– Chapter 24
“Ice, heed my call and unleash your biting touch from my hand. May your chilling blessing be with me as you accept my will and manifest your great power….”
The long incantation continued.
“<Blizzard>.”
A freezing storm burst forth from the woman’s hand and began to mercilessly freeze everything around her.
Sixth-circle magic, Blizzard.
A high-tier ice-element spell that freezes everything within a set area.
“Whew…”
While focusing on her mana, she slowly tried to expand the affected range.
But not long after—
Crack.
At some point, the blizzard’s range stopped expanding, and the ice began to shatter.
She frowned and raised her concentration even higher.
“Ugh…!”
In the end, she staggered and had no choice but to dispel the spell.
“So this is still my limit.”
She had succeeded in casting a sixth-circle spell, but her ability to maintain it was lacking.
Just then—
“Excellent.”
The marquis, who had been watching quietly, approached her slowly and praised her.
“Such concise and precise incantation. You truly are a talent worthy of bearing the future of the main family.”
“It’s not enough yet.”
“Impatience is unwise. Time and experience will resolve that. Talent tempered with effort will inevitably shine.”
“…That’s true.”
She nodded in agreement with the marquis’s words.
Because her father was right.
She calmed the surging mana within her and took a deep breath.
“Whew.”
Throb.
For a brief moment, she felt a faint pain, but she ignored it.
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
She had experienced this before, and she had already been told long ago that the occasional pain was nothing serious.
“…It’s annoying, but still, it’s not a problem.”
She shook her head lightly and checked the date.
Two weeks until she headed to the Blue Tower.
In two weeks, she would come face to face with her younger brother, Sion.
…The disgrace of the family, incompetent to the extreme.
“A teacher?”
It was something her father had said, but truly, it wasn’t even funny.
That useless fool, a teacher?
Obviously, he must have obtained the position by forcing some absurd excuse.
She had no intention of allowing such nonsense from her younger brother to continue unchecked.
The honor of the family had to be protected.
The possibility that he had suddenly revealed talent and become a proper teacher?
Impossible.
Cornelia scoffed and shook her head.
Then she turned her thoughts to the Blue Tower itself.
This time, it wasn’t only her incompetent brother who needed to be dealt with.
It was also time to settle matters with the mage tower that had been feeding off the family’s support funds while still producing lackluster results.
“Father, you said you would entrust this matter entirely to my judgment. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
“Then if I determine that the Blue Tower has no further value for investment, may I dispose of it at my discretion?”
“That too will be left to you.”
The marquis supported her without the slightest hesitation.
“The only reason I supported the Blue Tower was because of the ‘new possibilities’ it once pursued.”
“You mean the plan devised by Lord Bellusian in the past.”
“Yes. But the future Bellusian envisioned vanished along with his disappearance. I had high expectations for his disciple, Rumia Cavalla, said to be a once-in-a-generation genius, but…”
The marquis frowned.
“It seems she wasn’t quite at that level.”
“I understand.”
“Even so, it was once one of the Four Great Mage Towers. The value of the land they own and the assets they possess is extremely high. If we can acquire them under the pretext of support funds, that would be ideal.”
Of course, he didn’t mean immediately.
But there was no reason to give them more chances either.
If the Blue Tower failed to show the ‘value’ the marquis expected, there would be no need for further patience.
“I despise those without value. If something has no value, being devoured is only the natural law.”
“I understand that as well.”
With confirmation up to this point, there was no reason to delay.
“May I move the schedule forward slightly?”
“Why?”
“If we arrive on the scheduled date, the Blue Tower will prepare for our visit. Only by arriving unannounced can we see their true state.”
“That makes sense. How much earlier do you plan to depart?”
Cornelia thought for a moment before answering.
“I will depart in one week.”
“Everyone, did you sleep well?”
As always, Sion began the lecture while sweeping his gaze across the classroom.
It had only been about two weeks, but in that time, his lectures had grown to the point where every student in the Blue Tower attended them.
His past notoriety no longer mattered much.
After all, the lectures were far too good to reject based on old rumors.
Of course, there were still a few lingering complaints among the students.
“…It’s nice that magic tools make casting easier, but they don’t raise our level, do they?”
“Right. In the end, a mage’s value is measured by their circle. If the circle doesn’t change…”
Using magic tools was undeniably appealing.
Magic modification and no-incantation casting were practically revolutionary.
But no matter how revolutionary they were, the level of one’s circle itself remained unchanged.
Was it really okay to continue like this?
Wasn’t there a risk of being swept away by magic tools and drifting away from the fundamental goal of ‘raising one’s circle’?
Naturally, Sion was aware of these concerns.
He also agreed that circles were important. Magic tools were merely meant to broaden the range of magic.
For a mage, a higher circle meant a higher realm.
And the higher that realm, the broader the scope in which magic could be used.
The mage Sion envisioned could not be lacking on either side.
Therefore—
“What I’m going to teach you today is a mana training method.”
Sion presented the students with a new goal.
A mana training method.
“M-Mana training method?”
Tult, who was sitting in the very front and focusing intently as always, gaped.
