NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35
EP.35 It Worked When I Did It! (3)
Mana Trading Studies, Basic Lecture Room.
Second class.
The lecture room is bustling with students gathered to attend the class.
It’s different from the open lecture held in the auditorium; only those who pre-registered can attend this class.
– Let us join that class too!
– I want to know more about the basics!
A few professors clamored to observe the class, but Dean Aaron wouldn’t grant their request. They had classes assigned to them too.
– Quiet down.
– Or should I add my two cents?
Only after Rosel intervened did the professors finally silence themselves. Yet, perhaps feeling regretful, they set up circuits in the lecture room for recording and then left.
Such reactions from the professors are, in a way, understandable.
Rania van Trias.
Her reputation has been skyrocketing.
There are journalists who wrote articles following her public lecture. There are mages captivated by her teachings. A lot, indeed.
“Two Masters of the Tower stood and applauded.”
A single line in the article carries significant weight. Masters of the Tower are individuals who reached the pinnacle in their respective fields. Gaining recognition from such esteemed figures is an enormous honor.
Moreover, those who attended that class know that while the evaluation might be modest, it wasn’t exaggerated.
Rattle rattle.
At last, the door to the lecture room opens.
As if cold water had been poured, silence envelops the once tumultuous space. No one dares to speak.
Clack clack.
The only sound echoing is the noise of dark flat shoes hitting the floor. The rhythmic footsteps come to an unexpected halt.
“Ah.”
The woman standing on the platform lightly clears her throat.
After a brief pause, she speaks.
“Nice to meet you.”
All eyes turn to the front.
Standing there is a girl in a neat robe similar to mine, her slender blue eyes scanning the students.
“I see no absentees.”
She sets down the papers she had in her arms.
Rustle, the sound of the paper fluttering fills the room.
“I will now commence the second week of Mana Trading Studies.”
Without further greetings, the class begins immediately.
Behind her, students begin to wrestle with their writing tools while she starts writing on the board.
– Mana Trading Studies, Week 2.
– Topic: Visualization of Constraints.
The topic on the chalkboard.
Pointing to it, she continues.
“The visualization of ‘constraints’ utilized in trading with stars. You might have heard it in Professor Rosel’s class.”
The students nod in agreement.
Visualizing constraints to apply to circuits.
A method to manifest spells beyond one’s capacity.
This was covered in a class by Professor Rosel two days ago. Many attended, but few truly understood. They simply brushed past the thought, ‘Oh, that exists.’
“What I’ll be discussing today is that.”
Snap! She flicked her fingers.
Papers placed on the platform flutter in the wind. The movement of the papers floating in the air becomes rhythmic.
Rustle.
The papers settle onto every desk.
The students stare blankly at the worksheets in front of them.
“Eh…”
Someone groaned while looking at them.
“Ugh, umm.”
The groaning spreads like a virus.
Students holding the worksheets display various responses, tilting their heads or clicking their writing tools.
“Um, Professor?”
Finally, someone raised their hand to ask a question.
“Yes, what is it?”
“This… isn’t this the spell language?”
That question is quite natural.
Spell language does not belong to the conventional language system. It is the language used when chanting spells or recording circuits.
‘But, did they inscribe this on the worksheets?’
They can read it.
However, even the reading process feels burdensome. Hoping desperately that it was a mistake, the students send longing gazes.
“Yes, it is indeed spell language.”
However, the professor before them merely tilts her head adorably.
“Is there a problem?”
“Yes, yes?”
“I thought students studying Mana Trading Studies, focused on the balance theory, would be capable, so I prepared this.”
“Um, that…”
“The trades with balance ultimately proceed in spell language, don’t they? Getting accustomed to it in advance might not be bad, right?”
She asks in a calm voice.
“Isn’t that so?”
It’s a valid point.
It’s true, but…
“If there are no more questions, I will proceed with the class.”
The students could only stare blankly down at their worksheets.
2.
Lac, the Northern Duke’s son, curiously enjoys the innovations of the royal capital while drinking black water, but there are several misconceptions about him.
Lac is absolutely not stupid.
While he may seem somewhat lacking in areas, he was indeed a top student in entrance exams.
Exactly.
Lac may be deficient but not stupid.
He never believed himself to be foolish, either.
‘Hmm…’
But now.
‘What on earth is she saying?’
Lac is seriously contemplating that he might be a fool.
“■■ to, ■■■■ to. If ■■■■■■, then.”
The woman on the platform.
Professor Rania is indeed saying something.
“If you ■■■■■, it will be like this.”
She is mixing in spell language to make the filling of the worksheets easier. Despite her thoughtful consideration, Lac couldn’t even complete one page of the worksheet.
‘What is she trying to say?’
He doesn’t understand.
It all sounded like a garbled noise.
“■■■■ means. Do you understand?”
Suddenly, she makes eye contact with him.
She gazes at Lac.
With great reluctance, he nods. He didn’t understand but felt compelled to say that he did.
‘…Am I the only one struggling?’
Lac subtly glances sideways.
Most students appear dazed as well, exhibiting similar reactions. When their gazes meet, they merely nod vigorously.
However, no one is sleeping or ignoring the class.
“Now, I will show an example.”
That would be precisely the reason.
“An example of a constraint, visualizing ■■.”
A circuit appears in the air.
Advanced spell, Chain-explosion.
A spell that consumes a massive amount of mana commensurate with its devastating power. Yet, the amount of mana released by the professor is extremely minimal.
It shouldn’t be activated at all by any means.
“Thus, you can also manifest spells with such a small amount of mana.”
She adds a broken curve to the circuit.
