A dark night on the 23rd floor of the Magic Tower.
Professor Luina’s office.
She was still drafting a plan to verify Deculein’s thesis.
Snap!
The fountain pen she had been pressing down with as she wrote broke.
Drip— drip—
Blood from her nose fell onto the documents.
“……”
Luina stared blankly at the stains of blood.
She was dizzy.
Her heart pounded as if being struck by a hammer.
From the depths of her consciousness, an eerie emotion surged up.
Without thinking, she looked out the window.
The moon swallowed by gray clouds.
A world drenched entirely in darkness.
Her reflection in that glass seemed strange.
“……?”
Her eyes were dyed red.
It was surely a nosebleed.
Or had it been tears of blood?
Shaaaaaaa……
Suddenly, unidentified particles rose from her shoulder. It was an acrid current, like scattering ash.
“!”
Luina hurriedly looked back at her shoulder.
It was fine.
There was nothing wrong.
“Am I going mad……”
Luina muttered with a sigh.
Well, she had been through too much lately.
Being kidnapped by Deculein, going nearly a week without eating until she was on the verge of starvation, and even that humiliating oath.
The fact that she was still sane was more of a miracle.
“I should rest at home.”
Tap, tap— Luina gathered the pile of documents and put them into her bag. She turned off the light and closed the door to her office.
……And so she went outside.
Twitch—
In that darkness, however, an inexplicable pulse continued.
* * *
Wednesday, 2 p.m.
Epherene was doing a group assignment in the Magic Tower’s study room. However, since the entire assignment was in its final stage, it was mostly just chatter.
“One card!”
“Ah, fuck! That’s fucking cheap!”
Eurozan, Dane, and Jefel.
The three boys were playing a card game, Sylvia had her eyes closed as if absorbed in checking the assignment’s calculations, and Epherene was reading a letter.
[ To Epherene Luna.
I have read your letter well.
I believe in your talent. Therefore, you too should believe in your own talent and walk a firm path, one not self-righteous, without being swayed.
If you advance and strive with sincerity, good results will surely await you. ]
“Five lines, huh~”
Compared to the ten-page letter she had sent, it was short, but she was grateful enough that he had replied at all.
No matter how she thought about it, she felt she shouldn’t have written about Roahawk—her resolve to become the greatest wizard, like Roahawk.
Epherene put the letter away in satisfaction, but then—
“……Huh?!”
She suddenly shouted. Then she took a handkerchief from the inner pocket of her robe.
At the last university festival, when she had watched the play “Portrait of a Sorrowful Day” and cried disgracefully, a certain gentleman had given her this top-quality handkerchief.
“Wait a second.”
The pattern embroidered on this handkerchief.
“This.”
And the mark engraved on the corner of the letter.
“They’re the same.”
Epherene’s pupils seemed to turn into that pattern as well.
It didn’t seem like the emblem of some family…… It looked more like some high-end maker, but this absolutely could not be a coincidence.
“Ah~ wait. Ah~”
Epherene grabbed her head and pondered.
What had that person’s face looked like back then? She had been crying so pathetically that she hadn’t even dared to meet his eyes.
“……No way.”
Ah, no way.
Had he really been watching over her?
Had he been, quite literally, “keeping an eye” on her talent?
“Hmm…… If so.”
This was exciting, for the first time in a while.
Interesting.
Feeling a certain thrill, Epherene stroked her chin with deliberate nonchalance.
Just then, a sharp voice cut in.
“You’re noisy. Stupid Epherene.”
It was Sylvia.
As if her concentration had been broken, she was glaring at Epherene with sullen eyes.
“Sorry, sorry~”
Epherene apologized brightly and shut her mouth, while Sylvia closed her eyes again as if to focus on checking the assignment.
But her ears and eyelids kept twitching. As though she were seeing and hearing some other scenery.
Even the corner of her mouth had just twitched—like a pout.
“Right. Did you guys hear the rumor? About Rohakan.”
“……!”
The three boys playing cards abruptly changed the topic.
Epherene, feeling guilty for no reason, straightened her back. After all, she had been right there at the scene.
“Rohakan? I know. But, well, even my dad wouldn’t tell me about it. He said it’s classified.”
“There’s a rumor that Chief Professor Deculein fought Rohakan.”
“No way. Still, the opponent was Rohakan. Even for the Chief Professor, they’d be on different levels, wouldn’t they?”
