Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Seo Dayun (1)

Florian Mage Tower No. 6.

The Mage Tower was used for individual training, but professors could also reserve it for magic-related lectures.

No. 6 was especially popular for lecture use among the towers.

Today, it was reserved for a Combat Magic Department freshman class.

"Magic Missile!"

CRASH─!

A girl in a lime-green hood chanted a spell.

A blue mass of mana struck the target dead-on.

On the small scoreboard above the target, the letter B appeared.

"Ah......."

The girl let out a small sigh of disappointment.

The professor silently called the next student.

"Next, Song Seokhwan."

"Yes."

The undisputed top of the Combat Magic Department.

The professor gazed at Song Seokhwan with a contented expression.

More talented than any student he'd seen in his teaching career. That boy would uphold the department's pride for now and advance the field of magic itself later.

Just looking at him brought a smile.

He was happier looking at Song Seokhwan than at his own son.

Song Seokhwan raised his staff and fired Magic Missile without even chanting.

A mass of mana─larger and more brilliant than anything before─launched forward.

CRASH─!

The spell struck the target dead-on.

The score on the board was obvious without looking.

"A+! That's our Seokhwan! Did you all see that? This is a textbook Magic Missile. Study it. Understood?"

"Yes."

While the professor gushed, the TA beside him whispered.

"Um, Professor. Isn't that kind of magic dangerous? He loaded way more mana than necessary, and casting Incantationless makes the mana too unstable......"

"Silence! A teaching assistant jealous of a student younger than him! Just shut up and stand there! Tch."

"......Sorry."

The professor scolded him, but the TA still muttered to himself.

The students shouldn't be learning that kind of thing.

Song Seokhwan's approach was far from ideal.

It was pure showmanship─possible only because he had massive mana reserves and confidence in his control. Higher-level magic couldn't be cast that way.

Why he was so fixated on Incantationless casting was unclear, but it was a bad habit.

"Next... Seo Dayun."

"Y-Yes!"

Before she'd even started, the professor clicked his tongue.

In his eyes, Seo Dayun was an incompetent student.

How did a talentless girl like her get into this academy?

Today was no different.

Slow casting and feeble mana, a stark contrast to Song Seokhwan's.

The scoreboard read a mere C.

The professor said in a flat voice:

"Next."

Seo Dayun hung her head and returned to her seat.

This professor was notorious for favoring only the top students. He didn't spare a thought for anyone else.

The TA, however, had been closely observing the students.

He remembered that Seo Dayun had scored a D last time.

'Her mana control has gotten more refined since last week. What is this? What kind of growth......'

Some students who'd noticed the same thing whispered among themselves.

─Has Seo Dayun gotten better?

─Probably just a good day.

─Or maybe last time was unusually bad......

─No. She's always been bad. But today she's improved a lot.

─Is she doing it on purpose? Or could it be......

Seo Dayun spotted the group whispering about her and quickly looked away.

She didn't know what they were saying, but it probably wasn't good. They were probably mocking her for being unskilled.

Scary.

The thought of being talked about behind her back made her break into a cold sweat.

"Sigh......"

Today, as always, her gaze ended at Song Seokhwan.

Song Seokhwan wasn't the prince she'd imagined. He was just a thug.

She no longer admired him the way she used to, but she still envied him.

'Seri said I have talent.'

Seri was amazing.

Far smarter than someone like Seo Dayun, and nothing like a thug such as Song Seokhwan. If Seri said the world was ending tomorrow, she might actually believe her.

But, but still.

When she'd said Seo Dayun was more talented than Song Seokhwan─

That was the one thing Seri was wrong about.

Of course it was.

One was the year's top genius, monopolizing every professor's attention. The other was a failing student completely out of favor.

Even a child could tell who was more talented.

"How stupid......"

She'd been useless in this week's practicum too.

Song Seokhwan had reportedly found the golems inside the swamp in an instant, but Seo Dayun couldn't.

The part where she'd destroyed the golem at the end?

