“Pathetic things······.”
Deculein spoke with contempt and halted the class. At the head professor’s blatant disappointment, the lecture hall fell silent for a moment.
Only sighs poured out.
The Debutant mages who had entered the Tower with swelling dreams had, today, felt a clear wall before them.
Deculein’s magic was that solid. His 「Psychokinesis」, firm as an impregnable fortress, was enough to make the words “How can mere 「Psychokinesis」 be this—” slip out on their own.
By common knowledge, 「Psychokinesis」 was easy to learn and easy to master, but if one had no aptitude for it, its output was so ambiguous that it was treated as a minor spell.
Then, if even mere 「Psychokinesis」 was such a masterpiece, what on earth were Deculein’s other spells like? At what level was the purity of his mana?
It was indeed skill worthy of the head professor, but recalling the gaze with which he had looked at them as though they were filth, the mages did not sink into self-loathing.
The gloomy silence lasted only three minutes.
“Ah, he’s seriously so damn obnoxious.”
“If I could do that, I wouldn’t be a Debutant.”
“What, is the head professor getting a kick out of messing with Debutants?”
“Wow, but how did he buy 150 mana stones? He must really have a ridiculous amount of money.”
“That professor’s famous for throwing money around. They say he spent 200 million at the auction house. 200 million in a single day.”
“200 million?!”
With gossip like that, the lecture hall swelled lively again.
“Wow······ I’m dying. But Ifrin, how did you do it? I feel like I’m going to die right now.”
Julia, who had been unconscious for a moment, asked Ifrin. Ifrin glanced at Julia beside her and shook her head.
“······I dunno. My tongue’s shtill weird.”
Of course, when she had succeeded, she had been so happy she could have died.
To exaggerate a little, it was a sense of accomplishment similar to when she had passed the Magic Tower entrance exam.
The target had been Deculein’s magic, and for those thirty minutes, she had truly worked like a madwoman.
“Just tell me what it felt like.”
“Like pushin’ a train with my bare handsh.”
“It felt like pushing a train with your bare hands?”
Ifrin nodded.
Deculein’s magic was practically a Roahawk boar. Just like that taste, distinct from any other pig, its class was clearly set apart from any professor in the Magic Tower.
“Huuuu······.”
In any case, once that time of concentration ended, Ifrin was exhausted.
“No, but wasn’t that way too hard? It feels like he was just screwing with us.”
Julia grumbled. Ifrin drank cold water.
“······I think I kind of get it. Ah, my tongue’s finally loosening up.”
“Hm? You think you get it?”
“I had some kind of realization.”
At those words, not only Julia but many ears around them perked up. Ferit and Rondo in the front row even turned their chairs around completely.
“Realization?!”
“Yeah. Honestly, I only know beginner-level Psychokinesis, right? But while I was trying to break through Deculein’s magic······ I mean, how should I put it······ it felt like something broke through.”
An instinctive realization.
To face Deculein’s magic, beginner-level Psychokinesis clearly wasn’t nearly enough. Even so, because she had not given up and had struggled desperately······.
“A realization? An insight? Like a circuit opened up automatically?”
In other words, a circuit had “opened.”
Lines had formed on the magic circle of Psychokinesis of their own accord, circles had multiplied, and that formula had interfered with Deculein’s magic.
A realization beyond intuition.
With that, though it was only enough to make the mana stone twitch, Ifrin had succeeded. She had not been far behind Sylvia either, so it was a success worthy of pride.
The medal was the mana stone worth 3,000 elne in her hand.
“Wow. Really? That’s amazing.”
“I don’t know the details, but anyway, that’s how it was for me.”
Before she knew it, the eyes around her were sparkling.
They said a mage’s favorite word was “realization” in first place and “insight” in second, and she had mentioned both, so of course they would.
If even the last-place girl did it, why couldn’t I? It was something like that.
“Anyway, I think it’s the right method. You know, with things like chess, you only improve by playing against masters, right? If you only play beginners, you just go back and forth around the same level.”
“Back and forth.”
“Ah, right. My tongue still isn’t fully back.”
Ifrin was certain.
The path Deculein presented was not wrong.
If one wished to improve their qualities, knowledge, and skill as a mage, all one had to do was follow his path······.
──However.
The other mages in the same lecture hall, more precisely those of noble birth, found such an Ifrin laughable.
Unusually, even Sylvia glanced at Ifrin with eyes that showed she was very bothered.
Sylvia had once heard a strange rumor.
