatment.
If there was one flaw, it was the duke’s third child, ‘Van.’
“A misfit compared to the excellent siblings of the duke.”
He was not just a simple misfit.
If the newspapers reporting Van’s past misdeeds were piled up, they would reach the ceiling and still remain.
Van was truly the lowest of the empire’s trash.
The worst part was that Van was an aspiring magician.
“A magician with mana insensitivity.”
No, even the mana insensitivity was not a big problem.
It wasn’t something he chose to be born with.
If he wasn’t going to become a magician, mana insensitivity was hardly an issue.
The problem was that Van didn’t know his place.
“You think you can redraw the Origin Star to oppose me? Something even the 8th-tier archmages dare not attempt?”
In truth, redrawing the Origin Star to manifest the basic elements was not that difficult.
It was truly the most fundamental of the fundamentals.
Any magician who understood elemental properties could draw their own star and manifest it in their own way.
However, it was just a playful prank.
No one, not even the Archmage, could surpass the established stars.
The reason being the stars of the existing elemental attributes were called ‘Stars of Origin.’
“Do you dare to challenge me with a star made so crudely? Even if you don’t understand the subject, there should be a limit.”
He resolved firmly to shut them up once and for all.
However, at the moment when the two flames collided, Hans could only widen his eyes as if about to be torn apart.
His flame was shattering into pieces.
“No, how?!”
It was clear what had happened.
The core of the star created by Hans had collapsed.
It was an event that could only occur if the opponent’s star was overwhelmingly fragile.
“That wretch claims his star is superior to the Star of Origin? Ridiculous!!”
Hans stammered.
“Well, it seems I made a mistake.”
“Are you refusing to admit the results?”
“N-no, it’s just that… Um, let me try one more time…”
Half lifted his chin.
An action that seemed incredibly arrogant.
Combined with a look that appeared as if carved by a god himself, it exuded a powerful sense of dominance.
“Fine. I will give you one more chance, especially. But, there are conditions.”
“…What is it?”
“If you lose this time, instead of being a mere demonstration instructor, be mine for a month.”
“…Be yours?”
Ban uttered words that ignited even more enthusiasm.
“I think it’s not a bad offer for you. The chance to serve someone like me in your mediocre life doesn’t come easily.”
“Shut up!!”
He unintentionally cursed, but he didn’t have the mind to care about such things.
‘That incident just now must have been a coincidence. There’s no way that useless kid could conceive a star surpassing the origin…!!’
However,
Swish!!
Another miracle happened.
“….”
Hans, dumbfounded, saw Ban raise the corner of his mouth.
“For the next month. I’ll be counting on you.”
And so, Hans became Ban’s subordinate.
* * *
‘…There was no need to go as far as becoming a subordinate.’
I broke into a cold sweat inwardly.
The original condition I set was ‘Follow my words entirely for a month.’
However, it came out as ‘Charisma of the Black Flame Dragon’ due to the transcendental translation.
“…Doesn’t matter. If it’s not like this, they wouldn’t easily cooperate.”
I let out a fake cough.
Hans stood beside me with a facial expression as if he had chewed on excrement.
A common type I often encountered on Earth.
The stubborn type who wouldn’t easily acknowledge others.
“I needed a wizard who would freely indulge in stuffing to study what I consider ‘learning magic.’ It worked out well.”
I gazed at the pile of basic magic textbooks like a mountain.
“When am I going to read all of this?”
Studying through conventional means would require at least a few years of burying myself in books.
“A trick is needed.”
I recalled the nature of the ‘Grand Practitioner.’
– Instinctively penetrates the essence of magic!
There was a method perfectly suited to this ability.
“Starting now, recite the basic theories corresponding to Rank 1 for me.”
“…Recite them?”
“Yeah, omit the unnecessary details and just talk about the essentials.”
I couldn’t ignore the existing theories.
Because my goal is to become a professor.
Whether I accept or reject, I need to know.
“With my Grand Practitioner ability, just hearing someone summarize it should be enough.”
Hans responded confidently, “Understood. I’ll recite it as you wish.”