Fortunately, the boys seemed to know nothing.
“It’s almost time for class. Let’s get going.”
“Epherene. Miss Sylvia. You two coming or not?”
The three boys looked over.
Just then, Sylvia opened her eyes too.
“Yeah, yeah. We should go, we should go.”
They stored the scroll in the study room safe, all went outside together, and got into the elevator.
Sylvia whispered softly.
“You know what happened that day is a secret.”
“Why are you asking something so obvious? Do you really think I’m an idiot?”
“Yes.”
“……”
Ding—
They arrived on the 3rd floor, but Epherene got off the elevator a little late. It was because the noble wizards waiting near the corridor had swarmed—toward Sylvia.
What was she, an idol?
“Miss Sylvia! I heard! They say you saw through Rohakan’s barrier this time?!”
“Amazing~ Sometime, please give a lecture—”
What are they talking about? Saw through the barrier, my foot. She only mooched my fish skewer.
Grumbling, Epherene opened the door to the A-Class lecture room and went inside.
“Looks like they’re doing something again today.”
As soon as she entered, the scenery was unusual. Looking around, she saw the university campus.
Excluding the Magic Tower, the café, gymnasium, classroom buildings, garden, alleyways, shopping district, restaurants, and so on—the university grounds had been perfectly recreated.
“Oh…… huh?”
Epherene, who had turned around without much thought, was greatly startled.
The door she had entered through had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty garden.
A chill ran down her back.
“Is today a ghost special? But what does this have to do with pure elements……”
Was it something like ghosts are actually pure elements too?
—Ah, ah. Can you hear me?
Just then, a voice descended from the sky. It was Assistant Professor Allen’s tone.
—It is now exactly three o’clock, so we will begin class. If there are any Debutants who have not entered, they are disqualified for tardiness.
Disqualified if even one second late. A method typical of Deculein.
Epherene pricked up her ears.
—Today’s class topic is “Methods of Responding in Actual Combat.” Please consider this place a virtual barrier. You are currently trapped within the barrier, your objective is escape, and the time limit is 180 minutes.
“Mm-hmm.”
It was an interesting class method in its own way.
—Monsters generated by the barrier exist in all directions. Also, today, Chief Professor Deculein is not your ally. The Professor will roam the area in order to eliminate you.
“Deculein?!”
Hearing that, Epherene was actually pleased. It was a chance to challenge Deculein legally.
—Of course, Professor Deculein and several other professors are monitoring you, so it will not be dangerous, but please keep in mind that the moment you are placed in grave danger, you will be “eliminated.” This class will clearly be reflected in your grades.
Awoooooo—!
The explanation wasn’t even over yet, but what was with the howling?
Epherene turned toward it.
It was a wild dog with blood-red eyes. The beast was spewing ash from its mouth.
—I look forward to seeing the Debutants’ practical use of magic. Now, class begins!
As soon as the assistant professor finished speaking, Epherene gathered mana into her bracelet.
Grrrrrr—!
She manifested magic at the wild dog charging with its jaws open.
The elemental combination was “water” and “wind.”
Swaaaaaash——
The water she fired condensed into an ultra-high-pressure crescent shape and rushed forward at a speed of over 500 m/s.
Although its range was short, its close-range lethality and cutting power were comparable to that of ordinary sword aura—a destructive pure elemental spell.
It was 「Water Moon(水月)」, which Deculein had taught her to memorize.
Kerrk……
The wild dog’s entire body was quartered.
“Hmph.”
Just as Epherene shrugged—
“Kyaaaaaak—!”
A scream rang out from not far away.
“Ah, where are you!”
Epherene immediately dashed off.
She took the element of wind into her entire body, making the noise small while her speed became fast.
She arrived in no time, but it seemed she was too late.
There was no person there, only a single note.
[ Celli eliminated ]
“Sorry. I should’ve come faster.”
What a shame.
Clicking her tongue, Epherene put the note into her pocket and moved on.
* * *
……40 minutes after class began.
Even amid threats scattered in every direction, Sylvia walked with dignity. There was no disgraceful hiding herself or suppressing her presence.
Rather, she only displayed her own elegance without restraint.
The phantasmal beasts drawn by that graceful light bared their teeth and opened their jaws, but the price for daring to challenge the sun was dreadful.
