Chapter 29 - Coming of Age Ceremony (1)

Several weeks had passed since Acel returned to Wyheim. During that time, he spent his days researching—improving spells stolen from scrolls, using them directly, or revising them into magic with completely different effects.

There were results. He succeeded in creating several spells that required continuous observation, like the Lightning Flower Resonance spell he had created himself. However, there were still many shortcomings for practical use. While it wouldn't be impossible to force them to work, there was no reason to use these spells over other existing magic.

Still, it's not bad if I think of it as trial and error.

Acel rested his chin on his hand while creating a small lightning streak above it. The elongated lightning drew various geometric patterns in the air following his will. He manipulated magical power as if solving a Rubik's cube and looked at two letters casually thrown on the desk.

One was from the academy. It contained information about the entrance ceremony date and which dormitory he was assigned to.

Uniquely, Luminus Academy held its entrance ceremony in the form of a banquet. It was meant to allow not only new students but also current students to participate, fostering friendships and exchanges. It wasn't bad, but for Acel who preferred a calm atmosphere, it was slightly off-putting.

Still, he wasn't the type who couldn't enjoy such places, so it didn't bother him much.

The problem was the attention and interest he would receive as Ena's disciple now that his academy admission was confirmed, but this was an issue time would solve. He could thoroughly crush those who picked fights, and be kind to those who treated him well. As long as he didn't provoke anyone first, there shouldn't be any issues.

The dormitory is Weizel, huh?

Academy dormitories were named after heroes who greatly contributed to the Empire. Among them, Weizel was where top-performing students stayed. It seemed the duel with Fernan wasn't meaningless.

"Hmm."

Acel leaned back in his chair and turned his attention to the other remaining letter.

A letter with a large Witch Association seal on the envelope. Without even looking, it was clearly from the Witch Association. The contents were related to the coming of age ceremony.

They had held a party at the mansion to celebrate him becoming an adult. But that was just a simple banquet, not an officially held event. The Witch Association had a separate coming of age ceremony.

An event held just before spring every year. Last year, a total of two mages had their coming of age ceremony, but this year it was only Acel. Given that the Witch Association didn't have many young mages to begin with, there couldn't be many protagonists for the event.

It's in just two days.

There wasn't much time left until the event. Since it was just a simple congratulatory banquet, there wasn't much to prepare, but he thought he should at least have a proper formal outfit to wear. Although all the clothes he owned were high-quality, there weren't many outfits suave enough to wear to a party.

It seemed best to move right away while he was thinking about it. Acel put on the coat he had casually thrown aside, told Haley he was going out for a bit, and came out to the street. The allowance he received weekly from Ena was quite substantial, so there was no shortage of funds for buying clothes. He visited a store he frequented, bought a suitable formal outfit, and returned.

***

The day of the coming of age ceremony dawned. Since the event started in the afternoon, there was quite a bit of free time in the morning. However, he couldn't just wander around as he pleased, and had to have makeup applied by various maids in the banquet hall where the event was taking place.

Maids employed by the Witch Association. As they oversaw the entire banquet, their duties were very diverse. This included preparing the protagonist of the banquet. Perhaps because of this, their touch was very delicate and careful. It was as if they were handling a crafted jewel.

Although it was appreciated, it was also uncomfortable for Acel. Having lived his whole life without applying anything to his face, suddenly having various things applied thickly made him feel not just uncomfortable but almost suffocated.

"Is all this really necessary?"

"Of course it is! If the protagonist of the event goes out raw, it's the same as expressing with your whole body that you don't want to participate in the event."

Hearing that, Acel had no choice. He sighed deeply and waited quietly until the makeup was finished.

Fortunately, the maids released Acel after about an hour.

They couldn't hide their admiration for the work they had created themselves.

"Wow..."

"Since the base is good-looking, it looks great even with just a rough application."

Acel slightly bowed his head towards the maids who were moving their eyes as if appraising him while standing in place, then left the makeup room. A brilliantly sparkling corridor welcomed him, and Acel moved his steps towards his waiting room.

"Oh, it's Acel."

On the way, he met Bell who had transformed into a cat. She was purring while sitting on the window, then slightly opened one eye when she sensed Acel's presence. Acel bowed his head towards her.

"Hello."

"Yes, yes. Come here and pet me a bit since we've met," Bell said, raising her hindquarters. 

Acel smiled bitterly and patted her behind.

When in human form, she wrapped her whole body tightly, but when she transformed into a cat or dog like this, she enjoyed skinship as if she had become a different person. 

Is it because the sensations are different, or does her way of thinking change to be like an animal's? 

Having never used transformation spells, he couldn't know.

"Purr..."

Bell stretched out comfortably, making a pleased sound as Acel scratched her head and behind simultaneously.

"What were you doing here?"

"I was just sleeping. Gotta store up energy before the coming of age ceremony starts."

"Couldn't you sleep in your room?"

