Ch. 39 - 【Another PoV】 Fore's Surprise

Her magical skills were undeniable.

Anyone who heard the rumors could tell. Her wind and fire magic were top-notch, and even her water magic.

I could use other types of magic too, but the only one I could confidently say I was good at was water magic.

That was why I understood why Aoi Konominato was so arrogant. At such a young age, she was already at the top among magicians. Anyone in her position would think she was special and capable of anything.

But that was a mistake.

I had a similar past. Even though I’m a noble, I was born into a viscount family with a small, fragile territory, and neither my father nor my mother were magicians.

By chance, I had a talent for magic and could attend the academy, but my life was a struggle afterward.

I studied, trained, and researched harder than anyone else to gain a deeper understanding of magic.

Before I knew it, I had become the top student in the academy, and my path to becoming a teacher had been opened up. My efforts were not in vain. If anyone else put in the same effort, I’m sure they could become a first-class magician. If I could achieve that, I would become the first senior teacher from the Maple Leaf Holy Empire.

However, I wasted several years. Due to family circumstances, I was desperate to show results. But the more I rushed, the worse the results became.

In the end, I angered the son of a duke of the Bushmills Empire and was nearly expelled from the academy.

After ten years, I was able to calm down and become a teacher. If the content wasn’t understandable to anyone, the students wouldn’t get it.

So I made sure even monkeys could understand and aimed for them to be able to use one or two advanced spells while at the academy. By following this method, I became a senior teacher, and my family was even promoted to an earl family.

Aoi Konominato's method wouldn’t work like that.

"Excuse me," I called out and opened the door.

Upon entering the classroom, I was surprised by the number of people present.

No, many of them weren’t students. The students—Cote, Ayle, Liz, and Bell—were sitting together, with Shenley in the center of the front row. There was also Dean, and… I was shocked to see Felter Cairn. Even Rox was here.

But these seven were the only students. The others were Strass and Eliza…

"Are you attending too, Speyside-sensei?"

Speyside averted his eyes uncomfortably and pointed outside the window. "…The principal is also observing, so I thought I'd see how it goes…"

Surprised by his words, I looked out the window and saw Principal Glenn quickly hiding.

Ridiculous. The principal, as his title suggested, was the most skilled magician at the academy. And he was observing?

What on earth was there to learn in this class?

Puzzled, I took a seat in the back corner.

Aoi glanced at me, then looked at the attendance list. "Now that everyone is here, let's begin the class."

Aoi looked around at everyone and turned one palm upward. "Today's class is lightning magic."

After a brief pause, she continued speaking. "[Purple Thunder Orb, Riot]."

Immediately, a pale purple glowing sphere about fifty centimeters in diameter appeared above Aoi's palm. The sphere flickered with intermittent crackling sounds as everyone's faces froze in astonishment.

Of course, mine did too.

Aoi grasped the orb with both hands and stretched it out horizontally. It was precisely like the lightning descended from the sky.

Without thinking, I stood up and shouted, "That’s impossible!"

I couldn't hold back. I had intended to stay silent until the class ended, but I couldn't hold back. Perhaps it was due to fear, but I didn't understand that at the time.

Aoi made the lightning disappear like an illusion and said calmly, "Why do you say that?"

I slammed the desk and shouted again, "Users of lightning magic are historically few! It's said to be a secret magic passed down orally in select circles, but no one should be able to use it now!"

"I don't know about magic from the past, but this is my original magic, so I can teach it. In fact, my master has learned it."

"That's… Impossible…"

The words of a genius…

No, it was more like the words of a monster.

Many rebuttals came to my mind, but even I felt they were incoherent, so I didn’t say a word.

I sat back down weakly and leaned on the back of my chair.

If you can teach it, then go ahead.

That was what I thought.

When I fell silent, Aoi looked around at everyone expressionlessly. "Then, let's start with the mechanisms of clouds. Clouds are formed when water in the air rises into the sky and liquefies or crystallizes in the colder upper atmosphere. When the temperature is warm, more water rises from sources such as rivers and seas, making the clouds larger and thicker."

Aoi cast water magic, transforming a ball of water in her hands into mist.

The mist rose and gathered near the ceiling of the classroom.

"This is a simulated cloud. Its density is low, so let's thicken it. If you can do this today, that will be enough, so let's do our best."

She continued explaining, "Now, for the chant… Well, let's try it like this."

It was as if she had just thought of the words for the chant.

First, generating and fixing water. Second, heating. Third, rising. Fourth, circulation. Fifth, cooling.

I adjusted the mana while chanting. Sure enough, I produced a smaller version of the spell Aoi used.

When I actually cast the spell, I could feel the movements of my own mana. Although the chant didn't include it, it seemed that the cooled water descended and then rose when heated again.

"This is how clouds work. Those who can do it, increase the amount of water and continue the process."

Following Aoi's instructions, I tried it. It wasn’t impossible, but it was quite difficult. Most people would likely fail at this.

Looking around, I saw others struggling.

"Hmm, this is difficult…"

"Onii-sama, it's all about imagination! Picture the cloud mechanism Aoi-sensei described clearly in your mind!"

“… I-it's surprisingly easy?"

"Dean-kun, you're good!"

"Hah, I'll be faster than you, Felter."

“… Shut up and focus."

"Wow…! Shenley-chan is amazing!"

"Liz, focus."

But despite the fuss, everyone managed to cast the spell.

No, in fact, some were doing better than me…

I looked at Strass and the others in astonishment. Even Eliza, whom I heard could only use earth magic, managed to create a small mass of water.

"Eliza-sensei, please remember what I taught you before about how to create water and its properties."

"Y-yes…!"

"Stay calm, Eliza."

"Hmm, interesting… So this is a cloud."

Only Eliza struggled because of her lack of aptitude for the magic. As far as I could see, everyone could cast the spell properly.

Even Eliza, with the help of Strass and Aoi, eventually created a cloud.

"What… How are they doing it? We're in the same class, learning the same new spell…"

I looked up at my slowly growing cloud, then out the window.

Outside, Principal Glenn, having created a downpour, was laughing ecstatically while drenched in rain.

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