NOVEL NEXT Chapter 46
EP.46 Enlightenment, and Growth (2)
Mana Trading Studies, Basic Lecture Room.
The bell signaling the start of class rings.
Ding, dang.
A clear bell sound.
When the bell rings about three times…
Creek.
The door to the classroom opens. The moment the door opens, the air inside the classroom becomes heavy.
“·····.”
The students, who were chatting, shut their mouths. Those who were chatting turn to face forward and sit up straight. Sounds of pulling out writing instruments and flipping through pages fill the room for a while.
After a short moment, complete silence descends.
Finally, Professor Rosel, who had been lingering at the door, steps into the classroom.
Tap.
The sound of low heels echo.
He stands at the podium with a steady stride and scans the classroom. As always, he does not take attendance.
“Everyone is here.”
He only mutters a brief statement.
He pushes up his glasses and squints his eyes. The students in the front row, confronted by those blue eyes, flinch and tremble.
“I will begin the class.”
He doesn’t initiate any small talk.
The class that begins immediately is calm like rippling waves.
“Last time, we discussed the manifestation of high-level spells through constraints.”
He doesn’t shove the information down their throats from the start.
Like gentle waves, Rosel briefly summarizes the previous lesson. It’s not difficult to ride that flow.
It’s a topic they’ve already learned, and they’ve reviewed it while doing their assignments. Understanding it is easy.
Gently riding the calm waves, the students prepare themselves.
“···That’s the content from last time.”
Having finished the review, Rosel stands at the front of the blackboard.
He writes a line on the board.
“The topic for today is the relationship between circuits and stars. This is a crucial element in trading studies.”
The relationship between mana and stars.
Having punctuated his sentence, Rosel looks at the students.
“I will begin.”
The previously calm waves start to ripple.
—
2.
Rosel’s lesson flows seamlessly.
“Most circuits aim for spell stabilization.”
That flow is familiar to them now.
After attending Rosel’s classes for a month, the students roughly understand how that flow continues.
“Observe the examples.”
Starting low.
“It could be a circle surrounding the circuit or a pattern inscribed at the center. The goal is stabilization, but the forms vary.”
Rising higher.
“Today, I will explain the principles rooted in this circuit for ‘stabilization’ of the spells. Allow me to show you examples.”
Rosel waggles his fingers.
Soon, several circuits appear in mid-air. Each one contains high-level spells.
Pointing at them, Rosel says.
“You’ve memorized these, right? Most mages memorize circuits. They don’t pay attention to how they’re drawn or what each line signifies.”
The circuits disassemble in the air.
What remains are the circuits that played a stabilizing role in each spell.
“Look.”
Rosel brings out a circuit shaped like a diagonal line.
“This intermediate spell is ‘Mana Explosion.’ Most explosive spells are high-level spells. However, Mana Explosion is an intermediate-level spell. Why is that?”
A student, Mack, raises his hand.
At Rosel’s gesture, he opens his mouth to answer.
“Because its power is less than that of high-level spells.”
“What’s the reason for its lesser power?”
“Because it uses less mana.”
“Then what advantage does this spell have over high-level spells?”
“Um, it can be a more stabilized… explosion.”
Rosel nods his head.
“Exactly, intermediate spells are used more frequently than high-level ones. The main reason is that, although their power is less, they allow for a more stable manifestation than high-level spells.”
The disassembled circuits align in the air.
Next to the circuit of Mana Explosion, there are a series of circuits with a common trait. A trait they didn’t notice while memorizing.
From above to below.
A circuit that bends to the right again at the bottom.
Pointing at that circuit, Rosel says.
“These circuits represent Mana Explosion, Chain Lightning, and Firestorm. The commonality among these spells is just as Mack mentioned.”
Though their power is less than high-level spells, they allow for stable manifestation.
“A commonality is found within the circuits of spells sharing similar traits. Is this just a coincidence?”
Everyone shakes their heads.
“There is a connection to stars among these common traits.”
Rosel points at the circuits.
“Doesn’t this shape that bends from top to bottom look familiar?”
Someone gasps.
The first to notice is Resti. Resti glances at the study material on her desk.
“···Reduction.”
A type of ‘constraint’ imposed during the trading process with stars.
Hearing her mumble, Rosel nods.
“Correct, this is the circuit of Reduction used during the trading process with stars.”
Next, Rosel points at the circuit that bends from bottom to right.
“This is the circuit of Specific, which limits spells to only one direction.”
Specific and Reduction.
Those traits exactly match those of these spells. They do less damage than standard spells and are limited in range.
At that point, the students begin to realize something.
That realization is vague. It’s a realization only formed from rough intuition.
A realization that would scatter if not organized.
“Imposing constraints reduces power. In exchange, it allows for the use of higher-level spells.”
Rosel summarizes that thought once.
He doesn’t let it scatter away.
“That alone is not enough. A second constraint is imposed. It specifies a broad spell in one direction. In exchange, the lost power from the spell is partially returned.”
Thud.
“Two constraints have been imposed. Those constraints are connected. A single circuit with a new shape is completed.”
Rosel touches the circuit.
“Constraints are negative. When negative multiplies with negative, it results in positive. I will explain this later, but…”
He states the name of that circuit.
“The gain arising from constraints. This combined circuit of the two constraints is called Stability.”
Rosel nods briefly.
“Right, what you commonly refer to as circuits that stabilize spells.”
What they thought they understood has been completely reversed.
—
Stability.
The students’ expressions change at the word.