"It feels better to sleep in the sunlight as a cat," Bell said, batting away Acel's hand with her paw and stretching. 

She yawned once, then turned to look at Acel with a grin.

"By the way Acel, have you seen Ena?"

"...No, I haven't seen her yet."

It was tradition for the master to attend the Witch Association's coming of age ceremony together. Therefore, Ena had also arrived at the banquet hall early like Acel and was receiving makeup from the maids. While Acel had few things to apply and short hair that was easy to style, it wasn't the same for Ena. As a woman, not only did her makeup take longer, but her long hair also needed to be carefully styled.

So the overall time required was inevitably longer than Acel's. As a result, he hadn't properly seen Ena's face yet since arriving at the venue.

"I see..."

Bell grinned at Acel's answer and jumped onto his shoulder. 

She whispered in his ear, "Don't fall in love when you see her. And absolutely don't look at a certain mole~"

"...Huh?"

"Just some advice."

Bell giggled as she came down to the floor. Acel watched her meowing as she walked away with a dumbfounded expression, then shook his head and entered the waiting room.

The waiting room had a moderately sized bed and sofa placed in it. They probably prepared it so he could take a short nap or read a book before the coming of age ceremony started. Since he wasn't particularly tired, he plopped down on the sofa and checked the clock.

10 AM. There were still about 2 hours left until the banquet started. Acel pondered what to do during this short time, then decided to just think about magic for a while. To organize the results he had gained through recent research, he closed his eyes and recalled spell formulas and magical power.

A few spell formulas stolen from the scroll shop. Among them, there were quite a number that could be used immediately, but Acel wasn't satisfied with just that. He set a goal of revising the stolen spell formulas and recreating them as lightning or fire formulas.

His top priority was to incorporate interception formulas into lightning formulas full of attack magic to create remote defensive magic. However, this was an achievement that required further study on the autonomy of magic and distribution of magical power, so it was difficult to expect significant results immediately. So, apart from what he considered most important, he was still in the process of taking steps steadily.

So he started researching his second priority first. Among the formulas engraved on scrolls, there were formulas Acel hadn't used yet. Magic that the Witch Association didn't bother to handle due to the specificity of its circuits, despite not being unique magic.

[Ice]

Crack!

As he uttered this, an ice spike bloomed above Acel's hand. The ice, dripping with cold, rotated and scattered ice fragments around.

Low-level ice formula magic.

Ice.

Magic that created ice.

Acel succeeded in slightly adjusting that formula to shape it into a spike form. He had gone beyond just using the formula he had seen to revising it. It was such an unbelievable feat that if an ice mage saw it, they would foam at the mouth and charge at him, but Acel's face was full of dissatisfaction.

Ice formulas accumulate cold in the circuit every time magic is used.

Ice magic, created by completely transforming water magic among the elemental magics composed of fire, water, wind, and earth. Perhaps because of this, unlike water magic which could be used just by using it, ice magic had the characteristic of freezing the circuit every time the formula was manifested.

It was an advantage that the power of the magic increased as cold accumulated. However, the moment it exceeded the critical point, the circuit froze and shattered as it was, usually resulting in instant death, or at best, becoming a body that could never use magic again.

The same went for Acel. He felt his circuit and body temperature cool slightly with the manifestation of magic and twitched the corner of his mouth.

There was only one way to erase the cold from the circuit. To spend time without using magic, allowing the accumulated cold in the circuit to melt naturally. There was no other way to deal with the cold.

Acel had been pondering over this for the past few days.

The answer he reached.

Manifesting fire-natured magical power and ice-natured magical power simultaneously to offset the cold.

By doing this, it would be possible to melt the cold that accumulated every time an ice formula was used with the magical power of fire magic. It would also be possible to manifest magic with contradictory properties, like cold fire or hot ice.

It wasn't an easy task. Mixing magical powers standing at opposite extremes. One wrong move and his body could explode. With his current lack of related knowledge, he was reluctant to attempt it recklessly right now.

But he had no intention of giving up. Acel believed in his talent and had no intention of abandoning his thirst for knowledge about magic. It was a level he could surely reach someday through repeated research and accumulated experience. That was why he was entering the academy. It was the only place where he could master all kinds of knowledge.

Just as Acel was thinking this, someone knocked on the door of the waiting room.

“Acel, can I come in?”

It was Ena's voice. Acel jumped up from his seat and opened the door himself.

"Master, you're here..." He said this in a welcoming voice, but trailed off when he saw Ena's appearance.

The Ena who usually walked around in simple attire was not there.

Ena was always beautiful. But with makeup, styled hair, and this outfit, even Acel, who was used to her appearance, couldn't close his mouth. At that moment, remembering Bell's words not to look at the mole, he unconsciously glanced at the mole on Ena's chest.

"...Your eyes look strange, Acel."

Ena noticed that Acel's gaze lingered a bit too long on her chest, and covered her chest with her hand while speaking in a shy voice.