Chapter 13
Luminus Academy.
The continent's top educational institution, built near the Empire's capital, had already become a city and symbol in itself.
As difficult as it was to enter, the variety of jobs one could get after graduation was astonishingly large. It was a place where one could receive respect anywhere, and it was also a prestigious institution that most of the Empire's current officials had attended. There was a reason why nobles gritted their teeth to try to enter.
And they were going to enroll a mage from the Witch Association in such a place.
More precisely, they were enrolling the most talented person from Wyheim. The Witch Association or the Alliance didn't have much to do with it. It was just a coincidence that the most outstanding child among those who had just become adults was Ena's disciple, who belonged to both the Witch Association and the Alliance. It wasn't a story brought up specifically to torment her.
To begin with, various mage organizations had been enrolling young mages into Luminus Academy recently. It was similar to studying abroad with the intention of not staying confined in a well but traveling the outside world and forming various relationships, and it was also a trend. The only difference was that the Alliance had been doing this for a long time.
It was because of a contract made between the first Alliance leader and the academy's headmistress
There wasn't any big incident. The Alliance asked for help from the academy's headmistress, with whom they had a friendly relationship, to build the city of Wyheim. In return, the headmistress asked that if an excellent young mage appeared, they would enroll them in the academy.
As it wasn't a difficult request, the Alliance leader readily accepted.
This promise, which started as a request and expanded into a contract, had continued to the present day after a long time.
This was why the relationship between the academy and Wyheim was not so bad.
However, the current Alliance leader had been feeling a slight sense of debt to this friendship until recently. This was because for several years, no young mage outstanding enough to catch the eye had appeared to be enrolled in the academy. The only mages around were all middle-aged or elderly. They might look young on the outside, but inside they were old.
In this situation, Acel appeared like rain in a drought. Although he hadn't spoken to him directly, he had already confirmed how excellent the level of magic Acel used was at the exchange meeting between the Alliance and the Witch Association. The Alliance leader thought he was undoubtedly the most optimized talent for academy enrollment.
So he cast his vote, and Acel was chosen with an overwhelming margin.
It was a joyous occasion. The Alliance leader felt like dancing in his seat, but as the saying went, the position made the person. He continued the meeting while maintaining a solemn atmosphere.
This was the result.
"..."
Norium, the Alliance leader, sighed deeply as he faced Ena's blue glowing eyes.
"Senior, why are you doing this? This is a good opportunity for Acel as well."
It was a strange situation where an elderly mage called the girl-like Ena “senior”. But no one expressed surprise at this fact. Instead, they just swallowed hard or observed the current situation with interested eyes.
"Moreover, he will eventually leave Wyheim to wander the world. Don't you know how important it is for a mage to experience the outside world as early as possible?"
"That's for me to decide. Not the Alliance."
"...Haa. That's true, but..." Norium frowned as he muttered this.
Certainly, it was strange not to ask Ena, Acel's master, for her opinion about her disciple.
He asked with a bright expression, "Would it be alright to send him?"
"Are you trying to play with me?"
"This isn't working."
Norium threw away all the solemn atmosphere and returned to his usual self, jumping up from his seat. At this sight, those watching the confrontation between Ena and Norium let out expectant exclamations.
Both Ena and Norium were archmages who had reached the 8th rank. The two people, who were classified as asymmetric forces wherever they went, were now facing each other in opposition.
"No, Senior. Aren't you being too overprotective? Other mages give their disciples magic beast hunting as homework!"
"Do you think Acel needs something like that?"
"Hmm. That's not it, but... Ah, then let me ask the opposite. Do you have anything more to teach Acel?"
"A lot. I'm going to teach him lightning magic directly by his side."
"Don't you know that if you interfere too much, Acel won't be able to realize the uniqueness of magic? I believe you don't intend to limit your disciple's potential."
"...There's a lot more to teach besides that."
"What is there? From what I've seen, his circuits, core, and skill in handling magical power are all at a level similar to ours."
"...Anyway, there's a lot."
"Come on."
After a quite lengthy conversation, Norium shook his head with a tired expression and raised his finger.
At this simple gesture, the mages gulped. They might not fight to the death here, but there was a good possibility of a show of force. Conflicts of opinion between proud mages often escalated to physical confrontations.
