Quit The Hero Party

EP.48 Enlightenment and Growth (4)

Lac von Grace.

Originally from the north, he is a valiant warrior. Even warriors from the north acknowledge Lac’s bravery.

– “Young Master Lac is incredible!”
– “When I was his age, I was just chopping firewood at home, while Young Master Lac goes around chopping down White Pangs! Hahaha!”

Ha ha ha!

The sound of boisterous laughter, wide and thick fingers patting one’s back.

“…Hmm.”

Lac let out a short groan.

Suddenly, memories of the northern warriors patting his back in the tavern floated to his mind.

“I tried to be a man who wouldn’t shun the expectations of warriors… but…”

Lac felt embarrassed.

He was feeling fear right now. And not in the midst of a life-and-death battle against a strong foe, but rather, before class, during a brief break.

“It’s quite embarrassing…”

Yet still, the trembling didn’t stop.

The source of his anxiety was the professor who would soon enter the class. His awe and fear for that individual only grew day by day.

The professor who crushed a betrayer’s skull with bare hands.

The professor who fought to a standstill against the Royal Guard and Hound.

Coincidentally, Lac had witnessed both incidents up close. And he had sensed it.

The professor of Mana Trading Studies, Basic.

Rania van Trias.

He realized he absolutely must not fall out of her favor.

“…….”

Lac shuddered, gripping his writing tool. He steadied his breathing and heightened his focus. This was how Lac concentrated.

“I must concentrate…!”

To keep up with the overwhelming difficulty of the upcoming class, he had to prepare for this much.

“Umm…”

Just then, as Lac was intensely focused on his study materials…

Creeeeak.

The classroom door swung open, and Professor Rania stepped inside. The students fell silent, and a hush enveloped the room.

“……”

Lac slightly raised his head.

At that moment, he locked eyes with Professor Rania as she walked past. She tilted her head slightly upon noticing him.

Despite making eye contact head-on, Lac didn’t look away as usual.

“Something’s… different?”

Lac felt a sense of unease.

“Something is… not right?”

Something felt different.

It was hard to articulate, but it didn’t feel like the usual vibe. Normally, her demeanor was a bit more nonchalant and distant…

“But this time, it’s not.”

It felt unfamiliar.

Lac tilted his head in confusion.

—

Rania van Trias.

She had only conducted classes on the podium twice. In fact, one of those was during a public lecture, making it ambiguous to consider it a class.

Regular classes had only taken place once in the second week.

And that single session left a strong impression on the students. Whether good or bad.

– “After attending the class, I felt like I understood something.”
– “I learned something. But…?”
– “It was a class where you take something away. Sort of, but…”

The overall evaluations of her class were somewhat like that. It was subtle. It was certainly high-level, but if asked whether it was a good class, the answer would be no.

– “It’s maddeningly difficult.”
– “I don’t even know what I heard. I think I understood something… but, did I really? I honestly don’t know.”
– “It’s scary. That gaze is terrifying. Like asking why you can’t just do it… ”

The level was extraordinarily high.

The professor took that for granted.

And then—

– “The assignment is insane.”
– “Ten pages of learning materials? Is that even feasible?”

A lunatic amount of assignments.

Not surprisingly, the quality and quantity reflected the caliber of both master and disciple, and the tasks carried a hint of malice.

Perhaps having personally experienced that assignment…

“What will she assign this time…?”

Seeing Professor Rania enter with a stack of papers, the students silently sighed.

Thud.

Having placed the papers on the desk, she spoke.

“Glad to meet you.”

A brief greeting.

“You learned about the relationship between circuits and stars in Professor Rosel’s class a few days ago, right? You must have learned about Stable circuits connecting two constraints…”

Then, she succinctly summarized Rosel’s class.

In her tone, the students began to sense a hint of unease.

“Today, I will teach you in more detail about that stability circuit. There were parts that Professor Rosel couldn’t show you due to time constraints.”

This class was different from the previous one.

Her tone was peculiarly soft.

“…Something.”

The students felt it.

“Something is different?”

There were those who had braced themselves, glaring with determination, recalling the last class. They were the first to sense the unease.

Something felt off.

That vague question lingered.

