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Chapter 14: Dungeon Practicum (2)
A few days had passed since the semester began in earnest.
If there was one thing that Baek Yu-Seol felt while attending Stella, it was that high schools and universities in Korea could not even be compared to it.
If his stamina were not superhuman, he might have long collapsed.
“As you all know, 90% of the world’s population learns magic, but less than 20% can use offensive magic. Offensive magic should never be used without a license. Do you know why?”
“Isn’t it because offensive magic is dangerous?”
“Yes, that’s pretty much the answer. If there’s a bigger problem, it’s the precision of the magic.”
Magic was dangerous.
It was incomparable to the Earth’s firearms. The wrong use of flame attribute magic could burn down an entire village, while the mis-manipulation of water attribute magic could cause the collapse of an entire building.
There was once an unfortunate accident where earth-attribute magic shockwaves hit a passerby, killing him instantly.
“Offensive magic needs to be manipulated more precisely than any other magic. That’s why you must take the Mana Trajectory Studies class.”
Mana Orbitology's Professor Karleim wrote three words on the blackboard.
“Offensive magic is divided into three main categories.”
"Shooting: the magic is directly fired from the caster’s body."
"Targeting: the offensive magic is well-controlled with the option to attack specific coordinates."
"Area: it targets a wide range."
“Each type has its pros and cons. Shooting magic instantly locks its trajectory and allows you to fire at the enemy quickly, but the enemy can see, dodge, or block it. Target magic can hit unconditionally if the enemy fails to recognize it early. Still, its offensive power is weak, and the coordinates are very difficult to control, so the casting time is very long. What about the characteristics of the area magic?”
"Yes, you can attack the entire area, targeting several people simultaneously.”
“However, the mana efficiency is very poor, so mages with low amounts of mana cannot use it well. There are downsides. Starting today, you’ll be learning trajectories focusing on shooting and targeting in interpersonal battles. You were bored of studying formulas in middle school, right?”
"Yeah!!!"
The students were tired of studying and now wanted to see some real action.
“Unfortunately, you have to memorize the trajectory formula today.”
Sighs of disappointment rang out, but it could not be helped; the professor had to train the students slowly according to the curriculum.
“Then, shall we solve this formula?”
Professor Karleim wrote the problem on the blackboard.
[At a distance of 760 meters from the north, Charles is running at 12.6m/s to the south. Find the trajectory and expected observation distance for Yeonghee to hit Charles with the water-attribute magic skill, Hydro Gun.]
Yes, Trajectory Studies was mathematics.
“Is there anyone who wants to answer this question?”
The students frowned at the mention of water element magic.
Water-attribute magic required formulas and fluid mechanics since it was fluid, but this study was notoriously difficult to the extent that all mages avoided it like a plague.
As a reason, only basic knowledge was known, and it was hardly touched unless one majored in water-attribute magic.
To throw them this problem, it wasn’t just annoying. It was straight bullying.
“Ugh…”
“I feel like I’m going to vomit just looking at the problem…”
“What kind of superhuman is Charles? How can a person run at 12 meters per second?”
Most of the students turned their heads and looked away.
Baek Yu-Seol stared blankly at the back of the professor.
‘His hairstyle is so fucking amazing.’
Professor Karleim was bald with a distinctive hairline on the back of his head, similar to that of a ruler.
To describe it more precisely, it was in the form of a y=ax (a>0) graph.
Expressing individuality in one’s head as a graph of a quadratic function in which the coefficients of the quadratic term were positive numbers.
He must have been born to do math.
“Student Baek Yu-Seol?”
“Y-Yes?”
For a moment, Baek Yu-Seol was stunned and stuttered in response.
'Don’t tell me Stella’s professors can even use mind-reading magic?'
Fortunately, it was not a problem. Karleim said as he patted the blackboard, “The only person who made eye contact with me is this student. Come out and solve it.”
“… Yes.”
“Well, good job. You solved it so easily. Are you majoring in water attribute?”
“No, I’m not.”
“I can’t believe you’ve arranged the Redinburg Equation so simply. It’s simply great.”
“Yes.”
Baek Yu-Seol solved the question much more easily than he expected.
Professor Karleim, on the other hand, was visibly embarrassed but did not hide his admiration. Baek Yu-Seol had solved it so quickly that it was almost mental arithmetic.
Even in Stella where geniuses gathered, it was an unusually quick solution to the problem. At that point, it was almost comparable to the speed of a college student, if not a professor.
“Yes, I like it. Then, make these problems your homework until next time.”
As soon as the lecture ended, Baek Yu-Seol quickly left the classroom.
Eisel, watching him silently from behind, also followed.
As a result of following and watching him secretly those past few days, she was convinced.
Although he ranked last in the first year, he still seemed a little unusual to her.
Maybe a little too much.
“Excuse me.”
“…?”
