Chapter 113

Magic Disruption

“Do you know the Conqueror’s Technique, Brother?”

“The Conqueror’s Technique? Isn’t that the secret martial art of the Betelgeuse royal family? Of course I’ve heard of it. But I heard it’s extremely difficult to master, and the current Grand Duke can’t use it anymore due to an injury.”

“Yes. Lady Idnia is a master of that very technique.”

“Even without magic, she’s incredibly strong. Her confidence and bold attitude probably come from that. So everyone, please don’t insult her carelessly.”

“She’s a terrifying person. I’ve seen her use the Conqueror’s Technique with my own eyes. It was so scary that I couldn’t even move.”

Izolde warned her friends like that. She sincerely hoped they wouldn’t carelessly provoke Idnia.

But their reaction was… surprising.

“Oh, the Conqueror’s Technique? Isn’t that just Aura?”

“I thought it was a martial art passed down in the Betelgeuse family. But this is a magic academy, isn’t it?”

“She’s not going to fight us with a sword, is she? We’re mages—our duels are with magic, not swords.”

Surprisingly, they were confident that Idnia wouldn’t dare strike them using her martial arts.

“So… do you think you can win a duel against her?”

Izolde asked in disbelief. Idnia’s magic alone wasn’t something to take lightly, yet they seemed unconcerned.

But…

“Oh, we’ll just refuse the duel.”

“We’re daughters of the gentry class. We have no reason to accept duels.”

“Wait, but isn’t refusing a duel dishonorable for a mage…?”

“We don’t really care about being full mages. We just want to graduate from Dunais Academy with a diploma.”

Nora, Kate, and Mina were all daughters of wealthy merchant families. Their families had grown rich in textiles, cooking oil, and dyes, and had recently gained social status in the capital’s high society. To help their daughters stand tall among nobles, they showered them with money and servants.

Unlike Izolde, who studied hard to gain honor and real power as a mage, these girls were already set to inherit huge fortunes. For them, attending the academy was just to boost their résumé.

“Ugh, I really don’t like this kind of attitude.”

Izolde had only grown close to them because her mother, Countess Aura Polchen (a royal consort), had been their etiquette teacher. But in terms of money, these girls were far wealthier than the Emperor’s own favored consort.

They had lived like nobility since childhood, always with servants, and were even more arrogant than the actual aristocrats.

The noble families resented these nouveau riche girls. Still, many of the capital nobles were in debt to them, so they couldn’t treat them poorly.

As a result, the nobles subtly discriminated against them for their bloodlines, which gave the gentry girls even more reason to resent the aristocracy.

This deep-rooted tension between old nobility and rising merchant families couldn’t be resolved with just a few polite words.

Their friendship with Izolde was only possible because she was the daughter of a concubine—technically noble, but not entirely accepted.

“Now that I think about it, they’re only friendly with me because I’m a royal concubine’s daughter. If I show any weakness, they’ll tear me apart like sharks in blood.”

Izolde knew how terrifying these high-society girls could be. She didn’t want to fall out of their favor just to defend Idnia.

It was scary to feel fear even among your own friends—but that was normal in their social world.

“Miss Izolde, you wanted to become a great mage, right?” Nora asked with a sly smile, clearly enjoying the gap between herself and Izolde.

✦✦✦

Despite Izolde’s efforts to reason with her friends, they remained unconvinced.

Eventually, they all entered Professor Magram’s class.

“Alright,” Magram said cheerfully, “our schedule changed a bit, but today we’ll learn Retrieval Magic.”

He pulled out a curved scimitar, its blade gleaming in the firelight.

Without warning, he threw the sword toward a student—Atos, a boy sneaking a donut in class.

“Wha—?!”

“Ahhh!”

Just as panic spread, Magram raised his hand. The sword instantly flew back into his grip with a snap.

“Huh?”

“Oooh…”

Everyone gasped in awe.

Retrieval Magic was actually simpler than low-level spirit summoning. Many students could already use it—but only to pull in still objects.

What Magram just did—recalling a flying sword—was much harder.