Hans still didn’t acknowledge me, displaying an attitude that couldn’t accept what had just happened—the incident itself.
“…I’ll begin. First, the part about the attributes of star patterns. In white magic, there are elemental attributes, manipulation attributes, summoning attributes, and holy attributes.”
“Let’s skip over those common-sense parts.”
I was already aware of the information that came from the game settings.
“Each attribute has its own pattern for manifestation. Elemental magic, for example, is fundamentally based on the pattern of the seventeen geometry… Let me explain the first pattern….”
While listening to the explanation, another problem arose.
I didn’t understand the explanation.
No, to be precise, it bothered me.
Just like when I first saw the Origin Star.
“Can I ask something? Regarding the first geometric pattern, the convergence of triangles, is there a reason for setting the second angle to 45 degrees?”
“That’s the most efficient for mana acceleration….”
“After dampening the second angle, is there a reason for proportionally shortening the opposite side instead?”
“….”
Hans fell silent, looking like he had eaten a bitter pill.
It seemed like he didn’t grasp the meaning of my words.
“…Fine. Just continue with the explanation.”
“…The second pattern is….”
The explanation continued, and it started to get on my nerves.
Since pointing out each and every detail seemed endless, I decided to let it go.
Instead, I closed my eyes tightly.
“The fifth pattern utilizes the rotation of mana. The transformation of mana that began at the peak of the Tower of Omang…”
Within the sight of closed eyes,
a star appeared in the darkness.
I tried drawing the star as Hans described.
I didn’t like it.
This time, I tried drawing the star my own way.
First, I experimented with the star Hans had taught me, modifying it here and there.
It was more to my liking than before.
But it still wasn’t perfect.
This time, I drew the star completely in my own way.
“That’s it.”
I felt a sense of satisfaction involuntarily.
“Master? What are you doing?”
“Ignore me and continue reciting.”
“…Understood. After moving mana using the method of major transformation…”
The same thing repeated.
I listened to Hans’s words, drawing and erasing the star in my mind.
‘Why have magicians been drawing stars so inefficiently all this time?’
It was beyond comprehension.
‘It would be good to try implementing it directly.’
Since it was only a product of my imagination, I needed to confirm how it actually worked.
Luckily, there was a good demonstration assistant.
“Now, try implementing a star just as I instruct.”
“…As you instruct?”
Whether it was a blow to his pride or not, he twitched his eyebrows.
“Well, try drawing a star in this pattern.”
“What kind of bizarre pattern is this?”
“Just give it a try.”
Hans wrinkled his face in disapproval.
However, he obediently followed my instructions because of a prior agreement.
And then.
Poof!
“….”
Hans, who witnessed the magic he manifested, wore a vacant expression.
It was the same expression he had when he competed with my fire magic earlier.
To my eyes, a brilliant ‘light’ magic unfolded.
“W-What is this?”
“I need to go take a nap, so hurry. The next pattern is…”
He explained each pattern, and as time passed, Hans’s face changed even more strangely.
* * *
Marquis Huam walked through the mansion’s corridor, his face wrinkled with a deep impression.
It was because of what his ugly son had said not long ago.
-That day, I will present astonishment to father.
“Ha. Crazy fool.”
From Noble mtl dot com
A bitter laugh escaped.
Just thinking about it made his teeth grind.
‘Enough. This time, I will strip the family’s title and drive him away.’
Originally, he should have driven him away long ago.
Despite the hatred, he couldn’t let go of his son, and time passed like this.
Then, across the corridor, a familiar face appeared.
It was the magician Hans, hired privately by the marquis.
“I greet you, Marquis.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while.”
The marquis’s face blurred.
“I heard lately that half of the court bothers you. I apologize.”
However, Hans’s reaction was strange.
“…No, they don’t.”
“What are you talking about?”
“… It might sound unusual, but do you know how much you know about Confucius?”
It was a strange conversation.
“What do you mean?”
Hans showed an even stranger reaction.
A face full of confusion.
“Perhaps we haven’t understood Confucius properly.”