The next day.
I took a magic tome and headed to the back mountain on the mansion grounds.
I had already mastered “Basic Telekinesis” perfectly. The proficiency visible through “Six Eyes” was 100%.
I had become able to handle seven shuriken as if they were my own limbs, but any more than that was difficult due to the spell’s output itself.
Therefore, today, I sought out a place where the air was cleaner than in the annex and the quality of mana was better. In the midst of the trees and grass of the back mountain, I tried to sit cross-legged and learn “Elementary Telekinesis,” but I could not bring myself to sit on the ground.
It was because of an unbearable mysophobia.
Left with no choice, I brought only a chair from the mansion.
An antique chair at the foot of a mountain covered in trees and grass. It did not suit the place at all, but with my back against the chair, I opened the magic tome.
──“Elementary Telekinesis”──
: Since you have learned Basic Telekinesis, now comes Elementary Telekinesis. Compared to Basic Telekinesis, Elementary Telekinesis adds eighteen straight lines and one circle. The movement of the circuit has also become twice as complex, and…
─────
I activated “Comprehension.”
In my head, and before my eyes, the formulae for “Elementary Telekinesis” and “Basic Telekinesis” appeared like phantoms.
“…”
I overlaid the two magic circles, as if stacking shapes on a computer. With that, the core differences between the two spells were clearly emphasized, and I grafted those differences onto my entire body.
Line by line, the more detailed circuitry of “Elementary Telekinesis” was engraved over the plain formula of “Basic Telekinesis.” Heavier lines and circles were added to the feather-light formula.
“Basic Telekinesis,” which had felt so simple as to seem empty, was finally beginning to take on the form of a “magic circle” one might see in any medium.
“Haa…”
Of course, I felt like I was dying.
Each time a new circuit formed, a burning pain surged up as though a chisel were scraping my joints.
Scritch, scritch— scritch, scritch—
The mana invading my muscles gnawed at my nerves.
If it had been a short, intense pain, that would have been preferable, but this time of endurance was terribly long. The magical formula settling into my entire body like roots was tormenting me to the point of madness…
By the time my mana was being depleted like that.
Within that ambiguous sensation where exhaustion and languor mingled.
I thought of what had happened last night.
…Yeriel.
But it was not something I needed to agonize over so complicatedly. I could only hope that the secret would not be leaked.
I soon killed those idle thoughts and opened my eyes.
Less than ten percent of my mana remained, but my stamina was still perfectly fine.
Therefore, now was the time for training.
I returned to the annex.
It was called a training hall, but compared to a modern gym, the scenery was somehow strange. For one, the horizontal bars lined up in a row extended far too high, and the weight of the metals used as dumbbells was beyond imagination.
I took off my clothes and folded them. My body, which had continued to improve and improve again, was quite pleasing even to my own eyes.
“…”
I placed my hands on the horizontal bar. In that state, I called over metal bands with telekinesis. Restraints totaling an easy 100 kilograms were equipped on my waist, ankles, and wrists.
After doing ten pull-ups on the first bar, I leaped up to the higher second bar. I did the same ten, then leaped up to the still higher third bar.
I repeated that until I reached the ceiling, and once I did, I landed as I was.
Thud—!
A tremendous impact spread through my whole body, but my posture did not collapse.
Now that I had finished the set, the next exercise was—climbing rope.
I climbed while tightly gripping the rope that led up to the ceiling. After reaching the top, I jumped down once again.
…As you can see, it was an ignorant method that an ordinary human would never even attempt. It was overexertion that “certainly” did not take into account things like joints, ligaments, knees, or what have you.
However, as long as my “Trait” functioned, no matter what nonsense I did, my bones would not break, nor would my ligaments stretch.
Of course, that did not mean there was no pain.
It was simply that, with Deculein’s advantageous personality traits—namely, his tremendous “Competitive Spirit” and a routine bordering on compulsion—I focused thoroughly only on the improvement of my body.
“Phew.”