When she called Baek Yu-Seol, he stopped his hurried steps. Then, looking at her, he wrinkled his expression in annoyance.
“What?”
“Why do you make that face when you see me?”
“What’s wrong with my face?”
"Whenever I see your face, I feel stressed."
"I'm the one who's stressed…?"
He had his reasons. For the past few days, he had been sensing Eisel secretly watching him.
“Okay, enough of that. Which lecture are you going to attend next?”
When Eisel shamelessly asked again, he was rather dumbfounded.
“Why do you keep asking me that? Are you interested in me?”
“What? It's rather offensive.”
“I’m even more offended.”
After saying that, Baek Yu-Seol ignored her and turned around to walk away, but Eisel hurriedly blocked his way.
“Come on… Wait a minute.”
“Why again?”
“Well, um, I’ve looked into some of your classes.”
“Even stalking me? I'm not into stalker types like you."
“You’re also a high school student, right?”
'I forgot.'
When Baek Yu-Seol recalled his vulnerability, he remained silent while Eisel continued.
“Anyway, when I looked at your classes, they all provided easy grades.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
It took less time, and one could easily get grades, so he took those classes. As a bonus, he also took alchemy and magic engineering classes to raise his skill level.
“Where did you learn such a strategy?”
“Why do you need to know? Since you’ve looked into it, let me be.”
Eisel frowned and sighed heavily.
“It’s okay to listen to something like Lunar Studies because it’s an A+ anyway, so it doesn’t affect me. But if I take other subjects, they’ll affect my grades.”
“What?”
Baek Yu-Seol was a little surprised inside.
He already had a lot to worry about, so he could not sit around worrying about other people's grades.
“Hmmm, your grades are already low, so would it be fine for me to lower them further?”
Eisel’s thinking was quite mature, but she would not be able to digest it if she had too much on her plate.
“Anyway, can you recommend just one lecture to me? Something good for my grades.”
“Why do you want me to recommend a lecture?”
“I knew you’d say something like that, so I prepared a price.”
“Price…?”
'Kids these days must really love stuff like this. Where did they all learn to be this materialistic?'
‘As far as I remember, Eisel in her early days must have been a penniless beggar who had nothing…?’
Knowing Baek Yu-Seol’s confusion, she hurriedly continued the conversation.
“Do you know the secret of the academy's Seventh Tower ghost story?”
“Huh?”
However, she mentioned a story he was familiar with.
“I… know a bit about it.”
“Oh, really? There are very few people who know about it. It’s an abandoned building surrounded by a barrier preventing entry. I can’t go in there because it’s closed, but in the basement…”
“Wait a minute.”
Believing that it shouldn't happen, he hurriedly stopped Eisel.
As she stated, this was precious information. Depending on the listener, it could bring massive benefits or be misused.
Based on this information, Flame was able to significantly increase her affinity with the desired male protagonist in the game.
In other words, Flame knew Eisel had this valuable information in the original romance fantasy novel.
Eisel could also hand over this valuable information to the male protagonist. Not an extra like Baek Yu-Seol.
“It’s a scary story, isn’t it? I don’t want to listen. I don’t think it’ll be fun.”
“It’s not a scary story. Are you afraid of ghosts? You don’t even look your age.”
“Fine, I’ll just tell you for free.”
'Don’t waste that valuable information in vain.' Baek Yu-Seol swallowed those words back.
Anyway, just the thought that Eisel was sincerely trying to trade something was enough for him.
This was because he knew that despite the tricks and annoyances she had suffered from the people, she was essentially the nicest, most righteous, and most unfortunate person in the world.
“Hmm, you acted like you weren’t going to tell me anything earlier, but you suddenly changed your mind?”
“Yes. I don’t usually do this, but I’m telling you because you’re pretty.”
"Uh. Are you saying I wasn’t pretty earlier?”
“It's not like that.”
“Never mind that. What would you recommend?”
“It isn’t directly related to your grades, but it’s really good for you. Take Meditation to the Abyss as a liberal arts subject.”
Although it was not yet known, meditation was very important for a priest-type mage who poured destructive magic into a wide range at once.
Understanding the formula was important for accurate casting, but in the end, it all came down to the brain, which manipulated the mana.
“Meditation? It's not very popular as a liberal arts subject. I knew you were different when you took Lunar Studies as your elective, but you really enjoy polishing yourself..."
"No, it's not like that."
At that point, the importance of meditation was not yet known, so Eisel’s reaction was natural.
However, after only a short period, most priests would meditate for hours daily. In that sense, meditation was a hugely important course for priests.
When he thought about that, he felt his head pounding.
‘Wait, come to think of it, I’m also a mage, right?’
Recently, Baek Yu-Seol’s growth had stalled. The academy had no episodes or monsters, so there was no way to acquire EXP.
He had been increasing his strength through training, but that was the limit.
‘Why didn’t I think of training like other mages?’