It was a rumor that Ifrin, who had placed last in the previous class, had received private instruction from Deculein late into the night. There had even been a professor who had personally witnessed Deculein leaving work late.
At first, she had not believed it, but without that rumor, this current leap could not be explained. Ifrin had grown so suddenly because she had received Deculein’s private tutoring······.
Unable to suppress her displeasure, Sylvia closed her eyes for a moment.
Why had he given a reward meant for first place to last place? An unknowable foam bubbled and boiled inside her.
“Hey! Why aren’t you cleaning?!”
Just then, a sharp voice suddenly rang out. It was a male mage sitting near Sylvia, “Beck,” who had awkwardly imitated Deculein’s style.
Having been watching Sylvia’s expression all this time, he abruptly attacked the commoner group that included Ifrin.
“We cleaned our seats, though?”
Julia replied.
“What? You have to empty all the trash cans in the back too! Don’t you know Professor Deculein absolutely hates that kind of thing?”
In principle, there was no distinction of status in the Magic Tower, but nobles like this would subtly look down on commoners.
Ifrin frowned and said,
“If you close the lid, you can’t even see it anyway. If it bothers you that much, why don’t you do it?”
“What? Hah. You little— If we met in society, you’d—”
At that moment, the lecture hall door opened. Beck hurriedly sat down.
Deculein stopped walking and looked at Beck, who had just been making noise.
“······.”
To be exact, he looked at Beck’s nose, at the nostril where the nosebleed had not yet been fully wiped away. Even a few nose hairs were sticking out slightly.
“I’m sorry, I apologize! I’ll never do it again!”
Frightened in advance by that gaze, Beck hurriedly bowed at the waist.
“Go sit in the back. You’re unpleasant to look at.”
“Yes, sir!”
Beck was immediately isolated, and the commoners felt secretly delighted. They lightly ignored the presence of Beck trembling in the back row.
“See~? I told you, he really scolds everyone whether they’re nobles or commoners.”
Julia poked Ifrin. Ifrin frowned and shook her head.
“I keep telling you, that isn’t a good thing. I don’t like it.”
Standing at the lectern, Deculein resumed the class.
“What do you think was the reason you failed to perform magical interference just now?”
“Because the defending side has the advantage.”
It was an unexpected objection. Moreover, the one who made it was Sylvia.
At present, she was extremely dissatisfied with Deculein. Her eyes were already those of a bulldog.
Ifrin went, “Oh~,” and wiggled her eyebrows.
Sylvia said,
“Professor, please show us an example as well.”
From the beginning, in a game of attack and defense, defense was far more advantageous.
At minimum three minutes, perhaps even five—Sylvia thought she could endure easily. She felt she would be satisfied if Deculein trembled during that minute-scale span of time.
“That’s right. It’s common sense that defense is far more advantageous.”
Ifrin also chimed in. Sylvia grew even angrier at Ifrin’s words.
“Very well.”
Deculein nodded.
He, too, had more than enough confidence. At least when it came to this 「Psychokinesis」, he was far beyond Debutant level—no, he was confident he would not fall behind anyone in the university.
“Try it.”
As if she had been waiting, Sylvia activated her Psychokinesis to its peak. The mana stone was seized by Sylvia’s mana and floated gently—
Whooosh—!
And was immediately taken by Deculein.
“Huh.”
Sylvia was flustered.
It had happened so instantly that she could not even perceive what had just occurred.
Without knowing why it had been taken, it had already been taken.
The time was one second······ no, less than that.
“Ifrin. Will you do it too?”
This time, it was Ifrin.
After briefly reading the room, Ifrin hurriedly rummaged over her desk, inside her book, inside her pencil case, and inside her notebook. Then she lowered her head as if ashamed.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know where my mana stone went. I lost it in that short time.”
“I will return it afterward.”
“······Ah, I had put it in my pocket. I’m sorry. I’ll try.”
Ifrin took out the mana stone and floated it with Psychokinesis. She, too, focused with a momentum that seemed as if she would get a nosebleed, but Deculein still seized it away from her in an instant.
There was no real difference from Sylvia.
“What was that?”
Ifrin felt as if she had been hit by a train. It was practically a collision.
Deculein continued speaking calmly.
“If the difference in magical skill is this severe, it is not interference. It is one-sided violence.”
Ifrin and Sylvia frowned in displeasure at the same time.
“Therefore, you must know your place. Accordingly, you need to understand ‘mana interference,’ which differs from ‘magical interference.’”
Deculein snapped his fingers and extinguished the lights in the lecture hall. Then three magic circles of 「Psychokinesis」 rose into the air. They were beginner, intermediate, and advanced, respectively.