The mages stirred in anticipation of that battle.
But their expectations were spectacularly off the mark. Instead of projecting magical power, Norium pointed at Ena and headed out of the conference room.
The faces of the mages keeping their seats turned stupid, and Ena's expression twisted.
Norium shouted loudly as he looked at this scene, "Wait right there! I'll go ask Acel directly!"
"...What?"
"In the end, the individual's will is the most important!"
Crack.
Norium brought down his outstretched finger vertically. A rift appeared in space following that gesture.
An 8th rank spatial mage. A monster who had mastered spatial magic, which required extreme difficulty and talent, to the limit. He threw his body into the rift and disappeared from the conference room. Ena bit her lip hard and threw herself beyond the shattered wall.
Rumble!!
White lightning split the sky above Wyheim.
"..."
"Shall we go eat?"
In the conference room where the archmages had disappeared, everyone nodded at the words of one mage, who had been sitting quietly.
"Let's do that."
"I know a good place. I'll guide you."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
That day, a drinking party of high-ranking mages broke out on the streets of Wyheim.
***
Crack!
The space next to where Acel was standing suddenly tore open. Acel was startled and unconsciously chanted a spell, stretching his hand out towards the opened space.
[Red Fire Fan]
An instantly completed spell. A flame that devoured everything and grew in size was shot in a fan shape.
At the sudden flames, those attending the party screamed and stepped back. Skilled mages narrowed their eyes sharply and drew up their magical power, and Irina, standing next to Acel, exhaled a large amount of smoke from her throat. The smoke immediately changed its form into hundreds of daggers.
"Huh?"
Just as she was about to shoot them through the rift. Irina felt a familiar trace of magical power from that torn space.
There was no need to think long. As far as she knew, there was only one mage who handled spatial magic and had such unpleasant magical power.
Irina sighed deeply and canceled her magic. The daggers that had returned to smoke entered the end of her pipe, and she inhaled the smoke sharply.
"Hmm."
At the same time, a face popped out from beyond the rift.
It was a face severely burned by fire. Part of his braided white beard was burned black, and his cheeks and chin were red-hot. When he opened his mouth, black smoke rose from beyond. Acel's eyes widened as he recognized the owner of this strange appearance.
"...Alliance Leader?"
"It's been a while, Acel. Ahem, cough... Your magic power is still considerable. If I hadn't put on spatial distortion, my head would have turned to ashes. Haha."
Norium walked through the rift with a kind smile.
With a snap of his fingers, his shabby appearance returned to that of a neat mage. He stroked his beard and looked down at Acel.
"Congratulations on becoming an adult. It's already been 8 years since you came here, hasn't it?"
"...That's right. Time flies," Acel answered with an awkward smile.
Three years ago. He had met the Alliance leader at an exchange meeting between the Witch Association and the Alliance, but this was the first time they were having a direct conversation. Considering the other party's position and ability, it was natural to be nervous just from having a conversation.
Norium asked, narrowing his eyes, "What rank are you currently?"
"6th rank."
"Huh, 6th rank after learning magic in earnest for 8 years. And you still haven't had any practical experience or enlightenment? You're a complete monster."
"It's thanks to having an exceptional master,” Acel said with a faint smile.
Norium, who had been conversing comfortably, reacted to the word “master” that came out of Acel's mouth.
"Ah, right. Acel, my boy."
"...Yes? What is it?"
"Would you like to enroll in Luminus Academy?"
"...The Academy?" Acel muttered this and glanced at Irina.
So this is what she meant by congratulating me on admission.
He turned away from Irina, who was puffing heavily on her pipe, and thought about Norium's proposal.
He knew well about Luminus Academy. He had seen it in books and had occasional conversations with mages who graduated from the academy. He could pride himself on having some knowledge.
However, the talk of enrollment was a different matter. He thought it was a matter of another world, but an unexpected opportunity had fallen into his hands.
It doesn't seem like it would be bad.
It wasn’t that he was tired of life in Wyheim. He had harbored no complaints during his stay here, and he valued the relationships he had built here. It felt more like home than the mountain village where he was born.
But he also felt the desire to leave Wyheim and wander outside the world.
Experience was as important to mages as it was to warriors. The uniqueness of one's imagery and magical power differed depending on what kind of life one has lived and what one pursued. It was the only commonality between aura and magical power, and this was rooted not in talent, but solely in life and ideology.