But that thought was short-lived.

“Then, let’s start the class now.”

Clap!
Rania clapped her hands.

The paper piled on the podium flew towards the students’ desks in a uniform manner.

What kind of learning materials now?

As they pondered, the students looked at the paper they received. Then they tilted their heads.

“…A blank sheet?”

There was nothing written on it.

Soon, Rania spoke again.

“What I just divided out is a circuit record. Please record the best circuit you can devise.”

At the mention of the recording sheet, the students’ eyes widened.

A circuit record is a precious magical tool known to be used only in the Magic Association.

Tentatively, the students began to handle the paper, enchanted by its quality.

One by one, they started to inscribe the circuits on the record. The process was not complicated.

They envisioned the circuit they wanted to inscribe.

If they had previously drawn that circuit, they could directly record it based on that memory and experience.

“Take your time. There’s no need to infuse mana. Just imagining it is enough.”

Professor Rania walked among the students, assisting those struggling with the record.

After a while…

All the students finished their circuit recordings. As expected from the Apuria Academy, known for gathering exceptional mages, the majority of the recorded circuits were advanced circuits.

“Um… over there…”

“That’s a top-grade circuit, one-point breakthrough…”

Among them, there was one student who inscribed a top-grade circuit.

A girl with violet hair quietly sitting in a corner, Resti, drew subtle gazes towards her.

“If everyone has inscribed their circuits…”

Rania snapped her fingers.

“Now, think about what the spell contained in the circuit you inscribed is, and what characteristics that spell possesses.”

What are the characteristics?

Answering that question isn’t difficult. Knowing how to inscribe a circuit means they were already well-acquainted with that spell.

On the learning sheets given along with the records, students sunk into notes about the spell’s explanations. It didn’t take long. As they filled in notes, they suddenly realized.

“Is this… a leisurely time?”

They had ample time to write.

After completing their notes, the students sneakily glanced at Professor Rania. She stood with crossed arms, looking at the clock.

This was very different from the previous class, where they had barely enough time to jot down what was said. After more than a minute had passed since all students had finished writing, she opened her mouth.

“Now, let’s understand the ‘Stable’ circuits applied to the circuits you inscribed.”

She lightly tapped the board.

Her mana transformed into a ashen light. The ashen letters danced across the board. It was part of the constraint circuits dealt with in the last class.

“In the circuits you inscribed, there will be at least one, if not three or more, of these constraint circuits. From now on, you must find them.”

The students tilted their heads in confusion.

“Suddenly?”

The circuits inscribed on the record were tangled. It must have been dozens or hundreds of lines and curves intertwined. Even separating the stable circuits posed difficulty.

“And you’re asking us to find the constraint circuits here?”

They had only just begun to realize that the constraint circuits were applied to the spells. But suddenly being told to find the circuits?

The students gazed blankly between the paper and the board, as if playing a hidden picture game.

“Hmm.”

As if foreseeing their reaction, Rania spoke.

“It’s simple if you just… ”

She was about to say something and covered her mouth.

After a brief cough, she resumed speaking.

“It’s easier to find them while considering the characteristics of the spell. Here’s an example.”

She lifted the circuit inscribed by Lac, who sat at the front. It was a high-tier striking spell, Point-Breakthrough.

“What are the characteristics of this circuit? Lac, student?”

“It penetrates quickly.”

“Excuse me?”

“It quickly penetrates enemy lines.”

Lac replied confidently.

At his answer, Rania pondered for a moment before speaking again.

“I’m not asking for the effect of the spell; I want the characteristics.”

“Excuse me?”

He looked bewildered.

“…What makes the Point-Breakthrough spell different from the mid-tier, Breakthrough spell?”

“Oh, it specifies just one part. It has greater power than Breakthrough.”

Rania nodded.

“Yes, it specifies the range for penetration. That’s the advantage of this circuit. So what constraint circuit is found here?”

Lac kept nodding repeatedly.

“However, there can’t be just one constraint. There are more. It’s good to think of the spell more specifically.”

Rania touched the circuit.

Her mana enfolded the circuit, reproducing it in the air. Everyone gazed at the circuit.

