Academy’s Genius Mage

Ian walked towards the reading room with a book in hand.

Even as he approached closely, she continued reading her book without any hint of distraction. It felt as though an isolation spell had been cast around her.

“Senior!”

Ian called out.

Isera lifted her head. She seemed quite upset.

“I’ve finished sorting everything out. I was a bit rattled by something, so I wasn’t myself. I’m sorry about that.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s the librarians here who are working hard. If you really want to apologize, maybe direct it to them.”

“Understood. But, senior, there’s something I want to ask you. Do you have a moment?”

Isera hesitated briefly, staring intently at Ian.

In situations like this, it was obvious what guys wanted to ask. Something along the lines of if you’re free, or what you’re doing on the weekend.

He didn’t deviate much from the expectation.

However, Isera couldn’t help but glance repeatedly at the book Ian was holding.

“Just so there’s no misunderstanding—it’s not personal. There’s something in the book that caught me.”

“Is that so?”

“I’d feel a bit awkward approaching the professor about it.”

Isera slightly tilted her head to the right, her soft hair cascading over one shoulder.

“What is it?”

“I wanted to ask you about the interpretation of an ancient script aphorism.”

Ian was fortunate.

Isera had a keen interest in everything related to the ancient past.

“Sit down.”

She allowed him to sit across from her.

Ian opened the book, pointing with his finger at a passage concerning a Lightning Spell aphorism.

“This is… a Lightning Spell?”

“Yes. Is there any room to interpret this aphorism differently?”

“Don’t beat around the bush, just get to the point.”

On receiving her blunt remark, Ian did just that.

“What I was taught and what’s in the book is interpreted as: ‘The mana that starts at the source of power must move like a wave at the end of the conduit.'”

“And?”

“But could we change ‘end of the conduit’ to ‘cliff’ and ‘wave’ to ‘waterfall’?”

For a moment, Isera’s eyes sparkled.

Isera rested her chin on her hand, not taking her eyes off the book for a long time.

“How did you think it could be changed like that?”

“Just by reading, it felt more natural that way. I would need to verify it, but I wanted to get your opinion first.”

“The meanings of the words are similar, but considering the directionality of the aphorism itself…”

“I understand. End and wave imply force moving horizontally. But cliff and waterfall imply force moving vertically. The direction of force application is clearly different.”

“In that case, the formulation would change slightly.”

“Is it possible?”

“Are you asking me to create the formulation?”

Ian shook his head vehemently in denial.

“Not that, but rather, I want to try making it together since I’m a freshman and don’t know much. It’s like saying… I need your supervision.”

When modifying a spell’s formulation, it’s essential to have a supervisor. A sudden surge in magic could endanger many if things go awry.

Of course, transforming the formulation of basic spells like lightning doesn’t require a supervisor.

However, Ian emphasized the senior-junior relationship to seek her help.

With a sigh, Isera rose from her seat.

“Follow me.”

Isera walked down the long hallway without saying a word. She just moved along calmly.

After walking for a few minutes along a stretch of red carpet, they arrived at a spacious area.

It was a completely empty place, without a single decoration.

“Do you know where this is?”

“No, I don’t.”

“It’s the magic training room. It’s a vital spot for the students of the Department of Magic. When you gain new insights from reading, you can test them here before they fade away.”

Ian nodded and examined the surroundings.

The floor was made of a smooth, mirror-like material. The walls, too. Although they didn’t exactly reflect objects like a mirror, they looked immensely solid.

‘With a setup like this, it should withstand most magic.’

Casting a spell can be dangerous in many ways.

This was a great library.

Most of the stored books and materials were made of paper. Though protective magic was cast on them, using magic in such a place posed risks.

Therefore, the magic training room was constructed from the highest-grade anti-magic materials.

A wand for concentrating mana was placed on one side, along with a crystal orb for better focus.

Other magical tools captured Ian’s attention.

Vroom!

Ian turned his gaze back toward Isera.

She was raising her hand, manipulating mana.

“Mana that originates from the source of power should move like a waterfall over the cliff of the meridian.”

The aphorism Ian had briefly explained earlier flowed out in Isera’s beautiful tone.

“There is no right answer in magic. However, low-level or widely used spells can become habitual over long years and are then treated like formulas. Just like the Lightning Spell you mentioned.”

Isera’s hand swept through the air. The runic magic had begun.

Ian was utterly astonished.

‘This person… completed the spell without any prior structuring?’

It was a moment when the reputation of being the genius of the Department of Magic could be felt in every fiber of one’s being.

The pure mana embedded in Isera’s circle flowed along the meridian.

And as taught by the aphorism, she handled the flow like a waterfall rather than a wave. A force ceaselessly falling downward, carving into the ground.

‘In that case, no one would doubt it because it’s a spell of such a low level that doesn’t warrant questioning. However, there are no eternal laws. And moments when the correct answer turns into prejudice often stem from very trivial and coincidental causes.’

Crackle!

Electric currents formed at the tip of Isera’s finger.

Blue sparks began to scatter in all directions.

Clenching her hand tightly, she embraced the current.

Soon, Isera’s body, imbued with magnificent power, glowed entirely in blue. Her long hair swayed as she closed her eyes.

‘Like this.’

Even though Ian was not electrocuted, he felt his hair stand on end, with goosebumps trailing across his skin.

『Lightning.』

Zap!

Boom!

With a tremendous roar, blue currents burst forth.

Strong currents, like roots of an ancient tree, spread in all directions, relentlessly striking the floor and the walls.

Crash!

Boom!

The overwhelming power left Ian speechless.