And after finishing such ignorant exercise?
Before I knew it, my mana had recovered to about forty percent.
Then, again, I immersed myself in magic.
With this routine, the estimated time required to memorize “Elementary Telekinesis” was at most three weeks.
Also, my physical abilities, including the strength, explosiveness, and endurance developed through “Iron Man,” as well as physical qualities such as coordination, agility, and flexibility, might now surpass those of a decent subadult gorilla.
Of course, I was still far from catching up to the many Named characters or villains famous for their combat strength.
* * *
After arriving at the Magic Tower, I sat in my office chair and looked into the air.
[ Lv.1 System Shop ]
The System Shop allows a character to be strengthened using acquired “Shop Currency.” As the game progresses into its latter half, not only the player but also Named characters are strengthened through this shop.
However, opportunities to use the System Shop are extremely limited; even by the very end of the game, there are at most only six chances.
That is because the [ Lv.1 Shop ] has prices of 5 to 10 coins per enhancement item, the [ Lv.2 Shop ] 10 to 20 coins, the [ Lv.3 Shop ] 20 to 40 coins… doubling each time, and each shop can only be used once per level no matter what.
I knew for certain which enhancement was best.
──[ Lv. 1 System Shop ]──
■ 1. Blacksmith’s Fortune…
…
■ 5. Qualitative Enhancement of Mana (Stage 1)
: The character’s innate mana is qualitatively enhanced.
: Slight increase in mana output and efficiency.
: 10 Coins
────────────
Qualitative enhancement of mana.
There was no need to look at anything else. The rest were only good for concept play, and the standard path was only this.
So I just needed to gather 4 more coins.
Knock, knock—
At that moment, the door opened with a knock. Allen walked in hesitantly.
“Allen.”
“Y-yes. You called, so I came.”
Allen stood silently and looked at me.
Normally, one might say a word like, What did you call me for? But he was merely meek. Nothing but meek.
I smiled faintly and said,
“Have you ever thought of selecting an assistant mage of your own?”
“…Pardon?”
Allen tilted his head. I floated up, with telekinesis, the official notice that had come down last week.
“It is the assistant professor review.”
An official notice instructing us to submit any mage we wished to recommend as an assistant professor for review.
“…!”
As if he understood my meaning, Allen’s eyes slowly began to widen.
“Y-yes, yes, yes?!”
“That’s right. I will recommend you as an assistant profess—”
“Yes──?!”
“—or.”
By the time I finished speaking, Allen was already teary-eyed. Tears that looked ready to burst if touched.
Allen said in a choked voice,
“But, but… Professor, you said I had no talent…”
Of course, Allen lacked talent.
To the eyes of “Great Tycoon,” and even to the eyes of “Villain’s Fate,” he was colorless and odorless, without a trace. Those two Traits were not omnipotent, but Allen’s talent was certainly lacking.
Perhaps that was why he had not left until now. Since no one would call him, he was in a position where he could not flee anywhere.
“It was a test until now. Only you—only your diligence—passed my test.”
Deculein was authoritarian and disliked praise. But this much of his personality could be overcome to a fair degree. After all, there was a hierarchy even among “Personality” traits.
For reference, the hardest to overcome were “Mysophobia” and “Noble Etiquette.” Now, I truly hated dirty things to death.
“Y-yes?!”
“Do not ask anything beyond that. And take this.”
I gave Allen a gift.
It was nothing special, just a bracelet. I had ordered it from a nearby jeweler and told them to engrave the emblem of “Yukline” on it.
“Continue to work hard from now on.”
It was a vow that I would not let him go. Allen’s ability to handle miscellaneous chores and tasks, organize and compile documents, and his quick eye were useful to me as well.
Allen looked surprised, then spoke with both hands trembling.
“Then, then… Have I officially become your chief disciple…?”
“…”
I had not thought that far.
I made something up roughly.
“There are still two more stages remaining, so work hard.”
At that, Allen bowed vigorously. Three times in a row, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
“Ah, ah. Yes, yes! I understand!”