“One should not think of spells in isolation. Suppose I’d like to have an item made. Imagine explaining it with this circuit.”

A slender finger moved.

“What’s needed is to penetrate that which is blocked. So, what do you need to consider here?”

Snap! Five fingers extended.

Then, one by one, they folded.

“What will you penetrate? In what form will you penetrate? How far will you penetrate? At what speed will you penetrate?”

Pointing to the remaining finger, she continued.

“And with what cost will you entrust the item’s creation?”

Contemplating that makes it easier.

Continuing, she explained.

“Essentially, a circuit is the sum of spell languages. The circuit connects the spell languages by diagramming. The diagrammed spell languages are called runes.”

Characters began to rise as she traced her finger.

The first characters that popped up were recognized by the students. But before long, those characters changed shape.

Patterns they could not discern on the circuit.

Those patterns rearranged the characters.

“You all have likely memorized the circuits simply. And that’s not wrong. Diagramming spell languages into runes is very difficult. For now, memorize them, and later I will teach you their meanings. It’s an effective method of education.”

The characters continued to spill forth.

“However, you’ve all heard of it at least once.”

Fire, the character representing the most fundamental element, twisted into shape.

Followed closely by the spell language Start, which transformed into a pattern as well. It was a spell language often used when learning the process of activating spells as a child.

Those two patterns combined. The circuit that emerged was one they were all very familiar with.

Ignite.

Snap! Rania snapped her fingers.

A flame the size of a finger burst forth, sparkling with starlight that illuminated gently. As if entranced, everyone was drawn to that flame.

“In the end, circuits are contracts for trading with stars.”

They had heard it before.

It was a sentence written on the first page of educational material. However, no one had bothered to understand it.

It was just something that existed.

That was the feeling it conveyed.

“A circuit is like a contract for trading with a star. I want this and will pay this much, so give me what it says in the contract.”

She elaborated on that sentence.

“What must be crystal clear in the contract? What item do I want, and what must I pay?”

She pointed at the newly emerging characters.

“Now, as I said earlier, let’s create the circuit for Point-Breakthrough. For now, don’t think about the cost.”

Her fingers danced.

Characters materialized.

“First of all, Point-Breakthrough is a striking spell.”

Damage.

“And it is an order of the type that delivers a shock.”

Shock.

“The shock will be linear.”

Straight.

“It must be sharp to penetrate well.”

Sharp.

“The speed should be swift and heavy.”

Acceleration.
Weight.

“After all, it’s a breakthrough.”

Breakthrough.

“It penetrates at one point.”

Point.

“Then, this shape comes out.”

The spell languages transformed into shapes.

They intertwined and arranged.

Thus, the circuit was completed.

The raw circuit completed resembled the circuit Lac had drawn, similar yet different.

“This circuit is trash. It’s merely an assortment of random thoughts. If it were to manifest as it is, it would bounce around chaotically and may well pierce the caster too, right?”

She highlighted that difference.

“So, let’s apply constraints and stabilize it. First, let’s specify a direction, lower the power slightly, and reduce the cost.”

Specific, Reduction.

“But it still feels, well, a bit rough, right? It feels unsure. Let’s refine it a bit more.”

Further constraints got attached.

The students stared blankly. Words on the board morphed into patterns, melding into the circuit.

“Thus, this will be the final form.”

The completed circuit matched the one Lac had drawn.

The students witnessed the entire process.

They sensed something.

Something that flickered just out of grasp loomed before them.

It was an inspiration that hadn’t yet transformed into enlightenment. A flash that hadn’t yet become theirs. They had a rough outline, yet couldn’t seize it.

In the previous class, they had ended without grasping it.

But this class was different.

“Of course, it’s difficult to diagram spell languages into runes and draw circuits this way. Even the wizards in the Magic Tower who create new spells often find it unfamiliar.”

Rania began to speak.

“I’m not expecting you all to be able to do this right away. There’s no need for you to learn runes here. Just know that this method exists.”

“Then the shortcomings will become evident, and addressing those shortcomings will be the constraint circuits.”

The students slowly nodded.

Yet their expressions remained subtle.

They seemed to be grasping something, but they hadn’t yet acted upon it. They merely gazed blankly between the characters and the circuits they had inscribed.