An Seri could've fired multiple arrows simultaneously and destroyed both. The only reason she hadn't was to artificially create a role for Seo Dayun.

What about next week's exam?

Same thing. She'd do nothing, drag the team down, and at the end, Seri would extend a pitying hand again.

......She didn't want things to stay like this.

She felt sorry toward the group. Sorry toward An Seri.

Just sorry about everything. And ashamed.

She wanted to be stronger.

So she decided to muster just a tiny bit of courage.

***

"So...... you want to get stronger?"

"Yes!"

A quiet afternoon. An unexpected visitor arrived.

Seo Dayun.

The girl who'd always come to my office trailing behind An Seri had come alone.

Come to think of it, this was the first time Seo Dayun and I had been alone together.

If I had to describe our relationship, we were like friends-of-a-friend connected through An Seri.

People often got this wrong, but a friend's friend was never truly your friend. Socially adept people might blend in quickly, but I certainly wasn't that type.

Of course, Seo Dayun had probably never thought about it that way with a professor...... but I felt a touch awkward.

Still, look on the bright side.

This might actually be a good thing.

I'd already earmarked her as someone I'd be seeing long-term. Getting closer now was only beneficial.

The problem was why she'd come to me.

"You don't think you have talent...... that's a harsh self-assessment."

Seo Dayun hung her head.

She didn't want to hold her teammates back, so she wanted to get stronger.

The sentiment was admirable.

But Seo Dayun's growth was already plenty fast.

No─too fast.

In my memory, meaning in the game, there had been almost no instance of her growing this quickly.

The only exception was when I'd directly controlled Seo Dayun as a Playable Character.

If that could happen on its own, what would I need to be a professor for?

The kids would clear the game by themselves.

"Alright. I'll help you a bit."

"Really?"

Seo Dayun's face lit up at my words.

She'd come to me because she had nowhere else to turn, but clearly hadn't expected much.

Honestly, I found it bothersome too.

If it were anyone other than Seo Dayun, I'd have refused on the spot.

So what should I do?

Getting visibly faster growth than this would be hard.

Give her items? There were decent early-game equipment pieces that weren't on Clairvoyance's level.

But building an equipment dependency this early was a bad idea.

Then the best I could offer was...... instilling confidence, maybe.

I took Seo Dayun to the Mage Tower.

Florian Central Mage Tower. The biggest, best-equipped one─where I trained.

Seo Dayun reacted like a country bumpkin visiting the big city for the first time.

"Wow, this place is amazing."

"Haven't you had classes here before?"

"I've been to one, but the tower we used was way different from here."

True enough─not all Mage Towers were equal.

The Central Mage Tower was rarely used for classes. It drew large crowds, and freshmen couldn't easily set foot inside.

There were no official rules about it, but Florian had an ugly custom. The upperclassmen's territorial behavior was severe.

Some authoritarian professors valued hierarchy and empowered the upperclassmen, which had tacitly barred underclassmen─especially freshmen─from entering.

A few upperclassmen noticed us and whispered.

─What? Isn't she a freshman?

─Looks like a first-year trying to waltz in......

Florian's uniforms distinguished years by tie color for boys and ribbon color for girls.

Seo Dayun looked like a freshman by appearance alone, but the ribbon would've confirmed it.

However, with me beside her, no one was dumb enough to start trouble.

─A professor's with her. Don't start anything.

─Never seen him. Who is he?

─He's the one hired this year. Don't mess with him. He seems tight with the Mage Tower professors.

That wasn't true.

Those people were just veterans addicted to mentoring newbies─they'd be nice to any beginner.

But students targeted professors or graduate researchers to avoid gossip.

If only they'd put half that mentoring passion into their own lectures.

"This is the Mage Tower. They say knights have the training grounds, scholars have the lab, and mages have the Mage Tower."

Seo Dayun's eyes sparkled at my explanation.

This was a common symptom among beginners.

The excitement of seeing new equipment for the first time and dreaming big─but reality was harsh.

It was fun the first time you touched the equipment. Give it a few days and you'd realize it was the most tedious repetitive grind in the world.