In that moment, the circuit emits light, and the spell manifests. The resulting explosion is underwhelming.
Bang!
A tiny explosion occurs a few times, reminiscent of fireworks.
“Of course, as the constraints are strong, it gets scaled down like this… but regardless, the key point is that the manifestation did happen.”
The broken curve drawn within the circuit is then detached and shown to the students.
“This is the basic of constraints, ■■.”
Someone raised their hand.
“Yes, feel free to ask your question.”
“Um, Professor. Can you say it again…?”
“Yes, it is ■■.”
“Can you say it just with normal language…?”
Professor Rania seems puzzled at their bewildering question.
“Did you not hear it well?”
“No, I heard it well…”
“Then you can just write it down, can’t you?”
“Um, I just wanted to hear it phonetically….”
She gives a look that suggests, ‘What a strange question.’
Eventually, she reluctantly responded.
“It’s Reduction.”
Only then does a scratching sound reverberate.
Reduction.
Ah, an exclamation escapes.
Lac finally manages to fill in another blank space.
‘This is tough. Way too tough…’
Lac internally groans.
It is challenging. It’s hard to comprehend. Still, he cannot afford to lose focus, especially when those examples are succinctly delivered.
Slowly.
The examples are thrown in a clean manner.
Watching those perfect examples feels as though enlightenment is just within grasp. Simply observing them is helpful.
If it were impenetrably difficult, then that would be a sign of a professor lacking skill. In that case, one could simply tune out. However, this class was different.
It’s tough. It’s intensely tough, no doubt.
Yet it undeniably leaves room for understanding to sneak in.
In fact, the ten words that Lac has filled in on his worksheet allow him to believe he might manage to draw a few circuits of constraints.
He scribbled that shape in the corner of the paper.
As expected, the circuit glimmers and shines. It’s a sign that he has drawn it successfully.
‘If only I understand just a bit more…’
It is teaching that will become a part of him.
Because it was such a unique learning experience, every insight sent his heart racing.
Thus, he cannot afford to break his concentration.
Of course, focusing doesn’t make it any easier.
‘So, I must have been foolish all along…’
Regardless of Lac’s thoughts, the class continues. As it neared the end,
“You may now wrap up in the last ten minutes.”
With a clap, she steps down from the platform. She isn’t leaving the lecture room. Her steps are directed toward the seats where the students are.
It seems she plans to glance at their worksheets as she walks among them.
“Ah.”
Lac is seated right at the front.
Professor Rania stands before him, looking down at his worksheet. Her eyes narrow.
“Lac student?”
“Yes, yes.”
“Did you perhaps not attend the class?”
“I-I did.”
Lac answered with a quivering voice.
Is this how a rabbit feels standing before hunters? Lac now believes he can empathize with all the animals he has hunted.
‘I’m scared!’
Lac screams internally.
“But why are there so many blanks?”
“I-I couldn’t… understand.”
“Hmmm….”
She touches her chin thoughtfully.
Then she glances at the worksheet of the student sitting next to Lac. That one is also filled with blanks.
“Hmmm.”
She lets out a short groan.
It seems she sensed something off. Shortly after, she lifts her gaze to look at the students.
“Did the spell language… not come through well?”
At that moment, everyone nods vigorously. To be more precise, they couldn’t comprehend, even though they heard it well… but isn’t it all the same?
Due to the students’ reactions.
Professor Rania pondered, resting a hand on her chin. Her gaze suddenly shifts to the chalkboard.
Only the topic is written on the board.
“Ah.”
A short exclamation as if she had come to a realization.
“I sincerely apologize. I’m not accustomed to writing on the board.”
Ascending back to the platform, she held a worksheet in one hand and chalk in the other.
“I will write it down, so those who didn’t catch it can look through it slowly.”
With swift strokes, she fills the board with answers.
Effortlessly, in an instant, letters densely populate from one end of the board to the other.
And then.
Ding.
The bell rang, signaling the end of the class.
“I conclude this second week of Mana Trading Studies. See you next time.”
She lightly nods.
Then she shakes the worksheet in her hand.
“For those who haven’t filled it out, it might be a good idea to try and complete it by next time. It will be very helpful.”
With those final words, she leaves the space.
Her steps remain light. Rattle, a dull sound resonates as the door closes behind her.
And then.
“Get out of the way!”
“The chalkboard!”
“Can’t see it, so move!”
Students rush toward the front.
With eagerness, they scan the words written on the chalkboard. Switching their gaze between the worksheet in hand and the board, they compare.
“What the hell.”
Someone muttered.
“All of that is spell language too….”
That one remark represented the sentiments of every student.
3.
“I totally messed it up.”
“Huh?”
“I seriously messed it up, Rania.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your class, you incompetent disciple….”
I tilted my head in confusion.
“I thought I did fine?”
“Where in the world does a professor conduct a class using spell language? I’m really curious about your thought process….”
“But Master did that!”
“…What?”
“Master said that I should teach using my experiences.”
I pointed at the worksheet.
“This is similar to the worksheet you gave me when I was thirteen. You told me to solve it back then.”
“…That’s true.”
“I prepared this because I understood it while solving it…”
I had even written my interpretations down. Since I had written down the interpretations on the last page, it should be easy to solve if they look it over.
“My fault is monumental…”
“Huh?”
Master smacked her forehead and let out a long sigh.
“From tomorrow, let’s go through it slowly together.”
“Ah, yes…”
For some reason, Master appeared to be extremely exhausted.
‘That’s strange.’
I thought it worked out fine.
(Note from the author: I had the thought of a sociological exam being conducted in English and thought of a truly amazing professor… so I tried to use it here…)