It was a natural reaction.
A mana training method was a mage’s secret art.
Their livelihood.
That was why any mage tower with some standing strictly managed their mana training methods.
For example, only passing down advanced methods to a select few disciples.
That was how important mana training methods were to mages.
Which was why everyone was shocked.
“I-Is that really true? A mana training method… could it be the same one you use, Teacher?”
“No, it’s not.”
Sion shook his head.
“It’s not because I don’t want to teach it. It’s simply because the method I use is something you can’t handle.”
“…Is that so?”
“If you tried it, your survival rate wouldn’t even reach 10%. No matter how important circles are, you don’t want to gamble your life, right?”
“Th-That’s… true.”
The students nodded unconsciously.
It was the truth.
They wanted to become excellent mages, but only if their lives were guaranteed.
A mana training method that could lead to death in exchange for faster growth was meaningless.
That was why mage towers selected talents carefully before teaching advanced methods in the first place.
The mood in the classroom sank slightly.
They felt the limits of their own talent through Sion’s words.
But Sion wasn’t finished.
“Listen to the end. That doesn’t mean the method I’m about to teach is inferior.”
“Wait, Teacher.”
At that moment, Briella raised her hand and spoke.
“There’s one issue. The mana training method you’re talking about—everyone here is already practicing one.”
“I know. The Blue Tower’s mana training method. The one created by the previous tower master, Bellusian.”
“That’s right.”
Briella nodded.
“It might sound strange coming from me, but I don’t think the method we’re using is low-quality.”
“That’s true. And abandoning a method you’re already trained in to learn a new one isn’t very efficient either, right?”
“That too… is true.”
At that point, Briella realized that Sion wasn’t speaking out of ignorance.
Then why?
Sion answered simply.
“Don’t worry. The mana training method I’m about to teach is compatible with the one you’re already using.”
“…!”
The students’ eyes widened all at once.
Compatible…?
Was that even possible?
A mana training method was the very foundation of a mage.
An extremely delicate domain.
Yet Sion spoke as if he had effortlessly ‘made it work.’
Impossible.
It really was impossible, but…
‘…Is it?’
Because the one saying it was Sion, it somehow sounded convincing.
“Th-Teacher.”
This time, Aira raised her hand.
With a timid expression, she carefully asked:
“The mana training method you mentioned… what advantages does it have?”
“First, it’s extremely stable. It’s also well-suited for using magic tools. And lastly…”
Sion grinned.
“If certain ‘conditions’ are met, the growth rate is fast. I guarantee it. If you follow my instructions properly, everyone here will reach third circle within a week.”
“…!”
The students were stunned once again.
It sounded like complete nonsense, but since it was Sion saying it, even nonsense felt like it might somehow come true.
Then Tult spoke up cautiously.
“Teacher… I hate to say this, but I’m already third circle.”
“I’ll make you fourth circle.”
“Loyalty!”
Tult instantly declared his faith.
Briella clicked her tongue and shook her head at the sight.
‘Looking at his eyes, he’s practically entering religious territory now…’
Not long ago, he had been the first to rush forward, swearing to take Sion down.
And now his attitude had flipped completely.
No matter what, wasn’t that too fast?
At best…
‘All he did was teach no-incantation magic through magic tools, enable magic modification, provide real combat training, and discover dragon bones to help restore the mage tower… right?’
Hmm.
Briella crossed her arms and reflected on what she had just thought about.
All of that had happened in just a few weeks.
And Sion himself was a monster who could freely use no-incantation magic and magic modification without even relying on tools…
‘Ah. Yeah, that’ll do it.’
Conclusion reached.
Honestly, it would be stranger not to be swayed.
Then—
“…Third circle.”
Briella’s gaze shifted to Aira, who murmured softly.
“If it’s third circle, we have to go for this.”
“Huh?”
“Even if I have to sell my soul, it’s worth trying once. Third circle in a week? There’s no way I’m passing that up.”
“…?”
She didn’t know why, but this one’s eyes looked strange too.
Amid the students’ reactions, Sion spoke again.
“Of course, I won’t force anyone. If you’re uneasy, you don’t have to do it. That’s also a choice.”
Then he added with emphasis:
“However, everything I’ve said so far is true. Within a week, everyone in this classroom will reach third circle.”
Despite his confident tone, some students still doubted.
“Teacher! Even so, how can you be so sure we’ll reach third circle in a week? Do you have some kind of ‘definite method’?”
“The decisive means that will allow you to reach third circle is…”
As he spoke, Sion placed something heavily on the lectern with a thunk.
It was a glass bottle filled with small pills.
“Drugs.”
“W-What? Drugs? What are those?”
“An elixir made by grinding dragon bones.”
“Oh.”
At that, every student had no choice but to accept it.
“Is that… something we get when we learn the mana training method?”
“You take it and train. What am I, a god? Creating something out of nothing?”
“….”
Silence fell over the classroom.
Then—
“M-Me! Me first!”
“I’ll go firsttttt!”
With bloodshot eyes, the students screamed and desperately raised their hands.
After all, when it comes to drugs, there’s no such thing as resistance.