Every last one of them was scorched by heat and miserably disintegrated.
“Miss Sylvia?”
In the middle of that, someone called Sylvia.
Lucia, Jufern, and Beck. The noble clique that always went around together.
Lucia asked.
“Would you like to escape the barrier together?”
“……”
Sylvia shook her head.
“Yes, well. Then good luck.”
Lucia seemed to have asked only as a formality and simply passed by. No, after passing by, she suddenly began fleeing in the opposite direction.
Sylvia soon learned the reason.
On the not-too-distant horizon stood a noble radiating a surpassing, oppressive dignity.
Chief Professor Deculein.
Now that he had turned into an enemy, he was an opponent more terrifying than anyone else. Oppressed by his aloof presence, Sylvia immediately closed her eyes.
And then—
Surge—!
In an instant, she transformed the ground into water and dove in.
“……”
In that state, she held her breath.
Step— step— Footsteps rang above her head.
—Kyaaaaaaak!
Not long after, a piercing scream spread out.
Lucia’s group had probably been caught.
Those people really were stupid. The Professor’s steel could never be avoided by something like running.
She did not know the detailed mechanism, but once caught on his radar, you could not escape pursuit unless you sank into the ground.
That was why I sank into the ground.
Sylvia waited quietly, buried underground.
Then she heard a slightly stupid voice.
No, a very stupid voice.
—Stop!
—……Epherene. A frontal confrontation is something only a fool would attempt.
—This is not a frontal confrontation. There are four of us…… Huh! Where are you guys going! Come back!
From the sound of it, the people Epherene had saved had run away.
Then came clang, clang, clang—! as something sharp sparked.
Epherene seemed to manifest magic belatedly, but……
—Ah! Aaah! Ah, wait! Ugh! Uaaaaaagh!
……That girl isn’t stupid for nothing.
Listening to Epherene’s screams—which were surprisingly tenacious—Sylvia held back her laughter.
* * *
……120 minutes after class began.
“Still…… I don’t regret it.”
Having barely managed to escape, Epherene rubbed her aching body and sighed.
No, but seriously, those damned Lucia bastards—I went through the trouble of saving them, and they ran away? I really can’t believe it.
Four against one was definitely doable.
“Hold it in. Hold it in.”
Suppressing her anger, Epherene explored and analyzed the barrier. Having quickly given up on breaking through head-on, her method of escape was dismantling the barrier.
“The types of magical beasts are golems, wild dogs, bats…… bats?”
She looked up at the sky. A swarm of bats was wandering through the air.
“……”
Epherene narrowed her gaze as she stared at them.
“……They’re revolving along a fixed path.”
Epherene loaded mana onto the wind. A fragment of mana clung to a bat. That mana undulated together with the bat and transmitted a certain meaningful fact to Epherene.
The bats’ mission was likely to search for enemies and transmit that information to Deculein, but they were revolving irregularly.
However, every revolution must have a “center,” so one could estimate the source based on the trajectory of rotation.
Epherene closed her eyes and pictured the scenery of the area. Observing it from above, she calculated the bats’ movements.
As a result……
Rustle—
“Ah! Who’s there!”
Epherene nearly jumped out of her skin.
It was because a suspicious figure suddenly popped out from a corner.
“Epherene. You’re not dead.”
Fortunately, it was Sylvia. Epherene sighed in relief and swept a hand over her chest.
“Haaah... You don’t die just because you’re eliminated from class, you know. Anyway, this works out. Sit down.”
Epherene pointed to the floor where she was sitting. At that, Sylvia created a chair with magic. It was easily a meter high.
Seated atop it, Sylvia looked down at Epherene. Their eye levels had been thrown off in an instant.
“...Could you come down from there?”
“Talk.”
“Are you really going to be that childish?”
“Talk.”
“...Sigh. Anyway, I think we need to dismantle this barrier if we want to escape, right? But to dismantle it—”
“The gymnasium.”
Sylvia spoke first. Epherene nodded as well.
“So you know too. The barrier’s core seems to be in that gymnasium.”
Epherene pointed to the gymnasium visible beyond the alley.
“......”
“......”
A silent conversation passed between them through their eyes.
Soon reaching an agreement, the two walked together toward the gymnasium.
Moving carefully so as not to be spotted by the wild dogs and bats, they safely arrived near the gymnasium and pressed themselves close to the wall.