“You are now an assistant professor, so you must also observe my class two days from now.”
“O-observe, observe?! Observe?! Observe?!”
Allen asked back three times. The blood vessels gathered in his eyes looked like they might burst.
It was a little irritating.
“Do not react so noisily. I do not like it.”
Before I knew it, I had narrowed my eyes and snapped at him.
“…Ah, yes, yes. I’m sorry…”
“Good.”
I stood from my seat without much thought. But Allen was greatly startled, crouching down and trembling. He was defending himself with both arms.
“It is all right. I will not hit you.”
“Pardon? Ah… I’m sorry, um, where, where are you going…?”
“The library.”
Luna’s thesis.
The deciphering of its code was 100% complete. However, the actual composition of the thesis was ambiguous.
First of all, the topic was indeed the invention of a pure element. However, there were too many blank portions here and there, and there were also quite a few outright incorrect parts.
So I intended to look through some books in the library.
No matter how much I had the Trait called “Comprehension,” as a professor, studying magic was essential. If there were any useful manipulation magic tomes, I could learn those as well.
“Yes, yes! Ah, right! This! Professor!”
Allen fumbled in his breast pocket and held out a sheet of paper.
“Please be careful!”
[ Wanted: Wizard Killer “Rokhak” ]
[ There have been reports of sightings of the Wizard Killer Rokhak on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital. Debutante mages are advised to refrain from going out at night whenever possible. ]
Wizard Killer. I knew this guy too. For mage players, he was the greatest threat of the early to mid-game.
If it had been the original Deculein, he would have used the people of the underworld or the like to quickly locate this man.
However, those underworld connections that made Deculein powerful had been cut off by me first, without my even knowing.
“This Wizard Killer has been truly frightening lately. They say he specifically targets capable mages…”
“Allen.”
“Yes?”
“Do you know who I am?”
I laughed quietly.
“…Pardon?”
“I asked who I am.”
Wizard Killer. This man could be called a mid-boss class villain “limited to mages”—though of course he was of a lower caliber than Deculein—but I had confidence.
“Ah! You are Lord Deculein, a high-ranking mage of Monarch rank who commands all elements like servants, and the youngest head professor of the glorious Imperial University!”
It came out so smoothly that I was taken aback.
“…Yes.”
At any rate, this “mage serial killer” was a terrible match against me. Theoretically, it was a perfect natural-enemy relationship.
So there was no need to worry.
“You should be careful yourself, Allen.”
Of course, there were variables.
My lack of actual combat experience.
However, this “Personality” was a cold-blooded one that saw no difference between actual battle and practice, so I rather hoped to run into him. I hoped he would become my Shop Currency…
* * *
Surprisingly, Sylvia had a hobby other than magic. It was collecting literature and languages.
It was not merely on the level of “enjoying it casually.” Rather, excluding her magic training, she was closer to a collector who devoted all of her time to it.
Thus, the first place Sylvia visited as soon as she entered the Imperial University was also the library.
Of course, there was only disappointment. The Magic Tower library did have some rare books in its own way, but there were extremely few that Sylvia could call a “collection.”
──And so, today.
Sylvia made a major decision.
“Ah, I see. Well… Sylvia, you are already not at the Debutante level.”
“Would it be possible?”
“Hmm… This is a reading room exclusively for executives, though… Please wait a moment. I think I’ll have to contact someone.”
She had set foot in the Magic Tower’s executive—that is, professor-exclusive reading room.
“Yes. I’ll wait.”
However, she had not sneaked in like a rat. She attacked the front gate fair and square.
“······Ah, yes, yes. Yes, Professor. It’s just that Ms. Sylvia here says she’s looking for something to study······ Mm~ yes, yes. Understood.”
The librarian, who had been contacting someone through a crystal orb, soon smiled brightly and said,
“They say it’s fine. Go on in, Rookie Wizard of the Year. Apparently there’s an exception clause. You’ll need an exceptional entry permit, but it should be all right.”