"I'm going to teach you a routine. Watch and learn."

"Yes!"

"First, a simple warm-up. Every training session starts with loosening the mana circuit. Draw mana from your Mana Heart and circulate it throughout your body."

Inhale─exhale, inhale─exhale.

Seo Dayun began deep breathing.

No special physical activity was needed to pump the Mana Heart. But beginners who weren't used to it benefited from following a specific routine.

I could feel mana stirring inside her body. Her breathing grew heavier.

The mana circuit was kicking into gear. When she decided it was enough, she stopped.

"Good. Next is this."

Nothing beat this for a starting exercise.

The Rough Band.

A wide belt with machinery inside that you stood on to train.

It helped increase total mana capacity.

Seeing its shape, Seo Dayun eyed it suspiciously.

"Isn't that...... a treadmill?"

"It's a Rough Band."

"It really looks like a treadmill though......"

"I said it's a Rough Band. Get on."

Seo Dayun shot me a disbelieving look but followed instructions.

The moment she stepped on─POP─mana sparked from her feet.

"Kyaah!"

"How is it?"

"Oww, it hurts......"

Seo Dayun whined. Whether she was actually in pain wasn't my concern.

"The Rough Band's surface is a type of medium. Its effect is to repel anything not emitting mana. To stay on top, you have to continuously emit mana from your body."

"Okay."

"Once you're on, don't fall off no matter what. Got it?"

"Yes!"

Seo Dayun followed my instructions and successfully stabilized herself on the Rough Band.

Now it was time to train for real.

"See the machine and handles in front? Set the intensity to 10 with the buttons."

"Okay."

Bzzt, crackle─

The Rough Band sparked with mana-like energy and started running.

The belt underneath began to move.

As it moved, Seo Dayun was pushed backward.

"This IS a treadmill! How is it not?"

"Now, now. Focus."

Seo Dayun pumped her legs frantically to avoid falling off.

Stop, and she'd fall right off.

Quietly focusing while emitting mana was easy enough, but combining it with intense physical activity made it hell for a mage.

"Huff, hah. Professor, you're a liar...... what kind of magic training is this?"

"Last five minutes."

It was only intensity 10, and she was already being dramatic. I'd started at 20.

Five minutes later, Seo Dayun stepped off the Rough Band looking like death.

"Huff, hah......"

"On to the next machine."

"P-Professor...... I'm...... dying...... please...... let me rest......"

"Stop being dramatic and follow me."

At my beckoning, Seo Dayun practically crawled over.

Was I too hard?

Her already small frame looked even smaller as it threatened to collapse. I relented slightly.

"Fine. A short break."

"Really? I'll go get water!"

Before I'd even finished, Seo Dayun sprang to her feet.

What the─? Conniving girl. She'd totally fooled me.

While I sputtered, Seo Dayun bolted.

"Well, I'll be......"

Kids these days.

No grit whatsoever.

Back in my day, two hours on the Rough Band was the minimum.

Ten minutes and you quit? She wasn't desperate enough yet.

......Of course, that had been in the game.

"But where is she?"

Five minutes should've been plenty to drink a bottle of water.

Why wasn't she back? The water fountain was right outside the corridor─she couldn't have gotten lost.

Did she run away?

She wasn't that kind of kid. She'd rather say she can't...... actually no, she wasn't that type either. She'd stubbornly endure even when it was painful.

Sitting and thinking wasn't going to give me answers.

I'd go find her myself.

I found her quickly.

The moment I stepped into the corridor, I saw Seo Dayun's back. She wasn't alone─she was surrounded by other students.

"Tch, those second-years aren't keeping the freshmen in line?"

"Right? Nowadays freshmen have no respect. Walking into the Central Mage Tower like they own the place."

"Hey. What department, what's your name?"

"Um...... I, hic......"

Seo Dayun was surrounded by upperclassmen, sniffling.

What the hell was this?

I'd known from the start she wasn't a friend...... but bugs were swarming my student? Not a pleasant sight.

Those goddamn brats.

"You. What's all this commotion?"