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Chapter 105

“Ughhhh...”

“Professor, someone collapsed!”

“Just get someone who’s about to collapse to move him to the recovery room. That way, they can rest together.”

Naturally, the Department of Martial Magic became notorious for the sheer amount of students who fainted from exhaustion during both lectures and training. Due to the high usage because of this, the recovery rooms were redesigned for individual use, which also made them a great place for students to hold private conversations.

And, in the most secluded of these rooms were two students doing just that.

“So... what you’re telling me right now is that you’re planning to participate in the student scholarship selection competition for Lea, or whoever?”

Having heard the full story, Luize looked at Se-Hoon incredulously.

“That’s right,” Se-Hoon said, nodding.

At his calm confirmation, Luize crossed her arms and looked at him askance.

“And why... are you telling me this?”

“I thought it would be good if I could get your help.”

“...”

Taking a moment of silence to gather her thoughts, Luize then asked, “You know why my neck and hands are perforated, right?”

“Because you were targeted during the student scholarship selection competition.”

“And you do know that Professor Charles is one of the judges there, right?”

“Of course I do. How could I not know something related to you?”

“...Ahem.”

Clearing her throat, Luize, tried to compose her seemingly annoyed face before continuing to say, “And yet you’re still asking for my help.... So you want to use this opportunity to take a stab at them.”

“That’s the idea.”

Professor Charles Reynolds, a faculty member of the Department of Elements who doubled as a member of Dawn, was the main perpetrator behind Luize’s mana disability. Until now, Se-Hoon had avoided contact with them to avoid drawing attention, but since a perfectly natural reason had now landed in his lap, he decided to use it to learn more about Professor Charles, or more specifically, Dawn.

“Are you sure? Didn’t you say they were dangerous?”

“That’s only if we’re directly confronting them. A slight probe should be fine.”

He knew the different groups under Watchers prioritized secrecy above all else, though each differed in degree. It was a must for them since they were so deeply rooted in society, unlike the Demon Force, that everything they had could collapse instantly if their identities were to be exposed.

“What if they just take care of you beforehand?”

“That’s something they can only do if the opponent is insignificant enough. But, as you can see, I’m on a roll these days.”

In addition to Ludwig, Eun-Ha, Kwang-Soo, and Kasar, were just a few of the big names that were involved with him. With such big names behind him, only the reckless types like those from the Demon Force might act impulsively; the cautious ones like Watchers would never make a hasty move under such circumstances.

“...Bastard.”

Paying no need to Luize’s disgust, he continued explaining, “Anyway, if we set it up to look like we’re targeting a criminal that we just so happened to stumble upon, they’ll likely just cut their losses and run rather than fight. That would be safer and more beneficial for them after all.”

“Hmm... that sounds plausible.”

“Of course, that doesn’t mean Charles will just sit and take it. He must have some countermeasures that can be implemented without revealing his identity. And the extent of that is what I’m trying to figure out.”

If he could figure out Charles’s limits, the authority he held, and the exact value that the Dawn placed on Luize and himself, then he could easily deal with any kind of exposed tail.

With all the context, Luize pondered momentarily before nodding.

“Okay. If that’s the case, we absolutely must do it. What should we start with?”

Motivated by revenge, Luize shone with enthusiasm, prompting Se-Hoon to check the time.

“Let me check up on your skills; it’s been a while.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“The student scholarship selection competition is an individual entry. So, you’ll participate as my assistant since I plan to forge an item related to Incantation Magic.”

It was better for them to stick together as much as possible, since otherwise, it would be difficult to respond to any trickery the other side might try to pull off—just like back then, in the Hall of Martial Arts.

“Skills, huh... then come this way.”

Luize then walked out of the lounge with Se-Hoon following behind.

“Passing through...”

“Ugh...”

As they walked, they often passed by a nonchalant student who was carrying someone who had collapsed from exhaustion. It fascinated Se-Hoon.

“Even the upperclassmen collapse here.”