Epherene was the first to peer through the window.
...In the middle of the gymnasium.
There was, quite literally, the “final boss.”
“Shh. It’s Deculein.”
Deculein was together with dozens, hundreds of phantasmal beasts. Looking closely, he seemed to be reading some book.
Sylvia narrowed her eyes.
“Insolent Epherene.”
“Oh, come on. Right now, Deculein is our enemy.”
“......”
Epherene looked into the gymnasium.
For starters, its structure was quite spacious, an open area with clear lines of sight in every direction. And the barrier’s core was... unfortunately wavering in midair at the dead center, guarded by Deculein.
As Deculein had designed it, and as Allen had painstakingly constructed it, this was a practical rehearsal.
There was no way the difficulty would be simply easy.
“I think one of us needs to draw his attention. I’ll do it.”
“No.”
Sylvia shook her head.
“I’ll do it.”
“...You? Are you sure?”
Epherene asked back, eyes round. Of course, she had assumed Sylvia would only try to do what was good for herself.
“Epherene, you’re too stupid to even draw attention.”
“...Honestly. Fine. What are you going to do, then? How are you going to draw attention in that gymnasium? Look. It’s wide open on all sides. That professor knows that too, and that’s why he put the core there.”
“You and I are different.”
Sylvia took out a brush. Then she drew a neat rectangle and a handle on the ground.
Before long, that square manifested into a proper physical form.
“Go down through here. I connected it all the way inside the gymnasium.”
“...It won’t get blocked halfway, will it?”
“Are you doubting me right now?”
Sylvia’s eyebrow twitched.
No, that’s not it~ Epherene waved her hands and opened the lid.
Indeed, it was like some kind of underground bunker.
“This is... real. I admit it, I admit it.”
Impressed, Epherene held out her palm. It was for a high five. Sylvia stared quietly at that hand, then said,
“Insolent Epherene.”
“Huh? Why? You don’t know how to do it?”
“Don’t get cocky.”
“......”
“Hurry up and go in. Figure out the timing to come out on your own.”
“Okay.”
Epherene entered the passage, and Sylvia trudged over and opened the gymnasium door.
As expected, Deculein was over there. Also, the phantasmal beasts made of all kinds of ash radiated hostility toward her.
“Are your discussions over?”
Deculein asked while still reading his book. Sylvia nodded.
“I see.”
Thud— he closed the book he had been reading. As if that were the signal, every phantasmal beast inside the gymnasium rushed toward Sylvia.
“......”
Sylvia closed her eyes. Then she released her three primary colors.
Swaaaaaaaa───
The colors originating from her dantian dyed the world.
The area that had been an ordinary gymnasium changed “as she painted it.”
Red, green, and blue. The three streams of paint blended together, forming every color, and slowly swallowed the gymnasium whole.
There were no phantasmal beasts in the newly painted scenery.
“Mere” phantasmal beasts had been eroded by her colors without even being able to resist.
...And so the ash scattered away, and the gymnasium transformed completely into a refreshing meadow.
This, too, was inspiration she had gained from Deculein.
A magic that embodied, through talent, the awe she had felt during his midterm examination.
“In this landscape, I can do as I please.”
Deculein swept his gaze over the surroundings. His eyes were searching for some “medium.”
“There are no mana stones to serve as a medium. I made all of it with my own mana.”
Sylvia placed a hand on her chest. Standing where she was, she looked at Deculein.
“I am Sylvia.”
“......”
“You know who I am.”
The voice that asked him so again was full of confidence. It was firm with belief in herself and pride. It was a quality befitting the strong, and indeed, the mindset of a noble.
Deculein seemed satisfied as well.
“Good. In terms of magic, it is full marks.”
However, the very instant Sylvia closed and opened her eyes.
Deculein had arrived right before Sylvia.
“However, do not leave your body frail.”
The Baron of Ashes amplifies the physical and magical capabilities of the parasite. Therefore, the player ends up struggling not only with his magic, but also with his physical strength.
It meant that while exercising might be a waste of stats for a mage “player,” a mage who was not a player needed to exercise.
“You are eliminated.”
Deculein extended a finger and tapped— Sylvia’s forehead. Sylvia looked up at his face without even blinking.
“No.”
She answered confidently and shook her head.
“Before that...”
“I!”
A shout rang out from far behind. Deculein felt he knew who it was without turning around.