“There is no particular need to dismantle the spell. There is no need to counter with the same spell either.”
When Deculein snapped his fingers once more, red lines were drawn over the circuits that served as the cores of the magic circles.
“You need only approach it with the idea of projecting ‘mana’ and disturbing only the central circuit of the magic circle—that is, the ‘core circuit.’”
This was called “mana interference,” and was in truth a fairly famous method. It was a technique most mages acquired during their life in the Magic Tower.
However, it was not versatile.
Because one could only interfere with spells one knew, and because time was short in actual combat, most chose to defend with a barrier or oppose the spell with the same kind of magic.
But without hardship, there was no growth.
“The essence of this technique called ‘mana interference’ is distinguishing the ‘core circuit’ of a magic circle. Now, based on multiple magic circles, I will show you how to identify the core circuit.”
Deculein described the method of mana interference in concrete yet simple terms, and explained how to select the core circuit of a magic circle.
“Even if it is a spell you are encountering for the first time in your life, do not panic. Look at it with a mage’s eyes. Depending on whether its category is destructive or auxiliary, and what element it uses, there will always be a ‘core circuit’ that forms. You need only predict the location of that core circuit, attack it, and disturb it.”
By reading not only grimoires but also magical education texts thoroughly,
by finishing rare ancient books that even most noble mages could neither obtain nor read,
by referring to the system and settings within the game,
and by comparing and contrasting the formulas of dozens, hundreds of spells through 「Comprehension」,
Deculein had realized this method unique to himself.
“Once you become accustomed to this ‘mana interference,’ ‘magical interference’ will also become much easier. Now, look again at this magic circle called 「Gale Blade Awl」.”
The secret technique that, by the nature of their profession, most mages—no, nearly all mages—would have hidden tightly as a trade secret, Deculein conveyed to them without holding anything back.
“Destructive spells always have circuits that spread from the inside outward as if exploding, so while keeping that in mind······.”
It was time for the mages to take notes again.
They focused on every word Deculein said. His pronunciation, each and every word, struck their ears.
Deculein’s unique force of attraction, mysterious no matter how many times they experienced it.
The positive manifestation of the trait 「Dignity and Presence」.
And so, time passed in an instant.
6 p.m.
The moment it became exactly that hour, Deculein stopped the lecture.
“That is all.”
“······?”
Yet the mages themselves were greatly flustered. Deculein’s lecture was still incomplete.
However, Deculein, whose sense of time was thorough—no, close to obsessive—was neither late nor early.
He arrived at exactly 3:00 p.m. and left at exactly 6:00 p.m.
Therefore, he neither taught more nor less than that.
“······There is still a little more left, and I wanted to explain an easier method for interfering with ‘pure elements’ as well.”
Deculein looked over them. That gaze still seemed to find the Debutants pathetic.
“You were the ones who wasted time, so I trust you have no complaints. As for the rest, it would be good for you to imagine and realize it on your own.”
Saying that, he straightened his clothes, and while all the debutant mages stared blankly, the head professor left the lecture hall.
······Normally, when class ended, everyone would stand up and leave.
Today, no one rose.
“······Ah.”
Someone sighed. It was probably Epherene.
Sylvia blinked, pencil still in hand. The sentence cut off midway bothered her. It bothered her, and bothered her again.
“Ah, what the hell. What are we supposed to imagine, and how?”
An unnamed mage muttered. Everyone in the lecture hall felt much the same.
They made no move to leave the lecture hall and instead badmouthed Deculein behind his back, but when they soon realized he was never coming back, they ended up resenting the world itself.
* * *
The Imperial Territory of “Impurium,” directly governed by the Emperor, was connected to the capital in the south and protected by the rugged Mount Kidea in the north, serving as the administrative heart of the Empire.
Beneath that city, where numerous imperial institutions such as the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, the Bureau of Justice, and the Bureau of Internal Affairs had their bases, there existed a criminal interrogation room directly under the Security Bureau.
······Rockhark was being held in that underground chamber.
“You will be sent to Reccordak.”
The interrogator was Lilia Primienne. Even in Impurium, she was an especially famous deputy director of the Security Bureau.
“You will not come out until you die. Perhaps you won’t even last a year.”
Rockhark looked into her eyes.
Primienne was a woman with long, dark-blue hair tied back like a horse’s tail. Her ice-cold, transparent blue eyes held the distinctive aura of the strong, undulating within them.
“······Any objections?”
Primienne spoke. Her tone was stiff, but her voice was soft.