Initially, he had thought it was only freshmen being carried out, but upon closer inspection, he found out that many sophomores and juniors had also collapsed from exhaustion and were being carried out. Unlike other departments, where upperclassmen typically carried themselves with more dignity, the Department of Martial Magic was clearly different.

Hearing the fascination in Se-Hoon’s voice, Luize chuckled and explained, “The professors here believe that collapsing from exhaustion during training is equal to saving your own life in battle. That’s why they push students hard, regardless of their year.”

“Hmm... great minds do think alike...”

According to Se-Hoon’s—or more precisely his master’s—philosophy, experiencing exhaustion during practice was beneficial for growth. Even if it wasn’t actual combat, the body would grow more rapidly when pushed to extremes, and it would also allow one to grasp their own limits.

Though a single misstep while practicing like this could be disastrous, that danger must be well managed considering this is Babel.

He had thought this was some insignificant department, seeing as how he had never heard about it before, but upon finding out how they were training their students, he thought the department actually might be a decent place.

Maybe I somehow just so happened to never hear about this place; it’s not like I knew everyone who played a significant role in the battles against the Harbingers of Destruction.

Se-Hoon reevaluated the Department of Martial Magic, and soon, the two walked through some automatic doors into a new area.

“This is the mana control room. I come here quite often these days.”

The area they arrived at was a long, stark white hallway with doors set at regular intervals on both sides. Luize then approached one marked as vacant and pulled out her student ID.

“Swipe yours here.”

Beep-

Swiping her ID, she walked in when the door opened, and Se-Hoon followed after swiping his own ID.

They had entered a room with a dull-gray ceiling and walls, and a white floor with a grid pattern. When they reached the center of the room, Luize stretched lightly and looked around.

“What do you want to see? My usual routine?”

“That sounds good.”

“Okay then. Set to sixty percent.”

Activated by her words, mana was drawn into the walls, and the ambient mana concentration was soon adjusted to sixty percent. Feeling the slightly thicker air than usual, Se-Hoon, who hadn’t experienced such an environment in a long time, became absorbed in it.

Come to think of it, this is my first time training in a mana-depleted environment after I regressed.

Since such conditions usually occurred only in special Danger Zones or during prolonged duels among high-ranking heroes, it wasn’t something that a normal student would typically train for without specific intent.

Meanwhile, as he was getting accustomed to the surroundings, Luize had taken a deep breath and was about to cast her Incantation Magic.

“Set-”

A person-sized blue magic array appeared in the air one by one until a total of thirteen hung above her head.

Then, when all of the magic arrays were fully charged with mana and had begun to glow—

“Lightning Vortex.”

A blinding white flash engulfed the room.

Booom! Crackkk!

Thirteen lightning bolts burst from the magic arrays and began intertwining and swirling the room, scouring the walls and floor of the training room. Seeing the sheer force of the Incantation Magic that seemed capable of completely pulverizing an enemy, Se-Hoon was slightly impressed.

She’s become quite good at it...

The power, activation speed, and control of Incantation Magic, which primarily utilized the ambient mana to cast spells, were all affected as the ambient mana concentration dropped.

However, Luize had still cast her spell effortlessly, seemingly unaffected by the reduced ambient mana concentration. That was largely in part due to her dominance over ambient mana.

Unlike Se-Hoon, who could only maintain a surrounding mana concentration of around sixty percent, Luize almost effortlessly kept hers near a hundred. Just deciding to cast magic would cause the surrounding mana to assimilate with her thoughts, thereby creating the optimal environment.

Many were taken down by the Blast Dog because they didn’t know about her ability.

It was already pretty impressive on its own, and her unique skill, Mana Assimilation, hadn’t even awakened yet. Once it did, she would be able to turn all of the mana in the training room into her own.

“Whew... how was it?”

“You’ve improved a lot. Is this the maximum output?”

“I could increase it if I loosened my limits a bit, but that might lead to injuries, so I’m sticking to this for now.”

“Hmm. Limits, huh?”

While he couldn’t help with the output since it mostly depended on the caster’s synesthetic mindscape, making something to help her control her Incantation Magic wouldn’t be too difficult.