It was Epherene.
“I have already seized the barrier’s core!”
Epherene raised her hand high as if to show him. In that hand was the “barrier’s core.”
The bracelet on her right wrist rippled with mana.
“...Kgh!”
Destroying the core and dismantling the barrier would also be something an ordinary debutante could not do...
But Epherene was not an ordinary debutante.
Whoooooosh─! The mana storming out of the bracelet seeped into the barrier’s core. Then the entire barrier began to shake.
Crack, crumble...
The ground heaved like an earthquake. Powder fell from the gymnasium ceiling.
Cracks were etched across the sky. Space split apart with a ripping sound, as if it would shatter at any moment.
And then.
Craaaaaash──!
The barrier shattered like a sheet of glass.
Tssssss...
...Fragments of the barrier scattered vainly.
Beneath them.
Receiving the fragments all over his body...
“...Hahaha.”
For some reason, Deculein was smiling, as if a weight had been lifted.
As if he found them admirable.
As if this much was enough for him to trust them.
“......”
Sylvia and Epherene stared blankly at the professor as he smiled like that. It was the first time they had seen his smile.
“...Yes.”
At last, he said,
“You have won.”
“......!”
At that moment.
Epherene felt joy well up from the depths of her heart. In her head, an auditory hallucination of “Fanfare—!” rang noisily. A thrill too great to handle surged all the way to her extremities.
“Epherene, Sylvia. Both of you receive full marks.”
Before they knew it, the scenery had returned to normal.
It was an ordinary lecture hall.
“Your cooperative stance, that attitude, was effective.”
Belatedly, the door to the lecture hall opened. The eliminated students entered under Allen’s guidance. Among them, Epherene searched for Lucia’s face.
That ungrateful brat who had run off after Epherene had gone to the trouble of helping her.
“Hmph.”
Even so, Lucia merely returned a venomous look as if to say, So what?
“Sit.”
Deculein seemed to have more to say, and the debutantes took their seats.
Epherene looked at the clock. It had already passed exactly six o’clock. This was an extremely unusual occurrence.
“You must remember the barrier incident at the dormitory. Today was preparation for the possibility that such an incident might occur again. Of course, it was also a practical lesson. One that you will experience someday.”
Deculein sent Allen a glance. Allen brought in a box filled with gas masks from outside.
“If such an incident occurs again, the most important thing is cooperation. Also, carry these demonic-energy gas masks with you at all times.”
Deculein distributed the gas masks with 「Telekinesis」. Epherene looked at the gas mask with a broad grin.
“!”
Her eyes went wide.
She had thought it was a standard-issue item, but it was top-of-the-line, wasn’t it? Wasn’t this incredibly expensive?
“Good work. Those who were eliminated today should think carefully about why they were eliminated. If you ask Assistant Professor Allen, he will explain it in detail. Then, that is all.”
With those words as his last, Deculein left the lecture hall.
The mages who had been eliminated early trudged away gloomily, but Epherene, who had succeeded, remained in the lecture hall and savored the lingering feeling.
Was this how a mage grew?
The degree of satisfaction was on another level.
—Yes, you have won.
Deculein’s voice, which had sounded satisfied.
When she had heard those words, truly, an enormous surge of adrenaline had risen up and struck the crown of her head—bam!
Of course, Professor Deculein must have gone somewhat easy on them. That Woodsteel or whatever he cherished hadn’t even moved.
Whatever the case, it was an emotion that would be hard to feel twice.
“Hehe.”
But let’s not get the wrong idea.
It wasn’t that she was happy about his praise; she was happy about the fact that she had defeated him.
“...Good.”
Epherene clenched her fist.
In that sense, today.
At least today... she felt like she could eat something a little delicious.
“Tonight’s dinner is Roahawk...!”
*
Late at night, after everyone had left.
Deculein wrote on the blackboard of the Magic Tower lecture hall.
──[ Four Things to Keep in Mind ]──
1. See through the core of the barrier.
2. Refrain from direct confrontation.
3. Survive.
4. Keep in mind that this blackboard is the only link between you and me.
────────
After that.
Deculein bestowed 「Midas’s Hand」 upon the blackboard. Mana blooming from his fingers seeped into the green surface.
In preparation for the day when the “Baron of Ashes” would someday appear without warning.
It was advice he left for his students as their professor.