As expected, compared to her impression, she was the type whose voice was gentle.
“I asked if you had any objections.”
Rockhark did not answer.
A vein bulged at Primienne’s temple.
“Turn it on.”
“······What?”
“Your ability.”
Rockhark gave a faint laugh and closed his eyes.
At that moment, all magic in the area was cut off. The target was the crystal ball monitoring the interrogation room. As soon as Primienne confirmed it had gone dead, she snapped.
“You fucking moron.”
“······.”
“I’m sure I told you. Why did you do something harmful to the clan?”
Rockhark silently looked at Primienne. With an expressionless face, Primienne continued.
“I tried to kill you. If it came to light that you were one of the clan, public opinion for oppression would gain strength. The only reason you aren’t dead is purely for research purposes. So don’t you dare let the word Jeokgwe leave that mouth of yours.”
“······Do you think doing that will let us cling to this Empire and live off it?”
“If we don’t reveal ourselves, it’s possible. The Jeokgwe are no different from ordinary humans, except at the moment of birth.”
“No. We are born with demonic talent. That is what they fear.”
“You fucker. There are plenty of talented people who aren’t Jeokgwe.”
Primienne sounded angry as she spat that out, but her face remained as indifferent as ever.
“And another thing. Why did you mess with Deculein? We were already keeping an eye on Yukline.”
“······Does the clan intend to kill him?”
Rockhark asked. Primienne’s eyebrow twitched.
“We were merely watching him, but if that scoundrel keeps acting like a scoundrel, killing him isn’t out of the question.”
“You don’t have to kill him. He is not a fake, but a ‘true’ noble.”
“A true noble······ Bullshit, you idiot. The crimes of that bastard I’ve collected are enough to fill a basin.”
Rockhark shook his head.
He recalled the Deculein he had seen before.
That dignity with which he had declared with certainty that the Jeokgwe were not demons, but humans. Those eyes that, without doubt, pierced through to nothing but what was right.
If such nobles had existed in the past—no, if there had been many of them—
Then the Jeokgwe, too, could have lived in harmony with the world.
“He knew I was Jeokgwe, yet he did not kill me.”
“······.”
Primienne’s eyes widened. It was the only surprise she had shown today.
But soon she regained her composure and spoke.
“······Do you not know that Yukline’s ancestors took the lead in the massacre and oppression of the Jeokgwe?”
“I did not. But if we treat that child the same merely because he has even a little of his ancestors’ blood mixed in him, then that would be the same as agreeing with them when they say we are demons.”
“You son of a bitch, you refuse to lose a single argument.”
Primienne swept back her hair. Rockhark gave a faint laugh.
“You—how long do you think you can sit in such an important post without being discovered?”
“Forever. There is no way to distinguish a Jeokgwe by appearance or blood.”
“There are foods the clan cannot eat.”
“Then I simply don’t eat them.”
“What if another method is invented? Isn’t that why you’ve placed eyes here and there, because you’re afraid of that too?”
“That’s not it, you fucking retard.”
A sharp edge entered Primienne’s gaze.
“The Emperor’s condition is poor. Soon, he may die.”
The current Emperor’s policy toward the Jeokgwe was one of thorough disregard. Even to the petitions of those damned bastards pushing for oppression, the Emperor had not uttered a single word in response.
But what the successor who followed him would do—only the heavens knew.
“You stay buried in Reccordak.”
Reccordak.
The frozen hell called the worst prison on earth.
“The clan’s full-fledged policy will be decided after the current Emperor passes. Though I don’t know whether you’ll still be alive in Reccordak by then.”
It was then.
Thump, thump, thump—! Thump, thump, thump—!
When the magical surveillance vanished, the Security Bureau employees, sensing that something was wrong, rushed over and pounded on the door.
“Turn off your ability. And grit your teeth.”
“If it’s a fist from one of the clan, then anytime.”
Rockhark smiled, and Primienne grabbed him by the hair. Just like that, she slammed him down—bang!—onto the desk.
The door opened with perfect timing.
“Uh, u-uh! Deputy Director! You can’t! You can’t! Stop, stop!”
“You son of a bitch. You filleting bastard. I’ll crack your skull open.”
Bang—! Bang—!
As Primienne pounded Rockhark into the desk like a mortar, numerous burly men rushed at her.
“D-Deputy Director! Deputy Director! Please calm down!”
“Move. I’m going to pull out this fucking bastard’s guts and strangle him with them.”
“N-no, you can’t! What are you all doing, stop her! Stop herrrr──!”