In the game, he successfully trained the character's constitution, whereby its mana would constantly travel back and forth between nature and the body, awakening the Mana Leakage Delay skill.
In the game, it was enough to train automatically by pressing a “Train” button, and one could earn EXP for free...
Now that it had become reality, couldn't he do it himself with this body?
In the game, if he just grinded, his skill level would go up.
However, it was slow, and there was a serious lack of content to acquire skill points.
If so, repeated training like this was the answer.
As soon as he thought about it, his mind felt clear.
‘I’m a mage, too. So, I need to train like a mage.’
He came to this conclusion and somehow felt better.
“My master was a priest, and he greatly increased his magical power through meditation. Although I would never tell this to anyone else, since it’s you, I guess it’s alright.”
“Oh, a master. Thank you. It’s a pity I didn’t hear anything about grades, but I’ll apply this. There was one course left anyway.”
When the conversation was over, Eisel suddenly disappeared somewhere.
‘It was worth teaching her…’
Baek Yu-Seol was scared to think about how this action would affect the future. However, leaving a girl who would be unhappy in the future because he was afraid of manipulating destiny also struck his conscience, so he did not regret his actions.
‘Besides, you never know, do you?’
He wondered what expensive rewards he would get if she meditated and gained enlightenment.
‘… Well.’
He did not think that was gonna happen.
‘She’s practically a beggar like me right now.’
He quickly gave up on that thought.
After class, he returned to the dormitory and stared blankly at the empty room.
“The dormitory is very spacious.”
At Stella Academy, all students lived in dormitories which were graded and divided from Class F to Class S.
This dormitory system was like a decoration room for the players, but it became the only home for Baek Yu-Seol. He had nowhere to return since his hometown had been burned down in the game setting.
Class F and Class S were not significantly different from each other. It had the same room structure, and the furniture was nearly identical. However, Classes F and E had four people in one room, Classes D and C had three, and Classes B and A had two.
Those in Class S had one room for themselves and were assigned to the highest floor.
The system that divided mages’ ranks according to floor number was already implemented in the academy.
‘I’m lucky to be assigned to Class S and have a room to myself, but it’s a little lonely.’
Nonetheless, there were benefits as a result of it.
Baek Yu-Seol was reminded of the previous encounter with Eisel as he sat cross-legged in the middle of the room.
‘Meditation.’
Meditation was very important to mages. And although he could only use one magic skill, he was still a mage.
Why did he still consider flash and Mana Leakage Delay simple skills?
It was possible to increase the ability by accumulating EXP through hunting or clearing episodes, but it was possible to raise stats and skills by training.
He had hardly ever exercised in real life, and this was the first time he used mana. In other words, he had to become more accustomed to mana. This problem could not be implemented with a skill level or the like.
‘Simple stats are not important. This is reality, so I must adapt myself to my body.’
He still did not know much about his body. He couldn’t know everything just by looking at the status numbers. He had to move and feel it himself.
Activating Flash with a mouse and keyboard was very different from activating Flash in reality.
Likewise, he would have to use auxiliary skills related to Mana Leakage Delay by relying on his instincts. Compared to other geniuses, he fell behind in many aspects.
Since he couldn’t handle magic, his abilities were close to the weakest, and even his control over mana was at the level of a newborn baby taking its first steps.
In the game, Baek Yuseol used his Mana Leakage Disorder to circulate mana continually and successfully created sword qi by explosively releasing that energy. Although it wasn't emphasized due to his lack of presence, the fact remained that he was the first sword master to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship in a world full of magic. He had to walk the same path he had once taken.
‘Breathe in… Breathe out.’
Baek Yu-Seol could feel the mana entering his body as he breathed in and out.
The total amount of mana that entered in one breath.
And the total amount of mana that escaped again.
The circulation of mana was determined solely by his breathing rate.
In other words, breathing is similar to the controller that handles mana.
If one gradually increased the amount of mana they inhaled in one breath, they would be able to achieve high efficiency someday.
The amount of mana, which was initially only a spoonful, gradually increased with each breath. It was a very small amount—the size of a grain of millet—but he could breathe more mana than before.
‘Skills are not simply raised by accumulating EXP.’
'The more you use the skill, the higher the skill level increases.'
'Then wouldn’t it be possible to train and raise skills?'
Even skipping dinner, he closed his eyes and concentrated on meditating, maximizing the sense of Mana Leakage Delay.
Early morning.
BaekYu-Seol opened his eyes as the sun rose and felt a new sense of change.
Mana Leakage Delay had a different feeling from when it simply existed as a skill.
Baek Yu-Seol, who had lived his whole life accepting the Mana Leakage Disorder since childhood, felt this sensation.
Baek Yu-Seol felt it, at least to some level now.
[The skill level of Mana Leakage Delay has increased.]
[The skill level of flash has increased.]