“As you know,” he said with a smile, “throwing swords and pulling them back is extremely dangerous. It’s one of those ‘don’t try this at home’ spells. Every year, dozens of foolish mages die attempting it.”

“But… it looks cool, right?”

He grinned at Atos.

Atos had the donut in his mouth, jaw dropped. It nearly fell—but he quickly caught it and apologized.

“No need to apologize,” Magram said. “I handle the academy’s store and snack sales, after all. As long as you bought it on campus, you’re not in trouble in my class. Other professors might disagree, of course.”

He winked.

“So yes, feel free to eat. And don’t worry—I only threw that sword because I knew I could retrieve it.”

Everyone stared in shock as Atos calmly popped the donut back in his mouth.

“He really just ate it after all that?!”

Then—

Whoosh!

Magram threw the sword again—right at Atos.

The spinning blade looked like it was going to slice his throat—but it vanished just before hitting him, reappearing in Magram’s hand.

“Wha—teleport retrieval?!”

“Yes, that’s another variation,” Magram explained. “Though it’s a simple spell, how you implement it changes the difficulty.”

He smiled broadly at Atos.

“Go on, finish eating.”

“Um… o-okay.”

Wow… Idnia thought, impressed by Atos’s courage—or maybe his lack of awareness.

✦✦✦

“Now, the incantation is ‘nae-son-eu-ro’—‘to my hand.’ It has multiple forms, but this is the fastest and most practical. Let’s try it.”

He snapped his fingers and created a magical diagram in mid-air, showing the structure of the spell with fire.

Marie, standing near Idnia, squinted as she studied the structure.

“Is your vision bad?” Idnia asked.

Marie blushed. “Oh, no. I just find it easier to understand the spell structure this way. It’s kind of like Telekinesis, right?”

“Yes, it’s the same concept—pulling objects toward you,” Idnia replied casually.

The structure was simple and the logic clear. Idnia, who already mastered Telekinesis, thought this spell was extremely easy.

Many students giggled—it was that simple.

“Yes, it’s easy,” Magram said. “You all learned Telekinesis from Professor Buremhid. But here’s the twist: today’s task is to use Retrieval Magic without your wands—to summon your wands to your hand using only this spell.”

“What?”

“No wand?!”

“That’s right. You won’t be using this to fetch a remote control or a game controller or a mouse from under your desk, after all.”

Most students tilted their heads in confusion.

“…What’s he talking about?”

Idnia quickly adjusted her expression—Magram was clearly watching her for a reaction.

“Ugh. He’s doing this on purpose. What’s going on in that mind of his?”

When she showed no reaction, Magram snapped his fingers and the assistants appeared.

“Alright, let’s begin. Follow the assistants’ instructions and try to retrieve your wands without using them to cast the spell.”

Most students panicked.

“Nae-son-eu-ro?! Ahh—what?!”

A wand flew at someone so fast it nearly stabbed them, but the assistant caught it mid-air with Telekinesis.

“You okay?”

“Y-yes! Thank you!”

“Whoa… I can’t control the speed!”

Without wands, many students struggled to even activate the spell properly—let alone control it.

But Marie succeeded on her first try.

“Aha!”

Her wand spun through the air and landed cleanly in her hand. The assistant even whistled.

“Nice work! Was that your first try?”

“Yes! Idnia! Look! I did it!”

Marie wanted to show her success to Idnia. After all, Idnia had helped her so much—tutoring, reviewing, encouraging.

But…

“Oh no…?”

Idnia looked… troubled.

“Idnia?”

Marie was shocked. She never expected Idnia to fail.

Was it because she didn’t have her wand?

But when Idnia tried again, something strange happened.

Her mana didn’t move at all.

“Are you okay?”

Marie still admired Idnia. Even if she couldn’t use magic anymore, Marie respected her for her leadership and kindness.

But the problem was Idnia herself.

“What’s happening?! My mana… it’s not moving at all!”

Idnia calmed her breath and tried again.

“To my hand!”

Her Korean pronunciation was perfect—but her wand didn’t budge.