It wasn’t for nothing that mages often became mercenaries or wandering mages. Those who had some skill, were confident in their magic, and wanted to grow all left their cradle to walk the world. The growth limit of those who couldn't do this and settled for reality was significantly lower.
Acel was an unusual case. To be a 6th rank mage while just eating, sleeping, and casting magic in Wyheim. It was enough to make mages who had wandered the world foam at the mouth and have seizures.
A 6th rank mage was a talent welcomed anywhere. A guest who could manifest high-level magic, easily use mid-level magic, and produce low-level magic as naturally as breathing. Considering that the minimum requirement for the academy entrance exam was 4th rank, it was an overwhelmingly high level.
But maintaining this state makes it impossible to reach 7th rank.
From 7th rank onwards, it was the stage of not only having one's own unique magic system but also imbuing one's imagery directly into magic to give it uniqueness. The reason why Ena's white lightning constantly raged was due to the manifestation of this uniqueness. This was a level that could never be reached by just sitting in a corner and using magic.
Boom!!
Perhaps because he was thinking about Ena, the sound of lightning striking the top of the mansion was heard. Acel briefly looked up at the ceiling, then saw Norium's urgent expression and continued his thoughts.
I have no intention of staying at 6th rank. My goal is 8th rank, or even beyond.
Now that he had entered the world of magic and developed an endless interest, fun, and academic enthusiasm for it, Acel wanted to enter not only the 8th rank, which was the level of archmages but also the 9th rank that no one except those called “Great Sages” had reached. That was the ideal level that every mage dreamt of. It was the stepping stone to transcendence.
Although it still felt distant, there was nothing he couldn't reach if he climbed the stairs step by step. He wasn't sure about the 9th rank, but he felt he could reach the 8th rank if he worked hard for a few more years. Of course, the 7th rank came first, but Acel didn't pay much attention to the level right in front of him.
It wasn't arrogance. It was confidence. He believed in his talent, and it had never betrayed him. It was clearly a rank he could reach in 5 years through research alone, or within 2 years if he went outside. And this was just a rough estimate. It might even take less time.
He didn't even imagine it taking longer.
There was nothing more foolish than using one's brain for impossible things.
In the end, the cornerstone of everything starts with gaining experience.
The continuing thoughts reach their end.
Acel nodded and stared at Norium.
"Alright. I'll do it, enroll."
"Great! You've thought very well!"
He would have reached this thought eventually, anyway. Not satisfied with his current position, he would have left Wyheim in some form, whether as a mercenary or a labyrinth explorer, for growth. It just happened that the method became enrolling in the academy.
"What should I do?" Acel asked this, and Norium was about to answer.
"Acel!"
Crackle!!
White lightning struck next to Acel, and Ena appeared. She glared at Norium and ignited lightning in both hands.
"You damn... Did you put spatial distortion on the mansion?"
"Did I? Haha, I'm getting old and my memory isn't so good," Norium answered glibly while scratching his cheek.
Ena gritted her teeth and stepped forward one step as if to protect Acel.
An intense anger that was hard to see in Ena, who usually had little emotional expression, was expressed outwardly through her actions and magical power. Lightning mixed with the air, and Ena spoke in a growling voice, "Get lost. I'm done giving you leeway just because you're the Alliance leader."
"Alright. I'll withdraw then. I've got the answer I wanted, anyway."
"...What?"
At Norium's words, Ena turned sharply to look at Acel. Acel gulped at that fierce gaze. The sight of his angry master, which he was seeing for the first time, presented him with quite a bit of pressure.
"I'm leaving. And Acel, I'll let you know the entrance exam schedule later."
With those final words, Norium tore open space and hid his body beyond it. But Ena didn't even glance at him, instead looking at Acel and pulling his neck close.
"Ugh."
"..."
Their gazes met right in front. At a close distance where they could feel each other's breath. It was a distance that would normally make one's heart flutter with excitement, but Acel's heart was pounding with fear.
"Um... Master?"
"..."
"...Lady Ena?"
"...Come to my room tonight," Ena said this, then let go of Acel and trudged up to her room.
Acel stared at Ena's weak back, unable to even think about fixing his disheveled clothes.