Equipment that assists in fine-tuning spell formulas.... That could do quite well in the competition.

A device that could assist in fine-tuning spell formulas would certainly catch the interest of sorcerers, especially those completely obsessed with magic, like Dawn.

Solidifying his new idea, he mentally drew some blueprints and then smiled.

“It seems we have a plan. I’ll make the prototype first and bring it tomorrow.”

“...Is that it, then?”

“It seems so? Why, is there something else you would like to show me?”

Flinching slightly at his question, Luize grumbled, “It’s not that.... It’s just that you’ve only seen it once, so I’m wondering if that’s enough to be so sure.”

“Seeing it once is more than enough. Who do you think I am? I’m the unprecedented genius of the Department of Blacksmithing...”

“Agh, never mind. If you’re done, just go.”

Stopping his boasting, she began pushing Se-Hoon by the shoulders toward the door of the training room.

I was just trying to lighten the mood by acting so cocky since she seemed so worried... tsk.

He was dumbfounded by her prickly reaction, unable to understand why her emotions were so fickle, just like during her Blast Dog days.

Pondering the reason while allowing himself to be pushed toward the entrance, he suddenly stopped when something came to mind.

“Ah. Wait a minute. I just remembered something I want to do.”

“What now?”

“I want to try casting some Incantation Magic myself.”

Having previously confirmed that his aptitude for Incantation Magic was different from before he regressed, he wanted to test its limits. And right now, he was currently in the perfect environment to do so, a place where the ambient mana concentration was adjustable.

Quickly turning himself and Luize around, he pushed her by the shoulders back to the center of the training room.

“Since I remembered, I might as well take an in-depth look at your Incantation Magic too. From what I saw earlier, it looks like you could start learning some new application methods.

“...Ahem. I was going to go back and rest, so you’re really bothering me.”

Despite her verbal reluctance, her excitement was evident in her demeanor. And that made him narrow his eyes.

Does she have some sort of emotional instability, just like before the regression?

The fact that her emotions were flipping like pancakes was a clear sign she wasn’t in the best of states. Thus, Se-Hoon resolved to set aside a day for a more in-depth conversation.

“Let’s see... set to thirty,” he said as he walked forward after positioning her behind him.

Feeling the mana concentration in the training room that had plummeted by half, Luize’s face soured. The barren mana levels resembled dry soil.

“Can you really do it here?”

At sixty percent, she was converging mana around her with minimal effort, but at thirty percent, she was barely converging any.

Thus she couldn’t help but gaze at him skeptically, wondering how Se-Hoon planned to cast his Incantation Magic in such conditions.

Shrugging, Se-Hoon said, “Well, I might fail. But I just want to see how far I can go.”

In an environment that would have been utterly inaccessible to his pre-regression self, he wanted to test his limits.

Readying himself, he purified the mana in his mouth before imprinting his synesthetic mindscape upon it, recalling the time the Blast Dog had ground down quite a few of her teeth in frustration to teach him an application method.

“I’ve told you time and again that it’s not hard. Just imagine how a rumor spreads. Like this.... It’s so easy, so why don’t you get it, you dense fool!!!”

Though he had managed to learn it in the end, he had never been able to use it effectively in real combat. Recalling the advice she had given back then, he imprinted his synesthetic mindscape deep within the mana.

“Speech Proliferation.”

The incantation swept through the entire training room like waves, filling the room with an eerie resonance filled the room.

It made small amounts of mana begin to churn, which eventually formed a singular flow in front of Se-Hoon.

“This is...”

Just like how people gathered upon hearing a circulating rumor, the sparse mana in the training room clustered in front of him.

Then, directing the massively clustered mana, he spoke the incantation.

“Thunder Strike.”

Crash!!

The massive bolt of blue lightning lashed out at the walls of the training room. Its firepower was stronger than the Lightning Vortex Luize had shown earlier, leaving her frozen in shock.

[Skill ‘Incantation: Attribute(C)’ has been upgraded to ‘Incantation Inscription (B)’.]

“...Seems like I have quite the talent,” Se-Hoon muttered with a wry smile.