“Hmm.”

At that sight, Rania smiled wryly.

Yet she didn’t say anything.

Clap!

With a clap, she gathered the students’ attention.

“It’s indeed a challenge to replicate right away. So, today, I will assist you.”

Suddenly, the circuits inscribed by students levitated in the air.

Those weren’t levitated by the students themselves. It was all thanks to Rania’s ability to observe and instantly reproduce them.

The students barely had time to be surprised.

She bent her index finger. The circuits were pulled. They disassembled, and the disassembly process was straightforward and waste-free.

She didn’t dismantle blindly.

The circuits dissolved according to established rules and principles.

Thus, the disassembled circuit got reassembled once again.

The tangled patterns transformed into proper runes.

The runes reverted back into spell languages.

The students watched the process.

They gazed blankly as the disassembled circuits aligned with their original meanings.

It felt like watching a single line, which had been penned thoughtlessly, being separated into words, and then words reshuffled into syllables.

Then, it was reassembled.

The final sentence was the same as the initial, yet the gazes of the students weren’t the same.

They saw not the properties they had previously memorized but how those properties were structured and constructed.

A flash ignited.

Some reached out toward it.

The sparkle caressed their fingertips.

Examples don’t reveal everything.

There was room for students to fill in for themselves. One by one, they began to fill that void.

“Ah.”

Someone exhaled in admiration.

That admiration blossomed. As if they had realized something, they slowly began to sketch out the constraint circuits.

There were differences in pace, slow and fast.

However, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t attain enlightenment.

Every student found enlightenment.

They held their pens and transferred that enlightenment onto paper.

The enlightenment manifested in words, filling the blank sheets.

Time flowed.

It felt as though dozens of hours passed. Yet, when the students, having finished writing, checked the clock, only minutes had slipped by.

The students who completed their records surveyed their surroundings.

In the eyes of those still writing, light glimmered. It was a light they had never seen before. And it was surely the light they had just cultivated.

Focus.

The students were absorbed, experiencing immersion.

By the time they began to awaken from that immersion, Professor Rania on the podium opened her mouth.

“Hmm.”

Clearing her throat shortly.

She slowly continued speaking.

“I’m not expecting anything from you just yet. Runes are a highly difficult concept, so it will surely be tough to become accustomed to them right away. What I want to convey is…”

She extended her hand.

Like swiping through the runes floating around her with her fingertips.

“Simply, the circuits you all memorized.”

The runes transmuted back into spell languages, then back into circuits, going full circle.

“Those were things that seemed meaningless, merely seeming like unique lines and curves, the most basic elements.”

Tap, she touched the characters.

Deep within the characters, hidden starlight sparkled.

“The stars were nestled within them.”

She smiled gently.

“I just hope you understand that.”

Ding, ding.

As she finished speaking, the bell tolling the end of the class chimed.

“I’ll stop here.”

Along with the ringing of the bell, she departed.

“………”

Silence fell over the classroom.

Despite the class being over, no one left their seats. With eyes as if enchanted, they looked upon what they had inscribed.

It was enlightenment.

They had seized the flash and made it their own.

The students remaining in the classroom had different impressions compared to previous classes.

They had learned something.

They clearly understood the lesson.

And thus, they had made it theirs.

What they felt was a sense of fulfillment.

The young mages would not forget the immersion they had just experienced. They would reminisce about the fleeting moment when they touched brilliance.

And so, they gained their learning.

—

Author’s Note

The original copyright for this class belongs to King Sejong…

I was reminded of discussions about morphologic decomposition, so I used it

I thought a lot.

At least, I felt the need to organize this definitively, and I wanted to write something like this.

In truth, magic is a rather ambiguous concept, isn’t it? You’ve probably heard of it many times and occasionally come across it while reading fantasy novels, with magic circles appearing frequently.

And then there are runes.

They feel familiar, but since the settings differ across worlds, it’s awkward to apply a single standard.

Thus, I organized it according to my whims!

I hope the readers enjoy reading it.

It’s over 9,000 characters…

While writing, I kept thinking I should write this and that, and before I knew it, the length grew longer and longer.

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