Circuits to stabilize spells are the basics of basics. The first thing learned when carving circuits is the stabilization circuit.
They’ve drawn that circuit numerous times.
Even if it’s not for intermediate-level spells, the students remember stabilization circuits applicable to low-level spells.
They recall that circuit in their minds.
They inspect the patterns of the constraint circuits from the last lesson with their eyes.
It matches.
“Ah.”
Someone lets out a gasp.
The sensation spreads.
‘The things I’ve used up until now…’
Things they’d memorized casually.
‘Were all constraints used in trades with stars?’
When the blurry realization becomes clear, they call it enlightenment.
Enlightenment arrives suddenly.
Sudden, yet it feels familiar.
“Look at the circuits you’ve memorized or the circuits you called the ones to stabilize spells.”
It isn’t enlightenment derived solely from today’s newly gained knowledge.
“Look at the constraint circuits discussed in the last lesson. Can you see them now?”
Where does that enlightenment come from?
“You’ve often dealt with things that ultimately come from the trading process with stars.”
It arises from what they’ve taken for granted.
From things they were certain they knew.
“In this way, stars are connected to the most fundamental concepts. The things you take for granted, the things you haven’t thought deeply about. The widely used ones.”
Rosel pauses for a moment.
“Stars reside in the most fundamental concepts.”
The rising flow descends back down. With the calming waves comes a brief moment of respite.
The students move their pens.
They translate the recently gained enlightenment into written lines.
Scratch, scratch.
For a while, only the sound of pens gliding over paper continues. However, not everyone holds a pen. There’s someone without one.
She blinks.
“·····.”
She is silent.
“···Ah.”
She slightly parts her lips.
A small mumbling seeps out from between her slightly parted lips.
“So this is what it is.”
Most of the students do not hear that word.
However, the girl next to her caught it.
“···?”
Resti finishes her note and looks over. She overheard the mumbling.
Professor Rania.
Her blue eyes sparkle as her flowing hair reveals them. There’s a light in those blue eyes she has never seen before.
Thud.
She touches the paper.
Lines of text fill the paper densely. It’s a spell that directly transfers her thoughts onto paper.
Since it merely transfers her thoughts, the lines of text on the paper are chaotic.
Words that cannot form sentences float. Characters that cannot become words occupy parts of the writing.
Thud.
She touches the paper again.
The characters merge to become words.
Thud.
The words combine to form sentences.
The sentences are rearranged. The rearranged sentences are sequential. Thus, the writing is organized.
“·····.”
That process is overwhelmingly silent.
Resti gazes blankly at the lines filling the paper before returning her gaze to her own.
‘···What did I just see?’
She doesn’t know. However, if she continues to let herself be distracted, she’ll lose the flow.
“I will continue.”
Just then, Rosel speaks up. Resti shakes her head and focuses on her own paper.
—
3.
Rosel’s lesson progresses.
Students sometimes struggle to understand what is said. But when a flow wraps up, they grasp it. It all repeats continuously.
Contents emerge that they don’t understand.
The students blink and look at the blackboard.
Raniael squints as she watches the students.
Contents that they continue to not understand appear.
The students grip their heads and roll their writing instruments.
They brush against Raniael’s paper.
As the flow continues, what was once incomprehensible suddenly becomes clear.
The students write down what they understand on paper.
Raniael organizes what she comprehends in her mind.
The class carries on.
They are attending the same class. However, each finds something different through it.
Some grasp understanding.
Some gain enlightenment from their understanding.
Rosel writes on the board. It’s a question with a blank space in one line. He asks the students to fill in the blank.
The students fill in the blank as they follow the lesson.
Observing the class, Raniael erases a sentence.
The students complete the sentence by filling in the blank.
Raniael creates sentences by breaking apart words.
An hour passes.
The students absorb Rosel’s teachings.
Raniael makes the teachings her own.
Two hours pass.
The same two hours aren’t the same for everyone.
“Let’s end here.”
So after three hours, the class concludes. Rosel leaves the room, followed by the students.
In the empty classroom, only Raniael and Resti remain.
Raniael slowly closes her eyes.
On the stack of papers she has accumulated lies her thoughts intact.
Understanding is sudden.
Sudden, yet it’s not an instant understanding. It’s an understanding born from past experiences.
Such is Rosel’s lesson.
His class is not formed solely from the realizations gained here. It connects with previous experiences. It doesn’t seek answers on an entirely new path.
Raniael recalls the last ten days.
In Mackhart’s class, she realized how she looks to others.
In Charlotte’s class, she learned how to approach the students.
In Ryut’s class, she understood how to arrange words so that they become easier to comprehend.
In Kurte’s and Gerect’s classes, she learned how to understand the students’ levels.
Lastly, from her mentor.
In Rosel’s class, Raniael realizes. No, it’s closer to a flow than enlightenment.
A singular flow penetrates enlightenment.
The realizations gained from the classes of other professors over the past ten days unite into one. It forms a continuous flow.
Rosel provided the direction Raniael should take.
Yet, he didn’t pull her along.
How she will walk that path.
That solely rests on Raniael. And Raniael doesn’t just walk the prepared path.
She changes it according to her understanding.
Raniael seeks answers.
From her own enlightenment.
—
Author’s Note
A proper magic class.
I pondered how to depict the scene where the protagonist gains enlightenment, and I think it might have taken longer than expected.
Thank you for your patience!
I had planned to serialize on Tuesday as well, but due to impending final project deadlines, it looks like I won’t be able to update on Tuesday ㅠㅠ
I’ll keep the five updates a week…