It wasn’t just that the power had increased.

Ordinary lightning spells would extend horizontally and electrocute the target. However, this spell produced shockwaves that seemed to pierce downwards from the sky.

It was a tremendous spell that shattered existing laws.

“Hoo.”

Isera opened her eyes. Then she opened her hand, which had just expelled the current, and gazed intently at it.

“As hard as it is to admit, it does seem like your interpretation was more accurate, don’t you think?”

“Indeed.”

Thus, the power of the glasses was proven.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, senior, I was able to find the structure easily.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Pardon?”

“You discovered a new way to redefine the Lightning Spell. You understand what this means, right?”

In other words, why wasn’t he overjoyed and ecstatic?

“I’ll think about that slowly. After all, I still have four years until graduation.”

Ian feigned innocence like a clueless freshman and smiled brightly.

* * *

Late at night when everyone was asleep.

The door of dormitory room 307 in Building A opened.

Ian expected the lights to be out, but the inside was brightly lit. Milo was adjusting some equipment, and Edel was tending to herbs.

“Ian! This is incredible. Just like you said, using the method, the power of the direct Lightning Spell really weakened!”

“So it didn’t fully work, huh?”

“It worked a little, just a little bit.”

Ian nodded, having anticipated this result.

“That’s because the distillation wasn’t perfect. There’s a limit when just boiling.”

“Then what should we do? Will it affect potion-making?”

“Not to that extent. We can work on improving the setup slowly, so don’t exhaust yourself. We have a long way to go.”

With just those words, Ian seemed grand to his two roommates. How could a recluse of ten years be such a big-hearted person?

“It doesn’t seem like the purpose is merely to enhance potion efficacy.”

“Let’s take it slow.”

Leaving behind a lingering trace, Ian placed his bag down and comfortably lay on his bed.

“Catch.”

As Ian turned his head, Milo discreetly pushed something towards him.

It was a blue-tinged herb, about the size of a palm.

“Blue Mushroom?”

It’s an elixir. Though weak, consuming it could permanently increase one’s magic power. Despite its low effects, it could not be easily obtained.

“Why are you giving away something so precious?”

“We’re having a magic power assessment soon. Isn’t it better to inflate your results a bit? Everyone seems to have high expectations for your measurement.”

“It’s fine.”

Ian reached out his hand to decline. Milo looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“Wow, seriously. I’ve never seen a mage refuse an elixir before. I’m not giving it out of pity, so just take it.”

“If it’s not out of pity, then what is it?”

“A bribe? You did show me something good, remember.”

Milo pointed with his chin towards the distillation apparatus.

Ian chuckled.

Certainly, that was valuable enough. Recognizing that value was impressive of Milo.

Yet, Ian still didn’t accept it.

“Give it to Edel if you’re going to give it away. I’m honestly not interested.”

“Are you that confident?”

Though Milo seemed to misunderstand something, Ian just smiled.

Even if he took the elixir in his current situation, his magic power wouldn’t increase.

‘It’s better to invest in someone close.’

A bit of mana is useful when refining herbs. If the quantity and quality of mana increase due to the elixir, better potions could be made.

Ian was confident that the day would come when today’s investment would shine.

“Ahem. Then shall we bestow it upon our dear Edel?”

“M-me? Can I really accept this……?”

Edel’s voice trembled.

As the herb was worth millions of shillings in market value, Edel, being the son of a healer, surely understood.

“Of course! Of course! You can absolutely take it. Ian transferred it to you, after all. Though the penalty did jump to 20,000 shillings just now.”

“That’s cruel……”

“Just eat it, you fool! Elixirs like this don’t come around every day!”

The Blue Mushroom was placed in Edel’s hand.

Elixirs are different from ordinary herbs. Simply consuming them does not fully unlock their efficacy.

After eating it, mana must be circulated throughout the body to aid in maximum absorption.

Edel had such a minimal amount of mana that it was difficult to say he even had a 1st circle. Therefore, Milo assisted with mana circulation beside Edel.

“Is it really alright to trust me with your mana circle so easily?”

Milo asked with his hand placed gently on Edel’s slender back. Edel beamed brightly.

“A person nice enough to give an elixir wouldn’t break a circle, would they?”

“You’re an optimist, aren’t you?”

“Hehehe.”

Ian, observing them, chuckled softly. It seemed the experiment had brought them closer.

Ian pulled out a pair of glasses from his pocket.

‘Elixirs are good, but now, I hold something far more incredible.’

After discovering a new spell for Lightning Magic, Ian shall return to the Ancient Magic section of the library to verify the functionality of the glasses.

He judged that if he deciphered ancient script with these glasses, he could maximize efficiency even with limited magic power.

In reality, the new spell proved enormously helpful to Ian. It allowed him to perform magic with minimal mana.

‘Yet, it cannot be called perfect, not just yet.’

Not every ancient script appeared in the common language.

Books placed on other shelves weren’t translated by the glasses.

While counting roughly, he realized there were far more untranslated works than translated ones.

‘Is this the limit of the glasses? Or is it an artifact with room for growth?’

Such questions arose naturally.

Ian’s eyes gleamed as he gazed at the glasses.

‘I don’t know yet. But’

One day, he’d find out. Just like today in the great library.

“Aaah!”

Edel let out a scream beside him.

“What’s with this scream? Like a girl’s.”

“It-it hurts so much!”

“Endure it. If you can’t, your circle will break, and the elixir will be wasted. If that’s the end, count yourself lucky. You could lose your life too.”

“Aaaaagh!”

That night, screams echoed throughout the dormitory.