“Thank you.”
Sylvia, still a student, marched triumphantly into the reading room without shedding a drop of blood.
After all, she was the heir of Iliade and the Rookie Wizard of the Year.
Even if it was a reading room reserved for faculty, there were few professors who would pick a fight with Sylvia, who was certain to become a professor in the future.
Just the amount Iliade had donated to the University Magic Tower could be counted among the top ten.
The order had merely been shifted a little.
“······.”
For the first time in a while, Sylvia felt excited as she looked around the interior of the reading room.
Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.
Her footsteps as she wandered here and there were as light as a rabbit’s.
“Ah.”
Sylvia, who had been searching the stacks with eyes so wide they seemed to swallow them whole, finally found it.
A collection that satisfied both of her hobbies at once: “literature” and “languages.”
A novel written in Etinel—that is, the language of the fairies.
“······.”
Sylvia carefully took the book out.
The title was as follows.
[Witrospy ba Mitrogy, Stirio lagio pe bardio.]
It had already been a long time since fairies vanished from the mortal world, but the novels they wrote still remained on the continent.
For that reason, Etinel novels discovered from time to time possessed immeasurable value.
The only problem was their atrocious difficulty.
Because the fairies’ linguistic system was utterly inconsistent, learning and translating it was insanely hard.
For instance, even from the title, she knew that Witrospy meant “man.” But Omesip, which appeared right on the first page, also meant “man.” The Radeoman that followed meant “man” as well.
How they had communicated using such a rootless language with no standards whatsoever was beyond her.
Of course, Sylvia had learned Etinel in her own way, so she could interpret it to some extent.
Skimming through the contents, she saw it was a romance novel.
Even better. I should hurry home and read it.
Just as Sylvia turned around with the book held to her chest.
“······!”
She ended up running into someone.
“Hmm?”
It was Professor Reteuran from the Department of Spirit Studies. Naturally, he recognized Sylvia, but he merely smiled faintly and passed her by.
Sylvia twisted her lips, feeling newly smug.
That was how it was.
In this vast university, there was no professor bold enough to punish her severely for merely entering the faculty library.
······Probably, except for one person.
Of course, she already knew that person never visited the library. Zero times in five years. He had practically built a wall between himself and the place.
Sylvia, who had been about to leave, found her confidence swelling for no reason. Wondering if there might be another book somewhere, if there was even an Etinel dictionary it would be the icing on the cake, she turned the corner of a certain stack with the heart of a childish girl.
And then.
“······.”
She came face to face with another person.
Sylvia’s languid eyes first swept over that tall body.
A suit jacket so harmonious it seemed custom-tailored, and beneath it, a formal vest wrapped around a pure white dress shirt. Sharp reading glasses perched on his nose, and an antique hardcover held in his gloved hand.
The intellectual handsome man, Head Professor Deculein.
······It was an unexpected encounter.
Even in that urgent instant, Sylvia, for some reason, coveted the rare-looking hardcover and examined it. Then, feeling a gaze on her, she glanced up.
The deep blue eyes behind the glasses were staring at her directly, very directly.
Only then did she grasp the gravity of the situation.
Sylvia stood still and merely blinked.
“······.”
Like that, one second, two seconds, three seconds.
“······.”
Their gazes tangled, and a strange silence flowed between them.
“······.”
In that wordless gap between them.
At last.
Thud—he closed the book first.
The moment he did, Sylvia turned around.
Click-click-click-click-click-click-click—
Her dress shoes moved especially fast and desperately, but soon a low, resonant voice seized her by the hair.
“If you do not stop, it will be disciplinary action.”
At his single sentence, Sylvia stopped. She simply stood there stiffly, as though frozen solid.
Step······ step······ step······.
Meanwhile, from behind her, the sound of footsteps slowly drew closer like a wooden ghost. An ominous, chilling air surged and flowed in.
At last, when those footsteps stopped, Sylvia swallowed in tension.